woooohoooooo I am soooooooooooooooohappy it is Saturday.
It SUNNY!!!! No stray relatives, had a fab looooong sleep, i have a happy hubby and happy kids.....................yippee skippy.
mmmmm coffee tastes great!
Today is about Avon and taming the paper tiger.
No hockey til tomorrow and then DS is in a tournament all day!
Suzi~ I turned 40 last July. It has been painless and quite nice really.
I am often stuck in the 70's. Happy childhood memories, what can I say. The radio was always on so I attach good memories to music.
Madcat~ OK I just read the review on Nutrisystem on the home page. My review is this:
You get breakfast, lunch, dinner and "dessert". You are supposed to add a PM snack of your own choosing using their guidelines and eat fruits and veggies when they tell you. Following this plan EXACTLY, I am not hungry at all. In the review I see some missing "essentials" that were clearly stated in the Nutrisystem handbook (or whatever they call it) that were not eaten. I myself find that if you add what you are told and eat when you should eat that I am not hungry. I will admit to cravings but not hunger. It is a bit pricey for what you get but it's a lesson for a life change and I don't find it a "diet" per se. More of a vehicle if you will. I don't think even the company expects anyone to stay on this forever but I think it's a great way to get where you're going. Or at the very least gives you a good start. Having said that I do agree that people are entitled to their own opinions and also that not every plan is for every person. You only have to go to the page here that lists all the forums to see that Many plans, many people, many likes and dislikes..
I love fresh food and fresh meat myself but wasn't doing well with my choices after the 30 lb loss. SOMEWHERE along the line I lost heart after the bus incident and SOMEHOW NS is giving me that boost I need and getting me out of the kitchen at the same time. How could I go wrong!! The dinners are much better than the TV diet types I have tried from the supermarket.
I serve them over a bed of organic mixed spring greens and/or spinach. YUM! For me this plan and all it accomplishes is better than the invention of candy! Different strokes for different folks is all.
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
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S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
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It is 76 degrees at 10 in the morning. Going to be a warm one. And my window screens are falling apart. Told DH I cannot live in a house where I can't open the windows. I was wondering why some of the storm window / window screens were duct taped shut when we bought the house The only way to fix them is to replace the entire window. It's a shame because the windows themselves are in very good shape - it's the interior screens and frame that have detiorated - not likely we could get replacement parts either. We have 30 windows. At this point in my life I really consider long and hard big time expenses. Tho I am not willing to let my house fall apart by any means, I look at "cosmetic" expenses and think - do I really want to do this and am I willing to accept that it means working as a slave for one or 2 (or more years) just to have this or can I live with it and retire earlier? I think many people in this part of the country simply don't open their windows and just use the heat and air conditioning as needed. Keeps the dreaded pollen out too. Perhaps I will just have to be content to living on the patio.
Oh and I am not a pool shark by any means I'm not even sure I like the game all that much. Thank goodness the league is only 6 weeks long. We are thinking that we will open our swimming pool somewhere around the beginning to mid May depending on how the weather holds. We opened it around mid April last year. Too early. We still have lots of horrid stuff falling from our sweet gum trees - hard, round golf ball seed pods and in about another month we will get these grape like clusters of pure yellow pollen that cover everything. And there are still lots of dried up leaves from last autumn floating around. Even if we pick ours up, others come to visit from the neighbors. So the point is, there isn't enough strong sun to warm up the water quite yet and all you are doing is extra work and expense to clean the pool every day or two. I am trying to convince DH to buy these floating pads you through in the pool that accellerate warming the water. He wants to cut down the big sweet gum trees and get rid of the schmutz they produce. I say that will expose the enire back of the house to the hot sun - AND I CAN'T OPEN THE WINDOWS. He says if it's hot, why would you want to open the windows? Anyway, always more things to spend money on than money to spend, isn't it the case?
