***--->>>STS 6 Month Alumni Week of July 3rd Holiday week<<<---***

[MommaPew]

Happy Holiday Weekend Everyone

Up early Friday to head to the cottage. We had friends helping us dig up our septic and confirmed some animal was making a home under the weeping tile. So got it all fixed but need to figure out what to do to make sure it doesn't happen again. After DS's little b.day party yesterday a bunch of us went to a local race track for car races then home. This way we beat the holiday traffic which turns a 2hr drive into 4 or more

We're getting together this afternoon with friends to go to some sort of farm then back to their house for a swim.

It's been hot hot hot and humid - sunny and high of 27-30c and not complaining!

Thursday night I did another virgin workout that I bought in VHS for $3 a while back - Cindy Crawford - The Next Challenge - TB workout that since I ejected it my vcr ate it, I won't be doing it again (but no loss!) I might have to give up on any vhs tapes now and trash this vcr as its eating everything I put into it these days.

This morning was P57 - TB workout.

Cendrine - If I had a chance I'd be in there playing flag football - I remember it being so much fun, along with frisbee football. I don't think I would have been scared to go to the worm farm - I'm a bit fascinated by snakes (as long as they're behind glass) I was so surprised last year when DS handled a small baby snake at a snake show we went to. He lost control of it and DH had to help him and just by DH's body language you could tell it was giving him the heebee jeebees (The things we do for our kids) I would have let DS drop it!

Jo - who the frig needs to steal towels I think your new purchases should help relieve your stress now! Well, no wonder you're tired after the school load you've had. The next session will come off as so easy with only 2 classes! TERRIFIC marks by the way and a perfect score! Holy Cow! My sister just hired a landscaper to do the exact same thing. I hate gardening so when we finally do something around our house I'll be looking into that myself!

Rachel - take care of that back. Trust me I know what its like to cough or sneeze and have your internal muscle HURT - not just from back pain but recovering from a C-section - you don't want to be made to laugh for atleast a month afterwards

Kim - hope you're staying cool at the cottage.

 

[MommaPew]

trying to put a picture here from the party. Not sure if it will work.

 

[Runcrazy]

Patricia what a CUTE picture! I wish it was hot here! We had a great day yesterday and then it's cooled off today. I've been cleaning all morning as we have friends coming for a BBQ. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my Dyson vacuum? I never liked to vacuum until now! LOL! Yeah, lets talk about those VHS's - I don't even want to admit how many I have! There's still some great workouts on those. I remember that Cindy Crawford one and I think I had it and promptly got rid of it. If I remember right the first one she did was actually pretty good but then the one stunk.

Well I'm sorry we didn't take before and after pictures! Our yard looks amazing! We just need to have bark blown in this week and then I'll post pictures. They hauled off two pickup truck loads and 5 trailers or debris. They pruned trees, shrubs, thatched our grass. DH and I are very happy! But we'll be happier after we get the bark. They had 6 guys here and worked from 6 a.m. until 6 last night.

Patricia hope you have a great day at the cottage.

Kim, I hope you are having fun at your cottage!

Cendrine, hope you are having fun!

Rachel - here's fun to you too!

I sound like a broken record! LOL! I'm going to go get a shower and have some fun! TTYL!

 

[cendrine]

Jo, I'd love to try some of those dvds, how nice of you to offer! I think since I need to be thinking prevention of future re-injury, I think spinning is going to become a longterm staple here. I have a portable dvd player I could bring into the garage for the workout, that should work, right?
Sounds like your yard might be unrecognizable after the 12 hour stint of the gardeners! Wow! And I am so glad you were not the one out there doing it! You must have a huge yard!

Patricia, the snake story made me chuckle... the last birthday party dd went to had a reptile show and dd actually loved it, she held an albino boa all by herself! LOL

Getting ready now to put dd's birthday party together for next saturday. She decided on the castle cake. I got all the games and crafts etc. listed so now I just need to go get the stuff... Should be fun!

Kim, I hope you have a fun time at the cottage!

Rachel, how's your back?

What's every one on the US side doing for the 4th? I volunteered to face paint at the 4th of July picnic of our church. Then I got stuck taking home a boatload of tomatoes and onions to slice for the burgers tomorrow... Dh and ds are filling 70+ waterballoons for the games.... I'd much rather slice tomatoes

I got some more tough exercises from the physical therapist that I'm loving!

 

[cab0899]

I just did a long post that disappeared Long story short, we're home from the cottage. It was very hot and good times were had. I've got a million bug bites which I think I'm having a bit of an allergic reaction to, and some sun burn. I'm taking some anti histamine and between those and all the fresh air/sun, I'm tired.

