Happy PRESIDENT's Day everyone. Many thanks to those brave founders who risked so much for our freedom.

We are working today, and it has not started out in a good way. Too many issues have eaten into my schedule. I will never catch up!

Make it count ladies!
Dee

Good afternoon, everyone!

Dee, so sorry that your work day got off to a bad start. Hope this afternoon is easier on you.

Tikanis, how did your date go? Hope it was a fun experience for you. I would have been nervous, too.

Weight Watchers meeting today was good. Lost 2.2 pounds, so made up for last week's weight gain and then some. Tikanis, I am back to needing to lose the last 15, so maybe we can encourage each other along the way. I have been so not with the program since Thanksgiving.

Donna, you are a brave woman to give up chocolate for Lent. I'm thinking about giving up wine, but may think of something better before Wednesday.

Sunny, but so cold today. My cousin in Dallas was without power for 3 days, so can't complain.

Have a good evening.

Happy Monday!

To all who were off today hope you enjoyed. To those of us who worked - Monday is over! Woke up with a sore throat this morning - got doc appointment for tomorrow. I know it's not just a cold, something more is brewing so I want to nip it in the bud.

Dee, I hope your afternoon was stellar and your morning a dim memory! True to form I'm running a day or so behind and am shipping your unbirthday greeting tomorrow - you should have it by Thursday. What are your plans for the day? I am taking Friday off and will bump up my facial to the morning and see if my hairdresser can fit me in for a wash and blow dry. That's another reason I'm jumping on the meds train fast - I don't want to be off and be sick!!

Tikanis - I'm with Jan...how did the date go?? Inquiring minds want to know.

Jan, congrats on the loss. I successfully gave up chocolate once for Lent several years ago and have tried each year since but haven't made it all the way to Easter. I thought about wine but decided not to go for that. We'll see just how far I get. Your poor cousin with no power for 3 days - yikes. Many in the Cape May area JUST got power restored after the February 5/6 blizzard. No power is the worst.

Off to grab something fattening for dinner - tonight and tomorrow then on the bandwagon, or at least some kind of wagon, not sure what one. Maybe the no chocolate one?? I might just get booted off!

Be safe, be warm and be good.

Donna

Hi all,

A quick update on my beloved Sweet Pea. Last Friday, she was down for the count. She did a complete 360 and was back where she was at the start of this episode. When I got home from work on Friday she was down in her stall, groaning and in pain to the enth degree. I was so frightened I really thought "this is it". I stayed with her through whatever it was and she got up and "shook it off". The rest of the weekend has been great. Hoof person out on Saturday to trim her hoofs back a little more which really helped. Managed to get her out walking and have done so three times a day since Saturday. I am feeling encouraged. Not out of the woods but she is clearly feeling better. Today our noon time walk took us out 40 minutes and she seemed comfortable the whole time. I am not getting my hopes up but I am hopeful for sure. I am not giving up on her. FYI, I don't think I shared this but her official diagnosis is Equine Metabolic Syndrome. Basically and for all intensive purposes, she is a diabetic! Her insulin level was at 174 (normal is less than 40)on the night of the first episode and her second test was down to 110. God only knows what kinds of toxins are in the hay she eats, etc. I know that she cannot metabolize sugar.... More later.

I hope you are all well. Donna, I missed the link to your slide show please share when you can.

Sigh...I am so tired but so hopeful tonight.\

Did anyone watch the opening night for the Olympics? It was really something and a great distraction.

Donna, I think I'm leaning towards the "no wine for lent" as I lick the remnants of my No Pudge brownie from my lips - ha!

suzanne, what a roller coaster you and Sweet Pea have been on. She has a tremendous heart, doesn't she, as do you. I hope tonight is a peaceful night for you both.

I watched most of the Olympic's opening night. I ordered one of K.D. Lang's cds after hearing her sing "Hallelujah." Had forgotten what a beautiful voice she has. Also have watched Apollo Ono (sp?) race - so glad he's off to a good start. I used to love the figure skating, had my favorites, etc. I don't know who any of them are any more (sign of my old age?!) Except for that Johnny Weir kid, who they just had a segment on HBO. Unique little guy, rather flamboyant, and beautiful skater, when he has it all together.

My quality of tv viewing has gone south - to think that I'm debating watching The Bachelor or Celebrity Fit Club (with Kevin Federline, Bobby Brown, etc.??!) Embarrassing to admit.

Good night!

Hooray for Sweet Pea!
Suzanne, I am so happy to hear that things are looking up! I know how hard this must be on the both of you. Continuing to pray for you both.

