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

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Ladies:

Okay, I have no idea what happened to my post, but I see my post to Carolyn made it. Arrgh, computers!

Sue: The arrangements sound like an awesome idea. I bet the kids had such a great time. Your list of errands sounds like me on the weekend, or sometimes before work. DS's car being broken down, I've had to run him everywhere. I just filled up on Friday and my tank is almost empty again! With these prices, it's killing the budget.

Congrats on the scholarship for your DS. Believe me, that's so exciting and so much help. DD2 is in danger of losing hers. She has to maintain a high GPA and her classes are so hard, she's really struggling. I don't blame her. She's working as hard as she can. Being bumped up a year hasn't helped. She should be a Soph, but they put her in as a Jr. because of all the credits she earned in high school and her high testing scores. I'm thinking if they would have left her at her actual level, she would be doing just fine. Oh well, ya do what ya can.

MIL passed on Friday morning. The funeral is scheduled for Saturday. There has been some family drama going on causing the delay but I think they got things worked out, for the funeral at least. DD2 will be home for spring break Wednesday and DD1 is coming up special for the funeral.

Until later!
Leslie

[Suji]

Hi Leslie,

My condolences to your family on the passing of your MIL. At least her pain has ended.

I've got to head over to the Historical Society soon. They are so desperate for help. Most of these places are run primarily through volunteer activity sa the membership subscriptions just won't cut it for salaries.

Your DD and my DS are in the same situation. He's a JR in hours though this would normally be his Sophomore year.

My first shipment of roses ought to be arriving this week. I got notification that they were on their way. However, they were out of one rose my Mom requested for her garden, so I quickly looked into a second source and ordered it plus Morgengruss (from Kordes), probably mispelled!). SO that makes 4 separate rose orders this year. Yikes!

Are either of you making anything out of the ordinary for Easter dinner? I was looking for recipes yesterday to see what was appealing. I may stuff chicken breasts and do a layered salad, brocc/cheese casserole, artichoke dip, etc. Shopping will happen tomorrow, I guess.

WEather is windy and unsettled, WE got over an inch of rain yesterday (which I'm sure those in the middle of the country are saying "Oh Boo Hoo!" Man, the flooding out there! My brother lives in Cincinnati which is probably also seeing a rise in river levels, though not like lower down.

Well, time to check on the hatching eggs I bid on (Orpingtons for the farm). Even without eggs, it helps to have a source of compost for gardens even if it has to be aged for a while!

Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue:

Thanks for the condolences. I can't wait until Saturday is over.

Okay, layered salad sounds great for Easter dinner. I don't know what I'm going to make. DD1 said she would pitch in. I guess we will do the bulk of the cooking Saturday night. I will get a ham and get it ready Sunday am and put it in the oven b/4 I take my mom to church. Then dinner will be ready when we get home. My kids like greenbean casserole and we never have it except for special occasions, so I assume that will be on the menu. Probably asparagus and cheese sauce. Deviled eggs, of course. I thought we would have angel food cake with mashed strawberries and cool whip for dessert.

I'm going to the dept. store close to my office at lunch to pick up Easter goodies. Even though the kids are grown, they dropped hints so I guess I had better do something.

I hope you show pics when your roses bloom. I noticed yesterday that I have panzies all over the place that came up from last year. I'm so excited. Now I've got to clean out the beds so the panzies can grow. Maybe weather will permit sometime this weekend. But with the funeral and all the company, I'm not sure I will get much done.

Hope you have fun at the historical society. Ours are run by volunteers too.

I had best get some work done. Until later.
Leslie

[sleepysue07]

Well, I don't know what is going on! I posted earlier, but it isn't showing up. I am so sorry about your MIL Leslie. I will keep your family in my prayers.

My husband and I have put in an order for pullets ourselves Sue. I have really missed having the chickens. I am especially fond of Rhode Island Reds, and Dominickers. I think we had Buff Orphingtons the last time, but the coyotes picked them off when they flew the coop. I also want to get some of the little pigmy goats. They are so cute!

