Welcome home, Chaz! I've missed your bubbly personality and your lovely photos, which you post way too sparingly! I love your sun room and your gardens!

I, too, have a Jungle Bells, a gift from a very dear friend, and I think a scape tip is just beginning to peek out... I'm very excited! I can't thank the giver enough!

A very Happy New Year to you guys, too! I hope 2009 is every bit as promising as we hope it to be... here's to your health, wealth, and happiness! Hugs to you, and be sure to share at least one with Chase! :-)

Happy New Year Chaz! Welcome back!

Happy New Year Chaz!

-Frank

Glad you have a minute to breathe.....and Happy New Year too!! I am curious....what is "Jungle Bells"?? Do I have it but have been calling it Jingle Bells!?!? :-)?? Seriously...I'm intrigued!
K

Kristi,
Jungle bells is a gorgeous double flowered green hippi. Type jungle bells into the search box at the top of the page here and it'll take you to some postings with photos. It really is gorgeous, I could see it in a wedding bouquet or arrangement easily.

Well. Maybe I have Jungle Bells, and I thought it was Jingle Bells! This bloom was just pathetic (from Gurney's) damaged bulb with scape nearly blooming upon arrival.
{{gwi:378902}}
Is this Jungle Bells??

DUH>>>>Just went through and found the Gurney's order. IT IS JUNGLE BELLS...I thought it was called Jingle Bells! Guess thinking of Christmas it made sense at the time!

:-?

That's ok, Kristi... not only can't I remember variety names, I made the mistake of not labeling a couple of bulbs I got last year... and now, I have no idea what they are! I won't know until I see their blooms, and who knows when that will be?! So, calling a bulb by a slightly different name is nothing!

Jungle Bells is really quite a little beauty, and I, too, can easily see it incorporated into a lovely wedding bouquet! It might even make a delicious addition to a large corsage!

Can't you just see me walking around in a big hippi corsage?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....MY EYES ARE BURNING!!! Oh...just kidding. How big??? Would it clash with your vest??
hehehe

I am in a "mood" today!
:-p
K

LOL, I'm in the same mood today Kristi, you put a big smile on my face. And of course it would match my vest, and maribu slippers!

OMG hahahahahaha!!! Mental image of light green boa too!!!
:-P
actually, my boss knitted me a green-ish scarf for Christmas. Could send that along so that if you ever fancy.....heheheh!
K

Light green boa, my heinie. Let's make him a lei out of green hippi blooms ;-)

Did someone say lay? Oh! Sorry... my bad! That was LEI!

Considering the smaller size of the Sonatinis, Chaz, you could easily wear it in a corsage! Just don't wear it with one of those ghastly polyester tuxedos! Eww!

Lord...did ya'll get into some Champagne or somethin'? LOL! I am cracking up reading this! A boa...HAHA! Loves it!

-Frank

No, no champagne for me! I'm high on Hippeastrums! LOL!

Actually, I'm giddy with excitement... I just now found a huge scape growing on one of last year's Lady Jane bulbs, and I'm so thrilled I could bust a gut! My first repeat bloomer! Heeheehee!!

Don't know what you guys are talking about... but HAPPY NEW YEAR Chaz! Waiting to see your photos - both your hippis photos and YOUR photo with the hippis corsage! Can do?

Xuan

Lar...smaller size???? You know how painful that is to hear!!! LOL
Champagne! Heck woke up with empty captain morgan rum bottles around the place! LOL
Xuan, Happy New Year to you too my friend! I'll get photos as soon as something blooms! It's pretty boring right now.
But If I ever wear a hippi corsage I promise to post the photo here! Lei/Boa/slippers, handbag, and all! I'm scaring myself just thinking about it!

You're making me a little afraid, too, Chaz! LOL! Just be sure everything matches... the last thing you wanna do is wear a corsage that clashes! Hahaha!

I am almost dying laughing...a great way to start the day.

This thread is almost as funny as the bulb bris. Fortunately, my babies have not needed this procedure, but I am prepared if the need should arise.