Mel, I'm glad you posted about your experience with Nutrisystem. I know some people are big fans of the program. Funny how you and 3FC seem to disagree on your choice of diet plans I was curious when I read Suzanne's review as to how the food tasted bad. Didn't sound like she was getting much food either. 1 cup of soup and an apple for lunch would not suffice for me - where's the fill you up protein? She also said the food was not tasty. That reminded me of Healthy Choice frozen dinners. To me they are bland and tasteless. I much prefer the Lean Cuisine line. In the end, you are right - it's what you can live with and you are doing very well with the weightloss (congrats ) so can't argue with the results! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Madcat, I read your post last night and starting laughing so hard I woke up my husband. I must have giggled for a half hour. The idea of you sitting on the bus thinking someone else was making that noise was hysterical. Can only imagine what others were thinking!
Holly - sounds like you are hitting a good groove lately.
Suzi - welcome back. Hope DS1 gets the job. As for 40, hah - 40 is the new 30!
Shad, sounds like Sunday has finally figured out that it is NOT a good thing to see you go away. She finally appreciates you which is a big step for a cat Is it still hot by you?
Ceejay - hope all works well for you on the medical front. We didn't get much in the way of storms except for some long rain. All the bad weather was up your way. I was listening to the weather before I left for work and there were tornado warnings up near Pargould. All well there?
Hey Red, thanks for the reminder that we have to finish our taxes too. We are usually done with this by now. DH must have gotten distracted. Hope you get wads of cash back...
Carla - hope you are having a better time in SF this week. What, no Target to shop at? How do you cope? Just remember, whatever you buy, you have to lug home. I've learned my lesson with that!
Meadow, thank you for the reminder about the vitamins. I take individual supplements as it seems the multivitamins always "talk back to me" with that yucky vitamin taste. Probably should switch tho as I would be more likely to take one pill than 12.
Hello Teel and Tig and Nae. Has Linus passed out on the floor from lack of sleep?
Better get this done before the day gets away from me as yesterday did. Somehow when I got home from gym the world fell on top of me and I slept most of the afternoon. Must have needed it! I did manage to do a copuple of things but the weekend schedule has gone to pot and good riddance to it. I am not going to achieve all that I wanted but like all types of work, it will still be waiting for me next weekend.
I am thinking that I might come to Canada and USA sometime later this year - probably September'ish. No guarantees, but Chris has definitely cancelled Europe until next year and is going home to check out her DD's new house instead - provided she is fit enough to travel by then.
So I will be starting to plan out Shad's rough guide to the US in the next couple of weeks and get an itinerary to the Travel Agent for prices etc. by the middle of April. I'm hoping I can use some of my frequent flyer points to get through the US. No ideas as to when, how or where as yet, so feel free to bombard me with suggestions (polite of course). I am talking with the mob in Townsville (remember I used to work up there?) and they want me back to do an upgrade/ change management/ bullying type training again either late this year or next year so that may affect things somewhat. We will wait and see. I can't see that happening this year as there is too much planning to be done to implement in November as they were expected. You can't just throw SAP into the computer system and wait for it to work. It needs careful planning (more money for SAP).
Happy = don't know what sort of screens you have over there. Here we can easily and simply repace the fly wire - I did all of mine a year ago and although I don't have 30 windows, it was an easy job and only took me a morning. In my case it would be pay for screens or pay for air con. The screens were definitely cheaper. Maybe you need to investigate the latest types of screens which may be easier to maintain. Gum trees are certainly messy and my choice would be to put in some type of privacy/ screening tree around the gums and then when the new trees thicken up somewhat, take out the gums. Gums also tend to muck up the soil and pinch all the available nutrients and water. Still you need a good tree or two in the yard. The weather here is progressing nicely. Warm to hot days still and the nights are cooling down but not drastically (we still don't need to wear sleeves on our tee shirts) and the bugs seem to be disappearing somewhat. Bliss!!!
Madcat what a great story. The buzzing lady. Bet they all heaved a sigh of relief when you got of the bus!!!
Carla - go to Sonoma. I was watching a tv show last night which showed Sonoma. It looks so peaceful and nice. It's close to Napa Valley (wine - don't you enjoy the stuff??) and I think the tv program said they make some of their own. Soooooooo although it is not good for the weight loss - take some time, go to Sonoma, sit in the spa and thaw out, drink some wine. Enjoy the trip - heavens you've paid enough for it!
