LittleOleMeinFL

G'morning friends~ Just a fly by. Fixin' to take the little monster to school. (he is being a stinker this morning) Every step of our morning routine has been like pulling teeth. (add a whine to this) "I don't want to get up!.. eat breakfast...brush my teeth" Goodness gracious. DH is on call again today. Poor N didn't get to see his daddy for almost 48 hours. I let him go "watch" daddy sleep this morning..LOL. I started making DH park in the driveway. His car is soooo loud when it starts and add that with the garage door (N's room is right next to the garage), it keeps waking him up early or in the middle of the night. DH thinks I am nuts. Afraid N won't be able to cope in the real world b/c I have him in a cocoon of comfort and quiet. My parents used to tell me to vaccuum while he was napping so he would sleep deeper. I tried it one time and he never took a nap that day..LOL. I decided from that day on that I liked it quiet when I slept... and so would he! Perhaps I created a monster. ??? Meredith~ Sorry to hear about your argument with Andrew. It's tough sometimes in dealing with someone you love and discussing their family. I know that with DH it's sort of the same thing with his sister. He can say whatever he wants about her.. but if I say something negative, he is quick to bring up how much better she is than my sister. It's some deep loyalty and need to defend family. Hope things are better this morning. : ) Also hope you start having some more restriction. Sounds like you ate VERY healthy yesterday! AND WTG on the 235!!!! You are officially less than me..... <whispering>, bitch. <evil grin> And I mean that in a very loving sisterly way. <hugs> You know I am kidding. I am proud of you. And in a way you are really motivating me to get back on track. xoxo I need to go. CBL~ peas

LOL.. spit shined! That made me laugh. I actually put some of Nael's hair gel in his hair this morning! It's sturdier than spit. He needs a haircut, but just don't like that just cut look for first day or picture day. He also HATES getting his hair cut. He was 2 before he had his first one. Had the Curliest hair! Gosh I miss those curls!!! His day was good, uneventful. When I asked him how it was he said "fine". When I asked him more specific questions he said "I don't remember" or "nothing". Finally tonight while snuggling before bed he revealed a few details of the day (like who he sat near for lunch... who he played with on the playground... and which of his 3 teachers are his favorite.) He also said "I am glad that you remembered that you forgot to kiss me this morning." That just plum warmed my heart. :eek: Apples, I thought of you when I was at the grocery store today. Publix charges $3.59 for 4 TINY ears of corn. They aren't even fresh. I miss REAL corn. Have a good time at the lake- I think you said you were leaving tomorrow. Wait, it's only Wed- are you leaving already? Julie B~ I agree with Apples, you really should go see someone besides a chiropractor. I am not against them- just think they have a time and place. Does he do xrays? I just feel the neck should be evaluated before manipulated. It could be just exacerbation of your typical pains- but cannot be too careful. Hope you feel better soon. IYSOY~ Yeah!!! on having restriction! WTG! It is a good feeling. It's a nice security blanket to have it. My husband calls my band my "choke collar". It is much like walking a dog, when he gets out of control just pull him back a bit. I feel like that's what it does to me. I cannot eat bread or crackers if they are dry and don't have cottage cheese or something on them. It used to be a horrible trigger food for me. Now I have such a negative visceral response after PBing on a cracker, that I don't even crave them. Charlene~ Good luck with the nutritionist tomorrow. I hope it helps you. I think we need all the support we can get. : ) Great~ Hug. Thanks for asking about Nelson. I am still at the same weight for 3 weeks now. SIGGHHH. I know what I need to do- just need to get off my A$$ and do it! Also when I was in NC and was tight, I figured out that if I had 1/2 cup of skim milk before I ate, that I didn't get pain/stuck as bad after a few bites. Well, I will admit that I have been doing that more often when I am "hungry" and allowing more food than I should. I obviously am not doing THAT bad- as I am not gaining. But I haven't been keeping my food diary. Stopped the night before I flew to NC. I NEED to start all that again. It markes you feel crappy to let things slip back to old habits. :thumbdown::confused::frown::eek::cursing::eek: My Dad is being discharged tomorrow! He is so excited. They removed the stint and the foley today. He will have the nephrostomy for a couple months. He isn't happy about that, but nothing we can do. My mom is thrilled. She misses home, and her two spoiled rotten cats. I honestly think this was harder on her than Dad. Glad we can see a light at the end of the tunnel and know that it isn't a train. :eek: Hope everyone is enjoying their hump day/Wed. Has anyone seen that show MORE TO LOVE? (Dating show for overweight women going after one guy). I have been watching it, but find myself increasingly pissed off at the people who are in and produce the show. It portrays obese women as nutsos with no self esteem and desperate. They all fall in love with the guy after he holds their hand once- because he sees past their fat bodies. (He is a big guy too- 300s) Several of the girls have NEVER been on a date before. Just curious if others have seen it and have an opinion. Night night.. don't let the bed bugs bite....peasout PS.. found a few photos of the curls. He was such a chubba wubba at that age.

FYI, Phyllis wrote this on her FB: "the GRAMINATOR is trying hard to stay awake to visit with two daughters and one son-in-law. knee feels great. nerve block still in effect." So glad surgery is done for her!!! Yeah!!!