Cheers,

Blanca

Great to see everyone back in top form and ready to laugh away the winter! Chaz, I would be glad to make that corsage up for you! We also do floral head bands but they cost more....

LOL, Liza, that's all Chase needs to come home to.
Headband, corsage, lei,boa,slippers,handbag. I'll get banned from visiting this site and you'll all get and email lecture explaining how easily I am led into mischief...

OMG! I lack the words, but possess much laughter! Ya'll are a HOOT! Do post pictures of your "get-up" Chaz!

-Frank

I'm not ready for such hearty laughter at this hour! I haven't even had my necessary amount of hot coffee to get my system moving! You guys are lucky I'm not choking right now!

What a visual! Chaz in full floral regalia, with no place to go... looking like a Prom date without a Prom! I think you're right... Chase might not be thrilled at the sight, and we'd all get a severe talking to... though, you must admit that the colors and flowers involved would make a pretty picture, but is green really your color?!

Chaz, you? Led astray? By us? Nah... say it ain't so! ROFL!!

Sounds like he's looking more like a Rose Parade float! (A trim one of course...maybe a mini float) Totally covered with flowers. Oh the visual is too much!
:-)
Kristi

Frank, I learned a long time ago to avoid any photos that might be used against me in the future!
Jodi, Kristi,
Green can be my color, although I'm more of a pink/purple kinda guy. Kristi you're being too kind, (trim, lol) I was thinking I could get all dolled up and ride through town on my motorcycle and everyone would think a float from the rosebowl parade broke loose. Trim I am not my friends! Just got orders to loose 80-100 pounds! ugh, I weigh quite a bit more than I look like I do. I thought the Dr's scale was wrong so I stepped on one at the gym how the heck does this happen? I was a young trim flight attendant at one time!!!!!

I don't know how the heck it happens, but I've got my share of Holiday weight to drop, too! I have no willpower whatsoever, and anything sweet gets shoved down my gullet, after being savored on the tongue for a second or two! I'm a sweets freak!

I don't look as heavy as I am, either... but I tip the scales at over 140 right now, which is too much for my short stature! I'm a whopping 5'3"!

I'll be going back to two Optimum Nutrition chocolate fudge shakes per day, made with whole milk... I just can't handle the 2% or skim! And, I'll be taking a Diet Boost capsule, also from Optimum Nutrition.

I did so well losing weight on this stuff last year... so I know it will work again. The plus is, it's all perfectly balanced so you lose fat, not muscle or other tissue that you shouldn't. MMA and other athletes use these products... and Larry endorses them, which tells me they're fabulous. He's big into nutrition!

Darn the Holidays, anyway! Why does everyone feel the need to make cookies and pies and fudge at this time of year? I look at the stuff and I gain weight!

Well, Chaz... if you're gonna be a Rose Bowl Parade float, that means you must cover every surface with some natural item, like seeds or petals, or even rice, per the rules for float making! So, when do we get to come cover your Harley with poppy seeds and Hippi petals?! Not!!

But, hey... seriously... losing weight is for our health... so, if you want a support partner for those times your willpower flags... I'd be honored. A quick email, and we can talk each other out of eating all that crap we shouldn't! Let me know when you wanna start... I've gotta drop some poundage here... I can't even get my jeans buttoned anymore!

Sigh. I miss being young and trim and able to eat McDonald's all day everyday and not gaining an ounce. After having Kemper I tipped the scales at 149. I'm 5'4". That was completely unacceptable. lol I've adopted really great eating habits and now I'm down to 126. We'll see if it sticks. I love sweets. I can't even buy them. If I buy a bag of Oreos, you'd better believe it's going to be gone within hours :-) Same with cereal. I'm like a bottomless pit for goodies.

Oreos, don't even make it out of the car after a shopping trip, all 3 rows from the bag. And Chase doesn't eat them!

Jodi, you are so lucky people make fudge......mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

not something anyone makes around here and if I make it I eat the entire batch so that's a no no.

Not a harley here, a Yamaha goldstar, nice and big, but quiet and cheap!!!! And, we're not covering it with anything, the costume I might be able to get away with but covering the bike...could really mean losing internet! LOL
And that would really be some email y'all would get about leading me down these insane paths....

