Chat Thread April 2011

Church this morning - late breakfast - read parts of the paper - do a little Sparking - maybe take a nap - checking out the ads in the paper - some more Sparking - and in between time hope to do a little walking. How does that sound for a lovely Sunday.

Happy Birthday to Brenda! It is really fun to be able to celebrate all day.

Love reading all the posts. Have a great day and coming week.

Just a note to say Happy Sunday and Happy Birthday to Brenda!! Catching up on housework and preparing for the work week ahead. Try to brown bag it and get clothes reading ahead of time, because I am up at 3:30am to be to work (including an hour drive) by 6:30am. Seems there is not enough time in the day!!! Enjoy reading posts, glad Michelle is A-Okay!! Chat with you all soon.

Sounds like you had a lovely day Brenda you seem to have some lovely friends.
Michelle it is so nice to hear from you and your ok hope you enjoyed your self in Detroit.
LMK hope you have a nice time in San Diago I have been there and loved it, it was the firs time I have ever tasted cinnamon buns as we don;t have them in Australia and I loved them (trust me to remember food)
Hope everyone has a great day.

Hi Everyone

I had a great day today, celebrating all day. Judy Lou came over this morning to ask if I wanted to go 'out of the building' to get a mocha at the coffee stand next door. Seems she was put in charge of keeping me busy before the 'surprise party'. So I told her I needed to go to Staples first, she needed to go to the bank and by the time we finished that she decided we would go out to breakfast instead of coffee. So we went to "The Restaurant" (it's real name) across the street from Staples. They cater to senior citizens and the prices are great as well as the food. They were really busy and it took a long time to get our food so we just drank coffee, talked and people watched while we waited. Jonna and Sue Ann from our building showed up so we shared our table with them. I told them it was my birthday and there was a surprise party for me later. Two hours later we were back home and I read some posts then started packing up my printer to return to Staples because it was defective.
Then Carol came to get me for my surprise party and it was really nice. It was a potluck. I got the coffee pot, a butterfly clock and a set of plastic canvas coasters (made by Ruth) and lots of cards. Cake of course. On the way home Judy (not Judy Lou) told me she made me a birthday cake and said she would be by later. So I finish packing up the printer and took it back to Staples in a driving rain storm and got totally wet just going to the car. I got a new printer. Then Val comes and said I need to come with her to see someone. All the way downstairs I'm trying to figure out where we were going and who I was going to see. Well, it was Judy in the social room having a real (impromptu) surprise party for me. She made a carrot cake that was really good. So much food today!! Judy had everyone sign a sheet of paper and put it in a card for me. Such nice people here. It is really nice to feel so special--it's been a long time since something like this has happened to me.

It was a very busy day and now I am exhausted so am heading for bed. I read all your posts but can't respond to them right now. Have a good Sunday.

Edited by: BRENDAGAIL9 at: 4/3/2011 (01:02)

Whoops, looks like I missed Brenda's birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENDA!

I am way behind in reading the posts. Very busy on Tues through Thurs, was exhausted yesterday, did not even turn the computer on !

Today, feel good, but a very busy and happy day with friends.

I did see that Michelle is back, so glad you are doing ok. Glad you got to take your trip to Detroit, and got home safely.

Late now, and I am tired, so just saying Good night and God Bless my friends.

Happy birthday Brenda

Lista-Not sure if I've told you or not, but I love your new profile picture! I hope you enjoy your trip to San Diego-I've never been there. Can't believe you still have snow! It is quite cool for this area at this time of year. Depressing. Hopefully, tomorrow will be warm enough for me to run. I used my elliptical today and got in my ST as well.

I'm enjoying a glass of wine and we are going to watch a movie soon. :-)

Have a wonderful evening, everyone!

Brenda - Happy Birthday. I love birthdays, it beats the alternative!

Lynn - I am going to San Diego bright and early this coming Wednesday and be gone for 10 days. Spent the day getting the clothing together. Had to go buy a bunch of new things. Hard to think of what to wear in warm weather when there is still snow on the ground. But it was in the 50s today, so that was great. The road that goes by our house hasn't flooded over yet, but it's close. Will probably have to get into town going the round about back way once the road gets shut down. We are high up a hill away from the river so the house is safe but it will be a mess.

