Bird seed = weeds, eh? I just may have to reconsider putting out seed and content myself with the humming bird feeders. I didn't think about weeds, although I knew I would have bird guano under the feeder (so I was going to put in in an area of ground cover that could use a little fertilizer).

Donna, your weekend sounds really fun - I betcha that little dude will go zonkers over his new scooter. Nothing cuter than a 3-year old!

Alida, thanks for the advice on the film shades. It's an awkward area for shades anyway, as it is a garden window behind the kitchen sink plus a sliding glass door area. Because the garden window is quite deep, they've advised to get motorized blinds. Each option I've looked at is so expensive (from about $1200 to $3000)! We only need the protection for a few hours in the morning, and perhaps only in summer. Maybe I should just buy a patio umbrella.

Rachel it is good to have you back! I really liked that crab casserole recipe you posted (it was you, right)? In your travels, have you picked up any new recipes to share with us? You are right about storing unground flaxseed in cold temps. It seemingly keeps forever in the refrigerator or freezer. I found a bit in the back of my refrigerator that was over a year old. As I was unsure about eating something that old, I dumped it under a tree in the yard for the birds. I needn't have worried - the seeds were still viable and sprouted all over the place despite not being properly planted!

There is police action going on all around me today. Apparently a sherrif and a suspect were shot during a pot farm raid in the rural hillside behind me. Helicopters have been crisscrossing the area for the last 5 hours, evacuating the injured and looking for at least one more suspect. The area is largely scrub oak forest with bits of meadow here and there, so it seems unlikely they'd find someone from the air. They need bloodhounds.

Judi, you must be exhausted after those long driving days! Somehow, the trip home from a vacation seems more tedious than the trip out. I, too, am looking forward to your pictures - you seem to have quite the eye for photography!

Shelley, an early night sounds like the best perscription after such long days and a hectic week! Being understaffed in an OR situtaion sounds like he** on wheels (as a nurse I once worked under would say). DH and I almost always watch HGTV during supper. We think It's so funny when they pull off all these amazing projects and say it only cost $very small. After staging my old house and looking at various decorating projects in the new home, I can only shake my head! I sure can't find stuff to touch it! Even not including the design talent and labor costs, the materials prices are just way, way lower than anything comparable that I've seen. At the other end of the spectrum, we always gasp at Designers Challenge, where they have a budget of "only" $25,000 to redo a bedroom or "only" $70,000 to redo a back yard.

I'd better cut this short as I'm expecting some repair people shortly and I need to clear out the laundry room before they arrive. I'll try to get back later today.

__________________
~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Hey everyone.....yipeeeee.....it's Friday....and I survived...LOL.
I got to work around 0500, admitted my first patient at 0530, and admitted my last one this afternoon at 1400; it was a looooong day, to say the least!
As a gift, one of our docs treated us to Olive Garden for one of the nurse's birthday...I know...but that was what she wanted. And yes, I did choose to have some off plan items, but I don't anticipate celebrating another birthday until mine rolls around...hehe.
So, it's extra water and right back on plan at dinner tonight.

Judy!!!! You were soooooo close to where I work if you stayed in Edmond, OK last night. Probably about 5 miles or less. Hope you didn't have such a hard drive today. Those 700 mile days are killers...we've done a few of those from time to time.
Just click your little heals together and repeat...*there's no place like home...there's no place like home*... I bet you and your hubby will sleep like logs tonight!
Welcome home!

Hi Rachel, welcome home to you too! I'm not the person with jet lag. Although I feel like it sometimes. I'm the one with snapdraggon syndrome...part of me has snapped, and the other part is draggin'...LOL.
I had high hopes of trying the new multifocal, soft, toric wear contacts. But, it seems there are some issues with them, and the company is not making any at the present time until I don't know when. So now the plan is to fit me with soft, torics for distance vision and use a pair of reading glasses for close up stuff. Then hopefully, the multifocals will re appear soon and I can give them a try. Lasik wouldn't really do me any good either. I would still have to chose if I wanted near or far vision improvement and have to wear glasses either way....blah! So, I'll wait it out another 2 or 3 years and see what the final studies show as far as long term results, and perhaps there will even be a new technique for eyes like mine. As I'm told by my eye doc...my age group(baby boomers) is the biggest challenge right now for finding the right fit in a contact lense with multifocal capabilities. That figures.

