Had my doctor's appt this morning, and I got our bathroom cleaned and stripped the bed before I left. The kids were still home but when I came home they were gone. I'm glad I told them to cage Halo. We haven't been doing that but it is cooler today. It was just 70 degrees when I was driving home. I got a shot in my arm and this time he added Lidocaine to it and I think it helped some but still not enough so far. He agrees with PT that this pain probably originates from my neck. So he sent me for an x-ray of both my shoulder and my neck. The next step (If I'm interested) would be to have an MRI and see a specialist. I'm curious about my neck but even if there's damage, I'm not sure I want to go any further, it is fairly mild pain, just annoying not to be able to sleep on that side mostly.

Funny thing, I was telling him about the head and eye pain I have as I thought my neck possibly might be causing that too. I told him I have only rarely had headaches and mentioned I'd had only bad headaches when long ago I took birth control pills and then later when I took Valerian. A few min later when he was giving me the shot, he asked why I took birth control pills, well gee, why do you think, doctor? But I just said, I was young then and they made me gain weight and I was always scared of them so I quit and never took them again. He seemed to approve of that, but I thought the conversation was kinda weird.:dizzy: Maybe he doesn't approve of birth control or maybe it's just the pill.:?: Then I get this kinda strange guy for my x-ray tech...he barely spoke, was difficult to understand when he did and it was just kinda uncomfortable. I had to try to guess what he wanted me to do all the time. At my age, not much bothers me but if I'd been younger I would have been really uncomfortable. I think they need to make sure they are more articulate and professional. He was an Asian guy and maybe he wasn't comfortable speaking English or something. I know (because of my dh and traveling to PI), some Filipinos are uncomfortable speaking English even though they know how.

I rarely stop at places like Starbucks but my dil has been bringing home this cold tea that looks so good and she let me have a sip once and it was good, so today I stopped to ask about the sugar in it. They said there's no sugar in it unless I want it or I could have sweetener, so I ordered a small one with a little Splenda. It was pretty good. I think it's called Tevana Passion or something like that. I could see drinking it on a really hot day, otherwise I doubt I'll buy it. Anyway I recommend it for those who like a not so sweet (or you can have it sweet) fruity drink.

Carol - Hope your sleep test goes well and that you can settle on a mask you are comfortable with. I never had a child who screamed all the time but I have a granddaughter (4) who screams and cries a lot. She is better than she was and she doesn't often do it when I'm babysitting. She starts sometimes but I guess I give her my serious (mean?) grandma look, shake my head and say "uh-uh, don't start that!" and she stops...she may continue to cry softly (I tell her if she's hurt that's ok but not screaming unless she's bleeding.LOL). But she's been doing it since birth to get her parents attention and it has worked so she does it a lot with them. I tell her screaming doesn't get you anything with grandma.:D The boy (5) used to do it too and now and then he still does and it is more difficult to get him to stop. It is when he doesn't get his way so I make him go to bed..sort of a time out..just til he quiets down. But once he screamed a long time when I was babysitting and I was getting kind of scared for him. I went in and held him and talked calmly to him and he finally went to sleep. I suspect that's what he needed all along. He's used to screaming until they give in. But with him it is kinda scary so hope it doesn't happen anymore.

On grocery lists, I keep my running list on the Cozi app on my phone, but I also make up a paper (usually) list when I create my weekly list based on my planned meals. Sometimes I add this list to the app on my phone but if it's long it's too much trouble. Wish I could speak it into my list like I do with texting but don't think I can do that, so I usually take the paper list into the store with me and then check my phone to make sure I got everything before I leave.

Carol when I was a kid and had to get up for school I was more of a morning person. I even used to set my hair in rollers and set under my portable dryer to get ready for school. Even now I rarely have trouble getting up and going early in the morning...so I can do it, I just know I sleep my best then so I like to get that better sleep in. I've tried going to bed early many times but I usually can't sleep and even if I do get to sleep, I still sleep (or rest) in because I can. :) Maybe I'm just lazy..

Just discovered this morning we have another corn growing! So I'm glad I didn't use all the tassel as I have to pollinate two now! This one is just thin right now. Just call me Farmer Mary. LOL

Glynne - I can imagine how you felt not being able to keep away from the screaming! Funny now but not so funny then. What's really bad is when you have a screaming kid on a plane!! No place to get away...except the restroom and often then a line. Yes we are all different, I'm open to try new things but tend to stick to what works for me often.

Hi Sandy!! Hope you are surviving summer.

Mary, I usually fall asleep in a matter of minutes, it's staying asleep or getting back to sleep when I wake that is bad for me.