Bonnie, oh Bonnie where are you???? Hope everything is okay.

Just checking in and saying "Hi" to everyone. I do read everyone chats and when I get around to responding to each one of you I forget who is doing what and who is going where. So, whatever you are doing and wherever you are going have a great time, stay safe, and keep Sparking.

Hello again! Thanks for the welcome Lynn! I added my name and state to my signature (I think). Sounds like you've got good news coming on Monday, one way or the other.

I'm enjoying seeing all your posts. Don't have much to add right now except that I bowl on senior leagues two afternoons a week. There are lots of really good bowlers on the leagues, unfortunately I'm not one of them. The oldest bowler on one of the leagues is 101 and has a 112 average (way down from what it was in his peak).

I appreciate hearing how things are going in Tokyo, and I wish Brenda a happy birthday. Hope all of you are having a lovely weekend!

Hi Y'all,

OK....dh got back from WI late last night. They won't have an offer to us until 11am Monday. Dh said both jobs are equally great. One pays a little bit less but it has less travel and less responsibilities. I want WI because it's in a bigger city. He kind of prefers the company that is in the small town. Both companies have GREAT relocation packages. Either way he will have a good job on Monday. He will start either on 4/10/11....yes, I know that is in 1 week. A lot to do in a short time. I will stay here for 4-6 months unless the house sells before that. It's too bad I just started my job last week. He did get 2 more flybacks but he told them it was too late. So it was 7 companies in all and he has only been looking for a month. Last year he only got one offer in 10 months. Never a dull moment here.

Steve...I remember when I joined last March and you gave me the camera. And I have since passed it on to others. Pay it forward. I think it is great that you want to be a pro bowler when you grow up.

GJSisson, Nanaboykin, SherriGK, Smileybee, Anne and DGarlick - Welcome to the team!! Keep posting so we can get to know you better. It is helpful if you could to put your first name and where you are living in your signature box.

Lista....when are you going to San Diego? I think that the anticipation is part of the fun....for me anyway. I hope you stay high and dry this spring.

Brenda.....happy birthday! You do live in an exciting building that is for sure. I hope you enjoy your party.

Kathy....I love your new pic. I am going to Flowertown tomorrow and I am really excited about it. Today was the bridge race. I have to work so, I will miss that. You will be glad that you took those 2 more courses for you LPC. And you can choose the courses so that should help. Can you take them online?

AD...are you finished with your training? It will be much nicer when you actually start doing the job. Good luck to you. I remember when I was 18 someone told me that they tell themselves when they start a new job that there won't be anything they hate about it. I have done this over the years and it seems to work for me.

Well, I am off to work. Have a great weekend, Lynn

Kathy there are alot of things here in Tokyo that are not the same anymore. I don't know about accounts being frozen, but the streets are rather quiet. More people are bike riding to places in order tosave gas.. When I go to the grocery stores, it's often "one per person" for many items. The streets & stores are darker during the day & at night, in order to save electricity. There are many blackouts during the day for a few hours each time, although my area seems unaffected.
I will be going to church today, & then clean up my house. Have a good weekend everyone!
Michele in Tokyo

Good day to everyone! Off to a late start this morning, but happy it is the week-end!! My goal today is to finish cleaning and wash the gunk off my poor car ☺ Had a small on-line jewelry store for a few years that I had to close, but have been making beaded lanyards for the folks at work, maybe get a few more done before the week-end comes to a close. Physical went well yesterday, but need to return Monday to the office lab to redo blood test, guess calcium came back on the high side. Wishing everyone a good week-end.

Limastar-Have you been to the Cherry Blossom Festival before? I went for the first time last year with DH. I really enjoyed it! Such gorgeous blossoms everywhere! We took a lot of pics. I should sift through them and post some good ones on my photo page. Have fun out there today!

Happy Birthday BrendaGail9.

