ifyourstomachoffendsyou

Thanks for the reminder about water. I like my decaf coffee with milk and I drink a lot of it. That does count towards fluid intake, but with hotter weather arriving I need to remember to increase my water. Cheri

Go Arlene! LadyK, you're right. Fills are no big deal usually but until you're past your first one they weigh on the mind. Julie, hope all went well for Mimi. Cheri

Hi gang. Am on spring break. Spent yesterday babysitting and playing with grandkids. Been cautiously walking and working in my garden. Shopping, of course. Reading or re-reading some of the best novels I've ever read about a character called Odd Thomas. So far there's 4 books in the series by Dean Koontz. Incredible writing. Philosophy and metaphysics combined in a supernatural thriller with one of the best heros I've ever encountered. I'm also reading The Idiot's Guide to the Glycemic Index. I already knew a lot but I think this will help me fine tune my food choices a little more. For example, did you know that including acidic things in you overall meal reduces the glycemic load of what you eat? Lemon on veggies, oil and vinegar on salads, tomato sauce, etc.? Basically, you eat a lot of low-starch veggies, 3-4 oz of protein per meal, and some fruit. Occassional treats, preferably low-glycemic load. Whole grains, steel-cut oats, nuts and seeds, are OK. Just don't overeat--anything. Some surprises in the glycemic load of certain foods. A lot about stress and cortisol and the role it plays in preventing weight loss and causing weight storage around your mid-section. Go for those massages ladies. A lot about how high glycemic foods produce food cravings and lower your metabolism making it very difficult to lose weight even if your calories are low. Well, have to return some items to Kohls and then spend some Kohl's "cash." Looks like rain has finally stopped and the sun may yet make an appearnance. Till today, the weather has been beautiful. Sun keeps breaking out, at least in the afternoons. Temp aroun 70. Perfect for me. Laura, sorry about your dad's over-reaction. From some of the things you've said about him in the past this is not unusual behavior on his part but when life is short you'd like all the time you have left with him to be upbeat and not hurtful. Especially when you're really putting yourself out for him. Being this ill can bring out the worst side in people rather than their best. And you can't get mad at him because he's so sick. So you end up hurt when you should be mad and you internalize the pain. All I can say is, acknowledge your feelings, continue talking about them to us, and let go and let God with your dad's behaviour. With my exDH I got some good advice from Alanon. Remind yourself its the bottle talking and picture a bottle of booze or a can of beer saying those things and you'll realize how ridiculous and meaningless they are. So, that wasn't your dad talking, that was his disease combined with whatever life circumstances and ingrained way of thinking would make such a thought come into his mind. Disease can remove the filter most of us keep on our mouths. Heck, when I had PMS, I would tell people what I really thought. It was the only time I had the courage to tell the truth. But then people would dismiss it as just PMS and not realize I had just told them what I really thought. They just thought I was temporarily insane. They didn't know that I was secretly insane all the time. It just showed once a month. OK. Now I'm getting too wierd. Love, Cheri

