Debbie-I’m sorry your son left on such bad terms. If it makes you feel any better, my oldest foster son went through almost the same thing. He’d never even been on date before he went off to the Navy. He basically married the first girl who looked at him. She pushed me and his mom (my former roommate) out of his life because it was what she wanted. Every time he was at sea, she spent all his money on other men. He hurt his back lifting a 100 pound sack of potatoes, and ended up having to leave the Navy a month ago. As soon as the sea pay was gone, so was she. She actually started writing checks on his Navy Credit Union account. The account hadn’t had any money in it, in awhile, so she couldn’t use the debit card. Writing the checks showed she was the one doing it, and not him, so the feds are after her now, and even her parents don’t know where she is. He is like a different person. He’s moved in with a buddy and is starting to actually enjoy life again. His back has even quit hurting. I guess she was literally a pain in the a@@. They have no right to be mad at you after violating your privacy. That is a form of emotional rape. Just don’t say anything to him that you’ll regret later, and trust that with time and maturity he will come around. Now’s the time to take care of yourself.

Annie-So glad you are home. I know that I always recuperated at home quicker. Just take it easy on yourself, and you’ll be out ‘restlin gators in no time.

I just came back from a Friday night date with my husband. A Denny’s boca burger without mayo is as decadent as I get these days. I’m a pretty cheap date. We were celebrating.

John -- Sounds like life is throwing crap at you. Don't let it win. Consider it a challenge!

Celebrating anything exciting??

Hello my Peeps,

BigJohn, it's good to hear from you, I don't care if it's to tell us negative or positive things. I've had weeks like yours and my knees were totally bruised a month ago because of both feet going out from under me in the house after stepping on dog toys. Check in here more often and perhaps we can soften some of those curve balls being thrown at ya.

Catherine, you celebrating your Pica cravings? The potential source of those cravings??? I won't detail the "Dirt Cake" ingredients that I make for expectant mommies, but it contains a couple of packages of crushed oreos.

Debbie, I'm so sorry to hear about your DIL and DS's behavior. I'm glad they moved out, however. Time takes care of a lot of those feelings on both sides. You did your best with a bad situation. I will send healing vibes to your family in hopes your DS gains some sanity in a timely manner. Good job at getting healthy things at the store!! I did the same yesterday!!! Yay us!!! Despite 2 bad days of food choices, I still lost 1.8 lbs this week. Those bad food choices really sucked the energy out of me for those days and the day after. UGH. There are consequences!!!Right?!

Now that the steriods are done, my back muscle pull is hurting again. I have a bunch of exercises to do for it. The good news is I got the lawns mowed last night before it really starting hurting me this morning. I didn't edge though. That contraption pulls on my back.

One of my goldens had an upset tummy this morning in the kitchen.. ewwww.. nasty smell. Good thing it's a beautiful morning and I opened all the windows and turned on the fans to get the smell out. So much for sleeping in on a beautiful Saturday morning!!!

Hugs to all!
RK

Annie,

Thanks for checking in!!!! Healing vibes to you! You are awesome!

Luv,
RK

Rat- I don't know if curveballs can be softened when they're throw Mack trucks at you.

Thanks all

HELLO EVERYONE, I'M BAAAACK!!

WOW...it has been a CRAZY month and I have missed you ALL!!!

I have been in construction ****, at Disney for our 20th anniversary(98 degrees/104 HI), and Pennsylvania for school shopping. School orientations and all of life's crazyness hit hard in August. I have been bouncing around foodwise, but with all the walking and shopping, have even lost 1 more lb! (just one more for my mini-goal-yay!)

We had the house re-sided, new roof, and new windows put in. It looks like a completely new place. I will post pics soon. I am happy with the work, but I really hate having it done. Not as bad as our kitchen last summer, but still annoying.

We hit Disney on the 14th. We stayed at the Polynesian Resort, which so close to the Magic Kingdom that you can see Cinderella's Castle across the lake at night. It was beautiful, but oh so HOT I usually HATE to sweat but this was ridiculous. I call it Man-Sweat (sorry John!)...ya know, the kind that rolls down your back and around the collar of your shirt. So gross. I don't even sweat like that when I work out! I am sure that is why even though we ate like pigs I still lost a lb! I will definately be going back, but never in August again! It didn't help that the new orthodics I got before we left gave me a blood blister on my good foot because they needed to be shaved down. Thank goodness for moleskin and bandaids! All in all, it was a great trip with only one bad dinner experience (of course it was for our Anniversary)

We always go to Lancaster(PA) every summer for our school clothes shopping, and we took Scott's (son #1) girlfriend along. We actually had a good time...did lots of shopping...and I think because we got 2 adjoing rooms, had some breathing room so there wasn't any fighting. Even the dog had fun.

