Kat817

Wow, what a horrible time for y'all to reinstate the pie hole report! My steroids combined with stress---maybe it would be easier for me to tell you what I didn't eat today! I'll try to give the highlights (!) B-scrambled egg with sausage & cheese S-string cheese, oatmeal cookie, couple of Ritz crackers, Diet Dr. Pepper L-Junior bacon cheeseburger at Wendy's and 2 ---exactly 2 french fries from Kinsey's meal! More Diet Dr. Pepper S-choc chip cookie, handful of popcorn D-chicken strip, maybe 1/4 sm. potato fried with onions, green beans--and FINALLY some water! Sitting here drinking another bottle of water now, and pretending there are not 2 containers of cookies within reach! Hives have wigged out seriously again, confirming my belief that they are stress related. DD, DGD, and 2 dogs are with us until Thursday---when her utilities go on in her new place. Jason said she had to go NOW, he did not take it well, cursed her and condemned her to rot in hell, because she is breaking his heart. He suddenly wants to see Kinsey----she did her church program twice, and he never bothered to see it, or check with her the entire 2 days I had her while Manda worked---but suddenly she is the most important thing in the world again. I wish he could feel that way when she is with him.....Makes me incredibly sad. Her dogs are allowed on the furniture----I never have allowed that, and she knows it, yet it is a constant battle, and one she quickly gave up on to keep them off. The chihuahua, pooped right in MY bedroom, and of course Rick found it......she cleaned it up, but I swear I still smell it! Kinsey is soooooo well behaved when I have her through the day, but she always tests a bit when her Mama comes, and now she is here too???? Oh boy, lets run, and bounce off the walls and furniture and talk back, and refuse to sit down and eat...... All the while Rick, justs takes it all, and does not say a word when dogs are climbing all over him, and Kinsey is running between him and the game on TV-----how he remains so calm I don't know, my stress level is sky high! Right now tho.....they are all in bed, and it is quiet! So add to that, that I come home today to a message on my machine from my DS's ex wife, saying she wants to talk to him, his DD wants to see him. I was thrilled! Called DS, and he is all pissy over it. So what if she has an agenda??? We might get to see our oldest Granddaughter! He never called us back, so my guess is he is going to pretend he never heard what I told him, sometimes he is such a dumbass! Sad but true! He really lets the women in his life manipulate him.....and other times he is so much like his birth Mom it is downright scary! She has always had the attitude that if she did not want to deal with it, she ignored it, and maybe it would go away. If it was a utility bill, and she had no money, she would ignore it until suddenly the call come in, that there was no power for the kids to see by.....if it was a court appearance, she pretended it was gonna go away. They never do, it only gets worse----she is 46 and still thinks that. And there are times, I think DS acts the same way....this might very well be one of them. Hard to decide how much to push, and be a nosy buttinski, and how much to let him deal with on his own. Well, I did not make it to the PO today, but have everything boxed so will go in the morning!!! My SS should be there before Christmas!!! LOL Our high today was 26. I finally got my kiss ON the snow---it had quit by the time we got up!!! LOL It has spit a bit of snow through the day, but the second storm is to hit us tomorrow, and the wind is howling. Our windchill is -1 right now. If the storm hits before early morning, it should be ok, but if not it will be soooooo cold in the morning! At least Kinsey doesn't have to be drug out in it in the morning! Looking for the silver lining here!!! Well, I am going to head to bed, things are so chaotic, who knows what tomorrow will bring???!!! Hugs girlies, stay warm....and for those of you sick---feel better quick!!! Kat

HI~ Just stopping in on my way to bed to let you know All is Well, just Busy As .....well you know what rhymes here!!! See ya tomorrow! OXXOXOX Kat

I have a low profile port, have from the very beginning. My understanding is the biggest difference is getting a "hit" with a fill. My port overall is about the size of a quarter max---and the spot to hit for the fill is about as big around as the top of a pencil eraser. I can feel mine, but I have to push to make out the perimeters of it. It sits just below my bra line a couple of inches, and a tad to the left of center. Some positions (yeah just exactly what you're thinking!) I find are uncomfortable, and make it a bit tender and sore, I would imagine the bigger the port the more likely that would be to happen. I cannot imagine ever being able to see it through my clothing. Even if I lost down 20 more pounds, I think it would be pretty well situated. Kat

