Howdy, Royals. What a sweet little story, See Cat! and I like your definition too, Empress.
Tai Chi tonight and then still four more classes, Eydie. This massage felt great (last one had not). If I use gift certificate just for massages, there'll be about six more of those but I'm thinking of maybe at least one pedicure. It's been a while.
All holiday stuff packed up, just a few more knickknacks to put back in family room - or not. May do some rearranging.
Two painters here today to give estimates for bedroom, one coming tomorrow. Want to get this done pronto. DH's bloodwork results show still more bad news. Food been pretty good but can't rule out a stress binge at some point. He must do yet another test - dialysis looking closer every minute. Want that room done in his favorite color if he'll be doing home dialysis there. Will get cable put in there too. And whatever else I can think of to make it as comfy as can possibly be. As for what love is - well, today he told me what bothers him about all this is that I have to be involved with it. Involved? I'd rather it be me - and I know he'd be right there "involved" for me.
Took a dampish walk around the neighborhood today just because it's to get colder starting tomorrow. Princess Royal and Eight and Four supposed to be coming tomorrow. DS and DSIL both in CA this week.
PUNKINSEED!!!!!! All I have to say about your return is this:
I'm so glad you're back, but horrified at the glut of Very Hard Things you've had to go through in the past several weeks. Are you...doing OK? Taking care of yourself, I see, always good. Good. So, you're back home in the castle (it's powder-blue Baroque this time - blame Kaylets. I kind of like it) and in relatively good physical and mental health. Good.
Aw, SeeCat! You're a wonderful, caring, sweet human being. You've warmed my heart so much today with your rescue of darling Mr. GreyPants. I am SO impressed with you right now.
Anagram, you too have entered my pantheon of Wonderful Women Who Most Certainly Know What Love Is. I am so proud of you and the way you're arranging things, and so glad to read as always of your kind relationship with DH. Sending good vibes for his health...
Amarantha, I love hearing about your Old Dog.
Love Is: for me lately, Love is learning to listen without giving advice, without thinking about what I'm going to say next, without letting my own opinions and beliefs color what I'm hearing.
Kaylets, great story! Thanks for sharing it. I got a good laugh and a couple of wows out of it.
Wildfire, Sybil sounds not well. Not well at all. Thanks for reminding me that I'm not the only one who becomes the Crazed Banshee from time to time. It's a big relief to hear that, believe me.
Man, Eydie, I'm glad you're OK! That must have given you a good jolt of adrenaline. I'm glad the buck's OK, too, and that you're better able to process misfortune. That's really major - any books you might recommend? Your poor car...
Frogger, I'm so sorry the well has dried up. Sydney's probably sorry, too. Is she transitioning OK from breast milk to formula? I'm really glad you breastfed her for those three months, honey.
Arabella, thinking about you, too, dear. Take good care of yourself, darling.
All right. Off to the therapist this afternoon to debrief about this last week's relationship debacle. Ramon and I are doing OK again and I've gotten some real epiphanies about getting one's head out of one's...bottom...that I'll write about later.
Weather is quickly changing this morning. It is pouring sheets of rain as the temperature drops --- the weatherman says the temp has dropped 10 degrees in the past hour....
Tried to cram too much in last night-- wanted to go for haircut/highlights but then I realized that I'd be risking the hairdresser stressing too as it really was getting close to 7pm.. and I still handt eaten dinner...
I decided sf ff pudding would be a good dinner... 8 pts worth... as it was 'setting up ' in the fridge, I realized that I didnt want THAT much pudding and if I was willing to do that to squeeze the hairdresser in, I was stressing...
So, decided not to go .... I have dinner w/ friends tonight and wanted to look amazing but truth be told.... if I wear my smallest slacks, they are going to be amazed anyway...
and ... I ate 4 pts of pudding and POURED THE REST DOWN THE TOLIET!!!
TA DA!!!
********************
Thought of the day :
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
Question of the day :
"Do you enjoy shopping?"
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Hmmmm....not to self, its not only the Vit C but also magnesium that doesnt set well on an empty stomach..... hmmmmmmm
KETTLE IS ON!
PS CERISE-- No, my dear, it is NOT just you--- welcome to the female species--- and isnt being suprised every 4 weeks part of the fun????
