Apples2

Meredith...if you are having a tough time getting back into exercise, set up a time of day (right off the bat in the morning) and try to stick to it a few days a week and build from there. Baby steps but gotta take those steps. You are doing great watching what you eat. Suggestion....maybe try getting a couple hundred more calories a day (healthy calories). You don't want to set yourself up for a crash and burn or a plateau. Throw some eggs or Jerky in for a snack. Yes, we are already enjoying ourselves. I took this morning just to hang with the dog. He is so content here. We have sat outside and read most of the morning (he has slept under my feet). We are just going to enjoy every day whatever we do...whether it be hanging or sightseeing. We've done this for a few years and really look forward to a different climate. Be careful shoveling...especially if heavy snow. Take care

Arlene....is your mom on meds that make her slip a bit? Would always happen to MIL on certain meds but otherwise had her wits about her until she passed. Try not to worry. Hugs. I have posted a couple different chili recipes and make the white chicken chili a number of ways. I have one that I start by stewing chicken and use the broth. You can start it that way and then add the following to the diced chicken and broth. I use the entire chicken (white and dark meat) but you can just do white meat. I add about 4 stalks diced celery, 1 diced green and 1 diced red pepper, about 2 cups juilianne carrots and 1 diced medium onion while cooking. 1 large can V-8 juice 2 tsp. chili powder 1 tsp cummin 1 can black Beans 1 can butter beans 1 can chili beans 1 can garbonzo beans 1 pint fat free sour cream Make sure to rinse all beans except chili beans. I just add it all together and stew for a few hours. Be sure to stir gently once in awhile if on stove top. Can throw in slowcooker also.

Gosh Sandy....you should try to stop the guilt when it comes to trying to please your dad 24/7. (Easier said than done, I know). It looks to me that you are doing everything you can for him. You sound very frustrated and have every right as a daughter to try and find an alternative to being so tied down with him. Just getting a little bit of relief and someone else doing some of the care for him would make a difference and lift the burden. There are a lot of ppl your dad's age that don't consider payment for duties done and I bet at this stage you cannot change that about him. Hopefully when his arm heals you will get a break. But, this bout with him is a good reminder to have a family meeting and have a plan of action in place for the future. Have been listening to a local Tucson station the last couple of days. Just is so sad about the shootings. Watched Dateline on Sunday night. Sounds like Gifford is quite the Congress woman. Sounds like she is a person that is not in it for herself but for the people. Hoping for a full recovery for her and cannot even imagine how the families are feeling that lost loved ones. For as long as I live, I will never understand what brings a person to the point of doing something like this. Pent up anger....well....mental illness, I guess.

Eva....there is a chill this morning so can see why you would be wearing a jacket. I'm still in my flannel jammies but have been sitting outside on the porch with Tanker. Did you see how carefully I worded that people pleasing thing? I wouldn't want to be called one either but I like to see ppl's needs met also. Sandals WILL be worn today but think long pants are in order. DH is off to visit his dad. He called and told him to do some thinking on where he wants to lunch. Think we are going up there on Sunday and I will make a picnic lunch and spend of time with him. We also have friends in Gold Canyon that are wanting us to visit. Maybe next week. This guy is one of Keith's best friends. He's a farmer and does trucking for us and about ready to retire. We rent some of his land. DH will find lots of things to do with him while we are here. Also, "Mom's" son (my adopted bro) and his wife are in the same area as FIL. We stopped to visit them on the way here. Linda and Great...I think wearing a hole in the carpet would be a good thing. I should go into the ugly carpet bedroom in the basement of our house and wear a hole in that. DH always says "That carpet is perfectly fine". Fine if you like ugly.

