Good Luck, esh! Will not be there, myself. Had previous plans for the weekend, that changed at the last minute, but when I inquired about registering for the Symposium, the person I spoke with was very unhelpful. Downright rude, to be honest! So I am passing this year.

As this list gets longer and longer every year, it appears, at least to me, that there should be a seperate Queen for this classification (e.g. Mini-Flora Queen). When I first started exhibiting, this didn't seem to be a really big issue. But this mini-flora classification has opened the door to more possibilities and it might make it fair to the miniature growers to have the opportunity to win either a Mini Queen or a Mini-Flora Queen. It would have the added benefit of putting a few more winners on the show table (e.g. Mini-Flora Queen and her Court). The judges might like this also as the size of the Mini-Floras tends to be bigger than the true minis and would give them the chance to evaluate and judge both classifications. It might also give the public the chance to see this difference and thus appreciate it as well.

Reporting in from last night's italian dinner.... I ordered napoletonia? pasta (tomato sauce pasta) - 1.5 for the tomato sauce and NORMALLY 5.0 for the pasta - lunch serving - I ATE THE WHOLE BOWL DINNER SIZE. Goodness me! I went over my points by 2.5 yesterday (Had a glass of beer too! Bad McPeg). Today I have been ensuring to have my fruit salad (breakfast), had a lovely bread with raisin sandwich with small amount olive oil marg and going to have a no point mixed veggie soup mid-afternoon before going over to our friends for movie and chinese tonight. WALKED to and back to the store for groceries - I have one of those pull carts on wheels because I LOVE WALKING - especially when it's sunny. So hopefully I recovered a few points round trip. Going out again for a walk to the garden centre and back. Try and recover a couple more points and soak up the sun. It is an actually crisp, cold sunny day in Scotland - our area has complete escaped the UK snow during the last week. I love walking in this weather - sheer delight! Planning to take a bottle of strawberry flavoured water because there will be beer and wine and after last night I need to watch today and tomorrow. I enjoyed myself last night - did not touch any cheese garlic bread that surrounded me, nursed my beer throughout the meal and ate like I have never seen food before (tee hee). Ah but I love a good challenge. So that was my adventure last night and today and I walking and stretching. Can't stay on too long - need ta get moving again. Hope everyone hangs in there. Beverly, you are still doing fine because you keep trying new things and you are not quitting on yourself. What a star you are! Yellowhair I am glad to see you recovering and getting back on track again. Fabulous. I agree with your comments on crockpot cooking. Slow cooking is great but so is pressure cooking if you have less time. MaryAnn - okay so ya had a donut. I will have a few when I visit home or maybe just one because I now know better. You can't deny yourself life's small pleasures but you are well armed with knowledge now to recover and not feel bad for enjoying that donut. I know there will always be donuts but it will taste so much better for me if I can achieve my goal by end summer and have one wearing size 12 pants. Then it will be worth it! Big Mama, I know you have had a tough time but you keep coming back. I have absolutely no idea what it's like for you I can only understand food. I admire you for taking care of yourself and still coming back to talk to us. Don't let go - I am reaching out to you and hanging onto your hand! You can do this. Forget yesterday if you had any bad ones and focus on taking care of yourself today. Take some time today to give yourself some pamper time - a nice walk or soak in the tub, get a nice haircut/curl, buy a new pair of funky socks/shirt or something...or simply turn off the phone, close the door and have some quiet time with a good book. Let's make today count - no matter what we do. Life is precious and so are we! Cheers, gotta stroll! McPeg

Today is our 16th anniversary--Dave's & mine. Peg~I'm not sure I can give you any good advice but I'm certain Tikanis can or someone here. (Thinking b/c Tikanis is a nurse.) Tikanis~Thanks for commenting about the dog. Now we are getting 2. Can hardly wait. I'm so excited. Have already bought most the things we need for them. :) BJ~Hugs [[[ ]]] You are such a Dear. I would be an emotional wreck. You cannot imagine what I went through when the lady asked me to take the 2nd dog. They are rescue dogs. They weren't abused per se. They were taken out of puppy mills. We didn't have the money to pay what she wanted for the 1st dog plus the deposit for both at the apartment so she finally decided that she would give both to us so we could apply the money to the deposit. She knew we would give them a good home & that was the most important thing for her. NH Suzanne~That is one of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen. It should be sent in to a magazine. Honestly!!! Sally~I'm glad you listened to me. It really is the truth. I went to the dr today. We haven't been weighing. I was down 5 pounds. Now, that is from 3 months ago but we were on a 2 month vacation & since we have been back we told everyone we were moving & they have wanted us to go out with them & eat sweets plus we have had Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Super Bowl, & Valentine's just around the corner. :) Down 5 sounded pretty sweet to me! ;) Ivamae~I certainly hope I can force myself to walk the dogs in the cold weather. I have gotten them sweaters. I will have to get myself a heavy coat. Hopefully it will start to warm up once we get there. I'm not counting on it though. We were there last year in April & May & froze to death. UGH! I'm definitely going to do the best I can though. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Patti :)