Kat817

Going to town today to shop like a mad woman, and try to pull a surprise party off for my friend. She told her DH last year she wanted a party for her 50th. Well they have a huge family, and I hoped her DD and DH were planning something for her. We had lunch last week, and she said he was off so as soon as we walked out of the restaurant, I called him. He said no they weren't doing anything. I was so sad for her. Told him she really wanted the party. So today is her birthday. He called me last night. Now he wants to get a few people together, he doesn't know what he will do, maybe give them PB&J. The whole poor me, I am so confused and unsure of what to do act! GRRRRRRR She told him a year ago, I told him a week and a half ago. But he waits til the night before and invites her kids, another friend and myself. So I baked the cake this morning. And have discussed with him what we can serve. I tried to convince him for us to meet at a restaurant, since he screwed around, but he said he would rather do it at home. Not sure what we will end up with. One thing I know for sure.....she wanted a lemon cake, and I have made a lemon cake. Need to frost it and all later, but that much is right anyway!!! LOL Jenn, with your new job do you have any EAP's? Something to help with the cost of talking to a therapist? Sounded like a large corporation, so maybe they have some sort of assistance programs. Now I am going against the grain here, and need to ask----have you ever gotten Kev to seriously attend and work in a program with you? Have you and Kev lived together since the accident? What ended that if you did? I was one pushing you to move on. But that does not seem to be happening at this point, so the questions have to change. What do the kids want? What does your Mom have to say about the situation? I ask because they base their opinions on love for you---the one person we are all concerning ourselves with here....YOU. You might not like what they have to say, and may not agree with it. I know I have been there! Everyone around me, save a couple of "friends" expressed concern and dislike for the man I married back years ago. I ignored them all, I was in love.....I was brainwashed, and he was convenient, and I don't know why I did it, but it almost killed me! He almost killed me! I wish every day I had listened. They wanted me happy, and it is never easy telling someone you care about that they are making a mistake, but they told me, I just chose not to listen. I should have. Later they spoke their minds again, when I was afraid to commit to Rick. I was scared to death! They told me over and over what a great guy he was! Which I knew but.....I no longer trusted my judgement! Finally my Dad and I were discussing a car I was wanting to buy---and he suggested I talk to Rick about it. Something about the fact that the man I grew up trusting was instructing me to trust someone else---sounds very silly now, but it clicked in my head, and I took a deep breath, jumped in with both feet, and here we are all these years later. The ones I loved----looked out for me, and tried their damndest to help me see my way----I just needed to listen. We all are here, and you do not have to cry alone at night. Rick is gone, and I can yack all night without disturbing anyone! Suzanne---I love that your DH is taking good care of you, I am positive you do the same for him! Tracy---YAY you!!! Getting a jump start on resolutions! Irene is the same way she said she is ready for the first and getting it in gear again! Thinking my resolution is going to be something about moving in an exercise fashion, be it walking, or working out, or SOMETHING daily. No weight goal, but health goal. Well I better get moving, or I won't be ready for tonight........not sure what I plan on doing, other than getting some things together. Like my Mom said, maybe it is a financial thing, he doesn't want to do a restaurant, or buy plates etc. I am buying plates, napkins, and stuff........I think just some sort of vanilla bean ice cream, with lemon cake. Lemon is not MY favorite---but it is not MY birthday!!! LOL Hugs Girlies!!

Funny that you say that Suzie, I usually do find a project to do that Rick has been dreading----but nothing comes to mind this time. Tomorrow I am going to the book store---and stocking up. Tuesday my MIL has her gall bladder removed, so I will be with the family at the hosp. all day. Then I think I will make plans to cook, and have dinner for them for a few days after surgery---keep my FIL happy anyway! LOL Gives me a plan. After that, I too plan on putting Christmas away, and just going to take it a day at a time. I want to take Kinsey and Connor and go to see the Chipmunk Sqeak-quel. I know they both loved the original. They do so well together. Wizard of Oz is on TV right now, I called so both of them could watch it. When Manda was about 3 we watched it, and days, maybe even weeks went by and one day she ask me what an ohmy was. I had no idea what she was trying to say....finally she sings to me....Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My! She knew what lions, and tigers and bears were but the Oh My was confusing her! Makes me smile to remember there was a time she was just as entertaining as Kinsey, I just think life was so busy, I failed to enjoy it as I should have. Spoke to Rick, he is in.....got in about 6---he and his boys have a call out at midnight! 6 hours sleep following an 18 hour day......poor him. Will be back later!