DS learned to waterski this weekend! We did lots of swimming, boating,walking. Went into the local town and saw their Canada Day fireworks. Back to work tomorrow, the kids are going to hang out at home Mon./Tues. I'm definitely phoning and booking to get an air conditioner installed tomorrow!.

Patricia LOVE the picture! Is that you in the picture? You look different than in other pictures you posted. Yes, there is air conditioning at the cottage but of course we sleep in the camper. My parents had really built it as retirement house. We actually didn't use the ac much this weekend, I find with the way the house is built that the ac bothers ds asthma. What a busy weekend you had!
I have tons of old VHS workouts that I never use. I figure I'll throw them out once the VHS breaks down. I have most of my Cathes' on VHS and DVD. Before I found Cathe I used to do Kathy Smith, GIn Miller, Gilad, Jane Fonda, I still have all those. I picked up lots of not so common names when Collage Video in Edmonton was closing and they cleared out VHS tapes for .99 and bought lots that I've never done

Jo CONGRATS on the well deserved marks!! Are you going to be figure us all out now that you have a psych background?? I think the new shoes are a great way to celebrate!

Love the landscaping idea! I'm sure that it's a big stress relief for you to have that job taken care of! We'll take the after picture! I love my Dysom as well! Well worth the money.

Rachael How is that back? Hope is was a minor injury. It lookds like Cathe may not post a July rotation, are you going to take some time off in July. I found a old rotation that I may do.

Cendrine Sounds like it will be a big event at the church tomorrow! I guess you survived the day camp last week. What's on the agenda for next week??

 

[Runcrazy]

Hi Girls! Well it looks like we all took a break from posting yesterday! LOL! It was a gorgeous summer day here! We played a ton in the yard with Ibo, visited with neighbors over the fence (who have a new baby) and I of course did some homework! This was the first 4th we've been home in like 10 years!

Cendrine, it makes me cringe thinking about dd and the snake! Yikes! I'm actually okay with most reptiles but snakes creep me out! Yes we have a big yard - it's just shy of an acre and mostly wooded so there is lots and lots and lots of stuff! LOL!

Kim, glad you had a good time and grrr on the post! I think that's happened to all of us hasn't it? What I have analyzed about all of us is that we care about our health and we are glass half full girls! LOL! But my psychoanalysis stops there!

Rachel, hope you're doing okay and you're not laid up with back problems! Waving hidy ho to you! Oh, and neighbors father is here visiting from Texarcana (sp?) so he's loving our weather!

Patricia, waving at you too and hoping you're having a great day!

Oh, I forgot to tell you guys. For our BBQ Sunday night (when we had friends over), I made pineapple/jicama salsa (big hit - they ate it all!) and a cold salad I think you guys might like. I steamed brussel sprouts and cauliflower about 7 minutes to soften them up, then mixed them with olive oil and lemon juice and dill, a jar of pimentos and 1/2'd cherry tomotoes and chilled. Another big hit (and healthy of course!). Two great dishes and nobody knows they are eating healthy! We put the salsa on salmon that DH fixed on the grill.

 

[cendrine]

Sounds delish, Jo! We had fun at the picnic at the park too. Our kids are so overstimulated I have to fight them to do some downtime to settle down.... It seems one thing after another has been going on non stop. Today is the first day in a long time that we are doing nothing... (I snuck in a trip to the party store after spinal decompression to get stuff for dd party)

I like your analysis of us, Jo! LOL! Your yard sounds perfect for Ibo!

I did parts of slow and heavy biceps and triceps. They keep adding exercises to my treatments and it's starting to add up timewise, so in order for me to not run out of workout time, I have to cut cathe a little short and do my other exercises...

Patricia, I like ds's cake, I had to paint a spiderman on a little boy's face at the picnic and I wish I'd have had my phone with me to look up your cake with spiderman on it to remember how to paint him...LOL!

Haven't heard from you in a little bit, Rachel, I hope you are ok!

The weather is very muggy here, so we are sort of slow.... At least it's hot for a change. I remember last year we didn't really get much of a summer at all!

Well, gotta go make cookies, prep dinner, make smoothies and figure out some outdoor play time for the kiddos.

