Lucky #7 are still going strong !!!

[phyllser 3]

Phyl, do you have the nose mask or full face mask? I have the full face mask because I am a mouth breather. They tried to put a chin strap on me, but it drove me nuts.

My last day of work at the nursery. Glad and Sad. I do get to take home a B&B (burlap & ball) 6 ft fir tree. The main leader died, so I get to take it home for free. It is about a $200 tree and will grow a new leader, so who cares, it will be a little ugly for a couple of years, but then it will be fine. My kids aren't too thrilled, planting it requires a mega hole, & it weighs about 500 pounds so I can't plant it by myself. They HATE digging tree holes, lots of rock.

Cool today, it is only suppose to have a high of 65 degrees, last night we were around 40 degrees. So much for summer.

Janet are you feeling better?

I have nasal prong mask. I started out with the full mask, but the top edges were irritating my eyes and leaving big lines on my face. This is the 3rd type mask I've had and it's supposed to be especially designed for women. I've had it a few months and not so sure I like it. I seem to have difficulty getting it to "sit" right every night!

It's 62 here this morning but supposed to be warming up to the 70's and 80's SOON. Until Friday, anyway. Then it cools off and might rain. Of course, we're supposed to go to a picnic that day!

Am getting seriously depressed today. Inservice tomorrow, CPR re-cert and prep day on Tuesday, and classes start Wednesday. Where the heck did the summer go? I WANT TO RETIRE NOW. Janet, I so feel for you and your whole situation. Candice--you too! We've put in our time, we've dealt with unreasonable bosses and demanding clients and selfish coworkers for over 30 years besides raising our own families, maintaining our own homes, and in general nurturing everyone else. I'm eating what I want today because I feel like that's the only thing I get to do for me. Tomorrow I will be controlled by everyone and everything else--including my own body (and my perfectionist Dr. sister and her Dr. husband and their future Dr. gifted children). Today is about what I want. How bad is that?

UH OH! Sorry you're having a bad day! Yes, the summer went by too fast. My dilemma.... I LOVE being home and I LOVE being at Sky Valley!! And I can't be in two places at once!

YEP... it's OKAY... today is about what YOU want! ENJOY!

I'm missing church AGAIN! Last week I didn't feel good. This week.... Earl has the car... and it's just sitting over at Tracy's! I could've taken him over there in my jammies this morning but I wasn't motivated to do so. He is climbing Mt. Pilchuck with Tracy & Jim (DD & SIL). He has NEVER done that before so I hope all goes well! It will probably take them about six hours to go up and back down again. Not sure of the elevation. The sun is out, though, so soon I will go get my shower and get dressed and go out and cruise around the neighborhood on my scooter. And maybe I'll sit outside and read my book later. AND... I can do some laundry

and maybe COOK something with NO interference!! LOL

[peaches9 3]

Back from town and buying groceries an Super Walmart. I hate not shopping locally, as my income comes from this community, but I saved A LOT. Basically bought almost a months worth of groceries and misc. for $250. I have even started searching online for coupons, saved $4.50. Every little bit helps.

I picked up some tilapi fish, so if any of you have recipes for it, please let me know. PB'ed on lunch, I guess I stressed the stoma last night. Gave up and am skipping lunch today, had about 100 cals.

I'm going to take a little nap.

Candice you sound like you are really haveing fun with the RV! You comments about the cpap make sense, I didn't think of it that way. My respiralogis (sp) said we could try lowering my pressure since I have lost weight, but the doc that did my sleep study says that weight gain contributes to apnea, but weight loss doesn't seem to help, so who knows.

Check in later.

Tilapia Fish, How I do it.

Take 2 cups of Corn Flakes, put in a ziplock bag and Crush them all wiht a rolling Pin or beer bottle(hic)

Then toss in spices... ie. Paprika, onion pwdr, garlic pwdr, salt, pepper whatever your taste buds prefer.

Then rinse and paper towel dry your fish.

