Carlene

I went thru the liver transplant evaluation with someone who had Hepatitis C and I was appalled at the number of health care professionals who drew blood etc from this person, without gloves, and who did not wash their hands after exams, etc. I mentioned this to one nurse and she said, "We are so used to wading ankle deep in blood in the ER, we forget."

My granddaughter lives with me (age 14). She has a younger sister (age 11) who lives with their mother (my daughter). The girls have a paternal aunt who is getting married (finally....the groom had to finalize his divorce first, and they had two children during their "courtship", but never mind that). Auntie called me a couple of months ago and asked if Cheyenne could be one of her bridesmaids. Auntie asked me not to mention it to Emily (the other granddaughter) because "I haven't figured out a part for Emily in the wedding yet". I (foolish me) took that to mean there WOULD be a role for Emily in her aunt's wedding. Spring Break is coming up. Auntie wants to take Cheyenne (the bridesmaid granddaughter) to San Antonio for the week and have the bridesmaid's dress fitted. Okay....but I mentioned this to my daughter, only to learn that nothing has been said about Emily....no dress fitting, no asking permission for her to be in the wedding....nothing. So last night I told Cheyenne to find out from Auntie what Emily's part will be in the wedding. Auntie says she still "doesn't know". So I said to Cheyenne, "I'm concerned that your aunt may leave Emily out of her wedding entirely and if that's the case, you aren't going to be in it, either. You're sisters, close in age, and that's just not right. Emily is going to think Auntie likes you better than her." It was as if I had dropped the bomb to set off WWIII. Auntie called me, screaming that I was "butting into her business"...."trying to ruin her wedding"....and informed me that "this isn't going to happen". Her reason for not including Emily, she said, was that she couldn't afford another dress. "I'll pay for the dress," I said. Then she said she couldn't include her in the bridal party because there was no male counterpart for her on the groom's side. I reminded her that at her brother's wedding, when she was 8 years old, we included a young boy we would not have otherwise, for the exact same reason - so she would not be left out. And I paid for her dress. She told me, in response, that this was her wedding, "not your daughter's". Cheyenne is furious with me, and with her mother (for not bucking my decision). I, however, think this is just a really inconsiderate act on Auntie's part. Turns out she invited Cheyenne to participate because the groom has a 10 year old brother who will be a groomsman and they needed someone close to his height on the bride's side, so the wedding party looks symmetrical. Cheyenne is 4' 10" and Emily is about two inches shorter. So....what do you guys think? I believe family is more important that symmetry. Am I being unreasonable?

Not THAT kind of implant, though. Dental implants. I hate my partial. I'm actually trying to talk DH into taking me to Mexico for them. Everytime he leaves US soil, he thinks he's going to die.

BB.... We're all different. Some people's band are very sensitive to stress. Mine tightens up like a virgin on prom night if I get stressed - even a little bit - while eating. The lump in your throat is food (or liquid) backing up into your esophagus because your stoma is swollen almost completely shut. It might take a week or even two, but it should go away if you baby your band/pouch. I had a "band twin" in my local group - banded the same day as I was - but I came home the same day and she had to stay a week in the hospital, on an IV, because her stomach swelled and she couldn't keep anything down. You might have to just do tiny fills. My (banded) doctor is that way....very sensitive to fills. Also, try small, frequent meals (liquid meals, for a while). I sure hope this corrects itself and you don't have to have your band taken out.

I had aspiration pneumonia from a too-tight band, and my symptoms were identical to yours. If you ever wake up with chills and body aches, get thyself to an ER right away. Aspiration pneumonia is nothing to fool with. It can be serious, and even fatal. I can't remember her name, but a young woman on one of the LB lists not only got pneumonia from being too tight, but one of her lungs abscessed, too.

Count me in.....I'm older than dirt. Plus, I was banded 11/29/04.

If it's cold, I have to drink slowly (not exactly sip, though) or it will come back and re-visit me. And I'm two years + out and pretty tight.