HI girls~ Pamela, you have to "rayd" Macy's "san" with the "rat" accent! Remember in Texas Snow is a 2 syllable word Su-No!!!!!!!!!!! Gotta LOVE it!! Practice for the church play was a disaster as expected, although one of the beast girls, scratched the crap out of Kinsey's face. Which broke her heart more than her face. She does not "get" mean kids. I have her sacked out, hoping she stays that way for another hour. Then she will be in a good humor for the show tonight! She was so sad, she has a beautiful Christmas dress, and was all ready to get dolled up, and they said no---just casual clothes, shirts and jeans. They will be sitting on the floor for awhile during the show. So she is not getting to dress up. So Rick said to make a date with her for next Thursday evening, and we will all dress up and go to dinner---and go see Santa one more time! He is such a good Papa! How exciting, feeling the baby kick!!! LOVE it! I remember the flutters, then they move to full on kicks! My moronic ex ask me to roll over one night because the baby was kicking him in the back. Rather than feel excited, he was annoyed! And he was being kicked from the outside!! Lotsa really good reasons he is the EX!!! Well looks like my SS gift will go out Monday, the PO was only open part of the day, and I have not put it all together yet. We too are under a weather advisory for the night, supposed to snow. They had the towns Christmas parade last night, Rick and I went down, and it was fun. It is a true small town---and everyone turned out for the parade, the streets were lined with luminarias, and in the park they had a live nativity, and in the Gazebo they had Santa. The local Kiawanas club was giving out hot chocolate. So we took all that in, then went and drove through the fantasy of Lights. Was a nice evening. We were invited to a party tonight at some friends, but we have Kinsey for the night, and have her program, so we declined. Didn't really hurt my feelings!!! We have one to go to next Sat. night---I am kind of looking forward to that one! Hives are making a surge-comeback. My head was covered in them about 2 AM---driving me crazy. I went to bed with wet hair, so maybe that irritated my scalp, I have no idea. I have some between the toes on my left foot right now, and on my upper arm. Appetite is so totally out of control, and I have gained almost 5 pounds already! Going to get a fill this week...gotta do something. Gary is feeling stronger he said, and Becky said he is getting better because he is getting grumpy! Before he was just to weak to complain much. I did not make it to the hospital today. I refuse to take Kinsey, she is well, and I do not want her near the hospital. Rick and I will go tomorrow. I sent movies up to him with Becky. Saw 2 old friends this morning. One was the only person to "rain on my parade" over the thought of being banded. She was totally 100% against it, and seriously expected me to give up the idea because she was against it (can you say control freak???!!!) She has NEVER mentioned my weight loss, but she did however tell me I looked great today for the first time ever! Shocked me! But because she is so stingy with her comments, it actually made me feel good! LOL The other friend is the one who was banded along with her husband about a year before me. He lost about 150 pounds and is maintaining it really well. He is like 6'7" tall, and looks as tho he has always been thin! She lost about 35 pounds in the very beginning, and has gained it back, apparantly her band is fine, she is just not working it, and does not get fills. I have no idea, and of course did not ask. She and her husband built a little home owned business into a huge business! They rent travel trailers--to both everyday vacationers, as well as business. Oilfield companies, hiway construction, other construction. They had to relocate to handle the mass of trailers they have. They are buiding a new Spanish Style home, and it is over 6000 square feet. With the way the economy is right now, I would be so scared! I guess I just don't have as much to lose! LOL Well time for me to go get ready. Everyone take care, will check in tomorrow if I don't get a chance after the program. Hugs!! Kat

Let's try to remember the rules here.....attack the issue at hand, not one another, and if you still feel the need to disagree on a personal level take it to PM. No one else wants to read it, and complaints have been made! Thanks for cooperating! Kat

Hey Laura, want me to send a baby congrats card to you in a PINK envelope to confuse Russell??? LOL I was wondering about the nursery too. My DD is not going with a theme she said in the baby's room, but a color combination---that only Abbey would do! Lime green and chocolate brown. I ask her if she was hungry when she picked it---she laughed and said ALWAYS!!! She painted big brown and green "bubbles", or circles on the walls, some over lap, they are all different sizes. and in some of them she has opposing color things. Like a brown teddy bear in the green bubble. She actually has several bears in the room. The crib set, she had a woman at work make, in the colors---as well as the curtains. The curtains are actually heavy brown drapes with an insulation layer, and the woman hand stitched the green onto them. She thought that way she could keep the room warmer and darker if she wanted. They put a piece of crown molding around the walls about 6 inches below the ceiling--and have rope lights on it, so they can use it as indirect lighting. Looks really cute. Is not something I would have ever done, or thought of, but it is cute as can be! Manda painted Kinsey's walls denim blue! But everything, in the room was PINK. All her bedding was pink gingham check. The demin and check combo was adorable. Have fun decorating! It doesn't all have to be perfectly matched----because you know just as soon as you get it all put together, a diaper will leak!!! I was up late, and had full intentions of going back to bed with Kinsey this morning. Manda come in, spent some time talking over her move etc. she left, and was almost instantly back. Not sure why, but my first thought was that she had run over one of my neighbors cats! But in actuality, she had a flat tire! Keep in mind it is 5:30 AM, 14 degrees out, and dark! So I ended up driving her back home (15 miles) to get the jeep, and then coming home. We warmed up my van, and Kinsey stayed asleep, all the way there, all the way back, we turned down my road, and open popped her eyes! No nap for Granny!!! I am taking my Mom shopping for a white blouse. Last night the choir director changed his mind and wants them all in black pants and plain white tops. She says her only white blouse is too tight, and everything else has designs on it. Should be a quick (hoping) trip to JC Penneys and be done. Manda will be home early to get the tire taken care of---then I am going to drive oneof her cars home, she is taking me to the hospital to be with Becky & Gary, then Rick will pick me up there after work. Would have been so much easier to just go back to bed this morning!!! LOL Speaking of my Mom, she is on the phone, so guess I will go! See ya in awhile! Kat

