ocotillo

Evening everyone. Another day passed and two more to go before another mini vacation...Yipee. Meredith, you are going to be so busy over the next few months. It's great you get to work out for class. I did that too for a couple of semesters. I took racquetball and boy did I get good that semester. I'd be lucky to even hit the ball now. Laura, sounds like things are going well with you right now. Good job with the workout. Talk to you all later. Eva

I use Fitday. It's also free and has other stuff like journals and exercise trackers with it.

There are a lot of Over 50's here, just maybe not from where you are. There is an over 50 thread you should find in the list of groups. Good luck.

I told very few people at work about the band for the same reason. When someone comments about what I have lost so far, I just tell them it's dieting and exercise. I wouldn't feel guilty if I were you because what you are doing IS dieting and exercise. Now my friends know I've done this but they just ask how's it going. My sister is the only one that scrutinizes what I eat and makes comments. I know that she is trying to help, she's just not really good at it so I blow it off. When I get to your amount of weight loss, it may be different, but I hope not. Not everyone really needs to know the entire truth. Good luck to you!!

Lots of people go up and down and the diet changes. I gained 4 pounds when I started solid foods and it took a while to lose them. Your body is going through a lot of changes right now. Eat small amounts and chew well and you still need to watch what you eat and the pounds will go away. It took a couple of weeks for me to start losing again and even now I don't lose every week, but it is still coming off. There are a lot of posts regarding this subject, you just have to look around the site a bit. Good luck!!

Happy Sunday!! We just got home from Phoenix. Went up there yesterday for a concert. We saw Chick Corea with Stanley Clark & Lenny White. Oh my, what wonderful music. It was at the Orpheum Theater which is a restored old theater building built in 1919. It's gorgeous and has great acoustics. We were 3rd row center and could see their fingers. I really enjoy seeing a great live show in a smaller venue. We also had FNSC (Friday Night Social Club) Friday, which is why I've been MIA again. I guess we can't complain when we are busy doing fun stuff. Lori, what kind of place are you having the wedding in? It's still cold in Colorado in March so I assume it will be indoors? Julie, I get most of my audio books from the library. One of the women I work with gets them and then shares. We pass them from one to another and download them onto our computers and then turn them in. The only problem with library CD's is they are scratched or damaged sometimes and you end up missing bits of the story. You can do free audio downloads from the public library also. You might want to check to see if your local library offers that service. Since you are in a rural area, you might be able to do that through the Bismark library system. CONGRATS ON THE 1 1/2 POUNDS!!!:wub: I grew up with rhubarb...it's the first pie I ever baked. I still like it once in a while. Janet, yes, sometimes my mind wanders...especially right before I fall asleep...LOL. Most of the books I listen to are entertainment books and if I miss a little, I can go back and listen to that part or I catch up later in the story. When I fall asleep, I just go back to the last place I remember and start over and relisten to it. Audio books are perfect for me when I'm exercising because it gets my mind off the sweating. I don't do it when weight lifiting, just the mindless cardio. The eye thing is a pain because I have good mid range, getting worse close range (reading) and soso distance and do have a perscription for that but don't wear glasses all the time either. Janet.....I think we still have 95 operating somewhere here. Let me check with the DH and if we have the old operating system, maybe we can retreive your pictures. I'll PM you if we can. Gitr....I think the head stuff is the worse in this battle. Seems to be where most of the battle is these days. Yep, if you miss a couple of days...they posts are almost overwhelming, but still fun to read and catch up on. Laura, change the ticker.....then you can see the change and will work to keep it there. CONGRATS!!!!!:eek: Cheri, have a great time on Sunday. Good plan on reaching your goal. It certainly helps when you see the scale go down in the "sticking with it" stuff. I hope that made sense. Lori K...welcome! You've done amazing with your weight loss, WOW. I'm working on the freezing stuff too, but just started, so I'll see how that works. I want to be able to grab the frozen stuff for my lunch box so I can keep track of exactly what I'm eating. I took a Master Gardner's class several years ago, but where I live now, gardening is a challenge....weather, beasts, bugs, birds, and a eucaplytus tree with an extensive root system. Dee, I'm so sorry about your pictures. You make a good point about backing up what we have now and not waiting. I think I'll work on scanning the old photos I have. Sharon, best wishes for you and your family. I really hope your DD finds her way and figures out life is worth living without the "extra" stuff. Glad the graduation went so well. The job stuff will settle down and so will the stress. Hang in there and don't let the food demon get you. Phyl....aka GRAMINATOR...great job on the walking!!! And yes you are funny on caffine and Vicodin....LOL. It's like motor mouth on happy pills (I take Vicodin at times too!!). I can't do the recumbent bike because of the arthritis which is too bad...it has a much more comfortable seat. I am so distracted today....I just took a little break from posting to put the laundry in the dryer and walked away without starting the dryer....duhhhh. I was commenting earlier on how distracted DH was today...I think its contagious. I bought a seal-a-meal thing a couple of months ago and haven't used it. So Friday, I had purchased a very large smoked salmon filet from Cosco and decided to freeze it. I drug out the seal-a-meal and made up 4oz packets of salmon....it worked wonderfully and I did turkey on Saturday. So now I'll grab one of the little frozen packages and throw it in my lunch box. I'm probably going to have to do the same for dinner too. It seems I am losing most of my control at night and keep snacking at night. I'll have to plan those calories as Janet does to make this thing work. My sisters and I are going to San Diego next Thursday for a long weekend so I'm going to head down to Tijuana on Saturday and get my fill then. I have little restriction (some, but I can still eat too much especially later in the day). I'm hoping this will help with the will power too. The most I've ever lost in any of my dieting attempts is 32 pounds and I'm just 1 pound past that. I really need what ever help I can get to move that scale down. I am feeling so much better about myself even after only 33 pounds and I really want to surpass my previous goals. I also want to get into a size smaller. I have dropped a size around my hips and waist, but am still uncomfortable around the top and am wearing the looser big shirts. I have a ton of t-shirts I'm just not comfortable in yet. You know I really aprreciate you guys because I can write this stuff and each of you knows what I'm talking about. It helps. Thanks! :tongue2: Eva