Hi guys~ Wow, busy last 24 hrs on here! Hugs to everyone who is having struggles. Stress no matter the cause can just mess up our day. I won't talk to each one indiv. but just remember: Tough times never last- but tough people do. My mom used to say that to me all the time. And my Dad's favorite one- when you are talking about "I shoulda, coulda, woulda".. is, you are an airplane that's landing... you only have the runway that's in front of you, the runway behind you is no use to you now. This morning was one of the toughest days of my life. Holy shit. I was sooooo strong in front of Nels. After I dropped him off in car line, I heard him shouting.. "bye mommy, I love you. But I forgot to give you a hug!" I parked and told the head of the school that I was breaking the rules... and went to the benches (where they wait to go to class) and gave him a hug and a kiss. I was going home and Travis Tritt's "IF I LOST YOU" came on and I LOST it! CMT : Videos : Travis Tritt : If I Lost You If you have never seen this music video, grab a kleenex and click on the link. I am sure today was a million times harder on me than him. I know this sounds crazy but I can't wait to pick him up at 2:30! He drives me nuts sometimes when we are around each other 24/7 for weeks on end, but then I miss the booger when he's gone. I will post a photo. I had a trainer appt this morning at 10 and COMPLETELY forgot. She called me at 10:02 b/c I am always there 30 min early doing cardio on treadmill. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. For some reason I didn't write it down and had a lot on the brain. I have never missed an appt with this gal. I have to laugh when I think about all the electronics and tech stuff in my life. My DH is a self-professed GEEK. He loves tinkering and building computers, media centers and networks. We have so many spare computer parts here, that recently when my sister needed a new one- he built her one that day with just leftover parts! We don't keep anymore paper files. We have a document scanner and everything gets scanned and named. I keep everything so organized that way. We have not ONE... but TWO satellites! One is regular directTV and the other is international tv. (So DH can watch the local news in Damascus. Dad can watch Turkish tv when he is here) Our two main tvs have TIVO/DVRs. I don't remember life without them now! I NEVER watch live tv anymore. I can watch a 1/2 hr show in 10 min by deleting commercials and the promo and boring parts. It's great for saving shows for Nels when I need to get stuff done. I never rearrange my life for tv- record it and watch it when I can. I don't even watch that much- usually after I put N to bed and while I fold laundry. We can access any file on the computer from any computer in the world. It is handy if you are somewhere and need a document. When my Peace Corps friends were here last week, I pulled up a slide show on the tv. With the phones I can share photos with my family (since we live all over). And mom can notify one of us with dad's condition without repeating herself. (can forward the text or voicemail). I guess I am one of those who uses technology but doesn't let my life slip by because I am so busy using it. There is a difference. I guess as a mom I feel I need to always be able to be reached in case there were an emergency with N. DH would like to throw his beeper and phone in the pool. But boy are they handy for emergencies. When we are all together on vacation, we go DAYS without touching tecnology. I have credit cards, but have never paid interest. It is VERY important to have credit to get credit. So Meredith, all though you like to use cash, you should get a card to use but pay off monthly. It helps you keep track of where your money is going. At any moment I can pull out a pie chart or graph and tell you to the penny how much of our budget goes to groceries or gas. I pay all of our bills online. It's easier and organized. You can't forget bills b/c you will get an email or can set your computer to remind you. I love it. I had leftover okra and lamb stew from last night. (yum. made with garlic, cilantro and olive oil). Okra is one of those things I didn't care for before surgery and i like it now. So weird how taste changes. I will CBL, need to go enjoy my time.:thumbdown: peasout~ Laura

Hi everyone~ Phyl~ Hope you are doing ok! We are all thinking about you. I managed to catch her on Facebook yesterday. She is so motivated, I am sure she will do great. Apples~ Welcome back! The recipe sounds wonderful. Thanks. Glad you had a good weekend. I am soooooo excited to plan this thing in Feb with you! I am more excited about this than my 25th HS reunion in April!!!:smile2: Once we get numbers... we can research places. Maybe we can do a vote on the locale. I know it will be a lot cheaper to do Orlando, but if folks really want the beach and don't mind spending more-- then we can do it. I just don't want to eliminate anyone by the price bumping up. I am with you though, I don't care either. Just seeing all you guys will be awesome. But I live at the beach, not the dessert :wink2:. LOL Oco~ Congrats on the weight loss! WTG! You are doing everything right. Did you get the extra insurance when you rented the Volvo? You all sound like a bunch of demolition derby drivers! Great~ For what it's worth, I do NOT think you sound stuck up at all! I think it's awesome! Hell, I lost 10 lbs and put photos of me in my underoos on my profile. I hate to think what I'll do when it's 100!:eek::tongue2::thumbup: Julie B~ Sorry to hear about your Target accident. Gosh, I hope you are ok. You know, people often minimize the whiplash effect with even minor bumps. Take care and if it gets worse or persists see a dr. Glad your fill went well. Good job! Your little Mimi sounds like a handful. Don't overdo it. Last day of summer for my munchkin! I let all the rules go out the window today. He was pretty much allowed to eat whatever he wanted to eat. (He's still so young and innocent though.. eating "whatever" meant a cheese stick, piece of toast and cantaloupe for breakfast) LOL. We went to eat lunch at <gasp... brace yourselves> Cracker Barrel! Holy crap, I haven't been there since WAY before banding. How can a place ruin vegetables?! (adding fat & salt). Someone wanted a toy.. and remembered that they have a store there... sneaky. I got the veggie platter (use that term loosely).. green Beans, pinto beans, carrots and corn. I guess 3 of those are starches and b/c of the oil none is a veggie. I only ate 1/4 of my plate. Felt almost sick after. Cooked healthy for dinner. I don't know who is more excited about school tomorrow!? Gosh, I need to go to the gym, but I have not had a day to myself in 6 weeks or more. I am tempted to just chill. But maybe I should take Janet's lead and go to the gym. (I LOVE your story.. so motivating BTW. WTG!!!) Did the kitties open their eyes yet? I love the little meows. DH and I just got off the phone with my Dad. He sounds in MUCH better spirits. He's starting to get feisty which is always a good sign. The resident physicians are on a new rotation which meant a brand new batch this morning. He told one of them they should get a recorder so he doesn't have to repeat his story 100 times over. LOL. His creat is now down to 2.5! His normal was 1.8, so we are almost there. This whole 5 weeks of hell was about PLUMBING, not the kidney function. He either had inflammation from allergic reaction or infection somewhere below the kidney. Once the urine started backing up, the kidney function went down. Now that urine is flowing it is fine. He has the foley still in and the nephrostomy. He wants the foley out, but with good reason no one wants to remove it. He's upset b/c he wants to lead a normal active life and can't even take a bath with both of these. I know he is eager to get back to normal, but he has to realize where he was even 8 days ago! They are talking about removing the stint tomorrow and discharging home on Thursday. Wow! I know he will feel better once he is in his own bed and not eating hospital food. ok chicas... time to go. CBL. ~Laura

