Apples2

Oh Good! Now I can say what I REALLY want to say!

Not sure how many or which siblings are staying here yet. We have 4 guest rooms so can accomodate a few. I really don't mind having guests and, thank God, I had just given my house a pretty good cleaning. I just came home now to make the beds and make supper to take into the family. Parents moved off the farm 3 yrs ago to a town about 15 miles away. I have a beef stew in the oven and making bread to pop in the oven in a bit. Made them all lunch and came home to prepare the bedrooms. DS is still here and working on a golf course for a friend about 80 miles from here. Living in a motorhome on the course while he works from them. He has interviews coming up but not until the 9th. Grand Forks...about 5 hour drive. I can handle that. Better than cross country.

Both DH and I are good of staying out of his 5 sister's crap. I really don't know how they are all going to survive until the funeral on Monday and the days after. If today was any indication, my bets are on the heavyset sister.

Oh Gosh! My last post sounded crude. No, we are not "hitters" and we will stay out of the messes. Just need a lot of self-restraint. We can do it. We can do it. We can do it. There, I feel better. Thanks for listening to my vent

Let the games begin!!!!!!!!! Why is it that siblings get soooooooooooooooo funky at a time like this. Pulling together would be a better option. So...let's all say this little prayer together: God grant me and DH the strength to NOT knock the ones misbehaving on their A$$. (Is it OK to say God and A$$ in the same sentence? Don't want to get struck down). Thank you for listening, God. Amen

Linda, Phyll and Great...thanks for the condolences...And...I will just thank you all ahead right now cuz I know you will all be jumping on to say something. Heading in to make arrangements this morning and to see the family that has had to travel. Farthest is DH's bro who lives outside of Seattle (Brisbain Isle?). Even though she was 81, it's always tough. But, death is part of life and she lived much, much longer than we ever thought. Dialisys (sp) for almost 10 yrs. Now time to take care of FIL. He's a healthy 85 and full of spunk. This will take the wind out of his sails but he will stay busy. Talk later.

Just a quick check-in. Came home in the middle of the night. DH's mother passed away from a heart attack last night. Wake and funeral plans are not yet in place but they are thinking Sunday/Monday. Thanks for the prayers and well-wishes on that damned appt yesterday. 5.5 hours in the chair...mouth feels like hamburger. At least it is not throbbing like last night. Absolutely no sleep. Romoved top gums in front and behind teeth in front, drilled down 10 teeth to prep for caps and placed 6 permenent caps. Will have a house full for the next week. Gotta go do linens and beds. Later.

Not a dumb question but a cute one. All I can say is that you haven't been exposed to anyone really close to you that has a drug or alcohol problem if you don't know what the 12-step program. All I can say about that is lucky you. I am sure someone else with exposure to the program could explain a bit better than I. I had a couple of neighbors over the weekend that could have joined the program:lol:

OK Girls....this is going to be a "Me" post. Don't have time to talk much but I did get caught up on all your posts since being gone. Sad to say, I am about ready to be on my way out the door again until next Tuesday. Great NSV a bit ago. We have been having a very hot, hot spell. I just spent 2.5 hours in the hot sun tending to my flower beds and enjoyed it. No sweating, no passing out, no passing away. And, all this at 97 degrees. 2 yrs ago DH would have been planning a funeral (a very eloquent one, I would hope). Anyway, love you all. Driving to the lake this afternoon with puppa. 8am dental appt and only 27 miles from lake place but 70 from home. That's where I want to be anyway when I am recouping from this next procedure (s). I see this entire process not a lot different than getting to goal. Hurdles to jump, pain to be gone through, etc. I sooooooooooooooooooo miss you guys. Told DH today that I am going to try to find a way to get internet up there. I'm at a loss on how to do it. I think I should look into the phone thing and hook it up to laptop? Eva? Would that be a possibility????? OK...gotta run. Thanks for all the well-wishes with this mouth of mine. Protein shakes for a few days. I am one that misses chewing and cannot stand to miss a meal. Boohoo...poor me! I feel awful not talking to all of you and responding to your posts. Thanks for sharing the photos, Julie. Nice job. I also love that shade of green. Talk to you all soon. Sending the love

Linda...you look so great. Thanks for sharing the photos of your FL wedding trip.

Hi All...just got home. Catching up with posts and have a full day ahead so most likely wont post till this evening. Great weekend. Deck party was a success and soooooooo lucky I made extra food. We had way more ppl than we expect. Was not a scrap of food left and served for a bit over 5 hours. We laid in bed that night so happy that we decided to do this party. So important to maintain friendships...even just casual ones. Later.

Me too! Me too! Me too! Even if it just has to be short and sweet. But, the offer still stands on buying you and DH lunch or dinner. Better keep a tight hold on Zoey though!

Good Morning All! Just wanted to pop on and say goodbye. Going to try and get out of here within a couple hours. Depends if anything pops up b/4 I can sneak out. You all have a great weekend and will talk to you Monday night or Tuesday. Wed is my most difficult dental appt yet. All in all my appts have gone OK. Just some white-knuckling when I'm in the chair. This next time is the cutting back the gums on the top front and grinding the six front top teeth so they can fit for the caps. So far they have completed lower front and right top and bottom. Gave doc a time limit so I am done for the Vegas trip. Sending the love!