No, I haven't heard from Cindy in forever. Get the occasional email from Mandy. Patty has been AWOL for a long time too---have no idea how she really did AFTER being banded! She was here before!!! That was part of the reason I suggested cell #'s and personal email on our list, maybe if one of us disappears we can check in. I know last year some were steady, daily posters and overnight just were gone--it leaves a scary, hope they are ok feeling. Sorry you were sick Betty....I refer to that as the POP diet. Poop Off Pounds! Lousy way to lose it!! Well I have had a busy morning. I was up late last night....so had full intentions of going back to bed with Kinsey after she got here. My DD made a life change decision yesterday, and rented an apartment for she and Kinsey, the reconcilliation with her ex is not working out. None of us (except her) really thought it would, but now she can move forward without any doubts. But she come in, and visited for awhile about her apartment, and the move etc. She left for work, and 2 minutes later was back. She had a flat tire! Keep in mind this is happening at 5:30 AM! It is 14 degrees out, and dark! So, I took her back to the next town over where she lives right now, to get the jeep so she could get to work! So we had to warm up my car to put Kinsey back in, who was sleeping still. She slept all the way over (15 miles), all the way back, and the last turn on to our road---open popped her eyes....no nap for Granny!! I think this is a wise move for my DD. She made the decision to go back, based on her health, and wanting Kinsey to have both her parents. But she is not being treated well, and I fully believe he is still fooling around. She admits she thinks so too. So she found a little place about 2 miles from us, a 2 BDR. 1 BA. There are 4 apartments on an acre of land, and the owners place. This one opened up, and she heard of it through a co worker who has a 4 year old DD who lives in one of them. The other 2 are rented to an older man who has lived in his place for 12 years, and a young couple with no children. So Kinsey will have another 4 year old little girl right there. I want my daughter to do right by my granddaughter, but I hate to see her give up her own life, when I know for a fact she can give Kinsey a good, upbringing, even being divorced----------she herself is proof of that! She has a good job, an excellent job! Hopefully the oilfield (natural gas actually in her case) stays strong enough for her job to hold on. She has benefits, and can insure them both, and survive if her ex flakes out. My best friend, Becky---her husband has been sick for about 2 months now. I think I mentioned it back a ways. He had the stomach virus going around, just like you mentioned Betty. Everyone in the house had it, and got over it---except him. Gary had the diarrhea, and it would not stop. He has been to the Dr. umpteen times, to the ER, had a colonoscopy run. They eventually diagnosed him with Ulcerative Colitis. He is 6' tall, and began at 185 - 190 pounds. Well they FINALLY admitted him to the hospital night before last, and he weighs 130 pounds! He is gray. He has not had any nutrition for over a month. Now they finally decided his intestinal tract is too irritated to absorb any of the meds they have been giving him. And to make matters worse, his butt is totally raw, and now has a secondary infection. They have a new Dr. and he believes he is dealing with Crohns Disease, that has ulcerated the colon. He has him on total IV nutrition--nothing but sips of water by mouth. Hoping to give the intestine a chance to heal. He is receiving IV steroids, and IV antibiotics as well as the fluids and lipids. If none of that works, he is headed for a colostomy!!! Scary business! He looks so bad. He seriously looks like the pictures you see of people in foreign countries dying of malnutrition....or of AIDS patients. His skin is gray, his hair is falling out in clumps. He has kept every appointment, and taken all the meds, but the Dr refused to see the problems! Finally through an ER Dr. they got another Dr. on the case. Well I am off to get ready to go back to Farmington again, and take my Mom shopping for a white blouse for the church Christmas program. She is in the choir, and Kinsey is a star. They do the program tomorrow night. Will check in with all of you soon!!! Feel Better.....color your heart out Sherry.....Pat, Sherry wanted a color book to feel better.....um I think a new Lexus would help my mood immensley!!!! Love Y'all! Kat

Hi all! Congrats Laura--a son!!! How exciting is that??? Little boys are such fun! I'm so happy for you guys! TracyKS, glad your Mom is out and in bandland! Today I spent at the hospital with Becky. Gary is already looking better--being well hydrated makes a HUGE difference. Plus he is getting nutrition in the IV, and Lipids (fats) and all that jazz, as well as antibiotics and steroids in the IV so they are all finally getting in his system. Terry, they did the colonoscopy a couple of weeks ago---maybe even 3. But now the new Dr. is thinking maybe the colon ulcerated as a result of the Crohns. Nothing is decided or set in stone, he said the first thing is to get his body stabalized and to go from there. He is looking better though. Well, my DD Manda has made some life changes today, and rented herself an apartment. She tried the reconcilliation, but she said he quickly reverted back to the way things were, and is now taking weekends away alone, and is taking on a weekend job as a snowboard instructor at a ski resort in Colorado, so would leave on Friday night, and come home Sunday night. She said she simply is NOT going to wait around and tell herself he has changed and is being faithful, or that he would be while in a ski lodge alone. She says he is back on the computer 24/7 when he is off, and has no time for her or Kinsey. She said she can walk away knowing she tried everything now. She rented a 2 bedroom one bath, about a mile away. I cannot say I am unhappy. I could tell she was not happy---and I know she wants Kinsey to have both parents, but I hated seeing her give up her life for that to happen. And I hated Kinsey growing up thinking women were supposed to be happy with that. So........I am heartbroke for my little Kinsey. My Mom is going to take their chihuahua---and if need be, I will take the pug. It will at least be less that she loses. Kids are resilient, and like I say I do not want her growing up thinking that is good enough, because it isn't! I just pray the hurt is not so bad for her.... I finally got my cards in the mail today. Will assemble my Secret Santa over the weekend and will mail it on Monday--unless my PO is open Saturday, then I might get it out then!! Well, I am going to go spend some time talking to Rick before he goes to sleep. Will talk to y'all tomorrow! Kat