Hey guys~ Linda, wow, you had an gulf front condo for $900 a week? Even in July that is a great deal. I lived on the Gulf in Clearwater Beach the year before I got married. Just LOVE it. OK... here is a web site. Vacation rentals beach house rentals Clearwater Beach Florida Tampa Bay Here's the deal though with BEACH rentals during the high season. It's almost unheard of to get less than a week's rental. (Where in Orlando they will do it by the night with a 2 day min.) How many people can stay longer than the weekend? Take a look at the houses. They are looking more like 2300-3500/week for a 5 bedroom. I don't think a 2 br condo would be big enough. We need to start a list of who is a definite so we can see what size place we need. I spoke to the manager of that rental company. I told her we were a group of health(y) professionals having a meeting. She said "what is your profession?" and I answered "nurse practitioner" and she went on and on about how she LOVES renting to groups of women b/c we are so neat and clean! LOL DH took Nelson to a movie. Yeah! A few hours by mysef. I went to the Y this morning. 30 min step thread and 30 min legs. Oh yeah.. feeling better. Great~ sounds like you had a great weekend. Glad no bears! Doodles~ ouch! shingles is NOT fun! Hope you feel better! Janet~ I love deals! WTG! How are the kitties?! Welcome Jojo! Good luck with your upcoming surgery! We will be thinking about you!!! ok.. time to enjoy my down time. LOL.. who am I kidding, I will go clean and fold laundry! peasout~

Hi guys~ Good news regarding my dad... his creat. is down to 3.3!!! It seems there WAS an obstruction somewhere between the kidney and bladder. Although they put two different stints in, they were not staying patent. Now he has a tube directly from the kidney to the skin at his back. Not very sexy but it is WORKING! His latest problem is a severe head to toe rash with blisters! They are thinking it was one of the antibiotics he was on. He had to have a biopsy yesterday. If it's not one thing.. it's.... another. Today was Nelson's open house at his school. He is starting kindergarten!!! My little baby is growing up . He is in a Montessori school, so he is a 3rd year of the pre-primary class. (they have ages 3-6 in the same class). So this year he is the big kid/leader/helper. He has been at the same school since he was 2. We wanted to switch him to either public school or another main stream private school, but decided to keep him there for one more year. He is still so sensitive, and I feel his emotional needs are better met in an environment where everyone knows him and where he feels comfortable. I figure the academic side will come. (although the school is good in that as well). But it's not structured- if they want to work in the garden all morning, they are allowed to.. if they want to paint.. they can. His class is beautiful and he was so excited! We took him to ToysRUs to get a big-boy-going-to-kindergarten present. He got a toy airport. Then we decided to go to Benihana (Japanese steakhouse where they cook in front of you). I LOVE this restaurant but have not been since surgery. They bring a broth type onion Soup and small salad with each meal. I had the soup, but only took a small bite of salad (wanted to save room). I ordered the scallops. It came with 8 large scallops.. i had 5 and gave DH 3. I only had 1/2 cup of the fried rice, but ate all my veggies (onions, mushrooms and zucchini). I took a bite of DH's steak and lobster. I also had a gin and tonic. The food there LOOKS healthy, but they put way too much oil, butter and soy sauce when preparing it. But boy was it good! I ate too much, but had planned for it somewhat. Breakfast was 1 egg (90)and a laughing cow cheese(35). I only had a 100 cal. Muscle Milk and 100 cal yogurt for lunch. But I would guess that dinner was 1000 calories. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone in Feb! Another option instead of Orlando is meeting in Miami. The only problem is renting a house would be more expensive there and flights might be more as well. Just a thought since everyone is not 100% keen on Orlando. But I figure the main point is just getting together and it wouldn't really matter where we are. Meredith~ Go easy on yourself GF. You will not be perfect all of the time. You did fine in my opinion. Think about what you would have eaten pre- band! Janet aka Indio Indigo girl~ Buy anything good on your shopping spree?! Your weekends always sound so exhausting! Doodles~ had me laughing about the fan! That would drive me nuts too. If your~ I will friend you on Facebook! As I told others, I have not announced my surgery on FB. Many of my close friends and family know, but there are so many people that I just haven't told on FB. Just FYI. JulieB~ You are such a party animal! All those 50th birthday parties... and bringing food. peasout~ Laura

Mrs. B~~~~OMG OMG OMG OMG! I cannot believe I forgot to congratulate you on your one year!!! I am so proud of you!!!! and proud to call you my friend. Job well done. : ) Linda~ Welcome back! Oh my- I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when you surprised your family!!! Congrats on that! And I am soooo happy you will be coming out in Feb!!! Hugs- on your friend in Hospice. Gosh, that stuff is tough and never gets easier. Janet~ I have a confession to make. (That is one of your roles, right?! LOL) ALL this time, I thought your name was INDIGO girl! When I am on someone else's computer... i search LBT for indigo. It wasn't until your last post to the other desert girl... that I realized it was a LOCATION, not like the singers. <laughing here> And I just now had to double check my spelling b/c I always spell desert with two ss, sweets on the brain! Dad had his surgery. Apparently it is helping! He had some blockage on his ureter that the stint wasn't helping with. I hope this is the solution! Just wanted to say hi and do my confession!

