Apples2

Awwwwwwwwwwww.....what a nice baby, Joyce:wub:

I just had to come back here and post this. Was reading an email from a friend and came across this saying..."Family is like fudge...sweet but with a few nuts"....says it all!

Laura...PP and poo poo to your SIL for being so into her own world that she would not even be sympathetic to your poor dad and what he is going through. DH has 6 siblings and NOT A ONE has EVER said a word regarding my weight loss. But, pretty easy to detect who his 5 "B" sisters are talking about when they are in a corning whispering. Oh, and the pointing just gives them away. No a word. Extended family is just that. You don't have to like them. I am courteous and greet them, etc. but find some of DH's siblings to be egotists who cannot even come home to help mom and dad in a crisis. Now that's just plain selfishness. I figure there should be an 11th commandment. Thou shalt not be egotistical and selfish. Well, a 12th one could get thrown in for good measure...thou shalt not huddle, point, and whisper! I think every family has them whether it be BIL, SIL, MIL, etc. They come in all forms and sometimes you really just don't have the time or patience to figure them out. The way I feel is that I just don't have the time to waste on figuring out why they are the way they are. Boy, have I sailed through this house today. Squeaky clean (most of it). What a good feeling. Even had DS take the pressure air hose to the area rugs. It all smells so good. I sprayed the dog with his in between bath spray even. Bit of a gloomy day here. Cold, windy and cloudy. Good day to get something baked and into the freezer and ready for drop-in company. Might head up to the lake this weekend. Depends on the weather. (Breathing in a paper bag)...excited.

Hey Shawna...first off congrats on taking the steps with getting the LB and your start to a new/healthy life. Also, congrats on the 24lbs lost thus far. No tricks really to getting your first fill. Just take it as it comes and try not to worry what it will be like. I have only had 2 fills and both were a peice of cake. No discomfort or pain. Stomach was just a little "stiff" the next day. My doc has no restrictions on food b/4 or after a fill. I was very careful and stuck to very soft foods or liquids for a couple of days just to be sure things were moving smoothly. Just follow your doc's rules and you should sail through it. Good luck!

No, no, no...Julie...you don't want to listen to me sing. I have no shame that I really cannot sing. I just belt them out and try not to offend if someone sneaks in the house unnoticed. Happy you watched it yesterday and did not lift. I was ready to come at you with both barrels!!!!! LOL

So funny, Janet...My guys worked until dark (9pm) so a late dinner. My dinner was a big bag of popcorn and a greek yogurt. Great minds think alike. Thanks for wishing "normal" days ahead for me. I am going to MAKE it normal. Already have a good start on the house cleaning which has been ignored lately. I am picky and it drives me nuts to have things in disarray. So, my plan is to put a bunch of my favorite CD's in the Bose and sing while I put this house back in order. Also, have fun and games planned for me and Tanker (my dog). Bike rides, ball throwing, swimming in the pond (him, not me) and just get things back to normal around here. Peach pie is cooling on the counter and have Southwest chipolte potatoes and seasoned chicken ready to go in the oven when the time comes. I do feel like this will be a normal day. Youngest DS felt so good today (got home yesterday from hospital) that he is flying to the Masters today to watch a little golf with some friends. I think he is pushing it and a little too soon for that but I'm the mom and didn't say anything cuz I don't want to "mother". He's a grown up. Just happy he feels good enough to do it. Damn the kidney stones!

Good Morning... I'm so far behind with the thread that I am just going to say good morning and try to remember. Anyone omitted....I'm sorry. Eva....you're so creative. I would love to come to your house for a dinner sometime just to get some new ideas! Good going on the long walk. I have not been getting any exercise the last week or so because of too much going on...I hate not moving. It is such a huge stress reliever for me. Today I am going to be on my bike with the dog and everything else will have to wait. Janet....LOVE the new photo. Heck I LOVED the last one too. No wonder "Fred" did a double-take. Your puppas are soooooo cute too. And, just so hard to comprehend flowers this time of year. Great...hope you are having fun. Make sure to come home with photos! Julie...hope you got a good night's rest. Do you think you should be doing that kind of work with the shape your neck is in right now??????????????? Laura...I know it's so difficult for you to watch your parents struggle with all this. Good girl for making things extra special for them. I bawl like a baby with goodbyes. Especially with my sons. And, it's OK for Nels to see you cry and it's OK if he is a cryer. It's emotions and feeling your emotions is a good thing. Especially if males can feel them when they are young. My brain has been over-taxed the last couple of weeks and I cannot even think what to write (shush...I can hear you all "Apples doesn't know what to write?????") Just going to say have a good day. Hope everyone is back on track after the Easter festivities. Had my first ham ball EVER. I do not like ham but these were really good. Had a pineapple sauce on them. Gotta run...have a good one!

