Pondlady

Gosh ladies......thanks for the congrats Munch, big thanks to you.....saw my one year thread - such a happy way to start my day. I know you've both hit the one year mark, there is a real sense of accomplishment to it

Munch, the ladies in my family refer to returning to our every day lives after a vacation as "re-entry" Love your BS flag - very funny and true! Will you pick berries this week end?

Locally, we have a french restaurant that periodically offers "fill the pot". You pre-order the food they're offering and show up with your pot. I ordered food for tonight and will make a light salad and fresh fruit to go with it. Hoping hubby and I can celebrate the solstice with a twilight swim and sit on our patio under the twinkly lights. We're usually settled inside by dark fall....but we'll try to live dangerously tonight!

You ladies have a great week end! Still here and still sober.....ONE YEAR LATER

munchkin05

Yup, going to pick cherries. Pack a lunch of sandwiches, cold drinks, and chips. I figure we'll buy some sort of treat from the orchard. They have lots of ice cream and donuts there and they give military discounts which always helps.
This year I will be drying much of what we get because its lighter and now weight is always on our mind with the move coming up.
As it is, we're thinking of (this all depends on hubby and a JOB) getting rid of our waterbed set here that we've had now for 21+ years and buying something new upon our arrival in Anchorage or Fairbanks.
No more waterbed though even though we love it like crazy. It worries me if we lose power for more than a day or two, that thing will get super cold.
Don't want to use my gennie for something silly like that.
Don't know what we're going to do tonight though, other than dh is going to pick up some fish for dinner to go with some fresh asparagus from the farm.
I can tell its that time of year again because I'm getting super tired of eating fresh veggies all the time as snacks. LOL
Lately my snacks are asparagus, chopped up zucchini, celery and carrots with a small dollop of hummus.
While it is yummy (and typically by February I would be DROOLING if I saw a snack like that) right now I'm just kind of tired of fresh stuff.
By mid July I will be super tired of tomatoes. LOL (which reminds me, I've got a neighbor who is from Mexico/South Texas and I want to donate two tomato plants to her along with some cilantro seeds)

I'm so glad for you pond. Really!!!
Make today a wonderful one!

Pondlady

Munch,

Thank you for your kindness in my one year thread I hope you have a lovely time picking cherries. I've spend a great deal of time in northern MI, which is the cherry capitol of the world. I also love decorating with botanical looking cherry decor....and of course love cherry pie a la mode!!!

Still here. Still sober.

munchkin05

Good Morning World!
Feeling off balance today. Like everything is very loud.
Makes me want to crawl into a cave with a good book and hide.
Had a good time picking cherries. Got (ready for this?) **17 POUNDS* OF CHERRIES!
About 13 of it got dried, 2 pounds frozen. The rest is for us all to snack on through the next week or two.
My fingers are all stained with cherry juice now. LOL I LOVE cherries! One of my favorite berries. Raspberries are close up there too. This years strawberries were kind of BLAH.
Then we also harvested our garlic. Forgot to count how much we got though.
Harvested potatoes. That was depressing. There was like almost NO potatoes.
We seem to have bad luck with potatoes.
If at first you don't suceed, try try again.
Then got some housework done, laundry, load upon load of that junk.
DS actually helped DH & I clean up the house some. I cleaned out the interior of my jeep. DS made a MASSIVE mess in the backseat. Granola and lemonade. Sticky sticky sticky.
Kind of something neat. DH and I 19th anniversary was this weekend.
I wake up beside him Sunday morning, then DS comes romping into bed, cuddling in between us, giving us both good morning hugs with lots of little boy morning breath.
DH and DS play on his kindle, I browse FB for a bit, when I got up to take a shower and LO AND BEHOLD! I broke the 157 rut!
I am now 156!! I couldn't have asked for a better anniversary present. (remember our actual present was a generator)
I was SO STOKED!!!
Today I am wearing a pair of size 10 cordoroy slacks that actually fit me pretty nicely!
Gotta love it when that happens.

You know pond, I love actually decorating with grapes. I still have print on my dining room wall that have either a street somewhere in France or grapes, cheese and wine.
It will probably be a while before I get rid of them.
DH was mentioning he would still love to learn how to brew beer. I told him he's welcome to it since rarely did I drink beer. Told him I don't mind him doing that.
Mostly I only drank that if that was all that was offered at a party or something. So it was most definitely NOT my DOC.
DH really doesn't have any hobbies other than gardening and saving lost and lonely tomato plants. LOL
He isn't even that fond of the canning side of things, he just knows its a necessary evil.
If we grow it in massive amounts then we have to do SOMETHING with it.

