Teachlady

Good morning, Violets.. Just checking in. Ethan is here for the day and he's playing Wii right now. Sun is shining and it's supposed to get to 75 so hopefully some pool time today. Yesterday was two rehearsals, a church meeting and then fishing with Kris and Nathan. The boat motor fizzled so we paddled back in and went fishing off the shore. No luck, but it was a nice evening anyway. Eating has been good.. no ice cream.. only sugar is some life savers. PamELa.. glad you're done with the procedure. Anxiously awaiting pictures. TracyK.. where are you???? Terry... happy anniversary and congrats on avoiding the chocolate. Off to find some breakfast... Everyone have a great day.. Be good to yourselves.

TracyinKS.. LOVE the haircut!!! Roomie............NOT GOOD. You told us to be honest with you when you strayed. Honey, you didn't stray, you walked right off the path into the woods. STOP. Get up and walk some of that ice cream off. Do it NOW. And I'm going to be watching. Good that you admitted it though. confession is good for the soul. I ate very well today and swam and did exercises for an hour in the pool, then laid on the raft for a half hour. Heaven. Off to my singing rehearsal. I'm jumping in the pool when I get done. BBL..

He's gonna be a biggun! Grady at almost 5 months is 20# and 27". And I thought he was big!

Good Morning, Violets.. The sun is shining, it's 72 degrees at 9:14 a.m. and the pool is warmed up from 72 to 84 overnight. It's a pool day today for sure. No Ethan until Thursday so I have all day to swim and exercise today. It's been a long time since I've been able to do that. I have a church meeting at 4:30 and a singing rehearsal at 7 so my evening will be busy. Jane..hugs to you, sweetie. If our love for you could make you lose weight, you'd be a stick right now. Now get yourself to love you that much and you'll be surprised at the results. We all could benefit from loving ourselves more. We are VIOLETS and we rock!! I had a half of a Morning Glory muffin for breakfast. Lots of fiber, carrots, raisins and dang filling. I took a water pill yesterday for the first time in a very long time and my rings are spinning this morning so I must have needed it. I'm hoarding them as I only have a few left and don't want to go to the doctor just to have a check up for pills. The script is Bob's and the pills are leftovers since he uses different pills now. I know my doc would prescribe them for me, but he wouldn't do it without seeing me in person first. So I'll wait until it's time for a physical. Off to get dressed and clean house before I head outside for the day. Everyone make it a great one and BE GOOD TO YOURSELVES!!!!!

Good evening,Violets.. The pool heater is reinstalled and heating up the pool. Only problem is that the pool is almost overflowing. We have had sooooooooooo much rain!! Bob has to go out and backwash to get rid of some of the water. No biking tonight because of the rain, but I have not had sugar today, so that's a good thing. TracyinKS.. ((hugs)) Sounds like things should be much more normal for you and Robby now. Cody sounds freaky. You're much better off without having to fear what he'd do to Robby. How is Robby doing this summer now that school's out? Suzie...(((hugs))) and hope you get in that pool and chillax. I hope to get in ours tomorrow. Off to fill up the hummingbird feeder and check all the flowers. Everything is REALLY green and wet! Have a good evening...sleep well. We've almost made it through today!!

Just checking in... done with the hospital shift and no sugar yet today. Going biking tonight after supper. My cell phone died today. At&t said it was from water. Who knew? It hasn't been near water, ever. And Laura.. the humidity in Alabama was bad, but not any worse than we have had here and it never affected my phone before.

Good morning, Violets.. it's 63 degrees, but the sun is shining and it's supposed to get to 78 today. Suzie.. I don't know when summer will arrive this year. I haven't been in the pool in weeks. The water temp is 72 even with the solar cover on. It just gets so chilly at night and no sun during the day so it never warms the water up. Hopefully they will come with the heater part today. But we'll need to talk about the ph in the pool first. My sticks say it's fine. Their stick says it's fine, but another test they do says it isn't. I don't know what to do. I'm off to the hospital to make up some more patient education packets and then nothing to do the rest of the day. I'm so hoping to be able to work on my tan in the afternoon, but it all depends on the sun staying out. Jane.. you can read that we all have frustrations with the band. Today I'm going to make it a no sugar day. I devoured a whole jar of Nutella in 3 days last week. Not the band's fault!! Do you have an in person support group you can go to?? It helps going to mine and hearing stories of success and less success. We all need to be accountable. And that's what we're here for.. to help each other be that way. So hang in there with all the rest of us. We want to be "losers" for Haydee's wedding next year!! Everyone have a great day. Be good to yourselves and follow the bandster rules!!!! Remember them????