Jane (((((BIG GIANT HUGS)))))) Do NOT EVER think you are going through all this alone. I know I am and everyone else here is available to you day or night--just pick up your phone! Have you checked the risk factors of the drugs given to you during your priors? I totally believe once they screw with your blood counts with chemo----they are always skewed a bit. You will be in my prayers----wish I was close enough to give ya a hug!!! They put Gary in the hospital today. He has lost down now to a little over 130 pounds. He stands right at 6'. The Dr. who has been shrugging him off was unavailable so the ER Dr. called in his associate, and he has acted on this. Becky took him back to the hospital today and just told the ER Dr. she was NOT leaving until someone did something for him. The new Dr. said he is leaning towards a mis diagnosos, and that he believes the symptoms indicate a high likelihood of crohns disease. She said he actually sat down and talked with them for over an hour. Tomorrow when I go to the hospital, she wants me to bring a recent picture of Gary---she is going to put it on the board in his room, to show the nurses and Dr.'s that a few months ago, he was healthy and robust---he was not the frail looking old man he is lying in the bed. Working within the confines of insurance is what is making everything a nightmare! Jenn, looks and sounds like the kitchen is coming along great!!! Pamela, my friendship token is on my keyring! Thank You! And TracyK---it is the keyring to my Chevy Venture Van! Mine is red and loaded, and I love it all EXCEPT I totally despise the automatic slider doors! They are super touchy---and sometimes refuse to unlock with the clicker on my key ring.....irritates the you know what outta me!! BUT it is still a great vehicle! Ours too is ours free and clear. Was actually given (as in FREE) to Rick--but the engine was blown. We bought an engine from a friends salvage yard that had 18,000 miles on it---out of a gov't. van that had been T-boned, for $750.00 bucks, Rick swapped out the engines himself, and we have drove it for many, many thousands of miles........many more than the one you are getting has on it!!! Enjoy!!! Well I am going to go see why Rick just turned the TV on---he has been in bed for an hour and suddenly it come on..... His friend bonded out of jail today. The wife he tried to kill got him out, put their house and her business up. Go figure! Will see y'all in the morning. XOXOX Kat

:eek::w00t::blushing::Banane42::wink::bananapartyhat:YAY Michaele!!!!!!!!!!!!:Banane32::bored::Banane27::Banane33::drool: Dancin' Nanners JUST FOR YOU!!!! I am so proud of you for making Onederland!!!! Ladies be on the lookout in your email, I sent out the addresses I have received just a couple of minutes ago. Diane--------let us know if you want included I can forward it on when I hear from you....same with anyone else!! WooooHoooo Celebrate Michaele....but not with food!!! Kat

But Terry--I want her to have a little girl!! LOL---just keeping the playing field level. Considering when the new grandson arrives it will make 2 girls and 2 boys------------keeping it all fair in the family too!!! Got my mattress toppers picked up at Walmart, spent hours looking at things with my Mom, and am finally home, and my house is a wreck, I need to seal my cards and get them to the PO!! Going to actually DO that------and will BBL. Still no snow here. Good thing I am not waiting for that snow to kiss my man!!! Kat

HI girls--- Just checking in before heading off to bed. Rehearsal with the granddaughter was totally and completely ridiculous. The program is called Away From the Manger, and is a series of people being interviewed about why they did not go to see the baby Jesus. Wisemen in meetings, and stars (Kinsey) that were too timid. NO ONE had ever seen the program all put together. There are 5 kids as stars and Kinsey, Zoe and Nathaniel are the oldest. Nathaniel is mentally delayed.....and two of the others are sisters who are horrors! Manda actually said she was not allowing Kinsey to go to Sunday school anymore as long as those girls were there, she is too impressionable. They hit, they tore pages from the bible on the altar tonight, I swear they were as bad or worse than any I have seen on Nanny 911!!! Their Mom is a single woman, is a Dr. and has ZERO control, they hit and scream at her and she must have counted to 3 no less than 75 times tonight, then did nothing when she got to 3 with no reaction from them. Chloe is 3 and Zoe is 4. They had the practice tonight, and will practice again on Saturday, then do the program Saturday night. It is not gonna happen with these little stars I can almost bet! If anyone says anything it will be Kinsey and Nathaniel....and they are doubtful. Come home, had dinner, and wrapped the gifts I have bought to this point. Some things I ordered from Walmarts Site to Store are in, I will pick them up tomorrow. Tree looks a bit better with gifts under it! Although I really like my sled under it so it is not a big deal!! I used to hate the bare tree! Pamela I agree, it is a wonderful picture of you and Susanne, I have it and my pic of Judy and family on my door where all my cards and pics go! I keep looking at Judy's trying to put faces to the names...figured out Ethan!!! No, I think I have them all sorted out! With Gary being sick, we never did get our pics done. Going to mail my cards tomorrow I think, they are all finally done, need to stamp them, picked the stamps up today.....almost had to take out a loan!!! The hives are really roaring tonight....all over my head! I put on a hat to go out tonight---mistake---BIG mistake! I am up 3 pounds....and still dying to eat! I really and unhappy with all this! Looks like my friend Gary (Beckys DH) is headed to Scottsdale to the Mayo clinic. His results are so mixed with a diagnosis on what his problem is. Add to that he has had serious diarrhea for close to 6 weeks, and his bottom is raw, there is an area Beck said about 4" X 4" that is totally without skin now, and they are testing it to see if it is MRSA infection, like they believe it to be---they say it is a secondary infection. If it is, they are sending him to the Mayo clinic. He originally weighed about 188 pounds he said, he was thin, always has been. He now weighs 150 pounds. He drinks Ensure, and tries to eat, but it all goes straight through and then burns like fire. He looks gray, it is scary, he looks like he is dying. Becky is borderline hysterical, and at a total loss, as to what to do for him, other that be a sqeaky wheel advocate. Remember him in your prayers if you would please! Well I am going to shut things down and head to bed! See y'all tomorrow! Kat