Hey girls! We had a great Christmas! All the kids were here, and the grandkids---it got noisy at times, but it was lots of fun. My DIL did as expected, and they slept in, they didn't come over til around noon, but Kinsey had Santa here, and we had a blast with it. We jingled bells outside the window, and Rick made deer prints in the snow, she swears she heard the reindeer on the roof! We actually had to upset her, and make her open her gifts after a point. She wanted to play with what she had, she didn't care! LOL. But much of what remained to be open, went with the things she already had---doll house furniture etc. Worked out well, we got to concentrate our attention on her joy alone. Then when the boys showed up, we could do the same with Connor---and just watch his amazed expressions etc. The little boys were not as impressed!! Corvin loved the paper--Garrick, was non plussed by any of it. Yesterday we got the oldest 2, and had special time with just them. So while it was not how I had hoped, it worked out wonderfully! Took Rick in to work at 2AM this morning. He left for TX. Will be gone 2 weeks we believe. Made me so sad. I got stopped in a DWI checkpoint coming home from taking him. I took him over so his vehicle would not be sitting in the icy cold unstarted and unwatched for 2 weeks. When he gets in I will go get him! I told the officer I had just dropped my husband off at work, he told me my eyes looked a little glassy---and made me follow the pen with my eyes without moving my head!!! LOL I told him, they were sending him out of town for 2 weeks, and yes I was upset, and had shed a couple of tears, as well as it being well past my bedtime! Somehow he ask about him leaving and found out they had an entire semi covoy headed for their roadblock! He sent me on my not so merry way---and it was dismantling when Rick come through. He called about noon and had made it to the motel, and was headed out to location, where he has to meet up with the guys he is working with. They are putting in loooooong hours. I did ok with my eating. I ate, but stayed so busy, it was not overdone seriously!! I weighed the same this morning as I did Christmas Eve or whenever, I have an extra 2-3 pounds to deal with is all. Jenn, my brother has depression issues with the holidays, so I understand it some. I hope the new year brings you renewed hope, and lots of new exciting opportunities in your life. I have the Food Network on, and they are making me so hungry, I am going to find something to eat!! Will talk to you in awhile, expect more of me with him being gone........

Same story here, we have a crowd coming in for dinner---all the kids, as well as my parents and brother, and a couple of family-less friends, Becky & Gary and their families. Will be a crowd---but one I enjoy to no end, and am excited about. We have things ready for Kinsey in the morning. She and Manda are spending the night here, so Santa is coming here, we TOLD him at the mall!!! LOL Manda is so good to us! I know it is more exciting for Kinsey to have the whole family around, but Manda makes sure we are very involved, so she is spending the night, and we will wake up very early to Santa. My parents and brother will likely be here by 7AM to do gifts with them as well. Lenny and Ali will be over when the boys wake up. But Ali wants to sleep, so if the boys happen to stay in bed til 10 so will she.....our only hope is if our son wakes up and is raring to go----except then we get her in a very bad mood. She also said today the boys were not feeling good-----I hate that. Abbey will be by with her family and be here for dinner, but they must do gifts with his family, then he will go back there later for the real dinner in his mind!! He will not waver in how he celebrates....but at least we will get to see them. We took over the truck to Corvin---he was unsure about it! He will grow to love it I am sure. I have all the prep work done I can do-----just need to get some things ready to do breakfast. I hope each of you has a wondrous Christmas, filled with all that you wished for. May you all be blessed with the love of family and friends. I personally feel blessed to have all of you in my life. You have enriched it beyond words. Together we will forge ahead in 2010----and we will battle this battle together---I am so glad to have you all here to help me! Have a Merry Christmas, I hope all the angels are smiling down on you!!!

Can't help you in regards to the individual Dr. but can tell you that I too flew on day 3 without issue. I live in a rural area, so to get to Mexicali where my surgery was done, I had a combined 5 hour drive then 5 hour flight. Actually the drive was split some before and some following the flight. I did it all with no pain meds. When we stopped in Phoenix, I took a dose of liquid Tylenol, as I had a killer headache following the flight---but no pain related to banding. I paid extra close attention to moving regularly during both the flight and the drive, so it lessened the worry of blood clots. I should have drank more than I did, because my biggest issue was a day or 2 of constipation----but that was short lived, and was replaced with the opposite problem during my liquid phase! Liquids in=Liquids out. TMI, I know, but if it happens, it is normal!! I did not have a real strong pre op diet, we were (my SIL and I went together for banding) on something like an Atkins diet. High Protein, very low fat for 10 days. Not difficult to follow. Good Luck on your surgery! What a great way to start the new year! If I can be of any help as you go through this feel free to PM me any time!

Suzie, I agree I need to start walking again too. And I have my eliptic-HELL I need to use as well! My Dad is 76 years old, and he walks 5-6 miles 6 days a week. Has for years. He walks in the hills, he has one hill he goes up that the incline is killer! He changes routes and adjusts it for the weather---and since he has gotten older he does cancel if the weather is real snowy or cold. But he walks faithfully! Just think if he walked 25 days out of the month, and went 5 miles each of those days he puts in 125 miles a month! Once about 15 years ago, he was walking and hit a rock wrong, and fell, breaking his leg! He laid there for awhile, wondering what he was going to do, and said he heard a voice telling him "God helps those who help themselves" so he started crawling, til he found a stick to help him hop. He was so late, Mom had called me, and we were rounding up the troops to go find him, when he was seen crawling, and they got him help! Another time he slipped on the ice, and knocked himself out, by the time he come to, he was soaked all the way through his clothes, and had apparantly laid there awhile. By this time he was carrying a cell phone, so he called my Mom, and she drove near as she could to him and got him. I am scared of stuff like that, as well as the fact he has run head on into skunks, and a badger. He has come across guys setting fire to a car they stole....lots of things! So I stick to the city streets!! I am a street walker!!! LOL Going to have Rick go to town with me tonight or tomorrow to buy a gift for a girl I want something for, but it is all I have left to do, and it was a last minute decision. Today I think I will bake some cookies. Jenn--the fudge I do is soooooo easy, 5 ingredients, less than 5 minutes, and it is DONE!!! The simplicity is why I tend to get creative with it! LOL I am making some for my folks New Years Party---Mom bought the stuff, and I will do it for her, after Christmas. Rick is leaving at 3 AM on Sunday the 27th. He has to be in Odessa by a certain time to meet the guy to get the schedule for the next days work. Normally it would not take anywhere near that long, but the trucks they are taking are equipped with black boxes that report them for any speeds over 60. So even when the speed limit is 75 mph, he can only go 60. Tell me that is safe??? He is a traffic hazzard! He will be gone for 2 weeks. I usually try to find some project he is not looking forward to and do it while he is gone......thinking this time I might paint the bedroom....again! Not only does it make him happy when he gets back, it gives me something to occupy my time with. The extra bedroom could use painting too.......unsure of a color for in there tho. Well, time to change the laundry, and make some cookies. Almost called for help today---I fell into a tub of fudge and could not stop myself!