Holly - I hate the taxes. That's why I get an accountant to work it out for me. I just throw all the bits and pieces into a folder as I get them. Sort them out when the Group Certificate arrives and then throw the lot at the accountant, sign the forms when they come and wait for the ATO (Aussie equivalent of the IRS) to put the refund in the bank (or the opposite - wait for the bill which doesn't happen often). Anyway have fun and get that paper work done.
Mel - glad to hear that the Nutrisystem is working for you. It needs to having spent the money. But I find that most diets will work - if you stick to them properly, read the instructions and follow directions. I've not tried them so can't offer too many opinions. I just wonder about preservatives and chemicals etc.etc. since you said they are sort of dried or vacuum packed or something.
Suzi is this a part time job for the DS1 or a permanent type job. Whatever, I hope he gets lucky and enjoys the job for as long as he is there. Good on him for trying,
Ceejay - whatever else you leave out, do the exercise. It will keep you in good shape should you decide to have the operation. A balance of work, play, eat and sleep - should be mandatory in every life.
Red - Hiya, how are the Taxes going?
Well that is about it. I'm going to take the computer components apart to see if I can find out what is causing this annoying background buzzing sound. Something is doing it. It's driving me nuts. There, now I have said that - it has stopped. Oh no it hasn't it is back. Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhh.
Do you 'ear it,
That funny noise?
It's been driving me batty all day.
Etc.
Off to finish the housework. Make a healthy pizza for lunch (homemade base, tomato puree, roasted pepper, marinated artichokes and blobs of goat cheese or feta cheese (haven't made up my mind yet and maybe some olives. Oh yes and some chorizo sausage I got yesterday. Sound good? You betcha.
Wow - catch the babe. Thanks Madcat. And no it is not a toothbrush in my computer.
Talking of toothbrushes, I can add to the buzzing toothbrush stories.
Chris and I were staying at the Noosa Blue on a free weekend ticket. The bathroom and laundry were behind some sliding louvre doors. During the night I got woken up by a buzzing sound. I thought it was an alarm clock and I am trying to find one without waking Chris. The time was around 2.00am. Then I realised the buzzing was coming from under my bed. So I got down on floor level to see if I could find what it was. It was about that point that I realised I couldn't fit any further under the bed and was having trouble wiggling out as well - I got stuck more or less. I tried calling Chris, but she was deeply asleep and is deaf in one ear anyway - seems like that is the one pointing upwards at night too. Anyway, the buzzing carried on and seemed to be getting further away. I finally extracted myself from under the bed, pulling out an earring as I went and went round the other side. There I found it - the toothbrush (mine) had fallen off the counter top in the bathroom, turned itself on, vibrated its way across the bathroom, under the louvres, across and under the bed which is where I heard it (talk about deep sleep) and then right under the bed. It ran out of batteries the next day. Can anyone understand why?
Madcat, you look absolutely gorgeous in your dress. A great choice! The BF will swoon.
Shad, think of a little visit to Ottawa while in Canada. A five-hour drive north of Toronto, or a bus, train, or plane ride. You'd be welcome to stay with me - it's smallish, but I just bought curtains for the window between the living and guest rooms, so privacy is available. If the time is right, I make a great tour guide. If not, I might even be away and leave you with a whole condo to yourself! (Unfriendly cats included for free.) As for the trip I'm on, not really much improvement, but at least I've already announced my imminent departure on a road trip. If I wait til Wed I can take the car rather than rent one, but am feeling a little tense, so... And I came here on points, so the cost so far is not too bad.
And on that note, I'll creep out of my lair and go have a drink of nice crisp white - down in my friend's frozen little apartment. It snowed in San Fran yesterday...
Holly, do you ever get into Toronto? I'll be there April 29 to May 5 for a conference at the Sheraton - maybe Madcat and you and I...? unless that's Madcat's wedding time, of course. I seem to remember something about May. My schedule for work will be complicated and convoluted, but I must say I'd love to meet some of the Friends - by your posts I know how lovely you all are.
