WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR AUGUST 2014

RebelRenny

I saw this lovely image on Facebook and wanted to share it with you, so I moved it to my status for a day. I have passed through this situation and am now in a happy land without these worries.
Katla49

Thanks for the chuckle, Katla. Menopause, schmenopause. Bleh. I sure hope you get the DH situation sorted out. I hate uncertainty. I like the way you think about age.

Heather - I always feel I have been on a little bit of a journey when I read your posts about food, family and friends and the mixing of all of them.

Mimi - DH has been the cook in our house and I often don't even get a chance to use our food scale. He has become very good at guessing, at least that is what he thinks. I need to get more precise again, because it is so easy to pack on the pounds and so darn hard to get them off.

Sylvia - Thanks for the jokes. I started subscribing to a Joke a Day years ago. Must be the same as what you receive.

I just had a conversation with one of my sisters. We had not connected for about three weeks after all the stress with mom. It was nice to catch up.

Today we are celebrating the threenager's birthday. DD describes him as such sometimes, although the term might not be original with her. We are meeting at a small park by the ocean which has both beach and a grassy field with picnic tables. I have to swing by Costco to pick up a veggie and fruit tray before then. I scored a second hand bike (with training wheels) for the birthday boy at a thrift store for $3. It is in really really old (read: bad) shape and DH fixed it up best he could. We'll keep it at our house for when he comes over, because I think he is still a bit too young for it anyway. Yes, you read that right: 3 (three) dollars. Frankly, anything that costs less than a hamburger sounds like a good buy to me. And spending $3 for a 3 year old made me chuckle.

DH and I went out for dinner last night at a sushi place. I had a chicken teryaki combo because I did not feel like sushi. I had the leftovers for lunch. Drinking my water. I do find eating with chopsticks helps slow down the eating machine. I should have remembered that when I was wolfing down my lunch today. Too late now.

Have a great Sunday!

Renny
Vancouver Island, BC

dinaesia

Hi,
saw the posts about a food scale...Why not use a clear plate? Plastic or glass, cook's choice. Just remember to subtract the weight of the plate from your measure.
Love the Dwarves of Menopause!! What a hoot!

bwcetc

Hi all!

Continues to be crazy here and I can't seem to get my eating back under control! Strawberry Twizzlers don't count as a real food I suppose... just plastic with calories!

While I posted before that we are having a lot of bad luck ... none of it has been life threatening ... and this week ... even though the event was terrifying... we are thankful for God's hedge of protection. My DS with the nursery job was struck at high speed by a customer's van. DS, who doesn't even have a driver's permit yet ... was in a work horse cart thing and but was uninjured due to a very wise and quick decision he made. Both he and the other driver were pretty shook up as there was extensive damage to the vehicles.

I'm getting ready to take DS to Nashville for a visit with friends. We are both excited. DH will stay home and be available to help our other son when he comes home for the weekend.. He's a little miffed he wasn't invited, but its very hard to travel with him ... especially when it comes to transferring and dealing with his special needs. I'll get him a t-shirt! :laugh:

I've been reading your posts. Very interested in the TDEE information. As for activity levels of today's kids ... nonexistent! Like others, I walked, rode the bus or my bike nearly everywhere. We only had one car which my dad drove to work. Mom didn't and still doesn't drive. It was a better way of life.

Beth

mollywhippet

Dinaesia, thanks for your comment. I'm not very good at taking compliments, as I always feel like such a fraud. I remember when my son was about 6 I had really struggled and lost 50 pounds. He was playing outside with a friend one day and I went to tell him dinner was ready. I overheard his little friend say "is that your mom? I thought she was fatter than that." My innocent little son said "She is. She just didn't eat supper." Well, I was crushed. I very quickly regained that 50 pounds and about 50 more just for good measure. Now, after losing over 100, I feel like I'm just one supper away from gaining it all back.

Beth, I'm so glad your son wasn't hurt!

Renny, sometimes I don't like the joke they send, so I find another one. And sometimes the grammar is wrong so I try to fix it. And sometimes I send it just the way it comes.

Katla, I love your menopause dwarfs!

I am a little sunburned from two hours at the pool. But it was fun. It was the last swim of the season at the city pool. The kids had a good time. We also bought six pairs of shoes, six bags of socks and some shiny shoe laces.