Charlene, I hope you start feeling better soon. I hope the PBing subsides and you can eat at least yogurt. Julie, I can't even imagine having 500 people at a wedding, even an easy one with no huge catering bill. I don't even know that many people. We had about 70 at ours (I was married for the first time 2 years ago). Some of the pictures are on Face Book. Really glad to hear Mimi is feeling better. What a relief the worst of it is over. Great job on the weight loss!! 1day...you'll have to find the "coffee additive" in one of those little bottles like they use on the airlines. You can sneak one of those in to the coffee house to add to your coffee. Glad to hear your cold is better. Cheri, good for you in resisting those urgings. It's really hard sometimes. Good luck getting enough students for your program. Janet, are you printing the pictures to put in albums? I still like that form of pictures but the computer sure stores a lot without the space issue. I'm waiting until I retire to deal with all my old pics. I'll end up making a huge mess and won't finish it, so it will wait for a couple more years. I've been doing books on tape more than anything lately. I can multi task then. I can listen to books when I'm at work designing jobs. (This is one thing about my job that is good). I really need to get new glasses and I'm putting it off because I haven't found an eye doctor I like here yet. I may wait until Florida and then go visit my best friend's brother for a new perscription. Also, I can't do other things when I sit and read a book, but I can exercise with books on tape (CD). Cool huh? I read all those authors too I think, plus a lot of science fiction and some other off the wall stuff. Oh and thanks for the article. It's helpful. Meredith, one of the things I've learned with all the years of dieting is that if you keep beating yourself up after you digress from your eating plan, it just makes you feel bad. It really doesn't help you the next time temptation hits you. You just have to be aware the next time. I know that dressing tastes good, but do the dressing on the side and just dip your fork into it, then spear your salad. You'll eat a lot less dressing and still get the flavor. You are doing fabulous. I've only lost 33 pounds but it's mostly my fault for not dieting. I'm eating less, just not exactly dieting. I'll get back to it and I'm not gaining. So as far as I'm concerned, I'm still winning. So are you!!! Phyl, that's great that you were able to get out and about. You'll be running around like crazy soon. CJ....find a thread that "speaks" to you and people that are supportive and one you want to interact with. That is the best support I've found on the web. I spent the first two months at least in this process reading everything I could and it sure helped. I weighed a little more than you and have been banded since July 2nd. It's coming off slow (mostly my fault) but it's still coming off. Apples, sorry about the stones. I can't even imagine having that much pain regularlly. Cooking fo 450 is amazing...I though cooking for 50 was a lot of work. Have fun at the lake this weekend!! Deedee, there is a lot of good advise on this thread. Hope you can find the help you need. Janet has asked some great questions and doing a food log will probably help. It really helps you see where and how much food is consumed. Okay, it's almost 11pm and I've drank almost 20oz of Water sitting here reading and posting. I'll be up later for sure. Hope everyone has a great Friday. Eva