Making some cookies today, and doing some prep work----got all my fudge done yesterday. I did 3 batches of chocolate with pecans, one chocolate with toffee and pecans, a batch of layered chocolate and peanut butter, one plain peanut butter, and some white chocolate with pecans. Then I did a batch of white chocolate, and added chopped dried cherries, and chopped pistachio nuts, and poured it out real thin, made more of a candy bark with it. Thought Rick was going to make himself sick with it last night!!! LOL I watched a guy on the food network, do the combination, and thought WTH, I'll try it. Now I am going to have to make some more and give away as gifts! Think I will do the pour it thin with some of the chocolate/toffee kind and the white with cherries and pistachios, and give that to my neighbors. On TV they didn't cut it in squares, they did rugged kind of triangles, just broke it up---sounds like a plan to me! My lunch date today fell through......so I am at loose ends! Suzanne--I was going to call you yesterday, just cuz---and I do not have a #. I have your address but no #. Makes it really hard to call you!!! It is supposed to begin spitting snow here in a bit, lightly then heavier through the night. We might actually have a white Christmas. It is always hit or miss! In actuality it will more than likely be a gray slushy Christmas, if it snows now, it will be yucky and not pretty anymore by Christmas!! Hope you feel better soon Jenn!!!

Some slips can be corrected by dietary changes---going liquids for a week or so, in an attempt to let the prolapsed stomach portion settle back down into position. If that fails, it is usually surgically repaired laproscopically. They reposition the band and add sutures, to allow new scar tissue to form in order to hold it in place. Occasionally the slip or prolapse is bad enough or was in a bad position for so long as to cause wear on the stomach itself, and they have to actually remove the band. But most I have read about and the ones I speak with regularly that have had slips or issues with their bands, they were corrected, and have still got their bands in place.

Wow Tracy, I didn't get THAT forgetful til I was closer to 50!! LOL I know exactly what you mean, I think I am coming and going so much I am likely to run into myself one of these days!!! You IS forgiven for not telling us good morning! LOL You have kids home from school, we are lucky you can put sentences together!!

LOL Suzie--send me any extra applicants!!! I know exactly what you are saying, and it truly is a hard thing to do for someone, to be strong enough to tell them they are fooling themselves, without sounding pious, or condescending. We all know how that cheerleader attitude does not work, and yet you seriously need someone who believes in you being able to do it! It is a lot to ask of yourself, let alone anyone else, to be able to say the things that might need to be said at some point---and still do it with love. I never thought about the fine lines one must walk to be around us as we lose weight, and they cheer us on, until a fight I had with Rick, and he finally unloaded on me--that while he appreciated the battle with the weight loss was not easy, it was not always easy in his shoes either! To support me could easily be mistaken to sound like he did not love me enough the way I was.... To not support the surgery, was simply not being supportive of me wanting to improve myself... To mention weight loss was good one day, and the next if I gained, I took to mean he must have hated me when I was bigger! The emotions we go through, are not strictly limited to us. And I don't just mean the rush of hormonal emotions right after surgery--I mean even to this day! Once I thought about it, I knew he was making a valid point! Some days I can be thrilled when I get on the scale and only see 2 pounds gained following a downslide....other days when I only lose half a pound rather than the 3 I hoped --- I end up blue for the day. If I can't figure me out, how in the heck do I expect him to??? LOL I will do my best to help you along---I honestly know I will err on the side of being too soft, and not pushing you as hard as I know you push yourself. Your willpower (won't power) and ability to stick to the program, impresses me all the time! How would everyone feel about doing some sort of not really a challenge, and they don't all have to be weight loss goals, but some sort of challenge when the new year rolls around. Some sort of self improvement thing. Even something like...for this week I resolve not to say (or type) negative things about myself. We cannot avoid thinking them, but saying them validates them, so we would not do that. Or to avoid ice cream for X amount of days....or to move for minimally 15 minutes, doing whatever.... Just something that we could motivate one another with......any takers??? I

Not a package in my house left to be wrapped! It is done, it is finished, I am READY!!! Tomorrow I am going to do the candy thing, and some grocery shopping---so I can begin prepping the things to cook. But the gift buying, and wrapping is a done deal!!! Rick wrapped ONE gift! He bought the girls (granddaughters) diamond earrings---very small diamond chips, but none the less their first diamonds! And I ask him how he wanted them wrapped, and he said he would do it, so he did one and said...."this way" LOL so I did the other!!! So I need to get busy doing something else! I have steaks to throw on the grill marinating. Going to bake some potatoes and call it dinner. I do not need a fill. I am at a good place for me. If I eat too much, or too fast, I can feel it. BUT...last night I ate bread---straight ol' bread! We went to Becky & Gary's to watch the game and she had Shrimp alfredo, and she had bread with dipping oil. I ate waaaaay too much bread, and had zero problems. Then the first bite, whether it was the Pasta or the shrimp I might not have chewed really well----I stuck, and was miserable for the next 15 minutes or so, before it moved on down. Yet I ate the bread----go figure! Pam these are REALLY great women, and it is usually much more active in here, but the holiday season has us all out running around like crazy people! PLEASE make yourself at home, and tell us about yourself, and feel free to unload at any time!! We all do!! LOL Well I am going to go watch my youngest grandson while my DIL does her grocery shopping--see y'all later tonight!

