Hello everyone! I have not fallen off the face of the earth, just been terribly busy.

Thank you to everyone that is praying for this job. I wasn't planning on going back to work until I was at goal next year, but this would be perfect if I could get it. There is only one drawback to the job. My husband is an electronics engineer and the plant he works at is the wastewater treatment plant for the city. He has been with the city for almost 2 years now and I have had trouble with my pride I guess. Jack has his associates degree in IT and was finishing his bachelor's degree when we decided to move down here because he needed a new job. He took this job because the money is fantastic and because at his age we came to the realization it would be very hard for a man that was in his early 50's to be given a job over a kid of 22 when he graduated. My problem was that I was embarrassed where he worked. God taught me a real lesson about 2 weeks ago. I saw an Oprah show where they were honoring people in their jobs. People had written in about someone they either worked with or that provided a service for them. They showed this Hispanic man in a spotlessly starched uniform, driving a garbage truck and emptying garbage. He KNEW everyone on his route by name and had been doing it for like 15 years or something. The people loved him and it made me realize, that though a job may or may not be glamourous, you should be proud of the job you do. I cannot be prouder of my husband no matter what he does. He served his country as a Naval Petty Officer for 20 years. There cannot be a more rewarding job than that. I thanked God for not only providing the job for us (Jack can retired with a full pension in just 10 years) but also for pricking my pride and teaching me a well needed lesson.

I have to go and get Jack's dinner in the oven.

Donna

Morning ladies,

Well, today is WI for me. I haven't decided if I'm going to break down and buy a new scale first or take an educated guess. When I got on my old scale this morning, I had a weight range from 168 to 175. Maybe I should just take an average!! I actually took the educated guess last week and decided that I weighed around 178. (the range was from (175 to 181). This is the second cheap digital scale that I've owned, guess I better break out there and spend more than $19.

JANA, did you enjoy your afternoon going through your mil's photos. I bet that was fun going down memory lane. You just reminded me that I need to go through my photos and start putting them in albums. I only have the last 5 years or so in albums, with the last year taken with digital camera, I've got them on CDs. If the older photos stay scattered like they are, my poor children will never be able to get them sorted.

And JANA, don't worry about the small gain. It could be a number of things, water weight, a bad scale!! As for the cake next week, just plan for it. I love that about WW. It is so easy to adjust it to whatever is going on in your life.

DONNA, isn't God great. We learn many things from him when we take the time to listen! Let us know how the job goes.

Hi KAT and CARREE. CARREE, I hope you are okay, let us hear from you.

Well, we had a nice Sunday afternoon. Since my husband went into car sales (now there's a job with no honor) we only have Sunday's together. We usually spend them at home watching tv, just enjoying each other's company. Yesterday, Maurice's best friend from high school invited us over for supper. Jim's whole family was there, his mom and his two brothers. Talk about going down memory lane. The guys started talking about some of the stunts they pulled in high school. I think we had forgotten how nice it is to get out and socialize sometimes!

Oh, I also stayed within my points range. Fortunately they were grilling so the food was not that high in calories. I was able to make good choices.

Well, I better run. You girls take care and I'll check in on you later.

Ruth

Good morning ladies!

We had the most beautiful bell choir yesterday at church. That is such soothing music and they did it so well!

Well, I think everything is back to normal and I will be able to post again on a regular basis. I hate it when I feel kind of out of control and there were so many things to do this weekend I felt like that. I just shut down, took a nap and got up feeling much better last evening.

I am posting my latest pic for my March scrapbook that Jack took yesterday. It is so nice when you can see the changes I think and of course start wearing stuff that didn't fit before. I have noticed that I am losing weight in my arms because my skin is starting to droop over my elbows. Yikes, gotta kick up that resistance training!

Everyone have a good day!

Hi Ladies,

Kat - I bet your adrenaline is pumping at a steady pace during this rotation, lol. This could be good for your metabolism!

Ruth - Aww, I was under the weather and couldn't go for the visit, but sent dh and dd anyway. Dh was full of nostalgia when he got home. Which that's better than what he is usually full of,
Your Sunday afternoon sounded so fun!

Donna - Nice photo! You are really looking good! Speaking of arm flab - if anyone reading this knows of a good exercise to help tighten it, please post!! The only one I know is the arm curl with the weights. Oprah even still has a problem with her upper arms, I've noticed, even though the rest of her body is really getting sculpted. She made the comment one time that she would never get it surgically removed.

Hi to Carree and Julie!!

Today is dd 16th bd. She and her best friend, whose bd was yesterday, are having a party Friday night. There will be 40 teenagers here. Am I out of my mind, or what???
Anyway, I have planned ahead for the food today, allowing myself 1 piece of bd cake. That's one thing I love about WW - the flexibility. Of course, you can do the same thing by just counting calories.

