Suziecat

My neighbor and I get along real well, she's the one that I go have Margi's with every now and then. Anyway her hubby lives about 15 miles from here and it looks like they are going to end up getting a divorce. But she has this 19 year old that almost has moved in with her and her 18 year old and her 11 year old. I still can't figure out why a 19 yo would want to hang around a 43 yo for. So hubby and I have dubbed him the toyboy. She's really pushing for us to accept this guy. He is a very nice person and has a good sense of humor, he's just not someone that hubby and I would find ourselves hanging with. He should be out cruising girls or hanging with guys his own age, not people twice his age. And not that I hold this against him but he's a four time felon. The last judge said that he could see a big change in him and felt that he would do better, released him into the world. So I would really prefer to have a tree put up and not have to worry about spending time in our pool and having them ask if they can come over all the time. The kids came over today. I told them that I would grill some hot dogs. I also made some mac and cheese and a few other things. We put the dogs on and I went to check them after about 4 minutes and there was no heat, we had run out of gas. So I put them all in a big pot and boiled them. The kids didn't care. We played badminton with them and Abby was a hoot. Her and Connor ended up using the rackets as servers and the birdies as cups and pretended to make us smoothies and serve us. It was so cute. Now just relaxing and going to head to bed soon. I'm a little on the tired side today.

Good Morning Girls. I'm up and trying to get my butt moving. I need to get to the grocery store and get some stuff for my sis. She called yesterday and said she needed milk and a few other things. I wanna go get that done because there are some things I want to do around the outside today. Kat, my sis lives in a studio apartment in a Senior Citizens Apartment building. You have to be 62 years of age to move in there. She was 53 when she moved in but she is mentaly disabled and that made her eligible. The lady next to her moved out about a montha go to a nursing home and her one bedroom apartment is available. We went over to look at it and she is going to tell them that she would like to move into it. It is really nice and I think she will be happier with a bedroom. Now if we can only get her lazy butt kids to help get her moved and not be left to me to do it like the last time. Sun is shining but we had a lot of rain lately. I think we wil let the yard dry out one more day before we try to mow. But I do have all of that landscape rock I need to get moved to the backyard and put in it's placed. We also want to put a tree up next to our fence on the one neighbors side. They stand on their deck and can see us in the pool and always want to know if the little one can come over to swim. She now has a new boy-toy that we are not real fond of and really prefer to not get involved with that situation. So we are thinking of putting in a Red Bud tree that will fill in that area. Hubby wasn't wanting too but the more he thinks about it, he thinks it will be a good idea. Tracy, you out of the bathroom yet? Hope you are feeling better. Jenn Honey, Check in when you can, we miss you. Michelle, I can't get over how you are bounceing back. That's wonderful. But still don't over do it. Hi Cindy, Irene, Laura and all of our others that haven't checked in for a long time. Make it a good one.

Rainy cool day here today so I have actually done nothing but watch TV and play on the computer this afternoon. I wasn't lazy all day, I did work and then went and looked at an apartment with my sis. Made some chicken noodle soup, mopped the kitchen floor and a few other little things.

Poor Tracy, make sure you keep yourself hydrated.

Hmmmm.....Starting to get that lonesome feeling. Where is everyone??????? Home from work and it's pouring down rain. Really dark here and so much lightning and thunder. Scaryyyyy. Looks like a day were I will be able to get caught up on stuff I have recorded. I put some chicken on to boil and I think I will make some chicken salad for sandwichs for dinner. Still haven't heard back from the Doc's. So still not sure when my surgery is going to be. Hope everyone is doing good.

There's a new housing addition not to far from us and tonight hubby, sis and bil an I went over there to pick up slate rock to do some landscaping in the backyard. It is so beautiful here this evening and we had a good time. Bil took his RC and ran it while we loaded the truck. It was fun to watch him with that little car. It can get up to 45 mph. So now I have a truck loaded with rock. It is supposed to storm tomorrow so we will leave the rocks in the truck for now. This weekend we will back it in to the backyard and unload all of it. I'm excited to have gotten this much done. Took a benadryl a little while ago so I hope I sleep pretty good tonight. Not sure why the last 2 nights I haven't slept real good. I hope everyone had a great day.