Another fly by. I'm been consumed by a book on tape and can't stop it long enough to read everyone's post and reply back. I should be done with it today and can get back to being a good poster. Welcome to the new people!!:w00t: Laura, your extra smiles are great. Okay, until tonight. Have a great day everyone. Eva

Dee, it's good to see you. The people here are very supportive and nice. You just have to read a lot of posts and post yourself. I'm in for Florida....just a heads up...I snore and it can get loud, so if someone wants to share a room with me, they better sleep very soundly. I'm also good with sleeping on the couch, as long as it's long enough (not a love seat). Cheri, that's so cool you can wear your suit. I love being able to wear my old clothes that have been sitting there for years. Laura, glad to hear you are feeling better. Julie, so sorry the DGD is feeling so bad. Hopefully she will be feeling better soon. Meredith, your pictures are great!! We woke up to a puddle in the kitchen. The hot Water heater valve is leaking. DH will have to fix that today. I don't think it's anything too major, but it will still need to be taken care of. It was a nice weekend, didn't do too much, but I got some decorative tiles hung in the kitchen (I've had them a long time) and some curtains hung in the bedroom. So it wasn't a completely wasted weekend. Okay, I'm off for work now. Hope everyone has a great day!! Eva

Week 8 of weekly weigh-in 7-20-09 239.5 7-28-09 238 gained 1 lb since my last ticker update. 8-3-09 238.5 was up to 241.5 now going down again. 8-10-09 236.5 8-17-09 238 again....just got back from another vacation. 8-24-09 237.5...had my first fill on Saturday, hope to see this number go down now. 8-31-09 233 9-8-09 233