Chaz, I've got this awesome recipe for fudge... made with instant chocolate pudding, semi-sweet chocolate squares and butter... so easy to make! It's got a dark chocolate top layer, and from start to finish, it takes no time at all! It also takes no time at all for me to slob down the whole batch, which is why I rarely make it!

My daughter-in-law had a batch of fudge and some cookies and other holiday treats on her kitchen counter while we were there... once she said she didn't care for fudge, it was like an open invitation to mow the whole batch... and I'm sorry to say... I did! Yep... I cannot be trusted around pies, cakes, cookies or anything else containing sugar and/or chocolate!

Day before last, I ate half a coconut creme pie in one sitting... and anytime I get a box of Enteimann's Cinnamon Rolls, I just open the box, grab a fork, and dig in. I'm just horrible around sweets! It's embarrassing!

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who eats while shopping, or shortly thereafter! Rule number 1... never go shopping when hungry! Rules were meant to be broken, they say...

The bottom line is... if I don't curb my enthusiasm for goodies, I won't have any clothes that fit! Plus, I'll be miserable... and so... on with the dieting!

Larry's not a Harley fan, so the Goldstar sounds very nice! Instead of Rose Bowl Floats and Hippi corsages, I suggest we concentrate our efforts on getting slim and trim! I'm sure that would keep us all in Chase's good graces! :-)

Oh, LOve it...a Hippy Weight loss club! COunt me in...too many hours in my recliner recovering from surgery, plus a hubby who gets snarky over not being at work during vacation...turned back into my sweetheart the day he went back to work! Darn! But hard on the diet..hiding out with carbs to keep me going until "Vacation" ended! NOw the dang thumbs going to keep me from my favorite winter activities like walking Josie pup and clearing windfallen branches off our winter woods trails, pruning, etc.

I propose we all send a beautiful new hippy bulb next fall to the biggest looser by a certain date...anyone else want tojoin in? Chaz, with the most to loose you could end up the real winner here! I lost abut 60 lbs a few years ago, and then got real with it when Blood sugar went up and relost some then somemore...down to 200 now frm about 260 (5'9") but really want to lose anower 40 lbs(plus what ever has gone back on this winter!)

My method of weight loss was easy when I was active. My Dr had one simple sentence that worked for me...Chaz, this might work for you also. His sentence.....?

"Cut the carbs>"

No counting, now weighing food, no negotiating. I found a brand of cottage cheese that I really liked and had a big bowl of it with blueberries every day for lunch. Too bad costco no longer carries that brand! THey went to Darigold which tastes bitter to me. But find something you like that is not carb heavy and you can grab it without thinking when at work or you come in form the garden. And I hope Chase is going to support you in this? Not going to work if he is eating all the things you like but should not! After a while on this I totally lost my taste for Ice cream and chocolate even...did not crave them at all. THink of it as CHoosing life, not as depriving your self! Put up pictures of the slim flight attendent you were and remember how easy it was to do things then! And when tempted to sit and eat...put on the gardening gloves and get them dirty!

Best wishes to all of us for renewed health and agility this year!

Welcome to The Hippeastrum Weight Loss Club & Support System! I'm game! Who else wants in?

I only have about 35 pounds to drop, but it's still not an easy thing to do! When I was doing my meal replacement shakes, I wasn't at all hungry... and the balanced nutrition made me feel better physically, which makes me feel better mentally.

I already know that this won't work before the weather breaks, so I can actually couple the diet with physical activity. I propose we all start soon, really soon... anyone want to choose a date? I'm easy, so whatever you guys decide.

I know we can do this... it will be slow going, but that's the proper way to lose weight. We need to change our habits, be more active, and if we make a fun contest out of it, we'll have a goal to strive for! I'm game!

I'm sure some of you have noticed that there's a phone number on the bottom of my return emails... that's the real number here, and it would be perfectly fine to call me as part a support system!

There will surely be details to work out... but having the support of friends can only make this easier!