No Kaylets! The "fun" is never knowing when the fourth week is to be!!! My ObGyn sez I'm in menopause but my body keeps giving him the raspberry...this time it was a Sept-Dec gap.
It's Friday guys!!! I'm not going to breakfast, but I'm a thinkin' on just what I want to accomplish today. May have to get out the boat to do it though...rain rain, and really big ditches...the water isn't running off too quickly. At least the mud should freeze today! And the sun is sorta maybe out.
SeeCat...the guardian saint of lost cats...way to go!
All's well 'round these parts. Cold though, very cold! Supposed to be in the single digits this weekend.... Brrrrrrr...... I can always tell what season it is by how many cats I wake up to sleeping on my bed - this morning I had all 3! They pin me in and I start having dreams about being tied up! LOL!
Frogger, can't sympathize about the well running dry as mine have always been used solely for aesthetic purposes, but with my neice we learned that all the formulas with extra iron just made her miserable. Might that be the culprit in your little tadpole? Good luck!
Hello SeeCat, nice to meet you! LOVE ya for what you did for poor kitty! We have a monsterous wild cat (well, he's let us pet him finally so he can't be too wild) that we've been feeding and recently we put a little cat bed out for him - on the cold mornings we've found him sleeping in it.
Eydie, OMG I'm glad you're ok after your deer encounter! I did have one roll into my windshield, about 5 years ago. I was driving a little car and she put a dinner plate sized dent in my hood, rolled into the windshield and over the roof. Thank the Gods she was ok, she just got up and gave me a dirty look... As for your insurance, it shouldn't go up, mine didn't, it's considered like an act of God or something - no fault. Unless of course your state doesn't care about stuff like that! Just thankful you're ok, it could've been worse, people out here have been killed by hitting deer...
~ As for the implosion... we're like a phoenix baby, what's becoming out of the wreckage that is now my women's group is going to be 10x better than it was before! We're meeting for sghetti and a long chat tonight at my house to see where our plans will take us!
Anagram, I'm so sorry to hear that DH isn't doing as well as he had been. I know how hard it is to watch someone you love so dearly deal with something that you're powerless to help with. I hated that feeling of powerlessness when my mom was sick. You're in my thoughts and sending a cyber hug.
Kaylets, bravo you for dumpin' the puddin'! I'm impressed.... What you posted about What is Love had me almost in tears! There are so many ways to express love, but when the description comes from kids it just makes your heart warm!
Cerise, my sistah from anotha' motha'! Kaylets painted the place powder blue?? It *does* have a little French Renaissancey feel to it. Feel like I should be looking for Boneapart under the tables!
Getting personal here.... In regards to your monthly visit to psycho-land, have you ever considered Depo Provera as a form of birth control? I ask, because I've been on it for almost 8 years and I haven't had a period since - no PMS, no sore boobs, nothing. For me it was the best option to treat my migraines that were triggered by hormone fluctuations, but it's knocked a lot of other things out too. Might be a thought????
Well, guess that's all for now. Smooches all around! Have a great weekend everyone!!!
It is wicked cold today and I am having a very hectic work time. This is my first break all day and the day is almost done. Plus everyone else left the office hours ago, but I still had all manner of urgent-must-get-out-today type work, so here I sit. But hey, MLK day is Monday, so I get the day off. The past couple fo eyars I have volunteered for Habitat for Humanity on MLK day (it just seems kind of fitting) but this year I think I will be babysitting which is not a bad thing.
The kitty is adapting well to his new home from what I hear. I am a sucker for cats. I ahev three now and am always tempted to have another, but I am just on the verge of "cat lady" if you know what I mean, and I think one more would put me over the edge.
One of my coworkers is on Depo adn loves it, but her planned parenthood person said that they are not going to recomend it to new people becuase of the bone loss issues that it has. So depo is good but you have to be very conscentious about taking calcium supplements.
kaylets: dumping pudding is so epic in my book. you are now a food conquering superhero in my book.
Wow, that really echoes through the courtyard doesnt it??
Q O'Friday, glad to see you ! I too, have been thinking in terms of the Phoenix and how so many times, if we hadnt been forced by circumstance to make a change we would have never learned a better way of doing things....
yes, very true....