Lori, I love AAA. I haven't had to use it much lately, but boy when you need them where ever you are, they show up. I've been towed, jumped, tires changed, had my locking steering wheel unlocked in San Diego, etc. For me, it's worth the $$. It's really nice your LB surgeon wants to be involved with your knee surgery. I really like it when the doctors stay involved. Oh, I think "rents" is short for parents. Charlene, I haven't had any problems eating bread yet, but it's good info to have for the future. I think having the option if you want it is good so you don't obsess about it. Julie, take it easy....don't hurt yourself again. Glad to hear the upside of the weight loss...or should that be the downside....LOL...bad joke, I know. Phyl, I think its funny when I buy something that is "weight friendly" and my DH ends up eating and liking it. Jokes on him because he shuns any "diet" type stuff. He could lose a few pounds, but at 6'4" he carries it well and it doesn't bother him too much. Have a great visit with your family! Cheri, seems like you are managing with the "technology" just fine. Sorry about the hip pain...I sympathize a great deal. I'm not on any regular anti-inflammatory and my hips and back have been letting me know it from time to time. It's still manageable with ibuprofen so I am reluctant to take the stronger stuff until I can't stand it anymore. The greek food sounds wonderful. I love Greek food. I've actually made it before, but it's a lot of work. We had a bumper crop of grape leaves one year, so I stuffed them. Now the catapillars are stuffing themselves with the leaves. Janet, I love the house warming gift idea. I remeber it from "It's a Wonderful Life" I had forgotten that little part. Thanks for the reminder. Linda, so back to a regular day shift for you....that's nice if that's what you want. I have several friends that really like to work nights. It does make it harder for social gatherings when every one else is working days M-F. I like my walking tapes too....just need to do them. Laura, I feel sorry for your sister too. Having parents compare you to another sibling does nothing to help. My mother would compare me with my brother who was perfect. It can cause some resentment. I'm okay with that now, but it took me getting to know my brother a lot better (he's 18 years older than me). I hope your sister can find her way also and find that place she needs to be that's best for her. (I hope that made sense). Meredith, hey, I know what you mean about the scale not moving too fast now. It seems I'm looking at about 1 pound a week loss, which is okay, but it sure isn't every week that's happening. I'm not as good as you with the veggies either. I am working on that...bought some yesterday and will make sure I eat them next week. Don't stress about school, you'll do just fine. Sharon, glad you WON!!! and had a great time. Sometimes you just get too wound up and can't go to sleep. It's nice you can stay up for a while and relax then sleep in late the next day. Hopefully church will be one of those that is welcoming to you no matter where you sit. Sorry about your daughter. That really bites. I wish her the best. Janet, so now you have a very clean fridge and can fill it with beverages again. I love having a 2nd fridge....mostly because my main fridge is rather small and when it's full of tortoise food, nothing else fits in there. My DH keeps his beverages in the 2nd fridge and I keep extra stuff there too. So the trip to Globe was great. Met with one of my friends there and he brought his son whom I hadn't seen in at least 10 years. He's 28 now. I really like this kid and really liked him when he was a teenager. We picked up our pictures, I love mine...it's a couple of ravens that are made out of a collage of different papers. It's very cool. I digress...my sister picked up her print too and a cat. This gallery has cats/kittens for adoption from the Humane Society. This one black and white boy talked to us the entire time we were there. She couldn't resist so now she has a 3rd cat. She named him Chase. He's really nice and rode home on her shoulders (2 1/2 hours at least). I'm going to buy a new wine cooler today. Our's doesn't work anymore and I want to be able to keep the wine cool (not refridgerated). It's always something. I'll try and check in later. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!! Eva

Quick post....on my way to Globe. This is a small mining town about 2 hours north of here. There is an art gallery there that does framing and I had a picture framed there and need to pick it up. I really like the people there and like to support them when ever I can. Had my first experience with sliming yesterday. I was eating thin ham slices but wasn't paying attention. OOOppps...one more experience to avoid. It's good for me to know what it feels like when it's not right. This will keep me focused. I'll post individually tomorrow when I have a little more time. Sounds like everyone is having a quiet weekend. Laura, sorry about your colds. Hope you feel better soon. Later, Eva

Great advise. I certainly don't feel much restriction after my first fill and have already scheduled the 2nd. I suspect it's going to take a few until it gets where I need it to be. I'm not very good with control either.

Julie, I'm so sorry your DH's DS is such a pain. Some people just can't get over the circumstances of their birth. They would rather wallow in self pity than to something about it like be responsible and improve their circumstances. My DH's son likes to blame everyone else for his bad behavior, but we work on that with him and don't let him get away with not being responsible. His mom will make excuses for him. It doesn't help. Phyl, it's good to hear from you and that you are getting through these first few weeks. You'll do great if you can get through the first 6 weeks. Janet, glad your dentist appointment was relatively painless. I can't stand the drills and even the sonic cleaning thing, but I go 3 times a year and I might be able to keep my teeth for a few more years. I had a dentist tell me when I was 18 that I would have dentures by the time I was 30. Glad I'm not still going to that dentist. I just wanted to post that I'm so glad it's Friday. I also have a facebook account and don't know how you guys keep up with both FB and this. I have been ignoring FB for a while because it tends to be overwhelming. I will probably go and look for some of you this weekend however, so if you get a friend request from someone you don't know...it might be me. Okay, gotta go to work. Uuuggggg. Have a great day!! Eva