Well, I have to work at the office tomorrow morning, and then my son and I are driving to Dallas to meet up with My husband and all of the church youth group. We are taking the kids to Six Flags. I planned the whole thing, but I can't leave with them at 8:00, so I have to drive up at lunch time. What a bummer.

It's late now, so I guess I'd better go. I don't know what I will fix for Easter, but I suspect that we may be going out. I have been cooking and washing non-stop this week with Matt and Josh home from college.

Have a good day tomorrow. It is supposed to be sunny, and in the upper 70's tomorrow. Today was warm and beautiful as well. I love Spring!

Carolyn

[Dreamcometru]

Thanks Carolyn. Once we get through tomorrow, things hopefully will calm down a bit.

We live in the middle of suburbia, so chickens are totally out of the question. You ladies with your land. How wonderful that you can experience that. I think we are going to keep it at a minimum as far as our yard goes when we decide to move (not for a couple of years yet).

I got most of my easter shopping done yesterday. Got the kids some chocolate bunny rabbits. Even found DH a sugar free bunny rabbit. I got a ham, some broccoli, strawberries and other items. Although we may consume all the strawberries before Sunday and I may have to go get some more. I should have a house full, but that's okay.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

[Suji]

Hay youse! :-)
My kids like the goodies too. My oldest doesn't care for chocolate, so I don't give him any. He's a gummy anything lover. THen there's DS2 away at college who gits nuthin'. Poor he. :-(

ANyway, I drove out to the farm today to take advantage of a sunny day. I dug holes for and planted 11 gooseberries and currants, 1 mulberry tree and then the Pickering Order #1 arrived. So, I also planted 9 roses, but wasn't able to site the climbers (5), so I'll go back on Monday to do that. Needless to say, I took an Advil before I left. My back muscles will feel the pain tomorrow.

Tuesday is docent training at the historical society. Stupid me to open my mouth and say, OK. (rolls eyes). Oh well, I can talk a lot about things I learn. Never has a problem with information gathering!

Carolyn! I was looking for some Dominiques too! I haven't had much luck finding any that aren't crosses with barred rocks. I'd also like some Sussex. CHickens are fun to watch, aren't they? THen again, my ducks were even more amusing. I will bid on some in April.

Well, guess I'll do a bit of genealogy snoopage on line for a while.

Have a great Easter!

Sue

[sleepysue07]

Happy Easter!

Well Easter here was good. I think most of the kids in my Sunday School class this morning had already partaken of sugary Easter candy because they were bouncing off the walls before I gave them the chocolate bunnies. We, (the church choir did our) Easter musical, and then after church we went out for lunch to our favorite steakhouse.

Matt went back to Kansas yesterday, so we were just three. DS2 left after we ate to pick up his GF to take her to the movies. DH and I spent the day napping. The Six Flags trip was exhausting on Friday! The park was filled to capacity, and I had to park blocks away at Texas Ranger Stadium and walk. Thankfully, Matt was with me. I think that all of the kids had a wonderful time. During the concert my husband got up to go stand in line for a soft drink. While he was gone a strange man came and sat beside me and began talking to me. The pre-teen kids from my Sunday School class were concerned and began questioning the man about his intentions. Two of the little boys said, "You do know that she is married don't you, and he is coming right back!" The man laughed and said that he thought he would move along before the kids decided to lynch him. It was funny, and also very sweet.

I am dreading going back to work tomorrow. Monday is my least favorite day of the week. I am scheduled to work far too many hours this week, so it's going to be a tough one.

Sue, I am curious about the purchase of your chickens. Are you having to bid on them in an auction? Here we just purchase them from other people who raise them, if the conditions are clean and the broods are well cared for. In the past I have bought most of them from the local feed store though.

Only a month until DS1 is out for the summer. I don't know if he will live here, or move in with friends. I want him to live at home and save his money.

Have a lovely week girls, and I will check in whenever I can.

