I did the easiest hour of exercise this morning at the pool. Why haven't I been doing this all along? No heat, no sweat, no jarring of the joints, just very pleasurable aerobic movement for an hour. That's 316 calories burned! There were 5 of us 50+ ladies there, one had 2 grandchildren with her, so I didn't feel intimidated by the sunbathing beauties who monopolize the place on the week-ends. All but one of them were much more overweight than me, so that also helped, but I admired their attitudes and effort. And I did some long overdue socializing with neighbors. I really enjoyed finding out that even the Republicans are sick of Dubya. Our group was evenly divided 2 Reps, 2 Dems, 1 Ind. And no, I was not the one who brought up politics first, surprise, surprise!

Benji, the sugar addict, has started his last diet and is using calorieking.com to keep track of his food and exercise. From what I can tell, it's similar to calorie-count.com, not sure if it's free, though. There is so much good free info available on the internet that makes challenges like weight loss easier. I'm even getting interested in cooking again, and a trip to our local fruit and vegetable stand is on today's agenda. I've got a stress test with a cardiologist scheduled for Friday, also a mammogram. With what I've seen of heart disease, stroke, cancer, dementia, and crippling arthritis, I'm sure I don't want any of it. I'm determined to do what I can to prevent it, just hope I haven't waited too late.

Sad news from Ricky - the runt of Maggie's litter Ginny died. They have 4 healthy puppies left and plan to keep one of them. Cooper's All-Star Team starts the day after they get back from New Orleans. Clay's final report card was excellent; he was on the honor roll. Way to go, guys!

I've got several errands to run, so I'm outta here!