Wow-------he must REALLY hate airline food...... Kat

Haydee, my DD considered the name Sage when she was carrying Kinsey---and Rick told them at work she was thinking of naming her Olive. When his secretary told me she was shocked by the name, and I heard what he told her I freaked out....his response was "That's right, Sage, I just knew it was some kind of green!" She ended up with a middle name of Sloan instead.....no green involved!!! LOL I like it too!!! Better than Olive!! LMAO! Kat

My grandma was named Violet.....and I LOVED her with all my heart, but was always a bit thankful that while my Mom named my brother after his grandfathers she did not "bless" me with my Grandmothers names!!!! My best friend, is Becky---and of course she is Rebecca. Her niece is named after her and is Becca. Both are HUGE overachievers!!!! Brianna--I had a Brianna in day care, and she too was called Bree--and was one of the sweetest tempered kids I have ever dealt with. She had a sister Aubri--who was just as sweet. Their Dad was a Brian, and Mom was Sabrina. I swear I never spoke with the family without getting my tongue twisted!!! If I coul have had a whole center of these kids, I would likely still be at it! Never dealt personally with a Claire or a Natalie. For a short while, one summer to be exact, I had one of my regular kids step sister and her name was Natalia---and everyone called her Natty. Sad to say, but the name sticks out more than the child--while I remember her as sweet, nothing stands out! My DD and her DH are apparantly still in the air over my grandsons name. His Mom is livid over some of the suggestions. She actually gave them a list of names she liked. She was SERIOUS! She told them with the last name of Smith, they HAD to be original or a bit different with the first name, or she would just make up a decent nickname for her to call him. The woman is annoying as hell!!! My DD jokingly told my DH they were going to name the baby Pedro. So I am going to make a fake stocking top and stitch Pedro on it.....will send my SIL through the roof!!!! DD is here, see ya laters!! Kat

Good morning girls~ Sitting here waiting for Kinsey to wake up so I can make a bank run, and get a couple of things done. Sizes are so goofy---I swear I have everything from a size 8 to a size 14 in my closet that I wear with regularity. Depends on who makes it, what the rise of the pants is etc. The way I am eating it is going to be the bigger pants coming out! It is HORRIBLE! I have not felt this feeling in over 2 years, where all I think about is food. So far I am controlling the portion size, I need to work on the frequency issue tho. I woke up to a huge hive break out under my right eye...I look like I am still married to my ex. Looks like someone took a swing at me and connected. I also have a big batch on my right ankle, that I am really trying to ignore, but just caught myself rubbing them on the desk chair legs...But I am down to sporadic, breakouts of 2-3 places being inflamed at a time. Idiopathic.....yep, some of them really make me look idiotic! Manda come in this morning and took one look at Kinsey's star for her head and burst into tears. She is part of the planning committee for their big company party which is Saturday night--the same night of Kinsey's play at church. She is heartbroke. And she works in Colorado, so the party is going to be in Durango, so would be a 40 minute drive with clear roads---and the Colorado end is snowy....so she is simply going to miss it. They are doing for the church in the next town over on Sunday morning, so she is going to go there and see it. But it is making her party very unappealling. She already said if there were not so many people counting on her, she would skip the party herself. When I told my Mom she said there are lots of parents with clashing schedules that night, and she thinks that is partly why they are reprising it for the Bloomfield church on Sunday. I plan on video taping it for her. Denise, I too am sorry for your DD's loss with the miscarriage. It is a difficult loss to deal with, as so many do not understand the pain involved. My heart goes out to all of you involved. Judy, that's a lot of snow!!! We were supposed to get some this morning, but the sun is a shinin'! So we will see! Well I hear the little gal a stirring, so I am going to go make her oatmeal so she can eat, and we can get going. Will check in with all of you later! Kat