Now it's time to walk the puppy dogs. I hope you all had a great day!

Sylvia

barbiecat

:bigsmile: :bigsmile: A happy sunny day here today but too hot for the dogs:laugh: Jake came over to do laundry and I fixed a roast chicken with stuffing, gravy, and green beans.

Barbie

Lestan48

Sunday is my scheduled rest and re-feed day. We drove out to Waratah, about an hour, so Beagle dog could play in thick snow. Then drove back through Hellyer Gorge and had a nice walk along the river. Home to sleet and cook roast pork dinner. Had enough cals so made pancakes and fresh strawberries for dessert.
Woke to frost this morning but back to training again
Have done my weight/tape?bf% and all OK after a week of only walking.
My results (I am 66):
My BF = 27.77%, I have lost 0.22 lbs this last week and 4.75 ins, cardio a walking only. My BMR by Katch McArdle is 1881, TDEE = 2916 Food allowed = 2041 - 2333. Going to aim for 2000 after deducting exercise.
Lesley in Tasmania.

strassenkoenigin

Today I was not the "Queen of the Road", but I still biked a little bit. I felt like working in my yard , but it got pretty hot pretty soon. From all the biking my legs are only tanned up to mid-thigh because I am always wearing bike shorts. So I put on a bathing suit today to get a little bit of color on the upper thighs.

Lesley in Tasmania

I wish I could have a little bit of your snow at the moment. We have some pretty high mountains her in Southern Nevada and most of the year I can see snow covered peaks, but not in August. You seem to be doing very well with your diet, I don't think I have had pancakes in five years. I am trying to stay away from any kind of flour.

Katia in St. Helens Oregon

I enjoyed your dwarfs too, but I do not understand why I am still suffering from menopausal symptoms. Is this something I have to live with for the rest of my life? Is there no prince in sight to end the suffering?

Every time I see you posting I remember 1980 when Mt. St. Helens erupted and we were covered in ashes even in Los Angeles. My husband and I drove up to see it and I could not believe the moon landscape we were confronted with. Since then I have been many times in that area. When I worked in tourism, our tour groups stayed overnight in Newport after visiting the Oregon Dunes and then the next night at the lodge at Mt Rainier and then we continued on to Seattle and Vancouver. I love the Oregon Coast and remember fondly the Salmon dinners we had at the Newport Hotel on the beach. You are so blessed to live in such a beautiful area.


About the energy level. My biggest problem is insomnia. I seem to have inherited the problem from my mother. After barely sleeping at night I have to force myself on my bike early in the morning, but once I am on the bike I am fine and can go on for hours and hours. When I come back I eat something and rest for an hour or so and go on with my day. But of course I am not at my best. I cannot even remember the last time I slept 8 hours in a row. When I cannot sleep I also tend to eat, which does not help my weight loss and it seems to interfere with weight loss in general. It is just messed up. I am now 69 and I want to be done with menopause.


dinaesia?

Where in Germany did you live? You obviously learned some German if you understood my screen name. I am glad you had fun in Europe.


All you ladies who manage to reply to so many posts, I draw my helmet(It is the only hat I am wearing often). I have problems maneuvering through all the posts and replying to everybody. But I will try to do a better job, after all I have to fight dementia....


Ann in the very hot Mojave desert

RebelRenny

Ann...when you ride your bike, you must be riding very early in the morning, since you are in the desert. I love riding my bike. I have a Raleigh road bike. It was a cheap one from Walmart, and I would love to get a better one. Do you have bike trails? We have, like, one. Wish it were different. What kind of bike do you have?

No worries about answering everyone in this forum. We use tricks (see Renny grinning). Barbie and others can teach you how.

DD and DSIL organized bday party for their 3 year old at a beach/park today after the kiddies had their naps. Great idea. It was wonderful weather, an available picnic table and food prepared ahead of time was all we needed. I brought the veggie and fruit trays (thank you Costco). DD had made pulled pork, coleslaw and cupcakes. Connections were reconnected, volleyball was played and food was eaten. Pictures were also taken, so memories were immortalized. Altogether, a couple of hours of family and friends and children of all ages had a good time. Frankly, birthday parties held anywhere other than my house leave me quite satisfied.

Time to close off the evening. Goodnight my friends. See you in the morning.