Busy day! We worked on building a closet for my Mom, and we shampooed carpet throughout the house (and not 15 minutes ago, I dumped a diet DP right smack on the still damp carpet!!) Went in and finished up our last minute things for Christmas. One more trip to town next week for the final food items for dinner, then it is all ready! I ate late....ate half a small burger at Mickey D's----and it is NOT going down, I keep hic upping, and it still sits there....someday I will learn. Tracy, the things that Macy wants, sounds more like my granddaughter Ally. She got the zhu zhu pets for her birthday, and was totally disappointed---although now that they are so popular, she is ok with them!!! LOL Kinsey is such a girlie girl, it is ridiculous! She likes baby dolls ok, but the doll house is her all time favorite! She will entertain herself for hours with polly pockets on the coffee table. Manda bought her the new Fisher Price doll house, she is going to love it! We bought her the van today that goes with it. My cousin bought the same doll house for her DD who is Kinsey's age, when she had her twins. She wanted her to have something special because everyone was bringing gifts to the babies. The doll house comes with Mom and Dad and twin babies, one boy, one girl----just like she had! So she bought the extra doll to have the sister, and it is their family! Pretty cute. Thinking I might break down and make some fudge this weekend. We'll see!!! Tomorrow we are finishing Moms closet. So won't be around til we come back to watch football!! Take care!

Yep Laura, that is what I use when we outgrow our dining set too! I have one of the big long plastic ones---I toss a pretty cloth on it, and Voila! I use it soooo much more than I expected to when we got it. I set it up to use in addition to our picnic tables in the back yard for cookouts---it is always our food buffet table. I use it for yard sales. I use it in the house a lot too. As for your chairs not matching, who cares! Make it look like your did it that way on purpose! Sorry you are sick Suzie---your dsd too Tracy---sounds like you guys not only have the same type of thing, but the treatment seems to be the one of choice!! Kinsey is with my Mom today---I already miss her! When she goes back to school next week, I will be so bored! I am going to take her to see the Frog/Princess movie either Mon. or Tue. We were going to do it this week, but run out of time. Rick is taking tomorrow off, so we are doing our last minute stuff. I got some stocking stuffers bought yesterday but we need more. Connor, when you ask him what he wants for Christmas, he won't say, he just makes a motion. Then in the store he showed me. With all the commercials, all the Christmas hype--for Christmas, he wants a paddle ball. The paddle with the ball on a long rubberband!!! He begged me for it. Then he shows Santa the motion, I betcha we ALL buy him one.....I already did, it has Cars on it! LOL Kinsey wants Barbies and Polly Pockets. Much simpler than her mother at that age. When Manda was 5 she wanted 2 things for Christmas.....a fishing pole, and a Toyota. She got the fishing pole!!! Well I am meeting my friend for lunch today, so should go get dressed--restaurants prefer that these days. Got word last night that some good friends of ours are moving....to Australia. He accepted a job over there within the company. See y'all later on!!

Hope you had a great lunch with your friend Suzanne! I am doing that tomorrow. My friend and I used to go almost every week, and then I went to work, and then she was out of town, finally we are getting together again! She is so depressed, and has fought with her weight almost her entire life. Through high school she was just stocky, and curvy, since then she has really put on weight, and like most of us, she loses and then gains back plus. She had done SO well, and lost probably 60 pounds--then was faced with the fact that her daughter is doing drugs, and seriously-------needle in the vein ---kind of doing drugs, and I am telling you that weight come back so fast it was scary! Now she is struggling to deal with that, and she had broke her foot, so she is really finding it difficult to find motivation. She knows I had the band, and she would like to, but their insurance doesn't cover, and she cannot afford it otherwise. She does not deal with their money. He makes good money, but he puts it in the bank, and he pays bills, etc. She spends some but never much, and he deals with all matters financial. She is a beautician, and does some haircuts on the side, and she also is an amazing cake decorator and sells her cakes, and spends that money how she wants, but he is in charge of all the big money in the house, and he is very big himself, and unless both of them had the surgery, I don't see him cutting loose the money for her to do it. And I like them both so much....I just try to ignore that they do things in different ways than I do!! LOL they have been married for well over 30 years, so I guess it is working OK for them! Well Rick is home, dinner is almost done, going to get things finished up!