Alida, no I don't work 12 hour shifts per se, it just works out that way sometimes. As a rule, we go in the earliest,(pre op), and we get to go home the earliest, EXCEPT when you have days like today...heh. We have to be there 2 hours before the first case, so 0500 this AM, for the case at 0700, and our last case didn't go until nearly 1600 this afternoon. We also get the charts ready for the next working day and make all the pre op calls to the patients coming in to get medical history info from them. Also we do actual pre op visits, chest xrays and ekgs, etc. when the patient comes in. We are almost always busy...always something

Teel, that's so funny about Designer's challenge on hgtv. Just the other nite, hubby and I laughed out loud when they said ...*re-do the master bedroom on a budget of ONLY $35,000...bah-hahhhhh!!!!! I could do a LOT of damage if DH would give me a budget of $35K... And landscaper's challenge is kinda out there sometimes...I mean, I really don't think I would sink $70K into my back yard. But, apparently, there are those who have...and those who have not...guess which one I am...haha!
On the birdseed thing...yes, we do get various and assorted little things that grow under the birdfeeder, but for us, it's soooooo worth it. I have gotten hours of pleasure from all the visitors to our feeder. Our lawn is mowed every 3 or 4 days in the summer, so you can't really tell what's growing under the feeder...it's all green and that's what counts in my book, plus our feeders are in the back yard, so we are cool with that. Just my $.02 on the feed, seed and weed issue.

Donna, have fun with your little GS this week end. You could snap a few pics for us...hint, hint; and one of you would be nice too
We finally got a stray thundershower yesterday evening. It was soooooo nice...just didn't last long enough. Although, when I checked the rain gauge, it said 1/10 of an inch. We are so dry and under our annual rainfall average, it could rain steady for about 3 or 4 days and still not get us caught up I bet.
Anyhoo, it was slightly cooler here today...in the high 80's...not to terribly bad for August.

Well....need to go make my grocery list, and fold a load of laundry. I've already folded one load, and even ironed 5 scrub tops...woohoo! I'm ready to call it quits and just put my feet up for awhile, but I'll do this last bit of laundry and then I won't have to worry with it over the week end.

Later, all

Shelley

__________________
~~~~
Shelley
~~~~

Visit Kassie's Korner



Life deserves a treat now and again, but life also deserves being healthy[with required disipline] to make it worth living!

YAWN!!! I can't believe all the energy in this thread!! I've been off today and now it's 8:30 pm and I'm nearly zoned out because of inactivity for the last several hours.

However, I DID get up early, went to the gym and worked out on the treadmill for a mile, lifted weights and then lifeguarded for DH while he swam for 15 minutes.

Then I came home and drank coffee and talked to Nan for our regular Friday morning talk, got ready, went over to work for a graveside service, and then came back after going to Whole Foods and getting more flaxseed and other stuff.

Been reading and relaxing since. YAWN

So good to see you all, especially you, Rachel!

Peace, Peg

__________________
"Live the questions and some day you will live along into the answers."
Rainer Marie Rilke

Atkins since 2003
5'8" 206.4/197/175
64-3/4 years young

I'm home! Did I say that I would try to catch up today????? Silly me! Today's drive was only about 5 hours. In all we covered nearly 1800 miles in the last three days. It was nice to get home I must say.

Shelley, we were at the Holiday Inn Express on I-35 just as you come into Edmund. I thought about you when we got there and this morning, too. For some reason I thought you worked in Moore.

Oh my goodness, I do have pictures and stories. We have something like 1000 pictures in the folder right now. Many are duplicates and almost all need work to be named and/or deleted. Digital cameras and lap top computers are just the greatest thing! I'll put together something and post it on my web page for easier viewing, soon.

