WOMEN ages 50+ FOR JULY 2016

The baby photos are absolutely adorable Thanks Heather and Mary.

Karen: You can come paint some of my rooms anytime you want.

Joyce: Glad Charlie is home, but I second Barbie's advice to you.

Pip: Retirement! Yes! Bring it on! I'm ready, too, but according to my handy countdown calendar, there are another 560 days to go....arggghhhh....

Happy Friday, Friends. Stay well. We can do this.

Rori
Colorado Foothills, where it's dry, hot and about to thunderstorm

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

Good Evening Ladies,

Joyce, your pain sounds like heart burn or acid indigestion. Been there a few times. Glad you are better now.

Traci, congrats on the new car. You can wear plaid flannel in any fancy car. You go, girl.

NYKaren, we have lots of ½ time residents here that are Half Backs. They started spending their winters in Florida and summers in the North East but found Florida too hot. Then they moved ½ the way back and ended up in Myrtle Beach. Some are even permanent residents.

Janetr, your spider lilies are beautiful!!!

Heather, wonderful picture of you and Bea. I think she likes you. I’m so happy that they found a house in a great location. How much farther is it from you than their other home?

Joyce, I hope you get your next 10 years of quiet. I think you deserve it after this past year or two. ((((Hugs))) At least Walmart is open 24 hours for your quiet get-aways.
Barbie, Jake’s DD’s visit was short and sweet. That was hardly worth cleaning your house for. LOL


Lisa, the paper looks great. Congrats on the huge increase in readership.

Mary, the babies are still so tiny and so cute!! Do you not call them your DGDs too? Glad they are home!!

NYKaren, sage sounds like a great color for a bedroom.

Mia, I hope the small openings in your surgical seam are normal. Glad everything else seems to be healing nicely. I haven’t lost any weight in months but still keep finding more and more loose skin. I may just have to live with it.

Heather, your swim shirt and leggings sound interesting. I can’t wait to see a picture!!

Joyce, so glad Charlie is home and his skin under his bag has healed. Now take care of you!!! That’s an order. (((Hugs)))

CarolGA, good for you on getting so high tech!!! A lot of it is scarier than hard. :O)

KarenVA, we are happy to have you here. I know what you mean….the news every day or two is just terrible. I sure hope things can turn around soon.

Tracie in GreenBay, STEP BACK FROM THE TWINKIES!!! Don’t make me put my boots on, woman!!! Gee I thought you were going to say if you got bored with what you were eating, you’d fry something or whatever. But not Twinkies!!Q! In fact, why are they in your house????

Barbie, I can’t believe those pampered poodles made you go walking all alone in the rain. Such prissy dogs we have. Pepper called for his appointment today. He’s not looking so purdy lately.

MicheleNC, that is too funny about your cat making the crying sound when he plays.

to any Newbies that I missed. Come often and join in the chat. This thing works!! Please sign your post with what you want to be called. It makes it easier for us to respond to you. Also a location is great, be it specific or general. We are happy to have you join us.

I had an HOA Board of Directors meeting last evening. I’ve been active in the HOA ever since we moved here 9 years ago. The builder just turned it over to the Homeowners and this is the first elected Board. We had a homeowner build something that was not approved and have been discussing it for months. The board decided to let it stand as it is, which goes against everything the rules are for. This is a homeowner that ignores the rules and does what he wants. I hated to do it but I resigned from the Board. If we only inforce the rules for some, I don’t feel it’s fair to the others so I just can’t stay on it. It makes me very sad because I was one of the most active members of the board and willing to spend the time necessary to get things done. Today DH and I went to Costco and then I met a friend at the Moose lodge to visit while she ate lunch. Wherever I go, I take you all with me.
Sending love and good thoughts to all of you and 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.
I Love you,
DJ
Myrtle Beach, SC

Three HUNDRED and forty-five missed messages? GAAH that is not going to happen. My loss.
Hi ladies!

DJ (#1) - Thanks for the cudos on the flowers. I'm not much of a gardener, all these flowers were in the yard when we bought the house and they come back year after year. Lucky for me, cuz I love them.