Good Morning Linda...we must have been posting about the same time or I missed your post b/4 I started posting. Not a good thing you have cold weather but it works out perfect for me. I forgot to ask someone to take over the bitching and moaning I do about our cold. I think you can step right in and do it. Thanks. (hugs on the weather)

Good Morning Friends.... Nice morning even though it is still dark. Tanker and I have already been out for a bit to sit on the screened in porch. He munched his BF and is now back in bed. I am still on MN time and wide awake at 4:30. DH is still snuggled in. We are just loving this vacation already. As I stated last night, we love the house and the area. Eva has spoiled us with and think she busted her butt the last couple of weeks in order to get ready for us. For example....BF is going to be home-canned peach sauce and peach preserves for our toast. Gonna stop cuz don't want to embarrass her. You know the saying "People Pleaser"? Well, she's not a people pleaser....she just plain pleases people. For over 30 years (besides vacations) I have lived in a very rural area where a person just does not jump in the vehicle to get milk. I feel pulled because DH will NEVER retire and I am fine with that. I just hope he is able to farm until the day he leaves this earth. But, at some point I would love to live closer to town. So, that said, I feel like I died and went to heaven. I am able to just drive up the street to the Safeway. I don't have to drive 70 miles to do a little shopping (tiny mall). Or drive 2.5 hours for a variety of shops. But, what I am going to enjoy most is the weather and just to be able to step out the door without freezing the nose off my face. Lined up cable/internet to be hooked up tomorrow monring. It's been kind of nice without TV for a couple of days but having news withdrawl. Great....You never go to the movies without having your popcorn, do you? So, that's a planned treat, right? One of the things that caused me to be obese was "bad foods"...."guilty foods". I would go on a diet and be soooooo strict. If I lost my control and ate something "bad", I would beat myself up and call myself a loser and give up and go back to my way of eating crap. Consider the popcorn a planned treat once in awhile and allow for the calories if you can. If not, get right back after it and do a double douse of exercise. On the DD's MIL issues...control freak? The world was created just for her? Ummmmmmm...wouldn't this be about her new grandbaby and wouldn't she want to just love that mommy up and see to it that she has a wonderful shower? Selfish lady. I would have a tough time changing scheduled shower just for her. It would be different if she had an excuse that counted. I wish your DD all the luck in the world with this woman. I hope she can stand strong. MIL needs to know she cannot walk on her. Arlene....your poor mom. You are such a good DD. Hugs Sandy....with your dad was as open as Arlene's mom with getting the help he needs (but not all help from you). Hugs to you, too. Julie....sorry you are suffering again. Do you have an appt scheduled to see what you can do? Hugs. Way to go Meredith! Pays to have a plan and you must be feeling so good about getting back on track. I can feel it in your posts. As I said last night, I am caught up on all the posts. You girls were pretty busy those couple of days. I'll pop back on later. Now I am just going to pretend that I live in Tucson, this is my house and my neighborhood and that I work at a little boutique just up the road. LOL

As you all know, we made it to AZ and are settling in...thanks for updating for me, Eva. All caught up on posts....read a bit last night but DH was already in bed and did not take the time to post. The weather was beautiful today and looking forward to many more. When we were driving down and it finally got to 40 degrees, we rolled the windows down and took our coats off....felt like summer to us. Sandals are coming out tomorrow. As you all have most likely guessed, Eva went way above and beyond anything we ever expected. The house is great...nice area and she even supplied us the basics to get us started. We were so tired when we got here that it was very nice to just rest a bit. Trip went great and even got here earlier than expected. Just hung out a bit today and did a few errands. Tanker has adjusted nicely. He was the BEST travel pup. Not one problem and even peed on command. Poor puppa. DH is heading out tomorrow morning to visit with his dad and then we are all going over to meet Glimmer. Tanker is looking forward to his play date and we are looking forward to visiting with Eva (maybe DH) and getting to see where they live. I look forward to meeting her other creatures as well. OK...going to hand the laptop back to DH. I thought I was going to have to pry those farm fingers from it in order to check in. LOL... Hi to all...caught up and remember all that was said. Will take some time tomorrow morning while DH is gone to visit with you all. Sending WARM hugs to all. Missed you guys.