Hey y'all~ Jenn, I am so glad Kev is following through finally. But I must speak my mind and remind you of the highs and lows, and how much more frequent the lows are! I am thrilled however that his high hit when you needed it most! You have went 2 months, and have proven to yourself you CAN do it. Don't let what you KNOW in your heart is likely a temporary change in Kev's actions cause you to backslide. I hope this means you can BOTH move FORWARD! And have a friendly interaction with one another for the kids sake. But Honey you don't need to get on that roller coaster again. The highs and lows are only fun for awhile, and getting off while it is moving is so hard---and you DID it! OK, I will shut up and butt out, I only want you happy. Forgot to tell you yesterday, our $$$$ was redeposited into the account. So that eased my mind. Maybe the financial fairy is smiling on us all! Taking my Mom and Kinsey in to shop today. Rick has a friend he worked with for several years, that has no family. He has some in Wisconsin, but they are not close. So he is coming to Christmas dinner. Last year he did too. Well last year Manda had attempted to reconcile with her ex (see Jenn EVERYONE does it!!!LOL) and I had bought him some things for Christmas. Well the attempt fizzled before Christmas, so a couple of the generic things----aftershave & lounge pants I think I just changed the name to his on the gifts. And we bought him one of the big snack gifts, with the sausage & cheese etc. And we bought him a big tin of popcorn. He was so shocked, and I mean seriously touched by it! Kinsey---being Kinsey ask him if he wanted her to help him open them, and he told her she better, it had been probably 10 or 15 years since he opened a package, so he needed help. I get emotional thinking about that still. Girls, he was serious. He is single, and if anything tries too hard, he had a rough past, and is still a strange guy---but to never receive a birthday gift or Christmas gift, is so sad. So today while Mom shops with Kinsey for an Angel Tree gift, I am going to look for something for Steve.....any ideas??? He put in his request----for chicken sandwiches! Back years ago when Rick was in the field, he would sometimes have too much lunch, and he offered Steve a sandwich one day, it happened to be chicken salad, and from that day, I cannot talk to him without him mentioning them! So if I know he is coming over, I make a batch of chicken salad and send him home with it! LOL But chicken salad sandwiches don't wrap well!! He has fallen victim to the local layoffs, so is unemployed right now, so trying to think practically, but also maybe something he would not buy himself in these times. Christmas needs to hurry up, get here and move on...I have gained 3 pounds already! Well yesterday, I have not looked again. Today my DD showed up, wearing black leggings, with a red sweatshirt trimmed in white furry stuff, and a Santa hat----with glittery red false eyelashes that went almost to her eyebrows with her eyes open! She said she could not hardly tell they were there, they were so lightweight! She is VERY involved in BP's Christmas for the Needy program. She helped raise the $$$, do the shopping, and today through the end of the week, they deliver. So all the girls dressed like elves. She said she is wearing the eyelashes, not all are. Some are wearing the big curly toed shoes. She said they are all in matching leggings and red sweatshirts. They bought them at KMart, and one of the women added the fur trim for them all. She said she would prefer to just wear her black Uggs than shoes that would fit in the slippers that make the curly toes! There is a family they are helping in the town where BP is located in Southern CO, that she said she is VERY emotional about going to. The parents had 5 of their 7 kids with them in a van, and were hit by a semi. Killed the Mom, and crippled 3 of the kids---one at least permanently. 3 are currently in wheelchairs. And Dad left to cope and deal with his own injuries, and all the injured, not to mention devastated kids. So they bought mostly things like DS's and things kids can "do" without "doing". And her team she is on, has agreed to once a month do something, even if it is just to send movie passes, or drop off a couple bags of treats to this family. Laura, I live in town and have a fox with a den on my upper hill property, and we have a yard full of deer frequently. We also have raccoons, wish they had found another home!!! I think so many people are building out in the area the wildlife used to call home, they are being moved out and around. Well I better get myself ready. I need to pick my Mom up shortly.

Oh no Suzie! Is that on his dime...or yours? Rick would have went to the car and taken a nap!!! Laundry is almost done. Went and did all of my Mom's Christmas wrapping yesterday---have 97% of mine done. Today Kinsey and I went to lunch with youngest DD, and her DH and my DGS--he is such a sweetie!!! He is 11 months, and full of mischief!! My SIL, we just hit Taco Bell, as DH was on his lunch hour and it is close.....but my SIL ordered 10 tacos! Now he only wants meat and cheese, and he adds no sauce or anything....but he ate 5 and took the rest home, I guess we bought his dinner, or afternoon snack, or whatever too. He irritates the hell outta me sometimes! The way my SIL and DIL make me crazy----I have to wonder if my kids make their parents shake their heads too!!! Hoped to hear back on Rick's biopsy today, but nothing yet. Got a letter in a card from my cousin, and she heard noise out by the barn last week (she lives in a small mountain community above Boulder CO) and she went out to check on her horses. When she rounded the barn she come upon a mountain lion that was dining on the small cow elk he had just taken down! She said she hid in the barn, and called her DH---scared to death! He drove down with a rifle, but the lion was gone. She said they have seen a bobcat, but not the mountain lion since that night. Her DH measured the paw prints in the snow, and they measured 7.5" wide! I woulda been standing in yellow snow!!!

