I don't know if you're in a drought area, but if at all possible, try to transplant & plant when it looks like you might have some rain coming. This has been a very dry season for us, so I literally don't get out there to do any planting until I see rain clouds on the horizon. Then I get as much done as I can before dashing back inside with my back all wet. If there's no rain coming, see if you can plan it on at least an overcast day or later in the day so at least they have 10 hours of no sun (night) to do some settling. Water daily. I've been sitting on some cuttings I rooted last summer waiting for any hint of rain to get them into a new bed. I got very lucky a few days ago and got them in the ground just as a light rain was starting (welcomed relief). We've had a few good rains since then so I'm pretty confident they'll make it unless I didn't get enough soil into my lasagna bed, but that's a different story. Good luck~

Hi, I have a similar problem in that I only need to lose about 15 pounds, but am having difficulty doing it. When I quit smoking, I gained about 10 lbs and my appetite increased. Bummer! I also recommend the fitday.com web site. When I started tracking everything I was eating on that site, I realized that I was having a chocolate-covered caramel after lunch and dinner, which added about 110 calories to my daily amount, plus my daily glass or wine or bottle of beer. Bob Greene, Oprah's health and exercise guru is very emphatic about cutting out alcohol while you are trying to lose weight. When Lent started, I gave up alcohol and any sweets or desserts. Guess what - I started losing weight! I also exercise on the treadmill about 4 or 5 times a week. Plus DH and I have cut back on our portions and we have become used to the smaller portions and are not hungry. I do get hungry for a snack in the evening, so I either eat 2 or 3 pretzel sticks (the oat ones), a dill pickle, a small apple or the 100 calorie cheez-it packs. I would definitely replace the frosted mini-wheats with the Shredded Wheat and Bran cereal. You don't need that extra sugar. I would check the nutrition informatin in the granola bars, too. Sometimes the so-called healthy snacks are filled with sugar and fat. Wherever possible replace white bread, pasta, etc. with the whole wheat versions. They are healthier (also better for weight loss) and I think they taste better, too. I wouldn't replace your dinner meal with a salad, you will not satisfy your hunger. Protein is the thing that really gives one that full feeling. I know that if I have eggs for breadfast, I don't get hungry until early afternoon, whereas if I eat cereal, I get hungry mid-morning. So do you eat eggs and cheese? Cheese can be high in fat and calories, though, but it is a good source of protein for vegetarians. If possible, I would add fish to your diet. Some vegetarians do eat fish, I'm not sure if you do or not. Keep up the exercise. Is it possible to do it in the morning? That seems to be more beneficial for weight loss, but if after work is the only time for you, that's fine. Exercise increases the metabolism which helps your body to burn calories more efficiently. Good luck.

I'm not sure you can get your mom to care about your relationship. If I were in your shoes, I'm not sure I'd keep trying. Sometimes we just have to accept people the way they are, and that's what I'd do in this case (as far as your own relationship with your mom). I'm also not sure you can get her to understand the need for your husband and you to make requests for your child's care. Again, I think I'd give up trying to get her to understand and agree with you. It seems to me that all you can really do is stand your ground on the safety rules. Stay calm, don't get angry, but just have consequences for when she breaks your rules. If she is letting your daughter get in situations where she is truly in danger (playing on the stairs, taking her to a home where things are stacked high and could fall and hurt her, etc.), then sounds like you just need to make sure your mom has supervised visits only with your daughter. In that situation I would just pay for a sitter and not use my mom to babysit unless I was there. The situation with your soon-to-be baby is sad, and I'm so sorry your mom can't see how hurtful her actions will be. That situation will probably take care of itself, though. I'd think your daughter will love her baby sister/brother and when she gets older your daughter will realize how wrong that kind of statement is. If I was dealing with this with my own mom, then I'd let my mom know that kind of statement is harmful to my kids' relationship with one another and that wasn't acceptable to me. Then, every time my mom made a comment like that, we'd calmly get our things together and leave. Your mom doesn't have to understand, she doesn't have to agree, she just has to stop making that kind of comment. So I wouldn't argue, I wouldn't explain, I'd just calmly say, "It's time for us to go now" or whatever works for the situation, and leave. I would try to enforce my rules in a calm, consistent, firm manner. If my mom wanted to see my daughter alone, then I'd tell her she'll have to go through counseling with the therapist and then later with me and a therapist. No therapy, no keeping my daughter alone. Hopefully her love for your daughter will be the impetus your mom needs to get counseling and change her life for the better. This could be what gets the ball rolling on a much better and healthier life for your mom.

I'd be nervous about roughing up the cane and wrapping, also. Wrapping with sphagnum *here* in the summer would be risky due to the heat and likelihood of it drying out in less than a day even wrapped with plastic. That plastic could end up cooking the cane also. Or in the winter it would freeze. In your climate it might work, but I'd be more comfortable doing it how you are. I would also take a cutting (or two or more if I could). The way I take cuttings is from a just-bloomed stem, and 2-3 nodes, so it looks like you have enough stem for that in the last photo. There are many, many ways that people do cuttings and you can see that in the Rose Propagation and Exchange forum. I talk about the way I do my cuttings in this thread: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/success-with-florist-roses-dsvw-vd~3549922 It's just what works for me but everyone seems to have their own way that they like. Just so you can see how small the cuttings are, I just took these photos just now, with what's cooking. Here's an Abe cutting (see the roots coming out at the bottom), this cutting has only one leaf and the dried peduncle above it. And Bolero, this pot has two cuttings: In your zone it wouldn't be a bad time of year for cuttings. My mother in the East Bay just lops a branch off and sticks it in the ground at pruning time, and she gets nearly 100% success. She doesn't use rooting hormone or any special treatment.