WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR OCTOBER 2015

Oops sorry I ment Terri

Good morning!

Another beautiful fall day here.

I'm unable to attend church this morning ... Older son mentally struggling this weekend (wheelchair bound for those unfamiliar with my story) and needs me to stay with him. Husband and younger son just left.

Lin ... "Don't stress" ... Such a simple, perfect answer ... So very hard to apply ...

Plan to close pool, peel some apples, do a little batch cooking, watch a little football (by default as it will be on all day) and take a look at a decorative mirror I saw for sale.

Hope you all have a great day!

Beth in western New York

exermom - "Cracker" is white with sort of a peanut butter color area that goes from her neck all the way to her butt. If she was black and had this same stripe, I probably would have named her "Oreo". She just looks like a "Cracker". At the shelter she was called "Missy". She was a stray they picked up from a BBQ when someone called them. She is a terrier mix, with sort of a combination of short (mostly) and long hair. Animal shelter told me that when they really gave her a 'good' bath most of the shedding she was doing would stop and if I brushed her it would also help; more likely caused from being locked up for almost 2 weeks. No telling how long she had been without a home. The long hair is also around her snoot and on her feet and between them. She really 'is' cute; but, I know some would say, 'she'd so ugly she's cute'. I don't know where the name "Cracker" came from, it just came into my head when I saw her. They also told me to give her a treat each time she came to me after calling her the 'new' name.

As for the Crème Brule; I only eat it when we go out to eat. We're planning on going to Carraba's to eat and I have checked several dishes I can have and still stay under my daily caloric intake - if I don't have a cocktail. I like 'some' martinis and I might get one, if everybody else is ordering a cocktail, even though that will put me over some (by 188 calories). Tomorrow I get together with some of my HS classmates and I don't know what I will eat; but, it will mean that I probably eat just 2 meals for the day. Now I guess I will check the website for the little café we go to and see what I can find.

Rats - I've got a sore inside my ear and it is driving me absolutely crazy; it will bleed if I scratch it and then afterwards I will get some of the tissue that is growing there. If it continues I will go see about it; but, I can't think that it would be anything other than where I have somehow scratched it in the beginning.

Today, if it warms up and does look like it is going to storm, DH and I might go to the mall and walk around. It is a huge mall and mostly more like a 'strip mall' than an enclosed mall where the stores are all on the inside part. I' like to go get a book on 'how to train a dog' (Terrier). Can't wait to take her to my regular vet for her 'get-to-know-them' when I pick her up. I definitely need to buy a crate for her, for carrying purposes. I think I will buy her a kennel, and bed; so she can be 'in the house' with us; at least for a while I'm not sure that Louis is going to allow me to have her as an 'inside' pet once she is 'grown'. If she doesn't shed and if keeping he washed will keep her from smelling bad and doesn't bring fleas (she'll be on medication) we might let her stay in. My son, lets his Mountain Feist come inside when he gets home, especially if it is rainy and messy and cold out. She is so well behaved that she does anything he tells her to do. His wife and step-daughter have a small *kitten* zhu mix (with a Chihuahua) and he stays inside other than to go outside to do his business. They can't let him outside if they are at their 'lake home' because of Jake the lab who would probably kill him.

Michele: Thanks for your kind thoughts for my daughter. She's sad about losing the baby, but she was having way too much bleeding. I'm sorry for the loss but her health is my first priority. She's moving forward with her plans to move, and they were having a big garage sale the last I heard. That is an excellent thing for them to do. They have WAY too much stuff. Converting some of it to cash is a great idea. :flowerforyou:

LinCharpentier: I agree with your advice about stress. It is bad for a person's health. Letting it go can be very difficult, though. I've had success with increasing my exercise and working at changing my focus toward things that I can be happy about. It is a helpful strategy for me although not always perfect. :flowerforyou:

TerriRichards: Great work on your goals! What are the Hogwarts Challenges? You've got me curious! :huh:

Lisa: Your restaurant rescue is a victory. I hope they are able to keep things going in a positive direction. I can understand your desire to own something that is your own. Just curious, does the ranch have a retirement plan for long time employees? :huh:

Chris in MA: I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend. :


DS is here to work on reassembling his boat. I generally enjoy his company but he has lots of opinions on what I or we should be doing. Do you suppose this is payback for all our advice over the years? :laugh: He and I walked downtown, which is a block or two away, and watched the Pumpkin Lighting Ceremony. I think I have already mentioned it. I was totally astonished at the number of people there and I find I'm still marveling at it. Our "Old Town" is very cute and was the site of Halloween Town and some filming for Twilight.

