A few tips from a northern horticulturist now living south of Santee. 1. Soil is sand with very little nutrition and high in phosphorus. Do not use fertilizers high in phosphorus. 2. You will find that many plants grow best in high shade or morning sun, afternoon shade. 3. Epsom salts will be your best friend. It is magnesium which is necessary for plant absorption of iron. Don't be afraid to scatter it around plants. 4. Sandy soils are best amended by placing compost/manures on soil surface under pine needle mulch. Don't dig them in. Compost everything you can get your hands on. You will need it. 5. Winter gardening is fabulous here. Prowl the growers on St. John's Island near Charleston for plants and advice. Spring bulbs should be purchased when they come on the market in the fall, refrigerated until Jan. 1, then planted. Carleton is the best daffodil to grow here and is one of the few that will rebloom every year. Be certain to attend the hidden garden tours in Charleston for great ideas. 6. Careful selection of disease free rose varieties and many of the old shrub rose varieties will prove to be valuable garden additions. 7. Study on-line catalogs such as Plants Delight and Singing Spring Nursery for helpful tips. Best to buy plants rated for Zone 8b-9 to grow in this area. Be prepared to say goodbye to many of your favorite plants and be ready to learn about many new ones. Also, you will find far fewer insect and disease problems here. No Japanese beetles! Fire ants...yes. Numerous northern annuals are perennial here. You will have an enjoyable learning curve and quickly adapt to gardening in this area.

gibby3000 - I lost weight because I was basically scared into it. I do run 3 times a week and go to the gym 2 times a week but I was doing that while I was carrying the extra weight. My DH and I were renewing our life insurance in Jan of 2009 and because of our ages at the time (56) we had to have a little check-up by the public health nurse. She dropped by the house and was doing our weight, blood pressure, blood tests and heart monitor. I knew I was carrying extra weight but I didn't know how much. Anyway, she weighed me (I didn't look at the number) and then took my blood pressure and she noted that it was quite high. I didn't know why. I thought to myself - I exercise, and I think I eat properly. But whatever. She took again at the end and it was still high and she commented that it shouldn't be that high. So then I looked at my weight and just about fell out of my chair. I was shocked at what I weighed which was about as much as a man. So I got on the internet and just started researching healthy eating, checked my BMI, looked at calorie counting, looked at what fat is and how many calories are in a pound, etc. What I realized is that I can't and wasn't prepared to exercise anymore so I had to look at my food intake. I don't eat chips, cheezies or any type of junk food (dark chocolate is definitely an issue and continues to be so) but what I was doing was just eating too much food during the day. I was exercising and so used that as an excuse to eat but that attitude does catch up with you eventually. I found out through research that 1 pound has 3500 calories in it and so if I want to lose a pound a week I have to drop 500 calories a day. So, no more mid-morning snack, no more eating dinner leftovers for lunch and no more cheese and crackers in the afternoon. I started eating a sensible, prepared for me by me lunch. Some fruit, some protein and a carbohydrate. I do get hungry mid-afternoon and so I have applesauce with cinnamon. I do prepare sensible dinners but now I don't have seconds. And nothing after dinner and that was the hardest thing to let go of. It took 9 months to lose 42 pounds and I feel so much better and that is what keeps me motivated to keep it off. My running is better, my walking is easier, bending to get things is easier - I just feel so much better and that is the incentive to keep it off. The changes that I made were ones that I knew I could maintain over the long haul. I didn't give up the cream for my coffee because I knew I couldn't give it up for the long term. \\ I think that it's important to only make those changes that you can maintain for the rest of your life and not miss. If you can't give up that cookie at night - cut back someplace else but still count it in your calories, if you can't cut back sugar in your coffee for ever then cut back where you can and not miss it. Eating healthy and maintaining a healthy weight shouldn't be or feel like punishment for life. A couple of people have commented about how they blew it one week or were "bad" over the weekend. During this process I gave myself permission for the occasional lapse. I knew it was going to happen because I'm not perfect, I'm not a robot and I'm trying to break a 25 year eating habit. You don't do that without a misstep along the way. Now, I have given myself a 5 pound leeway for those times when I'm away or we have a busy couple of weeks of entertaining. I do weigh myself everyday and do start to regroup if I put on 3 pounds. I don;t beat myself up if that happens because now I have the tools to deal with it. This is just my opinion but I don't believe in these fad diets because they are too hard to maintain as a long-term lifestyle. (I'm not talking about diets relating to gluten allergies or diabetes, etc) Like I said - my opinion.

My DD! She drives the rest of us crazy! Sometimes (in car) I have to tell her to stop talking *at* me, I can't concentrate, I need to drive. Then there are the conversations that go on forever b/c someone's just not getting it. I must have spent 5 minutes at dinner last night trying to describe to my dad where/why I thought they were putting catch basins in on my uncle's street. It started with my dad saying he drove that road around 3pm, noticed surveyor was at lot behind my uncles' (he's on the corner). I said yes, at 4:45 I saw the flags and OBTW they were putting in catch basins on that (short) road. Dad said he saw the patched asphalt. I said well the heavy equipment was there, and I saw the concrete storm drains off to the side of the road. *That* started it - "Where?" "At the end of the road near the land that's for sale" "There's no land for sale, that's the house, they just have the sign on the state hwy so people know it's for sale around the corner." "No, uncle told me last year land was for sale, sign said acreage, but the drains aren't on the hwy, they're on cross street." "Mr. X used to own that house, he sold it, but he owns all the land back behind all the way up to your other uncle, but he sold the house, he doesn't live there anymore, but he always had a problem with water running down the driveway of that house, he dug out so it doesn't run in the road. Maybe the new owner is doing something" ... it turned into a 20-min conversation, both of us getting frustrated, and all I meant was to mention they're working on the road and we shouldn't use it as a shortcut til they're done. Most conversations with my dad end up like the old Abbott and Costello "Who's on First?" routine...

I second bmrbabe's technique of taking a picture of the project, then tossing the project itself. I did this when I was in art school. The space-eating school project was gone, but in case I ever needed to prove I did it, I had photo evidence. TS, one of the things that helped me the most when digging out of my clutter was to establish a regular Goodwill run. I stopped in at my local thrift store as part of my errands every Saturday. It didn't really take that long. From what you've said in other threads, it doesn't sound like there are many thrift stores where you live--but have you considered taking a bag with you to work? There are quite a few thrift stores in midtown Manhattan--just check your phone book. It's easier to itemize, too, if your donation isn't large. Those grocery-bag donations every Saturday added up to quite a lot of clutter gone from my apartment and a big break at tax time. Concretenprimroses, with overcoming the inertia, I've found it helps to have a goal. Like, "Work is having a dress clothes drive for Dress For Success (or the Cinderella Project or Materials for the Arts--find a charity that inspires you!). What can I find in my closet--and what can I inspire my family members to donate--for this worthy cause?" It also helps to relate the cause to moments in your life when you needed help, or someone you know needed help. I also try to keep an ear out for those around me. One of my friends still thanks me and my former roommate for giving her our stash of ugly-to-us blankets when she was broke and cold after moving to NYC from Kentucky. Anybody have a stash of Beanie Babies? Halloween is coming and those things make great Halloween giveaways!