Penpal match? Just turned 50, want to lose 75!

[Pam in TX]

Happy Friday Morning,

I am so glad that this week is over..... Although not sure why.... the weekend is going to be very busy....

DH flies back in tonight then we are going to his parents for dinner (fajitas) for his brother's bday... then tomorrow my nephew is graduating from college so all of my family will be here for that and then we will all go to dinner together.... Then Sunday is Mother's day... Not exactly sure what the afternoon will hold for that....

Anyone have big plans for Mother's Day?

Leslie: glad to hear that the concert went well..... How did your mom's surgery go? Hope everything is well..... You and dI must be passing these same 2 lbs back and forth..... Mine was down again this am..... they need to get lost in the mail somehow so that neither ones of us gets them again.......

Kayan: GJ on the working out again..... Keep it up...... Had similar thing happen years ago on our car.... then a few years ago I was cashinga check and the bank teller said " Ms. S, did you know your license is expired?" I said, No it expires on my bday. She replied, "No m'am it expired on your last bday (which was several months earlier).... Talk about embarrassed....

Sue: How was your Red Hat dinner? Sounds like one of your gardens is going to be a mystery garden..... Love the pic of your little chick... She sounds like she has got a real personality....

Didn't get any of the rain that was predicated yesterday.... Oh well......

Have a wonderful on plan day......

[Suji]

Hi Pam,
I was doing my morning e-mail check and thought I'd write again. :-)
The Red Hat dinner was a good find--I brought home a menu to show my DH so he could do a Boys Night Out with his sons there. :-D It's a small family owned Thai restaurant. Woo-our lil town is going cosmopolitan these days!

My oldest son asked me what I'd like for Mother's Day. I am *so* not a "Hallmark Holiday" person. Athough I participate for my Mom, I hate buying in since it feels contrived since my family makes me feel special most of the time! My initial thought was, "OK, have everyone come out to the farm at the same time and haul compost to put around all the plants!!" But I think they want something *easy* to do. <Grin> So, have them make a meal together or something like that, I guess! I'm going to order flowers for my Mom, prolly.

I guess I'll be doing housework, reading and planting annuals in flats today!

Yes, Chicklet is a definite personality--but she has gone broody on us which is one reason I thought of ordering eggs. I sure do like bantam cochins.

Did you want the rain? We had about .07 inches fall, we are below normal here and in PA and need regular rainfall--especially with all the new plants. Hauling hundreds of feet of hose around may build muscle, but it taint fun!!!

Sue

[kayan]

Morning all

Urrg, just lost my note, must of hit the wrong key.


short version now as have to get ready for DD2 hooding. Pouring rain here hopefully it will let up

did the nordic track for 45 mins the reql test will be if I can get my butt out of bed at 4:25 tomorrow Plan to take Sunday off. Have to work the weekend s no plans for Mothers day. willl catch you later Kayan

[Dreamcometru]

Hi everyone:

Sue: Your chicklet is so pretty. Not a chicklet anymore. Hatchlings, how fun. You will have a blast with them. Yes, a hen house is in your future.

We have lots of Thai places in Portland. It could be the Thai capital of the world, plenty to chose from.

We are headed down south for mother's day, but I'm taking my mom to lunch tomorrow and shopping. My niece is having a baby and her shower is next weekend so both of us need to pick up a gift. I should be with mom on mother's day, but hopefully SIL will step in. Mom's surgery went fine. She's at home recovering. It's amazing how quickly they do the cataract surgery these days.

I have one of those exercise machines you sit on and you pull the handle back and fourth and your knees bend and straighten and you bend at the waist. It will be great for getting ready for dragon boating. It's fun, but guess what, it's in the garage gathering dust too. Now that DD1 is getting married, I think I might move it to her room. That way it's out of the way, I can put it in front of her window (second floor, great view) and exercise away without DS and DH looking on laughing at me.

Kayan, great job on the exercise. I didn't get any in yesterday. DS and I went shopping for summer clothes for his Disneyland trip in two weeks.

Pam: My scale is holding steady at 203.2. Thats good though. That's the first time it hasn't gone up for two days straight. I did overcarb it yesterday, but my counselor at my group said I need to up the carbs and lower the calories, so here I go. Although I'm going to bring the carbs back down today. I started with eggs and mushrooms for breakfast.

Have a great day and happy mothers day and a great weekend if I'm not around this weekend.

[Pam in TX]

Happy Sat,

Nothing really new to report..... Another day of on plan eating and drinking..... Didn't make it to exercise yesterday...

Going to nephew's grad this afternoon.....