I'm so sorry that happened with your HOA. I totally agree with you tho, you cannot bend the rules for one and think you can make everyone or anyone else adhere to them. That's too bad. You did what you needed to do even tho it was hard. (((hugs)))

Janetr OKC

Michelle – Honey, no m ’ham … never ever thought the government was ‘logical’. Apparently they haven't changed either. I just get really tired of ‘sucking up’ and watching Congress pass laws that they don’t have to abide by; but, if we did those things we be thrown under the jail. For anybody to ‘ever’ think that they should or will is like cutting off the tail of a lizard … it will only grow back. You could go in and wipe it clean (maybe I should not use that terminology) … after 1 term in office they are pretty much set for life … Cadillac insurance, their own retirement (don’t pay into Social Security), and a life time of paychecks. I’d like to run for Congress under those set of circumstances. LOL! Damn Bureaucrats! Just hoping that my Periodontist can come up with an answer so that ‘maybe’ I can recoup just a bit of the costs. They went ‘up’ on my insurance premiums and down (apparently) on what they’d pay, so that it would conform to “The Affordable Care Act”. I’d like to know who can really ‘afford it’. And, before I get ‘jumped’ for making a ‘political comment’; this is true and not just IMHO.

I’d think that Azaleas would do fine in Zone 7 … just check with your local nursery. If they sell them, they will probably grow there.

I have CVS Caremark for my ‘mail-in Rx’. I get all my Brand name-only Rx filled there; and, the only thing I have to do is remember to tell my MDs to write the Rx for a 90-day supply with one refill and get his office to fax it in. Don’t have to re-enroll; but, when I call for my husband’s Rx; they always want to know if ‘he knows I am calling about them’. Well, sure … insurance is in MY name. I think they sometimes take H.I.P.P.A. a little too far; but, I do know why.

For every 5 Rx that I get filled at K-Mart I get ‘points’ which add up to $10; no problem for me; other than they have a time limit before they run out. Sometimes (and this seems to be random) I'll get 30¢ off per gallon of gas at BP. But, it is hard to remember to take them with us when we need to fill up. Since I can’t drive, I usually go buy something I ‘want’ and not something I ‘need’. Got a free pair of some really nice sunglasses last time. What I like is they’ll either call or leave a message on land line and DH’s cellphone when we have Rx to pick up. I think the only thing I hate is that I cannot pick up the list of medications for DH for taxes … he has to do it. Same with CVS Caremark … he has to get on the phone and give them permission to do so.

So Vince wants them to invent a “Vitamin EXERCISE”? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! I’d like for Louis to stop watching TV from behind closed eyelids. He crashes when it is this hot and muggy; but, wakes up if I turn the channel (or try to take the DVD out for later). I think he got that from MY Daddy.

Mary from Minnesota – Don’t know the circumstances of DH and his daughter and her ‘lack of a relationship’; but, all I can say is … ‘it will be those precious girls’ who will miss out on not having their granddaddy around. My DH’s daughter has not spoken, texted, left any message, NO contact with him since his Mother died in 2007. They have a daughter we have not seen since she was a year old. Go figure! It’s called ‘greed’ in our circumstances. Karma comes around and sometimes more than once. DH’s ‘ex’ has never liked me … the feeling is mutual. But, I don't cower to her; and, she does (did) not like that. I'm sure that she is quite happy that her present husband is considered "Granddaddy; Papa; or whatever she calls him." We jumped through enough hoops (more so to make sure that DH's mother got to she his daughter) than anything else. Glad that is long since passed.

My DDnL#2 (before she married DYS) called me “Miss Lenora” (out of respect); then her daughter (my DGD#4) decided to call me “Nana” … even though she called her step-mother’s mother that. She went for quite a while not really calling me anything; after I told her that she needed to decide what she should call me now that she and her mother were married to our son. At first she was going to call me Noni; but, all the other DGDs call me “Nana”; so that is just easier. DDnL#2 will probably call me “Nana” as well, she will address me a Mom (occasionally) … but I think she is still ‘timid’ about doing so. They call DH “Papa Louie”. Other DGDs call him “Papa”. Sons call him “FatBoy” (he’s not all that big – actually shorter than everybody other than DOGD#1 (who is only 5’-nothing”; but, he has a huge hernia in his belly that the MDs say is not doing any harm. Other than he literally looks like he is 6 or 7 months pregnant and it looks like a foot poking out. I can remember when my DYS moved it was like a 4-point landing; and he'd get a foot or elbow sticking out; getting it under my ribcage as I got bigger was hard. The OB/GYN thought for a while that I was carrying twins. Back then they did not have all the fancy medical equipment that they do now. I would not have cared … but, if I had had 2 of the same kind of personalities running around … I would be ‘drinking’ about now. DYS’s attitude about things (usually) was ‘it is easier to ask for forgiveness; than to ask for permission.” Both sons are great adults; but, were good kids. DOS was quiet and I could depend on his to ‘hang on to me’; but, DYS hit the ground running! Sons call me MommaDom (don’t ask, they can’t even tell me why).

