ReneBean

Hey, don't laugh about the Protein bar. I never go into the desert without Water & food. You just never know. And I have my beloved "pup tent" in the car right now. I have this HUGE wool coat - calf length size "super fat chick". I have, in times past, used it as a blanket on sleep-overs. I have always called it my "pup-tent". I only carry it when the temps drop below freezing. It's too heavy to actually wear unless I am going to be exposed to the elements for a prolonged period. I am still at the office - but I am getting ready to leave. We closed early due to the weather forecast. So far, Addison is just colder than a witches you-know-what, but little tiny snowflakes were falling when I headed out of Allen this morning - so who knows what awaits me up north. The company party was fun - and I won a prize! Woo Hoo - 100 ovation points. That can actually translate into dollars, or I can pick merchandise off the website. Pretty cool! Now maybe I can get that Digital Camera I have been wanting. Too bad it won't be in time for my trip to FREAKIN NEW YORK!! Oh well. Someday I will get the 47 rolls of film kicking around in my office over to Walmart to be developed! I guess Eileen will have to take pictures for the Immediate Gratification crowd. We have a hot date for Sunday afternoon. Zan? You got a digital camera? When are we going to get together? I should be available every evening after six. Right now, I am putting the finishing touches on my Appeal Letter to the State of California Insurance Board. I am going to send that package out by Overnight Delivery tonight. That is why I am still here, when I should be tucked in under a blanket at home. Everybody pray for a miracle. Well, I have to get back to it. The really bad stuff is supposed to start soon. I want to be sure to be out right in the middle of it!! (lol). I will check in with you guys later. :]

Hugs, Darcey. Anyone could understand your fears. I know that everyone will support you in whatever you decide. Happy Holidays!

Woo Hoo!!! Lisa is approved!!! Yee Haw!! :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana Go Lisa!!

Woo Hoo!!! Lisa is approved!!! Yee Haw!! :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana Go Lisa!! Zan, I will be there all week - and fly out on 12/16 - Friday. I will run some maps and stuff later. !!!

Man, Penni. This so sucks. I am thinking good thoughts for quick healing from this. :[ HUGS! (and pretty sly of you to figure out a way to see Dr. Billy this way...)

Aw, Pat. Happy Bandiversary! Big Hugs!! And you look FABULOUS!! Keep it going slow and steady and you will be at goal in no time. :]

Fingers crossed. Good Luck!

Guess who's coming to Orangeburg, FREAKIN NEW YORK!! Yep, that would be me. I will fly in on Sunday Night. I will push for an earlier plane ticket if Sunday afternoon works for YOU Eileen... Please let me know asap! I will let you know as soon as I get my itinerary. Anybody else want to play? My office is at 1 Ramland Road in Orangeburg. I don't know where my hotel is, yet. I will let y'all know as soon as I do. EEEEEK!! Such fun! I have to run. Tonight is the Company Christmas Party, and I have been informed that the party does not start until I arrive... Such responsibility! Talk to you guys again, soon!

Gopher? That's what my Dad used to call ME! He said that's what kids were for... Congrats on your band! (You whiner!) :]

Go Doll, Go!! You look FABULOUS! :]

Well, if your BMI fits, then you probably have a much better shot at it than I do. I am thinking good thoughts for you. :]

Wow. I haven't put a shirt in the dryer for YEARS!! Congrats!! Woo Hoo! Intentionally shrinking clothes is GOOD. :]

Oh! Oh!! I am so excited!! I had to break into LBT early today to tell y'all that it looks like I will be coming to Orangeburg either this week or next for Due Diligence!! They used to do it in California - but they moved it to our Orangeburg office in the last couple of months. AND - I checked my calendar. No jury duty. No nothing. I could be there as soon as tomorrow!! Once I know, I will let you East Coast Chicks know when I will be there. I want to meet you guys!! TTL!

Carmen - it wasn't boring at all. We who have not had the surgery, that have read all the scary erosion posts and PB nightmare stories, need to hear about the folks who have had successful bands with no major complications. It's also important for us all to be reminded that so much of this battle we fight is in our minds. We are all protecting ourselves from something with this soft squishy armor we wear... and that is what each of us must face. It's wonderful that you have realized your own worth through this process. So many of us don't... And we all should. Big Hugs! Keep up the great work.