San Fran still not working out, but okay at this precise (late and inebriated) moment. I'm planning my escape - either Mon-Fri on the road, or Wed to Sat. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, as the problems are all mine and I am treated like a queen. And I should mention we eat so very well here... Even the teenage daughter (15) is lovely and sweet and respectful and talks to adults as if they were human...
There's a shopping outlet center not too far, in Gilroy (garlic capital of the world) where I could easily waste 2 to 3 days.. I think that will be my destination. I just have to figure out the route from here to the highway. Where's my ex-husband when I need him? (Probably the ONLY time I need him, the lying, cheating SOB... Issues? I don't have issues. )
Miss Madcat you look absolutely devine! a picture of perfection! I sit here with tears in my eyes just thinking of your special day. Weddings and babies always make me cry. You did a great job selecting that beautiful confection!! Congratulations!
I will have to to the rest of you as someone is moving in here around 9 and I am not even close to being ready for this. Just found out late last night. Seems there was a mix-up in communications The woman is coming out of a rehab tomorrow!!!
Hope you all have a great day. Maybe I will start one of my new books or finally try to finish Harry Potter's last!!!
Happy Sunday!!!
Carla,I used to go to TO regularily but not since kids. It is a possibility........
Apparently we had a storm in the night but i didn't hear it.
I was up and bathed , put chili in the crockpot and out the door by 7:30 am.
Skipping church today. Gonna putter and R&R til noon and then go back for more hockey and then DD and I are going to the city to dollar store shop and do Grandma's hair.
I may nap first :?
I forgot it was march break. I have 5 kids off for babysitting and 2 extras parttime and no kids at all at Wed and Thurs..........woohooooooo!!!!
Madcat--I agree with Mel you look devine. Absolutely adore the dress.
Mel--Nutrisystem is a good choice. It's a little to expensive for me though so I decided to get some Lean Cusine for lunch this week.
Holly- Enjoy your day.
Shad--I agree that I should keep exercising.
The biopsy results are back. No surgery this time cause the test is benign.
I'm to repeat the pap smear in 6 months and watch for some things mainly interment bleeding and log those findings for the dr.
I had a good time this week end. Went to Paragould Friday and then to a local talent show that night. Visited with a distant cousin who has under gone recent radiation and chemo for colon cancer. His next step is surgery to remove the shrunken mass. He was doing a lot better.
I got bumped again while ago so I'll try to post again.
Holly~ enjoy all that free time!! WOW!!! next thing you know you'll be out there getting ANOTHER job!!
Jen and I love $$ stores!!!
Ceejay~ It is a bit pricey but I was spending almost the same amount each month and more on top $$ food and throwing some out cause I would over buy. I also love that I haven't been burned in the kitchen in almost 3 weeks! Lean cuisine was one of my favorite choices. and they have so many to choose from too. Good luck.
Well the little old lady's stuff is in place. Was a fast move. She hardly owns anything! and they hurried cause it was raining! I am "thinking" of cleaning
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 ladies,
Argh. It's 76 degrees and it's still early morning. Too hot too soon. I have fans going all through the house but they don't seem to be doing much good.
This is a short term thing luckily - will get cooler and back to normal later in the week.
Madcat, I love your dress. It's so pretty. It's nice enough to be special, yet not over the top fluff and way out there like some can be. You look gorgeous. I can't wait to hear about all the details.