Found the info.. interesting.. Thousands of people last week discovered that Amazon had quietly removed electronic copies of George Orwell's 1984 from their Kindle e-book readers. In the process, Amazon revealed how easy censorship will be in the Kindle age. In this case, the mass e-book removals were motivated by copyright . A company called MobileReference, who did not own the copyrights to the books 1984 and Animal Farm, uploaded both books to the Kindle store and started selling them. When the rights owner heard about this, they contacted Amazon and asked that the e-books be removed. And Amazon decided to erase them not just from the store, but from all the Kindles where they'd been downloaded. Amazon operators used the Kindle wireless network, called WhisperNet, to quietly delete the books from people's devices and refund them the money they'd paid. An uproar followed, with outraged customers pointing out the irony that Amazon was deleting copies of a novel about a fascist media state that constantly alters history by changing digital records of what has happened. Amazon's action flies in the face of what people expect when they purchase a book. Under the "right of first sale" in the U.S., people can do whatever they like with a book after purchasing it, including giving it to a friend or reselling it. There is no option for a bookseller to take that book back once it's sold.

You don't know what a Kindle is??????? It's an electronic book put out by Amazon. You buy books and they are instantly, electronically put on the Kindle. I heard about 1984, Laura. I'm going to check it out. Bob says you can still buy it on Amazon, so I'll see what I can find out.

I just had this one sent to Bob's Kindle. Thanks for the recommendation.

Every teacher needs to read Glass Castles. I can't wait for Julie/Julia to come out either. We are watching Last Chance Harvey tonight. It's been a very yucky day today. Rain, sun, rain, clouds, rain and more rain. 65 degrees and I'm ready to close the windows to keep it warm in here. I had a longgggg nap with the pets today and now it's time for dinner.. pork chops and potato salad, cabbage and corn. Hope the protein stays down!

Good morning,Violets.. The cook out was a cook in last night as it was raining and very chilly. My potato salad was a hit and I was able to keep the regular food down without pbing. My friend Kathy who also has the band split a plain burger with me so that helped. She is looking really, really good. I think she's lost almost 80#. She crossed her legs last night and that was a first. I'm really proud of her. I'm up and ready for church. Bob is preaching at the Presbyterian church in town while their minister is on vacation. Service isn't until 9:30 so I get a little extra time before I have to be there. Our church starts at 10. Everyone have a great day. Be good to yourselves.

Off to a cook out. Laura.. I loved that movie. Hope you like it too. Grady has been really good today. He's sound asleep right now and his daddy is here to take him to the reception for a little bit before he goes to his other gramma and grampa. The sun came out for a little bit, but right now it's 68 degrees and chilly. I better take a jacket along in case we sit on the deck outside. Everyone have a good evening.

Good morning, Violets.. Another ton of rain last night. I don't have to water any of my plants today. I see a hint of the sun, but it's 64 degrees and only supposed to get up to 70 today. No heater in the pool yet so it sits there unusable. The pool guys are involved in fishing during the Brown Trout festival here so they won't be out until next week sometime... hopefully!! Grady comes at noon for a couple of hours while his mom and dad go to a wedding. Then he's going to his other gramma and grampa during the reception while Bob and I go out to a cook out. Not much else on the agenda. I have a new grandpup. DS Josh and family got a dog from the humane society. He's part boxer, part terrier and is named Charlie Brown Case. He was taken from his owner because he was being beaten, so he's scared of loud noises, but is very good with the kids and they just love him. Off to fix my breakfast. Everyone have a great day and be good to yourselves.

Yup.. global warming. The polar ice cap is melting at an extreme rate and that warms the oceans which alters the current system in the Atlantic ocean. Even one degree of difference will cause some places to get arid, some to get colder, some warmer and some islands in the pacific will disappear. It has nothing to do with the day to day temperatures. Grady has gone for the day, but I'll have him for during the wedding tomorrow. Then we head to a cook out at friends. He was pretty good today. Just had one crying jag when he got overtired. He finally took a two hour nap and that was appreciated! He loves to sit on my lap outside so we did that for a long time today. Off to bed soon. I didn't get to sleep until 2 this morning and don't want to do that again. Everyone have a good evening. Sleep well.