Seecat-- I too, could easily be the neighborhood animal lady-- not cats because DH is extremely allergic ( although I have left food out for some wild cats !) ... If our house/yard was bigger I am sure I'd be sorely tempted to have more dogs.... you have done a good thing in more ways than you realize...
In fact... Mr Dyer ( cant' think of his first name) and Deepak Chopra both talk about how even just watching an act of kindness has been proven scientifically to raise serotonim levels and make the onlooker feel good.....
Makes you think twice about "no man is an island" etc .....
Anagram: How is the room redo going?? Great ideas about having everything as comfortable as possible.... Just yesterday, a coworker was talking about her pediatrician's office having a well kid's waiting room w/ toys and a sick kids waiting room w/ an enormous fish tank ..... that fish tank sounded so soothing....
Ceara: Oh yes, I can relate! lots of "symptons' especially the bloat that the scale sees but more and more the past few years, its only symptons....
and then, full force just like when I was 16 !!
Have you tried Black Cohosh??
Cerise: Yes, lots of ladies I know have found that magnesium and/or calcium and/or Niacin helps keep them from that descent. Myself, personally, I tend to become very emotional and am really helped by magnesium and calcium... I take magnesium supplements and always get at least 2 servings of dairy in a day.
No matter what I've tired, there still is at least one day pre that I am so tired I cannot keep my eyes open.... sometimes 2-3 days like that....
Wood Nymph: How is the cold now?? Hope you are feeling lots better....
Are you still writing the horoscopes?
Frogger: Again, our bodies are sometimes on a completely different wavelength.... Sounds like all you can do is hope the Princess does well w/ formula... Nursing 3 mos is a big plus... I know lots of ladies who can't nurse and be glad for the 3 mos.... Does the Princess sleep much?
WSW: Big hugs coming your way !! You know we are all sending warm greetings and positive thoughts to your kingdom!
Eydie: Over 100 days! You are my hero!~
Would you count honey as a sugar? For me, honey is a borderline trigger .... makes my brain smile but I have minimal cravings afterward....
And, how is the Pilates class going??
ooppppsss--- all of a sudden, my system says "fatal error"
Kaylets, the way I've woked it out for myself is I can have sweets as long as theyre whole grain and sweetened with maple syrup, rice syrup, barley malt, fruit concentrates, some honey, etc. I still consider the natural sweeteners 'sugars', but this is the deal I've cut with myself for now. The natural sweeteners don't give me that crazed "more, more!" feeling that white sugar does.
Yo, it is Wayne Dyer, K. I like him, not so much for his latest stuff but I found a very, very old book of his last summer in a thrift shop in one of the little towns where I work. It was like fate had put it there as I was very upset that day because of the job (when aren't I upset about the job?). The book wasn't like the ones he does now that are kind of spiritual ... it was purely a self-help pop psych book (I believe he's actually a psychologist, not sure about that), but it was very hard-edged about how NOT to be victimized by other people (something I felt at the time that I was allowing to happen). One of the recent quotes I've heard him say on the PBS specials that I like is: "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change ..."
Anyhow, E, I pmd thee and kind of posted about this in the land far far away ... I've decided to continue my usual diet and exercise (NOT the bingeing, of course) rather than try to do any other programs ... hope to keep talking with thee as it's been very enlightening ... see ya (virtually speaking) ...
Wsw ... yes, sending good vibes thy way.
Cerise, hope all's well ... thanks for mentioning Old Dog ... she's my little girl, even at her rather advanced age! She's snoring now.
To all, mentioned and unmentioned, I need to get off this site before it shuts me out ... my computer doesn't like it ...
Feeling somewhat troubled by stuff today ... work mostly ... gotta work all day on the paying writing tomorrow ...
Posted some stuff elsewhere about my self-portrait ... I painted myself on a scale, smiling because I'd (fictionally) reached 135 pounds ... I hung it today ... really love it ... someday ...
I'm in Spokane tonight (across the state from Seattle). I drove over to surprise my Mom with a visit - her 63rd birthday is Monday. The drive over was COLD, exacerbated by the fact that I locked myself out of my car at a rest stop where it was 10 degrees. Since I let my AAA lapse, (damn you, Cerise, DAMN YOU!!!!!) it cost me $150 to get someone out there to open my car. And I would've frozen my butt off, except the nice people giving out free coffee and cookies at the rest stop let me huddle in their kiosk whilst I waited for the locksmith to come and fleece me.