Well, must run. I have a few things to accomplish today. Still here, still sober.

Pondlady

Wow - 17 pounds!!!! I bet your fingers are stained I have a very good recipe for dried cherry and oatmeal scones. It is very rich, but can be frozen and you can make just a few - so delicious.

156 is awesome! I'm not on my game, diet / exercise wise Just trying to not do too much damage, till I get pumped up again. Yoga is tomorrow morning - still enjoying it.

Our not quite three year old dryer, died yesterday Yuck! Maybe that could be our 9 year wedding anniv. present to ourselves.......

Happy Anniversary!

munchkin05

Oh no! Our dryer is getting noisier and noisier lately. Worries me.
oooh can you share the recipe?
DH sounds like he's getting motivated possibly by my losing weight.
He has actually GAINED about 15 lbs recently. I told him in a very gentle way that "yes, it is visible but that I still love him"
The goal is 145 by the time we move.
This sounds absolutely horrible but I've been using the pictures of my sister in laws and my neices (who are about 20 years YOUNGER than me) as inspiration. So many of my in laws all live down in TN. My one sister in law who I've referred to as "S" used to be sickly thin and very sickly looking.
Now she's getting more overweight (obvious the stomach stapling is wearing off) and she's decidedly chunky.
As for my other SIL, the one I get along with, she too has put on some weight and all in all, everyone is looking....old. And fat.
Hate to say that.
It sounds very much like my Mom.
Even my neices look overweight.
So, yes, I'm being mean and using them as motivation.
Wanna hear something even more vile?
I want to show up there looking as if I am closer to my early thirties (instead of about to turn 40 HOLY SH ), be nice and lean, gorgeous skin, thick gorgeous hair, healthy looking. Everything I was NOT when they saw me last. Last time they all saw me I was 170+ pounds. I was kind of sick looking. My hair was very dry, my skin always was breaking out. And of course, I was drinking.

Bad to think this way I know. Not exactly kind or whatever. And very childish.
What's weird is I really don't care about my Mom seeing me like this. I think its just because I know, no matter what she will still say I'm fat. I have a fat butt. I have extra around my hips. Whatever.
(for the record, DH reminds me over and over he likes my rear end. )

News flash.
DH just called. Now the in laws want to all stay together at my BIL's house in November.
And I just comprimised and said "sure"
Gotta make them happy some way or another.

Gotta run. Have some work to do.

munchkin05

Keep your fingers crossed guys!
Boss lady yesterday afternoon advised a few of us that no one is off today so I have put in to take my mandatory lwop for 5 hours.
I hope I hope I hope I can get it!
Gotta run to the farm, pick up my share of fresh veggies and fruit, bread and eggs.
Want to run home, drop all that off, have a quickie lunch then go to the gym. Next pick up son and we can go to the pool.
That all being said, several individuals here are now mentioning that they are interested in lwop so here is where it gets interesting.
I'm curious to see how the boss votes. For the person who asked first or one of her favorites first.

Oh and here's big news!
155!
I got on the scale and lost another pound this morning!

YIPEE!

I am so amazed! I have been pushing myself just a tad bit harder lately and then on top of that I've been doing something that I haven't done in the past year and a half.
Staying up past 9pm with hubby. We've been playing his new game (much to my sons utter dislike)
At night lately, he plays his game and I weave a blanket.

Well gotta run. Got stuff to do!

Pondlady

You're on a roll with your weight loss I totally enjoyed yoga this morning, very relaxing. I'm going to look into borrowing some DVD's from the library to do at home, between classes....especially before bed.

Had a very upsetting phone call from my oldest daughter last night. She is unhappy with some things in her life and is in therapy. She called on her way home from her appointment and basically feels her issues are the result of her low self worth, due to things I've done, or not done. I felt completely blind sided and couldn't thing calmly to have a discussion with her, plus she was wound up. Been thinking about this a lot today and am struggling for the right words to say.

Tiredofdrugs

Munch: Congrat's on the weight loss!!! Woot Woot!
I had to re read the sentence: Want to run home - have a quickie!!!! SAY WHAT? LOL OH! Lunch! Shew! TMI TMI TMI is what I was thinking first off!
DH liking the booty area on ya! I had to laugh at that one too. Jethro is always patting my rear end! I've got one of those, high rise - Ghetto Booties!