Have a great day!


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

October Goals :
1. Log every bite and swallow.
2. Cardio exercise at least 3 days a week. Work on flexibility and back strength.
3. Have fun every day.
4. Drink at least three glasses of water daily, preferably more!
5. Eliminate alcohol.
6. Monitor sleep. Try to average 7 or more hours of sleep nightly.

morning peeps -

mikesmom - so sorry to hear!! wowzers!

kirby's got a 12 mile run today, so lets see how far i go on the spin bike, probably a 2 hr or less run for him. type to ya later. already took a pain pill, shoulder was killing me a bit early this morning.

type to ya later

Hi came back before I got to far.
Blueyed blond
I'll be in Orillia nest Sunday. I have a very good friend in Barrie.

Beth
Hopefully your mirrow will be reduced some more.

Right now waiting for my crust to cool to add cheesecake and blueberry and strawberry toppings. That is for those who don't care about calories. I'm making a crustless pumpkin pie for myself. See how that turns out.

See you all lighter.
Linda in Northern Ontario.

Beth -hoping things improve! :flowerforyou:

Tazgirl - what fabulous wedding pics! You must be so proud. :flowerforyou:

Lisa - how exciting about the warehouse!

Katla - I think it's a sign we're getting old when they start telling us what to do!

Chris - Agree, wholeheartedly! Love our friends and love ourselves. We have no idea how long we've got. Don't put off the chance to be happy. :flowerforyou:

I was stressing a bit today, so DH suggested we went for a short walk. We ended up doing the longer walk and had a quick drink in the sun in the pub garden. I had some babies to ogle!
I made some scones this pm so we had those to come back to. 103 cals per scone.
Didn't marzipan the cake, but will do it tomorrow.

I sent a guide to Paris to my brother and his wife because they are going in Nov. It arrived today! ! ! ! ! They are soooooo happy. It has lots of pics. They don't know Paris at all. DSIL wants to visit the Louvre. Hmmmmmm. Hope my guide helps. DB was looking for a cheap hotel. Hmmmmmmmm. :laugh:

Got to cook. See you later.

Heather UK

Beautiful pics Tazgirl. Love the hair.

Joyce, Indiana

Call me crazy but I love seeing other people happy and succeeding.

Good Evening My Friends,

Janetr, ewww eeeee Sorry about the dogs. Is it skunk season or something?

Katla, I don't think I know about a elephant ear that you eat?? What is it? lol

Terri, I dont' call your troubles trivial. OMG I would be in a tizzy if I were you. Not that it is any of my business, but do you and DH pay any rent? If you bought the house would your dad still live there with you? If so, maybe he would sell it for nothing down and you make the payments with him living there for free? Something. Hopefully you can work something out. Not likely this is something to sweep into the corner. (((Hugs))) and maybe DH should quit buying bowling balls and think about where you are all going to live.

Sylvia, your canoe trip sounds wonderful. Wow, what a way to get away from it all and out with nature. I hope we get to see some pictures of the birds.

drkatie, good questions to think about.

Joyce, belated happy anniversary. So glad Charlie is getting better. Must be that great nurse he's got?

Mia, You are worth the work!! You are worth it, you are worth it. It isn't always easy but you are worth it! (((Hugs)))

bwcetc, great buys.

Katla, glad the celebration was a success. I have been surprised to see how many people here really go all out with the Halloween decorations.

MicheleNC, golly gee, lady, you did a wonderful job of catching up. I'm working on it too. Still at the convention hotel but going to check out in an hour to head home. (later) handing you a kleenex for those tears when ya have to close the pool.

Linda, great job on the weight and low carbs. That should help blood sugar. Keep up the good work.

