Hope everyone has a Happy and safe4th of July week end!

Happy 4th to all!

__________________
Shelley


Visit Kassie's Korner


"A goal without a plan is just a wish."
--Antoine de Saint Exupery

I’m SOONER born,
And SOONER bred,
And when I die,
I’ll be SOONER dead!
GO SOONERS!
I be ready for some football!

One little walker-runner Dude for every 10 miles!

Happy 4th of July from me, too! I feel like I am spinning wheels this afternoon. I'll be having 15 people from 1-81 (and 4-5 BIG dogs) for lunch on Saturday. I really can't do much in the way of prep or last minute cleaning because it's not last minute enough. I should have thought through the menu a bit more. Friday will be frantic and the first of the guests will be here that afternoon to spend the night. I should have my head examined. Oh well....

I'm not planning to continue the Vet's Accountability thread in this forum. Since I've been mostly talking to myself anyway, I set it up as a journal in the "Family Room" area. Feel free to come by and check up on me anytime.

__________________
Judy
Goal = <135, Current status = RIGHT ON TARGET!
Never give up. Never never never never give up -- Winston Churchill

A Happy, Happy Birthday to our dear Rachel...wherever she is!!!


everyone else...BIG waves and hugs!!

s

__________________
Shelley


Visit Kassie's Korner


"A goal without a plan is just a wish."
--Antoine de Saint Exupery

I’m SOONER born,
And SOONER bred,
And when I die,
I’ll be SOONER dead!
GO SOONERS!
I be ready for some football!

One little walker-runner Dude for every 10 miles!

Hello? Hello? Anybody here? Hope we're all just meandering through the summertime. We have welcome rain today, but we're promised a favorable Fourth. We're in the throes of preparation for the camping trip to Canada. Lists, lists, lists.

Judy, I'm not holding myself terribly accountable these days, although I have been keeping the Weight Creep at bay. DEC (especially sugar) helps a lot. I'm sure a dermatologist would give me a hard time, because in spite of religiously using 45 sunscreen, I'm looking very toasty. I actually like the look--healthy and outdoorsy.

My current favorite slaw recipe: Bag of slaw. Sliced almonds, sunflower seeds. One package ramen noodles Oriental style crumbled. Combine the seasoning packet from the noodles with equal parts mayo, white vinegar. Sweeten with Splenda. Mix it all up. Yummy!

Enjoy the holiday with family and friends.

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


My Fitday Journal

Happy 4th Everyone!

I hope I remember how to post, LOL. I was on line getting some tickets for Public Enemies (can anyone say JOHNNY DEPP?) and thought I would meander over here.

Barb -- CANADA? Camping??? Sounds wonderful! Some of my best memories are of a fishing trip Bob and I took with some friends to a place called (called.... called....got it!) Obabikon Bay. Fresh air, bears, lots of fish, shore lunches and pretty spartan guest quarters. Everyone had to be in bed by 9 pm because the camp turned off the lights!

JUDY, sounds like you are one busy gal today. But I bet it will be a wonderful day.

How's everyone? I am fat. Remember how I worried about Bob being gone in the evenings with his job? I have used it as an excuse to feel sorry for myself. I am starting to make some cauli mush stuff so maybe there is hope.

I am attaching some pics of our front landscaping which finally finished about 6 weeks ago. Note: proper ROCKS. I still need to get a painter to finish the trim in the front. Next year ... side yard and new grass in the front! At least our yard doesn't look like white trash any more. We do need a new bird bath as the CEMENT one we have leaks. Wha??? I can't see a crack but there must be one.

That's all, folks. Have a wonderful day today and I promise to check in more! XXOO

Attached Thumbnails

         

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

Hello Alida!! Nice to see you. Your landscaping is lovely--and I know what a good feeling it is to put on a pretty face. Or facade, as the case may be. Hope you got a little drenching last night to refresh all the fine shrubbery.

I'll look up Obabikon Bay. We'll be near Parry Sound. My friend owns a small island (only an acre) in the middle of one of the countless small lakes in the area. There's a cabin on the island, but no electricity or plumbing. And NO BEARS. In fact, the only wildlife on this little island is whatever might have scampered over during the winter and got stranded after the thaw.

Stay cool and enjoy the 4th. Boom-bang-boom!

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


My Fitday Journal

Happy fourth all! Dd and her new "friend' and dgs and dgd are coming this afternoon for the parade and dinner. We've got hot dogs and all the fixin's. Nothing special like dear Judy.

House is coming along finally. My office went in this week and the fence is almost finished. For some reason, the main guy who is supposed to be doing all the work keeps disappearing. I have no idea where he goes. But, about every other day it is locked up tight, with no work done. But, I think the painting is next week, then the kitchen cupboards go in. Then, the floors, I think, and the exterior painting. We are due to move possibly the first week in August. We are living with boxes packed all around us right now. I'm trying to be patient.