Hello from Concordia, KS. I think if we calculated right, we did about 550 miles today and have been hanging in the room for a couple of hours already. Tanker handled the trip well and is now laying on the bed with daddy. We brought his bed in the room with us so he will have to go to it when bedtime comes....no sleeping with that 100lb dog. We wouldn't sleep. Eva...heard of the shooting when we were checking in. Horrible. I just have such a tough time understanding things like this and what goes through someone's mind while doing the shooting and the horror that goes through the victim's mind. Poor families. And, nothing wrong with not liking housework...I have come to the point that I would go back to work just to hire it done. I am truly burned out on it as I am sure we all are. Go pour some concrete if that's what makes you happy. Everything waits till the next and the next or until you feel you want to get to it. Great...try not to get disgusted about the scale. In fact, keep working like you have been and don't get on the scale for a week. Put it away and don't be tempted. My weight fluctuates from day to day and sometimes by 4-5lbs...usually depends on sodium intake. OK...DH is being patient while I caught up on posts and am sure he would like to check his "Ag Talk" site. Phyll and Arlene, prayers for you mothers. Hope they both can turn the corner soon. Hugs. Good night. Talk to you all tomorrow night if possible. Popcorn time. Tanker says.

Chris...hope nothing serious is going on with you guys. Not quite sure what cities in TX we will hit and when we will be in your state. DH thought Delhardt? Our travel papers are in the car and about ready to hop in and leave. DH says that we are not in OK or TX for very long at all.. This is a long time a comin'....out the door and one the road.

MaineJackie...that's what it is all about. Working the band....not thinking it will work for you. Good going. One thing I forgot to mention to the OP, Lauren. I do not discount your apprehension with reading different posts and threads that involve complications. I remember having a panic attack and almost hyperventilating while reading things on LBT prior to being approved and prior to surgery. But, I am so happy that I pulled up almost every thread. It helped me to prepared for one of the biggest decisions of my lifetime. The good, the bad and the ugly. That's basically what life is all about. You can put blinders on and not look at the ugly, but it will only shelter you from being educated on the issues. I hope by now that you have had enough responses that you can put things into perspective. Hugs. Off the subject...Lauren...you are just cute as a button. What a beautiful woman you are. Keep your sites set on making a healthy and active life for yourself...no matter which route you decide to go.

Janet...are you in need of some B-12 or something? We don't hear you talk of being "not motivated" very often. Can I send you some "piss and vinegar"? I seem to be full of it. Pretty hard sitting in the house today and this evening and having the feeling (so many times this winter) like I'm being held captive. Have not been out of the house since Wed. For some reason...gotta be the stress piled on top of all the storms and being pent up in the house, I have had an attitude change. In all my life and everything we have ever gone through, I have never ever lost my positive attitude. I am starting to feel it slip away. It will pick up again once we back the car out of the garage (plowing first) and hit some good/non-icy roads. The way it looks right now, we will not hit good roads until we hit NE. Oh...and for all of the talk I've done the last couple of weeks...I did just fine on the packing and fitting it into the car. I already know that there will be some boxes shipped back to MN a week b/4 we head back. Plan on doing some antiquing, consignment shopping and buying old books (my passion) while we are down in "God's Country". Want to look for some things that my DS's are interested in. I am just looking forward to walking outside and not having the nose on my face freeze solid. Whine.

Linda......sorry for the stressors in your family's lives. Glad you are going to someone and talking. It's so nice to be able to walk away from a few sessions and have tools to somewhat deal. I know it has helped me tremendously. I just didn't know which end to pick up as they were all falling down around me. Just a few "key words" sometimes helps you to get what you need to do or not do. Hugs and sending the love to you and your family. I know you and DH will be there for Alyah and hopefully DSD will hand herself over for rehab and do the work that it takes to get herself sober. Thanks for the offer for the overnight. You live with a man, right? So, you know that the route is set in stone. LOL. Would have been lovely to stop and visit.

Lauren...ditto Lellow's post stating that ppl tend to move on when there are no complications and they are successful. Try not to stress over threads that list complications. Not a bad thing to read all sorts of threads on LBT but do not obsess over what you seem to see as so many ppl listing their complications. I am 2.5 yrs out. No complications EVER and feeling better at 55 than I did at 20yrs old. Good luck in making your decision.