 

[FourAM]

Oh My Goodness...I think I am probably never going to catch up with last weeks thread so I cheated and am going of of this one.
It has just been one thing after another around here...
Last week DH spotted a mouse in the house so we were trying to find where it was coming in at and in the process of the search saw that the hot water heater was leaking. (now we haven't seen the mouse since so I am calling him my little angel at the moment) So DH had to install a new water heater and had a heck of a time getting the old one drained because it was clogged with something. SO a job that should have taken a couple of hrs turned into all day He was not happy. LOL That usually means I am not happy either , if you know what I mean.
Then my sister came into town from Missouri. So we had the family over on Sunday and I went to visit her at her inlaws for the 4th. DH stayed home and thank goodness he did because we had some kind of microburst storm here. Some how , thank goodness, I missed it as I was driving home. I was taking back roads and when I turned on to our road, there were tress down everywhere and I had to drive in the ditch on some parts of the road just to get by the trees. When I got home dh could not believe I did not drive through any part of the storm. Needless to say we had no power all night and just after I got all the food loaded into a cooler to take to my friends house (and threw away alot of stuff I thought wouldn't fit in her fridge),the power came back on... LOL I was glad for it. At least I did not have to drive it over there but I was kicking myself for throwing away some of the stuff.

Patricia-That cake looks good! Our VCR stopped working yrs ago. Finally I parted with all the tapes at a garage sale. It was kind of hard though. I bet the same way it felt for some people to part with their 8 tracks. LOL

Jo-I can not wait to see the pics of the yard. I but it was like night and day when they got done. Although I like yard work, I have to admit it would be nice to have someone come in and overhaul mine and then all I would have to do is maintain it...
Oh and it is Texarkana...basically because it is right there at Texas, Arkansas, and Louisianna. There is even a line down the middle of Texarkana...You can literally stand in Texarkana TX and Texarkana LS. I also think that you can buy alcohol on one side of the street and not the other.

Cendrine-How long is it going to take to make the cake? I can not wait for pics for that either. I bet dd is so excited. How did the face painting go? That sounds like a lot of fun but the poor kids that let me paint their face would definitely be disappointed. LOL

Kim-I hate that the weather is making you have to have the added expense of AC this yr but I guess at least it will be done. It sounds like you had a great holiday weekend. Was your whole family there?

Back update...I did write about this but dh called me to help on the water heater and so I lost that post. I have no idea how it got hurt but it is just now getting to where it is not hurting just really stiff. I tried to do a workout on Monday morning but it was still feeling sore. So I am probably going to just wait until next week to start anything. It has been since last Tuesday since I have had a workout but I am not missing them much since walking around was feeling like a workout. So it is getting better each day . YEAH. I did get a bit worried at first when I could not even bend forward by the second day.

Bed for me now . Since the house was so hot last night, I barely slept...Time to make up for that! TTYT

 

[cab0899]

I've been so lazy the last couple of days, no workouts for me

Yesterday, my bug bites were bugging me so much that I took a Benadryl after work and it knocked me right out! I ended up sleeping most of the evening. Tonight was groceries and a lot of talking with my mom.

Jo Your barbeque sounds wonderful! That's great that you got some sunshine for July 4th!

Cendrine Sounds like your busy busy! Enjoy that warm weather!

Rachael What a weekend you have had! What a stressful few days!! You may roll your eyes but I'm not sure if I'll be working out in the house until the ac is in!

Patricia Are you still sweltering out east?

 

[MommaPew]

Morning All,

Yesterday's was DS's actual b.day so a few more presents (he is sooo spoiled) and out for dinner. I wanted some cardio and UB work so did the UB premix from Hight Step Advanced. It says 35 min but no WU or Stretch included so a bit deceiving there! Monday was P57 - LB blast and tonight is baseball.

Jo - I keep looking at those Dysons but I can't justify it with the central vac - I have a small shark upright for quick cleanups - between the kitty litter and DS still leaving a lot of his food under the table, and of course I must not forget DH - when he cooks the amount of crumbs on the floor - I needed a quick and light weight cleanup vac. All I can say about the yardwork - better them than me! Did I mention I hate backbreaking labour Brussels sprouts are DH's favourite veggie and I can't stand them! Your recipe sounds great, but hmm, nope still not going to try them!

Cendrine - I don't know, peeling onions or filling water balloons - I know which I'd pick! Are you putting together little gift bags? If so what are you including? I'm trying to figure out stuff that's not just candy. the funny thing about the cake it was supposed to be a Nascar theme but due to our freakin postal strike here the bakery couldn't get the decorations. DS was a bit disappointed but he doesn't look like he's suffering too much eh...