I think this morning I am going to hang out here and work on the video for my inlaws 50th anniv.... have gotten alot done, but still quite a ways to go... the hardest part is finding the right music for it....

Leslie: Totally understand being nervous about upping the carbs.... I am the same way...... Glad to hear that your mom is doing well...... We learned that my MIL is going to have cataract surgery this summer.....

Kayan: Another day of exercise.... WTG girlie girl..... Hope all goes well today and that it is dry......

Sue: I really like Thai food..... Didn't necessarily want the rain.... We could still use some to catch up though.... Did you get your planting done?

Time for more coffee..... Have a wonderful weekend......

[Pam in TX]

Morning ladies,

Hope everyone had a great weekend....

Ours was uneventful.... Which is good I guess....

I stayed on track with the eating even with all the events going on.... Didn't drink as much water as usual though...

Spent quite a bit of time yesterday working on the video for the inlaws.... It is probably about 2/3 of the way through.... Gotta get it finished.....

Have a great Monday......

[Suji]

Hi Pam, and waves to Leslie, Kayan and Carolyn!

I hope everyone felt good on Mom's Day. DS2 made pancakes and bacon for me. DS1 dug the weeds out of the garden as his offering. DS3 mostly made verbal overtures of affection. ;-) I mostly lazed around and read a library book or two and planted up more flats of flowers (annuals). Today, it will be herbs and squash. :-)

Monday, as usual, is "House Blessing Day" so that's how I'll spend it--picking up and cleaning things to make it nice for the week, trash, laundry, etc. I want to make myself finally choose colors for the LR and hall plus one more bedroom. Anyone have a rule of thumb for choosing hallway paint colors or tones? Ours is a long wide hall.

Saturday, my sister talked me into a home and garden tour which just happened to be over the border in the next county-GLyndon in Baltimore County. We walked house to house from 1 to 5 pm. and had a great time since the weather was perfect for being out. The houses were predominately built in the 1880's and it was interesting to see how many people had recently purchased and put additions (historically matching) onto the back or sides of the houses to make them positively huge on top of already spacious. There was one house that we both loved on account of the wrap around porches on 3 sides above and below. Omigawd! 15 feet deep porches!!! And huge deep lawns with gigunda oak trees providing shade! One of the really interesting sites was a MEthodist Camp from turn of the century. We toured the old hotel and the cottages (typically one story cottages, very kitschy-campy!) I guess turn of the century Mother and kids would come for the summer and Dad would ride the train to visit on weekends (train came into the town close by). I was envious of the spacious "croquet yards" with the huge old trees. Many of these places had old clay tennis courts--quite popular with the moneyed set of the time.

I did a disgusting thing this morning. Kids had drunk up almost all the milk, so in desperation to lighten the coffee I struck on using ice cream--only all we have is strawberry. WARNING!!! Don't *EVER* use strawberry ice cream in coffee unless you like the taste of vomit. BLARRGGHHH.

TTFN!
Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hey Ladies:

Ha Ha Ha Sue: Strawberry ice cream and coffee. Sorry it was such a bad experience.

The tour sounds absolutely fabulous. Its unbelievable how some people live. Is it just a temporary thing or do they do it all the time? Here they do Street of Dreams and every year they open up a new subdivision with multimillion dollar homes that people can tour before they are sold. They do a new one every year.

Sounds like you had a great mother's day. Your DS's were so kind.

We had dinner with all kids and future SIL down in Eugene. It was a fabulous day for the drive. The iris farms were blooming. The clover fields were solid white. Usually I drive because we have to take my car, but this time DH drove and I could really enjoy the scenery.

I spent the day with my mom Saturday. It was delightful. I took her to a fancy lunch (oh my $$$ ) but it was worth it. I stayed on plan only eating veggies and fish. Then I took her shopping. She also wanted to find a dress for the wedding and some shoes. I pushed her in her wheelchair with one hand and pulled a shopping cart with the other. She had a great time. It was a good outing for her. She was so excited to get a new dress.

My scale is FINALLY DROPPING. It held steady at 201 for two days and today went to 200.8. I will see if that was real tomorrow. I have upped my carbs but lowered my fat intake somewhat. I have to keep telling myself LC, not low calorie though. The substitutions have been fruit instead of creamcheese muffins or SF oatmeal instead of sausage and eggs or some other type of meat for breakfast. I still use a bit of half and half in my oatmeal. So the caloric intake probably equals the eggs.