Meredith~ I DO know what you mean! I think you might pass me though, as I seem to be in a horrible plateau. I lost it so fast when I was in NC and then gained a couple back when I got home. At least now I am back down to original loss, even if I am staying same. At LEAST I am not gaining. For me I feel it has a lot to do with not exercising x 2 weeks. I also ate more calories than normal off and on this week. Nothing outrageous but I guess enough not to lose, just maintain. Yesterday was first day back to the gym. Did only 20 min cardio and then 40 min legs (weights and floor stuff). Then today 20 min step thread and 30 min upper body. I wish it had been longer, but had Nelson in the sitting room and he was pouting the whole time driving to the Y. I think the house thing sounds good too. I think it will be easier for food, not having to eat out all the time. We can let Apples cook for us..LOL, kidding. : ) But having a full kitchen and stuff will be nice. At least we can do two meals in, one out.. or whatever. We can have margaritas and skinny dipping by moonlight..LOL How is your friend that had the leg lift? Did she improve after the transfusions? Was she actively bleeding??? or was that during the surgery she lost the blood? It's not very common to lose that much blood. Dang. Janet~ Congrats on the kitties!!! I am so proud of you reviving the one. My dad did the same when their cat had a litter. She refused to get one out of the sack, so dad did. That cat was always the funniest thing. He had a toe biting fetish. I swear he had brain damage. Pretty but no one was home. Sheba and Bear.. what's the other dog's name? I had a dog named Lucky when I was little. Mrs. B~ I can only imagine if you have not traveled alone before, how stressful it seems. We don't care how you get to FL... either alone or with DH! We will make him feel at home. My DH claims he will keep Nelson that weekend alone. He has never watched him longer than 7-8 hrs. EVER, and that was a trip to the space center. So 4 hrs (2 up and 2 down) were spent in the car with movies on. He Will be 5 and a half by then and much easier to be with for a weekend. Get, Blondie, Melinda, etc. Welcome welcome! This is the best group of mentors EVER! Congrats on your decision to accept only the best. : ) SIGH SIGH SIGH... uuurrrrggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh! When will my Dad's health stop being one problem after the next?! Well, last night his urine almost completely stopped. His kidney function tests have gotten worse the last 24 hrs. He is having pain over his kidney/back area. They aren't sure what is going on. DH spoke to every dr he has... like 4 of them. He joked and said he spoke to everyone but Obama today. Anyway, the plan is to take him to the OR 3-330. They will put a tube from the kidney to the outer back. (nephrostomy tube) to see if that will help it drain. If that doesn't help, then tomorrow they may have to do a kidney biopsy by laparoscopy. (versus a blind kidney biopsy). They would rather put him to sleep, blow up the belly/back area... and then look at the kidney/artery/ and be able to see exactly what area they are taking a sample from. Sometimes when they do it by just a needle, it can start bleeding uncontrollably. My mom is beside herself. Glad my sister is there. I am feeling horribly guilty that I am not there. Not that I would be able to do much, but you know what I mean. DH is on call this weekend. : ( I am taking Nelson to a classmate's birthday party tomorrow. They are having a pool party at 4pm?! Isn't that a strange time?! I would rather have a kids party early in the morning when they are fresh and happy... not tired and melting. It's Nelson's last weekend of summer before school starts on Wed!!! So we will chill and have fun. I need to go call my mom... I will update you all later. peasout~~~

Oh my... oh my.. oh my! I am getting excited tooooooooO! I said Orlando b/c it has a big airport and always has tons of cheap flights. I too have been there, done that, WAYYYY too many times. We had season passes last year to Disney and Sea World and Space Center! <yawn> There are a gazillion places to stay. Janet, when you guys did your lucky 7, did you stay in a hotel or a house? How many of you were there? Hell, if we only have 4 of us- I will still do it! I am soooo serious! If we did it in my town, we would fly into West Palm Beach and then have to drive about 50 minutes north. Wow! Can't wait guys! I made a middle eastern lentil Soup for dinner tonight. yum. Meredith keeps talking about her Lebanese place and I have had that soup on the brain! It came out really really good. Spoke to Mom and Dad just a sec ago. Creat is down to 5.0. His kidney is making beautiful urine, even though it has blood in it- we will take it. He sounds a little better spirits. He did get up and walk today with a walker for the physical therapist. progress. Have a nice night! peasout!

Ooooooh! Sounds great! Count me in!!! We could do it in Orlando- then you'd be nearby. It's not far for me either, couple hours. Just outside of Orlando we can rent a 6 bedroom house for like $150-200 a night. If enough folks were coming it would cost next to nothing. Or we could plan on meeting at a hotel and get a block of rooms. Once we kinda know how many are interested, get a vote for the preferred accomidation- I could help organize it. I wouldn't mind doing it in my town either. Lots of little hotels on the Water that would make a nice meeting spot. Some examples... Lake Buena Vista Florida Vacation Rentals - $79 New House 5/3 w/pool 5 mins to Disney World Orlando Vacation Homes 2008 Nightly Rental Rates