Awww, thanks, Roomie!! Grady is finally laying down for a snooze. He was supposed to go to sleep at 3 for two hours, but only made it a half hour. I'm hoping this snooze will be a bit longer. We just had a storm come through yet again. Strong winds and rain, but now the sun is shining again even though I hear thunder in the distance. 72 degrees. Certainly isn't a typical summer. I tried to eat left over kabobs for lunch, but they wouldn't go down. I ended up having a little of the potato salad I made. It was yummy. My mom used to love potato salad. This batch would have made her very happy. Off to watch NCIS and then figure out what's for dinner. We can't go out as we have Grady until 8. I'm thinking Bob might make a run to Taco Bell for some fast food.

Good morning, Violets.. I finally see the sun today. It rained all day and night yesterday. I took a long nap just cause it was that kind of day so of course I couldn't get to sleep last night. Finally got off the computer at 2 a.m. and slept til 9 this morning. (I was downloading songs to my mp3 player for my last free day that came with the thing) TracyinKS... ((((hugs)))) Be strong and take care of yourself and Robby. I have Grady from noon till 8 tonight. Kris is a bridesmaid in a wedding this weekend and she's helping with things today, plus getting the food for the rehearsal dinner. The groom's parents don't have much money so Kris offered to provide the pizzas and other things for the meal. She's such a sweetheart. I'm off to fix some breakfast and then get started on making potato salad for tomorrow. I made Island-Style skewers for dinner last night. They had shrimp, chicken, mango, onion and pepper with a mango terriaki marinade. They were sooooooooo good. Leftovers are for lunch today. Everyone have a great day. Be good to yourselves. Oh... Jane!!!!! I used the last of the Ocean Spray coupons yesterday. You have saved me over $30 in drinks the last few weeks. THANK YOU!!!!!!

You are sooooooo welcome and that's my little secret. 63 right now with a high of 65 expected. Ahhhhhhhh summer.

We're right here for you.... always.

Good afternoon, Violets.. I'm back from the funeral and am emotionally drained. The service was in the gym and it was packed. There were so many of his classmates there. I got to talk with his stepmom before the service and she was doing well. I did ok until the slide show at the beginning. The very first picture was his Kindergarten pic and it was tears from there on out. There was no minister. His coaches spoke about him as did the principal. They all did a great job and made us laugh and cry. Then his girlfriend got up and she started out really good telling little stories and then she went on and on and on and on.. even to the point of yawning herself several times. She talked for 25 minutes!!!!!! And they were just silly little stories. We all knew she needed to get things said, but it really went on way too long. Finally someone in the audience clapped and that signalled her to stop. The principal said just the right words. He said Josh was not an A student, but he was a GOOD kid, always smiling, always friendly with everyone. Josh always referred to himself as The Man, The Myth, The Legend. What a goofball. He certainly will be missed. The hardest part was watching all the young men that had been on his baseball, football and wrestling teams sobbing as they went to the casket. You try and protect your children from being hurt, but you can't do anything about this kind of hurt except be there for them. I'm home now and Bob is still at his meeting. I might try and get a short nap in before he gets home.

Good morning, Violets.. Suzie.. I too had a long post last night that disappeared so I gave up and went to bed. So frustrating! I'm up and going to get ready to head to Mio for the funeral. More info has surfaced and now the State police say Josh could not have killed himself so they are investigating the cousin. He just finished boot camp. I can't imagine the guilt he is going to deal with the rest of his life and I certainly hope he doesn't become a soldier with all of that on his mind. He's 18 and his life will never be the same. I'm driving over by myself and just staying for the funeral, not the internment or luncheon. It's 63 and looks like a funeral day.. dreary and cloudy. I got a little sun yesterday and hope to get some more this afternoon when I get back. Hope everyone has a good day. I have my eating under control again.. at least for the last two days. Soup has been my friend. I only pb'd one meal and that was because I ate a couple of crackers before my soup arrived yesterday. Live and learn. Be good to yourselves, ladies.