Renny
Vancouver Island, BC

jmkmomm

I have been lurking lately. Sadly I have been working towards getting to 1st place in this face book game I play. I have found that if I use my desk top and iPad at the same time I can get my hourly limit done in 18 minutes which leaves most of the hour for actually living. Andyway some one sent this to me in an email today. Hope it copys OK



#1
I very quietly confided to my best friend that I was having an affair.

She turned to me and asked, 'Are you having it catered'?

And that, my friend, is the sad definition of 'OLD'!

#2
Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very elderly widow and asked,
'How old was your husband?'
'98,' she replied: 'Two years older than me'
'So you're 96,' the undertaker commented.
She responded, 'Hardly worth going home, is it?'


#3
Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman:
'And what do you think is the best thing
about being 104?' the reporter asked.
She simply replied, 'No peer pressure.'

#4
I've sure gotten old! I have outlived my feet and my teeth
I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement,
new knees, fought prostate cancer and diabetes
I'm half blind,
can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine,
take 40 different medications that
make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts.
Have bouts with dementia.
Have poor circulation;
hardly feel my hands and feet anymore.
Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92.
Have lost all my friends. But, thank God,
I still have my driver's license.
#5
I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape,
so I got my doctor's permission to
join a fitness club and start exercising.
I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors.
I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But,
by the time I got my leotards on,
the class was over.


#6
An elderly woman decided to prepare her will and told her preacher she had two final requests.
First, she wanted to be cremated, and second,
she wanted her ashes scattered over Wal-Mart.

'Wal-Mart?' the preacher exclaimed.
'Why Wal-Mart?'
'Then I'll be sure my daughters visit me twice a week'


#7
My memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.


#8
Know how to prevent sagging?
Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.


#9
It's scary when you start making the same noises
as your coffee maker ..


#10
These days about half the stuff
in my shopping cart says,
'For fast relief.'


#11
THE SENILITY PRAYER :
Grant me the senility to forget the people
I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and
the eyesight to tell the difference.

Looks like it did. Hope you all get a good kick out of it and some may even relate to some of them.

Good day at church today, no dizzy spells but I kept my legs pumping all the time. We were going to have a special trio practice tonight before church but the husband of our pianist fell and really hurt himself, no breaks but really bruised. Hit his head and having bad headaches. I hope she gets that checked out. She wasn't available so it was cancelled. This trio is for August 31st and our director is a stickler for our music being perfect and we have never practiced together. Hubbie has his follow up with the dentist this week to see how his partial plate is fitting. He doesn't like it, says there is to much plastic on his palate and hopes it all wasn't a mistake. He never gives the person a chance to fix it. He is the eternal pessimist where I am the eternal optimist. Wish I didn't have to still pump my leggs all the time when I am standing while I am wearing these compression socks. What's the use n wearing them. I have a 3 month follow up with the doctor on that so I'm sure it is a good 2 months away. I have had to push the even button twice lately, once for a rapid heart beat in the middle of the night and then another one for some chest pain tonight

It is now 2 months before we have our vacation in Panama City Beach!!!!! Can't hold back the excitement. This month is DGD 13th birthday. Her parents are letting her wear make up for this mile stone birthday. So they are going to take her somewhere who can help her with a natural look, she is beautiful enough but I am a little prejudice. Grandma's are supposed to be but it's true, she is beautiful!!!!

Good stories here, folks getting to know people who actually live nearby. That's always nice. It just goes to show it's a small world. l once responded in a private message to some one who said she lived in extreme southwestern Indiana. I asked her where she lived, I lived in Evansville. Well she lived here to and she never posted on that forum again. I think some people choose friends over the internet just for the ananomity. Not sure if I spelled that right. They don't want to be known. Sorry I scared her off.

Joyce, Indiana

dinaesia

Hi, again. just wanted to say:

Beth , I'm so glad your son is ok. Whew!

Sylvia - your son was only 6, and children don't have a buffer. That's something we learn as we grow up. I'm proud of you for losing that much weight. You Go, Girl!!

Ann - We lived in the Kaiserslautern area. I learned German upon arrival and still speak it many years later. As my German friends would say "Ich spreche genau." (I speak enough) It used to amaze my friend Rita when she would call me and I would switch over to German right away, but then, she didn't speak English. She always said she was going to take a class, but it never happened.
Have you ever tried valerian or melatonin for your insomnia?
Do you ride in the Hotter than Hell Race? My oldest sister and her husband both participate.
On the flip side, did you know that Einstein only slept for two hours a night? That probably accounts for his hair.