Kim - that must have been fun to watch DS skiing. Its so fun watching kids accomplish something new. We finally are getting humid weather here, though Sunday a breeze came up just as we went swimming so it became kind of cold to get out of the water Yep, my goal is to slowly go thru my VHS tapes and decide if I want to keep any of them (well as long as the vcr doesn't eat them - I have 2 VCR's to go through). I'm wondering if you take a nice restful month on your rotation. Between the bug bites and your jury duty and moving this year it's been pretty stressful and you sound tired lately.

Rachel - time just flies I know! Too funny on the mouse angel. Don't you hate it when something so simple turns out to be so time consuming? I'm just glad for jobs like that the men have to do it (kind of like our septic repair - didn't have to go anywhere near it thank you very much!) Sounds like a nasty storm. We had quite the light show on the way home Sat. evening too but no winds. Glad to hear your back is getting better - we don't realize how much we use it until it starts to act up! There has been time when mine hasn't been up to par and I've been afraid to swing my bat at BB. Cross my fingers all is well.

 

[FourAM]

I think I need a change of luck...Today was just a pitiful day at work. I swear nothing could go right. DH and I stayed late yesterday so we could get all of our measurements to cut up the carpet since it is on the third floor YUCK...and then when we get there to cut it, they did not order enough. So we switch gears and are going to put in the little bit of plank there is and a woman comes in and starts talking about it not looking like the right color...so dh starts looking at the paper work and they did not order the right stuff. So now we have laid most of it and its wrong. I'm telling you...it has just been one of those days!

Kim-I am so with you on those jobs that are just for the guys but unfortunately I get roped into them some how most of the time. Yes even when we had septic issue a few yrs ago, it was dh and I with our rubber boots on...of course I left the real mucky parts to him but I was out there too. yuck yuck yuck. I guess I am just as cheap as he is. LOL

Kim-I promise there would be no working out in this house if the AC was out. In fact, there wasn't any the other morning. I think you are needing a good break...I probably am too but am having a hard time accepting it.

Hi Jo and Cendrine.

OK off to calgon this day away. TTYT

 

[MommaPew]

Last night we won our BB game but just one run We usually win by 10-20 runs so close game!

Tonight s/b P57.

A few weeks ago I got a manicure and there is this new product out there called Shellac which they use UV rays between coats to seal on your nail. Boy, does it stay on - no chips nothing. But you need acetone to remove it. I have to check if I have non-acetone nail polish remover at home to get it off as my nails have grown too much and now they're starting to look odd I'm volunteering next Mon/Tues at a camp for the blind where are company is building a new residence cabin of some sort for them as a charity thing. I think I might be painting so I don't want to get a manicure now and have it ruined right away!

Rachel - bummer on the colour! I can only imagine the frustration

 

[cab0899]

Okay, I feel super guilty about not working out much lately. The air conditioning is getting installed today (it's still really hot!) so no excuses really. I think I will come up with a plan for the next few weeks, I do better with a plan. I have been going for a walk most nights, but pretty relaxed walk.

Not at work today. I got up early to make dinner reservations for our Disney trip in Jan I know it's early but the online reservation line opens 6 months before and we're going with such a large group (13). Even doing it the first day one popular restaurant was full by the time I logged in.

I got the blinds people coming this morning to install the remaining window coverings and the ac people this after noon so will be lots of sitting around but I'll try and get housework done. We're going to the football game tonight.

Patricia, oh all the kids are spoiled! What did you buy ds for his birthday? DD's birthday is coming up and I'm trying thinking of buying her a Kindle. She's getting out of the toy phase (turning 11) and I've been encouraging her to read more.
Sounds like a fun baseball game!

Rachael I sure hope yesterday was a better day for you! What is your workout plan right now?

I was watching tv last night, and heard that they are thinking of releasing the name of the jurors from the Casey Anthony case Okay, I may be a bit sensitive to this but WTH! Why would they do that?? Then they were interviewing a juror from the Scott Peterson case. Goodness, the laws are so different here. Jurors are not allowed to talk and I can't image our names ever being made public. Why would anyone want to be on a jury??

What's everyone up to this weekend? Not many plans here. A few things I want to get done like organizing dd's birthday party, passport pictures and we might get out to a strawberry farm for picking.

 

[Runcrazy]

Hi Everyone, I'll get caught up later today. I've had a busy week and yesterday was my birthday! DH bought me an iPad! So you know I've been wrapped up with that new toy! I'm off to PT so I'll BBL!

 

[cendrine]

Boy time just goes by fast! Lots of birthdays! I'm finalizing party details for tomorrow... I was chatting with the physical therapist and she will work out a tb toning routine for me to do when I'm done with treatments! I'm looking forward to it!

Rachel, sorry about the trouble at work! How annoying!

Kim, a kindle for dd sounds like lots of fun!