Sharon, I work as a Telco engineer. I design jobs to put telephone cable in the ground or on poles. I love the desert but not everyone does. It does take a little getting used to, especially in the heat. It will be interesting to see if Eli's Dad comes through with some clothes for his son. You want to make bets on it? Some of the attitudes we ran into in Arkansas sort of turned me off too. I don't see it that much here. I work with men, women, blacks, hispanics, asians, arabic, native americans.....and it just doesn't matter...it the person themselves that make the difference, not their race, age, religion, gender, etc. Laura, I loved the pictures of your parents. We've been thinking of scanning our old pictures too. They are fading and it would be nice to have them in digital form. I really like what your Mom said about the potty training. Kids will do what they need to do when they are ready. You still give them the tools and show them how to use them. Julie, you and your DH have very big hearts. You DD is very lucky. Glad to hear you are sleeping a little better. That makes all the difference to me in how I feel. Apples, your energy is amazing. I would love to be doing that, but not while working a regular job too. When I was young, I used to hang out with some "old people" and it was a wonderful way to grow up. The fact you have little ones coming over on the weekends will be very important to those kids when they grow up. Hope your DH recovers quickly....ouch!! Oh.....I think I have that game figured out already. :blushing: One day....sorry about your sinus. Use any paper to jot down what you eat....you can transfer it to a computer program when you get to one. It really is easy on the computer. I use Fitday and once you've logged some food in there, it remembers it. Linda, wow your pictures are great. It's just amazing what a few months and perseverance can do. Janet, that so nice to help out your "little girl". Everyone needs a little help now and then and this should be wonderful for her. I bet the kitties are very cute too!! Meredith, great picture!! You are doing great in stopping when you are full. I'm still not doing great with my food. Still too many head issues and not enough restriction. I emailed for new fill appointment, but my email has an issue and I need to get it fixed. It shouldn't be a problem. Lori, I bet you are scared, but I think in the long run, you'll be happier you did the surgery. Being able to move is important and the new knee should help a lot. I'm still struggling with food, not gaining, but not losing either. It's all head stuff and I'm not eating so much I PB or anything, but I could do a lot better. I will keep plugging away at it. I did start using my Walk away the pounds CD this week and will do that again tomorrow. We had company tonight and I just won't exercise in front of guests. Okay, it's 10pm and I need to sleep. Have to go feed my sister's bird the morning...means up early and out of the house early. Have a great night and day tomorrow everyone. Eva

congratulations!!!!!

Fly by post. I'll catch up tonight. My DH has been coming home from work early the last couple of nights and I feel I need to spend time with him. This is sort of unusual for him, he usually works late or something. Hope everyone has a great day. Eva

I can eat anything. I also started out slowly, but if you chew it well and eat small bites, it's all good. Even after my first fill, I am still able to eat anything, however, I have noticed especially in the morning, I really have to do small bites and chew well and swallow slowly. Hey and that is the idea. I was sort of afraid of some of the veggies too, but then I wasn't getting enough Fiber and I don't want to supplement all that all the time, so I started eating more veggies and it's helped a lot. Protein, veggies, starch. Salad is a slider food for some people, but if you aren't eating a lot of dressing with it, I don't see anything wrong with that.