Good Morning, Violets.. Hospital shift today since I didn't do it yesterday because of a dental appointment and babysitting. Grady was very good yesterday.. as long as I held him. My back is not used to an extra 20#. I can't imagine how I carried 50 extra pounds for so long. It sure makes me realize how far I've come. I had a bad episode of acid reflux Sunday night. I really hate that feeling of not being able to swallow and coughing and tasting that bitterness. I swore then and there I wasn't going to eat anything after 7 p.m. I ate perfectly yesterday and no reflux. The scales don't show any movement, but then again I was not perfect on the shopping trip.. actually pretty far from it. I pb'd all the good stuff and kept down all the bad. It's 52 degrees here right now.. the pool temp is 74 and no heater until the end of the week, so no pool exercises this week. I really miss it. Michelle...hope your headache is better and hope you have another good eating/moving day today. TracyinKS... so sorry to hear of your troubles. You know you need to do what is best for you and Robbie. Life is way too short to live it unhappily. TracyK... yes, dear.. I still love ya!!!:bored: I've been feeling pretty bummed since hearing about my former student. His friends set up a facebook page for him. Another teacher and I will be going to the funeral tomorrow. I had Joshua, his sister Jessica and his half sister Brooklyn all as students. My kids were always called the Case Kids. When I retired, my para pro made me the very best present. She made a scrapbook and went grade by grade K-12 and had my former students write what it meant to be a Case Kid. I just looked up what Josh wrote this morning. He remembered the Reading Buddies, Tutoring, ginnie (his spelling) pigs and wearing pjs to school. I'm so thankful I have this book to look back on. There is also a picture of each class I taught so I have Josh's kindergarten picture. That's how I'll always remember him. Just finishing up my breakfast and time to go get dressed. Everyone make it a VERY good day. Eat like a bandster and exercise!! We all need to get down to business again on this weight loss journey.

I just found out that the 16 year old that was killed was one of my favorite kindergarten students. Josh Chartier. He was always smiling.. always well behaved. Just a neat little guy. He was cleaning a loaded gun and it went off and killed him. The funeral is at the school on Wednesday. I'll be driving over. It's sad when anyone dies, but more so when it's someone who has never reached their full potential. Please hold his family in your prayers tonight.

Good evening, Violets.. We're back from our shopping weekend. I got a couple of shirts and a kabob basket thingy for the grill. Grady was a trooper at the mall. Kris, Grady and I walked and shopped for 4 hours. I was sooooooooo exhausted that night. My knee hurt and my back hurt. But dang, I slept well! Bob and I went to church this morning and after the service a lady came to me and told me I had a beautiful voice and would I be interested in joining the choir.. lol I told her I was from Alpena and I directed our choir and she said.. "I should have known". It was such a good service, so warm and friendly and a very good sermon. Certainly isn't like that at the church here. The only sad part about shopping yesterday and today is that Kris couldn't find an outfit to wear for a special occasion next month. She was so discouraged because she hasn't lost her baby fat yet. I knew exactly how she felt having been there, done that. She's going to get a personal trainer next week and hopefully she will be motivated to lose those pounds. The special occasion is the committment ceremony for Bob's cousin's son and his partner. It will be at the theatre in Traverse City (2 hours away from here) as that is where they met and work. I'm anxious to see what kind of ceremony they will have. Michelle.. I'm with you and everyone else.. it's time for us to get off our butts and follow those bandster rules we know so well. I pb'd more this weekend than I have in a long time. I don't know what the problem is, but I'm hesitant to eat much now. Of course the chocolate and ice cream still goes down like a charm. :wink2::mad: My mini-goal for this week is to NOT overindulge in sweets. We'll see how that goes. I got a call from one of my former colleagues and she left a voice mail saying she had some news about a former student of mine. I haven't been able to get her on the phone yet, but on Facebook it said a Mio student was accidentally shot and killed. He was to be a Junior this coming school year. Mio is a small community with the school being K-12 all in the same building. The graduating class is usually 30-40 students. I don't know which student this is until I find out his last name. I'm dreading finding out. Everyone have a good evening. Sleep well.

Good morning, Violets. I thought I would be the first to post today, but I see Laura beat me to it! I'm up and getting ready to head out for the weekend. Will check in tonight on the laptop, if I can. Everyone have a great day!!