Hubby and I just got home. We went and checked out some restaurants. It's my job to find a place for our annual Women's Ministry Dinner. So I went and checked out about 5 places, came home and picked hubby up and we went and checked out a few more. We finished up at SidePockets and ate appetizers and played about 3 pool games. We always have some much fun doing stuff like that. Kat, the winds here today are getting up to 45mph. A storm is headed this way and supposed to hit in the morning. Just in time for me to go to work. Great. It's too windy to do anything outside.

Getting ready to head out and do some errands. It's a lovely day here today and I just want to sit around and do nothing. But I have to get this stuff done. Kat, I hope you FIL is feeling better today with you moving the chairs around. That was sweet of you to do that for him. I can't imagine how uncomfortable that has to be. I'll check in later. Hi, Jenn. Miss you.

I'm up and drinking my hot cocoa. I was real achy last night but it had been a long day. I worked out in the morning and than took doggie to the park for a long walk than we worked at the hospital. I was limping home. Took some aleve and went to bed around 10. Didn't sleep real well but did get some sleep. Oh well. Tracy, keeping my fingers crossed that today will be another good day for you. A day of good choices and happy times. It's a struggle but one I know that you are up too. Do yourself proud.

:tt1: :eek: Yea, Tracy. See what strength you possess. :smile: :tt1: :tt1::thumbup:

Too funny, On the Yahoo home page, Poll: Married women say pets listen better than husbands. Are they just figuring that out? Must be a bunch of men working at Yahoo. By any chance have I mentioned that I hate going to the gym????? Well, I do. I said it but most important, I did it. I went again and I will go again but I hate it. Would rather sit here all day long and let my muscles and fat melt together.

I can't wait for Hubby to meet you Tracy. I'm sure he's gonna love ya just as much as I do. Today is going to be a good day for you, just keep reminding yourself of that. Act as if it is an hourly struggle(which it is). That should help keep you on the right road. I applaud you. Once again we are headed to the gym, I just wish I had gotten a better goodnights sleep. Hopefully I can take a quick nap before we head to the hospital. BBL.

Kat, I have one of those days about twice a month. You just have to learn to laugh at yourself and be thankful you didn't really hurt yourself. Tracy, When I was babysitting hubby wanted the kids gone by the time he got home. He worked lonnnnggg hard hours and wanted to come home and rest and relax. No screaming or crying. There were a few occasions where the parents ran late but nothing to long so it all worked out but I had to take hubbys feelings into consideration. I ended up babysitting for about 3 years and it all worked out ok, I just think hubby was afraid that I was going to give all my time to the kids and not him, lol. Today turned out beautiful. Such pretty skies. A little cool but a lovely day. So I bought some veggies at the market and we grilled burgers and veggies for dinner, yummy to my tummy. We sat out on the deck and talked about our trip. Kat, were your ears burning??? We talked about you and Rick. Now I just need to figure out how to explain Tracy to him, LOL. To bad N.Y. isn't on our way because we could stop and check on Jenn. I called the Band Doc today and his nurse was not there. So the other nurse said she would pull my file and leave it out for her to review in the morning. She also said she wasn't sure if he would take my gallbladder out at the same time. There is a risk of cross-contamination. I told her I would agree with whatever the Doc ordered. So hopefully I will have a surgery date tomorrow. I got lots of sewing done today. I finished the 2 quilts and I just need to iron them out now. I started on the counted cross-stitch wedding picture for my niece, I need to get it done within the next couple of months so I can get it framed. Hope everyone had a great day.

Michelle, so glad to see you home. Now the recovery begins. Take good care and remember to not overdo anything. Jenn, Glad to see you post and it's great to know that you are busy, busy and busy. That's what keeps me out of trouble. Work this morning and then have to run my sis to her Doc appointment. After that I'm pretty much free for the day. Not sure what I'll work on yet. I have a few things I need to get busy on. Make it a good one.