One quick story before I crash IN MY OWN BED..... I'm here to confess that I did some serious off-plan eating last Saturday night. The reception was a seven course sit down dinner including some kind of soup with caviar in it. It was an experience! (I gave the scale a quick check this afternoon while in a fully dresed state, and I think I managed the two weeks without a weight gain.)

Over and definitely out........... I'll talk to you guys tomorrow.

__________________
Judy
highest = 180, goal = 140
Every single time I put food in my mouth, it matters. No more fooling myself!

I enjoy the pictures everyone else posts, so I thought I might share a couple with you.

The first one is my grandkids making the stepping stones I was telling you about. The next two are just a couple of shots of my flowers.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
Donna
238.5/166.4/150
I will see my goal weight again!

Sorry, the computer won't let me send the pictures of the flowers. They are the same size pictures, but it says they are too large a file. Duh! I thought computers were smart. Anyone know how to make them smaller. Anyway, the little guy with the dirty face is Kaedyn who is the birthday boy tomorrow, and that's his sister Micayla with him. Nolyn was sleeping, but we managed to cram his feet in the cement anyway.

__________________
Donna
238.5/166.4/150
I will see my goal weight again!

Donna, do you have any type of picture editing software on your computer? Anything that will re-size it, take out red-eye, etc? (I use both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. I also have some older ones that I don't use). If you do, just open up the photo you want to resize and look for a "resize" or "edit picture" button or tab. A lot of times the size will be posted as pixels. I usually will size down to about 600 pixels wide and that size will post nicely here. If you prefer to keep the original size, make a copy first, rename the file, then resize the copy for posting here. Hope this helps.

Prayers that the fire still raging will be contained soon. All that ash all over the place . . . it must be a mess. On the positive side . . . isn't ash supposed to be good for the soil if watered in????

OMG. Your driver is one lucky man. Thank you for the reminder to always buckle up.

Terry, as Shelley mentioned, she enjoys the birds so much she doesn't worry about the weeds. So maybe try a feeder for awhile and see how it goes!

I can't believe the quote you got for motorized shades. $1200 to $3000???? For that kind of money, I'd squint for a few hours, too. It all comes down to your comfort level. And fading. I can't even begin to tell you of the damage I have seen caused by the sun. I actually saw a linoleum floor that was BURNED in front of a patio door. A lot of faded wood floors, too, along with the usual upholstery and carpeting . . . .

I watch HGTV, too (when DH isn't around), and I am constantly amazed at the amount of money floating around out there. I think my favorite show is the one about how to fix up your home for sale. Can't think of the name right now, but it will feature a home that is not selling and the crew comes in for $2,000 and voila! The homeowners sell immediately above their asking price. Of course, that $2,000 is for materials only!

Shelley, whew! I got tired just reading about your hectic work schedule. I hope you are well paid! Have a nice relaxing weekend.

Peg, LOL. YAWN. We all need days like that!

Welcome Home, Judy!! And if you weighed in the AFTERNOON with your clothes on and was not shocked by the numbers, I'll bet you held your own! Anxiously awaiting pictures.

Brenda, what's happening in Chicago?
Ilse, ditto.

Barb, Kim and Rachel: HI!

Today I have repair a little glitch in an etch job I did 2 weeks ago. But should go smoothly. After that, I'm FREE! Well, except for watering the lawn, doing laundry, ironing, etc., etc.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

__________________
Alida
5'1" ~ 59 years old
Highest weight: 165
Atkins 7/10/2004
160/126/125
RE-DO, January 2008:
167/162/135

As soon as the sun comes up, I'm going out for a run. I've kept up with my morning workouts this week as an anchor for the incredibly full days. However, I've also declared a low-carb holiday, guilt free. The scales are fine this morning, but I know that won't last, and my body is definitely telling me that it wants its proper nutrition back again.

The memorial service yesterday, by all accounts, was wonderful. My two sisters and brother and I each took a turn describing the Mom we knew. We had her favorite hymns and scriptures, and the pastor did a Christian meditation. I thought people might squirm sitting through all our speeches, but people who never knew her went away feeling as though they did, and said it was the best funeral ever. That's what we wanted!