Uh - NO. It's NOT better in California. If your BMI is over 50, you will have to fight and scratch and maim to get even a slight chance that BC/BS will pay. I am working on my submission to the State Board of Insurance for Independent Medical review, now. If you can get your insurance pre-auth from the current company and have your surgery before Year-end DO IT. Go to another doc, do whatever you have to do. I may never get this surgery if the State rejects my appeal.

Howdy! Ugh. Work. What fun. My co-workers showed their love for me in a twisted way.... When I opened my file bin, there were 9-10 big fat ugly mortgage files in there - far more than I could have imagined would be left with two people covering my desk... My co-worker sorrowfully informed me that, true to form, the sales staff needed most of the files out by today. ARRRRGH!! But, as I started to pull the files out of the bin, I noticed that the handwriting on ALL of them was the same (the handwriting of my doe-eyed co-worker). AND, the paper in them was suspiciously uniform - not like the "52-card pick-up" files that I normally get... My cheeky co-workers had taken blank reams of paper and a couple of top sheets and made up dummy files to freak me out. (and it worked for a minute or two) I NEVER could have managed all those files, plus a meeting, PLUS two trainings that I had today. Besides, it took me two hours to cut through the hundreds of e-mails I got over two weeks. I thought I was going to have to turn around and leave.... Whew!~ Well, it's way past pumpkin Time for me - so I will have to try to check in again tomorrow. Betty-Girl, I hope you start feeling lots better! You too, Cindy. Geesh. A little bit of cold weather and the Texans start to drop like flies... Hugs you guys. Irene

We're gonna have a little soul parade Before they know the 2nd bar was played We're gonna slip it to 'em short and sweet on 52nd Street. Ohhhh I am jealous! Have a great time!

Go, Tigger, Go! Congrats on your Band!~

Yee Haw!! Go Margo, Go!! (I'm very much afraid that I am in the "HaHa no way in hell without elastic" category for a while.....Sigh.) Rock on!

Well, wearing a girdle helps. That way your body isn't fighting gravity as it tries to absorb that excess skin. If you are talking about actual fat, a little spot work can't hurt - but, if you are just one of those people that is shaped with the larger lower half - you are fighting your own genetics. I am very much afraid that you will lose in a fight with Mother Nature. :[

ok - I found your thread - but there must be something wrong with the Search function - because I searched for 'wicked' in the title and got nothing. I had to pull up all your posts and work my way from January until I found it. I remember the "I hate fat people" post, too... I will keep searching. Does anybody remember who started that thread? If we knew, we could find it the same way.

Bumping by request of the Queen. You did start it in February - but it was bumped last in September - and that is where I found it. :]

Howdy Folks. Since it's a school night, I am checking in at a decent hour.... You know, they say it MIGHT even snow here in Dallas - Brrrrrr. A couple of inches of snow will pretty well shut the city down. Eileenie, you naughty thing! Throw a snowball for me! I am holding my lottery tickets up to the screen right now.... Pat, your home is beautiful! And so well decorated, too. I think I would like you to come for a visit to my house! (and bring the brew!) My decorating skills pale in comparison. Besides, you have Cookies... mmmmmmm. Where is everybody today? Betty? Cindy? Ira? Zan? I think we have to assume that Patty is worn out after the Golden party for Lewis... I hope everybody is having a great weekend. Hugs!