Pam, good for you for working on the video. I need to put one together of DD1 to show at her wedding shower. I thought it would be a good laugh for everyone. Just can't seem to find the time. Congrats on the graduation. DD1 graduates from college June 15.

Kayan: How did the hooding go? Congrats to your DD2. Did you get rained out? Our weather has been spectacular.

Have a great day!

[Pam in TX]

Morning,

Was a beautiful day yesterday.... and a warm one also, got up to 90 degrees....

Did my weight and measurements.... while I only lost 1.5 lbs I was down 10 inches... works for me.... although more lbs lost would be nice...

Kayan: How was DD hooding? Hopefully the weather cooperated.....

Sue: Sounds like a lovely mother's day..... strawberry ice cream???? Have to admit it doesn't sound good to me.... the tour sounds fun.... I love those big old houses....

Leslie: What a good daughter you are...... WTG on the lbs lost.... sounds like your mother's day was a nice one also....

Time to begin gettng ready for the day..... Have a good one everyone....

[Suji]

Hey all,

It's supposed to be somewhere in the mid-80's today (a small aberration). I will try to get up to Meadowbrook to work on the gardens. Our caretaker sliced his finger while sharpening a knife, so hasn't dug anymore garden space and we've got to get going on that asap for tomatoes, especially. I am thanking my lucky stars we didn't set them out on Mother's Day since there was frost up there 2 days in a row starting on Mother's Day! I've got a few flowering plants that were started in April left over to set in too. Primarily, I'll be trenching again in the rest of the brambles. It takes 4-EVR!!!

Had coffee klatch with Red Hats last night and I suggested we go to LaDew Topiary Gardens in Baltimore County, so we'll do that next month. Other stuff that I can't do or am not interested in going to are a dinner theatre/ overnight stay in PA and a trip to Charlestown, WV casino area.

I was expecting big trucks to show up down the hill for the developer but nothing yet (thank goodness!). I wish they'd cut the grass though--their mower crew is way overdue and I'm concerned about ticks when walking the dog. Ticks around here have the Lyme Disease issue. I don't know if they do in Texas, but I never saw so many ticks as when we lived near a large field and they would get on our Great Pyr dog. Glad there is a topical med for that!!!

Looks like the community college kids in town are having test week. DS2's GF is having the last of hers today.

Where is Carolyn?! Probably still unpacking!

Later gals,
Sue

[kayan]

morning all.

Quick note, have to go to workm day # 4 only 2 more to go.

Havn't done the Nordic trac 4:30 is just not possible on this long stretch, but have managed to walk at work on breaks out doors around the building so feel good about that. Raining here today so may not get that in plus I am charge todaym so, don;t always get breaks,

Everyone sounds like they are doing well,

Sue as much as I like Ice cream I have never had strawberry in it, Now Choc or Vanilla is another story

everyone have a good day

Kayan

[Dreamcometru]

Hi ladies.

Another 80 degree day here. Had to water the flower beds again last night. Some of my marigolds looked kind of burnt. They will suffer easily until they get established.

My scale dropped again. Down to 200.0. I'm so scale addicted. I pulled out my dial scale to confirm the loss. It did. I'm excited because I haven't seen dramatic drops for so long. It must be because I've upped my carbs, but lowered my caloric intake. I'm good with oatmeal for breakfast for a while.

Sue: I hope the developers hold off for you.

Pam: Fabulous loss on the inches. Yay!

Kayan: Sounds like you have a busy work schedule this week. I often get my exercise by walking on my lunch hours. So way to go on finding ways to get it in.

Have a great day everyone.

[Pam in TX]

Morning,

Just an ordinary day yesterday..... had some rain roll through over night and temps should top out about 80 today....

Stayed on track with eating, drinking and exercise....

Leslie: Good job on the loss..... and staying on track with the eating....

Kayan: I usually go do my exercising during lunch also..... seems to work better for me that way.....

Sue: We do have ticks in some places here, but not real prevelant...... Do you still have alot of planting to do?

School here only has one more week to go..... Colleges are pretty much finished.....

Hope everyone has a good day..........

[Suji]

Heya,

Spent the day yesterday digging out the raspberries (trenching around them) and fertilizing/mulching. Still more to do. I was getting exhausted in the heat! I put more plants in the ground (flowers) and pruned winterkill while assessing all the work yet to be done. Tomatoes go in this weekend (please God, be done with the frost already!!). I have peppers and eggplant ready to set in too. Pam, other than those there are still cukes, squashes, corn, beans, etc. to have space made for them. YIKES!