Steve,

Your bowling story brings back great memories of when I was a kid and as a family (except mom, she wasn't interested) we all bowled. Never bowled in a league, but as a family or with friends. Like you, I didn't continue when I went away to college. But after I got married and had kids, it was a fun family activity. My oldest son liked it so much that he got himself a bowling ball while in High School. He still bowels, but not as much as he use to because of work. It has also changed a lot. Smoking was allowed when I was young, and I appreciate the fact that for my kids they could bowl in a fairly smoke free environment. Even though I enjoyed bowling as a kid, I always came away from it with a slight headache because of all the smokers. I think that's the main reason I quit after going away to college.

Well, it's another busy weekend for me. I have to finish my Year Book Page submission by Monday afternoon. I also want to go see the Cherry Blossoms tomorrow and hubby wants to go out this afternoon, so need to get started and get as much done as possible today.

So Happy Saturday to all.

Kathy- It's funny you posted these thoughts because I just spent at least one hour studying the Senior Bowling Tour. When I was a junior bowler in the Bay Area of California, I had the highest bowling average in this scratch traveling league. I have this article of me in our local news paper, but when I went away to college, I gave up that dream of going pro. I actually quit bowling and took up tennis and golf, hahaha. Anyway, I bowled in the Professional Central California Bowlers Association at around 18 to 20 but stopped for some reason. I think I thought that I lost that killer instinct and didn't want to beat people or win. It's a strange thing when I think about it. I started up again when a bowling friend asked me to bowl in this money league in town at the age of 40 and I had started to have this real pain in my hip but bowled anyway. I averaged 212 in that league for 4 years but not taking it serious. Anyway, I quit after my first hip replacement because I thought I could not bowl any more. Well, I found I could last summer and I feel I'm probably bowling better then before, haha. I've been bowling way over 200 average my last 20+ games and I have this new found interest again. I will bowl in tournaments again by the end of this year once I establish a sanctioned average. One more year, I could bowl in the super seniors PBA tournaments, haha. Lets see if I can make it until then, hahaha. This is way too much fun. Golf is taking a back seat it seems. You only need to average 200 in a sanctioned league. I can do that with my eyes closed, hahaha. You'll see. Happy Spark'n y'all. I had to tell someone my thoughts and I picked y'all. Bye now, Stevebowlinggolfdog.

June, thanks for the link to that commercial (on the March thread)! It was so inspirational (and captioned, too!!). I plan to save the link; it's a great reminder that we should do the things that we've dreamed of doing. What does everyone here dream of doing some day? One of my dreams is to go rock climbing! I don't mean some huge, tall mountain, but just to rock climb someplace locally! I also would love to run in a half marathon someday. :-) Thanks for pointing out to us that we are in the #2 spot for age category teams! That's impressive! I agree-we are the best! :-)

Steve-I think it is wonderful that you have set yourself a goal to join a "sanctioned" team so you can compete on a national level someday!

Sandy-Never a dull moment for you, eh? I hope you enjoy the next few days without having to watch the grandchildren. I know you love them to pieces, but the "me" time will be fabulous! :-)

Lynn, I just saw something yesterday that said the unemployment rate has gone down and is at its lowest point in two years. That sounds promising to me. Let's hope the economy is finally turning around! I'm so glad your DH does have a choice of jobs and he can chose the one that he would prefer! Prayers to you all!

I wonder how Mel is doing? I think someone was waiting to hear from her DH about how things are going. Did I miss that message??

Michele-It's good to hear from you! I hadn't seen you post in so long. I hope all is well with you and your family in Tokyo. I'm hearing so many sad stories. I have a client who has family in Japan. Thankfully, all of her family members are ok, but she said something about bank accounts in Tokyo being frozen. Do you know what she is talking about??

Margaret-Sorry to hear about your problem with your knee. I hope with time, the healing will be 100%. What is kettle corn popcorn, exactly??

AD-So glad you are going to be working! I know that will keep you busy; it sounds like a challenging job, working with those who need a lot of help from others. We are going to see my husband's uncle later this morning. He can be quite a challenge. We have to teach him how to use his phone every time we go! He also couldn't start the dishwasher the last time we were there. He is in a Senior living apt, but he is on the list for their more monitored living situations since he is declining rapidly, mentally. My mother in law has Alzheimer's and hasn't known who any of us are for awhile-so sad.