The sleep study did not go well. I will never do another one. I probably only slept for 1 hour. First of all, they made me sleep on my back only, and that's very hard for me. I sleep best on my side, and they let me do that at my first sleep study years back. I get post nasal drip that goes down my throat and makes me cough, which keeps me from sleeping. I know they weren't happy that I didn't sleep, but I couldn't help it. I was very uncomfortable. When I finally did fall asleep the girl came in and woke me telling me I needed a chin strap because my mouth came open. Well, that doesn't happen when I sleep on my side! I have to go back to the doctor in 2 weeks and take my machine and they will reset the air flow on it and then I should be able to get my supplies I need, which is the reason I went there in the first place. They want you to use this thing, but make it so difficult for you to get what you need.

Mary, maybe the doctor didn't understand and thought you were taking the birth control pills recently? LOL This sleep doctor is very hard to understand also. I don't know what country he's from. I can usually understand foreign doctors but him, not so much.

Wow Carol Sue ~ so sorry that you had a bad experience with your sleep study. That is just crazy that they wouldn't let you sleep in what ever position you are able to sleep in. You would think they would want that ~ so they could get a true picture of how you sleep and how your machine is working or if you aren't sleeping well, what is the possible cause of it.

I wish you could have asked them why they did it the way they did it.

I wouldn't be able to sleep on my back either. I never sleep that way. With the C-pap ~ it would be useless to me if I had to sleep in that position. With my mask ~ when I am on my back ~ gravity pulls my face/skin down and away from the mask and it leaks air all over the place.

When I had my sleep study, I didn't feel like I slept much either, but they said it just seemed that way to me ~ that I actually did sleep.

We just got home from the gym and a couple other stops. I wanted some vanilla and milk chocolate SlimFast powder to use as an alternative to other breakfasts since I don't have my mocha mix right now. All I could find was a high protein vanilla and chocolate and a few cans of an old kind of rich chocolate which I don't like. Maybe they are phasing out the old kind I do like? Sure hope not as I like to keep it on hand to use now and then. I tried the protein one when I got home and it's ok, but not great to me kinda chalky. They had the bottled kind that I like but that's the problem, I like them too well to keep on hand.

Dh is cooking tonight...he likes to make Pinacbet in the summer time..it's a vegetable dish that usually includes pork but we make it with tilapia. We just lay the tilapia on top of the veggies and sauce and serve with rice. The kids will likely make their own dinner. I decided to change my plan and made my favorite meatloaf recipe and surprisingly my son and dil liked it. No leftovers.

I don't think I'd like a sleep study and they probably wouldn't be pleased with me...I don't think I could sleep if I knew people were monitoring me or if I had to have things attached. I also would not be able to sleep on my back same as you. Sorry you had to go through it.

I'm very sleepy right now, I hope I can get myself to do my work...I did put in a load of sheets and towels to wash asI needed a sheet for the kids bed..but that's all I've done so far today. Feeling very lazy, think I'll take a nap.

Good afternoon GG's,

(Monday) The day started out sunny, then turned dark and rained again. I had gone out to the mailbox to mail a letter ~ I lucked out ~ got there and back and missed the rain by a few minutes. Now it is sunny again. When I went out to mail that card, it was quite humid ~ I don't enjoy that much.

Got to talk to Mom. She sounded good and was in good spirits.

Had that headache most all day yesterday, it finally went away in the evening. I woke up this morning with it again, took some tylenol/excedrin ~ it got better, but now is starting to ache again.

I finished inputting the store information into my phone. I use that ~ if I am gonna go out and run errands to multiple stores ~ I can never remember when they open, so having that info helps me to plan and not arrive there and have to wait for the stores to open ~ or start with ones that open earlier and go on to the ones that open a little later after that.

This afternoon I worked on the picture book thing. A couple years back ~ this product was on that TV show ~ Shark Tank. Have any of you ever seen that show? I think I might have told about the picture book on here back along. People come on the show and pitch their inventions before a panel of judges. If the judges think the product has potential, they will financially back it. This picture book idea ~ got the backing of the judges. It is called Grovebook. You can google it ~ they have a website. How it works is that people subscribe to it. You make a book from the pictures on your phone ~ there is an app you put on your phone that you work with to do it. Then they mail the book to you. They can send it in the mail at lesser rate ~ because of the design/shape of the book. The cost is $2.99 a month ~ that is the cost of the book (of 100 ~ 4X6 pictures) and the shipping. At first there were some bugs to the process, but they have worked those out. Eventually the couple who invented it sold it to that picture book company Shutterfly, and they have further improved it. They updated the app that you work with ~ today was my first time to use it. I was having a hard time with it ~ but Steve helped me and eventually I got it done. I made my book this month with pictures from our trip. The idea of this little book is that people take lots of pictures with their phones, but maybe never do anything with them and then all those pictures are sort of lost. So, this little picture book is a way of having the pictures to keep. We like it. And it is made up in this nice little book, so you don't have to buy a photo album to put them in unless you want to. They are perforated, so you can tear them out if you want to do that or to give one to someone.

