Hi ladies and happy Friday!

Not a lot going on...well, sort of not. Unless you count cleaning/organizing and such. Man, after yesterday I am pooped and my arms are killing me! Still more to do but almost done. Definitely will take the whole weekend to finish. What have I gotten myself into?! :yikes: :crazy:

JANE...that would be so cool...Katie coming home to a brand new house! Funny, I just thought, so will Josh! He feels out of the loop and he loves to help with that kind of stuff, moving and all. Why, I'll never know. Glad you had a nice long day with the twins.

MARTI...yeah, if I don't make myself get off the computer at a certain time I won't get anything done. Speaking of your grandpa...how is he doing?

NANCY...wtg on passing up the chocolate! :cp: I like chocolate, but have never really had a problem passing it up. I get in moods where I can't stand it and then will have a candy bar or two a week.

MINDEE...those little boys are growing so fast. Can't believe Logan is teething already, or possibly teething. It's been so long since the kids were wee ones I can't remember the ages babies did teeth.

ANGIE...almost forgot about your surgery. Why the bracelet so early? Isn't the surgery the 22nd? Or did I get the date wrong? I've been a mess since Josh left and can't concentrate on things. Not so much that he left but that most likely come summer he is headed to Iraq. And I can't get that out of my mind. I too think House Hunters is based out of CA-they show a LOT of homes in CA and yes, some are dumps! Tiny little places for sooooo much money-just not worth it. Have you ever seen that show-Buy Me? Talk about some dumps, YIKES!

SUE...WTG on the walk! :bravo: I have my treadmill at a slight incline and it does make a difference. Of course going up hills KILLS me! LOL There are tons of decisions to make when building but I know you will figure it all out.

Hi to everyone else :wave:

Need to cut this short. Going to go look at a couple of real estate sites and then get to work again. I need to get a letter wrote to Josh. Of course I can't send it yet-have no address for him. But trying to keep him up on things so by the time he gets this letter it will be a long one! When V gets home we are off to look at 4 houses and do some measuring in the one. I guess looks can be deceiving because they look small but the measurements say otherwise. So, anyway...

Take care ladies and have a wonderful weekend!

Jane--My sister is having her house built. It was started just before the holidays and was suppose to be done by this month. They only have the frame put up so far!! She has her BIL helping w/the building....instead of contractors! Big mistake. Who knows when it'll get done now. I feel bad for her too.

Cristi--Have fun looking at houses! I would love to start looking. It's just really hard to do such a thing when my hubby is home only half the time!! We have been looking online and grabbing those Home Search magazines. So someday........

Hello to everyone else!

Today is my early Friday...I'm so tired from working over last night! Did not want to get out of bed but needed to. I'll just brew a cup of espresso and call it good.

I best get. I need to put something on my eyes to get the puffiness out.

Hugs to you all!!!:hug:

:goodvibes Welcome to the weekend (well, at least for those of you on east coast time...I have to wait 3 more hours...). :flow2:

I wanted to share something with you that I came across last night when I was reading Stuart Little to my son. It touched me...

"How many of you know what's important?"
Up went all the hands.
"Very good," said Stuart, cocking one leg across the other and shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "Henry Rackmeyer, you tell us what is important."

"A shaft of sunlight at the end of a dark afternoon, a note in music, and the way the back of a baby's neck smells if its mother keeps it tidy," answered Henry.
Here's to remembering what's important in our lives...

Marti, Ive always been told to never mix business with family doing the house would be up there with business.
Cristi, they wanted to stock my pile my blood type. Day 4 or it could be 3 wihtout pain relievers...had many comments about how rough I look...greeeeeat. Just what any woman wants to hear. It doesn't help that Ive also broughten out,,,usually do during TOM.
So are you like just junking alot of stuff? Or donating? I want to go through so many closets again,,,I swear every 3rd month would be perfect in this house.
Jane, I like the sound of that kitchen boarder...sounds nice. Fingers crossed the house is done before Katie's return.

Well Tanner and I are on our way out the door,,,comedy show. We were given some comps...so wahoooo let the laughter begin.