Take a beaten egg into a bowl, DIP your dry FISH into the eggwash and then into the Baggie with the Cornflakes/spice mixture.

Spread fish on a lightly greased (PAM) cooking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes at 350F....

YUM<YUM<YUM... even my Non-fish-loving Sister will eat Tilapia this way... or pan fry it too if you like.

Both versions produce a nice crispy coating...

[peaches9 3]

Originally Posted by lindaa

Am getting seriously depressed today. Inservice tomorrow, CPR re-cert and prep day on Tuesday, and classes start Wednesday. Where the heck did the summer go? I WANT TO RETIRE NOW. Janet, I so feel for you and your whole situation. Candice--you too! We've put in our time, we've dealt with unreasonable bosses and demanding clients and selfish coworkers for over 30 years besides raising our own families, maintaining our own homes, and in general nurturing everyone else. I'm eating what I want today because I feel like that's the only thing I get to do for me. Tomorrow I will be controlled by everyone and everything else--including my own body (and my perfectionist Dr. sister and her Dr. husband and their future Dr. gifted children). Today is about what I want. How bad is that?

Happy Sunday, everyone;

LInda I take it the visit from your sister did not go well? Or are you just glad to see them go?

What is your family placement? Are you the oldest daughter/youngest???

I am the baby of the family, and when I get with "family" I am still 14 yrs old... I hate it!!! I am a caring, accomplished person, had a successful career and STILL them make me feel like a little kid.

Linda; you are awesome... don't let the blues get ya... or if it does... make it a SHORT and SWEET visit from the BLUES BROTHERS. :sad:

you are starting back on a full semester of work, so its natural to be stressed out with all the prep work you must do... have you and Mel sat down and figured out WHEN you CAN retire? THen start doing the countdown to freedom!!!

Janet? must be a the gym today doing penance...

I only have to suffer thru MONDAY and TUESDAY patients and then I'm off in my RV up north!...

[cramerk 1]

Linda I am so with you.. Hang in there, we definitely need to find a way to run away. We all are needing some R&R. Remember to take time for you. I also understand the situation with the 'perfect' family members. My brother has his own business, my sister married a wealthy person, and I'm the fat looser with 5 kids that I could ill afford. AND at 50 yrs old I still done have enough money to make it. What's also irritating...2 of my children are those 'perfect' people with lots of money...

So hang in there...

Question.. have any of you heard of people gaining weight with SF stuff. I have been drinking a lot more SF stuff lately, SF flavoring in my coffee (2 per day) and SF lemonade. All these things SAY the have 0 calories, but I haven't lost an ounce in 3 weeks and that is with my daily calories staying right at 1000 per day. I read somewhere that Splenda is really sugar but has a molecule that is too big to be absorbed by humans. But the article said that some people can absorb it. I was just wondering, I can't figure out why I haven't lost anything. Looking for an answer, thanks, I'll take any suggestions,

[cramerk 1]

Came home and planted my fir tree, it only took 1 1/2 hours to dig the darn hole, another hour to wrangle the thing out of the truck and back fill. Needless to say my arms and shoulders are complaining. The tree weighed 500 pounds, but it is in the ground and will be gorgeous in a few year. I remind myself how much it will increase the property value. Around here having trees on your property is like striking oil. In 10 years there should be some good height on the 20+ that I have planted. Most were nursery rejects, so they were free.

Candice, thanks for the fish recipe, I am going to try it tomorrow. Phyl, hope you enjoyed your cruise around the neighborhood. You better get it in now, it is almost surgery day. Please remind me again what date, so I can say an extra prayer, and send you positive vibes. Earl BETTER, keep us updated, or we will hunt him down and skin him!!

Steph...are you home yet?

Denise, how's your mom?

Janet, what have you been up to today.

Candice, I'm also the baby of the family, and everyone pretty much treats me like a child yet. Irritating. But I really hate it when I start acting like a child when I'm around them. It is so easy to fall into that trap, heck, I am intimidated by one of my own child, oh heck, by two of my own children. they have their head's on straight and very focussed. In comparison, I can find myself falling into the trap of being a ditz.