Donna, I missed your photos too. I'll have to send you my email addy as I would love to peek at that newly spruced up kitchen!

Dee, may the rest of the week be easier for you! I hate a hectic Monday.

Jan!! I am so happy to hear of your loss! Yipee! I would love to be your encouragement buddy. let me start by saying that I am darned proud of you; you got right back in there and lost 2.2 lbs. That is wonderful and inspirational! My next check in is Feb. 27th. This week's goal is to exercise 4-5 days. It will be nice to be accountable....

Well, ladies, the date was interesting. Nice guy, but a real car fanatic. So much so, that even a comment by me about our weather turned into a 5 minute spiel on how to best handle driving in the rain! He managed to inject cars into EVERY topic I brought up! Thank goodness it was only a coffee date as I was not exactly thrilled with the "test drive" ha ha!

Just so y'all know, I have signed up for one of those matching services, so this might be just the first chapter in "Escapades in Dating". The whole thing is a bit surreal at this point. Any advice? I'm in no hurry....
Tikanis

Suzanne - What a scare that must have been. I will continue to send positive healing thoughts to SP and hope that she continues to show improvement. I could feel your stress - I hope you can relax.

Tikanis - sounds like your date may have been a bit nervous himself. I love your "test drive" comment. I took a friend of mine to speed dating once. We scoped out the guys going in and then I hung around in case she needed to bail early. We laughed all the way home. The only advice I can give is to put yourself out there without any expectations.

Donna - Hope you are feeling better and that it was a false alarm.

Jan - Congrats on your continued loss, you should be very proud of yourself.

Dee - I hope you have been able to catch up at work.

It just started to snow, but we are only suppose to get a couple of inches. Making a pot roast for dinner and catching up on laundry and paperwork while watching the Olympics.

Enjoy your evening.

Good morning!

Where is everyone this week??

Donna, I hope you are feeling better.

Raeanne, I don't think speed dating is quite my style. I am having a hard enough time with 'regular" dating! LOl!

This week I have been cooking for a family at my new church; 10 kids including 4 teenagers and a mom who just had surgery! I don't know how she manages on a GOOD day!!

Tomorrow is my annual tax appointment with my accountant. Danged Infernal Revenooers!!

Well it is 6:30 AM here and I am late for my date with the treadmill.

Check in MIAS!

Tikanis

Good morning!

Tikanis, have a good workout on your treadmill and good luck with your tax appointment. Hope your next date holds more promise or interest!

Just got in from walking and my hands are still like ice, even with wearing gloves. I thought I'd try a few situps last night while watching American Idol. Whew - that's an area that hasn't been worked in a while - ha!

Anyone else watching American Idol? There really seems to be a lot of talent this year. I was hoping the girl with the partial facial paralysis would make it - really liked her voice. Simon even said they made the wrong decision in letting her go. Still, plenty of good, fresh talent to root for.

raeanne, how was your pot roast? Did you get very much snow?

I so need to clean house today, so better run. Enjoy your day, whatever you do!

Good Wednesday all,

We had a foot of snow overnight! It is just beautiful. It's like a brand new blanket of white. It was easy to shovel and makes nice soft footing for Sweet Pea so I am not complaining. It feels like Spring to me and that is a wonderful feeling.

Tikanis, I have two friends (one is my DSIL) that met their true loves through dating services. I say go for it!! Why not - it saves you alot of time to say the least. Have fun.

Jan, I have never watched AA. I have been trying to catch the Olympics when I can. I love winter sports.

Miss Pea is holding her own so please continue sending positive thoughts and prayers her way...they work.

Okay, who knows what this sign means???

Suzanne - I know, I know but I won't answer, let's see if one of our city or southern gals know haha. Funny is we don't have those signs here, but we should. Glad the new soft snow will be kinder to SP.

Jan - I agree about the girl they sent home. She had a nice voice and very powerful. I think the talent is way above par too. I felt there were some top contenders in all of the rooms. Pot roast was good and plenty of leftovers. We only got an inch of snow, but at least everything looks clean again LOL.

Tikanis - No, I couldn't do speed dating either. But it was good for some big laughs.

I better get back to work.

Enjoy your day.

Happy ASH WEDNESDAY!

Still too busy to really check in. Glad to see that SP is holding her own.

No idea what that sign means, but I'm thinking like "Frost makes me heave/vomit...whateva". That's the Jersey translation. lol!

Gotta run; I'm on a webinar during lunch "Defensive Dining".