Those goodbyes are tough, Joyce. The longest we went in between seeing our son was a year. We always flew him home every 2-3 months until he got his first job after graduating from college. Other than that, we have been fortunate to be able to fly to where he lives to see him. He had not been home for 3 yrs b/4 this visit but we did spend a week at his home in March. I understand how you are feeling today and so do a lot of other mothers on this thread. I cry every time I have to say goodbye. I was going to be a really brave girl when I said goodbye to the girls on this thread that came to FL. They didn't see me cry but I had to pull over and have a good bawl when I dropped Janet at the airport. And then the same thing when I said goodbye to the others. I'm a sap.

Arlene...CONGRATS on the 3lbs!!!!!!!!!! That's why we play "Follow the Leader" with Janet!

Julie...sorry to hear about your letter delivery. I guess I would request a copy of ALL medical records she has on you. All comments, etc. and go from there. Unless she is willing to sit down with you and explain her decision. It's the least she can do.

And...to add to Janet's comments...there's probably a little 110lb, a 121lb and a 130lb person in that class that is more self-conscious than you would ever guess, Great. Funny story...I was in my very first ins. license class back in 1988....I think I was like 32 at the time. I had to spend 10 days with the same group of 30 ppl. Had this CUTE little blond that sat in front of me. She was maybe late 30's. Her and her male friend joined me for lunch one day. While visiting she dropped this statement...she said "I don't know how many times in the last couple of days I have told my friend that I would die for a knockout body like yours". I just about choked. Reason being....I sat there and stared at her sitting in front of me for about a week thinking the same thing about her body (nope...not bi). My point? I think you get it, right?

DS is out working for a friend at his golf course today. When that mommy pressure starts to hit, he will just think a lot of ppl forgot to yell "fore"!

Happy Anniversary to You Happy Anniversary to You Happy Anniversary Dear Laura and Nael Happy Anniversary to You!!!!!! Again, love the photos and thanks for sharing. What an experience. And, Nels is at an age where he will recall all the memories and experiences you have had on this trip. Safe travels. Sending the love

Good Morning....Lovely day here. In the high 80's to low 90's. I think of Janet's post on being 113 and wonder how I would handle it. A/C and gallons of water. At least when we get 30 degrees below zero here, we can put on layer after layer of Armor wear. You can only strip down so much in the 113 degree weather. I'll live here. Me naked running around the desert would not add much to the natural beauty. I would look like one of those furless cats running around. Janet...that b/4 and after you posted on this thread and the b/4 and after thread was just the best. Such a drastic difference. Were you loaded down with photo comments???? Jodi...your life sounds so interesting. When you feel comfortable, share some photos with us. Your life sounds like the exact opposite of mine. I can go for days without seeing a soul (besides my little family and farm workers). Yours sounds so fast-paced. I am on the run today. Finishing up laundry and housecleaning this morning, detailing my truck, have a hair appt this afternoon and then back home to catch up on my bookwork. Heading out tomorrow again for a full weekend. Dinner with friends Thursday evening, Friday evening is Ag Bash (steak dinner with all types of raffles which raises money for some great causes), Sat our deck party and hopefully Sunday with our boys if they stay with us after our party. Gotta hit it....hope you all have a great day.

OMG...cannot believe I missed our little LauraK's Bandiversary. Happy Bandiversary to you Happy Bandiversary to you Happy Bandiversary, Dear LauraK Happy Bandiversary to you You have done so well. I will speak for all of us here..we love you and are so honored to have been on this journey with you.

Great...nice you could reconnect with an old friend. I hope you can pick right up where you left off. So good for you to start forming some friendships with DH away so much. You know how I throw things together and really don't follow recipes much but will try with this sausage one. First of all...it's all about the sausage. It's the best sausage ever...made by a local locker. So lean and a great flavor. I just grill the sausages and cut into bite-sized peices. Put in slow cooker and add a blend of the sauce. I use the following for a normal size crowd (about 6 large sausages...brat sized). 1 cup pineapple juice 1 tsp white vinegar 1 cup papaya juice (I like fresh) 1 large mango mashed 1/4 tsp salt (I use sea salt) 1 tsp lite soy sauce 2 Tbls honey 1/4 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp minced or dried garlic powder 1 red and 1 green bell pepper (chop it as small as you can....in other words...chop the crap out of it) 1/2 onion chopped very fine Blend all in a sauce pan and bring to just about a boil, stirring constantly. Turn down to a simmer and cook for another 15 min...stirring occassionally. Pour over sausage peices in slow cooker. That's it!

It is a great feeling to think about being able to walk into a "normal" shop again to look for clothes. I had a tough time steering my shopping cart away from the women's dept and into the regular sized clothes. Just take things step by step, day by day, follow ALL of your doc's orders and you will be right where you want to be one day. We have many discussions on this thread about excess skin. I have made the decision to accept what I have....soooooooo much better than what I had b/4. There are ways of dressing that cover our little trouble spots. I guess I look at it this way: If twelve 54 yr old women were lined up,(even without weightloss issues) I don't think a person would find one that was totally happy with her thighs, her arms, her belly, etc.