Have to be honest here, I would wonder about the cannelli beans too!!! On a similar note....My parents have had an annual Posole Party every New Years Eve for well over 35 years. Posole is a mexican stew, traditionally made with pigs feet, and hominy as the basis, with lots of chile. Dad has always used smoked ham, in place of the pigs feet---for safety sake mostly---pigs feet come with knuckles in them, and are usually removed as the posole is eaten. But it is not unusual for there to be 80 people come and go, and eat, so cooked ham is safer, no one choking on bones! He uses those big turkey roasters---has one hot and one mild, and has actually run out of posole before! They also have a huge spread of cheese and crackers, little smokies, nachos, and some desserts, as well as bowls of popcorn and nuts sitting around the house. My Dad is known for his posole---especially for a gringo!!! LOL My best friend, Becky, her husband has actually set up his video camera to watch what he puts in it, because they love it so much! So one year, there were some left overs, so he sent some home with us kids. My friend is as much their kid in those cases as I am, so she got her bowls of leftovers too. The next day at work she was rubbing it in to the guys in the market (she was wrapping meat for Albertsons at the time) that she was going to have this yummy posole for lunch-really working to make them jealous. All the while all of them knowing she had a fair size bowl so she would likely share! So lunch comes, she pops the bowl, lid and all in the microwave, heats for a minute and taunting the guys all the while....at the end of a minute she opened it to stir.....and lo and behold, she had a wrong bowl, and had brought a bowl of leftover nacho cheese----NOT posole!!! They razzed her non stop the rest of the day, so she went right back, that it was ok, she would eat it for supper and not share with them. When she got home--the mistake was Dads---she had 2 bowls of nacho cheese, I had 2 bowls of posole!!! When he put them in the bags for us, he mixed them up! Sso then Rick give them grief!! All this with posole, and I don't like it! I am not a big eater of hominy. I make myself miserable on the drunken wienies, and nachos, and snack foods! I am meeting my DD in town for lunch, DH too. She is headed to SC for the wedding of her half brother. And I need to get the pictures to her. Since I made my DIL mad over them!!! And yes Tracy you read a little glee in my doing that. I hate the attitude she has that I am old and she can put one over on me! LOL Someone ask me a question I meant to answer, and apparantly DIL is right, I AM old, I forgot what it was!!!!! BBL

LEt me be the first to welcome you then noticula....we are a group of friends that chat on a variety of things, band, family, current events-------mostly we just rely on one another for support, in band issues, and things daily life brings on! We have found we can vent about our daily life, and each other understands, and no one in your daily life gets their feelings hurt-because you already vented about it!! As for myself, my name is Kat (duh!), I was banded in April of 06. I got down to goal---actually a bit below it. Then my Daughter became seriously ill, we were given a diagnosis that was fatal, and my life fell apart. Then I had a medical problem, I ended up with a twisted intestine, and had to have surgery for it so was totally unfilled for most of a year. By the time the diagnosis on my daughter was proven to be wrong, I had hives from head to toe---had been put on steroids for them, and had regained close to 40 pounds. With daughters health improving, my own health improving, and a small fill, most of that is gone again, but losing it the 2nd time around has been very hard. If not for the understanding and support of people here who know a huge part of this is in your head, not your belly, I don't know that I could have reversed the gain. Anyway, I am married, have grown kids and 6 grandkids....no longer work outside the home for about 3-4 weeks now. Please feel free to jump right in and post, give us your opinion of what we say----let us know what you prefer to be called---and tell us about yourself! Suzanne----check in soon, I woke up thinking of you!

I'll be glad to share any recipes I have....I just do most of my cooking by tossing this and that...so giving you an exact amount, like a cup of this or that, is difficult! Tonight I took a package of chicken tenders---raw, and chopped them into small bites, put them in the pot with some butter and minced garlic---cooked it on low so the chicken would be very tender. A half hour later or so, I added some onion and lots of diced green chile---onion was diced too. Let it cook for a bit. Then I used about 3 tablespoons of chicken bouillion, and mixed it in, added some chicken broth, with about 2 tablespoons of corn starch mixed in--let it thicken some, and added a can of evaporated milk, then a can of broth. When it got hot---I kept it on low cooking----when it was hot through--which took awhile with it simmering, I tossed in a few cubes of velveeta cheese. It could easily all be put together in a crock pot and allowed to sit and simmer----I have done it many times. My beans, I start with dry pinto beans, for Rick and I I use about 1/2 a pound bag. Clean and sort the beans, you sometimes find small pebbles or yucky looking beans so I get rid of them. Rinse them. Put them in the crock pot, add some salt---couple Tbsp. Fill with water to 2-3 inches above the beans. I add some onion, and either hamhock, a hambone, or salt pork, a few shakes of red chile powder---put the lid on and let them cook. That is it! LOL The red chile is mexican chile, not like the canned bean free chile----it is nothing more than hamburger, crushed red chile powder, and garlic salt. I put 3 pounds of lean ground beef in a pot, cover it in water, add several tablespoons of red chile powder (not Cayenne) and let it cook the water out, adding water and chile powder as it simmers and cooks all day. The water allows the hamburger to cook into a fine, fine grind. There are no big chunks....it is fine almost a paste. It tastes more like the red chile you get on enchiladas. It has the same base, just has meat added. We do tons of true Mexican food. We like it hot, and spicy. Rick and I took Kinsey and Connor and let them pick an angel off the tree to buy a gift for yesterday. Kinsey got it, Connor was a bit young and pouted when he had to give the toy to the fireman!! LOL Kinsey wanted to go get more angels. Wish I could afford to do tons of them! I need to get to bed, it is almost midnight!!! Nighty night!