Eva...our plan is to leave the cold/crappy weather behind us. The only vehicles we have seen go by today are snowmobiles and we live on a busy road. Just watched the local 5pm news and they say that this will let up by 8am but bitterly cold tomorrow. What the heck was today then? Tanker and I and Keith talked about Glimmer today. He's all for a play date some day soon. Arlene...hoping that your mother's tests will come out OK. Try not to worry too much until you find out results.

Went and put jammies on and decided to have a crossword marathon and then maybe play monopoly with DH later on. I have absolutely every done in this house and with all the books so don't want to get bored. Not good at being bored. Wish I had figured out earlier how to post a picture on the thread. Really storming and most likely will have to wait for the plows to get out and get some of the road cleaned off tomorrow. All packed and no where to go.

Well...don't think we will be getting out of here today at all. It's going on 2pm and the snow and wind have whipped up quite a blizzard. Has gotten worse. Bummer. DH is still chomping at the bit to go. Not very excited about riding for a number of hours and cutting up my dash with my fingernails. I want to just see what the morning brings. Ugh...and the reason we are getting the heck out of here. I cannot count the number of days just like this one where we cannot see across the yard because of blowing snow. Whine

Jodi...the majority of the Kate Aspen gifts that I found on clearance were not all purchased from that site. Check out Herbergers or Bon Ton sites and then type in Kate Aspen. I looked a couple of weeks ago for something and they had a good variety of things. Nice and good quality gifts.

Eva....I know you won't listen to me on this but it's worth a try. Leave the bed....we can set it up....no problem. Your chili sounds good. I'm on a Soup and chili kick this winter. You are so right in your statement about we alone have to get that "Aha" moment where we realize the choices we make and how they affect us. Good going for getting back at it right awaythis morning. I see the option you are talking about where I did the strike through the letters. Oops. I thought it was a site problem. When all else fails, blame LBT. Not sure when we will be able to leave. DH had a problem in town when trying to find the right filter. I can hear him swearing in the basement as he is trying to get it put back together. As soon as the Water is back on I will need to wash his mouth out. The unit he is working on is a female...can tell by the horrible names he is calling her. Bad and I bet he does not know I can hear cuz that word is not allowed. He must be terribly frustrated. As I stated this morning, we have somewhat of a blizzard going on. Visibility is not good so going to wait it out a bit. No big deal....we are ALMOST on vacation. Got my contracts done and signed (whew) and waiting on DH. Just heard an announcement that all schools are closing at 11am. I know DH will think we can drive in this crap. He will need to drive till we get out of it. Makes me tense especially when I have semi trucks on my tail. Chris probably swears at ppl like me when he comes across them on the road. Just taking the opportunity to keep the junking going on as long as I can.

Look at that above post. How did that crap happen?

Almost forgot to find my replacement....Will someone please take over junking up the thread until I am able to do it again? Please make sure just to ramble on and on and on and talk about senseless crap. Thank you.

Back to not being able to change print size. I don't get this new site and why it does this. Quick post. Quite the morning around here. Sprung a water leak where the pipe comes into the house. Better now than when we are gone. Glad DH caught it. He's on his way to town for new pipe and joints. Also, found out late yesterday I have to revise some contracts. Was not in the plan but gotta get them done b/4 we leave. Have them all saved on computer but a real pain and very detailed. Mini blizzard here this morning so maybe it's best we leave late anyway. Don't even know if we will make it to Omaha tonight but does not matter. Will stay in contact...should have WIFI but you all know how that goes sometimes. Won't vanish off the face of the earth. Eva is expecting us and if we don't show, she can send out the posse. Talk to you soon. So happy so many of you guys jumped on to get back on track. Keep it going. Focus on what it will do for you and how good you will feel both physically and emotionally. Hey Phyll, good to hear you are back "home". Love to all.