quick update: Dad had surgery last night around 9. B/c he ate some Cereal, they decided to do a spinal to avoid the risk of general anesthesia. It turned out to be a great decision. He was even pain free for a while after the surgery. This morning he is having a lot of groin pain- they had trouble getting the foley back in, must've caused some trouble. The kidney is peeing like a race horse!!! yeah! : ) And it just makes me shudder that the damn urologist didn't want to do another cysto! It wasn't until DH insisted- that she decided to do it! The labs are better. Had gone up to 6 and now in the 5s today. That was 3 am too, so this afternoon should be better. My sister is not working right now (foreclosed on condo too) and is now living with my parents. (sigh- can't imagine doing that at 48 years old). That's a whole nother day. Anyway, she was home watching house.. cats.. garden, etc. But I called her last night and told her to go back to the hospital to be with my mom. She would not have thought of doing that on her own. I had to tell her to bring detergent/dryer sheets so she can go get mom's laundry done for her too. Who is the older sister here?! I am frustrated that I cannot be up there. a) Nelson starts school next week he is not tolerating the hospital room anymore. The room in this hospital is 1/2 the size of the one in Charlotte. (there there was a big window seat/couch- Nelson would do art and play or watch computer). At Duke has to sit in a horrible meeting chair. So even if I went for a couple days, I wouldn't get much done, as he just cannot last long sitting there. I know my parents understand. Even Dad was like "get that poor kid out of this depressing place!" Thanks again guys for your thoughts and prayers. I am not a very religious person... but I do believe in the power of prayer. Nelson is exhausted today. He slept late (until 7:45) which is VERY unusual for him. He wasn't hungry either. I hope he isn't coming down with something. Maybe he is just tired. I tried to motivate him to get going.. so I could get to the YMCA (he would have to go in the kids' room) and he started crying. He has not had a meltdown about going there in a long time. He was just adamant that he didn't want to go and that he hated it there. I know I am a complete softy for caving in. It's not like I REALLY want to go to exercise anyway! And to FIGHT for it. Geez. I took the path of least resistance. <sigh> ok girls... let me have it. DH is on call tonight too, and will likely be gone all day/night. At least he will be home tomorrow and I can go in the morning. School starts next week and I will definitely get back on my schedule. I drop Nels off at carline at 8:30 and then the Y is 1 mile from his school. Meredith~:w00t: WTG!!! Ok girl, you are officially less than me! Way to keep ME motivated now!!! We told you it would come down. I am so proud of you. Apples~ holy cow! You have me laughing so hard, I almost wet myself!!! LOL. Feeling 6-8 men would keep me stressed out..LOL! You must've been posting while I am typing. Until I switched to advanced, I didn't have your post. OK, lunch meat going in the freezer! I never even thought about it. I think I will put them in little snack bags and then have little servings. What about cheese? I know my mom used to even throw 1/2 gallons of milk and even butter in back in the day. But can't remember if she froze cheese. We are in need of a new fridge. Our freezer is fickle. The ice maker died and since then we get wicked frost. If I had this one as a spare, then I wouldn't mind getting someone to come look at it. I always hate when you are rushed and they can charge you an arm and a leg. Mrs. Bubba~ Hope you feel better. The soak sounds great! I'll be right over to join you! Then we can stop by Apples for lunch. :tt2: Janet~ Thanks for all the info. Does the LB make you have a code to access that info? They are definitely in competition with the Realize folks. It's good.. and healthy! Also, I never get tired of hearing your advice. Thanks. Great~ I am craving Cookies too. LOL! Thanks for your thoughts. I am still shocked that there are docs that don't use lidocaine. Hmmm.. trying to understand the logic. If you are not really big, I can see that if they get it in one smooth stick, it wouldn't much matter. The needle going in to numb hurts the first entrance, as would the fill. BUT... if it was like my first couple- he had a hell of a time finding my port. It was tough because of position and my belly. And the seroma I had. Guys, my only advice is.. if you are that scared, then you have a right to INSIST on the numbing medicine. Or ask for some Michael Jackson propofol..LOL. ok all. I am off to peek in on Nelson. There is silence from his playroom, never a good thing..LOL. Usually mean he is up to no good! Maybe I will clean some more.. my favorite past time. There's a really bad storm here right now. Thunder.. light show. Watching those hurricanes.. thank God they are going toward the north. I am NOT in the mood. peasout~Laura

Hi all~ Thanks for all the concern for my dad. $hit hit the fan again today. uurrrghhhhhh! His creatinine was down to 3.1 and he was doing great... except refusing to walk. He complained of fatigue, dizziness and inability to stand. Yesterday they said there was no medical reason to stay in the hospital and that his kidney was stable. They were discussing transferring him to a rehab facility near their house. Right now they are in Raleigh- 2.5 hrs from home! Well, he had a conniption- saying he didn't want to go in a nursing home! My dad was walking 3 miles a day, doing 1 hr Water aerobics and playing nine holes of golf a day before he got sick a month ago! He keeps complaining of things in the hospital and they keep giving him medications. Back hurts- here's 2 percocet. Can't sleep- here's ambien. Thirsty- here's an IV. What happened to basics??? massage... quiet room... cup of water! Well, this morning he STOPPED making urine! His creat. went from 3.1 to 5.2!!! They put the catheter back in- no urine. They did an xray and ultrasound- stint is in place. DH spoke to the urologist and asked if they should repeat the cystoscopy and she said she wanted to wait and see! DH said to her...It is either PLUMBING... or blood flow! What are we waiting for???? Holy crap. He was doing so good and now 15 + hours no urine output! It seems they are all scratching their heads with him! My company left about an hour ago. We had such a nice time catching up about the 30 people that were in our Peace Corps group. Everyone enjoyed the food. I was so glad that last minute I bought some low fat wheat wraps- everyone used those for their sandwich! I served hummus with some pita pieces and made a black bean/corn/avocado salad. Someone was just talking about that- Octillo I think. I had it on the brain. It's interesting that everyone was making all the "healthy" choices- even though there were other things available. No one touched the chips or tortilla chips/salsa. The veggie dip and fruit salad were almost gone. Now we did kill 2 pitchers of frozen margaritas! I use the GOOD El Patron tequila, triple sec and JIMMY BUFFETT margarita mix! yum!!! The kids went swimming... ate Popsicles and then played Wii. I have so much lunch meat leftover! They all said... 3 lbs of deli meat.. what were you thinking?! LOL! Oh, they all almost DIED when they saw how much weight I had lost!!! They all saw me in Dec when I was at my heaviest. I realized when I saw one of my friends and I said I lost 70 lbs, that most people cannot wrap their minds around this. I think they have NO idea that I weighed 312 to begin with. When I say "I lost 25% of my body weight".. they can understand that. So that's my new way of telling people how much. Mrs. Julie B~ Sorry to hear about the cookie. I love salted peanut... and I KNOW I could not bake those yet. I bought yucky grocery store bakery sugar Cookies today and had one. It wasn't even good and I ate it. ugghhh. Don't overdo it with your little Caliou loving Mimi! Apples~ Sounds like your visit with the Aussies was lovely! Your farm sounds like a LOT of work! I remember the very first garden I planted in Paraguay in the Peace Corps. Those were the best vegetables I had ever eaten in my LIFE! But I couldn't believe how much time and energy went into one broccoli plant! I preferred growing vines/leaf veggies that kept producing. These days I harvest on Farmtown..LOL. Even that is exhausting keeping up with the timing of the crops! ; ) Janet~ Glad to hear you are back on track with eating. You had a lot going on this week with the move and battery. Just hearing you talk about the gym is making me look forward to getting back after 1.5 weeks not there. Meredith~ WTG on your paper! Please don't get frustrated with the slow weight loss. You are doing GREAT pre first fill. Some people don't lose at all until they have restriction and you, my friend, have done amazing!!! If nothing else try to add some walking/exercise to the program and you should see some results. I know from my support group that the people that exercise have the most success and the least amount of loose skin! You can do it!!! Question for you experienced bandsters... how long would you go after your last fill until another? When I was in my dr's office last week they commented that they hadn't seen me in 2 months and that I might need a fill. But I have restriction.. is it ok to not have another one for a while?! OR should I go and have a tiny amount put in??? The first year fills are free.. but not sure how many one should have!? ok guys... since I was writing this the urologist came back in to dad's room after talking to his other doctors. They will take him to the OR for another cystoscopy to see what is going on with the stint. She was very defensive and didn't think this would be the most usual cause. My mom is a mess. We told dad not to eat and he had cheerios 20 min ago... might have to wait 2 hrs for surgery. To be continued... peasout~