I'm grateful, over all, that money and time are the only things I lost today. Watching the celebrity telethon (I'm still on a Stevie Wonder/Annie Lennox high) for the tsunami relief reminded me that there are people in a much tighter situation than I.
Eydie, you and my therapist are doing wonders for my frame of mind. Maria (therapist) has shown me by example how negative I can be so much of the time and how right-thinking can truly, truly change your circumstances around. If it weren't for her and your deer-hitting-car story, I would have undoubtedly sunk into a morass of misery this afternoon, but instead I, through unfortunate circumstances, got to meet four wonderful people (the coffee/donation people), a marvelous propane heater and a nice tow-truck driver (who apologized at least ten times for the fee his crazed boss charges). And my mother feels very loved today, I know. Anyway, today was a good day, despite the bumps my checkbook and frozen fingertips sustained. Thank you for your good example, darling.
Anyway, no time for posties, I regret to inform you. Though I read through the posts and smiled at each of you in turn, I'm going to hopefully do a proper reply tomorrow, when bed isn't calling my name so stridently. It's just me and Mom and Dad's cats tonight - Ramon is in Seattle working this weekend.
Kaylets-Yes, she sleeps really well. 10 hours at night and a couple of naps during the day.
Punkin-I guess maybe it could be the iron. We're using a "Lipid" formula w/ara and aha or whatever it is. I'll have to talk to her pediatrician about it to see what she might recommend.
It's almost 2am here and I can't sleep. Don't know what the heck's the matter!!
Stayed up late last night as my absolute favorite, Figure Skating was on and I saw Michelle Kwan set another record. She has now tied the record for the most American National Titles won by a woman. Can't help but wonder if she will try to top that too next year. She was not satisfied w/ her performance although it was head and shoulders above the competition. I am just an avid fan but I was disappointed too... It was obvious she wasnt comfortable and the routine was not "hers"....
Made me think about how the only way she could've tied this record is by winning 8 National titles... Which would take 8 yrs.... of winning.... and setting new goals .... finding new motivation and inspiration.... keeping an eye on the prize but focusing on the moment and what is happening now....
Hmmmmmmmmm.......
Frogger!! glad to see you but if you're losing sleep I hope you are catching up on it now... as for the Princess, that is amazing that she can sleep so long w/o getting hungry! Wow! I wonder if that's where it all begins... when we are that small....
Cerise!! YIKES!! Sounds like me ! One time I closed the door and just as I heard the click, I saw my pocketbook with the keys in it still IN the car....
But it certainly wasnt anywhere near that cold... nor expensive ....
You're a sweetie to suprise your Mom for her bday... do you have any other suprises in store for her???
Empress-- Althought unannouced, I am going to pay a visit to the land far away...
oh,yikes, I posted long and lost it. What a way to change my mellow mood!
Anyway, I had said I was waking from a long nap. Brought on, methinks, by a physically visit from Four and Eight over the weekend. Waiting for it to snow - supposedly we have now set a record for our latest "first snowfall" ever.....
Kaylets, I'm an iceskating fan too but apparently not nearly as avid. Eydie, I must have missed the deer posting. Glad you're ok. I think I was sleeping for Frogger. Glad little princess is a good sleeper. So much easier then to enjoy her wake times. Hope you got the paying work done today, Empress. And Seecat, nejoy the day off.
I think there was more but, as you all know, the second time around, it's hard to recapture it all.
Viscountess of EVERYTHING.
to all! Keep safe!
K. I like him, not so much for his latest stuff but I found a very, very old book of his last summer in a thrift shop in one of the little towns where I work. It was like fate had put it there as I was very upset that day because of the job (when aren't I upset about the job?). The book wasn't like the ones he does now that are kind of spiritual ... it was purely a self-help pop psych book (I believe he's actually a psychologist, not sure about that), but it was very hard-edged about how NOT to be victimized by other people (something I felt at the time that I was allowing to happen). One of the recent quotes I've heard him say on the PBS specials that I like is: "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change ..."
Viscountess Frozen to the Bone
