Steel Magnolias #8

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  • Time is sure flying! We got our tax refund last night so now we can go to Chattanooga in style! I was so tired last night I begged Jack to wait until this morning to pack everything and haul it to the suv. He is taking the day off, thank goodness, so we can get the rest of the stuff done.

    Well, dr says his hand is arthritic. He gave him a brace and said to take glucosamine, which I bought several months ago and told him to take but he ignored me. He said he could give him a cortizone shot, but they hurt like heck (that's what he told him, truly!) Jack is needle phobic so you know he didn't want to go there! He also said they could do surgery and remove a piece of bone and it would stop the hurting but he would be off work 5 weeks and Jack can't take off 5 weeks. Soooooo, it may be something he is going to have to live with. He told Jack, "You know, there is some age to these bones." Wow, we didn't know that considering Jack is 60! The guy was kind of a jerk. Jack didn't like him much. He has to go back and see him in a month, but I doubt there will be much improvement. I just hope I can convince him to take the glucosamine.

    Susan: Sounds like you had a good dinner. I don't know what your copays are, but with that many meds I am sure you spend a lot of money on them. Do you have mail order service where you can get 90 days at a time for a copay? We do and boy does that save us money. We have $3 and $9 copays, but most of our meds are $3 copays. I take 3 at the moment so get 90 days for a total of $9 and Jack takes 3 and his are $15 because we have to pay for one brand name. Thankfully, our prescription plan doesn't change when we go on medicare.

    Well gals, I will talk to you on Tuesday. We leave for Chattanooga as soon as Thomas gets off the bus this afternoon. Have a wonderful weekend all! Faye
  • Finally Friday
    GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

    I must be so boring to you gals because I have nothing to report except that things are going fine here in the Heartland. We are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Got our spring garden just about planned and do plan on drying and processing the bounty this year. Doing what we can to prepare for the hard times facing us when the bad times really hit if they do hit as predicted. Like I said, hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I hate to be caught in my unawares. I have been reviewing my pantry planner information and gathering up some good containers. I am going to start marking the shelf life on products we package or bring in. Some things only have a shelf life of 6 months and I will need to keep track because other items have a shelf life of a year or more. I have to do this because we plan on packaging up more than we ever did before. Like I said earlier, hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

    DONNA FAYE That ole Arther is a bad dude. I do hope your Jack can get some releif from the glucosamine if he will take it. Those cortesone shots never hurt me like they said they would either. Not any worse to me than any other shot and what a releif. I had them in my back. I had a doctor that knew how to administer shots with the least amount of stress to the patient. I am so happy for you getting your tax return. That put a hop in your step. Have a great time on your "get away" and do tell us all about it when you return. Be safe and know that we are thinking of you. I think of Jean often and wonder how she is enjoying her days in the sun.

    SUSAN I do hope your day is going well with you.

    Have a wonderful weekend folks. Type at y'all later

  • Good evening, ladies! We're getting ready for more snow late Sunday into Monday. What has melted has made ponds and lakes where none existed before. The ground is so saturated, trees are starting to fall.

    Faye, I'm still waiting on my 1099 from my IRA withdrawal. I'm calling them Monday to see where it is. The tax return is always nice to have. I'll just be happy if I don't have to pay this year. 7 of my prescriptions I've managed to get the doctor to write generic and I get 3 months for $10. There are no generic equivalents for Symbicort or Spiriva and the are $75 copays each and then the Proventil is a $40 copay. Just found out the insurance doesn't cover Fosamax but it is only $9 for a month's supply so that was a relief. Did the doctor tell Jack to wear the brace at night? I have one for carpal tunnel. I haven't had to use it for quite a while, though, but it sure helped. Have a great weekend. I hope your "problems" don't flare up so that you can't enjoy yourself. I look forward to Thomas stories when you get back.

    Maggie, my life is dull, too. Work and quilting. I think people really don't have lives that are exciting all the time. I'm a happy person because I have a roof over my head, food on the table, clothes approptiate to the season, and loving friends. Don't have much money, but as long as it covers the necessities, I'm happy. God is good.

    My friend brought me 2 dozen oatmeal cookies today. She won't share the recipe and they are so good. They are very thin and totally crispy and good with a cup of tea. I wrapped them individually and put them in a freezer bag in the freezer. Out of sight, out of mind.

    Have a good evening!
  • Saturday
    GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

    It is a bright sunshiney day here in the Heartland. I am up and about cleaning house this day. Dusting and the like. We have a Valentines party to attend tomorrow evening after services which will be fun. The hosts always have neat little goodies to distribute. We are planning to make a trip down to Texas when the weather improves and it is convenient with our garden to be left for a couple days.