Hi everyone~ I have some friends that I was in the Peace Corps coming to visit tomorrow. One couple (with their two teenage daughters) from Sacramento and the other from Miami. I saw them all last year when I was at my heaviest. I told them about my surgery via email. Not sure why I felt obliged... but I guess I wanted to say "don't expect the usual hostess with the mostest" without saying that exactly. I have not had guests for meals since surgery, other than family. I know many of you continue to cook regular food for everyone... but I just don't care to. I decided since we were having a day out by the pool, that I would make it easy. I bought a variety of BoarsHead deli meats (ham,beef, turkey) along with several cheeses. (tomato, lettuce, banana peppers)Then bought wrap bread, wheat and one 4 pk of sub rolls. I will have a big veggie plate. Some hummus. I bought some of the small bags of chips- so I am not stuck with 1/2 a big bag open!:hurray: Nelson can always use those for lunch. I bought a BIG Patron Tequila and Margarita mix and several bottles of wine! Done. They are only here for the day. I don't know how you guys plan meal after meal for a week with guests! Hope everyone is ok. I didn't exercise today. Per usual... cleaned.... and unpacked. CBL~ peas

Hi everyone~ Greetings from Raleigh, NC! I am really glad we came up to see my folks. My Dad is doing much much better. His creatn. went from 9 to 3.4 - his baseline is 1.8 (normal would be 1.5). I am hoping tomorrow morning will be 2 something. He still has a foley cath in and it is still bright red from post op bleeding. They are hoping in 2 days they can take it out. He is still really weak and refuses to walk much. (only up to BR and took a shower, sat in the chair for dinner). He looks much better than even he looked last week. My mom looks really stressed out. She breaks my heart. Her birthday is monday and she said his kidney doing better was the best present she ever had! Friday night we took her out to dinner. There is this famous restaurant called ANGUS BARN here in Raleigh. They have a 28 oz porter house steak! LOL. Really this restaurant is all about excess. They put two kinds of spread cheese and crackers... toast with butter.... pickled peppers, olives, pickles just on the tables. I had the sweet potato Soup and then a crab cake appetizer. Nelson ordered chicken fingers (and I am not lying when i say there were 8 large tenderloin tenders! at least a pound and a half!) the poor child could barely eat one whole one! My sister had a shrimp cocktail and a side of steamed broccoli. My better half had the chateaubriand and mom had prime rib. They brought a whole pound cake for her bday. I was so proud of myself- passed on the cake! We took the rest to the nurses who were thrilled! I still managed to eat a little too much. Had some crackers and cheese... and had a bite or two of DH's. Tonight we went to a famous fish place. I had oyster stew and 6 steamers. yum. i could live on shellfish! Tomorrow we fly back to Florida. Maybe just in time to put the shutters on for the tropical storm/hurricane. yikes!!! ok friends. Hope everyone is having a safe and fun weekend! peasout~ Laura

hi all~ I was without phone/computer all day. They are doing some work on our road and they accidently cut the cable. I had a lot of computer stuff to do (bills, appointments, LBT, etc.) and was told phone would be on TOMORROW at 6pm. Well, I was about to go to bed and called the home # to get messages and it rang! I think it should be mandatory that they call you when service is back. I must've picked up the phone 25 times today to check...LOL DH is on call tonight. Not sure if it is a full moon but OB has been CRAZY! Epidural city! I hope the rest of the night is a bit calmer. We have to leave the house at 630am to fly to NC. I will be traveling with two cranky boys if they don't get a good night's rest. Dad had surgery today (cystoscopy). During a CT scan yesterday they thought he had a kink in his ureter. Sure enough... it was kinked. They put a stint in. They aren't 100% sure, but this might have been what was causing his kidney failure. I am so happy if it is (but sort of ticked that it took them so long to figure it out!). DH even ASKED the kidney doctor this last week. <sigh> I just hope the kidney starts kicking in so they don't have to start dialysis tomorrow. My mom was so nervous today. I could hear her voice shaking on the phone. I just wanted to crawl through the line and hug her. I was at the mall for several hours today trying to find her a birthday present. At 72 she pretty much has everything she needs and wants. I couldn't go empty handed and ended up getting her a couple pairs of PJs from Macy's. I didn't realize they were having a major sale. $40 orig. down to $6 each! I also went shopping in a department store for the first time in YEARS! For so long I was a 4x and bought most of my stuff online. The sweetest little black lady was working in the women's dept today. I told her about my surgery and she helped me find clothes. I kept grabbing the 22s and 20s and she said "honey, I think those are too big!" She grabbed me some 18s and they fit! Some pants were originally $80 and down to $11! I loved one pair of linen ones and she talked me into getting the next smaller size for later. : ) I bought 10 things for $80! I am excited to go on my trip with some new clothes. This is also the first time in a long time that I bought pants without elastic. I can tell that clothes shopping will be fun again in the near future. I am not quite enjoying yet.. but nice to fit in stuff again. I won't be bringing my laptop to NC. Such a short trip and it will be busy. I packed WAY more then I need.. but wanted to have clothes choices. I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful weekend! peasout~ Laura PS Janet, you must be on at the same time I am. Your post just popped up! Sorry to hear about your car and the PB! Popcorn is still one of those things that scare me. Moving is also never fun.