Health is +/-. More later.

Love, 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
65 years young

Wow, it's great to see so many posts when I checked in today. Our party -- somewhere between Paula Deen and Dinner Impossible came off great, and the best part is that I have so many leftovers that I won't have to cook for days. The worst part is the 2.5 pound weight gain and the half cake and half pie that are still around here. It will take me a week or more to get back to "normal".

Alida, your landscaping looks wonderful. I like the "proper ROCKS" that are included. When in doubt..... buy them yourself. Our summer paint job is done. This is sort of a week of rest (???) I plan to sew a bit, then go to Dallas on Thursday and Friday. DD and I have some things to do together. I will be meeting my best friend from HS for lunch on Friday. I'm really looking forward to that. Next week we are having the carpet replaced. I will be like Peg and have lots of things in boxes. It's almost as bad as moving. The week after that we are planning to go on vacation to somewhere cool. I expect it will be northern New Mexico or southern Colorado.

Hope you had a fun day yesterday and the rest of the weekend is great for you all.

__________________
Judy
Goal = <135, Current status = RIGHT ON TARGET!
Never give up. Never never never never give up -- Winston Churchill

Good afternoon. I started to type Morning then looked at the clock. Sundays always seem to speed by. Once Bob leaves at 2:15, the house is so empty.

PEG, it sounds like you moved into that other place and that remodeling is trying to get done. Are you happy with the move?

JUDY, half a cake and half a pie left? Well, I guess you could throw them out .... nah. Just like that big bag of M&Ms I bought then had buyer's remorse.

BARB, did you go somewhere to watch the fireworks? Perhaps Union Station? We live near Corporate Woods and they put on a big to-do every year. If we get in the car and drive for about 1 minute, we can pull up to a spot with a great view. Shhh! Not too many people know about this spot!

Public Enemies was good. Bob liked it more than I did. Johnny Depp certainly helped it along.

Have a good week everyone! XXO

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

Alida, when the house gets empty, come check in here. We have missed hearing from you.

__________________
Judy
Goal = <135, Current status = RIGHT ON TARGET!
Never give up. Never never never never give up -- Winston Churchill

Hi guys...what a weekend I had. But first, it's so great to see our regulars coming back again. Alida, you have no idea how much you were missed. Your landscaping is absoluely gorgeous. Great job.

Barb: You're own little island paradise...sounds relaxing. I'd love that. Give me a good book and I'd be happy.

Judy: I saw your pics on Facebook....you did have a good time didn't you. It's great to have family around on special occasions.

Peg: I feel for you. It's got to be so frustrating when all you want to do is move in and get on with your life. Soon girl...it will be all over.

Now on to what I did this weekend. You guys might think I'm nuts but here goes. A couple of years before my dad passed away he gave me his 2 keyboard organ. A gorgeous piece of furniture...all walnut wood. My step mother was very jealous of the fact that he could play any piece of music by ear and refused to let him play it anymore. (can you say "witch?") He made sure that I got it because she wanted her daughter to have it. I was the one that took years of lessons on it. Anyway, it's been here since that time. When we redid the front room/dining room there really wasn't room for it so it was moved to dh's office. Poor thing has sat there for a couple of years not even plugged in. But, I just couldn't part with it. It was part of my Dad. He loved it so much. The time has finally come for me to part with it. I decided to go onto a website in the nearest town and post it for free. (you have to remember that it is 42 years old, but very well cared for). It took me 5 tries to get a post on this website. The very next day I had someone interested. I had said that I would not deliver. It weighs over 200 lbs. and with just dh and I here it would be really hard to get it in the truck. This person (turned out to be a woman) said she had a friend in our town that would store it for her until she could get it to her place in town. Great. The next day she e-mailed and said she had hit a snag and her friend wouldn't store it. And, that being a stroke survivor she couldn't make the drive here and home in one day. So, if we wouldn't deliver it she would have to pass on the offer. Being a softy...once I heard she'd had a stroke I melted. lol We measured the organ and the back of my SUV and decided it would fit. So, I told her we would deliver it because we were going into town yesterday to visit dmil. She was sooo happy. What a job getting it out of the house and into the back of my SUV! We both have bruises. When we got there I couldn't believe her. She looked like a flashback to the 60's. Red and white polka dot dress that came to mid thigh...white wedge sandals with an ankle strap, big wide white belt, long grey hair that was all curled. I was actually speechless. She had the slightest English accent. I'm thinking she's in her late 60's...not too much older than me and there I am in capris and flip flops with bright red toe polish, a toe ring and ankle bracelet. lol Oh, and she had the whitest skin I've ever seen. Hmmm, maybe she's a vampire? lol Anyway, we had to rearrange her living room furniture so the organ could be in what she called the place of honor. She kept hugging me and telling me she didn't believe this was happening to her. Turns out that as a kid she used to clean this ladies house. She had a Hammond Organ and always told her that it would be left to her in the will. It didn't happen and she didn't believe she ever would get one. I was so happy that she got it. It's where it belongs now. And, I know my dad would be happy about it. It was meant to be. I've had 2 e-mails from her today telling me over and over how happy she is and how she's going to take a week to polish it and learn how to keep the keys clean. Yup...it went to the right person. And, I get the warm fuzzies everytime I think about it.