Jane, I had a haital hernia repaired during my band surgery, and a few months later it herniated again. My surgeon told me as long as I was not having issues we could not control, by raising my head at night, and OTC medication , we would not attempt to correct it. However, both of my parents have haital hernias, and my Mom has had surgery for hers twice, only to have it happen again. I guess we have weak diaphram areas!!! If I pay attention to how late I eat, sleep on my 8" wedge pillow, and take Prilosec OTC---I have no issues whatsoever. If I do not take the meds, and roll off of my wedge (which I tend to ditch in the night!)---I will occasionally reflux----but not always. Denise, we too had pits for years. Rick raised his from a pup, and she had 2 litters of pups. You could drag her around by her ears---or at least the kids tried! She did not seem to have an aggressive bone in her body. She was gentle as far as us handling her pups, and was fine with other animals. Both litters of pups were sired by our friend in Californias dog. Around here tho---in redneck country---there are some REALLY seriously mean dogs! And the gang bangers want them that way, they innerbreed these poor dogs til they are crazy and then they feed them all kinds of things that I am surprised does not kill them---gun powder and all--totally serious! They go out of their way to breed and make and train these dogs to be mean. And the dogs of choice are pit bulls and rottweillers. Making their names worse, through no real fault of the dog. The biting-est dog I have ever been around was a poodle owned by my Mom!!! The difference was he was a whole 7-8 pounds, and his bite is a lot different than that of a pit bull. Same as a Doberman, the way their teeth are, is different, they can cause a lot of damage with one single bite. And getting them to release that bite is sometimes the hardest part. Back in the day when Rick got the Mama dog, he was in his early 20's and he was going to make big bucks selling dogs!!! He even named and registered the poor thing as PayRoll! She was such a sweetie. Needless to say we did not get rich financially, but we did love her! Finally had to have her put down when she was 16 years old. She was not the smartest dog we ever owned, was quite likely the most stubborn!! We also kept and raised one of her pups, we named her Carbon Copy, because she looked EXACTLY like PayRoll. A horrible neighbor posisoned her. TracyKS----heaven forbid you be silly!!! None of us have ever seen you be silly before. Well unless you want to count that evening in the pool....or that time on the porch....or the other one in the kitchen....but only then!!! Our rain is supposed to turn to snow overnight. One of Rick's guys already called saying he was going to be late, there was 3" of snow on the ground. So???? There are 2 others that live out on the reservation where he does, but he is not coming in until later he said. And there is nothing Rick can do about it. The guy who tried to kill his wife, wants Rick to come visit him in jail! He is freaking out, he has never went to the jail to see anyone before! Got my cards almost done---I am only getting 5-10 minutes at a time to stuff them in envelopes! Ineed to go buy stamps, and print some return labels and I will be done with them. Then a few more gifts to hunt up, and I can wrap it up and be done! Well I am off to bed. See y'all in the morning! Kat

Thanks Pamela, my neighbor also told me that prednisone gave her a voracious appetite for many things, food among them! She swears that is when she became an alcoholic!! I have no alcohol craving....just food, and lots of it! Got the things I need to make Kinseys star mask. Mom dropped the things by and I swear the piece of elastic they brought with it---looks like it is OLD and used, I keep imagining it coming out of someones pants-----I bought new elastic to make hers. Good grief there are only half a dozen kids, if they would have told me, I would have bought them a package of decent elastic...give me a break! Saturday night, we had to go in and buy some more bricks for Rick's woodstove in the shop, and after that we drove through the luminaria display at the college, it was so pretty! They had a lot less than in previous years, but it was still impressive. This year they only had 30,000 luminarias when in the past it was over 50,000. No need to worry over the sun here today Pamela, it is overcast and gray, and rainy! I keep thinking it will turn to snow, but not yet. I ask Rick what he wanted for dinner....he paused a half second and said Chili dogs. What??!! He said one of the guys come back at lunch from Sonic and had one and it looked great. Definitely not something I would have thought of to have, and not on my list of things I would have wanted, but hey it is easy, quick....and I have all the makings!! So guess we will go that route! I have to go out and bag potatoes here in a minute. I forgot I had ordered potatoes from these kids. They go out to NAPI (Navajo Agriculture Products Industry) and get truck loads of potatoes and sell them. I buy them usually before Thanksgiving, because I always have so much family to cook for---til this year!! So I buy a BIG bunch and just divide it up among the family. So I have 100 pounds of red potatoes in my garage! That cost me a whopping $12.00!! I break them down into bags and give them out! To go to my local Safeway to buy a 10 pound bag of red potatoes (which is what DH prefers) costs $6.00! Wonder what people would think if I wrapped them up with a bow?? LOL ok, no potatoes for gifts!!! Well I have tried for 3 hours literally to get this posted, and everytime, someone comes in or calls, and when I walk back by I see my half finished post! So here it comes!! Kat

Hey girls~ Rough night here, didn't sleep well, and even when I woke up at 2 I wanted to get up and eat! WTH??? I am hoping you are right Terry and it is the meds, my gosh this is horrible! I am going to call today about a fill appointment. Hate like you know what to spend that money this time of year, but good grief, I will be back to the weight my MIL thinks I am if I wait too long! Today Kinsey and I are off to the dollar store to buy some small tinsel and glitter, to decorate her star for the church christmas pageant. They brought her star by, and it is not a standard 5 point star, it has 10-12 points and I am supposed to find her nose, poke a hole, and cut points out from it, so when she puts it on her face, the star points poke outwards.....AND figure out a way for it to stay on her face. This program is being done by my cousins wife, who has no kids, and I am afraid no idea!!! I am going to dig through my halloween stuff and see if I can find an old mask and use the elastic with the little metal tabs--------but with tinsel and glitter and all on this it is going to make it pretty heavy for a tiny elastic to hold it on a tiny head! AND I am going to the practice tomorrow night---she has gone to 2 with my Mom while Mom attends choir practice the kids practice in the educational building. But she comes here and says her line she has to say is "We are just little stars, to small to see the baby Jesus". I have issue with that! No child should ever be given any reason to think they are too small to see Jesus.....so I want to see the rest of practice to see if it is worked in, so I can reinforce that thought here. Even Manda said she thought it was a wierd line. And my cousin said the other kids are singing Away in A Manger, but that the little stars were not practicing because they were too little to learn it.......but Kinsey already knows it and sings it. So I kinda want to see for myself what this is all about! I need to get busy wrapping! I have lots to wrap, and no boxes! Oh! The stocking is as done as I can get it until he gets here and is given a name! Then I will officially finish it, til then I am done! Outside and inside are all decorated. Most of my cards are done, need to go buy stamps today. Still have my baking to do....and peanuts to roast...lots and lots of peanuts!!! Connor cried when we left the Chinese restaurant last night, he was still not ready to go home, he wanted to come with us. What a sweetie he was yesterday. I wish I had him for a few days straight---I would do my dangdest to potty train him. He is going on 3, and is ready, he uses the words for everything, and knows to bring you a diaper, so he is ready---I guess the parents are not. I changed a poopy diaper yesterday, and if he were at my house, I would not be able to potty train him fast enough! GAH!!! Nasty, nasty, nasty!!! Kinsey had her Polar Express ride last night. And loved it, they sat with one of Manda's co workers and his kids----3 year old twin boys and their 5 year old brother. Kinsey freaked out on the twins. Her twin cousins here, are one set of boy girl, and one set of fraternal girls--but she was VERY concerned that (as she told her Mom) there were 2 boys with one face! She could not tell which one was which so she referred to the both as twin!!! Well my neighbor is ready to go, I offered to take her to the dollar store with me. So will be back in awhile! Kat