Angie- Same here, I have all my problems with the left ovary. I've been that I'll need it removed. I was supposed to have a huge cyst removed from it 3 years ago, but then the cyst burst.
its been a rough day, with allen. hes really cranky.

Howdy ladies :wave:

Thought I would check in tonight while I was taking a break. Going to be busy this weekend so probably won't be on the computer much if at all-too much to do. Anywho...

NANCY...that is nice, thanks for sharing.

ANGIE...doing both, donating and trashing. I really need to simplify my life, and I am trying. Just don't know how one accumulates so much. But then I guess I don't really think about it until we get ready to move, lol. I'm thinking every three months would be good for me too! Actually, once we get moved I don't think I will have this problem again, hoping not anyway. :crossed: Have fun at the comdey show!

Speaking of moving...today in the paper they had an article about the YMCA wanting to build in this area along the street behind us. There are two places up for sale and either one will do but which one? Also, the Y is wanting and thinking it would be a good idea to build near a school. And since they voted a few months ago to build three new schools they think it's a great idea to have the Y and one of the schools together. Yeah, good for the Y and the school but I would rather not have them in my backyard. It would be finished in 2008. So, guess we decided to do the right thing. Even if they don't build right behind us, they will eventually build something there. Just thought I would share that since I thought it funny we had that on our minds and then it's in the paper.

MARTI...yeah, your sis may be waiting a long time for her house to be finished. Like Angie, I too heard you should never mix business with family. Hopefully, she gets on him to get a move on. House looking was kind of fun. It's always good to go on different days and times of the day to see what's going on in the neighborhood. We looked at two we already looked at but wanted to do some measuring. Then we looked at two others. One across from the two which I love but...the people who just moved in have three big dogs! That one is the better deal and nicer than the others but the dogs are a definite turn-off. Definitely not going to jump into anything this time because I don't plan on moving for some time after this, many years. Anyway, you guys will get a house soon enough. Eventually, you and James will be on the same schedule or will be able to schedule some time, when the time is right. And you guys will have so much fun!

Anyway, gotta go check a couple of things and then get off the 'puter. I am pooped again but am going to try and get some reading done tonight. Haven't done much in the last week and want to finish my book. So...

Take care ladies and have a GREAT weekend!

EDITED: To say HI to MEL! :wave: Sorry the little one isn't feeling so great.

Hi everyone! Welcome to our new members!!! :welcome:

It's been another rough week with DH. His daughters and kids spent time with him on Thurs. about 4 -5 hours. He enjoyed it but it was too long of a time with 6 extra people here. Yesterday a man from church who is involved in the Stephen Ministry came to visit him. Don really enjoyed it and they plan to meet next Fri.

He has 2 doctor visits this next week, we'll see how they go. One is with his psychiatrist and I don't think he will like some of the things she is going to suggest to him.

I'm not doing good OP. Each day I think I am going to get back into the swing of things and then half-way through the day I blow it. One friend says I have too much stress to think about weight loss right now but the thing is that my situation isn't going to change - at least not for the good. Sress IS my life and I need to learn how to handle the stress/weight loss issue. Any suggestions? I am lost. :stress:

Most days I feel like I'm going to explode. I probably need a good cry but I don't have the strength. I'm trying to take care of myself but I still look like **** - and I don't really care.

Jason and his girlfriend are coming later today. It will be nice to see them again.

Still trying to housebreak our new beagle, Honey. Not going too good.

Thanks for letting me whine.

Connie

hello ladies....

nothing really new here. just enjoying a relaxing weekend around the house. I am going to go searching through the recipes to see what I can find to liven up our dinner choices.

I am going to be doing the Self magazine fitness challenge that starts on the 20th of this month, and goes for I think three months. So I have to get some weights before that starts.

I have been keeping up with my workouts and watching what I eat. I keep flucutated back and forth, so I am hoping that I can break the plateau I seem to be on.

Just a quick howdy to you all!

It's my girls weekend and here I'm on the darn computer! For shame I know...but she's playing on her game cube so I'm take a little time to be here...............