Joyce - love your jokes. Thanks for the laughs.:laugh: javascript:add_smiley('laugh','post_body')

My name, Dinaesia, comes from my poor typing skills. How bad is it when you misspell your own name?
Diane, in TX

cityjaneLondon

Good morning all!

And it's a VERY good morning as I have lost that pound! ! ! ! :drinker: :bigsmile: :drinker: I am now officially under 10 stone.
I've only been wanting to lose it since New Year! :laugh:
In the grest scheme of things it's of no importance, but I have been wanting to say I'm nine stone something for ages :bigsmile: I haven't been this weight since early mid 1990.
Anyway, it makes me very happy.:drinker: I was going to pop down to my local shop today to check out the autumn ranges and some new training bottoms, but DH might go to the cricket and my friend is popping in on her way home at 4pm, so I will wait until tomorrow.:happy:

Grandmallie - congrats on the new clothes! I bet they feel good!:flowerforyou:

Beth - enjoy your break away! So glad the accident wasn't worse!:flowerforyou:

Ann, Diane - I have been learning German on and off all my life. I'm not very good, but a couple of years ago I put my mind to it and improved a little. There is so much help these days online etc and I found textbooks for young people very good with cartoon stories etc. I used to revise my phrases on my Kindle on the train on the way to see the grandchildren. To celebrate my progress we went to Dusseldorf for my birthday and had a wonderful time.:drinker: I now see that our local airport is flying to Hamburg as well, so I have that in mind for a future break. I checked that the train goes from there to Dresden in just over 4 hours. That is a city I have read so much about, including a book by Frederick Taylor, and I very much want to go there. Something for the bucket list. So I will be brushing up my German again. When I was 7 years old I had a best friend who was of German parents and I loved visiting their home and picking up some words. Their food seemed so exotic in the 50s! I bought myself a Teach Yourself German book and picked up quite a bit which has never left me. Unfortunately we lost touch after our children were born, but I still retain an affection for the country. Another friend of mine lived in Berlin for 6 years, before the Wall came dowmn, and spesks fluent German. I have been to Berlin twice. I also went camping for a month in 1968 with my boyfriend, who became my first husband. Down the Rhine and Moselle, through the Black Forest and into Bavaria. Strangely enough my current husband also camped in almost exactly the same places a month before us. Weirdness! ! ! ! ! :noway:

Got to get dressed for the food delivery.:bigsmile:

Love Heather in windy Hampshire UK

moeggep

Good Morning to All, I hoep everyone had a pleasant week-end. Here we are back to Monday morning. I'm at work and can't respond back on all the post I've read but prayers to those struggling and shout outs to the successes.
I was signed up to take a Livestrong class for two days this week. It is a class on how to personal train and work with cancer patients. I was really looking forward to the class but it was cancelled. Maybe to be rescheduled in November.
I have a ton of stuff to do here so I better get started.
Hugs to all and wishing good health and success today.
God Bless,
Patty, Cincinnati OH

gmom316

Good Morning!

Just wanted to check in quickly to see my new pound lost on my ticker:laugh: :glasses:

New week, new day, new opportunities!
Belief + a little hard work + a little sacrifice = anything's possible

Catch ya'll later.

xo- Gloria in dreary Metro Detroit

Cindy781

Good morning ladies,

I will do some yoga and then treadmill today. I finished my latest drawing project. I posted a photo of it on my profile page. I chose this because I wanted to try drawing a rocking horse. I learn with each new project.

Jane and Gloria, congratulations on your lost pounds!

Patty, best wishes on your class. What a wonderful pursuit!

Alison, yay for new clothes.

Anne and Diane, my neighbors growing up were from Germany as was my maternal grandfather. I never knew my grandfather but I used to listen to my neighbors on our "party line" talk. How many remember party lines?

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Cindy in OK

Poerava14

Hello Friends,
A week ago yesterday I drove up Scenic Byway A1A from St. Augustine to Jacksonville Beach, Florida. It’s a gorgeous route that took me along some exquisite long stretches of beaches on one side and protected estuary on the other. Grandmallie > thought of you when I saw herons. It’s on my list of places to revisit and spend more time. I got to take a long beach walk and get in on of my favorite activities: body surfing.