Pond: Sorry about the daughter situation. I'll tell you this though. My daughter did the same thing to me a few years ago. Everything was MY fault. The way I raised her, my opiate use, blah, blah, blah! It shook me to the core too. But we faught thru it with email after email and phone call after phone call. Her husband also pointed out to her that her daddy wasn't/isn't all that Grand. She moved in with Dad and his new family when she was 14 years old. Husband reminded her. Dad was always gone off on TDY's and wasn't there to raise her like she wants to claim. She ended up being the older sister to two younger sister's. An in house babysitter, because stepmom would come home from work and go straight to the basement where she read books and smoked.

So between our talks and her husband getting her to really look at how things really were? She came to realize maybe mom was a good mom after all. Her husband and I actually got to know each other more thru emails and phone calls while she was gone on a TDY herself. That opened his eyes into who I really am and how things were when my daughter was being raised by myself.

So I offer the advise to you! Don't take it too personally! Therapist are also good at making the parents out to be the reason a child is the way they are in their adult years.

Don't you know? It's always mom and dad's fault!!!!!

TOD

munchkin05

I have to say, for all my venting about my Mom, I don't really blame my alcohol use on her.
Yes, she is an alcoholic but that is not what caused ME to abuse alcohol.

Actually what bothers me about my Mom & Dad, well no mostly my Dad in this case.
Dad tried to use the excuse "your daughter doesn't trust you to watch our grandson because of alcohol"
That's not the truth and I never even said that to him.
No wait, there is a slight truth to it but I have left my son with my Mom & Dad before and alcohol has barely been an issue.
Remember, when they were living here on the East coast I was still drinking so it was most definitely NOT AN ISSUE at that time because if it had been I would've been one heckuva hypocrite.
Dad tried to use that excuse as a way of hitting Mom harder and trying to make her "slow down" on the alcohol because he was tired of visiting friends and neighbors in the evening and being stuck with a drunk.
As it is, I think he's trying a new "strategy" for "helping" her to control her drinking.
He has been out golfing about an hour and a half away from the house each day. That means he takes the one and only car for the day. Sometimes staying overnight in another city as he's participating in golf tournements.
Mom complained non stop about this yesterday almost rather embarressed about it and told me she's very unhappy as she has "errands to run"
I know what those errands are. She's gotta be getting short on her supply of alcohol.
After all, its been probably about a week, no wait, she said 5 days, that she has been able to run out and "run her errands"
Once again, Dad is doing the "control game" with her as a way of saying to himself that "no he's not married to an alcoholic"
Sigh.

Sorry that your daughter is doing that to you though Pond. My brother did that to my Mom with the whole "its your fault that I am the way that I am" He even blamed her for his drug use (Pot) his what he believes ADHD, his depression and what not.
Never did that.
Sad.


HA HA! Funny! That rarely happens as DH never gets off when I get off or vice versa.
I did get off early which was rather funny because right before I took off the computers all went down. boohoo.
Phones and computers were dead and another office had to take our calls.
LOL
Well did everything I said I would do with my off time and then some so that was good.
Unfortunately since this was all kind of unplanned I couldn't schedule any appointments in which frustrates me somewhat but I'm glad I got the gym time, the swim time with my son, the run to the farm, and what not done.
Oh and get this guys!
I won my very first challenge for Earnedit.com! The website links to my bodymedia armband that I wear and I get points for stuff. Well each week they have one or two challenges that are free to enter and I won! The grand prize!
Very cool! Some product called "sports beans". Never heard of them, never tried em. But I won first prize!
Very cool.
Then I earned on Everymove.org my new jewelry on BlueNile.com
$100 off a purchase of jewelry.
Nice!

Told DH wanna get me a new backpack from RockCreek.
So it was kind of a good day yesterday but I was pooped by the end of the day.
Then bad bit, couldn't fall asleep.
Then DH woke up this morning early, worrying me which then woke me up. AT 3am!
GRRRR.
(and no TOD, get your mind out of the gutter. We ended up arguing for the next hour):rotfxko

Going to be a LOONNNNGGG day.
Sigh.

Still here, still sober. About half a pound heavier today but oddly enough, that always happens to me the day after going to the gym.
Hang in there Pond.