Squeamish read no further.

I'll be picking up my Mom's remains at the mortuary today. The girls--my sisters, niece (adult), and the DILs who want to--are thinking of putting Mom in a pretty shopping bag and taking her out on the town tonight, so she can share in lots of laughter. In her young days, she loved a party, and we were sad that the last ten years of her life were so limited.

Well, this may be TMI, but it's all part of the working-through. I'll be responding to regular life soon enough.

Tia, the children are beautiful, and that's a great photo of your special project. Alida, thanks for your message in the guest book. I'll let my family know who that person is! I'm probably the one who knows best how good friendships can form even in a cyber community.

Best wishes all.

__________________
Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

Barb: GO FOR IT!!! I think your idea about the shopping bag and partying with Mom's remains is priceless and very precious!! Do it! Yaknoo, almost nothing is "out of bounds" when it comes to "working through." Whatever works for you is the rule that I use with people. You have a long time coming without her. Why not do, now, what you want to do to express your feelings. In the future, you won't have as much freedom to do that. (However, I don't feel constrained by time. If I feel like having a memorial service here in the home with DH and me for my daughter, I do it. It's been 24 years.) So good to hear from you. Blessings and prayers continue for you and family.

Donna: Great pics. It's good to see who you have been talking about.

Alida: I installed Photoshop Elements yesterday. Maybe I'll use it to post some pics of my gkids and maybe even ME! I need pics of DH and me to take to Dallas. DD2 claims that she doesn't have pics. At her wedding three years ago, she had made up a beautiful collage of her life (and one od her husbands), and did not include ANY PICS OF ME OR HER STEPDAD! I was crushed, and still am. When I gently questioned her she blithely said, "Well I didn't have any pics of you." Of course, she didn't ask either. Sigh.

Judy: So glad you are home safely. I can't wait to hear about your trip. We leave on Nov 1st to do almost the same trip you did, though we will be going on to Tacoma, WA for Tksgiving. Somehow I am betting that school starts soon for you. Right? Well, rest today and tomorrow if you can. I'll bet you have a ton of washing and unpacking to do!

Rachel, Bren, Ilsa, Shel, Kim (You can write here anytime you want you darling girl!) HI to all of you! I'll be back.

I'm staring at a blank computer screen and drinking that "devil coffee" (as Kim says). Preaching tomorrow about Joseph and his technicolor dreamcoat. (Well, the biblical account )

Peace, Peg

__________________
"Live the questions and some day you will live along into the answers."
Rainer Marie Rilke

Atkins since 2003
5'8" 206.4/197/175
64-3/4 years young

Brenda: I had to laugh about your idea to take your mom out on the town. My dh's cousin and her sisters did that with their aunt. She loved to go to the bars with her daughters. To make a long story short...they had one too many and they lost her! Never did find the ashes. Hope that doesn't happen to you!

Peg: I can understand your hurt in not being included in the pics. For my mother in laws birthday a few years ago, all of the grandkids got together and went to a photographer and had a beautiful group picture done for her. I knew nothing of this, but we were invited to the birthday dinner for the unveiling. I was just crushed to see that my kids weren't asked to be in the picture because they weren't "true" grandkids. This was my stepsons idea which just shows you how mean he can be.

Alida: Thanks for the info about the pictures. We do have photoworkshop at home, so I'll try it.

It is so stinkin' hot here, it's not even funny. I haven't stopped sweating for a minute. I know women are supposed to glow, but come on up here and I guarantee that you'll sweat. There is no breeze at all, just too darn hot. The nights aren't even cooling down anymore. Poor dogs have to be soaked down a couple of times a day they are panting so hard. A little rain would sure be nice about now. I had to cut the grass this morning so I had planned on doing it around 9. Well, wouldn't you know dh decided to go back to bed and I didn't get to do it until 11. Sun was just beating down by then.

Better get my butt in gear and start making the salad to take to my grandsons birthday party. I don't leave it to chance anymore that they might have something for me to eat. Have a great weekend all!