I started PT this week for my foot...after another cortizone shot (that makes3 ). Turns out that when I took Andrew (son #2) to the orthopedist-he has Osgood Schlatter's-he wanted him to got to PT also. So mother and son get to go 2x a week for a little while. {sigh}

We are having a pool party for Sammi's 13th birthday tomorrow. 12 13 y/o girls screaming in the yard. Thank goodness it's a holiday weekend, or it would have been 20!! Should be interesting. I told her it's the last party, but she was quick to remind me that she "has" to have a Sweet-16. I told her I would rather go to Hawaii. I have 3 years to convince her.


I have been lurking because that's all the time I have had, but I wanted to keep up with everyone. Things will finally slow down after tomorrow, and I go back to work on Wedsnesday, so life will be "normal" again. I am so proud of all of you and send big to all that are struggling!

Just a few personals that I need to say...

Catherine: I am glad your heart has mended itself...that's so awesome! You continue to inspire and amaze me. Oh and Um, are you preggers? Was that the celebration? Because Pica (eating dirt) is a sure and not so healthy sign. I hope all goes well!

Annie: Congrats on your surgery and I am so happy it all went smoothly!! You amaze me that you are ready to do ANY type of exercise already!!

Nancy: You are a such a good person to help your ex. I hope he realizes what a great gal he has given up!! It is really great that you can be friends after everything that has happened. Big props to you girlfriend!

Well, I think I have babbled about a month's worth of news...Have a great OP Day and Weekend!

Oh Yeah...I forgot to say I had a great NSV....I have given up my 1 cigarette a day disgusting habit!! I just wish it was as easy to give up food!!

Hey Everyone!

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Val. I'm 23. I was diagnosed with MS a few years ago... since then I've been pretty sick with MS symptoms and my overweight self gained the weight to put me over the edge where I am now.. but I couldnt do anything about it because raising my body temperature would just make my MS symptoms worse. It was a very scary time to be ordered to rest for 2 years and still have trouble walking on my own because of neurological symptoms.

So.. that's the blurb about how I got here. Luckily.. whether it be the drugs... or whatever.. I'm in remission right now. And I can do stuff I havent done in years

Now this is my venting section. I thought this week would be the week I got under 300. It was my goal and I knew I could do it by the time September started. But today is my weigh in.. and I havent lost a pound. (gained .2 but I'm not worried about it)

I'm disapointed in myself.. because I'm so close to that mini goal that I eased up. I started feeling a little safe before I even got there.

But I wont give up. My lesson is learned. I'm going for a hike!
I just need to document that. Thanks for listening

Hi everyone. I've been MIA for a week or two I guess. No particular reason. Just been busy and in a bit of a funk too. I've lost some weight since I last posted but have not been exercising. I think that adds to my funk. Exercise keeps depression away, right? Anyway, school has started and is going well so far. I ended up dropping the accounting class that is part of the MBA core and switching to a statistics class. Having an accounting undergraduate degree and having worked in accounting or auditing for 15 years, it was way too basic a class for me. I talked to my advisor and they will let me waive that class. I still have to have the accounting hours but I can take a more advanced class that interests me rather than the basic one.

Catherine - So glad to hear your heart is A-OK. The resilience of the human body can be quite amazing.

Debbie - I don't blame you for feeling your privacy was violated. It WAS violated. You have the perfect right to vent your thoughts privately. Whatever was said by you in a private conversation cannot be nearly as bad as the utter deviousness of someone hacking into your computer to read your private messages. It is one thing to accidentally overhear someone, but this was no accident. Hopefully your son will see the light about this girl someday soon. In the meantime, I am sorry you have to go through it.

Annie - Glad to see you posting here and to hear your surgery went well. I look forward to all the good changes that are coming your way.

I don't have much to add. I hope you all have a nice holiday weekend.

Heather-we were celebrating my good stress test results. I don’t know about the other yet. If we were to celebrate that with my track record, it wouldn’t be for a couple of months at least.

Debbie-Just remember that you have the right to feel violated. I’m sure your son would have felt the same if you had listened in on his phone calls or read his diary. That is basically what they did. Take the high road, and be ready with a soft place for him to land, because that is likely to happen.

Rat-We were celebrating my getting to go off my angina medicine. I was craving it, but I didn’t partake. One thing that always helped my spine when it was at its worse, was hanging upside down in the pool. Just wear goggles and a nose clip, and hook your feet upside down in the deep end on the ladder. I would even sometimes just sit on the side of the pool with ankle weights on in the deep end letting the weights stretch out my spine. You can do that longer since your head isn’t below water.