Pondlady

Wrote my daughter today. ......we will see. I know she is struggling with her weight, anxiety and such....but hey.....we all have things we have to learn to handle!

Walked this morning with Mr. P and went to school to get some stuff done. New dryer arrived today....still irritated the other died when it was less than 3 years old. Nice to do laundry again though

Need to get motivated to make pesto, as my basil is ready to be harvested.

munchkin05

Kind of stoked right now.
This is what I purchased today!
My new backpack that is meant mostly for backpacking.
I'm hoping it will be here by next week but if not I'm not too too concerned.
I'm only kind of stoked because just found out there is an error here at work with my name on it, yet again. Grrrr.
Stupid exchanges.
You know though, barely anyone here has brought it up to me so guess what, I'm not going to help fix it because they obviously don't want me involved in fixing my own error.
Whatever.
I'm off later on today for an appointment with my therapist, then going to run to the gym.
Next pick up DS at summer camp aka daycare.

Frustrating night last night as well.
DH was told that his leave for our Ocean City trip might not be approved because they severely need him on yet another mission.
Now, my big beef with this is that he is a retiring soldier.
He will be GONE by November. They need to wean themselves OFF OF HIM.
As it stands, they are throwing jobs at him that will need to be continued past then. (talking August, Sept, Oct)
Next, they have been throwing massive amounts of hurdles in his way for the paperwork side of things of retirement. (aka delaying it)
So to me I take this all as evidence that they are really NOT wanting him to retire.
Then DH told me last night that his boss (who is about to be fired) got into trouble due to lack of readiness of his unit.
DH is an old soldier. Very experienced. 20 years of it.
So this is how I take it.
The boss is not really wanting to let go of an experienced soldier because it affects even more his units readiness.
He'll be stuck with even more green soldiers.

Now here is where I get super pissed.
They are looking at requiring us to cancel our reservations for Ocean City which means we eat the $160 down payment for canceling a non refundable reservation.
I have advised DH do NOT BE SURPRISED if they also require him to cancel our August vacation to Lancaster (Yogi bear, Hershey)
Because as of now this is where we are headed from reading their actions.
They had nothing on the training calendar during the times we booked however due to their bosses mess up they are now adding bits here and there.
DH is also in Use or Lose.
This means HE HAS to USE his leave or lose it.


Sigh.
So frustrating!


CAN NOT WAIT to get out of here.
Out of the military.
Out of this job here.
Out of this office.

Still here, still sober and kind of frazzled.

BREATHE MUNCHKIN!

Pondlady

I understand your frustration about your upcoming planned vacations I'm really looking forward to following your adventures as you leave the military and head to wherever you're going...hopefully Alaska!

Texted with daughter this morning - so baby steps of progress. She hasn't mentioned her plans to travel here next week, so I'm guessing that's off.

Trying to enjoy my summer, but it just doesn't feel light and easy....at all. So I just keep on doing things I know are good for me...and hope for the best. Thank heavens I don't depend on wine anymore.......what a disaster that would be.

munchkin05

Sad for you pond. Your daughter will hopefully come around. Like TOD has said, therapists sometimes have a tendency of trying to put all the blame on the parents.
(oddly enough, mine has not)

I get you on the summer not feeling light and easy but DH and I are watching the financial markets and all, and well since last summer, around mid August, when I just started waking up nervous & scared. Didn't know why. Historically that always happens to me when something bad is about to enter our lives.
Then started coming across things that kind of pointed to what is now happening here at work, things in the economy, alternate news and stuff.
Started to make sense to me in a way.

Just remember, with your daughter, this too shall pass.
Sooner or later it will.

As for me today. At work today. Full day, not that too much is going on.
I downloaded the movie, The Host which I've been wanting to see for a while.
I think I might buy the movie, Cloud Atlas which looks relatively interesting.
Very deep. Every so often I like a movie like that because it really makes me take a step back and look at myself.
I don't always like what I see, but then, when I see things I do that are hurtful to others it inspires me to change.

Saw my therapist yesterday which went very well.
Mostly was just a run over of everything that has happened in my life since a month and a week ago.
Then DH convinced me to go to the gym.
That was very nice! Worked out for 35 minutes on the elliptical but I think I'm going to have to switch to the bike here soon for a bit.
My knees have been bothering me more lately.
Stayed up late last night with hubby, playing his game again.
Feels kind of good doing that.
Makes me feel young again. We used to do that all the time when we were younger.
Plus its kind of therapeutic in a way. Sounds weird. Being therapeutic watching DH's character Joel blasting away at runners or clickers or bloaters, Joel getting killed over and over, or whatever.
Silly.
Yet between that and my weaving, I go to bed peaceful and happy. And grateful.
For all that I have been given, for all my blessings.