Popping in quick with an update. DS is much better and should be home today from hospital. Thanks for all the support. All this scared me into next week. Was ready to drive to MPLS to hop a plane, but DH made me wait a few hours on Sat. until we could pin down exactly what was going on. Long story short, intern was in surgery and he was the one that talked to DS afterward and mentioned the kidney removal. Scared the crap out of us when we got the call and knew they were going to transfer him. DS did not even know the name of the hospital he was in when he called but he knew where he was being transferred to. Anyway, intern jumped the gun (not ER doc) and should have never went so far as to say what he did. Got us pretty worked up. All is good now and did not fly out. Spent most of the day yesterday on the phone with DS and another couple of hours last night. What is so nice is that his good friends jumped in and we felt good about not flying to Atlanta because they are taking good care of him. Hope you all had a great Easter and all getting back on track after the mass consumption (our lingo for holiday meals). Thank you again for all the thought and prayers. I am hopeing this week is event free and it's just the normal farm life.

Update....talked to DS. Not making much sense. Must be the meds. They are transferring him to another facility. Fever is coming down. Does not make sense what first doc said about kidney removal. ER doc is one that said . I am thinking he doesn't know crap. Better off at another hospital. Most likely will fly out tomorrow. Feeling better now that fever is down. I have a feeling this will all be fine. Will keep up with you all and let you know

OK Friends..got a call from youngest in Atlanta. He just got out of surgery. Called his dad when we were having lunch. Was loud in the restaurant so DH stepped outside. He has been having a difficult time with kidney stones the last few months. Anyway...yesterday he was at his bank and went down. Ambulance trip to hospital and they had to go into the kidney to remove a mega-sized stone and they found infection in the kidney. Doc stated he would need to do kidney removal if anti-biotic does not kick it. This just sounds so drastic. And, DH did not THINK to ask what hospital he is in. Gotta see in the next couple of hours if I can track him down through friends. I have tried and tried his phone in the last hour but no answer. I imagine he is out of it if he just got our of surgery. I DETEST that I have passed this on to my boys. Anyway, those who say prayers, please pray that he does not lose that kidney. Thanks for listening. Love you guys

Julie...I love the idea of little black dresses that these girls can get use out of again. I have soooooooooooo many bridesmaid dresses stored in the closet in the basement that cost so much never to be worn again. I should go down and look at them just for old time sake. Some are so bad. Pleats and butt bows and poofs and sparkely things. I love the idea of being practical. Well, getting pretty excited to see the boys make their trip into town. (Our local National Guard unit). A lot of these kids are friends of both our DS's, went to school with them, served with DS the first time in Iraq. Woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep just too excited. We are so happy they will be on home turf now and also hoping this is it for deployments out of our unit. At least every one of them are coming home this time alive and with absolutely no injuries. :bored: My salads are made for tomorrow. DH and I are going out for lunch (very rare occurance) after we wave the boys in and then out to our University for the coming home ceremony. After that, going out to dinner with friends. Looking forward to it all. Hope you all have a great weekend whether it is spent with family or friends. Happy Easter

Melissa...try not to let what happened in your past affect the future you want for yourself. There's a saying: "There is a reason people from your past did not make it into your future". Try not to let your abuser continue to make you a victim any longer. He's just not worth it. But, YOU are worth it and need to take the power and control back.

Thank you. But as I stated in an earlier post, I am not a decorator. And the more I look at him (yes, it's a he), he looks like he is a little unsure of his own gender with those red lips, eyelashes and rouged cheeks.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::ohmy::thumbup:

OK...crooked bunny cake is made. One ear is larger than the other. I didn't want him to feel bad so I told him the story of my one boob being bigger than the other. Now he has the smile back on his face. See?