Karen, so glad son is doing better. Hope news continues to be good. Janet-great new pic-love doggies. Funny thing about people not commenting on weight loss. I've been realizing lately that my daughter says absolutely nothing either complimentary or negative about my weight loss. If I talk about it at all she just says stuff like "uh huh." She never congratulates me or tells me I look good. Don't know what's going on with her. I know she's trying desperately to lose weight and goes out running all the time and tries to eat healthy, but her thyroid problems and PMS problems seem to really sabotage her. She does have hashimotos but still has just enough thyroid in her blood so that they won't medicate, she just has to drag her way through life. She's also seen me lose before and gain it all back with interest more than once. She's not really heavy, just a little thick in her lower body, but for the first time in her life I'm thinner than she is. Must frustrate her when she tries so hard to prepare and eat healthy food. OK. If you can only eat 900 calories to maintain 140 lbs, then you're probably not meant to be 140lbs. BMI is only a guideline and everyone's body is different. If you are really muscular or have big tatas or thicker solid thighs and calves for example, you can weigh more than that but still look that thin and be very healthy. You have no co-morbidities but you will develop them if you keep yo-yo ing. Some of my yo-yo-ing was due to my not accepting the weight my body wanted to settle at and thinking I ought to be thinner. Disappointment over not reaching or being able to maintain that goal drove me back into the food. Maybe if you made a more reasonable goal that didn't involve starving yourself on a permanant basis, you'd find it easier to maintain. Frankly, I'm not sure the band will help you do that. I'm on maintenance and its very easy for me to eat almost as much of my favorite pig-out foods as it was before. I use the scale as an indicator to keep me in line. If I gain a lb I cut back the next day or two to get back down. I have a very reasonable goal of 167 lbs for a 5 ft. 9 in woman of 58 yrs old. I'm hoping to use the glycemic index because you can eat more and feel more satisfied without gaining back the weight. I am reading about the glycemic index so that I can safely add some carbs back into my diet without triggering carb cravings. I eat a lot of Protein. After that, veggies. For me that's the key to losing the weight and keeping it off. The band works well with protein and won't let you eat too much. So it does the weighing and measuring of that for me. The rest is avoid, limit contact, take just a taste, make healthier choices, etc. I had a low BMI but I had co-morbidities. I've lost 70-75 lbs. I've gotten rid of all my co-morbidities. So cool. Nobody knows what's best for you. You know better even than your Dr. The band has helped me get the weight off but it was still a lot of work. And maintenance is plenty of work, too. Many people here still keep a food journal or diary and weigh and measure and all that. My ADHD doesn't let me do that, in fact, trying to do that stuff drives me into the food. But I have other techniques that work for me. I have to weigh everyday. Many weigh only once a week. I know that if I don't weigh everyday I'll pretty soon forget to weight at all. Weighing everyday is my early warning system that I'm letting my food get out of wack. So I go back to a day or two of just protein. But it takes work whichever way you use to handle the food. The band is just a tool. But a very expensive tool if you have no insurance coverage for it. If you can do it without the band, more power to you. God bless, Cheri

I had to lose some weight and then maintain. It doesn't have to be a lot of weight. I went high Protein low carb which is what I did with the band also. Most docs recommend that as it works best with the band. Think about your goal of getting the band. Think about the improved health. Grit your teeth and do it. It'll be worth it. I've taken off 75 lbs altogether and kept it off. 15 to 20 lbs came off before the band with the insurance requirements and with the pre-band diet. My bp, sugar, and cholesterol are all normal now. I look 100% better. I feel much better also. I look good in my clothes. I can play with my grandchildren so much better. Cheri

Melissa. Abuse is a huge piece of why many of us eat. We layer fat around ourselves to protect us. We eat our emotions. Stuff your feelings, stuff your face. Taking control of your food is a way of taking your life back from the abuser and saying you will not control me or my emotions or my life anymore. I suggest you tell your son what happened to you. Keep it simple. Don't go into all the gory details. Tell him it's OK for him to contact his father but you can't be involved in it. Don't take it personally. His father may be a different person for him than he was for you. If not, your son will find out for himself. It is not a betrayal of you. You can do this. Many of us have various forms of abuse in our background. I found myself only able to lose up to a certain point also, before the band. It was almost as if being thin would make me too attractive and might attract an abuser into my life. ALthough my second husband is not an abuser, there are difficuloties in our marriage where I did not take care of myself and let him do things that left me carrying debt and being the main financial support. I had to stand up for myself and retake control of my life. There are a lot of things I know I can't rely on him for, and I had to once again accept total responsibility for my own life like I did after my first husband left. As much as he loves me, and he does, he cannot be the source of my emotional well-being. As I've taken charge of my own physical, spiritual, mental, financial, emotional and sexual well-being, my ability to deal with my food has also improved. As I've let go of trying to fix and heal all the people in my life (particularly relatives) and put them in God's hands, I've gotten healthier. That's a process that takes time and years. You can't control your son's relationship with his father. Let go and let God. Everybody's giving you great food advice. All I have to add is, go back and read what I wrote about reflux, if you need a slight refill and you don't want the pbing and reflux back. It might make a difference. Cheri