Suzanne, just stopping in to say I will be thinking of you tomorrow, and am anxious to hear what the Dr. has to say. Special prayers for you tonight. Tracy, will you still keep the children when you move? Hi Kristen--Tracy give you really good advice--this site, like most seems a bit overwhelming at first--but you will soon be flitting around without issue! There is no formal joining in on any thread, by simply posting you have the option of being notified when others post to the same thread.... All the way to the top upper right hand side is a Quick Links---it will bypass several steps for moving around in the site. Without closing the thread I am on....and thereby losing my post...I think there used to be a FAQ area, which addressed a lot of newbie questions. As well as cluing you in to what a lot of the abbreviations stand for, and what some of the lap band lingo means. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to PM me at any time. To do that just click on my name or avatar in one of my posts, and it will give you options....one of which will be to PM me. Jenn, it sounds like a great trip to your house! Might be something to consider..... Well, I am going to go find something to snack on....shame on me! Michelle where are you? Is the family well? Does your DH's fire dept. do all the toys for kids things??

I am alive and well, had Kinsey and Connor most of the day yesterday, all night, and they just left! They dearly love one another, and get along wonderfully--BUT they are exhausting! We went to the Christmas childrens program, and choir cantata at church last night, and then went to dinner, and then we drove around looking at lights. We all had fun. They slept well, we had a big breakfast--because they think that is what Granny is supposed to do. They just left--both whining and crying, they wanted to stay and play longer!! DIL was in a complete pissy mood, because DS stayed here too long when he come after Connor, so she was super bitchy on the phone with me.....irritated me! She is going to be even more pissy when she sees I altered the pictures she took! She went through the pictures we had made, and took all but one wallet of the pose she liked, took the one I had set aside for my MIL, changed it out, because she wanted it.....and to hell with Abbey and Manda, I guess she decided. She made me mad she kept saying some of her family members wouldn't want them, because of the kids---and she was meaning the 2 from my sons first marriage. I told her those kids didn't choose their parents anymore than your 2 did---none of it is their fault. They cannot control their Mom being the way she is, and like it or not my son is the father of the oldest granddaughter, he was 8 years ago when she was born, he was her father when you met him and married him, he is now, and he will be when she is 30 so she better get used to it! She was mad at me saying that and got flustered when they left and forgot to get the pictures. So I looked at what she took--------she took 3/4 of them, and all of the one like I say, so I fixed it! LOL I predict her mood is not going to improve a lot! I am going in to town in awhile to buy a frame for MIL's pic, will frame it, and go hang it and the picture thing I got for her as part of her Christmas on the wall for her. I found this stitchery that says "All because Two Hearts Fell in Love". On one wall of her dining area, she has a collage frame for each of her kids, that has their families in it. So this will work perfect. I made a big pot of green chile chicken cheese soup---smells good, Rick just got into it, so we will know if it is any good shortly!! Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Hey y'all~ Thanks for the PM Laura. Rick has talked to the powers that be at work, and they fixed his paycheck issues, but it won't credit into our account until Monday. But hey Monday is not a big deal! I can take that. I do my best not to touch our savings, and to use it for everyday living expenses was not something I wanted to do. In normal times, I would be able to survive without issue, but right at Christmas, with all the buying to be done, and the property taxes, and the co-pay on Rick's surgical excision yesterday was $500.00. If it had been a simple cut and scoop it out kind of thing, but with the area it was in, and the proximity to the eye, they did it in a surgical setting. I am not trying to say he should not have had it done, but just meaning it was another chunk of $$ gone. We spend money when we go to TX. We always make money while we are there, but it goes into a different account! Yes it is ours, and we plan on using it when we are older and grayer!! LOL When we sell cattle, it goes into the account there, and we only use that account to pay for stuff there. So the fuel and the food, and the travel expenses, and my shopping all come out of our daily account here----so it seems like it has been draining out a LOT faster than poor ol' Rick can put it back in! I was angry. But Rick was nice....one of the things I love most about him, is his fairness---but in cases like this, before I calm down it is also something that irritates the Sam Hell out of me! LOL Like he said, the poor woman in the office is in the same position he is, they have laid off so many people, and those left are expected to pick up the slack, and juggle a dozen different jobs. So he was understanding, and since they are not going to make us wait for 2 more weeks.....he was right. Laura, they never offered to pay us in any way locally--they always claim everything has to go through corporate. But years ago when Rick almost died following a GI bleed, they drug their feet getting his short term disability started, and the head honcho here at the time, offered to pay us if they could not get us going quickly. The new camp boss, is a rude, arrogant, uncaring guy tho----and the old one was this amazingly sexy looking Italian guy, who was just as nice personality wise as look wise!! LOL---of course him they got rid of, and we got Loser Larry! Rick said his nose is pretty sore, and he is going to give his contacts a try....should be interesting, they are OLD! They are packaged.....so are fine but the RX is an old one---and he had issues wearing CL's. I have everything ready for Rick to sweep the chimney when he comes in, the fire is so slow, it must be getting tight---better safe than sorry. Will check in later! Got my kids pics, they are adorable....I love my babies!