Cracker must have learned her lesson after getting 2 baths in as many days. Now I know why I get PetSmart to have them clip and bathe her. IF she could talk; I bet she’d be ‘screaming’ like all my DGDs did when I was teaching them ‘how to swim’ … “NANA, you’re trying to drown me!!!!!” I really wasn’t; but, they did not like having their heads go under water. When they finally realized that I would never ‘drown’ them and they started swimming … they haven’t stopped. DYGD is a ‘fish’. Can’t keep her ‘out of the pool’ if someone is out there. She knew I was mad at her for getting into something that smelled like it was 'dead'. I finally told her that 'if I had to continue chasing after her, I was going to spank her when I did get hold of her; she finally laid down'. Lord, the smell ... hard to hold a 20lb dog out and away from you when you don't want to smell like they do. I came in and took a 'hot shower' with a LOT of soap and suds!

Lenora

Hi Gals,

Ok this work thing is a dozy!!!! I’ll love it, but the schedule is killer… so 200+ to read, the comments will be sparse! But remember I love you all and think of you at the darnest times!

Allie – your DGD is truly darling! What a great pic!

Karen NY – is painting really something you love? Could you come and paint here??? PLEASE!!!

Miriam – I am so proud of you – my yoga teacher had us do planks – not something he usually has us do and about ½ way through (30 sec or so) my arches gave out and I landed flat – cracked the whole class up.

Only got to page 53… gotta sleep!

July Goals:
2 fun things a week, Lunch with Ben, visiting with mom, Cajun food with a friend, got the job!, watched the sunrise every morning,
Log everyday to the best I can, over if need be.
11,000 + steps everyday – like to hit 160 miles for the month.

Smiles.

Kim from N. California

Hi all!
My kettlebell has arrived! That's the good news. The bad news is that the parcel that I thought it was hasn't arrived. They said they were delivering, so, unless a neighbour has it, someone has theived it.
It is really heavy. Going to keep going with my 11 lb dumbell first. I have some ankle weights I can strap to it

DJ - My son's new house is nearer than the one he had in North London. That took well over 2 hrs to drive to, with horrible traffic. This takes an hour and a half the quick way, along the motorway, and an hour forty five the extremely scenic route. The quick way would not be quick in the summer because it's the coast route. We are so happy that the best route is stunningly beautiful, through the countryside of Sussex, where I spent my teenage years. The beauty spots of Devil's D-y-k-e and Chanctonbury Ring are on our route. The South Downs are lovely and have been inhabited since the Stone Age. It was a flint mining area and is full of myths and legends. My grandparents were country folk from the area and my grandmother wrote a children's book she self published, called "Three Imps and The Wise Owl". I feel very happy looking at all my memories out of the car window. (Google?)
We used to go to North London on the train, which took a drive go the station, an hour and a half to Waterloo, then a cross London underground journey with a change at Oxford Circus, then another change to an overground train, ten minutes to their stop, then a ten minute walk. It took nearly three hours. We did that return journey of nearly six hours to see the kids for just over three hours. But it was worth it!!! By train now it would be two hours twenty minutes each way door to door because the train company is in dispute with its workers and has cancelled the most direct train along the coast. I hope that will change.
It's also nice now that they have put a decent bed in the guest room. Sleeping there used to be a trial! All we need now is curtains that fit the windows. Bathroom facilities are not great right now, but it's not impossible. I think we will be spending more time over there than we did in London. If they can bear to have us! I said to DDIL, "You"ll be sick of the sight of us!" and she said, "Never!", but I do not want to outstay our welcome. Next weekend we are earning our keep by babysitting one evening, but I never feel I do enough. I would like to be more help than hindrance. DH, of course, is the most wonderful help as he is the children's preferred playmate. I do not want to give them more work in their already busy lives. I am very good at holding Bea!

Love Heather , who is a bit frightened of her kettlebell.

PS Had to hyphen the scenic spot above because it came out as kitten, then everything turned bold. Sorry.

Question- Are any of you following a paleo diet or doing the Banting/Noakes diet? Any input on either of those eating plans?