    SUSAN No, I am not bored but a happy camper am I. I do enjoy having a goal of something to plan for. Those cookies sound good. I have a nice recipe for Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies 2 points each that are scrumptious. I like it especially because it doesn't have raisins in it. I like raisins but not in cookies. It was real nice of your friend to bring you some but too bad she wouldn't share the recipe. I share all my recipes and some say they don't turn out like mine. It is all in the "handling" of the process I do believe.

    Have a great day! Type at y'all later
  • Good evening, ladies! The first snow from the south started during the night but didn't amount to much. It stopped by noon. The next snow storm is due tomorrow into Monday. I want Spring!

    Glory and I went over to Bella Fabrics today and had lunch at the Crab Shack. I did go to WW and had a .2 gain. If I could ever get under 160 I'd be a really happy person. The cookies didn't help.

    Nothing much going on the rest of the weekend. I hope I can get to Mass tomorrow. Cabin Fever is developing. I'm even tired of quilting.

    Have a good time at your party tomorrow, Maggie!
  • Morning ladies. Thomas is snoozing on the sofa bed and Jack is nursing a sick tummy from pizza last night so I thought I would check in. We are having such a wonderful time and he is so hilarious. The boat trip we took was fab and we enjoyed it so much. I have a pic of t fast asleep against my, as my kids used to call them when they were little, my fluffy pillows! The last part of the ride is quiet with no information coming over the speakers and he konked out. We let him stay up as late as he wished the night before with only the warning he would have to get up at a certain time to go downtown. He popped right up.

    Here is a sample of T's humor. The boat we were on was a 78 passenger super speed boat sort of like a hydrofoil. It would go up to 55 mph at time. It had a refreshment stand to purchase snacks and two decent sized restrooms aboard. I preface the story by telling you that so you would understand. We ate lunch at a mexican restaurant across the street from the aquarium. I told the boys we all needed to go to the bathroom before we got on board the ship. When we got ready to leave, I had gone to the bathroom and Jack asked t if he had to go and he said no. I asked Jack if he needed to go and he said "No I can go on the boat." I giggled and looked at Thomas and said "Granddad said he is going to GO on the boat," meaning on the deck and T said, "Well it is the poop deck!"

    That boy is 5 ft tall and only weighs 59 lbs. He put away a whole order of chicken and steak fajitas with all the trimmings by himself!!!

    Well, I am not going to do personal replies, just wanted to let you know we are ok and having fun. Supposed to be a snowstorm tonight so we may have dicy travel tomorrow coming home through the mountains as it is uphill.
    Faye
  • Good morning, ladies! Nice day so far...snow is supposed to start tonight and then turn to rain tomorrow so probably no accumulation.

    I woke up about 5:30 am with a terrible backache. I got up and took some Advil and put a pain patch on the area and went back to bed until it was time to get up for Church. Went to church and I think I'll be spending the day in the recliner with the heating pad and a good book. I got the WW Week 1 Book out again and I'm going to chose from those menu this week and see what happens. I did really good this morning - we had a bake sale at church and I didn't buy anything. I gave the ladies a donation and got out of that area fast.

    Faye, I love T's sense of humor. I'm glad you are having a good time.

    Hi, Maggie.

    Have a good day!
  • Good morning, ladies! Clear up to 48 degrees and the snow missed us so it is a beautiful day in my neighborhood.

    I have applique bee tonight. We're going to an Italian restaurant for dinner before hand so I'll have 1 piece of mushroom and spinach pizza and a house salad with dressing on the side.

    Have a good day, ladies!
  • Magnificent Monday
    GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

    It is a chilly sunshiney day here in the heartland. Wind blows and turns your head around. I don't like the wind. AH but this too shall pass so I don't trip. Our front door know quit working so Will replaced it this morning. It is one of those lever kind and not a knob. Anyway the box didn't state if it was a right or left hand one and this just happened to be a left hand one so to open the door you lift instead of push down. Actually I like it that way because if anyone wanted to get in they would push down and it wouldn't open. I don't worry about folks trying to get in here though. This is not a high crime area for sure. No gangbangers living in this town, yet anyway. I go to weigh in this day so keep your fingers crossed for me please. Will is bringing me half a sandwich and cup of soup when he gets back from running his errands about town. There is a shop where we buy our coffee and that is one of the necessary stops. The party last night was good. The hostess served a baked chicken dish and steamed veggies to go with. I did good with my portion sizes so didn't do any damage in that department and stayed away from the dessert table. What fun we did have though. There were at least 25 of us there yacking up a storm.

    DONNA FAYE What a hoot that little "T" is. I am sure you laugh a lot when you are around him. I too have to know where every bathroom is when we are out and about. I just need to know.