Having one of those days...... I logged on to the bank account to make sure our paycheck went in, and the check is for WAAAAAAY less than it should have been. They deposited less than a hundred bucks!!! So I called Rick, he goes to HR---and it seems the local office only keyed in 3 of his days of work. When questioned, and his log pulled up, there are the remaining 11 days worth of paperwork-----never entered. The woman acknowledged her mistake, said she must have gotten distracted while doing his, and when she come back she thought she was through with his. So meanwhile, we get 3 days of pay---but they take out ALL the usual, insurance, our 401K loan, our contribution to our IRA's-----everything! Left us with a paycheck under a hundred bucks. They assured us it will be paid, but it might just come in on the next pay check--------which is Christmas Day. Why does this happen at this time of year? Why are my property taxed due at this time of the year? I am so pissed off I totally get the going postal thing---good thing I am not armed. I am going to end up getting into what is left of our savings account, to pay bills and buy groceries for Christmas dinner---that is ridiculous! Like Rick told her---she better be damn glad his grandkids already had Christmas bought---or she would be in up to her neck. As it is, he is being nice, and not causing a big uproar----unlike how I would be. Then again, he will get up, go to work, and all will be normal----I will be the one trying to figure out how to best handle the drop in income, as it joins the drop from me not working. Thinking, maybe I should stake out a street corner. Who am I kidding? No one pays for OLD hookers!!! LOL I am trying to keep myself making jokes about this, but it is difficult......thanks for letting me vent.

Congrats Laura, you should be so proud of yourself, not just for passing your test, but also for the perserverance to keep at it---way to go!!! Well we survived the day. The Dr. said Rick's place on his nose looked like basal cell carcinoma. Which of the 3 main types of skin cancer is the least dangerous of all. Slow growing, and not highly invasive, and non metastasizing (spreading to other areas) type of cancer. However since it had been there for awhile, and in the microscopic pictures he took (totally cool btw) you could see the make up of the cancer, he wanted it totally removed and sent to pathology. So they used a scalpel, and scissor like things and removed it. I watched! Then he had the option of having it stitched or cauterized. He chose to have it cauterized so he did not have to go back for stitch removal. He said it was not bad---but by this evening, he was saying his glasses caused him pain, they felt heavy on his nose. So....we will know for sure on the type of cancer it is in a few days. He also had one burnt off his leg with liquid nitrogen, that he had no idea was anything but a scaly itchy spot about the size of say a lady bug!!! And the worst one was on his back. It was not however the one on his back we were worried about. That one is just a simple everyday mole! The one the Dr. is most concerned about is a dark spot, like a large freckle. He said it is the worst of them all---but not to a point of removal yet. He goes back in 3 months to have it checked again. He said it is looking more like a melanoma type of growth. But it is right at his waist band so they elected to see if it changes. I got the ol' boobie smash without issue. Was not fun, but was uneventful! We did a little shopping and dropped some things with his folks we bought for them, and that was our day! Tracy, well all of you, I want to tell you about a website that Manda (DD) used. She won a thing at work during a cookie exchange from one of the other girls, that paid for this picture. The website is www.capturethemagic.com You take a picture of your room, download it, and can add a variety of different Santa's to the room, and then they send you the picture to show the kids that Santa WAS there in YOUR house. Our tradition is to have Santa leave the kids stockings propped in their room, which give them something to do while we got to the LR to be sure to capture expressions etc. as they come in to see what Santa brought. So Manda went in and took a picture of Kinsey in her bed sleeping---making sure she was covered up (reason for this--Xmas eve gift is always new jammies), and had her stocking laid up on the bed----then added Santa like he was looking over her. She has not ordered it yet, but it looks incredible. She is a bit concerned Kinsey might freak out if she thinks someone was watching her sleep, so she is planning to take one of the LR instead---but is waiting to get gifts wrapped and under the tree!!! Anyway check out the site, the picture looks really cool! Suzanne I know you are nervous about your appointment, but better to get it over, and have a plan in place. Will be praying extra hard for you! After all I have extra space, Laura passed her test!! JK!! Anyone have TracyKS new address? I ask her for it, but got no response.....not sure if I should pursue it or take it as a hint! LOL Well I am off to do some Christmas cards.....y'all sleep well!

Yay Tracy!!!! How exciting! Plus since you know it is happening, and won't be a sudden decision, you can prep for the move, and be ready when it happens. I am so happy for you! Suzanne---don't work too hard today---I feel lazy hearing about what you are doing! Rick is like a baby with his days and nights mixed up. He comes in exhausted, we have dinner, and he finally gets to relax, and ends up sleeping in his chair. Then come 3 AM or so, he has had enough sleep and cannot sleep, so he ends up getting up and coming in and watching TV. Problem is, our bedroom shares a wall with the living room--and it ends up it is the wall where the TV is! So he comes in here, closes the door to the bedroom---so as to let me sleep, then turns on the TV. He does not blast it---even tho he IS going deaf I think. BUT the surround sound amplifies the bass. So this morning he is watching an old movie called The Dirty Dozen. When they began shooting, and bombing things, the bass vibrated right through the wall to cause the picture I have hanging on that wall to vibrate. I would just doze off and drrrrrrrrrrr (or however you spell a vibration!!) loudly wakes me up. Add to that, that we heat with the woodstove, so when he closes my door--I no longer get heat in there. It wakes me up one grouchy old lady!!! Told him, I don't care how pissed off he gets he is staying awake and in the LR until 10 tonight, and maybe get his body schedule back on!!! Good luck on your test Laura---let us know! Well I need to call and get MIL's address list so I can get her labels printed and dropped by before she has a coniption fit!! LOL Have a great day everyone. Rick has his biopsy at noon today and my mammogram is at 2----the fun just keeps comin' on!