Well, I think I found another job. One of the ladies who works at the nursery on Sundays, owns a consignment shop and needs someone to work occasional Saturdays. So I guess I'll add that to the other 3 jobs.

Anyway, I'm heading to bed, you all have a good sleep and I'll chat in the morning.

[peaches9 3]

Karla, how is your Water intake??? I don't think it is the art. sweetners.... maybe this is just a plateau that you have to ride out.

OR... try the WENDY PLAN; Mon 1000 cals, Tues 1100 cals, WED 950 cals;Thur 1200 cals, Fri1100 cals, Sat 1000 cals and Sunday 1150....

This way your BODY gets "tricked" into continueing to lose... if we eat the exact number of cals per day... Our bodies HOLD onto stored fat cause it thinks there is a famine... Just some info that I've heard.

CAN

[cramerk 1]

Candice, Water intake is good, but that is also where the SF lemonaide is coming from. I don't like 'plain' water, so I put it over ice, and then toss in some SF lemonaide powder. I usually exceed the 64 oz. per day.

Janet, your battery issues are contageous. DD#4 went out to go to work this morning and her car wouldn't start. I'm REALLY hoping it is the battery and NOT the starter. So I'll put the battery charger on it today and see if it starts, that will give us a clue on what it is. Needless to say, I got to drive her to work in my pj's. Was REALLY hoping my car didn't die. I always have visions of the mom in her robe & rollers out there changing a tire in the rain. But fortunately God was looking over me and made it back home safe & sound. My lobster print bottoms would be okay for public, but the no bra t-shirt wouldn't have been pretty. Then there was the hair and teeth, ooooo, scary.

Who knows why I'm not loosing anything. But so far I haven't gotten TOTALLY frustrated and binged. That is always a risk for me.

[cramerk 1]

Candice, did you see the block of the month on the Fat Quarter Newsletter by Robyn Pandolph? I love her stuff. I actually took a class from her when she was with Moda. She is who taught me how to applique. I want it BAD!!!! But alas, the budget does not allow, or the stack of block of the month/kits that are occupying 2 drawers in my sewing room. But the price is excellent, $20 per month with about $5 for shipping AND it makes almost a queen size quilt.

[Twilight 2]

Hi ladies. Just checking in quick. I see there are 6 pages I need to read before I'm caught up on your lives. I might find some quiet time to do that sometime in the next month.

There are a million things happening in my world right now, none of them good. The Michael thing has escalated and I'm a babbling idiot when it comes to discussing it. I'm exhausted, confused, upset, and can do nothing but cry. He is in an acute residential facility and they are waiting on me to find him outpatient care before they will release him. Needless to say I'm beginning to think hell will freeze over before that will happen....but I'm on day one of the search so I shouldn't give up so easily.

I'm a very negative Nelly these days and in tears most of the time. You know the saying, "life sucks and then you die"....welll I'm to the point that the second half of that sentence couldn't come fast enough.

My food choices are horrific and I could care less right now. I eat only to get sick. I'm tighter now than I was before I had my unfill and if I thought I was too busy to get an unfill before....now I've got twice as much on my plate.

I need some serious medication...I'm thinking something that will make me do nothing but sit in the corner and drool. I'm dying for an escape. Dying to pick up a pack of cigarettes. Screaming to get raging drunk and stay that way. Praying that someone will commit me so that I don't have any responsibilities anymore.

I'll be checking in and out but don't expect a lot of response from me. This is the first 10 minutes I've had to sit at the computer in over 6 days. You can try email but I haven't even been checking that. I just don't have the time or the energy.

Sorry to be such a downer. Just didn't want you all to think I've dismissed you. I need you all now more than ever and I love you all. I just don't have any energy to give to you all. I know that being here would be the best for me now, but I'm the least of my concerns. I'll check in when I can. Love you ladies. I really do.