Now the downside....now that the organ is gone all I can see in that room is that it desperately needs to be painted. Judy....are you interested in a job? lol Dh went and looked at paint samples today and his choice was ...get this.....Orange! I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. I'm thinking more a mocha colour.

I got myself back on track last week. More water, more walking, less eating. I'm proud to annouce that I'm down 6 lbs!! Yippee!!! I can feel the difference in my pants already. Only 16 more to go. I know I can do it. I mean if I'm stubborn enough to be out walking in this 104F heat then I can do anything.

Off to bed now...my eyes keep trying to close. I just wanted to share all my good news with my friends. (oh, and dd hit the 1 month mark in her sobriety...isn't life good?)

__________________
Donna
238.5/173.4/150
I will see my goal weight again

Wow, Donna! You sound great! That is a wonderful story about the organ. I've just decided to give up my piano before we move. I totally understand you wanting to hold on to the organ all these years. I used to give piano lessons on my piano, more than 30 years ago. And, for many years was the musician in church and other places. But, when I was ordained and started serving churches, I stopped playing so much. I haven't event touched it in the last several years. It just isn't my interest anymore. We really don't have room for it in the new house, so I'm hoping that it will go to someone who will love it. With over 200 people in independent housing here, I hope someone here will want it. Otherwise I will have to advertise more widely.

Supposedly, the painting starts today at the house. Also they will put the window trim back on the outside where they replaced the windows. We are having the outside painted too.

This is the bombshell that hit us over the weekend. Dh's dd (the one who is the interior designer and contractor designing and supervising building our house), broke up with her fiance (who is the "clerk of the works" on the building of the house. He is a structural engineer). The wedding was to be this next weekend!!! Can you say, stunned! She is 50 and he is 60. The issue was money and a pre-nup that she wanted him to sign. She is very wealthy. He is too, supposedly, but just wouldn't reveal to her how much and where his money is. Personally, I am wondering if all his talk is a scam. They've been together for under a year and he was eager to get married very soon after they met. She has dated for 30 years since her divorce, but never was satisfied with anyone until this guy. I am so sad for her. It's a real scandal, IMHO. Anyway, her brothers were scheduled to come in for the wedding this weekend, so we convinced her to just let us family all come on Saturday anyway and have a party at her house (which is absolutely "to die for" gorgeous). It's our in the desert near Palm Springs. She called Dh last night, but I was asleep when he came to bed, so don't know what she said. "he" visited yesterday (the fiance) and evidently they talked all day. Well...Dh just came home and told me that dd and her fiance talked all day yesterday and have decided to stay together and not get married. Sheesh. You may remember what my relationship has been with this dd.

So, you can imagine how difficult it is going to be to see this guy as we finish the house. Luckily, most of the stuff that he does is almost finished and the "home" takes over on the painting and the floors. I'm having all hardwood floors all throughout the house, including the kitchen. But, tile in the bathrooms. As the house began to be finished, it became clear that there was not going to be room for a vanity for me in the bathroom. So, I'll just stand up to do my makeup like 99% of the rest of the world. Interestingly, to me, about five of the most important things to me simply haven't been done. I wanted a solartube, a ramp up to the house so friends in wheelchairs can visit, a vanity to sit at to put on my makeup. None of them has happened and won't. Sigh.

More later. I need to go over to the house with dh and find out about what's going on today.

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
65 years young

I think the word WOW just about covers it all. Holy cow!

__________________
Judy
Goal = <135, Current status = RIGHT ON TARGET!
Never give up. Never never never never give up -- Winston Churchill

Good morning. We finally got some much needed rain last night (and right now too), so it is a good morning. I've never seen it this dry around here so the rain is a blessing. I didn't get outside to walk due to the rain so headed downstairs to the treadmill. That sure isn't as much fun looking at a wall, but I have to keep at it.

The scale was kind to me this morning too going down just a little but enough to take me to a digit I haven't seen in a long time. So, I'm going to change my signature weight in hopes it will never see the 7's again.

Nothing else new around here. I may head to town this weekend to pick up paint... but that's still a maybe. First I have to make dh realize that an orange room just isn't going to happen. lol

Hope you all have a great day!

__________________
Donna
238.5/173.4/150
I will see my goal weight again

Congratulations, Donna!! Hey, picking up paint sounds like my kind of project. Good luck getting past the argument over orange walls.

__________________
Judy
Goal = <135, Current status = RIGHT ON TARGET!
Never give up. Never never never never give up -- Winston Churchill