GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

I just received a good idea ~ wouldn't it be great support for our troops if we all wore patriotic ~ red, white, and blue clothing on each Friday till this war is over with and our troops home safely. I will don my flag stripped ball cap for sure!

Have a wonderful weekend ladies and keep your FOCUS

I just had to start this new thread on this number because it is the number at which I started ~ BIG - 324 Not no more!

Maggie: Great idea! We need to remind each other though! I have a short outfit that the shorts are white with navy stars and the top is the same fabric, navy and then has a red white and blue flag ribbon running down one side!

Gotta go and get in my walk for today!

TTFN Donna

Happy Sunday Morning,

Maggie, I like your idea of the Friday red, white, and blue.........just keep reminding us, please. Half the time I don't know what day it is

Jean,
How did you download "Snood"? I bought an egames CD called Solitaire Master, but can't find it on there. It must have at least 100 different versions of Solitaire, but not that one. Could it go by another name?

We're back to a high in the 40s and 50s today........it's crazy. The redbuds and Sarvis are blooming and my neighbor's weeping cherry is spectacular this year.

Replenished my supply of Earl Grey decaff. tea yesterday.......I love it mixed with a bag of Bigelow's Lemon Lift.........yummm Went to an all you can eat Seafood dinner for one of the rural fire depts. last night......they had snowcrab legs and shrimp, with baked new potatoes and slaw for $21! Or you could have one serving of steak for $15. We had no idea it was going to be that high, but kept telling ourselves it was for a good cause. My DS misread the sign, and thought he could get another steak......he was not happy when they told him it was a one shot deal. Actually, the one serving was plenty for him, but he doesn't do "portion control", unfortunately. He has an appt. with his cardiologist a month from tomorrow...........if he fasts and runs from now until then, he might be at the weight they suggested I'm really disappointed in him, but it's his life, and I've said all I can say.

Later,

bubs

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

I thought we were going to have Spring and this morning I heard we are due to have 4-8" of that old familiar white stuff. Enough already!!!! I am sure it won't be around too long so I won't stay mad.

Wen't to a reunion of DH's old work place....some nice people and had a nice time. Had Filet Mignon and it was delicious. Don't have red meat very often but they had a petite size and it was sooo tender. Otherwise ate responsibly, I hope.

Going to see DGD later. She will be 9 on Tuesday but will be in school so must get her present to her today. Got her the book "Anne of Green Gables" as she loves to read, just like her Nana. We also got her a charm bracelet with one charm to start. It is a small heart with her initial in script. Knowing miss 'can hardly wait to be a teenager' she will love it.


MAGGIE I love your idea of wearing red white and blue on Fridays. I have a denim outfit with a blouse that is like the flag and a pocketbook that has a flag on it. Got to get them out. Thanks for the idea. Glad to hear of last weeks loss. I'm sure you will be adding to those figures to make an even greater loss.

DONNA Have you heard about that job yet? You sound like just the right person for it.

JEAN How's that construction site doing? Have they come back to finish up? That is so frustrating when all major items are finished and yet they keep putting you off on the punch list.

BUBS Isn't funny how the weather so effects our outlook on life. I would like to see some of your 40's & 50's come up here. When older children do thinks that you know are not right it is so difficult to keep one's mouth shut. I know just how you feel. There are days that DH tells me he will use duck tape if I express my feelings to the kids instead of just ranting off to him.

Gloria in MA.....going to get back to my book....Nora Roberts...The Three Fates... I just love her books. Have a great Sunday, all!

Good morning all!

Gloria: The gifts sound just lovely. I loved Anne of Green Gables. I am a voracious reader also. (my book club account can attest to that!) Haven't heard about the job or any of the resumes I sent in, but what will be will be.

Bubs: I guess all I can hope for is they chew your husband out for not eating correctly! Hope his tests go well though and he doesn't have to have the procedure again.

Jean: Hope things are finally wrapping up with your construction. How irritating it must be to be so close to the finished product.

Maggie: Thanks for trying to keep us all on the straight and narrow. I am doing really well again even feeling rotten. I sound like a broken record, but the last month has been one thing after another!

Well, I am going to check the online newspaper for jobs.