Carolyn

[Suji]

Just a quick post!
Carolyn-- If I wanted to, I can drive down the street to the feed store and they have all sorts of already hatched chicks to purchase--mostly are fairly standard breeds which come from Mt. Healthy Hatchery. They are nice looking chicks and most are purchased straight run (no way to tell the sex).
But-we enjoy the whole process of hatching eggs in our incubators. I bid on hatching eggs from people who often show their chickens so they may be a higher quality bird. There is always a risk with the hatching eggs shipped via mail since they can get jostled alot. But, we almost always get a few. If you are interested in finding people who sell already hatched chicks you can also find them on the same site I frequent--eggbid.com.
You can look for offers close by too.

Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hi ladies. I hope you had a good holiday.

I had everyone over for dinner and ate way too much. I didn't weigh this morning because I was afraid to. I tried to stick with LC but there were too many treats around.

Its spring break for my kids. DS had his wisdom teeth out this am. It was a quick procedure, but now he's kind of stuck not feeling too good. My BIL, the dentist, said it was one of the easiest he's done and DS should make a speedy recovery. I hope so. I'm staying home with him today to make sure he's okay. DD2 is home, but I prefer to stick close by.

I will go to work tomorrow and wednesday, then I'm taking thurs and fri off. The plan was to go skiing one of those days, but we will probably golf rather than ski. The weather on the mountain doesn't look too good for those days and I'm a fair weather skiier.

If I get bored I may tackle the flower beds. It was supposed to be pouring rain today but it actually looks almost nice outside. For now, I plan to clean out the back bedroom. Fun, huh?

Have a great day.

[sleepysue07]

Thanks for the information on the chickens. My husband's grandmother raised show chickens, and they produced eggs in many different shades. Now we have all of her equipment, incubators and such, and I don't have a clue as to what to do with it all, but my husband does. Our problem though is that we don't have time to do anything these days. I am supposing that her equipment is rather outdated now. It has been about 15 years since it was last used.

Leslie, I marvel at you being able to ski, and work in the yard on the same weekend. What a wonderful place to live!

I am working every day this week except for tomorrow, and Saturday. I promised a girl who is getting married on the 6th that I would go flower shopping with her tomorrow, and I will do the flowers for her wedding. I don't know why I did that. I used to love making arrangements, especially for weddings, but I don't have the time for it now! I have to stop volunteering my time. I am also involved in preparations for a fund-raising dinner that I've been organizing with a couple at church. It will be on Saturday, my other day off this week. This is going to be my last time to volunteer for a while. I hate that, but work is keeping me busy all the time, and I have no time for myself. My house is a wreck, and my laundry is getting out of control as well.

I am tired of working so many hours, and I don't think the money is enough of an incentive. I resent not having time to do anything I want to do. I don't have time to sew, to clean, to cook, or even grocery shop anymore, not to mention washing and ironing. Most days I leave my house at 8:15 a.m., and I don't come home until 10:15 p.m. and I am tired of it.

Oh well, I apologize for complaining so much, maybe I will feel differently tomorrow.

Have a good night ladies,

Carolyn

[Suji]

Carolyn,
(Pat. pat. pat.) I think you have a legitimate complaint about your time. That's no life if it is dragging you down and wearing you out. Ya have to love what you do to weather that kind of work cycle or else be in desperate need, in which case you do what you have to. PLus if your home environment is getting out of control, you can't even come back to a "safe haven" where all feels well. Looks like "learn to say, "I'd love to, BUT..." as far as volunteering goes in such as situation as you describe. I'm doing volunteer things but they haven't (so far) taken as much out of me because I'm not also holding a job. So, sympathy from me, but a warning that you will wear out soon at your schedule!

OK Leslie--you bum!!! Where do you go skiing in OR? My best bud from college used to go skiing whenever too and she's in the Seattle area.

I have docent training today. Of course, I slept poorly last night--my brai kept going round and round my census research project. I am discovering that it is a bad ideas to be totally immersed in something up to the last minute before bed. THe brain takes longer to quiet itself!

Anyhow--beautiful day shaping up which I could use at the farm, but--I promised the historical society...

Later,
Sue
PS Avatar is of the latest crocuses to come up at the farm.