I had some time to kill before heading to the airport so stopped for lunch at a restaurant right on the beach in Jacksonville. I had the best shrimp ceviche of my life. All this to say that as I write this I am ‘cooking’ some shrimp in lime juice right now in effort to replicate this dish for DH.

Anne: I can totally relate to the early morning routine. I work out in our condo’s gym, and usually have the room to myself. There is a TV in there where I also occasionally do the classical workout with Miranda Esmond White as a warmup for cadio.. She’s terrific.

Michele: I agree about Jillian. Can’t stand her voice, so having her bark at me is just aggravating. Yesterday I did a dance workout by Billy Blanks, Jr. and this morning I did the Easy Kickbox (both freebies on Amazon Prime). I was surprised how challenging Billy Blanks was. I remember working out to Billy Blanks Sr back when VHS was the format.

Jane: Add me to the many sending up prayers that your search for the perfect home is over soon.

Dinaeasia: Stay cool! Yes, A/C has got to be one of the greatest inventions ever.

Heather: I wish I could abandon ironing altogether, but more often than not, business clothes coming out of a suitcase needs some pressing. Always a challenge to adjust to whatever cheap iron is in the hotel room du jour. Fortunately when I’m home forgetabout it!

Lesley: I love reading about your life in Tasmania. Brunch sounds lovely.

DeeDee: So happy (and jealous) to hear you are almost done with the house renovations. Now to get some sunshine so that exterior paint dries up. Hope your cold clears up fast.

Rascalini1: Welcome back! Keep coming back to this community and you will find lots of support, advice, humor and fellowship.
Katla: As soon as you know your dates to be in CO, let us know. We can try to pull the lunch bunch together like we did for Meg.

Cindy in OK: Your tummy selfies are inspirational. Yesterday after I came back from the pool I took some photos of my abs, but will not post them just yet. :noway: :noway: :noway: I’m working out hard with a trainer and I hope that in time these will be my ‘before’ pix, and the ‘after’ pix will be as impressive as the results of your hard work.

Beth: Back in the day before I changed eating habits I used to call strawberry twizzlers ‘stress sticks’. Bless and release the episode that caused this setback in your good eating regime, and keep on keeping on.

Sylvia: How lucky those kids are to have a grandma like you! Sounds like they are going to look spiffy for the first day of school thanks to you.

Stay well and keep coming back here.

Rori in the Colorado Foothills

August Goals
1. Minimize consumption of wheat and sugar.
2. Finish reading “Strong Women Stay Young”.
3. Get to at least one Zumba class.
4. Call someone every week just to check in and provide positive energy.

drkatiebug

Still laughing about the leotard joke. I'm so glad we don't wear leotards anymore to work out, but I can relate to the problem every time I wear spanx or tights. I've had to get help from my husband getting that last little bit up on the left side since I broke my wrist. No man should ever have to help his wife into spanx.

Speaking of my wrist, I have an appointment Wednesday with the shoulder doctor. I'm just not gaining use of it back like I should be. I hope he can tell me if the problem is from lack of use or if I hurt it when I fell. Since the fall was 7 months ago, I don't know how that will go, but my hand doctor thought I needed to have it checked out.

margaretturk

Good Morning Friends,

Joyce :laugh: I needed it.

Rainy today we needed it. Joined the didn't sleep well club last night. Son making some better choices, but then made a big not so good one. It made it hard to sleep. I knew having an adult child move back home was not going to be easy. I told him when he makes bad choices he makes it even harder.

DSIL is now living with her son in Chicago and is on oxygen. She asked DH to come down to help her. I give him about a day before he wants to come home.

Logging everyday is helping to get that extra pound off.