OK...I have noooooo clue why I can all of a sudden change my size...first time since conversion. I was soooooo frustrated. Makes me happy. OK...I'm about as ready as I can be. All the laundry done, dishwasher going, house cleaned except for bits of popcorn from sharing with the dog and will suck that up in the morning. Our departure time is going to be delayed because of a few things that popped up but should get going by 10 or 11am. No biggy. Just focused on some warmer weather. Janet...thanks for the recipe. Sounds good. I just love cabbage but DS cannot stand it. So, a good dish to make for just DH and myself. I'm excited to hear that you might be able to come to Tucson for a night. You'll get to meet DH. You will think he is a sweety...hope you can make it. Heard anything on your friend from Lucky Sevens? I have this thing where I think if us bandsters have passed that 2 yr mark, we won't have troubles. Positive thinking. So proud of you girls for swearing and putting your swear finger up to the candy, Fritos and cheese. Good going. I am so excited for your new start and what it will bring for you. Joyce and Cheri's talk about their ex's makes me want to share this story I heard on the MPLS news tonight. There was a guy arrested for intending to send a gift to his 3 ex GF's. (Never made it that far...roommate turned him in). He bought vibrators and loaded them with gunpowder, BB's and buckshot. He rigged them so that when they were running for awhile, they would explode. Sicko. He should have called and just used LauraK's "Bless your heart". Cheri...thank you for being the special person in those kids lives. My thank you is said just in case you never get any from parents, caregivers, etc. You are making an impression by paying attention and teaching them skills they will need in life. Something maybe they don't even get at home. You know what DH and I always noticed? (A) students got 90% of the attention. Others had a tendency to fall through the cracks (only when it came to certain teachers). A teacher like you has the ability to give a challenged child that little something that lets them know someone cares and hopefully gives them the confidence to strive for more. "Bless your heart". No sarcasm...I meant that. Did not make it to the wake tonight for DH's classmate and our neighbor. Had planned on it but DH was in town and his meeting and errands ran longer than he thought so he just stopped by funeral home and visited. I'm OK with that. I think I've been to enough of them this year and so has he. Will most likely be on the thread for a bit in the morning while DH does what he needs to get done. Just listened to the weather and a good time to get out of here. Low's of way below zero by tomorrow night. Just need to do a shout out to Phyll...hope your are having a great trip back down. Your mom doing OK? Forgot to ask and haven't heard. Arlene talking about her mom made me think of your post. Good to hear from you Chris and that you and family enjoyed Janet's recipe. Kelly...where are you, girl???? What's up with you? Julie? OK, off to bed in a bit. Talk in the morning. Sending the love. sleep tight.

Always a scare when you get those calls, Arlene. Hope your mom will recover from all of this soon. You take care of yourself. Prayers said. Sending warm hugs from cold MN

Jodi...just relax and have fun on your date...unless he's a freak and then excuse yourself to go to the restroom to figure out an escape plan. LOL You know, you just do what you think is right for you and Dassi when it comes to giving gifts at the party. Sometimes ppl get just ridiculous when it comes to things like this. You are a single mom and working hard to pull off a very nice party for Dassi. Go online and type in "Kate Aspen" . I was helping with an event about six months ago that I needed to get some thank you gifts. I found some really nice quality things on their clearance that were just put with each place setting. And, got them each for $2.99. To answer your question. We are heading out in the morning to drive to Tucson. Will be back around March 5-6. Ready to blow this pop stand! I will be able to be online some during the trip (will have to wrestle DH for the laptop to get him away from being glued to his "Ag Talk" site). Joyce...What I know so far about going through KS....McPearson, Pratt, Federal are the three cities that DH had written down. Not sure but, knowing DH the vehicle will only veer off course for looking at agricultural equipment. Let me know if any of those cities are near you and I will see what comes. Linda...you always have a way of making us all feel special...thanks for that.

Janet....so true on the keeping active now to build stamina and help us in our golden years. My "Mom" was a great example for all. She would get her 2 mile walk in each and every day...even if she had to walk indoors. She was always taking care of all the others in her building that used walkers, chairs, etc. Most of them were 10 yrs younger than her. By staying active on a daily basis and watching her diet, she was able to be more than spry up until she passed away at the age of 89. When I was heavy, she could run circles around me. Embarrassing.