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue and Carolyn:

Carolyn: I know how it is when you are so busy. Yesterday, while staying home to take care of DS, I did laundry, laundry, laundry. We had so much pile up and I hadn't had time to do it. I still have a load in the dryer and one in the washer waiting to be dried. DD2 can switch them out today.

Sue: Yes, its really nice to be only about an hour away from being able to ski. All three of my kids learned. Its really fun when you get up there. My problem is now that the kids are older, they either go with their own friends or don't go. My friends don't ski. I'm not sure how I got into it except it was something I always wanted to do and I learned how as an adult.

The picture of your crocuses is beautiful. We have a lot of them in bloom around here. The cherry blossoms are gorgeous as are the plum trees.

DS is recovering nicely. He's a little swollen, but not to bad. I didn't talk to him this morning though before leaving for work, so DD2 will give me a report in an hour or two. I wouldn't have left him by himself.

I didn't get the back room cleaned out and my flower beds are begging. Not to mention, my lawn is getting longer, so I need to get out there. I wish I had today off too, because its really nice outside and I could have gotten some of that done.

I had best get to work. Have a great day.

[sleepysue07]

Hello Sue and Leslie,

Sue the crocuses are lovely. I haven't noticed many things blooming here in Texas yet. The only flowers I have seen are the petunias planted in the beds outside the shopping mall in Waco. Things are so dry here this year that I haven't even seen any wildflowers yet. Although, I did notice a rose blooming on a bush outside my office window this morning at the church, and it is truly beautiful.

Our dog is so completely out of control right now that I don't know what to do with him. He is constantly destroying something, or eating something that is not edible! I have only been home today for 1 hour, and during that time he chewed up a game, a pair of underwear stolen from a laundry basket, a dish cloth stolen from the kitchen, and an entire pack of chewing gum that came from parts unknown. I am far too tired these days to put up with this. I love him, but my patience with him is really wearing thin.

Leslie, at what age did you learn to ski? That is awsome! I learned as a teen, but haven't been since I was 23.

I have to go, I need to get things ready for tomorrow.


Carolyn

[Suji]

Hey,

I've got to volunteer at the HistSoc this morning, so just a quick post!
Went to the farm yesterday and planted 10 shrubs, 6 trees and 6 more roses plus dug and readied the potato bed. Now if we can just keep the dang voles out!

Leslie,
Your spring really is far ahead of ours--trees in bloom! Only the small bulbs and the earliest daffs are coming on.
What is the name of the mountain where you ski?

Carolyn--
Is this a new problem with your dog? How old is he? THis may be a reaction to your new family schedule if he is just starting to do this. Perhaps he doesn't have enough activity to tire him out--that's often when dogs get destructive. Perhaps a crate as a temporary measure to keep your sanity and some vet approved chew toys?

I ought to start more seeds today. Rain is expected over the next 3 days. I feel sorry for those poor guys in the riverine regions that are being flooded. :-(

TTFN!
Sue

[sleepysue07]

I am suspecting that our schedule has a lot to do with it too. He is crated during the day and then let out into the yard when my son comes in from school. He is not quite 2 years old yet. He used to be at home with me every day and have my undivided attention. Whenever we buy him chew toys, of any sort, he destroys them within ten minutes and eats the bits. I feel very guilty about leaving him in the crate during the daytime, but have no choice. He is a big labrador, and when left unattended outside will either climb over the fence, or tunnel under the gate, and be in the middle of the highway in about 10 seconds. I wouldn't dream of letting him loose in the house while we are gone because he is destructive and also very aggressive with the cat.

I don't believe in giving up a member of the family because he has become inconvenient, so I will continue to tough it out, I guess. I have thought about doggy bootcamp, but I'm afraid they might send him home. The groomer told us never to bring him back.

Gotta run!

Carolyn

[sleepysue07]

Hello? Hello? Hey girls, where did you go? I hope that you are both fine, and just really busy this weekend. Imagine my dismay when I logged only to find that the last post was mine. That's no fun.

Oh well, off to bed for now.

I'll check in again tomorrow.