[peaches9 3]

Hi ladies. Just checking in quick. I see there are 6 pages I need to read before I'm caught up on your lives. I might find some quiet time to do that sometime in the next month.

There are a million things happening in my world right now, none of them good. The Michael thing has escalated and I'm a babbling idiot when it comes to discussing it. I'm exhausted, confused, upset, and can do nothing but cry. He is in an acute residential facility and they are waiting on me to find him outpatient care before they will release him. Needless to say I'm beginning to think hell will freeze over before that will happen....but I'm on day one of the search so I shouldn't give up so easily.

I'm a very negative Nelly these days and in tears most of the time. You know the saying, "life sucks and then you die"....welll I'm to the point that the second half of that sentence couldn't come fast enough.

My food choices are horrific and I could care less right now. I eat only to get sick. I'm tighter now than I was before I had my unfill and if I thought I was too busy to get an unfill before....now I've got twice as much on my plate.

I need some serious medication...I'm thinking something that will make me do nothing but sit in the corner and drool. I'm dying for an escape. Dying to pick up a pack of cigarettes. Screaming to get raging drunk and stay that way. Praying that someone will commit me so that I don't have any responsibilities anymore.

I'll be checking in and out but don't expect a lot of response from me. This is the first 10 minutes I've had to sit at the computer in over 6 days. You can try email but I haven't even been checking that. I just don't have the time or the energy.

Sorry to be such a downer. Just didn't want you all to think I've dismissed you. I need you all now more than ever and I love you all. I just don't have any energy to give to you all. I know that being here would be the best for me now, but I'm the least of my concerns. I'll check in when I can. Love you ladies. I really do.

Oh Steph, you sound so down. I am so sorry your life sucks so bad right now. You don't have to feel guilty for not "giving to us" on the thread, you have a full plate and its time for some "YOU" time.

What kinds of things usually bring you joy? I know you have a good strong mate in Jeff... can you lean on him? What about a counselor? Did you have something t'd up with a family counselor - that might be a good place to start.

No more talk about ESCAPING o.k.? You are stronger than you think girl... and NObody would want a world without STEPHANIE in it!!!! I MEAN IT.... You have had challenges in the past and you'll have them again... but the most important thing to remember is "THAT YOU have all the necessary tools to get you thru this."""

You have your faith in GOD

You have your friends and family support

You have anti-depressants if needed

You have a good strong backbone and brain...

I wish I was closer so I could give you a big HUG, or offer some babysitting releif for you... or take Michael for the weekend, just something to give you a break.

BE stong, WE love you more than BETTER!!

[peaches9 3]

Stephanie, I hope you are reading this right now... HUGS G.F.

[cramerk 1]

Steph, you need to go for a walk. Can your mom take the little ones for a couple of weeks. You are strong enough to handle this, but it stinks. Can you find a residential facility for Michael. I don't know if outpatient is going to do what he or you need. This is just a thought, please don't think I am being over harsh, I don't mean it that way.

Call when you needs to talk. I'm not calling, because I know you are busy trying to find a solution. But I am here when you need me.

Love you girl, be strong!!

[cramerk 1]

On a separate note, I did go for an hour brisk walk. I plan on walking a half hour tonight. Maybe that will get the scale moving.

[peaches9 3]

On a separate note, I did go for an hour brisk walk. I plan on walking a half hour tonight. Maybe that will get the scale moving.

Good stuff Karla; walking is a great metabolism booster... now how 'bout kicking my butt and getting it in gear!!!! LOL

All packed in the R.v. and ready to take to the road on Wed. Got a brutal day tomorrow at work 7 px. in one day! ARGH!! but then, Calgon is taking me away!!!! No skunks or poison Ivy up north...YEAH!

Peter was out washing and waxing the R.V when I left for work.

[lindaa 1]

Stephanie. I just said a prayer for you and will continue to do so. I prayed that you will find the peace that passes understanding; that you will be able to put this in God's hands, and allow Him to show you what He wants you to do. I am praying for people to sourround you with love and kindness so that you feel His presence. Please remember that we care about you.