__________________
Donna
238.5/166.4/150
I will see my goal weight again!

donna... aDORable picture of the kiddos with the stepping stones! thanks for sharing...

rachael... last TWENTY pounds? more like 30+... but thanks..

peg... AWWWWWWWWWW arent you sweet.,.. thank you... i LIKE being among you veterans... keeps me inspired to keep going!

barb.. lady you do whatEVER you want to concerning your mom and that ladies night out... only you and yours can decide how to celebrate her life.... ;-)

__________________
kims SECOND journal is HERE
kims new blog
KIMS BLOG !!
SUGARFREE BLOG

Okay, Here I go trying to post some pics. If it happens, this is me in Maine a few weeks ago.

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__________________
"Live the questions and some day you will live along into the answers."
Rainer Marie Rilke

Atkins since 2003
5'8" 206.4/197/175
64-3/4 years young

Hey everyone,
Hope you are having a good week end, thus far. I did my grocery shopping this morning instead of waiting to do it Sunday morn. Got home, and got all the groceries put away. Then did some housekeeping, cleaned the bathrooms, vacuumed, dusted, all that stuff that gets ignored during the week...yatta, yatta.

I called around to a couple of fitness centers/gyms here in my area to get some prices and find out some general info. I scheduled an appointment this afternoon, and went and toured the one I am thinking about joining. They have a special(don't they always)right now if you buy 18 months, you get a year free. It averages out to about $30.00 per month or so. Historically, I don't have a good track record with working out. I go gangbusters for a couple of months, then something happens, I get sick, etc and I have to skip the work out, then I seem to never get back in the groove, and you can guess the rest....a big waste of $$$$. So.......what to do? I think I am motivated enough this time to get myself into a fitness routine and persue it as if my life depended on it. But then again, I can't even make myself do my WATP tapes 3 times a week, and that's in my own house and I don't have to *go * anywhere to do it, yanno? I am going to sleep on it tonight. I have been at the same weight +or - a pound or 2 for about 6 weeks now...aacckk! I KNOW exercise can't hurt and would most likely get me going again in a downward direction. See...I told you guys I am the Queen of *wishey-washey*...can't make a decision for beans! I hate it when I do this...grrrrrr! So.....any and all input/thoughts etc are welcome.
That being said, I DID DO a 2 mi WATP today!

Donna, if you have Adobe photoshop, when you are viewing your image, click on image, and then chose image size on the drop down menu. I always make a copy of a pic I'm going to resize. Then when you click on image size, type in the size in pixels you want. I usually do 300-400 pixels on the width, and the length will fill in automatically. I also do any editing(like cropping, touch ups, etc) before I re size.
HTH. I am totally self taught on the computer. As my brother told me one time, just don't hit *delete* unless you mean it...LOL.

Barb, I think that is a splendid idea. If it helps you get through, that's all that matters.
My cousins had the hearse driver drive their mom by her house *one last time* enroute to the church for the services. It was very touching, because Aunt Virginia loved her house so, and we all had so many good times with her there.

Alida, isn't that HGTV show you are thinking of, called *Designed to sell*? Yes, I am always amazed at the price of those homes to begin with...then the sellers most always gets thousands above their asking price. Maybe I'll call them if I ever decide to sell...LOL. I don't think they would come to OOOOOOklahoma to do a show...hehe.

Peg....girl.....I'm still waitin' for that pic of you in that lil' blue convertible
I almost rented one of the new *retro* looking Ford Mustangs for DH's birthday weekend. He thinks they really look good, and he mentioned one day, he would *just like to drive one for the fun of it*. Unfortunately, he was on call his birthday weekend and even had to work, so I didn't do it. May still try and surprise him one of these week ends before to long.

Donna, hope you have a good time this evening. Get lots of pics of that little guy on his scooter. Does he have a safety helmet to wear? I'm really a big believer of helmets and knee pads for scooters and skateboards.
It's hot here, but we had a little stray shower again last night....10 drops or so on the driveway...ha! We are about 6 inches below our norm here in central Oklahoma and with the heat, everything here is turning that dead looking brown...aacck!