Carolyn

[Dreamcometru]

So now Carolyn is the good little camper. Sorry for my absence.

Hi ladies. I'm here. Ive been off work a couple of days and then the weekend, so I kind of don't have much computer time when not at work.

Someone recommended a book called Cheat to Lose. I like the concept. I was especially thrilled because its based on low carbing. Three weeks of hard core LC then a cheat day (unlimited-can you say pancakes?) Anyway, then two weeks of slightly upped carbs, then you up the carbs more. By this time you get a cheat day once a week. It has some good suggestions for snacks and lc menus that are kind of the same as the usual LC menus but a little different. So I'm going to venture into this experiment. It really mirrors Atkins. After all its only (gulp) three weeks of hard core low carbing then I get to move on. I checked this book out at the library, but if I like it, I'm going to buy a copy. Its really easy to understand and not a bunch of scientific gobbeldy gook.

I went golfing the last four days in a row. DS had to over spring break as much as possible despite his wisdom teeth being yanked. We missed the squalls every day. No sooner would we get in the car, the look out, heavy snow, hail, rain, wind, lightening. Its typical spring weather, but slightly cooler than normal. The snow was beautiful Thursday and Friday.

DS recovered nicely from having his wisdom teeth out. No swelling to speak of. He's back at school today. DD2 went back to school yesterday. I already miss her.

I hope all is well.

[Suji]

Just a quick check in--I have to leave for Jr Gardeners in a few minutes. It's gonna be a hold-on-to-your-hats-seat-of-the-pants-day! I'm experimenting with making "mozaic flowerpots" with the kids minus the grout. I discovered that I had my mixer at the farm, so trying to whirr up thinset mortar with a trowel is, shall we say, "interesting". WE are also planting onions, lettuce and chives in milk jugs. So, I have a lot of stuff to haul into the elementary school when I get there. Plus, it's raining!

Tomorrow is volunteer work plus training for docents II at the historic society.
Wednesday is garden club tour of members home gardens followed by tea at the oldest house in town (1760) that doubles as a tea room/B&B. Then immediately off to the second committee meeting for the reclamation of the historic garden behind the house I'd be docenting in (DoSiDo!)

Hopefully I will get up to the farm Thursday unless it rains. I planted asparagus for the third year in a row on the weekend and dumped muck onto the currant and gooseberry bushes for fertilizer. Got to do the brambles next.

Anyway--a busy week is shaping up.

Sounds like a neat program, Leslie. Carolyn, sorry to have missed you. Sometimes I don't post between Friday and Monday-Tuesday depending on how much stuff I am trying to get done! Don't let that stop you!

Later guys,
Sue

[sleepysue07]

Good for you Leslie! I plan to try Weight Watchers beginning on Sunday. I'm attending a wedding this weekend, and also the rehearsal dinner, so I thought I would just wait until that is over.

DS1 has proposed a challenge. He wants me to give up Diet Coke, or any Diet Soda for a month. He promises that I will have less joint pain, and much more energy. I am going to give it a try. He also asked me to give up my morning coffee, but I cannot give up both at once, and nothing else replaces my morning cup of coffee.

Sue, I wish I were one your garden society children. I have always wanted to try my hand at mosaics. I want to take a mosaics class, a cake decorating class, and a flower arranging class. My friends and I began painting ceramics this past year, and have really enjoyed that.

We dodged a few really strong thunderstorms today, and I am thankful, but it is so warm and humid here tonight.

Well, gotta run for now!

Carolyn

[Dreamcometru]

OMGosh Sue: You are so busy. It sounds like you have come up with some awesome ideas for the jr garden club. You are so creative. So when you say docent are you going to be a tour guide for the HS?

Carolyn: I'm always wanting to take a class. I'm not making excuses, but something always seems to get in the way. Its only 2 years until I'm childless and I'm thinking at that time I can do all kinds of learning.

My friend's mother is in ww. She's been losing like crazy and hasn't stopped. She's been very successful. The counselor at our group said if we want to continue losing after all this is over, ww would be the way to go. I hope I'm where I want to be by the end of this, but since I have made NO progress over the last six months, who knows.