See, Clagamdj...(and hopefully this is reassuring)...we get so used to being bandsters that we forget some of those struggles we went through. :thumbup:

It is a little difficult at first to get the required fluids in. I know that I had difficulty when it came to cold liquids. Warm seemed to work for me and I was able to build up to where I should be. If you are not into tea, low sodium broth, etc., try drinking your water at room temp. I put peach tea Crystal Lite in my room temp water and that seemed to help. Try to be patient with the non-hunger issues. Things usually level out about a week out of surgery. I feel for you with the gas pains. I don't think there are too many new bandsters that do not suffer with it. Try to walk as much as you can. Get some Gas X and see if that helps. Wishing you luck. And, if you have further questions let us know.

Have a great trip, Jessica! Happy Easter! Melissa reminded me of what I omitted in my message to you, Jessica. 40lbs! Awsome! Way to go, girl. Your brother is going to be impressed.

Thanks Joyce...you have a great weekend also. And, Happy Easter

Laura....thanks for sharing your sunrise. Melissa...thanks for sharing your reason for struggles. It's not easy sharing things like that. And, I really do understand what you are going through. Hope you did not take my little lecture yesterday as being too tough. You're one of us and when one is suffering, we all feel it. Hugs. My CAT scan was my annual with kidney specialist. Just to see what I have up there and where they sit compared to last CAT, etc. I have a sh_t load and it's very frustrating but something I accept as a "gift" from God. Just something I have dealt with for almost 20 yrs. What I hate about it is that I passed this on to both my sons. This trip to the doc disrupted my day since I had to travel a ways. Now it's time to get my butt in gear and get things done. We have a very big weekend. Tomorrow our troops come home from a year overseas. Want to be on main street when they come in tomorrow morning and then a coming home ceremony tomorrow afternoon. Going out with friends for dinner after that and then Easter Sunday and some things I still need to prepare. If I don't catch you, Great...have a good trip. Take lots of photos. We wanna at least be able to see the island through your eyes.

Good Morning... On my way out the door. Appt and CAT scan today with specialist. Kidney stone doc. Gotta drive quite a ways so leaving early. You all have a good one. Melissa...wishing you luck today. Thinking of you.

Great...I just do sliced berries. I used to be able to eat grapes. But now they cause my stoma to spasm....I miss them.

Sounds good...similar to one I have that you put strawberries in.:thumbup:

Melissa...you CAN do this. You just need to start with positive affirmations that you tell yourself over and over again. You turned the corner for two days and were successful and then stumbled. Brush yourself off and get after again. You do need to first give yourself a kick and get yourself moving and do some planning as to what will work for you. Having a plan on hand is key. Plan your food, plan your exercise, plan any treats that you may look forward to. Don't allow yourself to sway from your plan until you get a hold on all of this again. You were asking about Arlene's sticky notes. Make some for yourself. Things like: I CAN do this, I am determined to make this work, I will not let my hunger rule me, I am worth it, I want to live a life as a healthy me, etc. Give it all a GOOD try for a few weeks. Set a number of days and tell yourself that for the next 18 days I will make this work. After that time, if you feel like you need a tweek of a fill, then go for it. I really do feel for you and the struggles you have had lately. But no one can do it for you. We are here for you...you know that. Show us what you can do and get that scale moving again. Sending hugs.:thumbup:

If anyone is looking for a nice spring salad...I made this a few days ago and it is very tasty. Layer sliced tomatoes, peeled cukes (I use burpless), sliced sweet onion. The dressing is 1/2 cup FF sourcream, 1/2 cup FF Miracle Whip, 2 tsp Mrs. Dash Tomato/Basil/Garlic seasoning and 2 TBL Splenda. Let sit for a day.

Linda...the cake is really easy to make and looks so cute. You just bake 2 round (standard size) cakes (1 batch). The one cake is the face of the bunny. Then you take the other cake and cut it to make ears and bow tie. Make two slices on each side of the round to make the ears and you end up with a bow tie shaped peice for under the chin. I make a cream cheese frosting. I snip marshmallows and spray them the color I want them with decorating spray. I also put dark candies in the marshmallow eyes and nose to make nostrils and define the eyes. I do spray in different colors such as pink for the inside of the ears. Something your GD could have fun helping you make.