Nancy--Very nice quote you shared!! We need to bring up our quotes thread back up!

Angie--When is your surgery?? Will the JL's have to come up there to take care of you once we're all done taking care of Katie?? Boy, these are the times that I wished we all lived much closer so we could actually do that!

Katie--I'm sure you're all bandaged and drugged up right now, but know that we are thinking of you and wish you a fast healing!:hug:

Mel--Hope your little one starts feeling less cranky soon.

Cristi--A home to move into for the rest of my days would be ideal for me! James & I keep talking about it....some day we'll start looking.

Connie-- :hug: Stress is a hard thing to deal w/when you're trying to watch your weight. I wish I had some kind of suggestion to help. Come here to just talk it out, we're here for ya!

Mindee--Keep us updated on how the self fitness challenge goes.

Ok....family wants lunch! Gotta go.

Chat w/you all later!

Hi ladies,

Cristi - I didn't think about Josh coming home to a different home, too, like Katie. The thing is, she hates to do the moving, and is really glad she won't be here for it, lol. Did you and V see a house you like?

Marti - any special plans with Jhanai? Don't feel bad that you're on the computer when she's busy doing other things. I know you're a good mama to her, and she knows it too. :yes:

Nancy - I'm glad that you read to your son! That's so important. And thanks for sharing the snippet from the book. So true!!

Angie - I dreamed about a Jaded Lady last night for the first time, and it was you. In the dream, Neal said, get in the car, we're going on vacation to Calgary. I was excited, and said, let me call Angie first, and he said, no, you don't even have time to pack anything, let's go. I replied that I have your number on my cell phone and that I was going to call you from the car so we could plan to meet up. How silly is that, lol!!! Btw, YAY for comps. Was the show good?

Mel - sorry your little one is cranky... hope it's all better by now.

Connie - I so totally agree about not waiting until there's no stress to diet. There will always be some stress in our lives, and we have to learn to change habits in spite of it. Same for quitting smoking, drinking, etc. But, darn, it's hard sometimes. Just do the best you can, friend, and vent here all you want, ok?

Mindee - wow, that's great about the Self magazine challenge. You'll have to tell us more about it. Is it explained on their website?

Nancy - hang in there, and if stay OP, the scale will budge eventually.

Katiecat - love your new avatar!

Susan - don't make me come after you. ;)

I ran errands with my sister Mary Lou today, and got some of the towels Penney's had during their "doorbuster" sale early this morning. I split the order up, and used the coupons, too, for an extra $25 off. I do love a bargain!!

My eating is better, but I need to get more exercise. Jumping to conclusion doesn't count, does it?

Have a good one, ladies. :wave:

Good evening JL's. Hope you are all having a great week-end. We went out for brunch, like every Sat. and Sun. I have learned to make good choices at that buffet. Hope I can keep it up when we go home. I did well today, small chicken breast, salad, melon...then I had one small cake doughnut. Hey, it was either that or eat the whole dessert tray. One day I have lunch and one day I have breakfast...so tomorrow I get my omelet. I only allow myself real eggs once a week due to my cholesterol. Other times I eat egg whites or substitute. The omelet girl knows me by now and she will say "is this a real egg day?" and she knows to put a big scoop of green peppers and a tiny amount of mushrooms and mozzarela in mine. When we have brunch we only have 2 meals, so I had some wheat crackers/cheese tonight.

Jane- When do they start building your house? We have to sign our contract ASAP after we get home and the builder can start in March. DH has to take a few trees down first. Right now he is drawing the cabinets. I am finally getting excited! I haven't planned any wall paper, but that might change. As soon as we get home I will start looking at paint colors. I did look at bathroom hardware yesterday...whew, some of that is very expensive and fancy. Lucky for us we are pretty down to earth and traditional.

Cristi- I don't blame you for wanting to move before the building begins behind you. That is what finally made us bite the bullet and build. The area behind our house has been farm field forever and now they have started building a housing area and apartments. Supposedly over 700 units...YIKES! I hope you find just the right house. I love looking and going to open houses. Get lots of decorating ideas too.