Thanks for the update. Poor Manda. I know when I had my shoulder in a sling it froze up and I had to have therapy on it. I tried several times a day to take it out and use the arm but it still froze on me. Good Luck to her. My surgery was in 87 and I was in for 5 days, they wouldn't let me leave till I passed gas. It's weird how they do it now. We are done with mowing. It stopped raining long enough for us to get it done. It wasn't as muddy as I thought it was going to be but it is supposed to get down into the 40 tonight. And I packed all my winter stuff away last friday, lol.

Any news on Manda yet?

Anybody hear anything on Michelle yet?

Hey Girls. Hi Jenn, we sure do miss you alot. Glad to hear that they had a good time. I hope everything goes ok at Manda's appointment. Sure hope they find out what is causing the problem. I worked this morning and then went to my WW meeting. I'm down 22.6 pounds since I started so I am extremely happy with that. There was a girl there today that is down 10 pounds and she got to telling us that she had had by-pass surgery 3 years ago and lost 100 pounds. She has recently put back on 19 pounds and told herself that it needed to stop and that is what brought her to WW. She still has about another 100 to lose on top of the 19. She was telling that they did the surgery and then there was 6 weeks of follow-up and then they were done with her. Sent her back out into the world with no idea of how to eat now. Even though her stomach says it only wants 1/2 cup of food, her head is telling her that she can eat what ever she wants. Poor thing. I am so extremely proud of my Doctor and the role he plays in our lives. He is so into us it's scary. We have monthly support group meetings, Monthly nutritional meetings, Reboot camp and a whole list of other things that are available to us at no cost. He's awesome. And I use as much of it as I can. When I'm not working I go to the monthly meetings and they are such and inspiration to me. Sure do hope that everything is going ok with Michelle's surgery.

Michelle, I'm sending my best wishes for you and saying my prayers that all goes well tomorrow. I know in my heart it will, you just need to tell yourself that all will be good. As soon as you can, have some one post and let us know. Good Luck and my little angel is on her way to watch over you for me.

Tracy, when I read your post I just wanted to get in my car and drive 12 hours to come and hug you. I'm so sorry you are having problems with your head and your band. I totally understand the struggle between the two. I've had my days, weeks and months where my head wants to rule and not allow the band to do it's work. I would like to think that my band is broke and not working but reality is that it is all fine and I need to make my head understand that the band is in charge. I finally had to go back to WW's to help me with this issue. How sad is that. Al the time and money spent on this band and I have to go back to WW. But I find that it also keeps me accountable not so much for the amount of food I shove into my mouth but also the RIGHT food. I think twice about the ice cream and candy and go for the fruits and veggies. It helps me. Maybe you can find something like that. Have you ever tried Overeaters Anonymous? They are free. Check out some books at the library on eating disorders. Money is also a issue here in this house. I would like to think that Hubby and I have endless buckets of dough. Reality is that he is retired and we are on a fixed income. I mention all the time about getting a full time job and hubby gets mad at me. I really like to work, keep myself busy and the extra money would give us the oppurtunity to do the little extras that we would like to do. Right now I just have this little PT job working about 12 hours a week not even making minimum wages. This trip we are making is going to cost us about 4 thousand and it just kills me to think about what else I can be doing around the house here with that kind of money. But the trip will be doing us both some good. I will get to see people I have not seen in over 25 years, some in over 33 years. And a few on the way home that I have never met but look forward to seeing, hint, hint. It's a cloudy cool day here today. No yardwork because the grounds are soaked. Guess I'll get to crackin on the quilts and get them done. I'm also making some banana bread, need to use up the 3 that I have left that are starting to stink up my kitchen. Have a good one and I'll check in soon.

Michelle, one more thing. Make sure you take your slippers with you. I know they would not let me leave the hospital or even have anything to eat till I passed gas. One way of making that happen is to walk a lot. I got to know all the people on my floor just from walking up and down the hallway. The nurses really liked it but hated when I went down another hall, they couldn't find me, lol. And be prepared that when you do pass that first gas after surgery, IT HURTS. Keep a pillow close by to hold over you belly for when you cough or even laugh. I'm saying my prayers for you. I saved all my calories this morning for dinner tonight. I made bacon and eggs and hash browns. Yummy.