Hello everyone, Sorry, but I took a day off....DH was camping and I was parked in front of the TV...didn't even look at my email (which is unusual). Linda, you have a great heart and I'm sure it showed at your friend's funeral. You and your friend were lucky to have each other. Laura, my sister had endometriosis also and had a hystericalectomy. She adopted her next two kids also. I know you don't want to go through surgery, but the surgery heals and from what she said, the endometriosis doesn't get better. Of course, you probably have the best medical advise around. Sharon...funny I just read your post right after I got back from the sushi bar. I don't eat too much sushi...more sashimi (which is just the fish without the rice). Yum. Sounds like you had a wonderful Sunday. DGS's Dad sounds like a real jerk...good luck with that. He'll probably fade away again especially if he is expected to do something like be responsible. Julie, WOW your daughter has really gone through the wringer. I don't understand how people can be so mean. Your pictures are GREAT!!! Mimi is so cute and you look pretty fantastic yourself. Janet, sorry about the MJ concert....sometimes they are amazing and others...you just leave. Apples, do you have help with all the corn freezing? Cleaning Blanching....do you cut it off the cobb? OMG that is a lot of work by yourself. You truly are amazing. I used to help my Mom freeze corn, Beans, can tomatoes, and many other things out of the garden. Sorry about your friend. Older people should be cherished, they have a wealth of experience and some even have wisdom to share. I never had kids, but I always had old people and still do. Cheri...good luck with the job. Not knowing can sure be stressful. Even if kids notice the weight loss, they may not say anything. I don't think I would say anything to my teachers back then. IYSOY that was pretty cute. Meredith.....I didn't go camping with my DH either this weekend because it's too much work. I haven't been home in two weekend and I wanted to stay home. I was really hoping it would be a little cooler this weekend, but no it had to be hot. I was up late also and didn't get up early to avoid some of that heat, so very few outside projects got done this weekend. On Saturday, I went shopping with my sister and to the new Harry Potter movie. It was really nice. I bought a couple of pairs of shoes, but I think I might have the wrong size. I wore the "on sale" pair today and they were tight after I walked in them for a while (field work again). I'm going to try on the other pair again and if they are as tight, then I'll take them back and get a 1/2 size larger. These are pricey tennis shoes that I use to walk in and I really need the support and comfort. A friend's daughter just had another baby girl. She just sent pictures. She was a little early like the first one but seems healthy and I bet she will do just fine. She's all scruched up in the pictures, but I bet in a couple of days she'll be really cute. Hope everyone has a good night and there will be more tomorrow!!! Eva

Week 7 of weekly weigh in for me 7-20-09 239.5 7-28-09 238 gained 1 lb since my last ticker update. 8-3-09 238.5 was up to 241.5 now going down again. 8-10-09 236.5 8-17-09 238 again....just got back from another vacation. 8-24-09 237.5...had my first fill on Saturday, hope to see this number go down now. 8-31-09 233

I think everyone loses at their own rate. I think you might be surprised and get on the scale one day and have dropped a couple of pounds. Maybe shake things up a bit and drop the calories to 1000 for a couple of days or try the pouch test diets (couple of days of liquids, then mushies) just to change something. I'm just spouting stuff I've read here and that seems to work for some people. I wish you the best....and don't give up. You will start losing again.

Hoping for more...............how's your restriction? It's great you've been able to change your eating habits, that is a big part of it, but for each of us, it's a combination of calories, exercise, and stick-to-it-tiveness. If you read the posts, you'll see people that have lost more than a hundred pounds and the key for them is having the proper restriction and mind set. I'm new in this journey and know I don't have enough restriction yet, so until that happens, I'm plugging away...not perfectly, but continuing on. You can do it too....the tool can work and you can do this.