    SUSAN I certainly hope your backache has gone away by now. You did some good planning on what to eat at the Italian restaurant. That is a restaurant I don't frequent for there is so much of that type of food that calls my name. BTW did you check into that TV thingie?

    Everyone have a beautiful week we are starting. Type at y'all later
  • Can I join your group>>>??? I'm in Memphis, TN....
  • Ps...
    I'm a newbie on here, started on 1/1/10.......I got engaged yesterday and I'm too excited.... that motivates me even more to get this weight off me.. I joined WW on Saturday!!!
  • Howdy
    BACK AGAIN

    Selena
    We will be so happy to have you join our little group of Steel Magnolias. Also congratulations on your engagement. Anything we can do to help you down this road to thin please don't hesitate to ask for we are here to help each other down this road to thin.


  • THANK YOU maggie..
    thanks for the welcome... I've been on here over a month now and not sure I've found my spot.. but I just read this thread and thought it was perfect... You are doing sooo great... I cant' wait to say I've lost 50 pounds.. You INSPIRE me!!!
  • We are home once again. We drove home in a ground blizzard last night; what normally is a 2 1/2 hour drive took over 5 hours. Not fun! I see there are posts to catch up on and I have card club tonight so will try and catch up tomorrow. I finally got laundry going this afternoon and luggage put away. I think I have post vacation jet lag today. There is more snow than when we left a week ago. It's always fun to go but good to get home again.

    Jean -- from Iowa!
  • Good morning to you all! We got home around 5 pm last night and I was so pooped I told Jack to just leave everything lay and I would start on it this morning. We ran into on and off snow storms on the way home but it didn't impede our progress much.

    Thomas was a total delight. We stopped in Nashville on our way home to get a bite to eat and get a knife sharpener we have been wanting in the Oprymills mall. We had given T $40 of spending money and he had kept it all weekend not spending a dime until we got to the mall (maybe because Nonny and Granddad paid for everything so he didn't have to use his spending money??? ) Anyway, he wanted to buy something so Granddad took him on his shopping trip. The boy bought pears, yes, pears from Harry and David. They were for him too, not his parents. He loves the pears they sell so he bought a box and it cost him nearly $25! Jack said the lady couldn't believe a kid wanted to buy fruit for himself. She said she was very impressed.

    Another thomas insight: "I don't like the shampoo here at the hotel (it sort of smelled like strawberries,) it destroys my manly smell."

    The murder mystery dinner was absolutely great. We laughed til our sides hurt. The best man of the wedding was Italian, had a huge Elvis pompadour on, was about mid 20's with a gun stuck in the back of his pants, dressed all in black and worn state police style sunglasses. He kept setting down at our booth talking and flirting with me (part of the shtick) and calling Thomas "opie." He told the matron of honor when she walked up we were in love, that I had given him a hickey 2 weeks before and then leaned over and whispered, "wanna make out later?" She started haranguing on him when Jack told her we had been married 37 years. It was just all around great fun. Thomas had a great time. We would easily do this again with another of their plays. Food was decent too!

    Susan: Hope the headache is gone now. Nothing worse than feeling miserable and having to go out. Did you enjoy the meal out?

    Jean: What a welcome back to the mainland, blizzard. I guess Iowa missed you and wanted you to feel welcome when you got back there. Hope you had a grand time in the nice warm tropical weather. We sure did miss you.

    Maggie: Sounds like Will has everything under control at your house and you are doing a-ok with WW. I am having some real issues now besides all the female junk that I am going to have to address with the dr. My ankles and feet are swelling a lot and bright red so I am concerned of course along with some other symptoms I am afraid are medication related. Right now I am a mess. It made for an unpleasant walking experience and we walked a lot, but Thomas was very patient with his old Nonny.

    Selena: Welcome to you and hope you make us a permanent stop. This is a great group of ladies and we have a lot of fun together here. We look forward to hearing all about you. I sent you a pm, but here goes. I live in Memphis too, have been married 37 years to a retired sailor who now works for the city of Memphis. I am a stay at homer now, big time knitter, have two grown children, two inlaw children and two grandchildren. My grandson's are 9 and 2 1/2, one lives here, which is the one we took to Chattanooga and the other one lives in northwest Indiana. He is in Mexico with his parents this week. I am on WW, but am having some health problems that have zoomed my weight up a lot the last 3 weeks or so. I just have to keep plugging along.

    Here is a pic of my hammy husband in a shark cage, one of T at the Imax in his 3d gear and one showing we pooped him out not the other way around!

    I need to get out of here gals. I have tons of work to do to get everything back in place and laundry done and such. Have a great one! Faye