Donna-Having lived in Florida for almost 2 decades, I never understood why people vacationed there in summer. I got the snow birds in winter. That made sense, but if you want to just be in a sauna, you can stay home and go to the YMCA. I remember the summer my parents built an addition on the house. The contractor took off after the first week. We had only paid him for a week of work, so it wasn’t as if we had gotten taken, but no other contractor would touch the job because they were afraid they’d do the work, and the first guy would show up and be entitled to the pay. So we had a neighbor who was a retired contractor (80+), and he supervised while we did the work. I learned to do sheet rock and mudding, and lay tile, etc. My mom and I did the interior while my brothers were doing the roofing. We did plumbing, and the boys did the electrical. I swear that I had sawdust in my hair for a year afterwards. I always use duct tape on blisters. Try that next time.

Valpal-Welcome. Good to see another Canadian, even if I’m just a new transplant. I tell these other women that we were under a frost warning in August, and they think I’ve been smoking something. I understand about that feeling of getting to walk again. I spent 8 years in a wheelchair, and have been walking for almost 3 now. I also understand about setting goals. Everytime I got close to my goal weight, I’d get excited that I was “done” and relax, and regain. So I have never actually reached a goal weight before. I try very hard not to set goals now. I never want to think I am close to being “done.” This is something I have to do for the rest of my life, there is no goal line.

Xena-The body is truly amazing. While we were sitting outside waiting to go in yesterday, a 60-ish year old woman, very trim, stylish, and wearing very fashionable clothes, like she had been a fashion model when younger, went into another office. She was carrying a box that looked like 3 dozen Tim Horton’s (Canadian Krispy Kreme) donuts. I told my husband that in a real sense we are the lucky ones. We are eating the diet that everyone should be. She’s unlucky for being so trim that she can eat a bad diet and get away with it. I had two aunts like that. Slim, could never gain weight, and both died young of stroke. Their arteries were like a 90 year old’s when they were in their 50’s. Our weight means that we have to heal our body at an earlier age. Other people don’t walk around with neon signs saying “high blood pressure” or “clogged arteries” like we walk around with basically a neon sign saying “obese.”

I’m going to clean house today and get ready for tomorrow. Himself is going to have a gaggle of nerds over to work on his website. I am going to find a mall that is open. As long as I leave them food they are happy. I’m willing to give them the run of the house so long as I leave it clean.

Hello everyone! Hope you're all having a lovely Saturday.

Story, maybe not being able to eat those awful mcprocessed beef patties is a blessing in disguise! Can you still handle burgers that you make and throw on the grill at home? Hope everything goes great with your fill on Tuesday!

BattleAx, hiking over in your neck of the woods sounds like it'd be very beautiful. I'll have to visit Northern California one day to see the scenery for myself. Come to think of it, the only part of California I've seen is the inside of the Los Angeles airport (LAX)... must work on that.

Nancy, I guess it's true about not knowing who your real friends are until it's time for you to move . For future reference, some moving companies offer day laborers to come and help. They're a lot cheaper than the experienced movers, but not really trained, so I wouldn't trust them with an irreplaceable antique vase.

Catherine, I'm so happy for you being able to get off of that heart medication! That's fantastic news. As far as BBQ sauce and cheerios, maybe you're destined to be the next famous "fusion" chef . Open up a fancy restaurant, get your own cooking show on Food Network... sounds good to me!

Debbie, I don't know what your son was like before DIL came along, but if the whole invasion of privacy is a new development, then take comfort in that it probably wasn't your son's idea. People can be strongly influenced (sometimes in negative ways) by those they care about. You didn't do anything wrong. You're entitled to your thoughts and opinions and you should be allowed to express those. They're the ones that stuck their noses in where they didn't belong and invaded your privacy.

Annie, glad to hear that you're doing okay after that surgery. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery!

John, it's a good thing that you didn't break any bones or have any serious injuries from that fall. I hope you find a rhythm soon so that some of that weight of the world can be lifted from your shoulders.

Ratkitten, I hope your back feels better and that your pup is doing okay.

Donna, it certainly sounds like you've been busy, but from the looks of things you've been doing a lot of fun stuff. Try and tell your daughter about all of the cute surfer guys in Hawaii. That might sway her over to your side of thinking. Also, congrats on kicking the habit!

Val, and it's great that your MS is in remission. I'm sure you'll be under 300 before you know it! Just like you said, learn from your mistakes and never give up!

Xena, Meta, and anyone else that I missed, a big hello to you!