Hiya Lista! Good to hear from you and glad you have enjoyed your travels with your DH. I'm glad you are back home safe and sound. :-)

Mary-The girls' weekend with scrapbooking sounds like so much fun! I should get a group of deaf friends together to do something like that. I could kick everyone out of the house for the weekend-lol. (evil laughter)

RW-Yes, it's time for us to get our bodies back in shape and tuned up for a fabulous summer. Where is spring, though?? It still isn't here..sigh. I want to run outside, but it's only 40 degrees (yes, I'm a wimp!!).

SherriGK, Nanaboykin, Smileybee, Anne, DGarlick, and GJSisson-Welcome to SP and especially to this team. This is the bestest team around-no foolin'! :-)

Dale-So good to see you again! I haven't been as active on any of my lists as I used to be. In fact, I only regularly post here and on my running team and that is only a couple of times a week, lately. :-/ LIfe gets hectic for us sometimes, hmm?

Brenda-Happy birthday!!!!



I hope you have a fabulous day, doing whatever YOU want to do! :-) Do let us know how your "surprise" party went-lol. That's so funny and cute. ;-)

*Waving hi to MerryMary* Good to see you posting when you can! :-)

Bonnie-Hope all is well with you.

I haven't done well with exercising this week, but have been good with my calorie intake. My weight is the same as it was last week. I'm doing June's April challenge, so I hope that shakes things up for me! Keeping my fingers crossed!!

We are going to visit DH's uncle, then I need to finish my Maryland LPC application. My Virginia LPC application was reviewed and they've told me I need to take two more graduate courses! U G H!!! At least these can be elective, so back to school I go for two more semesters. SIGH.

OK y'all, have a good night and I look forward to tomorrow. I love to live, hahaha. and I get up very early because I look forward to waking up to what ever the day has in store for me. I'll be doing gardening tomorrow. It's that time of the year and I might even power wash our deck. Bye now, Stevegolfbowlingdog

HAPPY 69th BIRTHDAY YOU SEXY THING.

Coffee pot and other fun surprises, how lovely. Melita works great if you put the right amount of coffee in the filter. That's what I discovered, but you are not used to using it so you probably used too little or too much. Anywho, it's but a day away, so happy happy happy celebration of YOU.

dale

Spent a really fun evening with friends celebrating their daughter's 18th birthday. Ahhh to be that young. Ate a little bit before we went and then found that talking and enjoying myself took over the need to be overeating at the buffet table they had set up. A great evening.

No plans for the weekend. That's how I like it!

hey steve & anyone else---yes! Come visit us anytime. it's a great city here in tokyo, not toomuch different than Detroit, I think!
Have a good weekend all
Michele

Hi all, just stopping in the say HI, Happy April, and where in the world has the year gone so far, I come in pretty often to check everyone out, but I am always running to far behind to post, but I do so enjoy the board.

Happy April!!

Another cloudy day with more rain on the way. Tomorrow is my 69th birthday and my coffee pot died yesterday. I told Jeanette and she told me not to buy a new one. They are having a 'surprise party' for me tomorrow but I'm not supposed to know about it. So I made coffee with my little Melletta one cup cone and it sure isn't very good made that way. Oh well, I drink too much coffee anyway so I will switch to tea for the rest of the day. My digital camera just got delivered so it is going to take a while to figure it out. I told residents to be careful what they do because I'll be lurking around with my camera. LOL I've been waiting a week for it. It's my birthday gift to myself.

I've finished four more purses and got more orders so I am pretty busy crocheting. The problem is sitting so much so I try to get up and walk around every hour or so. The stairway is right outside my door and I'm on the third floor so that is a good exercise break for me.

I can't believe there is snow in the New England area. I hope everyone stays safe.

Michelle, it is really good to hear from you. We were all very worried about you after the Earthquake and Tsunami and we didn't hear from you.