Well, I gotta go get busy. Take care and be good!
Jana

Believe it or not, CPR is THE best upper arm exercize...I know from experience that it seems to target the triceps. You can also hold a weight (or soup can) in your arm, paml facing to the rear, extend your arm to the rear, and slowly lift your palm up and towards the back. Return your palm to its previous position (bend your elbow) and repeat. For CPR, extend your arms out in front of you (elbows straight) and place one hand atop the other, palms down, fingers interlaced. With your shoulders directly over your arms, press straight down onto a sofa cushion or similar object. After a few minutes you will definitely feel the use of those arm muscles...it targets the "wings" we tend to get on our upper arms.

I just took a LONG maternal/child exam...I hope I did well! Now I have to prepare for a patient case study presentation in about an hour and then an exam this afternoon. After Wednesday I'm on break--I can hardly wait!

226/120/125

Kat - OMG!! I can feel the burn in my batwings by doing the CPR exercise!!! Plus, I can do them right at the computer desk while my pages load.

Thanks a bunch!!

TTFN,
Jana

*grin*
I learned about that one after doing CPR on someone for an hour one day...I was SO sore the next day that I could barely move my arms.

Good morning girls!

Frog: Thanks for the great tips! I never thought about the CPR thing, but you are right. I remember my first aid classes and feeling the muscles in my arms.

Jana: Hello to you. I just started doing resistance training yesterday along with my walking. I am doing 4 days, Monday is upper, Tues is lower, etc. I got my walk in at the mall last night, but dd and dgs were at my house most of the day and we all (including dh) trooped to the mall for my walk. T couldn't keep up without running so they kind of dropped out, dh sat in the food court , and I just zoomed. While his mom shopped a little dh or as he is more commonly known, "Granddad" took the T to the carousel for a ride. It was a hoot. Thomas is used to riding on a horse by himself next to his mom and Jack had a grip on him like death! I told him to let go that Thomas was used to riding by himself almost. Well, he eased off but not completely. We took them to dinner and Thomas piped up to his mom that, "Granddad is going to buy me a present after dinner." So of course, we went to Walmarts and Thomas got a Candyland game. Spoiled, spoiled child!

I found out that indeed the clerk position is open, but I don't care for the circumstances. The job any dummy could do, but they hire you as a temp and at 6 months you have to pass the City's test (whatever that entails) and she did not pass. I felt sorry for her. I am not sure I would pass it either. I don't do well under stressful situations and a typing test for me is the worst. I don't know why I cannot relax. If I do get the job, I am going to get a typing software program and practice my little fingers off. One bad habit I have to break is not putting 2 spaces between sentences. I don't know where I learned that bad habit, but I have to break it!

Well, gotta go and get the rest of my posting done. As for the job, whatever God's will, I am going to just let it go.

Donna

Good luck on the job, I live in a small town and the job situation around here is terrible. There are a few and far between. I am currently looking because of a lay off. If you have no trade in this town it is hard to find a job. So off I go this morning to check out some job leads. My boss wants me to wait it out and she thinks I will be called back, but no promise that I will be called back for sure. This job hunting is the pits.
I have tried a typing tutor, it works well, maybe you can download a typing tutor on line for free, there are some out there.
Take care and you will do just fine.

Good morning all,

Essey - I see you made it! So glad you are here! Tell us a little about yourself, okay?

Donna - You ARE supposed to put two spaces between sentences...aren't you?? Now I'm confused, lol. I would get nervous at a typing test, too. Remember when we had to use White-Out? Or before that, the little eraser wheel and brush that always left a hole in the paper? Yikes, that was pitiful! Remember this joke?

How can you tell if a Blonde has been using the computer? From all the White-Out on the monitor... Uh-oh, Judy is blonde, so I better watch out!

BTW- fropvd's name is Kat... I forget what all the letters stand for, but maybe she'll remind us.

I did fine at the bd dinner last night, since I was so busy feeding Madison. The little piggy couldn't wait between bites, so I had precious little time to shovel in my own food. I feel proud of myself that I made it through that hurdle.

See you guys later,
Jana

I am a blonde,(not offended by blonde jokes) 48 year old kid at heart. I married for 2 1/2 years. (truely the love of my life) I am the happiest then I have ever been. I am not sure if I am unemployed or not. No one wants to tell me. I have a 29 year old son and a 6 year old granddaughter who I do not get to see very often because she lives 200 miles away. I love to cook and garden which is hard to do right now. I love to walk outdoors but the ice here would make it a challenge I would avoid. Can't forget to mention my spoiled cats and dog. I am currently planning on taking a few classes because I want to volunteer at the local abuse shelter for batter women. I am Finnish, my grandparents came here from Finland and I am currently writing to a long lost distant cousin there.

Welcome ESSEY, glad to have you join us.

DONNA, the city test is probably a civil service exam or something like it. I think you might be able to find some books to help you study for it at the local book store, or online even. As for the spaces between sentences, it use to be two, but I'm not sure if that is correct anymore. When using a word processor, the program will only let you put 1 space. If you put 2 spaces it shows up as an error.
By the way, love the photo. Isn't fun to document your accomplishments.