I'm glad you all appreciated the info I gave you. I had a lot of issues before banding and I sure hope I don't go through what Laura went through. By the way, one sure way to loosen a too tight band? Lose 5-10 lbs. Works every time. Laura, I really feel for you because I think you're going to alternate between tight and loose because of your severe TOM issues. All that extra water weight makes your band tight then you lose it and you lose restriction. I'm staying in my chair tonight and did little yesterday that was physical. I've decided to really let all my joints heal well. Just teaching all day puts my neck in pain. I was careful today. I've got to give it time to stabilize. Then, slowly get back into shape--very slowly and carefully. Trouble is, exercise helps control my hunger and allows me to eat more. Hey Laura. My Dr. says my blood calcium is too high. What are the consequences of that? She wants to order more tests. I do take 2 calcium supplements a day (1200mg) and 300mg in my daily vitamin. I also drink milk in my decaf coffee all day long. Am I just taking too much calcium. I didn't speak to the Dr directly, just the triage nurse to whom I gave my calcium intake. Nothing else in my bloodwork apparantly concerned her and I've been off my cholesterol meds for a few months. So, that's good news. Cheri

Jodi, Protein drinks count as part of your liquid quota. All liquids do. Some liquids are better for you than others but they're still liquid. I don't hardly drink any Water at all, but I pee gallons because I drink decaf coffee constantly with a lot of milk in it. Keeps my Protein going, keeps me from getting hungy. Cheri

I know most of you probably know this, but I'm going to put it out there in case you forgot. I have not had hardly any reflux since my hiatal hernia was fixed when they put in the band, but when I feel it coming back at all, I go back to what worked before my surgery. I also had an ulcer as a child. When you're stomach and stoma have been irritated and the band is tight, try following the reflux rules as well as the band rules. Sleep with your upper body elevated. Avoid coffee, tea (most teas have acid), fruit juice, pop, flavored drinks of any kind. Almost all of them have acid in them. Avoid things with acid and roughage. Fruit, raw veggies and whole grains irritate (think of sandpaper) and get stuck. Avoid carbs that swell. No bread or cereal (and maybe not rice or pasta). Period. Avoid prolonged bending over and vigorous exercise. Chocolate is one of the worst things you can have. So is anything made from tomatos or oranges. Chocolate relaxes the muscle between the esophagus and stomach and allows food to creep up--especially acid and tomatos, of course, are highly acidic as is orange juice. No alcohol! Period! This is not a good time to be eating peanuts, or any nuts or seeds. Avoid oil and grease and butter and margarine. They float to the top and creep up, carrying acid with them. Check your blood pressure meds. Many of them cause reflux. They cause acid to creep up your esophagus and even your pharynx (vocal cords). Coughing and laryngitis can result. Cut down anti-inflammatories like aspirin and ibuprofen and Celebrex and Naproxyn as much as you can until you are healed. They are major causes of stomach irritation. Too much water also forces acid to creep up. Don't fill your pouch all the way up with food. Milk products coat the stomach but too much, especially combined with acid, is not good. (Think curdled milk.) Prevacid or some other product that stops your body from creating too much acid might be necessary. It works a lot better in the long run than trying to control acid once you've got it. Just saying, guys. I think there'd be a lot less emergency unfills (except for really violent, long-lasting stomach viruses and bacteria), if our disease didn't keep us pushing the envelope with our food choices and quantities. Sip on protein drinks and yoghurt till your body heals. You won't die from doing without these other things. Add them back to your diet very, very slowly. When I first feel reflux, I treat it like an early warning system. It usually means my food choices have been poor and I've been eating and drinking too much and too fast. Just sayin' Cheri