I will log today so it helps me maintain my weight.:drinker:

2014 word:contentment

MNMargaret

Katla49

Cindy in OK: Thank you for your kind thoughts about the current stress here. Tomorrow we see the surgeon’s PA and will know more so that we can formulate decent plans. We should have a surgery date, at the least.:flowerforyou:

Heather: I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that a hurricane could “ricochet” and create storms in England, but it makes perfect sense now that I think about it. Good luck with your purple broccoli. The last time I tried to grow broccoli was some years ago, but I ended up with caterpillars from white moths. Yuck. I’d consider putting them in little screened tents to keep the moths away if I tried growing them again. JB would be the expert. I have memories of my dad cooking, and I have to laugh at them. He would taste his food and have a blissful expression on his face, and it was sauerkraut. Then there was the time he had meat in the pressure cooker and opened it to check on the meat— we had an amazing eruption of hot meat that hit the ceiling and coated walls and floors. Luckily no one was hurt. DH did that once, too. We ended up with a clean spot on the ceiling and had to repaint. :laugh: I envy your lost pound. I’m still working on mine.:flowerforyou:

Margaret & Renny: I’m glad you enjoyed the Dwarves.:flowerforyou:

Joyce: I love the Senility Prayer. Thanks!:laugh: :laugh:

Diane in TX: I don’t misspell my name, but I do mistype it and forget to proof read.:frown: You are not alone.:flowerforyou:


I am out of time. I need to take the dog to the groomer, and we’re walking this morning. Our temps are supposed to reach 100 today. I hope we have a nice breeze. It will be attempt #2 to get the fishing boat out of the river and onto its trailer. I couldn’t get it started last night and neither could the neighbor who was helping. DH spotted a mistake—no curly cord in the ignition system. The curly cord is a safety device that allows a person to instantly shut off an outboard engine, and is needed to start it.:blushing:

Katla in beautiful NW Oregon

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas A. Edison



August Goals:
1. Log every bite and swallow.
2. Cardio exercise at least 3 days a week.
3. Have fun every day.
4. Drink at least three glasses of water daily, preferably more!

jb_2011

Hi everyone, wanted to give you an update on my great-niece Mariah, I received this message from her mom this morning:

"Just a quick update on our family: we are leaving now to head back to Jacksonville, Fla for Mariah's continued proton radiation therapy. We have 20 more days (or 4 full weeks). We had to leave Gaby behind but she's already busy with her 10th grade school schedule. Mariah will be admitted this Thurs for her usual inpt chemo regiment of 3 full days.
We had a great albeit quick weekend at home reconnecting with family an a couple friends. There are no words to express the love and blessings that have been showered upon us. It is only by God's grace that we can keep going each day on this journey. Mariah is doing well and we attribute this to the prayers of all of our loved ones and of people who don't even know us or Mariah. People don't understand how we can walk this walk but it's truly because of the strength we have received from every prayer offered up on our behalf. Thanks again to all who've supported out family in any realm: food, monetary, gifts and/or prayers. We love you all for that!"

Wishing you all a wonderful day, and thank you SO much for your continued good thoughts & prayers for Mariah. :flowerforyou:

jb in beautiful, very warm Portland - they're calling for 99 degrees today :noway:

mollywhippet

Good morning everyone! It's a beautiful day here this morning. It's not supposed to be too hot today either, so I'm glad about that. We went to the gym this morning. I did my routine on the weight machines and pushed the weights up just a little on each one. As we were leaving I commented to my husband that I feel so strong and so weak all at the same time.

Tomorrow my daughter in law and I are taking by oldest granddaughter to shop for clothes for school. We are taking her to get fitted for a bra, too, so this time we aren't taking her sister or her brother. So she won't feel embarrassed and so she'll fee special. She needs a little special time. Wednesday will be shopping day for the other two.

I dehydrated a bunch of cherry tomatoes yesterday. Got up at 4AM to turn them off. I tasted a couple and did not care for them that way. Hopefully they will be better cooked during the winter.

DeeDee, we started remodeling two years ago and just put the finishing touches on the laundry room and guest bath this weekend. I guess we just got to a point where it was livable and thought we'd get around to finishing it later. We also put on an addition to quadruple the size of our master bath, but it is still just a shell. We ran out of money and determination at the same time. But we have an access door in it, so we are at least able to use it for storage, and it looks nice from the outside.

Rori, I am having a blast being a grandma. I don't know if you were around back then, but I lost contact with them for more than 6 years. They came back into my life about 8 months ago. Somehow my life feels so much more complete now. But I am always aware that things could swing back the other way again if their flaky mother ever regains custody. So I know that I have to enjoy it while it lasts. At least now they are old enough to remember me if it happens.

Well, I have two drafting jobs to do then go walk at the mall. I hope everyone has a great day!

Sylvia