(Tuesday) Another headache. Did some puttery stuff this morning. Sara invited me to lunch (late lunch/early supper by the time we were able to get it all arranged ~ had to make sure it worked out so one of us would be home when Maddie got off the bus) ~ for my birthday (she wanted to do it sooner, but we couldn't seem to find a time we both could go). We went to the Bonefish Grill. Had fish. With Steve we don't often to go regular restaurants ~ usually a place that has a salad bar. So, this was a treat. I had grilled trout with mango salsa, garlic whipped potatoes (my little splurge) and coleslaw. Corbin came along too. I think that kid grows some in between each time I see him. I scored a couple hugs.

Sara took Maddie home after she brought me back from our outing, so it is nice to have an earlier/free evening. Steve has gone for some errands. So, a quiet evening here. Now if this darn headache would go away ~ it would be almost perfect.
Forgive me if I don't do the persoanls tonight. Hope you all have had a good day.

I don't understand how anyone can do the sleep study, with all the wires hooked up to your head, and then the heart monitor, too. I don't know if everyone has that or if just me since I had heart issues. My step son had a study and got a machine, but gave it back after the trial period because he couldn't sleep with it on. I think maybe he could do it if he used a less intrusive mask. Also, they told him that in order for insurance to pay for it he had to use it for a minumum of 5 hours a night. He would put it on, then watch the clock until 5 hours had passed, then take it off and go to sleep. He should have tried to forget he had it on and just try to sleep with it. He still stops breathing during the night. He says he can sleep very well on his back but it makes him snore like a freight train and bothers his wife. I think it is considered a risk if you need a CPAP and don't use it. I don't know what it will do to him, but he seems OK so far at 50.

When I go back to the doctor I am going to tell him that I couldn't sleep since they expected me to stay on my back, and that it was not indicative of how I usually sleep. I don't know why they wanted me to stay on my back. When the girl was talking to me in the morning I told her that that was probably why I didn't sleep. I don't know what they got out of that study. And they better not ask me to re do it because I won't.

Gayle, I have seen Shark Tank but don't watch it on a regular basis and I have never paid much attention to the things people are promoting.

What does Steve eat for protein? Does he really never eat any meat or fish? Does he ever mention that he misses it? I would miss it.

I'm sorry that you've been having headaches. For years I never got them, but I've had a couple recently since I cut back on eating carbohydrates. I think my brain wants that sugar. LOL They aren't bad and don't last very long.

Mary, I love meatloaf. I just use a basic recipe. I make it about once a month. I used to give the leftovers to my step-daughter but now I started slicing it down and freezing individual slices in freezer bags. DH won't eat the frozen slices, but I eat it sometimes for my lunch, or for my dinner when DH is eating something else.

Supposed to get into the 90s today so hot weather again. It was just nice when we went to the gym but warmer now already. Dh lost his membership card there so we are going back to pick it up and I also need to stop for more eye drops.

I was thrilled to see I dropped 1.5# overnight! Esp as I went over my calorie limit yesterday. I was disappointed in myself so today I am really motivated. I had let myself go over the day I saw my doctor...I always do that...it's like it's a reward to me. :D But yesterday I really didn't intend to, I was just careless and the extra food wasn't worth it..

Just got home again so now will finish this post. We had lunch at Wendy's and I realized too late I got too many carbs. So going to be short (due to restaurant food), on both calories and carbs plus will probably spike this afternoon. Maybe I should take an Amaryl.

Good morning GG's,

Yippee ~ no headache this morning. Yippee ~ sunshine!!

I woke up early ~ couldn't go back to sleep and had no headache, so went out to run some errands while I could. Walmart ~ open 24 hours a day.

I had bought some bras the other day ~ some of one style and a couple of another style. One style was so comfortable and fit really nicely, the other style was not as comfortable, so I returned those and wanted to replace them with the style I did like. There were no more in the size/color I wanted. I found another one I thought I would try ~ same company (Hanes), but a different style and for less money, but it wasn't comfortable ~ so I will return that one and keep looking and waiting for the one I really like.