Lori, Fantastic pics. You and daughter are beautiful. Had a great day with grandkids. Went to dud Easter Egg hunt so daughter and I put one together at her house. Lots of fun. Kids also colored Easter eggs. My 3 yr. old granddaughter cracks me up. I helped her get on the toilet and then she asked me if she could have her privacy please. My 5yr old grandson asked if it was OK to climb the tree. Then he said it was, just don't tell his mom and dad. So later, the three yr old said he could do something but not to tell his parents. Her vocabulary is incredible. Cheri

Learned my lesson. God doesn't want me to clean. At least not scrub. Vacuuming does the same thing to my neck. So does heavy duty sweeping. Not that I ever liked doing those chores, but when you see something dirty... I do the light dusting and the kitchen counters. My husband does most of the heavy duty cleaning for me at home but he just doesn't do it well or frequently enough. Now that he's working I don't care but when he was home? I've really trained myself not to look. Yesterday, for my parent involvement seminars, the janitors hauled out two long "white" tables but they were stained and dirty. I had to use scrubbing gel with bleach and scrub hard to get them clean. With my neck in a more than usual fragile condition ever since my fall, it was just too much. When you do that kind of scrubbing you put pressure into it that comes all the way from your neck. I've been on the computer at work more than usual and I have to keep my arms lifted and can't pull the keyboard onto my lap. I also have to crane my neck to see the keyboard. That's been irritating my neck as well. Hopefully, next week that project will be finished. Its really making exercise walking a struggle because its almost impossible to not do some arm swinging. So I'm limiting my exercise and hoping my neck flare-up dies down. Then I'll have to slowly rebuild. Fortunately, I don't grade papers at night or have to record them or create worksheets or major lesson plans. If I did that I'd probably have to quit teaching. My assistant does all of my paperwork required by No Child Left Behind. The students move aroun me in a circle to get their wkbk pp checked as they finish them so I'm constantly looking up and reteaching right while they're next to me rather than looking down at one paper after the other. I've really designed my job to accommodate my neck. I don't think I'd ever be able to teach in another type of classroom. That's why holding on to this job is so important. I'm not sure what other kind of job I could do either. The only reason I can type right now is because I'm home with my feet propped up, my neck supported by pillows just so, and my laptop balanced at just the right angle to not hurt it. My arms aren't lifted at all, they're squeezed against my body and supported by the chair arms. Only my wrists and fingers are moving, and even my wrists are propped on the laptop. Anyone know of a job that would allow me to do that? But I'd undoubtedly get bored if I had to do it all day long. Especially with my ADHD. I was interviewed (video-taped) for a promotional video for a counseling organization I work with through my job, and I went to their big fund-raising dinner and saw myself give my two line statement. I looked thin! It's still hard to believe but I had the evidence right in front of my eyes. I only took up part of the chair! I really need to have my husband take another picture of me so I'll have a current one to post. Have a great weekend. I've got a 30% coupon for Kohls and might go there. I'm taking care of my grandaughter this afternoon and evening and looking forward to that!. Easter egg hunt this afternoon! Cheri

Julie so glad you've got some results. Everyone else, I've skimmed your posts. Was at work till 8 tonight. P/T conferences and I had my parent involvement session complete with special speaker and food. I am aching and tired. Scrubbed some tables. Now my neck is killing me. I really am not supposed to clean. My husband gave me a neck massage that helped. Going to bed now. I use heating pad on my neck because my muscles can get so sore. Scrubbing puts pressure on the neck and can put me in pain for days. So I'm going to bed now with some meds and will hope that by morning I feel better. Cheri

I've lost over 70 lbs and low carb was absolutely the only way I could do it. I did allow some high carb days, but overall it was the high protein that filled my pouch and kept the hunger at bay. Carbs either get stuck or they're high calorie sliders. Either way, not helpful. Cheri