Shad, you know you are always welcome to come stay with us again - tho I highly suggest coming to Memphis from a large city so you can get a direct flight, otherwise you'll waste a day in connections in obscure places getting here and out again. We will take you to Graceland - should provide you with some nice picture opportunities for the Elvis fans back home. Other than that, not much here to do. You don't do casinos so Tunica's out. In September the weather is nice - still warm - you can still manage a dip in the pool during mid day - less direct sun and the water is getting what I consider to be cooler than I would like it tho DH says it's "refreshing". It's still warm enough for shorts, just the optimum swim time is cut down to the warmest hours of the day instead of all day long. The yard is a nice place to sit and ponder. By September the hummingbirds will be in a frenzy. All 4 feeders (we might put up more during this time now that we know what to expect) will be busy with the little guys swooping, flying, feeding and running off each other (they are territorial). While we might see 4 or 6 at a time during the summer, come September we get lots of visitors who are all stopping by to stoke up before the long migratory journey to South America which they fly non stop I hear. DH who has a keen eye says he can actually see them plumping up during that month. It is fun to sit there and watch them. They say they are curious about you too and if you sit still, they will hover right by your head and check you out. They are bobbing in and out so fast it's hard to count them but we estimate that there have been as many as 24 flying about in the afternoon sun. They pay no mind to the cats below them and the cats seem to know they couldn't catch them if they tried so it's a peaceful co-existence. Besides, hummingbirds are one of the most aggressive birds in the world - to each other only, thank goodness - that's quite a "beak" they have there. But we would find something to do, I'm sure. I hear the sunsets downtown on the Mississippi river are quite gorgeous. Depending on how long you come down for, we might even venture a day's drive trip out east to the Smokey Mountains - supposed to be very pretty and a place we intend to see one day. Other suggestions... I assume you will visit your friend in Arizona - won't she be surprised! I still recommend the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia (western side of Canada). You love flowers and it's an entire quarry filled with gardens - will always be one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Perhaps Meadow (who seems to be a bit shy these days) but none the less lives in that part of the country can give a few more suggestions for things to do up the B.C. way.
Sorry to hear that Chris is ailing lately.
I have spent more than my allotted time here, time to swap out the laundry loads and get busy. Sundays always fly by so quickly.
Hope you don't spend all day with the new move in Mel. Hellos to the rest of the chicks
Many plans, many people, many likes and dislikes..
For me this plan and all it accomplishes is better than the invention of candy! Different strokes for different folks is all. 
The only way to fix them is to replace the entire window. It's a shame because the windows themselves are in very good shape - it's the interior screens and frame that have detiorated - not likely we could get replacement parts either. We have 30 windows. 
At this point in my life I really consider long and hard big time expenses. Tho I am not willing to let my house fall apart by any means, I look at "cosmetic" expenses and think - do I really want to do this and am I willing to accept that it means working as a slave for one or 2 (or more years) just to have this or can I live with it and retire earlier? I think many people in this part of the country simply don't open their windows and just use the heat and air conditioning as needed. Keeps the dreaded pollen out too. Perhaps I will just have to be content to living on the patio. 
I'm not even sure I like the game all that much. Thank goodness the league is only 6 weeks long. We are thinking that we will open our swimming pool somewhere around the beginning to mid May depending on how the weather holds. We opened it around mid April last year. Too early. We still have lots of horrid stuff falling from our sweet gum trees - hard, round golf ball seed pods and in about another month we will get these grape like clusters of pure yellow pollen that cover everything. And there are still lots of dried up leaves from last autumn floating around. Even if we pick ours up, others come to visit from the neighbors. So the point is, there isn't enough strong sun to warm up the water quite yet and all you are doing is extra work and expense to clean the pool every day or two. I am trying to convince DH to buy these floating pads you through in the pool that accellerate warming the water. He wants to cut down the big sweet gum trees and get rid of the schmutz they produce. I say that will expose the enire back of the house to the hot sun - AND I CAN'T OPEN THE WINDOWS. He says if it's hot, why would you want to open the windows? Anyway, always more things to spend money on than money to spend, isn't it the case? 
) so can't argue with the results! Thanks for sharing your experience. 
We are usually done with this by now. DH must have gotten distracted. Hope you get wads of cash back...
I sit here with tears in my eyes just thinking of your special day. Weddings and babies always make me cry. You did a great job selecting that beautiful confection!! Congratulations! 
to the rest of you as someone is moving in here around 9 and I am not even close to being ready for this. Just found out late last night. Seems there was a mix-up in communications
The woman is coming out of a rehab tomorrow!!!
I am "thinking" of cleaning 