Today's plans are amorphous. It's another hot, humid one with thunderstorms expected this afternoon. Meanwhile, temps in the 80's. Ick. I have to go get my reading club book at the library assuming they have it ready. I ought to mop floors too--not my favorite thing as it takes a long time. What is your favorite product for damp cleaning wooden floors?

I need to get some chow--my stomach is acting all acid-y!

Later gaters,
Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hey Ladies:

It was 86 here yesterday. I loved it. But today, it's dropped down to a high of 68. This time of year is so weird. Got my lawn mowed and a few weeds pulled. Going to do a little more weeding tonight and get my zinnia seeds planted. Hope the slugs don't eat them.

Sue you have so many veggies to plant. I ended up not planting them on our bare patch. I stacked wood there instead after DS and I cut it all up. My roses are about to bloom. It's funny, it seems like just yesterday I pruned them to the ground.

So Pam, what do you do in the summer once school is out? The last day of school for DS is June 18th. DD1 graduates June 15th and DD2's last day is June 15, but she's actually done June 13th so she can go with us to the graduation.

I plan to take a week or two off this summer. Hopefully to paint and we have a wedding to get through. DH and DS are going camping and cat fishing over July 4. DS is going to spend a couple of weeks down south with DD1. DD1 is starting grad school and working, and of course getting married and going to Florida for her honeymoon. DD2 is going to work all summer, so we really have no fun plans to speak of. The football coaches are already bugging DS, who has no desire to play next year. If he were going to play, he would start training the day after school gets out. He's going to do driver's ed though, so hopefully he can get his license when he turns 16. I can't wait.

Summer plans, Kayan, Sue and Carolyn?

My scale his holding steady at 200. Oh just tell me to stop. I've got to get over my scale addiction. I ate way too many carbs last week. Got to cut back a little. The oatmeal at 18 does tend to bring them up, but its only 100 calories.

Have a great day.

[Pam in TX]

Morning Ladies,

Work is fairly busy.. gearing up for the end of school....

Scale is up 2 lbs today.... Not sure what gives.... I have stayed on track completely..... Must have eaten too much.... This is when it gets harder.... Wanting to eat something off plan, resisting, and then see the scale go up.... makes you think what is the point of staying on plan.....

Sue: You must have a really large gardening space.... I can't imagine trying to care for something that large.... Let alone doing something will all the food it produces.....

Leslie: Sounds like you are going to be pretty busy for a while..... During the summer our hours switch to Mon-Thurs, and then we close for the week of July 4th.... We spend alot of the summer producing reports from the results of the State Assessment tests that students took in April.... There are also retests for those students who didn't pass in July.... then we begin getting things set up for when school starts in the fall.... I am going to have to take some time off as I am over the max for the vacation days limit....

Off to get some laundry done before work today..... Have a good one ladies...

[Dreamcometru]

Hey everyone:

My scale is up 1.2 this morning. So Pam, I can relate. Why? All I can say is it must be something I ate yesterday. Who knows. So, I only ate sausage for breakfast, will have salad for lunch and a very lc dinner. I did notice something. I made a batch of creamcheese muffins. They have been my staple. I ran out for about a week and that's when the scale started dropping. Perhaps it is just coincidental, but after this batch is gone, I'm going to stop for a while. The cool thing is since I upped my carbs, there are a few more options.

Yesterday I had a very busy day at work and then went straight to the grocery store, recycled all the cans and bottles, then shopping. Got home at 7. DS said he needed some stuff so back out I went. But I did get a baby shower gift and a wedding shower gift that I need for this weekend, but nothing done in the yard.

Sue, you must be a busy farmer.

Carolyn and Kayan, check in sometime soon.

[Suji]

Well,
I was going to go to the farm today but my hands hurt from knuckles to fingers and I just didn't feel like making it worse. So, I'll take it easy today and up my calcium/glucosamine intake. I may go visit a nursery today and pick up a couple of plants too. Pam, I *do* have a lot of gardening space to work with around the farmhouse--over three acres worth on that side alone. We're only taking small bites out of that to give over to the veg and flowers so far and everything is a major effort to reclaim from grasslands surrounding the house. I don't count the orchard as major cultivation since that is more dig a hole, put in a tree, mulch and water. :-) As for what to do with the produce, our caretaker loves to can and make relishes and pickles and sauces.

Plus, I got the mail order eggs yesterday and I am fiddling with the temperature to make sure it doesn't go out of acceptable range while the eggs are inside! I put 5 eggs under Chicklet. I put them in one atr a time and she would take her beak and pull them in under her--so from nuthin' to five standard sized eggs (Buff Orpingtons) under this little bantie cochin!