Marti- Have a good "girls" week-end. I know when the time is right you and James will find the best house!

Nancy- Sorry the scales were not your friend....I know if you keep up the good work they will surprise you next time. (in a good way!)

Mel- Hope the baby is less cranky today. My DD had trouble with cysts also but has done better the last few years. She has had all kinds of female problems and says aging has helped her the most. Can't imagine why.

Mindee- Have fun relaxing. I am going to check out the Self site also. I need a good challenge.

Connie- (((hugs))) I don't have an answer to the stress eating. I used to smoke and when I was stressed I did that and didn't eat. I was thin, but not healthy. Now I am NOT thin, but really feel better than when I smoked. Of course, I don't have much stress in my life now that my kids are grown. Just feel free to come here and get things off your chest.

Angie- Hope the comedy show was a good one. Comps are good...Vegas does comps well. Our meals are comped completely...no wonder we eat so much! I too need to clean closets here and back home. Well, at home they will get cleaned out soon enough. I am just dreading the attic...yikes! I still have some of the kids things in storage. I hate that part of moving!

Hello to all other ladies and welcome to newbies.

hello ladies....

the Self challenge is on their website. It tells you what it entails and everything. So, go check out www.self.com and then click on the challenge link.

we had some friends come visit us on Saturday. We hung out around here, relaxed, drank a little bit. (I had a drink, and was still within my calorie range!)

Oooohhhh.....a quiet Sunday!

Hope everyone is enjoying the day. Jhanai asked me to cut her hair today. Very unexpected. I don't cut hair for one. But she wanted it done, and I did it. SO cute!

Nancy--The scale is a vicious thing! I am definately not a friend of mine! As Jane mentioned, just hand in there and keep doing what you're doing and you will see results!

Jane--Jhanai & I had a lovely weekend as always. Just hung around home for the most part. Did go shopping at walmart and then we went for a walk to the Churches park down the field. Love the weather we're having.

Sue--You're doing great. I love how the girl knows you well enough to ask you if this is an egg day or not!! Fantastic that people actually keep things like that in mind! Omelett sounds soooo good right now.

Mindee--I'll have to check out the site.

Well I'm off for now. I will check in on you girls tomorrow!

Night!

This past weekend has been eventful.

Thursday I got an email from a fellow Michigan mom about a crib recall. I don’t usually check them, but I did check this one. It turns out that Graco is recalling some of their Aspen 3-in-1 cribs. We have two of them. So I checked the link for pictures, and sure enough it was the crib that both Logan and Brandon have. I punched in their crib serials numbers and the site told me that neither crib was involved in the recall. I checked the numbers again and noticed that Logan’s crib falls in between the numbers, so I shot off an email to customer service. They emailed me back and said that his crib was indeed not involved in the recall since it was made at a later time.

Friday, we got our cable hooked up. The guy tried forever to get it hooked up, and was about to go get his test unit from his van. Tommy said “I have a 13 inch that I can grab if you want to use that.” He went and grabbed it, and sure enough the 13 inch would get the cable but not our bigger tv. So we had to go in and rent a tv in order to get it to show up. Brandon loves it because Tommy put on Noggin for him to watch. We also did our other running around while we were in town. We come back home, and Tommy goes and helps a neighbor move some things.

Saturday, we have some friends come up to visit us and we hang out around here. Tommy and our friends sat around and drank a little. I had one drink, and was done. For some reason, it just didn’t taste right to me, so I just stopped. Plus, one of us had to be sober in order to take care of the boys.

Sunday, Brandon woke up at 4am, so I brought him into our room. Logan woke up at 6:45am, and I fed him, he fell back asleep so I stuck him in the bassinet at the end of our bed. He is now sleeping in his crib! I put him in his bed before we went to bed after our friends left and he enjoyed having more room to stretch. I was worried that Brandon would wake him up when he would cry but that isn’t the case so far. We also had words with a “friend” about the way she has been treating us. It just so happens that she is Brandon’s godmother and we were thinking of having her be Logan’s as well. But from the way she has been acting, we are thinking of changing it now.