I made it to goal, eating just as you describe. I lived an entirely normal life while doing it! No jumping up and running through restaurants to PB--no going to dinner with friends and being unable to eat what they served. I had cake with my grandkids on their birthdays---I just did not want to eat the whole thing! Through the years, I have eaten wrong----too big of a bite too fast, and made mistakes that caused me to slime a time or 2! And I learned that eating donuts hurts too much to be worth eating them-they swell on me sooooo bad! But life can be normal without glazed donuts!!! I have to travel 6 hours to my band Dr. so getting really frequent fills was not convenient! I have the older, smaller band, which is 9.75ml, and holds a max of 4 cc.'s. I had 2 fills through the time to get to goal, and then had a total unfill for a Tummy Tuck, back in April, and am just now considering a small fill. I am managing my portion sizes, but am beginning to feel some hunger, which is leading to not so great food choices. But I will NEVER opt for being too tight! I think you are right on target! Yay you!!! Kat

Just waiting on an address and then will send the list out...... I could not for the life of me find my list from last year. So I sent PM's to those I need---soon as they get here, I will send them right out. Too early for me, as soon as Kinsey gets here, we are going back to bed!!! Catch y'all later!! Kat

Hey girls~~ now I have a moon face....lovely! With a nice bruise no less, the stove pipe attacked me while Rick was putting the stove in the shop! Nothing bad. I have no idea what is up, but I swear I have not gone 10 minutes in the last 2 days without eating, I am eating non stop-and I am not hungry seriously I don't think, but I feel like I am starving, and am grazing my way through the day! Makes me so mad at myself! Our tree we did for the Festival of Trees, did not win a prize....I never expected it to!!! But it did raise over $400.00 They sell tickets 2/$1.00, and you go around and drop a ticket in the pail of the tree you want to win. They use the buckets like you get popcorn in----and then just draw a winner, who then draws out the next one, and on and on and on. I did not win a tree either! We got our outside lights done. Well........DS knew he was on the list, so he showed up this morning, like he just stopped in for a visit! He and my grandson, DIL was at home. They had breakfast with us, and when son was ready to leave...grandson threw a fit! He ended up staying. Yeah I know I am eating my words, but they don't taste bad, I love having him!!! A couple hours later his Mama come after him, he once again cried to stay, so she left and they are in town doing his Christmas shopping, and then we are all supposed to go have Chinese for dinner. Well looks like Papa and Connor are finished playing ball. They come in and stole my bowl of popcorn! Thank goodness, I wish they would follow me around and keep taking things away from me, I am so mad, and feel so out of control!!! Will check in later this evening, going to go enjoy Connor while I can!!! Hugs~~ and thanks for the feedback on my face, it really sucks!!!! Kat