Later........
Dee

This is totally off the subject of diets/snow/television, and I've already posted over on the Paints section, but wonder if y'all have any suggestions?

I think I've already mentioned that recently we noticed water stains on the side of our shower stall walls near the ceiling in our master bath. The plumbers came out,checked the entire house, including the attic, and said it was most likely caused by excessive steam, they could not find any leaks, which I guess was good news.

I thought I'd take a closer look at the other two bathrooms, that are only used when we have company, and they also have signs of water stains, which kind of baffled me, because neither have been used more than 10 times in the whole time we've lived here. Our guests are probably like us, and didn't think to use the exhaust fans. There aren't any water stains in any other rooms, just the baths, so I guess they are right.

Could I be missing something? I've got a painter coming out today and am going to get estimates. I was thinking we just needed to do one, but will now be three baths. This time around I think we will use the bath and kitchen paint, rather than the flat we used originally. Any recommendations?

I asked my husband why don't we paint it ourselves, and he is still laughing! Mr. Fix it, he's not.

Hi!

Glad SP is holding her own - will continue prayers. Suzanne, I know what the sign means even though it doesn't happen often around here. I don't at all mind powdery snow and I'm glad it's gentle on SP.

Dee, I love "defensive dining." Your package will go out tomorrow or Friday, I am sorry. I was really sick, it's a sinus infection but after a couple doses of antibiotic I'm feeling good as new. I slept most of yesterday away but I guess I needed it.

Raeanne, cooking a pot roast on a snowy day is perfect. I know what you mean about a fresh snow, it does make things look clean. I think we get another shot Saturday night, not much, only a couple of inches. I hope it's powdery.

Tikanis, send me your email addy so I can forward the link for my pictures to you. You are a braver woman than me with internet dating although I do have a good friend who has been with someone she met online for about 5 years now. I think Raeanne gave good advice and from your "test drive" comment I think your expectations are realistic. Now speed dating is something else all together - I agree with you ladies and could not do that either.

Jan, I haven't watched AI in a while so I'm really out of the loop on that one. I think you're wise going with a semi gloss for the bathrooms - flat is impossible to clean. I am getting ready (key words there) to paint the master bathroom. I'm not quite there yet but I think I found my color - a start!

Got to figure out what to eat for dinner. Day #1 with no chocolate...Jan, how are you doing with that wine??

Take care, be safe and be good.

Donna

I have decided to give up bad snacking for Lent. I have gotten into some bad habits this winter and when I come home from school, I could eat anything that isn't nailed down. So I have vowed to start eating healthy snacks and no more cereal for dinner. I tend to get lazy and unmotivated when I am cooking for myself on the nights when DH is working, and a bowl of cereal sometimes seems so easy.
I came home today and made myself a cup of herbal tea and peeled a Clementine. Then I promptly spilled the tea when I set it down beside the computer. But I ate the Clementine and made a Lean Cuisine for dinner with a salad.
So Day #1 was a success.
Marci*

HappyBirthdayDeeMarie!

Good morning all

Wow, I am the first one to sing happy birthday.....I am a little nervous as this is my singing debut...you are about to hear why!! LOL

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Biiiiiirrrrrthday Dee Marieeeeeeeee Happy Birthday to you!!

Hope you have a simply marvelous day. Love from your favorite hag with nag!!

Happy birthday, Dee! I hope things slow down enough so you can enjoy your special day!

Marci, congrats on having a good "day 1!" Lean Cuisines are my lifesaver, sometimes. So far, so good, on abstaining from the wine. (Of course, it's only been a couple of days, I had one last glass on Sunday night with dinner.) The weekends, especially Friday nights, for some reason, will be when I'm most likely to miss it. It's nice to have you guys as support and an extra way to keep me "honest," ha.

Started off really chilly, 28 degrees, but we're supposed to warm up to high 50's. Yea!

Enjoy your day.

Happy Birthday Dee!!

I hope that you have a wonderful day!!

(((Hugs!)))

Tikanis

Hey everyone!! When are we going to get Dee's party started? Check in.

I see that Suzanne beat me to the singing, but I think I'll torture Dee anyway.

Ahem....cough, hack, snort...

mee, meeeee, meeeeeeeee

Happy birthday to youse,
Happy birthday to youssssse
Happy birthday to our dear, sweet, beloved Dee (my NYC partner-in-crime (and what a day that was!))
Happy birthday to youse!

My beautiful friend, I hope you have a day that gives you the same happiness that you gave me on that one magic day. You're a joy to know, and I hope that you know how much I (and all of us) love you. You're the best!

Suzanne--still sending good vibes to you and Miss Pea. And, this southern grrl knows what the sign means--

Donna--thanks for the link--your home is lovely! I'd love to have your kitchen!

Just checking in to day hi (and to bellow at Dee-lol!)

Hope all is well-

Hugs,

Maddie

Dee, Happy happy birthday my friend!

Your unbirthday is on it's way!!

ENJOY!

Donna

Some people are having trouble getting into The Diet Chat, so they are having DeeMarie's party at Facebook! LOL

Another good day food wise. NO snacks today at all, as DH and I went out for dinner. I did eat the bread and dipping oil (Bravo!), but I skipped dessert and brought home half my Penne Mediterranean, which was delicious.

Adding another * to my name.
Marci**

Woohoo, I'm in! Whew! I was beginning to think I'd never get back here. I was a little relieved to discover that I wasn't the only one though.

Dee, happy 39th birthday to you! (Teehee!)

I've stayed way too busy this week with all kinds of activities. Several of us in our sorority HAD to dine at an Italian restaurant on Monday to taste-test different entrees to be considered for our style show and luncheon in April. Rough job! :) Then, one of my sorority sisters and I went shopping for table decorations for it, plus we looked for ideas for the Red Hat luncheon we're hosting in June - luau theme. Throw in a couple of meetings, a couple of dinners out, and being locked out of here, and that's my week so far. LOL

Suzanne, still holding good thoughts for Sweet Pea!

Tikanis, way to go on the dating service! It's got to be better than leaving things to chance. Hopefully, the next dates will be better than your first one was.

Raeanne is still locked out, too, as of a couple of hours ago, so I hope she's back soon. I missed posting, but at least I could read here.

Wishing everyone a great Friday tomorrow. I'm up and out early tomorrow, but I'll be checking in later in the afternoon.

Whew! Dee~I didn't think I was going to get in in time to wish you a Happy Birthday on here either. I didn't realize that others were having the same problem. I had been reading on here today though. I hope you enjoyed your day.

NH Suzanne~I am pretty sure I know what the sign means.

Milkdud~Good to see you are still staying busy.

Tikanis~Not 100% about the dating thing but I didn't read exactly what you are doing except on this page. My sis is about to marry someone she met on one of those & I'm very leary of him. My DBIL & DSIL met on one & they have been married a couple of years. Not certain how that is going either. Seems fine except for one thing. They are living in 2 different parts of the world. For the next 3 years I guess???

Marci~Good to see you here. I knew you would be here today.

Maddie~Good to see you here too.

Donna~I'd love to see your pics.

Wodka~Glad to see you are doing so well too.

Raeanne~Will have to catch up with all of you soon.

I am still doing lots of quilting. Making lots of purses right now. It is great practice before tackling the big project of a quilt. Everyone will be leaving for back north soon. I really dread it again this year. We moved in December & love, love, love our new location even though it wasn't far at all. The neighbors are much friendlier. I made such good friends last year when new people moved in that we stay busy when we can. I try to move & stay busy in between dr visits. ;-) Take care Dear Friends. I miss each & every one of you. Patti

TGIF!

Thank you all so much for your well wishes here and over at FB. Suzanne and Maddie, may I suggest that you both continue on with your day jobs...not that I did not appreciate the efforts, but.....LOL!!!!!

I am so very blessed in my life, and you are all part of my blessings. It's so comforting to know I can come here and share success and struggle, while understanding I'll get support and a butt-kicking if I need it. Thanks!

Have my bi-monthly internist appointment today, and I don't think the scale will be kind. That always gets me rattled, which, of course, sets the blood pressure higher than normal. I can't get the scale to go down anymore. Very frustrating, but I realize that I need to track each meal, snack, and BLT (bite, lick, and taste when cooking). So I started by giving up sweets for Lent, tho DH fed me a bite of red velvet cupcake w/ cream cheese icing after dinner last night before I realized I was only 1 1/2 days into it! I told him afterwards, and he promised not to tempt me again! :0)

Gotta run and take some training on Office 2007 and Outlook; they are switching me over in a week here.

TAKE CARE, EAT HEALTHFULLY, AND NEVER NEVER GIVE UP!
Dee

DeeMarie - Hope your birthday was great!

No snow is predicted for this weekend, so I am planning on getting out and about for most of the day tomorrow. It has been above freezing and it feels like a heat wave! LOL

Snacks today were mini rice cakes and a 100 calorie pack of almonds. I am giving myself another *.

Marci***