Found a pair of reading glasses I like. I have prescription glasses, but they drive me nuts. My sister tells me (and this is my husband's experience too) that you should be able to see in all circumstances with your glasses (they are progressive bifocals) and be able to leave them on all the time. But mine drive me nuts. I can see the TV better without them. I can see to walk around or drive without them. Really what I need glasses for are for reading or the computer. With my regular ones, I was constantly taking them off and putting them on. I lost a lens out of them and had to get it replaced. Then I lost the whole pair. They are too expensive to keep doing that, so I decided that I would just get/use reading glasses from the Dollar store (a friend of mine said that is what she uses instead of paying the high price for prescription glasses) ~ if I lost those, it wouldn't be so costly. I like the ones that are kind of ½ glasses ~ they kind of sit low on your nose and you can see over top of them. So, I can do the computer and watch TV without the constant putting them on and taking them off. The ones I had, were brown or black ~ I didn't like how they looked on me, so I found (wasn't really looking for another one ~ but passed a display of them ~ so looked) a pair I liked better ~ they were a little more money than the Dollar store ones ~ not way a lot, but way less than the prescription glasses. In fact ~ when I told my eye doctor all the trouble I was having with my regular glasses at work ~ trying to see the computer ~ he suggested getting Dollar store glasses to see the computer at work. I figure if the Dr. says that is ok ~ then why not.

Mary ~ I keep those Glucerna (Hunger Smart) bottled shakes on hand. Sometimes, I don't feel like fooling around with making some kind of breakfast, so I will drink one of those. I also will take one along in my bag if we are gonna be out a long time running errands. It helps me if I get hungry before we get back home to eat. Way to go ~ the 1.5 pound loss. I need to be more like you ~ you are always working at this ~ keeping track of your calories and carbs. Boy ~ this summer has sure been hotter than what you are used to. Hope you get some more enjoyable temperatures.

Carol Sue ~ I had all the wires ~ the stuff on my head, the heart monitor, an oxygen monitor, plus a couple times that tube in my nose. They gave me a sleeping pill so I would be sure to sleep. I have had the sleep study 3 times and then another one that they had me come in the daytime and sleep. Part of the day time one ~ they would wake me up every couple hours ~ I can't remember what the purpose of the day time one was. I remember when the night time ones were over, they asked me how I slept ~ and I too felt like I had hardly slept at all, but what they observed ~ they said I slept pretty well (despite the all the stuff hooked to me). I woke up and had to to to the bathroom ~ and would have to call one of the techs to unhook me so I could go and then come hook me back up. The woke you up pretty early in the morning to send you home ~ I wanted to sleep more ~ LOL. They did not insist I sleep in a certain position. I don't know how they can keep you from changing positions in your sleep. Maybe different places do it different. I believe I've been told that the harm that comes from not using the machine when you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, is that it puts a strain on your heart. I always felt like even if I was getting some air leakes, that by using the machine, I was helping myself /easing the strain on my heart somewhat ~ better than not having it at all. So all these years (8 years now), I have used it faithfully. The only time I have gone without it was in 2007 when we had that hurricane Ike and had no power for a week.

Steve gets his protein from the beans. The only time he has bent the rules was when we were on these trips ~ he had salads sometimes that had grilled chicken on them (doesn't like fish ~ has never eaten that anyway). Because he was so determined to do exactly as he was supposed to do with this diet ~ it made it hard ~ because he would only eat at certain places and would drive around and around to find the exact place that he could get things and be able to stick to the diet. It would get late in the evening, I'd be tired and hungry and frustrated, but he was not flexible at all. One time after he ate one of those salads with the chicken ~ I was being a smarty pants and said ~ wow ~ you ate chicken and you didn't die from it ~ he said ~ not yet. I think when that heart blockage thing happened to him, he got a pretty good scare and wants to make sure he does what he is supposed to do now. I guess that is why he is in better shape (I think) than I am. I bend the rules too much, and have trouble sticking to that diet. That is just how he is ~ if he makes up his mind that he has to do something ~ he does it and never messes up ~ the diet, the exercise. I need to be more like him, but so far I have not succeeded.

The headaches ~ they aren't horrible. I used to have horrible ones when the kids were growing up. I never had them until I was an adult and started taking birth control pills. That started them. Then even when I wasn't taking them anymore ~ I kept having them. Horrible pounding ones. I think they were hormone related ~ because they usually came around the time of my monthly cycle. Then eventually, I stopped having them ~ maybe sort of around the same time when menopause started. I don't know what makes them now ~ I sort of think ~ don't laugh ~ but they kind of go along with the cycles of the moon (I have read that that affects some people). And maybe with the weather ~ the barometric pressure ~ because usually when I have the headache ~ my head is all stuffed up too. Sometimes I thought maybe it had to do with something I ate ~ but I can eat the same thing I think might have caused the headache at another time and don't end up with a headache. Then sometimes, I think when I am trying to eat right and cut out the sugar and sweets ~ I get the headache ~ kind of like going through withdrawal?