Jo, an iPad, how fun! A friend was just telling me how fun they are! Happy Birthday!

Patricia, sounds like that was a short game... LOL!

 

[Runcrazy]

Hi I'm finally back! Wow lots going on with everyone!

Rachel! I'm so glad you made it through that storm unscathed! But what about the back? TAKE IT EASY! How frustrating with the floor and water heater issues - it's always something! And what about the mouse? Is that mystery solved? Did you have a good visit with your sister? How far away is she from you?

Patricia, yes, if I had central vac we probably wouldn't have gotten the dyson, but boy does it suck up the dirt! I am so pleased with it. Also, we got it after we got Ibo - we needed something stronger than my old Kirby that was dying anyway! LOL! I have one of those sharks too and love it for quickie picker uppers. That Shellac sounds interesting - like having a filling done at the dentist! LOL! They UV the composite material on your tooth.

Kim, a Kindle for ds sounds like a great idea! Have you let her use yours? I don't like the idea of jurors names being released at all. Man, this experience just won't go away for you will it? I hope they don't do that. Some jurors want to be known but I wouldn't and I know you don't! Don't beat yourself up for not working out. You won't lose anything for a few days missed!

Cendrine, I had my last PT appointment today. My shoulder is 95% - the last little bit I'll keep working on myself. But she said since I'm hypermobile she's already gotten me past (a couple inches past) what's normal for most people. So I still just have a little problem with my hand up my back. Anyway, I'll probably go see her once a month or so but do not need weekly treatments anymore. So are you happy with your PT overall? Sounds like you've made good progress? Mine was a great experience. Hope the party goes well!!

 

[Runcrazy]

I forgot to tell you guys what I've been up to! I had a fun birthday! My mom called, both my brothers and and my sister. A friend from work took me to lunch and people that usually don't remember my birthday remembered! So I was on the phone and getting emails and text messages throughout the day! It was nice! Then DH surprised me with the iPad which I promptly downloaded the Kindle app for it. Oh yeah, the kindle app is very nice on the iPad! DH also got me one of the GIANT all american chocolate cakes from Costco and yes I had a piece - it was so rich!

But here's the other news. I didn't want to post this earlier because I don't know who looks at our posts, but during my week of finals I was also interviewing for a new position at another software company and they hired me! I will start Aug 1. I had all that going on at the same time as finals which is partly why I was extremely busy. Are you guys familiar with LinkedIn? It's a professional social network. Anyway, I had gone there to find someone and this job posting showed up on my page. I clicked on it and it is local and is exactly what I like to do so I applied! (I haven't been looking for a job.) So there you go! Last year my birthday present was going back to school, this year its a new job!

 

[Runcrazy]

I posted some of the yard pictures. The grass looks awful since it was thatched but DH is going to put seed down and we're going to have bark blown in next week (we'll probably do bark before the seeding!). I'll get DH to take more pictures so you can see the rest of the yard and my house if you're interested. We're looking better!

 

[Runcrazy]

Happy Saturday! I hope you all are having a fun weekend so far! The sun is out and I've been doing a little homework. DH and I are getting ready to go to Derby Days which is a kind of art fair in a little town nearby. We'll probably stop and get some fresh fruit and vegetables while we're out. I made us some kale soup last night - DH was helping me cut up vegetables and he cut up two big jalapenos with ALL the seeds! My kale soup is hot and spicey! LOL!

TTYL!

 

[cab0899]

CONGRATS Jo! How exciting! When do you start?

HAPPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Sounds like you had a great day! DD does "borrow" my Kindle so she seems to enjoy it. I ordered her Kindle and my mom decided to pay for it for dd's birthday. DD and I decided that she wants new bed linens (more grown up) and a new chair for her bedroom (to replace a kid's table and chairs) so we'll update her bedroom for her birthday gift.

Thanks for sharing the pics of the yard, I'm sure you're enjoying it!

We got up early and drove out to a strawberry farm to pick strawberries before it got too hot. This afternoon we washed and froze the strawberries, I took the kids to my sister's place for a swim, then my mom came by for a visit so it was a busy day! I had wanted to get going on my workouts but the day somehow flew by so I guess tomorrow.

I've been looking at different Cathe rotations, and can't seem to pick one.

Cendrine How did the party go?? DD's birthday is coming up and she wants to invite 11 girls to a sleepover

Patricia We actually decided not to do central vac with the new house and buy a Dysom instead! We had a top of line Kenmore Central vac at the old house and it was okay but not great. Repairs were expensive, I much prefer the Dysom!

Hope everyone is have a good weekend!