Good Morning All, BJ, WOW, what a post. I cannot believe your incredible energy. I have not read or seen the Ya Ya Sisterhood, I suppose I am going to have to now. Might be a nice rainy Saturday afternoon thing to do. But for now I am going to call you Sister of endless energy and enthusiasm! I read every word of your post. Talk about catching up TIMES 10! LOL I am thinking of you too Raeanne, out there in Chicago, Chicago. Hope you are having fun. Too bad you and Gretchen can't hook up. Tikanas, I must have missed some posting as I did not know you were recently widowed. I am not aware of the circumstances but I am sorry to hear that. Sounds like you are indeed being good to yourself. I admire your committment to yourself to get/stay in shape. I have not even had the chance to talk to DH about the retreat. The truth of the matter is that he has not been home but for one evening since this whole thing blew up! He has been away working and when not working taking care of his DS's needs, getting him to court, doctors and dentist. Nicely managing to avoid having to deal with his life here! He calls dutifully every night to make sure things are "alright". We haven't even spoken of therapy or retreats, etc. This is the way it will go too I suspect until he "blows up" again. I am determined to go to this retreat it sounds good. The people who recommended it are the brother and SIL of my good friend who I ride with. I have never met her brother but I know they have had some real issues. Someone suggested this retreat to them and they went. They said that when they got there the looked around and said to each other that there was no way this was going to work and wanted to leave. The impression was that it the husband and wife were real "granola" ,(no offense to anyone), and nuts and seeds 60's type people. BUT they stuck it out and got so much out of it that they are going back for a refresher! The only other complaint was that all the meals were vegetarian. DH is strickly meat and potatoes but I won't even talk to him about the food. So, I hope that DH can find the time to come home long enough to talk to him about this. I have to admit that I feel very lonely lately. I think a big part of it is that I can't ride Sweet Pea and I am sort of cut off from alot of activities.........like the campout this weekend. It will be okay and I will get some fun time in before summer is out. Today I am cleaning all my grooming brushes and cleaning harness and saddle really well so they will be ready for Sweet Pea's return to work! Dosen't that sound like fun! I was going to drive my trailer down into the pasture and set up camp with the horses but my sister told me that was really pathetic!! I am still thinking about it only it's rainy. Marci, I can't believe you have the energy to organize a yard sale! They are a lot of work but I guess there is lots of money to be made. I am doing HORSE LAUNDRY right now. Saddle pads, trail packs, etc. They have to be washed twice!! First load is spinning right now............I will check in later.

Hi, ladies! It's me - back from the world of very little computer access!!!!! I finally can access the internet on my little laptop, the first time in 3 months, so now I can play as much as I want. It was difficult using my friend's computer for very long at a time without being a nuisance, so it became just easier to not even try most days. Looks like I've got a lot of reading and catching up to do. It's the perfect time to have a bad knee, I guess. Unfortunately, it's my artificial knee, and that's worrisome to me because all I did to start this problem was step carefully (I swear!) down off a curb Sunday afternoon, and ever since then, every time I turn around, I'm reinjuring it. Today, I've just stayed in bed with ice wraps until the man came to hook up my 'puter. I've missed everyone. Looks like the divorce may happen next week now because my lawyer and I feel like almost-x's figures are as close to the truth as we can determine. I'll be glad to have that part of my life behind me. He's been more than unpleasant these last 3 months, and I can't handle any more stress. Back in a day or so once I backread y'all's news!

Today is an absolutely beautiful day!! Not a cloud in the sky. There is a nice breeze and the temps are in the 60s. Hard to believe that just yesterday, there was water, water and more water everywhere. I ran errands today and saw lots of remnants of the flooding. Gravel and mud on roads, water still laying in low spots, creeks running over their banks, and lots of hillsides with furrows and water still running down them. But we are supposed to have nothing but sunshine for the next 5 days, so hopefully everything will dry up. Our electricity did go out last night for 2 1/2 hours, but I curled up with some candles and some crossword puzzles and passed the time. All I had were scented candles though, and I was burning 3 different scents upstairs and DH was burning a 4th scent downstairs. The combination made a rather unique odor though and I was getting slightly nauseous by the end of the night! LOL QOD - Once. I had just graduated college and was working as a store manager in the mall (I majored in Fashion Merchandising). The district manager and I didn't see eye to eye on something and I mouthed off to her. I was subsequently let go (big surprise - lol), but maintained that it wasn't my fault. Of course, the adult in me now knows that I was completely wrong and had every right to be fired, but my pride wouldn't let me admit that then. I have been doing a program by Prevention Magazine called, Firm Up in 3 Weeks. I have walked 20 out of the last 21 days and either lifted weights or done Pilates 20 of those 21 days. I have eaten sensibly, snacked on healthy foods and even splurged occasionally on "Indulgent Treats", and I can say I never felt deprived or hungry. I slipped into a pair of jeans today without using a shoe horn and I feel great. The program was designed to be done for 3 weeks and then can be modified to fit one's needs or even repeated for another 3 weeks or as long as needed to reach one's goals. I am going to continue the sensible eating (I like having my food choices laid out for me) and will continue to walk 4-5 days a week and do weights and Pilates as often as I can so I can maintain. I loved SSing when I first started, but I just couldn't get back to basics again. I tried over and over again to get back the momentum I had when I first started SSing, but it just wasn't there. With this program, I am eating more carbs, but I am making sure they are whole grain carbs. I am eating nuts, peanut butter, honey and some sugary treats but all in moderation. The book lists hundreds of options for meals, healthy snacks and "indulgent treats" and I can always find something to eat that satisfies me. I tried to stay away from sweets while SSing, and I always ended up eating something "illegal" and going on a binge afterward. Then the whole cycle started over again and each time it was harder and harder for me to get back on the wagon. But I think I have finally found my "groove" with this program from Prevention. I'll post the link to the book in case anyone is interested in taking a closer look. Later, Marci Here is a link that might be useful: Prevention Magazine's

Good Morning. Besh - sorry about your friend. I had an immediate member of my family attempt suicide and it was a very traumatic experience. I can relate to your friend and his family. Very deep issues. Suzanne - Your night out to the theatre and dinner sounds like my kind of night. Where is BJ, I haven't read a post from her. I pretty much caught up from my mia months. QOD: We will have a low key Thanksgiving. My DH's mother and sister are visiting us now since Wednesday and they leave the day prior to Thanksgiving, so we have been having special dinners and going out to eat quite a bit. So I may just make soup and salad for Thanksgiving dinner -- hahahahhahaha. I made a turkey breast yesterday and it was YUMMERS. I hear them in the kitchen now making a italian cookie/biscuit my MIL used to make my husband when he was younger. Oh such happiness -- brings a tear to my eye. GMWAS (Gag me with a spoon). (wink wink) I know my DH is enjoying every minute of it. We drove to he east coast of Florida on thursday and went to a Bloomingdales. I love it. We do not have any here on the west coast(at least that I know of). So my husband bought me a Dooney and Burke purse (which he did a year ago this time when they came down for a visit) So you can bet your bottom dollar that I am hoping this is a yearly thing. Patti - my parents also celebrated their 50th anniversary last month. My husband and I threw them a party at a party center in Ohio (where I am from)and had 130 people there with a band. It was quite a challenge organizing it from Florida. Plus my mom gave her input too.....so... I took a lot of deep breaths and went forward the entire time. I had a blast. A good time was had by all and it was worth all the effort and aggravation just to see how happy it made my parents. We even had my cousin who is an Catholic Deacon renew their vows. Not a dry eye in the joint at that point. Man this is a long post. I better save some for tomorrow. Take care everyone..... Lynn