Chris, sorry about your friend.

Taz, great pictures! What a beautiful bride and mom! The guys aren't too shabby either.

I am home from the convention. It was nice and I did pretty well on my eating most of the time. Now to get back to regular rotine and lose any weight I gained. I won't weigh until in the morning.


I hope you all have a happy and healthy day.

Words I live by:
Savor. I have to slow down and savor every bite.
and
Opportunity. Each day offers new opportunities for good health and happiness if we just look for them and choose them.

Love,

DJ
Myrtle Beach, SC

stat for the day -
spin- 120min, 80ar, 95aaw, 9g for 15min, 14g for 15min, repeat, 134ahr, 150mhr, 47.4mi
total cal 1060

this was a good session, had to put my sweat soaked clothes thru the swim suit spinner to wring out my stuff!

Tazgirl ... Beautiful!

Went out to eat with a HS classmate and her fiancé; had a wonderful time. Lynn (the fiancé and my husband get along great); both in the construction/painting business. He must have made a 'killing' when he was building homes and investing it so he really doesn't work any longer. My friend and he have been traveling a LOT since they met about 3 years ago. Going to the Mediterranean in a couple of weeks; have been to China, Russia, Egypt, and several other places. She is so worth it, too! Sweetest person anybody could ever know. It is about time that she found a man to treat her properly. He treats her like a queen. He's given her an engagement ring; but, they are probably not going to marry (not any time soon). I think she is afraid of getting into a situation and finding there is a 'hidden side' like with 1st time around. She's being 'very' cautious. Her siblings tell her to get 'married'.

Terri_mom - nothing in the way of a home is trivial; but, if your credit has improved; maybe (if you are paying the house payment out of your checkbook and doing so 'on time') your credit score will be high enough to find a small house that will maybe have 2 bedroom (I think you said you only had a son at home) and make the move. Leaving your father with the house to do with as he pleases. Maybe 'if' he sells it he will apply what you have paid thus far, to what he borrowed for the down-payment. He could be getting some 'negative' input about the house if you have siblings who feel that they have done more for you than he has done for them. Even though it sounds like you and your husband have been the ones caring for them (parents). I'd think about sitting down with an attorney and maybe coming up with a 'contract' that would be 'fairly' fair to all of you. It is never a good idea to 'co-mingle' funds for any reason. My husband and I both have joint checking accounts; but at different banks. He does NOT use mine, nor do I use his, without permission. He pays some of our bills and I pay others. It works for us.

My husbands' 'estranged' daughter co-mingled her grandmother's money (my husband's mother) with hers and actually had her change her Will and had a POA made practically giving her carte blanc. DH & BnL took DMnL back to the attorney to have the Will remade leaving her out of it; and while they were gone, she got mad and tore up the POA. I guess she thought that one of them would be named. Then they had to take her back and they made the 'before-estranged' daughter with a "limited' POA so that she could do things that were medically related. She actually moved her into their home and showed that she owned it; which she did not; and then she actually sold her grandmother's house twice within a year - and told her Dad and Uncle that all the proceeds were used to pay off the ALF. She had also talked her into going to the bank and signing new cards, saying she needed to 'also' be on her checking and savings account and leaving them off it. DMnL did not realize this. Bought mutual funds with what she had inherited from her husband (DFnL) and was building a pool in their backyard when she died. Talk about 'gall'; but, after a few other questionable transactions, they (DH & BnL) were told there was a small insurance policy and they needed a death certificate that she did not know about until it could be cashed I - she got very mad because she did not get 1/3rd of it. So we asked her to send us one. Attached to it was a 'sticky note' saying 'if you need anything else, call the funeral home'. That translated... I don't want you in my life (nor will you see the granddaughter). It's now been 8 years!