This weekend has gotten off to a crazy start. First of all, yesterday evening my mom called to tell me that my grandmother (on my mother's side) was doing very badly and that they had confirmed her DNR order with my uncle who was at the hospital with her twice in a fairly short period of time.

Here's some history on my grandmother's condition. She's about 4'10 and weighs around 270 lbs, which is a lot of weight for such a small person. She has diabetes and congestive heart failure and has been on a downward slide the past several years ever since she stopped working. She basically became a hermit and really wasn't taking care of herself at all (she wasn't bathing, cleaning, etc.). About a year ago, she took a spill and broke her arm and since she was by herself, no one knew what had happened until the next day when my aunt called and didn't get an answer. She was in the hospital for that for about a month and then moved into a nursing home. Ever since then she's been even more depressed and doesn't really care much about what happens to her. I'm sorry if people find this to be TMI, but she chooses to wear adult diapers and have a catheter, even though the doctors say she's perfectly capable of getting up and going to the bathroom herself (or maybe with having a nurse's aide helping her up). Since she was refusing to get moving at all, fluid collects and causes pneumonia, which she's been hospitalized for twice in the past 6 months. The last time the doctors said that they didn't see her making it through another bout of that.

Well, fast forward to about 2 weeks ago. She was hospitalized again, but this time because she was non-responsive. They said that they found her with a kind of glazed over look and wouldn't say anything when they asked her if she was okay. Turns out that her carbon dioxide levels were high because the doctors had told them to increase her oxygen. Now, I don't blame the doctor because he might have said for them to monitor her closely, and the people at that home aren't exactly great caregivers (regularly forget to give her water, don't give her all of her pills, etc.). We couldn't really get her in anywhere else because they wouldn't take her being as obese as she is. Anyway, when the doctor felt she was stable, he had her moved to a rehabilitation hospital so that they would pay a lot more attention to her during her recovery process. Well, she's only been there for a few days and has taken sort of a nose dive, as I mentioned above. Apparently, she's needing her bipap machine and oxygen constantly, and they don't want to give the bipap all the time because it can cause your nostrils to collapse if left in constantly (?). According to my mom, she's using it on one of the highest levels, and they said that once she reaches the highest level and still is saying she can't breathe, they're supposed to unplug her and let her die. To me, that sounds like she'd basically be suffocating to death, which sounds like a harsh way to go. I don't really know everything that's going on considering everything I hear is second/third/fourth hand, so maybe there are other details.

Needless to say, I'm feeling guilty about not being there with her. They said it could be hours, days, or weeks before she dies, but that they really don't see her getting out of this, although miracles do happen. I might would hope for a miracle, but to be quite honest, I think she has very little will to live. My mom and all of my relatives said that it would be best for my brother and me to stay at college because they would hate for our grades to suffer as a result, but I can't help but feel guilty. I know they're right and I also know that my grandmother wouldn't want for me to do poorly in school because of her, but still...

Other than that, I think I finally decided that I'm going to be a vegetarian... the main reason being that preparing raw meat really grosses me out. I also find Amy's frozen dinners to be far superior to Lean Cuisines, etc. so it's pretty convenient for me. I stocked up on veggie sources of protein when I went grocery shopping today which meant lots of beans and rice, some tofu products (trying to stay away from the overly processed stuff though), quorn, cheese, yogurt, etc. I've tried going veggie before, but didn't have much success with sticking to it. I think this time might actually work out considering I've been nearly vegetarian since I've been living by myself without even intending to.

I feel like I've had a little bit of word diarrhea with this post... it got pretty long. Sorry for being so depressing. I hope you're all having a much better Labor Day weekend!

Just a quick fly by today - I'm going mad organizing my house/painting my dining room to get things in order for the new school year. I'm off until Wednesday...yay!

Catherine, what a wonderful and deeply significant NSV getting off that medication is. I'm very happy for you! Congratulations on all the changes you've made over the last years. Let us know if you've eaten any dirt. Can I suggest a squirrel that has rolled around in dirt?

Xena - Congrats on your few pounds down and glad to hear you're in the swing of things with school.

Debbie - So sorry about the stuff going on with you now. It'll take some time for all the conflicting feelings to settle for all involved, and I'm sure there will be a happier ending some time in the future.

Lindsey - Very sad about your grandmother. Hang in there.

Donna - WAY TO GO on the smoking thing! Another great investement in your health, even if only one a day. That's 365 in a year, and over 3650 in ten years.

Everybody else, HI!, and have a great Labour Day weekend.

omg omg omg I'm down to 331!!! I got on the scale to see how bad the damage was and I've lost another 7lbs. I got on scale 3 times and I even rezero the scale cause I was like this can't be right but it is!!!