Have a good weekend. Welcome to all you newcomers. The more the merrier!!

Hello all - Happy April Fool's Day! It is a beautiful, sunny day here in Ogden. I am about to head out the back door for a little walk around the pond and over the hills on my newly repaired knee. It is great to be able to walk again without constant pain. Have a great day.

Thank you NJJazz for your e-mail, I am responding to you and the Team to wish all a happy and sucessful April 2011. Looking forward to spring here in New England, but we had snow today!! Our April Fools Joke I am sure! Have today off, annual physical ... enjoying the rest of the day and the long week-end. Hope everyone does the same!!

Hi P. Tiger- Welcome back. You are actually my first friend on Sparkpeople several years ago and I think you sent me a camera as a gift, hahaha. I had no idea what that meant when I got that camera, hahahah. at the time. Anyway, I've still doing it and I've lost 50 pounds doing so since we last communicated. Anyway, it's good to see your smiling face again. Stay on course with your Spark'n goals and you will reach them. Stevegolfbowlingdog

Hey, all.

I miss this group and NJ quite a bit, but I've 'too much on my plate'!

I don't post much. Have the world service conference of Nicotine Anonymous to finish getting ready for (we/I am hosting at the end of this month!) I could be on stress threads but that would add stress.


I gained back 8 lbs I had worked hard (long!) to lose and am easing off the reaction I have to this consequence. It can be done again; just maybe not that well. But then, that's just the way it goes sometimes.

I took my ticker off the top weight of 175.5 because I can't remember what year that was. Let's stick to now, shall we? (deep breathing, easy does it)
See you maybe before May, and may-be not.

163.0 just for yesterday and today...
the p tiger

Edited by: PASSIONATETIGER at: 4/1/2011 (12:32)

wishing one and all a great April ... my entire month is BUZE so I will be here when I can so take care and have a great month ahead. My weekend is going to be TIME AWAY w/ hubby as today marks 33 years together !!! So, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to me !! Well take care and see you all later !!

Love, Karen

Good morning, I am going to try to post this again. My computer decides to delete things or send them off into cyber space without my permission sometimes.

Anyway, I am in for this month's challenge! Looking forward to getting to know you all too! Definitely friendly vibes here.

I am currently on spring break. So nice to not have to worry about finals! Next quarter will be easier, so will be able to get to the gym more.

More later. Anne

Good morning! Thanks to NJJazz for the message directing me to this thread. I'll try to check in and be a team player this month. It is a beautiful morning in Idaho ... bright sunshine and headed for the high 60s today. WooHoo! Let's all have a healthy and active month of April!

I had already started my journey before I found Sparkpeople. This is just a bonus. Thanks for the kind words.

NANABOYKIN
You've already lost 13 pounds and you are new. Way to go and away goes the pounds, hahaha. Happy spark'n!!!! Stevegolfbowlingdog

Hello everyone I am new to Sparkpeople but so far I am loving it. Everyone is so encouraging and friendly. Hope to get to know you all. It's April in East Texas and beautiful. Azeleas and dogwoods are blooming, so are the allergies. A beautiful day today 72 and sunny. What more could you ask for?

SHERRIGK- I'm sure we are all glad you have joined our group. We are a chatty group of fun caring people. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. You will get everyone chiming in, haha. Anyway, good luck with your healthy choices and being on sparkpeople. You will succeed with your goals if you stick to the program. Stevebowlinggolfdog

Just watched the opening game of the Cardinals yesterday. I am sad that they lost but glad baseball season is back

Hi. I'm relatively new to SP and am still trying to figure things out, but I wanted to say Happy Spring (despite the snow falling outside my window). I'm optimistic that it can't be THAT far off, since my beloved Phillies play their home opener today!

GOOOD MORNING!

April? Where is this year going. Was talking with some high school kids last night and none of us can believe only 2 more months of school. Yikes! We really do have to make the most of every day don't we.

Sun is peeking out this morning, but still cold. Opening Day at the ball park and everyone is optimistic our Indians will do well this season.

No children this morning. Off to run some errands. Will check in later.

Have a good one!