Sherry, hit the dollar stores, they have coloring books!! And if you need coloring guidance, I will send Kinsey right on over!!! We color with regularity! She has made such progress! I have a clip on the fridge (of course! I AM a Granny!) with pictures she has colored for the last couple of years, and she can go through them and see where she used to just scribble, then slowly the lines had a reason for being there, but the girls face may be purple and her arms yellow!! Til now where things are taking on proper color. She LOVES coloring! I am pushing her to write her name on the page so no one thinks that someone else did that! So she practises writing her name. She begins Tiger Cubs next year which is a school district sponsored pre school. She can count to 20, sing her ABC's but not say them! She knows shapes and colors and has recently finally figured out opposites!! I wonder how my kids learned, I cannot for the life of me remember making the concious effort to work education into their play that I do with Kinsey! I know Christmas is supposed to be happy family time--but some of my family has pushed me to a point of not being real happy! As my DD would say---I'm over it! We have offered and ask to babysit for my grandson, and there is always an excuse---and they use my granddaughter as an excuse quite often, saying they know I am saddled with a grandkid all day they don't want to make me deal with another. #1 I am not saddled with her, I love her and WANT her with me as opposed to other day care. I have offered to provide the same for them with my grandson, but DIL does not work. But for some reason they don't want us keeping him. I think it causes family tensions otherwise with the other family and his ex etc. So good enough, they don't want us to have a close relationship, it hurts, but I am through begging for a chance to be his Granny. I will not ask again, and if ever ask, I will refuse....enough is enough. Then (nope not finished ranting and venting yet!!!) we used to get together with both families (mine and Ricks) and go to breakfast about once a month. We would just go to Golden Corral. Everyone could get what they wanted, each family paid their own way on the way in, and we visited, and caught up, then we could go our separate ways and have the weekend free. We hadn't done it in a long time, and we didn't all get together over Thanksgiving, as my SIL says we are too big to do one house anymore. So Rick and I thought it was time to at least do breakfast. We made all the calls, everyone said it sounded good. We showed up, and my folks were there. No one else ever showed up. His Mom tried to tell us she must have got there too early. BS my folks are early everywhere and they never saw her! And there was still ice on her rear window of her car! Couldn't see the front, but the rear was still iced. The restaurant is say 8 miles from her house, it would have thawed. So.....I am done. I will not try to organize a single family get together again. I will not stand in the way of someone else organizing it, nor will I simply be rude like they were and not show up....but no longer will getting together be a priority to me. There....now I am done ranting!!! LOL Some days I just wanna yell at them all! Oh wait one more!!! I am on prednisone for some wild hives I have going on, and it is making my face all puffy. I called they said it is not unusual and will ease when I go off the meds. So yesterday my MIL went on for I swear 45 minutes on how it looks like I am regaining my weight. Yeah overnight, I put back on 120+ pounds! Grrrrrrrr!! I wanted to tell her yep she looked a lot older too---but I cannot be that way dammit! Ok, now I really am done!!! Thanks for letting me unload!!! XOXOX Kat

Thank You Louisa, not all of us are actually from NJ, and I am not sure about advertising this way if you are not a paying advertiser with the LBT site, it might be best to check in with Alex on these type of posts. Good Luck with your support groups, a little too far to travel from New Mexico!!! LOL Sherry---- my tree is up! Outside lights go up today! Shopping is about 2/3 done! Cards getting done today---had to go buy an ink cartridge for my printer!! I am afraid we waited to late to do a gift exchange for Christmas, but we could consider a secret Cupid rather than a secret Santa!!?? Our company party is not until mid January-they are not allowed to have a Christmas party is has to be a Winter Festival, due to being world wide, all things Christmas must be avoided to please the few...grrrr As for being broke? ME ME ME!!!! Kat

Does anyone know if prednisone, would cause my face to swell? I looked in the mirror and did a double take, my face looks puffy. No hives on it, and it is not itchy, it just looks puffed up, my jaw line is gone, my cheeks are round--toooooo wierd! Hives are still here, just hitting at the pressure points as before, like where the waist of my pants sits, or where my breasts meet when I am wearing a bra.....the nice miserable places! I know, the stories out of this place Rick works are crazy!!!! I mean they had a boss run over one of the truck drivers a couple of years ago--run him over in the yard! He was texting, I would bet my bottom dollar (which at this time of year is not a big risk!!!). They were this way even before they became such a hated company! And they are hated! If Rick is in a company truck, he gets flipped off all the time. He said he can be sitting still and get flipped off, so he knows it is not his driving!!! And our local terminal location has ZERO to do with the issues in Iraq, it is just in the news so much, it is almost a risk to say that is where you work. They have even been advised not to wear their company shirts outside of work!!! Rick got the things together and will put his woodstove into the shop today----once it is warm out there all the time, I may never see him!! Well I know this is the Christmas season and I should be in good cheer, but instead I am on the war path!!! LOL Not really, but I have drawn a line, and as my DD would say....I'm over it! It does not matter how many times I offer to keep my grandson, they obviously do not want us to have special one on one time with him....so I quit! I will not offer, and will refuse if ask, they had their chance. Son is on Rick's sh*t list for a multitude of things at this point, so simply avoiding us might be in their best interest!!! LOL We talked with both sets of parents and his sister and invited them all to breakfast. Everyone sounded as tho they were going. We used to do this once a month or so---meet at Golden Corral, and have a good time and all head our separate ways---but still have some family time too. We hadn't done it in a long time, so I suggested to Rick we ought to do it again. We called made the plans.....us and my parents were the only ones who showed up. His Mom claims she was apparantly too early so she left--BS! My folks beat us there too, and they are ALWAYS 15-30 minutes early, and they never saw her....and her cars rear window still had ice! No word what so ever from his sister and her DH. I am over that too! I will NOT do anything to set up a family get together again. PERIOD!!! My Dad said years ago when I divorced Manda's Dad that I let myself be treated like a doormat for years, and I got walked all over, but then one day when he stopped to wipe his feet, I had enough. And nothing could have stopped me from getting out and moving on! Well today I felt wiped on----and I quit! Yesterday his Mom was being all bitchy telling me I looked like I was putting on weight. I was MAD! In hindsight with that remark, I am wondering if my face was swelling even then---but to SAY it? I felt like saying something about yep and you look old as hell! But I would never. Could never. Just want to! Well thanks for letting me vent as usualy chicas!!! What in the world would I do without you???? Off to check and make sure Rick is still on the roof where he needs to be!!! XOXO Kat And BTW-I too am an honorary Violet....the Mama Violet if you will, I was the mentor of this crazy, lovable bunch!!!!!