I'm game, only problem...Chase is taking a vacation week next week and we're going to Provincetown for a couple of days, no dieting next week...
Maybe Jan 19? That gives us all a bit more of a prep period to prepare ourselves? I also suggest we do this using email or phone LOL, not sure I want my tonnage pasted all over the internet! We can post our losses but how about not our starting weight. That we keep private!LOL

Since my best friend is taking me to Cabo for my birthday, and we've been warned that swimsuits aren't optional....I suppose I could (OK SHOULD) do this too. Plus, I want to look REALLY HOT (hehehe) for the European men I meet at Keukenhof!! HAHAHAHA (that's me laughing really loud).

We could be on the honor system and calculate weight losses:
[starting weight - current weight]/starting weight, then multiply that by 100 to give the % lost, just like on the show. I'm in!!

Won't be able to afford to eat. Off to go spend $200 for antibiotics and narcotic cough syrup. Bronchitis got me.
:-(
Kristi

Hey, I Am game! With these hands slowing me down it seem like there is nothing I can do but eat, :-(.

I SUGGEST we do e-mail with copies to each in our group of Slimmers. I found it helpful before in a different group to say what I was going to eat that day in the morning, which helped me think through the day and make some plans. Also sometimes my dieting partner's meal plans gave me good ideas for my own. I do not do any formulas or nutrtion bars because of a soy allergy. I prefer to eat home grown or organic as much as possible, with grass fed Beef or pork or Fresh caught seafood for protein (DH has poultry allergy). I love fresh veggies from the garden and will eat grocery store ones if I have to :-( An occassional chocolate is essential but can be limited. I do have a birthday late this month to eat around...don't know if my guys will do a cake or not, but I usually go out with friends and order a wonderful dessert with my meal. That saves having a cake to eat up around here.

I need some pushing to get me outdoors for a good walk when the rain is blowing sideways and it is cold rain...our usual January weather! I did see where the week around my birthday is supposed to be up almost to 60 degrees and mostly sunny! Yahhoooo! I gotta remember it is my thumbs in splints, not my feet!

Ok... we're one step closer to a start!

No one has to post their starting weight... and we can work from the honor system.

I suggest we operate the emails like those chain letters we're always complaining about getting... which would be to add the email address of every person in the Hippi Slimmer's Group to the header.

I just sent out a test email to everyone here who has responded positively about this... everyone else probably thinks we're nuts! :-)

Any more takers? Anyone else in need of dropping a few pounds? C'mon... we're family here... don't be embarrassed! We're all a little goofy, some might even say twisted... but we're all friends... what's a few pounds among friends?!! Fess up... who needs a little trimming in the mid-section? Now's your chance!

Larissa, I see that you've already lost your excess weight, which is fantastic! If you get any slimmer than you are now, you'll float away! LOL!

Holey Socks!! I go away a couple months and come back to Chaz in a green Boa on his Yamaha wearing Amaryllis Corsages, Kristi looking REALLY HOT men at Keukenhof!and The Hippeastrum Weight Loss Club & Support System!! What is this place coming to LOL!!!!

Well I have NEVER dieted, really! I have been a steady 122-125lb 5'7" frame for ever...then we quit smoking and on came the tastbuds and the Holidays!! I am weighing in at 146 and Dennis is 20+ pounds heavier too. Sign me up Jody. We could also take before and after photos like Weight Loss ads but then Chaz might freak us all out!(lol love ya Chaz, dahlink!)

Well...YEAH for not smoking anymore. You can taste food again!
:-)
K

See what happens when you aren't on keeping us in order!! OH...am I LOOKING HOT, or will there be hot men?? Probably just the frumpy European men taking their families to Keukenhof the day(s) we go. That would be my luck...it will be "DER FAMILY DAZ" at Keukenhof!
:-)

Cindee!!! So good to see you posting, m'dear! I was getting concerned, not seeing you posting and not hearing from you! I was getting ready to send out a search party! :-)

If you're serious about joining, I'll include you in the group emailing we've got going on... we've all decided to take back our health, by force if necessary!

I'm so proud of your resistance to smoking! That's on my list of things to do in 2009, but dropping a few pounds and feeling better is number 1.

Good to have you back! Don't be such a stranger! :-)