All I can say is "Karma is a *kitten* and she WILL be coming around at some point". But, at this point we no longer care, just sad that we don't see the GD who is 9. Our wills are set up that if we are killed in a common disaster where it would be impossible for it to be determined who died first, then they will be probated in such a way that she can't come in and try to claim what is rightfully our sons' inheritance. If this is you father, maybe agree that the payment you have been making equals the down payment that they gave you or if they borrowed it find out what his intentions are (make sure he has a Will that determines what will be done with it upon his death) or else you might find out you will have to sell it then, to settle up with siblings or pay bills if it is listed in his name. I would not wait thinking that 'things' will necessarily 'work out'. You might 'think' you won't have any issues with it; but, being a legal assistant, things can go 'south very quickly when money or property is involved'. Whether it is because of a divorce or a death. I'm sure you want to be 'fair' with any siblings; but, occasionally there'll be one that 'nothing' satisfies them.

Now, some days I think ... well if something happened to DH before me, I would send her a copy of the probate paperwork with a 'crisp' $1 attached (certified mail, return receipt requested) and tell her 'not to spend it all in one place'; but on most days - that are good ones - it's not worth the cost of a stamp to do this and I don't really give a $#*T. She knows how old he is and she knows where we live and she knows our phone number; or could find it in the event she had deleted it from any address book; we're in the phonebook. I think she was afraid that 'if' she did not get put on her grandmother's Will she would not see anything from her estate. It wasn't that they were miffed because she had put her name as a beneficiary on the Will, it was that she left off 4 grandsons. IF she had died without a Will the way it would have been probated - the two sons would have inherited 1/2 (split in half) and the other half would have been equally divided among the five grandchildren. Nothing brings out the 'worst' in a family quicker than a funeral where there 'might' be something worth anything.

When my MnL bought a ring and I was with her she had told me that I would get it. I should have 'said' something when I saw step-daughter wearing it; but, I didn't. Not important now; other than she (MnL) had written out a list of things that were special that family would receive; and stepdaughter marked through some of them things and we never saw them. One thing was a painting that I had done for my MnL for Christmas. Only picture I forgot to 'sign'. I asked that it be returned to me for the sole purpose of signing it. Oh HELL - No Go! Maybe if she tires of it, she'll send it to me rather than put it in a 'yard sale'. Thanks for letting me 'vent and rant' about this and get it off my chest, so it won't rear its ugly head for another few years. LOL!

But, the lady's writing desk that we did get is an antique and probably worth more than the ring would be. And I get to see it daily which gives me a lot of pleasure. When we lived in the same town as I-L's did - we'd go antiquing every weekend that she felt like going. Other times we'd go to the beach. I had a wonderful MnL. My 'newest' DDnL has already asked me that 'if' I had not already made plans for my Hoosier Kitchen Cabinet that I got from my grandmother, she would 'love' it. I'd rather give it to her than to my other DDnL (because she would either sell it for a lot less than it is worth or she'd give it to one of her sorry siblings or a stranger claiming they had lost everything in a fire or something). They did get an antique desk when my mother passed away and she is quite proud of it. I was pleasantly surprised. It is always good to make an addendum to a Will if you have certain things you want one child to get and for another one to get something else. I firmly believe that EVERYBODY should have a Last Will and Testament - that puts to rest (most of the time) any arguments later on.

There were 3 of us; and my oldest sister took care of my mother's finances; but we always got a itemized list of things she had spent and what she had earned every month ... we also divided up my mother's household, while she was still living in the house when it became apparent that she was unable to do so herself and needed help doing basic simple things. Never a fight by anybody or even hurt feelings over it. All of us had 2 children each; and when it came to getting something for our own children; that took the place of our 'rotating picking of things'. It worked out really well; so that everybody in 2 generations got what they wanted and our mother could also see the pleasure on our faces when we got them. After we put her into an ALF, her mind went down pretty quickly; and we had already sold her house and divided up the proceeds. Most of the work had already been done and with a few swapping around things, in the end everybody got 'exactly' what they had wanted. The things that were too big to be in our own homes, we sold to an antique dealer. I think there were only 2 things, a dining room buffet and a wardrobe closet (I would have 'loved' to have gotten it; but it would have dwarfed any room in our house (unless we had planned better drawing out the plans for it).

Unfortunately, a lot of people will put off making a Will because they think that 'if' they do, they will jinx themselves and they'd die soon. You can always change them. They are very important if you have a blended family. Extremely so, in fact.