Stoma spasms, gas, and other gross stuff. I have had it where I cautiously eat a meal and a half an hour or hour later I'm in pain and feel very full. But I think that's gas, which I'm so glad might go away soon per/Apples. I had my surgery in June and I'm constantly surprised by gas. I stand up with no clue and fart right in front of God and everybody. Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I pretend I didn't hear it and go right on talking or teaching. My motto has become Feel Free to Fart Frequently. Corn and grapes. Interesting. If they haven't been well-chewed, those are two things that will come out intact in baby poop. Almost feel like boiling them and and reusing them. (Gross, I know.) But I can see them both plugging the stoma. Great, My exMIL used to cut out newpaper articles and give them to me about various things or say things like, "Wouldn't you rather have..." Indirect and highly manipulative and just as instrusive. So I'm trying to be less and less like that myself, either directly interfering or indirectly. Julie, so happy about the MRI. I remember when I first saw mine and the Dr. showed me the herniated discs and I finally could put a finger on the source of my pain. I cried from relief, anger at all the ineffective therapies I went through, fear over what my future would hold, how well would I function, how much pain did my future hold, could it be fixed or alleviated, etc. I still struggle, but the neurosurgeon gave me good advice and performed effective surgery. He wouldn't fuse me, saying it would start a cascade of problems and limit my mobility because the two discs were separated by a good disc that would go bad if the others were fused. Instead, he spent 6 hours cutting out bone that allowed the spinal column to widen, creating more room for the cord and allowing the discs to retract. I had spinal stenosis (narrowing of the column with points pressing into the cord), compressed, herniated discs, and spurs poking and compressing the nerve bundle leading to my right shoulder and down my arm. My neck is a little weak, and falls can reaggravate the discs, but there is more and more evidence that fusions and partial discectomies only work for a small percent of people. I'd been in increasing pain for more than a year and had been through every therapy. They couldn't even get an epidural into my spinal column, which is a highly effective therapy, because my bones were so compressed they wouldn't let the needle through. My advice is make sure you see a top neurosurgeon (big city, teaching hospital, top specialist) and not just an orthopedic. Orthos are quick to fuse and its often not the best answer. Doing good with food. Hanging right around 166 #'s. One of my students told me I don't need to lose any more weight, I'm skinny enough. Cheri

I forgot to go to a meeting after work today, does that count? Fortunately, my boss knows I'm ADHD. This happens about once every other year that I miss my monthly meeting. I have a half hour drive from one school to the other that actually employs me. I was working, but it was on the computer getting ready for the compliance analyst who's coming to make sure all my paperwork and room is in compliance with all the NCLB rules. Blech! Busy week. Going to go from work to my daughter's tomorrow to babysit. I'll be going to her house almost every Tuesday till the end of the school year. Wednesday I have to get my temporary crown replaced by a new one. Thursday I'm going to a fancy dinner with some good Christian speakers downtown Chicago. I could go to choir practice at church and I could go help supervise a skating party for work. What to do, what to do.......Night out in Chicago wins. Friday through Sunday nothing planned. Husband has been working midnights every night since 12:01 early Friday. Home tonight. Working after midnight tomorrow. Very confusing because we think of it as tomorrow night but its actually Weds. morning. I'm going to watch Chuck at 7. One of my favorite shows. I absolutely hate the short seasons all the shows have and the superlong hiatus's. I actually stop watching some because I don't even know they're back on. Ha! No great loss, I'm sure. Food is going well. Was 165 Sunday morning. 2 lbs below goal. Went for short walk yesterday. I haven't hardly been exercising at school. I think it caused nerve compression in my neck that got worse as the day went by. My hip seems to be healing, too, so I think avoiding the stairs this week yet while I continue hanging upside down on my inversion table to keep stretching out my neck will help my neck stabilize. At home I can take a half hour walk outside, come home, and hang upside down right away and adjust my neck. So I'll probably start walking more in the evening now that Daylight Savings Time is here. As far as I'm concerned, they can keep it Daylight Savings time all year round. I don't mind getting up in the dark but I absolutely hate getting up in the dark and driving home in it too. Makes me feel like hibernating. Cheri