Hey All!! The vacationing Night Owl is checking in. We went out today to mail my Secret Santa gift (uh - yeah. I am the world's biggest procrastinator) and to finish up on some shopping. We ended up shopping more than buying (as we did yesterday) but we did cross a couple of folks off the list. Our last stop of the evening was at the famed and much dreaded Romano's macaroni Grill. They had a special tonight: Lobster Lasagna... MMMMMMM. So bad, but soooooo gooooood! Monday, it's back to the routine.... I swear. Besides, we HAD to go there. We needed a gift card! :] Tomorrow - we aren't leaving the house! I have had enough travelling and roving packs of humanity for at least a week!! It will be almost refreshing to go back to work. Tomorrow is all about doing some laundry and watching some movies. Eileenie - did you get any laundry done? I have been looking at new washer/dryer sets, too. I have these ancient things I bought 16 yrs ago that are still chugging away - but I just know they are going to die any day now. It's amazing the new stuff they have - but the prices are amazing, too... Cool thing about the necklace - especially that you already have matching earrings. I'll bet they were hoping you would swing by the jewelry counter to buy earings or a bracelet to go with that. It's really great that you won something you would actually wear! Jewelry isn't exactly universally appealing. Can I have you touch my lottery tickets for this month, please? If I win "the big one", I will pick up the matching bracelet... :] Pat - your Harley Tree is awesome! And geez... how many Santas do you have?? I think you might have more Santas than I have Christmas albums... and I have a LOT of Christmas albums... This year, I added Al Green and Brian Setzer to my collection. Your house looks Festive and Beautiful! Merry Christmas!! And don't forget to give us the low-down on the cookie party. That sounds like fun! Did your Son's GF really go into labor? Do Tell. Patty - How was Knotts berry Farm? I haven't been there in AGES. I think I was about 10 the last time we went. And how is Lewis? Is he up and Raring to Go on his big day? Aren't you glad that you aren't married to his father anymore? Gosh, for HIM, those kiddy parties DO just appear out of nowhere - courtesty of Patty! What an idiot he was to give YOU up. I can't imagine that you didn't do nice things for him the way you do for everyone else. I betcha the new babe doesn't do half the cool stuff you did. It is DEFINITELY his loss. Hang Tough, Honey. If you want one, there will be another man along. There always is.... for goddesses like YOU! Cindy - you lucky Mouseketeer! Your own pair of Golden Ears? I am jealous! You will have to take a pic in them and use it for your new avatar! :] At the very least, we will expect a picture of the decorated yard... Those of us who don't decorate much are living vicariously through you & Pat! Post, Post, Post, Post... We love pictures! I do have my Santa out - and I hung my Santa/Joy wall haning in the entryway. Since I have forest green wallpaper in there, it looks VERY festive with Santa against the green backdrop. I guess I am going to have to invest in a digital camera one of these days, so I can post pictures, too. But, gosh. I don't even have a cell phone... I am sort of the last kid on my block to get that kind of stuff. Zan - it makes you feel old when your co-workers don't know stuff like that, huh? I know it does me. And Eileen & I have already had the bail discussion. I think if we all save up, we can bail each other out... I think we were talking about stalking Mel Gibson in Southern California.... Tell you what, if I get to go to Due Diligence in Orangeburg - we will get together one night. Who can we stalk in New York?? Ira? Oh Ira? Where are you, Darlin'. You know that the estrogen cloud gets a little thick in here without you. Check in, please. :] Well, guys, it's off to bed for me! Hope everybody is doing great! Maybe tomorrow I will get to check in during civilized hours, since I won't be out shopping. G'Night!

Ah the weekend.... The last two glorious days of my vacation. Then it is back to the Salt Mines... I must confess that I have taken the full two weeks off - from everything. I haven't thought about my appeal too much (or filed it) - although I did FINALLY get the denial letter from our friends at BC/BS. The Post Date on it was November 17th - and I didn't get it till several days after that. I haven't been to the gym. I did mess up my back from driving and sleeping on my Mom's guest bed - I am still medicating for that. Hopefully, I will be up to snuff on Monday so that I can get back into the WHOLE routine. So, until Monday, I am basking in a sea of laziness - eating whatever I want, whenever I want and knocking back the Tylenol with Codeine while I sleep in a proper bed... (My back feels LOTS better after I started the Meds.) Clearly, I am staying up far too late and my sleep schedule is all out of whack. Maybe I will just stay in bed all day Sunday and see if I can't turn it around... Thanks you guys for all the sweet comments about my new photo. Really, I can't take credit for a fab gene pool. I don't think I can even really claim Clean Living! I am just blessed by the gods & mother nature. Anyway, the same gene pool that gave me good skin and fab hair is the one that made me blow up like a balloon at the mere thought of food... Sometimes I am glad that I was fat from childhood - because I just KNOW that if I had been thin, I would have been the world's biggest BITCH. I am spoiled enough as it is. How much worse would it have been if the world had bent over backwards to please me for my whole life? It's almost scary to contemplate. I think fat was a balancing factor so I wouldn't be a danger to myself and society! Anyway, I have to go. It is well after my bedtime and I have to scurry out to the post office tomorrow and mail stuff. We got the final component of the gift for DH's DD and the Grandkids. Now it can all be shipped. Hugs All Around! G'Night!