I have to tell my experience with amaryllis. I purchased about 6 different ones on clearance one year. They bloomed well, & in the spring I took them outside. They bloomed again in very late summer, & in the fall I brought them inside. They didn't bloom during the winter, but did bloom again the following summer, & continued a couple more years until I forgot & left them out overwinter. I could kick myself for that because I've never seen those varieties again locally for sale. Of course, I never really gave them that dark, rest period. I think if you give them that dark period it lets them think they must bloom when they get light. Without it, they have a different cycle. That is just the experience I had & may be different for others.

Good morning, Karen, take care of yourself and up the vitamin C. I hate strep. Being allergic to most antibiotics I have to go every day for a shot of the only antibiotic I can take. Such a pain. Let's look at the bright side... You may feel too bad to eat and lose a few extra pounds! :) Poor Baby. I'm not trying to make fun of you. Just trying to make you smile. Jas, 15 minutes from the beach! How awesome is that!!!! We started camping with a tent. Then a friend gave us a good deal on a older pop-up. Nothing fancy, but has air conditioning. The older I get the less I can handle these hot, muggy, sweaty days. Harold, I know what you mean about the glasses. I take mine off and turn off the light at night , wake up and reach for them first thing in the morning. Otherwise my world is REALLY fuzzy! Ek, That waist is so tiny I got my magnifying glass out to see it! Encouraging is what Harold does best. Which Carolina are you from? I love both. Our favorite vacation is Nags Head. If it is just the 2 of us we like the off season so we can have the beach to ourselves. Snuck away one New Years and it was GRAND! We were all alone on Pea Island and the sea shells were fantastic!!!! Dh and I have a running contest of who finds the biggest seashell and biggeat piece of sea glass. He ALWAYS wins. One year after a storm I found a gallon vinegar jar washed up and claimed the biggest sea glass for the day!! He said I cheated,but I don't care!! His favorite was when I found a tall wooden step ladder washed up and dragged it forever to reach the truck. Hey, it was already salt treated! I spent a week in Chapel Hill with my niece last May. Loved the shopping. It's a beautiful town. We finally made it to Hilton Head year before last with another niece. Even sneaked down to Savannah and had lunch at 'The Lady and Sons' and checked out the beautiful homes while we were there. I'm dreading starting to work out to tone and tighten. I really need inspiration for that. I can do the treadmill, no problem. But, I don't even want to talk about all of that ab, thigh, etc. I am lazy,lazy.lazy. I will get off of the treadmill and stand in front of the mirror and do maybe 10 bicep curls, tricep extensions, and side leg raises and that's it. Hopefully when I lose a little more weight I can get motivated. I've got this lower stomach thing going on that I've had since I had my hystorectomy 22 years ago. It almost looks like the Dr forgot to bring the muscles back down and sew them back together and they 'pouch' out, for lack of a better word. My niece says she has the same little area since her cancer operation. Maybe the Pilates would help with that? I hope everyone has a great day. Betty

139 on the gym scale today, with shoes, in the afternoon :) I FINALLY got to move that big weight thing on the scale over from the 140 to the 120 to weigh myself. Sure, it was 120 + 19... but still... being on that side of the weight felt great!! 136 on my home scale just now, after dinner, no shoes, in pjamas. YAY YAYAYA YAYAYAYAYAYAYA!!! I am so excited. It feels so good to have validation of my hard work. I hope everyone is having a lovely evening. (of course as I'm writing this I'm thinking... I want a snack!! I could make some popcorn... surely THAT wouldn't hurt! LOL.)

I don't know why but yesterday was my brain didn't function very well and I couldn't remember NOTHING, including to weigh-in. The med clinic i go to is constantly changing "Student Dr." on me. My medical issues have gotten out of hand, so the current Dr. advised me to start taking Flax-seed oil to lower my cholesterol and "...it might help reach a better body weight.." I lost 7lbs in two weeks last visit and now I'm down 7 lbs again. Started 230 then went up to 233, that's when the Dr. got grouchy. started/ current/ Goal. 233____219___175 WELCOME powertoolgeek!!! I thought that was a new friend when I read that name, but I just started in these forums in Sept so I wasn't sure. Then I read silverswords welcome. Congratulations for taking the step to sign on here. I think it always helps to tell someone. Silversword: I just couldn't sleep, I guess that happens sometimes. SJV (San Joaquin Valley) time is more familiar as Pacific Standard Time, I forget not everyone is use to SJV. This valley has less the .25 of the population of San Fransisco OR Los Angeles OR San Diego, but we produce as much Tax income for the state as two of them combined. Agriculture. We have a hard time identifying with the "Big City folks" or the "Terribly-crazy party Folks" in the beach towns. I like to thank my DSIL too, I figure if DB served 23 years USAF, she did too. Baby bro. served his 2years in the Army Take care all, l.marie