So how's this? I'm Dutch not Irish and this is fairly close to Delft. Cheri

Gotta take my grandson, David, to his soccer game this afternoon. Might pick up grand-daughter, Skylar, and take her with. Looks like my DH went back to work just in time. He bought an 09 PT Cruiser yesterday. Only 24,000 mi. Factory warrantied to 80,000. His 12 year old Escort totally bit the dust. He's going to take my 10 year old ZX2. The Cruiser has more room for car seats in the back, so I'm probably going to drive it, especially since I work in and drive through a very bad area, I need the most reliable transportation. It's very cute. I've always driven Fords so this may take a little getting used to. DH loves his job. On the midnight shift he feels like he's getting paid to do nothing. But it looks like he might go full-time on the afternoon shift, so I won't see him in the evenings. That actually appeals to me for now. I felt so tied down by him always being home watching TV when I got home. I'm going to be going to my daughter's every Tues. after school. She's bringing David to Indianapolis (2 hr. trip) for a special program for autistic childrenat Riley's (hospital?). He's going to be part of a study using a combination of medication and intensive therapy sessions. Her husband will drop her youngest, Joshua,off at my mom's in the early afternoon on his way to work. She lives 10 minutes from me. I'll pick him up when I 'm done with school and take him home (45 minutes) and wait for my DD to get back around 7:30 p.m. Should be an opportunity to visit with my mom and dad a while before I leave with Joshua. They'll probably have supper ready. David has had so many problems, I've probably spent more time with him than with any other grandchildren because my DD needed so much help. So it'll be nice to spend more time with the Joshua. I have choir on Thursday nights and on two Mondays a month I have meetings, so I'm starting to fill in some of those evenings since my DH will probably be working then. With him working, we should also start being able to get this house fixed up. I need the roof repaired and the basement totally rnovated as we had to tear everything out, including the bathroom, because of the flooding and mold problem. Still paying off Permaseal for our basement waterproofing. It's just an unbelievable relief to have him working. He is already so much more pleasant to be around. Lost all the weight I gained and am under goal again. I'm going to go for 5 more lbs in order to compensate for having to cut back my exercise. I did go for a walk this morning in the misty drizzle. I hung from my inversion table, walked 30 minutes, hung again from my inversion table, and walked 30 more. Each time my neck had compressed and needed decompressing. Hopefully, I'll eventually get it to stabilize again. I carried a 20 oz container of coffee with me while I walked to keep me from swinging my arms so much. It did keep the pain down in my neck and slowed me down so I wouldn't aggravate my hip. Cheri

LOL. For a second, Janet, I read "crack-pot" dinners. Back on bandwagon. Fell off bigtime partially due to major stressors in my life. Pain, paperwork, inability to use my drug of choice--exercise, and other life stressors. But back to to Protein first, and not room after that for much else. Be cautious with sauerkraut. I get trapped gas in the abdomen that pushes up on the band causing severe pain. It can't get back through the band and into the pouch and come out as a burp. Takes a few hours but found out this too shall pass--out the other end. Cheri

Hi All! With Spring just around the corner thought I'd try a colorful font. Back on the bandwagon pretty solid right now. Started to show some weight gain after last weekend's birthday party. That Hollandaise Sauce was a killer. Then there were these small cheesecakes.... Then Monday at work there was unbelievable goodies. Someone went to Panera Bread and bought all these day old pastries and someone else baked. I can usually say no to pastries but that was the day I found out we're getting audited for compliance with all the NCLB paperwork and recordkeeping. Plus I've been hurting, more this week than the past weeks. My neck is stopping me from being able to walk because just a little bit of arm-swinging irritates it and causes nerve-compression and headaches. I may go back to the Workman's Comp Dr. and request Toradol which is a powerful antiinflammatory and pain killer. I want to avoid having my neck get so bad I end up needing an epidural. That's what happened a few years ago after a bad fall. I shattered my knuckle and needed surgery but that didn't even hurt compared to my neck. I'm not that bad yet but I need to avoid exercise in order to not aggravate it. But that takes away my biggest mood controller, pain killer, and ADHD therapy--walking. So right now I'm gutting it out with the food and I don't have the exercise to help me. Hard protein and some veggies. A few nuts and seeds. SF DCaf lattes and protein shakes. Lost two lbs quickly. One to go. But I already notice my pants are tighter, not because of the weight as I'm only a lb over goal, but because of lack of exercise. Amazing how that trims inches. I may have to lose another 5-10 lbs to keep looking as thin as I did. Especially if I really have to limit the exercise from now on. I must say, that though I can eat around the band, its not comfortable. And the band made it really easy to get back into the groove. As soon as I started filling up with protein first, there wasn't room for much else. Congratulations to those newly banded and those about to be banded. Hugs to all those for whom life has taken a difficult turn. And when gas from sauerkraut has you walking the floors all evening and you can't find a comfortable position, just remember, this too shall pass. Laughter and love, Cheri