Good Morning,
Well Florida went out of March like a LION!
Didn't get any storm damage here in Englewood but the Central Florida cities sustained a lot of wind damage as I see on the news.

Now that we're into a new springtime month let's get those bodies into shape for the summertime fun.
hugss, RW

Just stopping by to say good morning and take care all---doing great here .

Glad all is well for you Michelle. Enjoy your trip Lista (I'm jealous of the warm weather thing lol).

Keep up the good work everyone.

Good morning y'all!
Michael- I'm glad you are out of the cold and back in Tokyo and all seems almost normal there. Your country has really taken a big hit and with your current economical situation, I pray y'all can rise up and out of your situation. Your people seem so together and has lot to be admired. I would love to visit Tokyo some day.
When I find that first bowling tournament, I'll let you know when and where and maybe someone on our team will show up and say hi. That would be way cool, don't you think.
Happy Spark'n and have a great day. Stevegolfbowlingdog

I've was traveling for 10 days--able to get in enough walking most days (thank goodness for the pedometer) but no gym time. And then when I got back to work it was crazy busy. Yesterday was the first day back at the gym and it felt great but amazing how I had to back off on some of the intensity. 2 weeks away makes a big difference. Good learning. I didn't have internet access while I was traveling and decided to just start back here when I could get back to my normal routine. Hope all is well for people. Here's to April!

Good morning everyone. It is hard to believe it is April 1st already.

Hello everyone. Just wanted to stop in and say HI!
I can't believe it is April already and we have a snow mixture happening this morning in SE Pennsylvania.
Have a great month!

Hello, good evening and a good night to all!

Hi all. Yes, I am back in japan, In tokyo. there is not much change here since the earthquake, except it is a little quieter, & the stores do not play the loud music they did before. There is also not as much selection of things, mainly food, as there was before; But at least we can eat. the weather is nice. MOst of what you see on the news is 4 hours or so north of us. Tokyo was spared all the deperation.
There was so much snow in Detroit when I was there! I can't remember when it was so cold, & in March!
Have a great weekend all. II'm trying to get over my jet lag!!!
Michele in Tokyo

Steve – good luck on getting back on the tour. You’ll have to let us know where you go so we can come cheer you on.

AD – I’m sure you are very anxious to get past all the orientation and get going on the job.
Lista – this has been a long winter. Do you think we’ll get the next .3 inch to move up to the 4th snowiest winter??

Sandy – that’s very exciting about DGD’s artwork.

Lynn – sounds like it could be an interesting weekend – big decision to make. Grey’s Anatomy was pretty intense but what was with all the singing???? Wasn’t sure if I was watching Glee or Grey’s Anatomy.

LMMIMI – that was great of you to help with the invites. It maybe was a nice break from the cleaning.

Margaret – take care of yourself and don’t over do it.

Michelle – so glad to hear from you! Are you back in Japan?

Brenda – you definitely had a little excitement in your building. Not a fun way to wake up.

Girl's weekend starting tomorrow


I get together with a couple friends twice a year and work on scrapbooks, watch chick flicks and just hang out. I'm only a mile away from home but it's still not home. Really looking forward to it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

NJJazz - thanks for sharing that video. I loved it.

Lynn - I just can't believe have fast things are moving. How exciting. Don't you just wonder how/why things happen and then things work out. It's amazing.

Margaret - yes I did just get back from a 2 week drive around the United States. I am so lucky to get to take advantage of some of the business trips my husband goes on. This trip to San Diego is just 3 days of business and then 7 days of fun. I am so looking forward to going somewhere with warmer weather. You sound like you are doing well with your foods. Sounded very yummy, yet healthy. Hope your knee heals up quickly.

Michele - glad to hear you are safe.

Sandy - tell your DGD congrats on being artsy. I love being crafty, artsy. That is my kind of thing.

Auntie - will this snow ever go away. We are supposed to get some flakes in the next couple days too. Yuck. Snow, snow go away. I did see a robin today. There's hope!

Have a good night and may GOD bless all of you. Steve

We're starting a chat thread for the month of April,
let's GO team!! post a messgae
RW