I wish I knew how to resize mine, so far, I haven't figured it out. When I do, I'll post some photos!!

JANA, congratulations on not overeating at the dinner. Aren't these victories exciting.

Well, I had a nice day yesterday. Never did any of the school work that I was going to work on. But, I started putting all my photos in photo albums. I put over 300 photos in two albums yesterday. (Some of the photos were polaroids so they make the albums too thick or I could have put 400 photos in the two albums) Would you believe that only got me from 1975 to 1984? I haven't even started sorting photos from my years with my husband. Yikes, that is 19 years worth. I'll need a dozen more albums, I've taken a lot more pictures with him than before!!

Well, I hope everyone is doing great. I'm still OP and feeling great about it. Now I just have to convince myself to exercise!!

Later,
Ruth

Ruth: It all depends on what photo software you use. We use Photoexpress so if you happen to use it, I can tell you right away. But here are some general directions. After opening your photo onto your screen, you should find something that would refer to the ability to change your photo on your toolbar. Photoexpress actually says "photo" and when you click on it you scroll down and see resize. If you can find something on your programs toolbar that makes a reference to changing the photo in any way, such as balance, color, hue, etc. you should have something to resize. Now I know that from experience that is can only be 500 x 500 so by trial and error I get it right. My program has the ability to change either pixels or percentage. I almost always change the percentage. Maybe I am a dummy, but the only way I have found is trial and error. I DO get a big kick out of taking pics every month because I can really see the loss compared to the month before.

Jana: Yes, you still have to put in 2 spaces between sentences, but for some reason I had gotten into the habit of only putting one when typing. I am trying to break that habit. I went online and actually found the sight of a company that makes the skills test for companies. I know that one of the three typing tests they offer is one that I took when I applied for a job at UT. Anyway, I was able to download the whole thing for a 30 day free trial so I did. I aced the grammer, spelling, and proofing tests, but did only ok with the typing. I have pretty long nails right now and cannot type very fast with longer nails and they cause me to make mistakes also as they get inbetween keys, etc. I would like to get into the 60 wpm less than 5 mistakes if I can, but it is going to take practice. I have never had an office position where my typing was the main function so I didn't have to keep skills sharp. Believe me, they are DULL! As I am old school and learned to type on a IBM selectric, I have never learned to use the right keypad for numbers so though I only made 1 mistake on the 10-key test, there were 18 I didn't get to out of 60. Hey and watch the blonde jokes...I was born a blond, went red, back to blond, red, blond etc. I am currently reddish blond! Actually, I have tons of blond jokes as a guy I worked with at the law firm used to send them too me all the time as he knew I was blond.

**This guy had this gorgeous, voluptuous, big-breasted blond woman that moved in next door to him. He loved working outside, because she would always come outdoors in a skimpy outfit. One day, she came trotting out in a tiny little bikini bouncing all the way to the mailbox. He just stood in his yard and watched. She looked in her mailbox, stamped her foot, slammed the lid and went back inside. A few minutes later, out she came again doing the same thing, adding, a little "damn" to her routine. On the third time outside, he had to find out why she kept trotting outside every couple minutes, so he wandered over into her yard. "Can I be of some, help?" he asked. "I noticed you seem to be having some kind of problems." "Well," she replied in a kitten voice, "My computer keeps telling me I have mail, but everytime I come out here, it is empty."**

Ok, top that one!!!!!

Donna **Late news! The position I was interested in was filled 2 weeks ago and the girl starts Monday. I guess the other girl flunked her physical (drugs). I am perfectly ok with it. I will just concentrate on getting this weight off.**

Good morning ladies,

essey - I like to cook and garden also. It's especially neat when I get to cook what I grew! If you get laid off, couldn't you draw unemployment for awhile?

Ruth - egads, woman! You are sure making progress with the photos. We are trying to make some headway with mil's pictures. I think DH's whole family is coming over to go through them.

Donna - well, sweetie, the job wasn't for you. You don't need that kind of pressure anyway. God will send you where you are needed when the time is right. In the meantime, you can enjoy Spring when it gets here, at your own leisure.

Kat and Carree and Julie - hi! Where are you?

I am not doing well with the food control, but have been drinking the water and doing the exercises. It seems like everything I do is centered around food! I'll be glad when I can go outside and away from the kitchen. There isn't any "junk" food in the house, so at least I'm overeating on healthy stuff.

Better scoot - be good!
Jana

Yes I can collect unemployment but very little and I have a part time job and the two together equal still very little. I am use to working one full time and a part time job and now I down to 15 hours. My boss told me to take up a hobby and wait, but my hobbies don't pay the bills. It is kind of depressing and I try to keep busy. I do walk 30 minutes a day but I wish I can get myself to excersice but can not get off my duff to do it. I have been doing odds and ends around to keep me busy. Keep up the good work Jana I think if you can stay away from junk food is pretty good.