Sandy ~ hope all is well with you.

I guess I'll get this posted ~ it got longer than I intended. See what I was talking about Mary?

Hope you all have had a good day.

Started a beef stew in my slow cooker...rather late but I cook the meat on high for the first hour and even after that can adjust it up and down as needed until it's done. It has part of a large sweet potato and one red potato in it. The recipe called for just a whole sweet potato but dh doesn't care for them and I'm fairly sure the kids won't, so I compromised. Of course being the carb eater I am, I love both, however I love the red potato best. ;)

One of the things I've been having for breakfast: One scoop of the Slim Fast high protein vanilla shake with 1/2 banana and a cup of non-fat milk and a few ice cubes. It doesn't taste as chalky like this. This gives me 40 gm carb and 6 gm fiber as well as about 16 gm of protein. I try to alternate different breakfasts but nothing sounded good to me this morning. I still miss my pb mocha, but I forgot to buy more mix the last time I was out and I will not go to Costco for just that. Slim Fast contains sugar and tastes very sweet...guess I could use less powder but then I'd get less nutrition too...my mocha mix contains sugar (first ingred) but it doesn't taste very sweet. I'd lilke to get away from sugar completely again but can't seem to get myself to do it, but I don't consume very much on an average day.

Glynne - I wish I were more like Steve! I'd probably have this weight thing accomplished long ago if I were and maybe, maybe not have diabetes even. I realize that is not for sure as even slender people can have diabetes but people who eat high sugar and high fat diets are more predisposed to it. I was the only one in my own family to have it but my sister finally was diagnosed with it in her 80s. The only other member of my family that had it was an uncle on my mother's side. I don't mind reading your long posts and I'm not one to talk about anyone's long posts anyway....also I thought this forum was about sharing our lives.

I have much to do today and am off to a late start.

Carol - I know you have liked some of this lady's article so thought you might like this one. Really spoke to me!
http://takebackyourtemple.com/1-thin...-self-control/

I just lost my whole post! Grrrr

Mary, I have bookmarked that link so I can go back and read it again. The part that spoke to me is

1. Take inventory of what you already know to do about your health. Don’t keep deceiving yourself that knowing better is enough to change (see James 1:25). Take small steps in using the knowledge you already have and start today!”

So many times I do things then say that I know better, but I should stop before I do them, instead. I remember my mother telling me that when I was young. I would do something and say "I'm sorry" but she would say it doesn't help to be sorry, that I should have thought that before I did it. It used to make me angry that she wouldn't accept my apology, but maybe my apology wasn't sincere...I was just trying to avoid being punished. LOL

Gayle, I have had so many more blockages than Steve and they never scared me as much as his did him. Too bad I don't take it more seriously. I do eat way better than I used to, very few carbs, no sweets, no processed food, but so far it hasn't been enough to drop some weight. When Steve said the chicken didn't kill him yet, does he not know that no one lives forever? That he is going to die from something eventually, no matter how healthy he eats? I am not criticizing what he does. He has made the changes that every cardiologist wishes his patients would make. I just wish it scared me more. I know when I went to the cardiologist last I told him I was going to lose 40 lbs by my next appointment in December. Guess I'd better get moving! LOL

I don't know what they would have done if I had rolled over to my side, but I was trying to follow the rules. I knew in my heart that I wasn't going to be able to sleep on my back but I tried. I intend to tell the doctor that, too. I understand why so many people refuse to have this done and don't wear the CPAP afterwards anyway. I agree with you that wearing the mask and sleeping the way I want to is better than not using it at all. I still don't sleep great, but I sleep way better than I did before I had it. I used to go to work like a zombie some times because I didn't sleep. This morning I noticed that our porch and driveway were wet and DH said we had a thunder and lightening storm overnight, and I slept through it.....on my side!! Never heard anything.

I can remember when DH would sometimes have to work second shift, the first night I would wait up for him. The second night I would be in bed, but still awake. The rest of the week I would be sound asleep when he came home. He would open the garage door, come upstairs and get into bed, and I never realized it until I woke up the next morning. So that shows that anyone could break in and come into the bedroom and I would never hear it. Rusty would probably bark at a stranger.

Gonna be very hot today, it's warm now but not too bad of course I'm not out very long. