I'm smiling because I am home from work--does that count?? LOL!

Good Tuesday all,

Okay Marci, what's up with the Cheshire Cat? I am intrigued.
Do tell.

Of course it counts Maddie..........stop back and tell us what's going on.

I had a great weekend. My dinner/drive with my girlfriend was really nice. I made a delicious dinner ahead so that all I had to do when we got back from driving was grill the steak. I made a delicious corn salad, marinated flank steak that I served on a bed of lightly dressed field and garlic toast made from Ciabatta! YUM, YUM. She came around 4:30 and Sweet P was nearly tacked so off we went. She had never been on some of the roads we went down and she loved it. Driving is a very social activity when you have a passenger.
We got back around 6:30 and spent the rest of the evening dining and talking. So nice. I made a lemon cake with blueberry sauce for dessert. Naughty but so good.

Sunday we had more really violent storms. It's scary out there!

DeeMarie said SMILE!! I love that cat's smile! Look's like it's up to no good. :~)

We had a 90th birthday party for my aunt this Saturday. Cousins in town I hadn't seen in awhile. It was nice to catch up on everyone's lives.

DS is coming home this weekend. He has business in Cumberland MD next week, and extended his trip to come see us. DD continues to keep me posted on her LA adventures. She has gotten her fill of alligater sightings. When we were in FL, she kept wanting to go see alligators in their natural habitat. She got her wish in LA.

I had a good doctor visit, but didn't like what I saw on their digital scale. I am trying Fitday.com once again to get a handle on my food intake. The older I get, the harder this gets. I also need to exercise more. Seems like more of the same old cycle and I need a new outlook to keep from backsliding.

Later,
Marci

Well DUH!! LOL Yes, he's very cute.

Happy TUESDAY!

Marci, I got my surprise package yesterday. Wish I could get into it this evening, but I've made plans with some friends for dinner. Tomorrow night I'm going run myself a bubble bath and start Lean, Mean Thirteen! Thanks mucho.

Suzanne, your dinner sounds delish. DH and I made plans to take a New England cruise next summer that stops in Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, and Portland. We've never been to Maine, so we're looking forward to it. Was thinking about you and Besh when we put reservations in with the cruise planner. :0)

Patti, hope you are having a great time with those darling children. I can't wait until my nieces or stepdaughters settle down and get married. Don't want to be too old to start playing with the little ones and spoiling them.

Donna, my sister spent a few days in Brigantine last weekend and loved it. It was only a 50 minute drive, but they got the place on eBay as a rental and had a ball!

Maddie, it's good to see you smile and it's even better to see you here with us. Glad you are checking in.

Had another 15-minute chair massage this afternoon. This woman comes to the office through our fitness center and I have to admit it makes an incredible difference.

Let's hear from some more of you.

Take care, eat healthfully, and NEVER NEVER GIVE UP!
DeeMarie

Marci, glad your DS was able to visit with you. Glad your party went well. I love catching up with family I don't get to see very often. I love that cat's smile too!

Suzanne, I agree your ride and dinner sound wonderful. You are a good friend!

Maddie, being home from work when it's your choice to be is always a good thing :-)

Dee, I'm glad your sister liked Brigantine. I actually grew up on that island! Your cruise next summer sounds wonderful and believe me, you will LOVE Maine.

Did you catch H3ll's Kitchen last night? I thought Bonnie was a goner for sure.

Enjoying my week off, so far, but what's not to enjoy???
Take care and have a great evening.

Donna

I have a couple of questions. Does anyone remember me talking about starting an institute for helping people with achieving their dreams?

My first question is, did you have dreams for your life? - things you wanted to do, be, or accomplish? If so, to what extent do you feel like you have achieved your goals, and what would you still like to do?

A related question is that some people just deal with things as they come up, and don't have any specific dreams/goals for their life. Does anyone here fit into that category - where life came by and you just dealt with it, without much time to think about what you might like to be different?

Most people are a combination of both, I think - like that saying "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans" or something like that, lol.

I can come back and answer those questions for myself, but need to do it later, as my arms are sore at the moment.

I hope everyone is doing well, and does anyone know where BJ is? I haven't seen her here for awhile, though admittedly, I don't come by often as I used to.

Take care and eat healthy, and I'm glad to still be seeing names I've known for awhile, and new ones, too.

Amy

Just stopping in to say "Hello" and catch up on the posts.

DH and I enjoyed our trip to Ohio and are looking forward to the next one in August.

Great Big Hello and hope everyone is doing well.

Lynn

Good Wednesday all,

Wow, some MIA's have come out to say hello.

Amy, I don't remember the institute thing and you have asked a couple of heavy questions. I would like to answer them when I have time to put thought into it. I have to say that I definitely fit into the where life came by and you just dealt with it, without much time to think about what you might like to be different category. I flung myself into the world by running away when I was 17 and created a life of my own. Most of it was surviving and making a living. I guess right now I am as close to living a dream as I can get although I have had a major set back since DH was ill 1 1/2 years ago. It will take us a long time to recover from that. Still, I have achieved the ability to enjoy one of my passions and I think that is an accomplishment. Life really is a thing that happens while you are busy making plans for sure! It has a Zen like tone to it doesn't it??

Dee, count me in on your list of meet up with when you travel this way! I could easily get down to where Besh lives without alot of trouble! It would be exciting to see you and meet Besh too!! Besh and I live so close probably 1 1/2 hour or so.

Donna, glad to hear you are enjoying your week off. It's nice to have time at home without a huge agenda.

Marci, glad your going to be around so much family. I know that you love it!!

Lynn, thanks for stopping in to say hi. Get caught up and come soon.

QOD: Does anyone here watch Food Network's Next Star? If so, who did you vote for?

QOD: Even though Rory is from NJ, I voted for Amy. She will not be as grating, and hopefully they will tone down her froo-froo style of describing her dishes!

PS: I am totally HOOKED on reality TV. Someone help me, please!!

I knew you were an addict Dee!!

I voted for Amy too. I think Rory has some nice dishes but I don't like her presentation and style and I hate that gummy smile.......aren't I awful? What did you think of Jag? I really couldn't stand his arrogance and to find out about his deception......well that cinched me!

I am please to say that's my only reality tv show! I am hooked on cooking shows though!

Suzanne, I love Top Chef too! Watched about 3 hours of it last night. Big Brother8 is good (but full of loonies this year), and DH loves Pirate Master. That does not hold my interest much, but it beats housework at that time!

I'm so tired this week and I've figured out that it must be because I've not had enough exercise. Too many carbs and sitting around with do that to you.

QOD: Any plans for the weekend? Saturday we have a luau--friend's son turns 30. My sister and her family are coming up for that and they may stay with us overnight, so Sunday will be a fun day for me. I'm taking tomorrow and Monday as vacation to get some projects finished, gonna read, and do some batch cooking for my freezer.

Okay everyone, where are you?

Dee, I am tired too. I have never even heard of those shows you mentioned! I don't spend much time in front of the tube. EXCEPT I am getting caught up on the 5th and 6th season of the Sopranos....I know, way behind. Last night I saw Adreanna get knocked off. That was sad - she was pretty dumb but what a great actress! That was the first time that I didn't live Silvio. Whoa!

QOD: I am taking tomorrow off too. I was going to go up north to the White Mountain region of NH with my horse on a camping trip but it's raining ( pouring) and they are predicting thunderstorms all weekend. The last place I want to be is out in the middle of a field camping with my horse! I will stay home and get some work done. My boss who has spectacular perennial gardens instructed his gardener to pot up all the hybrid lilies and other beautiful perennials that she has divided and give them to us!! WOW are we lucky. I have about 30 plants and 24 of them are hybrid lilies. They are so spectacular and very expensive. I can't wait to see some bloom. Saturday I am going to a dinner party in honor of DFIL's birthday - a small group of his friends at his farm. It will be nice.

Check in everyone!!

OK, my reality TV right now is limited to H3ll's Kitchen, love it! I have seen the Food Network Star occasionally but have never seen Top Chef nor (with Suzanne) ever heard of Pirate Master (sounds like a video game)!

QOD: I went into work today for a full day because of a retirement party. I am taking off Monday instead so I am now facing a 4 day weekend - yippee!!! Nothing definite planned at the moment but no doubt something will come up.

Suzanne and Dee - enjoy your long weekends too.

Will check in later....Donna

BESH!/>
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Happy Birthday dear Besh. I hope you have a wonderful day and an even better year! 50 big ones! There something righteous about being 50!!

Love, NH Suzanne

Besh,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I turned 50 in April and still don't believe it!

Enjoy your day - you deserve it!!

Love, Donna

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BESH!!!!
HOPE YOUR DAY IS FILLED WITH FUN!

Take Care.

Lynn

Happy Birthday Besh! I hope you had a wonderful day with a year filled with wonderful days. Suzanne is right there is something righteous about turning 50. Do something you never thought you would do!

Suzanne - A few weeks ago, I was going to get in my car and a man I know was digging up all his hostas and lilies in front of his store - he gave them to me. I couldn't believe my luck, as I was just talking to a local landscaper about getting lilies and hostas. The plants are huge. I'm sorry your riding plans were changed. I hope you enjoyed the dinner party.

Dee - I didn't know about the pirate show either. But I think I flipped by it the other night.

Lynn - glad your trip to OH was a good one.

QOD - I went to a wine dinner on Thursday night and that was a lot of fun with a lot of good wine. Friday we had a bbq at a friends house and yesterday was the art show that I coordinate. It was well received and the weather couldn't have been better. Afterwards we went out on the boat and came in for dinner where we ran into other friends and ended up staying out until midnight.

Enjoy what is left of your weekend.