Judy, what up??? Hope you are getting everything all squared away and back in your groove. It usually takes me a day or two to feel rested from the driving. I always leave myself a few days before my *back to work* day after a road trip.

Well, got to move on and get dinner started. Making meat sauce with ground white meat turkey, zucchini *noodles*, and a big ole tossed salad. Then for dessert, some sf jello with a layer of strawberry cream cheese, and whipped cream on top...so cool and refreshing and tastes pretty decadent(well, if you use your imagination)

later, girls...
Shelley

__________________
~~~~
Shelley
~~~~

Visit Kassie's Korner



Life deserves a treat now and again, but life also deserves being healthy[with required disipline] to make it worth living!

Peg!!!!!!
I was typing as you were posting I think!!!
I take it back, I'm NOT still waiting for a pic of you....well, the little blue car pic maybe...
You look FABULOUS!!!!! Your smile says it all! Thanks for sharing with us!

Shell

__________________
~~~~
Shelley
~~~~

Visit Kassie's Korner



Life deserves a treat now and again, but life also deserves being healthy[with required disipline] to make it worth living!

As Rosanne Rosannadanna says......... "It's always something." We've been home just slightly over 24 hours, DD is here for the weekend with Gus the Golden Retriever (she's in a wedding) and DSisIL called to say that they had to take DDad to the hospital for chest pains. Right now we are on hold deciding whether to go to Plano or not. He is being moved to another hospital where his cardiologist is on call. It looks like some slight problems with congestive heart failure. If he has to stay in the hospital for a few days, we probably go either tonight or tomorrow. DH will stay with him so that everyone else can go to work Monday. --- Yes Peg, you were right, school does start soon. Inservice starts Monday and students come on Thursday.

Apologies if I miss anyone, but here goes..........

Peg, great pic! :great: Remind me when you start preparing for your cross country trip. I can give you some hints of things to see as you get to Rushmore and beyond. On our first stop in South Dakota, a convenience store, I was most definitely the only blonde there. It was a stand out in the crowd feeling. You'll have the same problem.

Shelley, You have one of the hardest schedules I've ever seen. I swear I would be totally worn down. Good luck with the decision on the health club. I let down on going to Curves at the end of school --- just too tired and overloaded. When I finally got finished with everything, I went 5 days a week. Of course, now it's been two weeks since I walked in the door so I'll have to get back in the swing of things again.

Barb, I'm so sorry about your mom. I've only skimmed through back messages, but I saw that you had to make a "pull the plug" decision. We had to do essentially the same with my mom about 15 years ago. It's hard, I know. I think your plans for the evening out and the shopping bag are great! Go for it!

Donna, sounds like there is celebrating again at your place. Have a good time. If you are having trouble with pictures, there is a free editing program called Infranview. It's easy, free, and does a great job. I use it a lot. Run a google search on it and it's easy to find. I'm posting a picture in a few minutes of my new DIL and me from the wedding reception last weekend. I have resized, cropped and removed red eye from the picture. It just took a few seconds to do it all. BTW....... I do not see how you can live without air conditioning. We went from the cool mountains to hot Texas, and have hardly walked outside to our high 90s temp with high 80's humidity since we got home.

Alida, from the sound of things, you have had more than enough bad weeks. Now that you have made the decision to sell the business, I hope it goes fast and for a profitable sum. Good luck with your search for your next career.

Teel, I so agree with you, and Alida and Shelley about the HGTV rooms........... they must have some kind of resources that "regular" people don't have to create the low cost examples. And, you can be sure that if I had "only $35,000" if would be a redo on the whole house, not just one room! I hope you figure out something affordable for the greenhouse window.

Rachel, It's so good to have you back. You have certainly done lots of traveling in the last year. No wonder you were MIA for so long. Post when you can.

Ilse, I know you are looking forward to getting into the new house. Good luck with the offers for the old one.

Kim, as always you bring a quick smile to the group.

__________________
Judy
highest = 180, goal = 140
Every single time I put food in my mouth, it matters. No more fooling myself!