Oh Prom, I hope they have the time of their lives. I went to mine and had a great time. Funny now that I look back at it. I didn't really want to go but the girls I hung around with made a pack that we ALL go. If one didn't then no one else went. So the hunt was on to make sure we all had dates, it was such a hoot. My older sister and brother had their proms at "The Queen Mary". I was so excited thinking that was where we might have ours. Nope. It was at some Hotel near LAX, but it was still nice and fun. I wish I still had my dress. A friend of my mothers made it for me, it was so lovely and nice colors. Rainy day here today so it looks like catch up time on some stuff I have recorded. Maybe get my laundry done also. Thanks for being there when I need you guys.

Kat, so glad you are home but how tramatic that must have been for you. I bet you are exhausted. I too don't understand why they didn't call someone closer or even dial 911, that would have been the best thing to do. Sounds like they really do rely on you more than what they want to admit. Bless you for being there.

Getting ready to head to work. I only have a 3 hour shift to do. I love Fridays. Kat, hope all went well with your dad today. Michelle, Sorry to hear about the Yarn Shop. It's so sad to see the little shops like that close up. I may not use them all the time but I like knowing they are there when I need them.

I found this article and thought I would post it here instead of making you go out and buy the whole magazine. I thought this was really interesting. It's called "Wisdom to Go", When time is short, what really matters? I remembered an exercise I used to suggest in my workshops: I'd ask the participants to make a list of things they would do if they were told they have only a year to live. Then I asked them to write down what they'd do if they had six months to live. After that, it was a month, a week, and then finally, a day. With a year to live, they'd say things like: I'd travel to Istanbul, live in France, stop working, learn to weave, eat as much ice cream as I wanted, eat all the potato chips I've never allowed myself, spend as much time with my children as I possibly could, binge on sweets, stop dragging myself to the gym. With six months to live, they'd say things like: I'd go on a major shopping spree and buy everything I'd ever wanted, I'd travel constantly, I'd never travel again, I'd eat dessert after every meal and especially after breakfast, I'd stop doing anything I didn't want to, I'd learn to sing, I'd eat whatever I wanted, I'd show all my paintings, I'd spend all my time with my loved ones, I'd spend time alone, learn to meditate, eat in the middle of the night and not worry about burning off the calories. But as you imagine they have less and less time to live, the answers become more poignant: I'd hold my children close, I'd tell my husband how lucky I feel to be with him, I'd smell the air, I'd crunch in the leaves, I'd watch the birds, I'd spend every waking moment I could being grateful for still being here to see, breathe, smell touch. Bingeing is never a part of this last list. No one wants to miss a moment of being awake or alive by overeating or not feeling well. Which is a good thing to notice. When you imagine that you have a month or a week to live, you suddenly become aware of what's really important. The entire cheesecake you wanted to eat, you had to eat, suddenly becomes an obstacle. You realize that when you eat compulsively, you feel drained and tired, unable to pay attention to the things you love about being alive, the things you might not notice as you run from errand to e-mail. The size of your thighs no longer seems crucial. Some of the things that feel important when you think you have all the time in the world seem inconsequential when each moment becomes precious. "On the last day of my life, I would want to plant a tree," the poet W.S. Merwin said. As for me, I would want to love extavagantly (and, although I wouldn't want to binge, I would definitely eat a piece of bittersweet chocolate sprinkled with sea salt). Ask yourself what you'd do if you didn't have endless time to live. Ask yourself what your not doing now that you'd do on the last day of your life. Especially, ask yourself where food fits into all of this. Does it make you feel more alive, or does it deaden you? Is it a consolation prize, a substitute for all the pleasures you really want? There is more to the article, I shortened it to fit here. But I'm still processing my thoughts about it. Wandering why I feel with so much to live for that I allow food to take over. There is so much I want to do but I have let food get in my way of enjoying the people and things I want to spend time seeing. I still have a lot to think about but I wanted to share this with you guys with the hopes that maybe something in here will inspire you.