Denise... I have Asthma, too. I was banded in November and was fine until the summer. I was walking 3-4 miles a day and it gets HOT in Texas, and extreme heat plus exertion can trigger that I-can't-get-enough-air feeling (for me, at least). I was using just a rescue inhaler and had to go to regular maintenance meds for awhile, but I'm fine - overall.

Donna... I know this is a new challenge that you weren't prepared for, but you can overcome this, too. When the Cancer is gone, you will appreciate life that much more. Keep a positive attitude - no matter what. I once had a doctor tell me (post-op from major surgery) that if he could bottle a good attitude and sell it, he'd be a rich man with healthier patients. I want to participate in the 3 day walk in October for Breast Cancer awareness. I have a good friend who is 2 years Cancer free and sweating every mammogram. I want to walk for her, and I will walk for you, too.

I wish my DH would "waste" more time on the computer and less on the golf course. Everything is relative to something.

I offered my daughter and son-in-law $5000, plus a great honeymoon, if they would do a "location wedding" with just family. I figured it would be less stressful for me, and I'd come out way cheaper, to boot. But they wouldn't go for it. They were young and they wanted a party with all their friends. Everybody had a wedding horror story to tell me....the bakery, the caterer, the bridal shop owner - everyone. I told my daughter that there was never a perfect wedding. Something would surely go wrong, but if we were lucky, it wouldn't be a major issue. Turned out the disk jockey had written the wrong date in his daytimer, so we arrived at the reception sans music. But I was able to reach him by phone and he showed up ASAP and did a great job. The mother of the groom's job is much easier. All you have to do is wear something that doesn't clash and keep your mouth shut. PS....New topic....is the Electric Slide worse than the Macarena?

I don't know....that sounds pretty smart to me...LOL. I know what you mean. Lucy definitely prances.

The higher-end dept. stores have them - Neiman's, Nordstrom's, Macy's, etc.

Lucy HATES being groomed. She has been banned from a couple of places, even though I gave her doggy Valium before I took her. Now I have the world's best groomer. She is as good as the dog whisperer, I swear. And she doesn't use meds. You can do anything to Jackson and he doesn't care, but bathing Lucy is like trying to baptize a cat! In fact, I have accused Lucy of being a cat in a dog's body. Dogs have owners, but cats (and Lucy) have attendants. You are right, though. The Schnauzers are SMART!

YES! Lucy the psycho Shih Tzu and Jackson the goofy Mini-Schnauzer. Both of them were rescues - more or less. Lucy is such a little twit, I made DH promise that if something happens to me, he will give her to the groomer - the only other person in the world she tolerates, besides me. Otherwise, I know she'd be headed for the dog pound the day after my funeral.

I know I've posted these before, but I can't help myself. Lucy and Jackson

JBean is your evil twin, silly.

Welcome, Newfie Boy. The other guys on this board will be super happy that you've joined. They are way out-numbered by us crazy females. And congrats on your victory over Cancer! Few things are more life-changing than that!

Denise... I get most of my Protein from low-fat cheese, skim milk, etc. I do eat a little chicken and I eat bacon and tuna fish, too. I totally understand about the carbs. I have the same problem - if I keep them in the house, I will eat them until they are gone. I am still struggling with the weight Santa brought me (LOL) for Christmas. It got cold and that was my excuse for not walking. Then, after the Christmas candy was all gone, I found white chocolate M&Ms at Big Lots for $2.00 a bag, so I thought I should stock up. Big mistake. Now half my jeans won't zip, so I am trying to be "good" again. It sure doesn't come off as easily as it goes on, does it?

I'm sure there are, just as I'm sure there are gay conservatives. Nobody believes 100% in every single plank of their party's platform.

WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was having an extramarital affair even as he led the charge against President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair, he acknowledged in an interview with a conservative Christian group. "The honest answer is yes," Gingrich, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said in an interview with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson to be aired Friday, according to a transcript provided to The Associated Press. Gingrich argued in the interview, however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity. Reports of extramarital affairs have dogged him for years as a result of two messy divorces, but he has refused to discuss them publicly. In 1981, Newt dumped his first wife, Jackie Battley, for Marianne, wife number 2, while Jackie was in the hospital undergoing cancer treatment. Marianne and Newt divorced in December, 1999 after Marianne found out about Newt's long-running affair with Callista Bisek, his one-time congressional aide. Gingrich asked Marianne for the divorce by phoning her on Mother's Day, 1999. [Source: New York Post, July 18, 2000, Newt's Ex Wife Aiming to Pen Book by Bill Sanderson, available on lexis]. Newt (57) and Callista (34) were married in a private ceremony in a hotel courtyard in Alexandria, Va. in August, 2000. He later resisted paying alimony and child support for his two daughters, causing a church to take up a collection. For all of his talk of religious faith and the importance of God, Gingrich, who often campaigns on a platform of family values, left his congregation over the pastor's criticism of his divorce. Soon thereafter, Gingrich married Marianne Ginther, whom he had previously met at a political fund-raiser. He called her ''the woman I love'' and ''my best friend and closest adviser'' in his first speech as House speaker, in January 1995... Yet, his relationship with Bisek, a House employee, apparently extended back to 1993 while he was talking of reforming the corrupt welfare state and promoting society's moral regeneration. Rumors of his relationship with Bisek, more than 20 years his junior, did not stop him from writing his political testament, in which he criticized sex outside of marriage, promoted traditional family life and opined that “any male who doesn't support his children is a bum.”

Did I understand that correctly? Are you saying that Alexandra "warned" you about us? The people you seem to have a problem with, including myself, had ZERO to do with "the big mess" on LBT. And I was invited to join B2G, by the way, but just never did. Hello....Earth to Sherri Jo....I gave you the nicest, most agreeable response of anyone. Here it is... How is that "beating up" on you? What are you talking about? I never said anything about running you off! And I didn't ask where or when you graduated.

I don't think you can PM a member who has been suspended.

When we think of a plane crash, we typically think of a catastrophic event, of an aircraft plummeting from the sky. But the majority of accidents involving planes also involve something else: survivors. Hard landings, bad takeoffs, runway collisions, loss of control, and other survivable events make up roughly 56 percent of airplane accidents. And your chances of escaping with your skin intact may change depending on where you're seated. Why? Because most people who die in survivable crashes aren't killed by the impact; they die instead from toxic smoke inhalation immediately afterward. Getting out alive comes down to two factors: surviving the impact, and getting out fast. So sitting in the middle of the plane is not a particularly good bet, since on many planes you're sitting over the center fuel tank. And if the wing tanks are ruptured, vaporized fuel can quickly explode. A general guideline: Your chances of survival increase the most if you score a seat by an emergency exit near the rear of the plane. No one compiles statistics to confirm that one seat is safer than another, so these recommendations are based on anecdotal evidence and personal experience. Each aircraft is different, of course, but a few have seats that are clearly safer (and in many cases, more comfortable). Here's a quick rundown: Plane Type: 757 Safest Seat: Seats 10A and 10F. Though these are window seats, there are no 9A and 9F seats to block your escape, and the exit doors are just a couple of feet in front of you. Plane Type: 747 Safest Seat: Rows 61 through 64, closest to the window. The 747 tapers near the rear, and as a result, there are no window seats in those rows, just extra space to help you relax during a flight…and escape in a crash. Plane Type: MD80 Safest Seat: Rows 21 and 22 have an extra eight inches of legroom because they are near the emergency exits. And they're far away from the engines, which are in the rear of this plane. Plane Type: 737 Safest Seat: As far rear as possible. For safety records of each individual airline and airplane type, check out airsafe.com. For seating charts, check out seatguru.com.

What a prediciment. I'm a Christian Liberal. Would I rather see a Fundamentalist Conservative or an Atheist Liberal in office? I'll take the Atheist, every time. Why? Because I don't believe my religion and my politics are one and the same. Because I don't want Fundamentalist religion taught in public schools, or shaped into law. (This is only fair, since I know of no Fundamentalists who want Catholic prayers, values, etc taught in their kids' schools.) Because I don't think a belief in God is necessary for fair, sound political representation.