I had my first fill on August 22, a week ago. It was not bad. The needle in my stomach was weird, but that was the worst of it. I had it with the barium swallow also and could see where my port was and the band. That was pretty cool. I got 3 cc's in a 10 cc band. He put me on liquids for 3 total days, then back to solid foods. I forgot to bring my Protein drink (powder) with me and didn't want to buy another expensive container full, I just sort of faked it. I had Soup and sashimi (chewed it to liquid). Didn't eat much either that night, yougurt the next day for Breakfast, then we flew home and I had Soups. I started losing weight then. I was stalled for a couple of weeks before that. As for restriction, there is some, probably not enough, but I do notice I need to chew more and take smaller bites. I actually had a little turkey get stuck briefly and that was quite an eye opener. I know what not to do now. I also have trouble with the no drinking after eating. It's really hard, but I'm working on it. Depending on how this fill goes and if the weight loss continues, I might make another appointment for September when I'm back in San Diego. I was banded in Tijuana and went back there for my fill. I like the doctors. Good luck to you all.

Sharon, the time you spent with your Mom is very special and you were very fortunate to be able to do that. What sort of job do you have that you have to get up at 2am? Yuck!! You really must be a morning person. I just checked out your profile and it looks like you were remodeling when the picture was taken. I so understand about that....we have one room with no sheet rock or floor and half the ceiling insulation is missing. Now my DH is using it to store stuff in. Lori, you don't have very far to go to hit all 50 states. Wow, I hope to be there some day too. And I agree, across the state line, you are in a different state. I remember taking my mother to Douglas, WY (I had an aunt there). We lived in florence, and my mother gripped the edge of the seat and looked like a deer in the headlights when we drove through Denver. We made it and she did much better on the way back through. I thought it was pretty funny. I think I've been in only 29 of the states. It's more than 1/2 way through.

I really get it when Cheri say's it's hard to keep up with you guys. BUT, with that said, that's what makes this a great place for support and socializing. Julie and Gitr, you are so right about the DH's being like the kids. I really understand about the mess in the kitchen. He actually manages to hit the hamper, but it may take a day sometimes. I stopped picking up after him and it gets picked up usually within 24 hours. Meredith, not everyone has to have children. I have several friends that are child less mostly by choice. I think a couple would love to have kids, but won't do it on their own. They want the stability of a relationship. (Yes, I know that doesn't guarantee stability). I also have several friends with children. We find we don't do too much with them now because they are so involved with their children and thats good. We still communicate and attend some functions and it's great. It's probably more fun being the "aunt". Is it your birthday? Well happy Birthday--hope you have a great day!! Linda, I'm so sorry for your loss. Janet, FNSC is Friday Night Social Club....it's a group of friends that get together on Friday night and chat, drink, eat, play in Cindy's pool, etc. They have been great fun and we've been doing it for a little over a year now. We change locations (who ever wants to host, and the fall back location is Cindy's) Cindy is my best friend and lives 1/2 mile from me which is darn nice. Julie, cleaning really doesn't sound like taking it easy. Hope you take it easy for the rest of the day. I'd send you my cleaning lady but you would have to take care of her granddaughter while she cleaned.....and I think it might get a bit expensive with the airfare and all. Lori, I think OMW means "oh my word" but I could be wrong about that. Laura, you look mavelous dahling! Thanks for sharing the story of your son. You did a great thing adopting him. Gitr, that's so cool you can go out kayaking....I'm not so sure about the 'gators though. I went canoeing with my brother in Bonita Springs and there were gators in the river. We don't see many of those in the desert. Great job on the weight loss. I seem to do the same thing...I would be losing, then no loss for a couple of weeks then I lose again and I'm at 8 weeks. Of course, I had 3 vacations in that time and some other stuff, so who knows. I just know it's coming off now. Cheri, it's okay...sorry to hear about how bad your neck is. Sounds like you are doing what you have to to take care of it. I will probably be there with the hip replacements too...sometime in the future. I'm really hoping the weight loss will slow down the arthritis and keep the surgery away for a long time. Well I'm cooking for my party. I'm deseeding some pasilla chilies and usually they are pretty mild, but oops, I think these may not be. My finger are a bit warm and I touched my lips and they are still warm. Time to get the old gloves out. dinner may be very interesting tonight. I'll check back in tomorrow. Gotta get stuff done. Have a great night. Eva