Husband is doing 3 midnights in a row at a gated community where the guard shack is 3x the size of my house. Going to be wierd with him working. Hopefully a good wierd. Tethered together. Like it. Busy, busy.

I will never eat sauerkraut again. I will never eat sauerkraut again. I will never eat sauerkraut again. Did I say I will never eat sauerkraut again?

Tried sauerkraut tonight with my turkey kielbasa. Takes awhile, but the gas eventually causes a lot of pain in the band area. Gas in the intestines and lower stomach pushes up on the band. Might still be some in the pouch. Ouch. Also went for a short walk with my husband and instant neck flare up. My hip is also still hurting unless I walk slowly. Can't fast walk at all.I do a few slow rounds of the stairs at work to keep my muscles from losing their training. Bit of a crisis at work. Chicago public schools is sending a compliance analyst to make sure we're dotting all our i's and crossing all our t's and there's a lot of i's and t's. The principal has not really gotten involved with my job and all the paperwork involved, he's been too busy putting out fires. My job was on the important but not urgent list and now suddenly its urgent. So I'm getting everything ready and I'll show it all to him so when he meets with the analyst he'll look and sound like he knows what I'm doing. LOL. My husband thinks he might be able to handle actually working full time with this security guard gig. All of a sudden he's full of life and getting things done and appears to once again like people. Lot better than the grim reaper look he's been wearing for the last 2 years. But almost as scary. Well, gotta walk off this gas. The motto of every lapbander, "Feel free to fart frequently."

Which little blond girl with the guitar? The one with dreads and the Janis Joplin voice? Or the one Kara really liked? I liked both of them, but Simon seemed to think the dreads was way out in front.

Melissa, sorry about the dog. Tough when your dog has to be put down. Still waiting for this hip to heal so I can exercise again. Tried it too early and not ready yet. Makes it hard for me to get rid of the heebie jeebies. That makes me want to eat. Getting hurt tends to really sabotage my food. Also waiting for a permanant crown. Jaw was aching last night. Took my vicodin two nights in a row to see if it helped with pain. It did but I barely slept, which is why I avoid vicodin. I have the opposite reaction from most people, but very typical of people with ADHD. I'm trying to fall asleep earlier to prepare for daylight savings. Ha! Not actually falling asleep till 1 a.m. No vicodin tonight. I really want to sleep. Apples, thanks for the recipe.

Apples, sorry for what you're going through. Does anyone know how many calories are in Hollandaise sauce? Holy Oleo (and butter)! My husband bought the premade kind instead of the package. But it is what makes the chicken divan taste good. Gotta do an Apples and find a way to get the same taste and texture without the cholesterol. Heart attack on a plate. Slides like silk. Great flavor. Froze a lot of the leftovers or I'll be out of maintenance in a heartbeat. Take it out next time someone comes over. Birthday party was great. stepGD was a riot. Everyone was there by 2:30 and didn't leave till 8. My husband's personality has done a 180. If my husband quits this job in a huff, I just might have to shoot him. Or feed him chicken divan till he dies a "natural" death. LOL. Jessica, there comes a time when we quit letting circumstances and other people's mistakes and desires rule our lives. It's amazing what can happen when we start to take care of ourselves and start meeting our own needs rather than expecting others to meet them. Good for you. Caught up on posts. Can't comment on all but love you all. Cheri