We had some major (Short-term) downpours yesterday from that line of thinderstorms that stretched kitty-corner down the east coast. It was pretty impressive while it lasted. The kids in track had a major event to attend a good hours drive away, and it was cancelled after they got there due to lightning. There is the other half scheduled today and probably a make up on Friday.

I am feeling very low energy today, so I am not scheduling much to do at all though this downstairs is WAY overdue. I'm going to ask for help with that one since most is not my stuff.

[Pam in TX]

Hey girls,

Am so glad it is Friday.....

Those pesky 2 lbs are still there.... so frustrating....

Leslie: I like those creamcheese muffins... Haven't made them in a while though.... I have been eating the flax seed muffins for breakfast.... Gifts for weddings this summer are going to be expensive....

Sue: Hope you are feeling better today.... Every once in a while I get one of those no energy days..... I find if I don't get enough protein I don't do well....

Kayan: Hope you are enjoying your vacation....

Carolyn and Sue: hope all is going well for you..... check in when you can....

Need to get a couple of things done before going to work..... Enjoy your Friday ladies.....

[Suji]

Pam-
I'm glad it's Friday too! Looks like a cool, overcast day with rain this afternoon and evening. I had to shut the windows as it is downright chilly in the house!

We tried gel pads in his shoes, but it didn't help DS3 at regionals yesterday. They had back to back meets on account of Wednesday's cancellation and were gone from 12:30 to after 11. When he got home he had a bunch of AP homework to do. :-/ He was disappointed with his performance--he always takes everything personally if it doesn't go well. He said his heels were "pulsing" when I was driving home last night. Well, Docs do say they are seeing many more sports injuries now and at younger and younger ages as people keep pushing the limits of what the human body is capable of or even a particular body type. WHat he wants is a specific coach who understands jumping and can show how to prevent injuries, etc. Their school doesn't have one. How does one go about finding a personal coach for a sport?

So, I splurged a little bit at the local hole in the wall nurseries and got some various types of sage and some agastache for my intense summer color border. Like I said, quite a few of last year's plants had gone to that big compost bin in the sky. I think they hated having wet winter feet. So I'm going to fix the bed to have superb drainage and see how that does.

I picked up the new (thankfully short) bookclub pick from the library: Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons. I say I'm glad it is short since I'm in the middle of Clavell's huge tome "Gai-Jin" which I just renewed. I have another huge book about the state of Maryland: Maryland-The Middle Temperament which I need to go on with as well.

I am slightly less tired today and my hands aren't hurting so by the weekend I should be good to go get some more work done in ground. DS2 has promised to help me again. Yay! It's time to stake some blackberries too.

Keep up the great losses, Leslie! I haven't been posting much since I have not been strictly following LC for a couple of months. I'm due for a spring inner cleanout.

Are you all starting to gasp at the grocery prices? I find myself talking myself out of buying things since I am not willing to pay "X" on principle! Gas is now slightly above 3.00/gal depending on part of town and I know that is just part of the reason groceries are high. I may invest in some garden structure hardware that allow for both earlier and later growing rather than waiting on the vagaries of weather. Can't even set tomatoes in the ground since night temps are still on the 40's. Our ancestors were pretty tough to get along on local produce and putting up food, I think!!!

New avatar is a singing robin on my hurdle fence at Meadowbrook. Have a great weekend everyone!

Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue and Pam:

Sue I love the new pic. We used to have a plethora of robins here. Now, not so many. For a couple of years, none, but they have come back again recently.

I have gone through a couple of pitching coaches and hitting coaches for DD2 when she was active in softball. We have an on line forum through our local newspaper where people place ads all the time, either players asking for recommendations or coaches advertising lessons. Don't know about track though, but then again, I've never looked. It's how I found DD2 an ASA softball team to play on in her age bracket at the time.

Pam: I'm struggling on the weight loss thing too. At least you didn't gain. My scale says I'm up again this morning another 1.6. So how does one gain 2.8 lbs in two days!!!!!!!!!!!!. Hopefully it's just temporary and will leave me soon.

I hope you all have a good weekend. Mine is action packed. Don't know when I will get a chance to breathe. Maybe that's good. I won't eat anything.

[kayan]

Evening Ladies

Just got back from visiting DD1 in NJ. A quick trip. We left Friday. We waited 2 hrs on the plane before we took off so we had to cancel our reservations at the Cheese factory fondue restaurant in NYC. But we still had a great time with DD! and Sil.

Glad everyone is doing well Have a lot to do to get ready for tomorrow work will check in later

Kayan