hey guys~ mrsB, thanks for your sweet note. Sorry to hear about your day with the tire. News from Dad is not any better today. His creat. is higher since they put in the foley catheter. His potassium is rising and he just has too many toxins in his blood. The kidney doctor told them today that by Friday if things did not improve he needed to start dialysis. He's too old for the data bank for a kidney. Only hope is private donor. I think we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Dialysis has come a long way. His doc said there are now centers where you can sleep while they give you a slow dialysis over night. The other option (if you have some extra $$$) is to have a dialysis nurse come to your house. My dad was very against the thought, but is now accepting it I think. The chief of nephrology gave mom his pager # and told DH to call him. They talked shop a bit. I am glad we are going up there Friday morning. Tomorrow I need to go find my mom a birthday present. I went to the gym this morning. 30 min on treadmill at 3.4 m/h and 9 incline. Usually can do 10 incline but just didn't have it in me. Then did hour workout with trainer. I went by my surgeon's office to get some protein cereal and the nurse weighed me. It's been 2 months since I had my last fill. I lost 15 lbs in two months and she was thrilled. She said it was great progress. While we were talking my doc came in the hall. He said "long time no see, Slim"...LOL. Then he said "did we bill her to weigh her?" such a smart a$$. I am scheduled for a teenie tiny fill in 3.5 weeks. They are so booked that he said make an appointment, if you really don't need it, cancel it. Yesterday and today I have felt MUCH less restriction. It's so weird that last week I could barely eat two bites and today I ate a small Wendy's chili and 1/4 of a side Caesar salad. I might just need the fill. At the dr's I was 238. ok guys. Making Ratatouille for dinner. And grilling a small piece of tilapia. peasout~~~Laura

MrsB~ So glad you are getting up and going out. A lunch with the girls sounds nice. It is funny about restaurants these days. Phyl~ Go sleep number! I don't know how we lived without one. The bed reduced our back pain by 90%. I recommend them to everyone! I should get paid for product endorsement! I always hear the jokes, if the bed is so good- why does Lindsay Wagner look so awful..LOL. IfYour~ Congrats on your fill!!! You are so lucky your doc fills to restriction! Many many do not! How many cc is your band? How much did he put in? WOW. My doc doesn't even do a barium swallow b/c he fills so slowly. You should have great restriction now. Some people argue for the type of fill you have b/c mentally seeing it helps the patients feel full. Latest news on Dad: The head of Nephrology at Duke seems to think he figured out what caused his sudden stop in the kidney recovering. On Friday he had the endoscopy. They gave him Fentanyl and Versed (common sedation narcotics), but it was just enough to cause urinary retention. They found his prostate to be enlarged and urine remained in the bladder after voiding. It was backing up into his kidney even! This is medicine101, so I am really a little ticked off that the Charlotte doc didn't pick up on this. My DH even asked if they checked this and I ASSUMED they had. ugghhh! So today putting a foley cath in for 48 hours.. and see how that does. Cross fingers. Oh, last night DH spoke to my mom after I did. She was sounding a little teary eyed and he is always so good at talking to her and reassuring her. After he spoke to her, he had tears in HIS eyes! He hung up the phone and purchased tickets for us to fly to Durham NC on Friday! So so sweet. We will fly up Friday morning, stay two nights and then return on Sunday midmorning. Tickets weren't bad, only $150 RT each person. She is staying at a little hotel across the street from hospital. Nothing fancy but you don't have to worry about parking. Mom's birthday is on Monday- a hell of a way to Celebrate. This is her two year anniv. of her uterine cancer diagnosis and she was in the same hospital for her hysterectomy. She is cancer free now, but getting that diagnosis the day before her 70th birthday was tough. I don't want her to be alone. I wish we could stay through Monday but DH has to be at work at 630am. You know, my DH was raised by his DGP... he never knew his Dad (met him when he was 21 and wished the piece of shit had remained a mystery) and his mother remarried and left the two kids with her parents and went and had 3 more. He was never welcomed in the new husband's home. My parents are really the FIRST parents that ever loved him, appreciated him, or were proud of him. Since the day we got engaged he has called them "mom" and "dad". That same day my dad said, "here in the US, usually the grooms family pays for this and that & does this and that, well- I want you to know that we are your family now. Don't worry about any of that stuff". My DH has never forgotten that. Nelson is a little less enthusiastic about the trip. "I don't want to go to NC again!" <said with a whine> I totally understand. It was tough on him. Sitting still... and seeing DGF sick. I tried telling him it was a different city and that we would go in a big plane. He usually likes hotels too. I think he will be ok since DH is coming too. I didn't exercise again today. I had so much cleaning to do. I couldn't bare the thought of leaving again with stuff still in my bags! Emptied everything, did all my laundry, house clean and spotless. Then picked up Nelson from camp. Now time to figure out what to make for dinner. Meredith has made me have lentil soup on the brain. Nels gets nauseated just LOOKING at soup! LOL. He is a tough client for this chef. Will CBL~ peas