Still here, still sober.

Tiredofdrugs

Munch: I bought the movie "Cloud Atlas". I'd advise to hold off on spending your money on that one. It didn't turn out to be all that great. It is a very strange movie. At several times. I almost turned it off. Just spend a dollar at the Red Box and see if it's worth buying. I should have done that. Wasted $20.00!

TOD

Pondlady

Hope you two ladies have a nice week end....no big plans here....just relax and maybe a little house cleaning.

munchkin05

Good Morning!
Busy here (in a way) at work today.
Got several mini groups I'm working, all last minute, which makes it fun. NOT!
LOL
This morning was chaotic as yesterday I did almost NO PREP WORK to get ready for the week.
Plus, it was just a massively boring day. We had loads to get done, loads of time to do it in, but I just got completely UNmotivated to get a single bit of it done.
I'm kind of hoping I can get out of this funk I am in right now as I'm all over the place.
(which is usually how DH is, especially yesterday)
I so want to quit right now. Its not that I'm pissed at my job, the people or whatever, I just want to throw my hands up and say "I'm done!"
No good though, cannot do that.
Instead gotta calm myself down, maybe grab a cuppa, clear my head, organize my thoughts and get myself back to being productive.

Still here, Still sober.

Pondlady

No motivation here either........blah

munchkin05

Wow! The past two days! GAAAH!
Groups groups groups.
That has been what my day has consisted of. Just now, I have caught up and been...as usual...shopping.
Found out one of my reward cards has money on it from Target so bought a nice new pressure cooker and rice cooker. Our rice cooker is about 15 years old, our pressure cooker is only about 2 years old but it doesn't hit the PSI we need to can meats. Only low acidity veggies and fruits.
I/we want to start learning how to can meats (since we've all been talking about the possibility of going hunting in Alaska, and most definitely FISHING!)
DS last night was "practicing" with his new sling shot which he is forbidden to use against anything other than the fence or trees currently.
This morning in between issuing tickets for my groups I also got some green coffee beans and new towels.
I cannot believe it. The towels were MORE expensive than the coffee! LOL
OOOOOOHHKAY!
Only positive? The towels came with glowing reviews. They better for $100.

DH gave me a big compliment last night without actually realizing he was giving me a big compliment.
He announced during dinner "I think this is the most prepared we have ever been for any move"
I just looked at him with a big smile on my face and said "Thank you and your welcome"
Then looked at DS and said "your welcome to you too"
DS got confused. LOL.
He thought he was in trouble for not saying "thank you" to something.
Told him, nah, Mama has just been preparing for us to move so I've been buying clothes for him, shoes, food, basic stuff, to make sure that even if we are low on money in the next year we'll still be good.
He then chewed his food, obviously thinking it over, then got up, gave me a big hug and said "thanks Mama for making sure we will have a good life in Alaska!"
Awww.
I am feeling pretty good about the progress we've made but just reminded DH we still have the shipment of my new jeep to think about. $3,110 to ship it. We don't want to have to finance that so we have to save & save big for it.
Means not a whole lot more "shopping"
Good news, is only things we still need to replace (because I'm tired of trying to fix them) is the slow cooker and the seal a meal.
Both of which are broken. I fix it and two uses later it breaks again.
We are massively trying to replace all the items now when we've got the extra $$ that are breaking or just super duper old.
Case in point. Our poor towels which are going on 16+ years old.
Hopefully, we'll replace these things and they'll last for another 16+ years. LOL

Well, I have to run. Turns out my next group is coming up for ticketing. Another 13 tickets! YAY! I'm earning my worth today! LOL

Still here, still sober.

Tiredofdrugs

Hi Pond Lady!

Munchkin: Since you are so savvy on getting things off the internet? Next time you have something break or lose it's seal! Call the company to get a replacement before buying another one. Case and point. Our coffee pot lost it's seal on the container you fill up with water. (It's one of those pots that you just push the button on to get your coffee.) Jethro called the company and complained to them. In no time! We had a new container/bucket in the mail headed our way. Free!

I was NOT looking forward to buying another $70.00 coffee pot.

TOD