Talk to you all later,

Donna

Hello ladies

I have missed coming in a sitting and visiting for a spell. Laast week dh and I had a class on planning for retirement. And Friday - can't remember - I think we did some shopping and bank etc.

Made it too ww Thurs noon. I knew I had gained... but showed a loss of 0.4.... I'll take it. This week I am OP and going to jump over the 80# mark!!!! I am....I am!!!!!

We went to a Gaither Concert last night. Just wonderful!!!!! Lots of good Christian music. Some patriotic songs. Since it was in the new Pepsi Centr for basketball and hockey, they had flashing lights of red, white, and blue. And Gloria Gaither said a wonderful prayer for our troops and our country.

Donna - I saw that you had lost 6#.

Maggie - And you lost too.

Jean - I remember someone was talking about suspending students. My oldest liked getting suspended I think. He didn't have to go to school. We wised up and made him go to work with dh and he would have to do some school work. It let up for awhile but unfortunately, he dropped out at 16. I wish they had programs in school for kids like him. He wanted to be an auto mechanic. He didn't want to read English novels or old books but give him something mechanical to work on. He is a mechanic now. He's 29. He's been sudying to take the ASE tests that mechanics take to show they can do it. But why don't they have vocational stuff for kids without all the Shekspear (CRS moment). I hate that when my mind just cannot remember a word spelling. I used to win spelling bees and every now and then I can't spell a word.

Well, dh is doing dishes and I better go help...

Joyce: Let you in on a little secret about fixing spelling here! When I am stumped at a word that just doesn't look right, I minimize my post and go to my word processing program (Word) and type the word then go up to tools and get the spell check which will show me if is correct or not! I know I am a cheat, but there you go!

Boy seems like most of you are still getting snow for gosh sakes! We are having a downpour here and possible thunderstorms, but the weather has been really nice for several days now.

Finally got the last of sil and dd junk hauled out and trashed so we now can park in the garage. Boy, we have none too much room with that big ole car of ours. We have to pull up right to the front to have enough room to close the garage door. At least I am not sending Jack outside every night when I hear a car alarm going off somewhere to make sure it is not ours.

Well, I am going downstairs so I can fix supper soon.

Talk to you ladies later. Donna

Good Evening All,

I've eaten my way through this week...........I think I need a shrink....it's like I'm deliberately self-destructing! Sheesh!

Gloria,
We have your 30s and freezing rain tonight, so there go the weeping cherries and other early bloomers, i"m afraid. I, too, like Nora Roberts.......I especially liked her Chesapeake Bay Trilogy.

Basketball ends Tues. night, so then I won't have any excuses not to get off my big butt and get moving!

Had an interesting experience this afternoon. There was an appraisal fair going on at the State Fairgrounds, so I took down a couple of stems of my grandmother's crystal, which nobody seems able to identify; I've even taken it to the huge Replacements LTD place in Greensboro, NC. Anyway, I knew one of the appraisers and we got talking about two letters I have which were written by an ancestor in 1861. I came home to get them, and took them back to the fair. The guys went bonkers over them and told me they're the type that would qualify for Antiques Roadshow and bring tens of thousands of dollars! I can't believe it! I don't think I'd ever sell them, and it's going to probably cost me $500 to have them preserved and framed, but it's nice to know if things get rough that they're available. The fact that I have documentation about the author makes them even more valuable. Interesting, and a real surprise. One of the guys who collects Civil war stuff got teary and said he'd never touched a paper as exquisite or as valuable as these And to think I used to take them to school for the kids to see Makes you wonder how many other people have stuff of value they're completely clueless about............or maybe I'm just clueless period

Have a good week youall,
Bubs

Bubs: Wow how neat is that? I love Antigues Roadshow by the way.

Brother, I just went off big time on a lady who walks in her mall and has quit because of people calling her names etc. I am really militant about fat peoples' rights and I just let lose with her. It is inexcusable to allow behaviour like this and just take it. She even skulked away from a cookie store because the employee told her she didn't need a cookie. Oh honeys that would have gotten her fired. I would have put up the BIGGEST stink you have ever seen and even threatened to sue whomever owned the franchise. I do not put up with disrespectful behaviour to myself. NOPE NOPE NOPE! I need to calm down because I am pretty steamed about the whole thing.

I hope you guys are not buried in snow or ice. It is raining here today but other than that is it ok. As of this moment I am feeling ok thank goodness. I will sure be glad when I am totally over the menstrual/menopause hump completely!

You ladies take care and stay op today!

Donna

Good Morning, Flowers!
This will be my third attempt at posting since yesterday and I hope it works! It was/still is so terribly windy and we got the freezing rain, then 6 - 7 inches of snow. It is still snowing but has slowed down considerably. They called off school and I'm having a hard time deciding what to do first so thought I would chat with you. I don't know what happened to yesterday's posts; they must have gone to never never land. We had a couple of wind gusts which caused the lights to blink off and back on again.

Donna -- I'm glad you are feeling better! I don't like to hear people make rude comments about others. My grandma and my mother always said, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!" At school we tell the kids to "think it, don't say it!" Congratulations on another 6#s that are gone forever!

Bubbles -- I have never heard of ramps . . . glad you enjoyed your meal! Snood is not a card game, it's more like a "hit the target" game. You play to better your own score and against Snood's time clock. You can download a trial version if you go to www.snood.com -- I like the challenge and the funny little faces! Speaking of antiques, when I was a kid my mom had a cookie jar in the shape of a cat. I have seen the same thing over the years and decided if I ever saw one, I would buy it. My coworker is an avid antique hunter so she has been looking for me; it has a specific name (which I can't remember) but the one she found in a shop had a $350 price tag on it! I might have to check out some auctions this summer.

Maggie -- I like the red, white, and blue on Friday idea! I have a 4th of July shirt with sparklies on it if I can find where I packed it away.

Gloria -- I'm sure your granddaughter will love her birthday gifts. They do grow up much too fast that's for sure! I hope you didn't get the snow but I think ours is headed your way! The contractor is coming tomorrow to put more insulation in the attic. I think he plans to finish tiling Bob's shower while we are in MN in June, which is fine with me.

Joyce -- We enjoyed the Gaither concert last year. We thought about going again this year but the schedule just didn't work out. We have several extra programs for our students: building trades where they build a house during the school year, auto mechanics where they actually work on cars, body repair where they also work on various projects, cosmetology, health care classes in a nursing home, and an agriculture class in a neighboring town which I'm not sure about what that entails because we've never had a student enrolled. We also have an alternative classroom which meets in a portable classroom away from the high school campus. Students who go there are on a limited time schedule and take only required classes in order to get credit towards their diplomas. Usually they either have had a baby, work part time, or have been kicked out of regular classes. All of the students have to have so many credits in math, English, science, and history in order to graduate. I can relate to those who don't enjoy reading the novels, plays, etc., but I guess the school board feels they at least need to be exposed.

Well, I need to get busy! I am keeping my that this will post! Have a nice day.

Jean -- from snowy Iowa!

Good afternoon ladies,

Jean,
I wondered when I saw your post for today what was going on.......I only remembered yesterday's date because it is my BIL's birthday, and the day on which my husband died, 28 years ago.....that's so hard to believe! I've been widowed almost half my life......now that is scary!

We have the same vocational Ed classes you do. The construction classes build a house annually, and even added an addition on to the band annex for instrument storage I have friends who always take their cars to school for body work, but they have a spare, which helps. The dumb thing is that they keep eliminating the Vo Ag classes, when we're in a rural, agricultually rich area, with a strong FFA..........go figure. They're trying to come up with a solution for a separate Alternative school, but so far just have them come to school from 4-6:30 every day.

We have freezing rain, and the snow is going north of us to the Eastern panhandle and on up to New England..........lucky you, Gloria:~} At least it doesn't hang around long this time of the year.

Donna, good for you for speaking your piece! Somehow, I can't imagine you being intimidated by anyone or anything.........you go girl!

Have to get the show on the road. The washing machine is calling my name yet again. At least I'm coming down the home stretch
Later,
Bubs

Good Morning

Well, we woke up to another 4" of that white stuff. It's a 4-letter word in my book right now. I'm tired of it. I would love to have it rain. I guess I'm tired of cold, I want spring.