G'morning~ Yawn! <stretch> It's so nice waking up in my own bed! It's been so busy being home. Unpacking, laundry, cleaning, getting cats squared away (DH fed them but that's about it... doesn't change their Water bowls cuz he says they have the whole pool! men! LOL, and he scooped the litter a couple times-now there is more litter out of the box), errands, shopping, etc. While we were gone DH did not eat healthy. Several times he went out to eat with some of the docs. When home he usually grilled a couple hotdogs and had a few beers. Or threw a steak on. And instead of cooking some veggies- he would open a hummus and grab a couple pieces of pita. He gained 5 lbs while I was gone. Now we are back on track. Funny story, last night we decided to eat out (we were out anyway picking up his car from the mechanic). We went to Bonefish Grill, some of you may have this one. We ordered appet. and an entrée. He got the ceviche and I got the crab corn Soup. I ordered Nelson's chicken fingers to come out with the appet. Well, the entrées never came. Nelson was starting to get fidgety and after asking for our food a couple times we said just cancel the entrées. They had forgotten to put the order in anyway! The manager came and comp-ed the meal. We gave the waitress $20- she didn't MEAN to mess up. She started crying when I handed it to her. She went back to the office and came back out and gave us a $45 gift cert.! When we got to the car we both realized how full we were just from sharing each other's appetizers and how we didn't need the entrée anyways! 1/2 cup of soup... and 5 bites of ceviche and I was STUFFED! Who would have thunk it?! DH commented on my cheap date status..LOL Tomorrow I will get back to the gym. I just cannot go until I can see my floors! Meredith~ You are doing great! Don't beat yourself up. Continue doing what you are doing until the fill. I will tell you, after surgery I made it a HUGE priority to exercise and that's one of the reasons I lost so much weight, so fast. And be careful with the derm for the scars. After my gall bladder surgery I couldn't stand my scars... so I went to my derm and had them injected with cortisone. Well, the result is thinner scars but the skin around them is like sunk in from the outer skin getting thin. I wish I had left them alone. 1 Day~ We've all been there, done that with the exercise. Just put your shoes on. 1/2 the job is getting dressed. Sorry to hear about your DS bus event. That would freak me out too. Julie Bubba~ Sorry to hear about the night at the hotel. I am the same way with other beds. They kill my back. We have a sleep number bed and I LOVE IT. Squishy beds just belong in hell. Hope you are better. My mom likes to can peaches and tomatoes and October Beans. I like to eat them, but I don't have the time or space for canning. I will be an official taster if anyone wants to send their canned goods..LOL:lol: CBL~ peas

I just had to share this photo of Grandpa and Nels. It's fuzzy and taken with my phone.. but priceless.

Hi everyone~ Boy, it's great to be home! Nelson is back in summer camp this morning. It's the last week of camp, so had to get him there. I literally just sunk into DH's arms and cried when I got here. I had held all my emotions in all week. It's so tough watching your parents get old/failing health. I know many of you have been there, done that. I guess it never gets easy. In a weird sort of way, I am more worried about my mom, than my dad. She is taking this stuff so much. She appears really together and strong, but breaks down a little when she gets away from his room. He was transferred last night to Duke Medical Center. I hope it was a move up, though teaching hospitals can have some down sides too. I hope the meeting of the minds can figure out what is causing this. (before he needs dialysis and/or kidney transplant). I told my dad that I would give him a kidney if it came to that. He almost cried. The 3 of us will likely fly to Durham NC for the weekend. Charlene~ Glad to hear your band is working better. Mine is working overtime. I can barely eat, but I am not complaining right now. I think with all the stress that if I were able to eat, I would be overeating. Great~ Glad you had a good trip. Sounds gorgeous! Although I haven't really been a camper since my Peace Corps days. I did have to pee behind an airplane hanger yesterday when leaving NC, as we left before the airport opened and I had a 3.5 hr flight in a teenie tiny plane with no potty~! Does that count as roughing it???:thumbup::wub: Janet~ I am so proud of all the exercising you have been doing! I hope you did some for me. I need to get back on track. You guys continue to be such an inspiration. Meredith~ yo, what's up? Glad you took a break from the comp. I need one of those. Hope things are going down for you. That happens all the time for me. I will have a plateau for a couple weeks and then drop 5-6 like I did this past week. Welcome to all the new faces and those who just had surgery. Thanks again for all the kind words and thoughts. peas~~~

We are home. Exhausted. Happy to be home. So happy to see my DH!!! Feeling a bit guilty and sad for leaving my mom and dad. Just spoke to them... Dad's labs back up to 6.2. He has decided to go to Duke. They will transfer him in the morning. I need to go chill, just wanted to let you guys know the news.

gosh darnit. his labs were horrible this morning. docs want to keep him longer. they really want to do a kidney biopsy, but not sure if my dad wants that. the risk is just too high with one kidney. my dad is starting to wish he was at duke. maybe that is best?! they sure have a good reputation there, but it IS a teaching hospital. he's on the board of trustees though and will get a somewhat VIP attention. only bad thing is mom will be 2 hours from home. siiiggghhh I am going home tomorrow with nelson... weather permitting. dh said we can all 3 fly up on friday depending on how things are. he is so sweet. and he has been calling my dad 2 times a day minimum. i am going to go back and watch my little boy. i just pulled out my mom's old bridge table and a king size sheet to make him a tent/fort! LOL. He is so excited. No one even knows what bridge is these days. I have such memories playing under a bridge table. hope everyone is ok. peasout

UuggHhhhhhhh! (Sigh) the weather was looking iffy! Dad says it is better to fly tomorrow. Also it looks like he will be discharged today! So that will be good that I will be home for his arrival. Let's pray for good weather! Hope everyone is ok.

Drive by post~ I was having a hell of a time with the internet connection last night! I tried to post 3 times and it kept losing everything I wrote!!! uuurrrrghhhhhhh! Here are the cliff notes version: 1) Nelson is better. Think it was allergies. 2) Dad is doing a lot better. Creat. from 8 to 4. If it is ok tomorrow he will be discharged. He had an endoscopy today for blood in stool and stricture in his esophagus. He did ok. 3)If weather is ok, we will fly home tomorrow. 4)I am down 7 lbs since I arrived! Not sure that is the way to do it. But ready to get home to my gym and my kitchen. You guys have been so sweet during this hard time! Your kind words have really helped me out. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Hugs to all. More in the coming days. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxopeasout!!!