I succeeded lc'ing yesterday. I hope I can today too. I was completing my food journals for my group for the last three weeks and Ahhhhh! I've been eating way too many carbs so no wonder I haven't been losing. I'm back to meat and veggies for a while to see if that can help. Maybe my metabolism is in shock from all the junk I've been eating and going back will jump start the losses again.

Its still really cold here. DS's car died again so its the late lunch hour drive to get him to the golf course on time. Bleh. DH may have the afternoon off and be able to take care of it. I certainly hope so.

Have a great day.

[Dreamcometru]

Hi ladies:

So Sue: How did the jr garden club go? Did the mosaics come together?

Its been very beautiful here but cold. Unfortunately I'm stuck in the office. My lawn is screaming at me to mow it. I hope I get to it before it rains again.

I haven't been exercising like I should. I've got to get back at it. I may go on my lunch hour today since I can't go tonight. DS has a concert.

He's gone on a band thing today, so I won't need to take the late lunch to get him to golf on time. I can't wait until he gets his car back. This is really frustrating. I hope he and DH have learned we should have kept the little Nissan. I'm sure its still running just fine and the girl who bought it from us was laughing all the way to the bank on the deal she got. It was a beater banger, but very dependable.

Not much else is new. I was down a couple of lbs but back up a lb today. I'm convinced I need to exercise to keep the weight at bay.

Have a great day.

[Suji]

Hiya,
After running around so much this week, I needed a breather at home. So, after running some local pet food/potting soil errands I've been here all day. Got most of my tomato seeds planted except for the determinates. Peppers and eggplants await but I need more flats and am regretting moving half my setup to the farm since I really use it more here. Our caretaker friend think he wants to start under lights, but most of those things for cool weather can just be direct sown. Sigh. This is what I get for being "nice"-- inconvenience!
I think they had fun with the pot project, but it was hard to keep a couple of the "chatty Cathy's" focussed. You know the type--kind of child leaders, who if they get a bit wild start to communicate that to the rest of the "followers" and then the group. Otherwise, it was neat. I'm going to try some mosaics myself. We are going to make tufa planters at the May garden club meeting! That should be some messy fun!

Lots of activity down the hill--the county is having their H&G SHow at the Ag Center and so the builder is going to hold open house over the weekend. DH will be away for Fri/Sat, so I guess any farm visit will likely wait until Sunday. The weather forecast is calling for a bunch of drought busting rain, but who can tell?

I had a great time visiting other gardens yesterday--I could not believe the ancient gnarled lilac this one lady had. It was humongous and twisted. THe branches were so old and long that she needed to prop them up along their length with forked sticks. It must have been a century and a half old! The tea room experience was great too. As I mayhave mentioned above it was very picturesque inside with the huge old floor boards and the whole architectural style within. The tea was great--they brought out a tiered servier with selections of tidbits. Savories to sweets on three levels, plus the tea and scones to die for (with orange flavor). Got to take my Mom when she gets here in May-June.

I don't know what we'll do when it is DS3's turn to have a car (he who shows little interest). DS2 has his own vehicle; DS1 drives DH's old truck. I just hate when so often more than one breaks down at the same time. Arrghh! SO far, AOK this month!

I have been trying to cut out one category of nono food per day until I am more in control. I'm still not really focussed though. I make small slips when I am not thinking about it. Exercise? I picked up a library book on belly dancing! Haha!

Well, I guess I'd better finish the note I was writing. Rant on/Why is it that so many people, mostly older friends, seem to think we need to have a smile, a laugh, a chuckle or thought, a fw:fw:fwd:fwd for the day? My Dad has gotten really bad with all kinds of the sappy forwards. Not a personal word from him--just forwards. And somehow I am on other elderly ladies mailing lists who have to forward jokes ,especially "Maxine" jokes. I really prefer an actual word from the person sending this stuff!/ rant off

TTFN!
Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Sue you are always such a busy bee. Good for you. I know how the chatty cathy's can go. I had the