Donna - I read that thread about that lady and her mall walks and such. You and the others gave her great answers. I almost starting crying when I was reading all that. I am the same way. Especially 80# ago. I hated walking or going anywhere. I was heavy as a child, not bad, just overweight. I think since we moved so much while dad was in the AF, I used food as a constant and comfort in my life. I always had to leave my friends and have to make new ones but food was always there. As an adult, when I feel bad, food is still there. When our oldest son was giving us such grief, I gained a lot trying to comfort myself. And I still don't like exercising in public where others can see me. Stuff left from childhood. I know I have low self esteem and have been working on it. As I lose weight, that helps too. And I have been walking here at work. Whew... that thread is great food --- for thought.

Bubbles - Sounds like you are getting bad weather too.
That school stuff where they are eliminating so much stuff really gets to me. Thay make sure most of the sports have enough money but the band kids have to buy there own uniforms now. They have eliminated some of the music programs. grrrrr

Jean - Part of our problem was that since DS did not like the stuff in school, he started hanging out with the wrong crowds. That meant smoking then marijuana. Thankfully he has outgrown all of that. And at 28 he is a good mechanic and trying to study for his ASE (I think those are the right letters) mechanics tests.

Maggie - I like that idea of red, white and blue too. I think I will have to find some outfits to put together. I need a shirt with a flag on it.

Gotta run and get started on work stuff.

Joyce: I just get so darn mad when it is against the law to treat homosexuals that way but whoa honey it is ok to talk to fat people like they are dirt just because you think they should be a certain size! Give me a break! I would be great in Congress if they ever had the courage to do somethng about it. FIrst, off, I would go after the fat cats (literally and figuratively) who see no discrimination against fat women. Just try to get a job and see how hard it is. You know, what difference does it really make if the person that applies for the job is well dressed and professional looking. I got a job over 300 other women when I worked here in Memphis. Why? Because I took pride in myself, dressed professionally, walked and talked like I was like anyone else because I WAS! Enough of that. I just think all women who have been led to believe that because they are fat they are inferior someway need a big dose of realism and help to climb out of the pit they were pushed into.

I hear the birds just a tweeting this morning and my one azalea bush is completely bloomed in lovely white flowers. I sure hope the rest of you have your weather catch on that it is almost officially spring!

I will talk to you ladies later!

Donna

Good Afternoon, Flowers!
The sun is shining brightly and our 9.5" of snow is melting quite rapidly! Maybe spring will get here yet! I felt so sorry for the poor robins yesterday; they were hopping around the bird feeders and did eat the seed that the others were knocking to the ground. No worms were to be found!

Bubbles -- Some of the larger schools, in Iowa, tried to eliminate the smaller sports (swimming, soccer, etc.) or combine them with a nearby school. You should have seen the uproar from the parents! In our school they are eliminating higher level language, science, and math courses, gradually one by one. The theory is that if the student really wants to take them, the school district will pay their tuition to take the class at the local college. A few years ago we had a student graduate from high school and begin college at the junior level. Of course, she was the exception and has gone on to become a physician. All this makes me wonder though. I think they are making kids grow up much too fast starting way before they even start school.

Joyce -- Did your son ever get his GED? I wish him success if he takes the mechanic's exam. It's so hard to watch your children make bad choices! I guess the bottom line is that you just have to be there to love them no matter what. What thread do you and Donna visit? I used to go to the WW ones but there are so many new people I haven't kept up with them for a long time.

Donna -- I really admire your self confidence! I know that when I am slimmer, I do feel better about myself. Guess I'm one of those who just never had the nerve to speak up around people I don't know. . . although I'm getting pretty good on the phone!

I need to make a couple of phone calls so had better get moving. Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

Jean -- in Iowa!

I used to be a real mouse until I got married and my husband made me so comfortable in my skin that I got up my gumption and spoke up.

It is pretty quiet here tonight. I got my mall walk in and treated myself to some low mein noodles and honey chicken for dinner cause Jack wanted Taco Bell.

I am now down to 311 and cannot wait to cross that 300 mark.

Here is my April picture that I put in my weight loss scrapbook. It isn't the best as the clothes are pretty dark, but it still shows that I am coming along!

Hope you ladies have a lovely night.

Donna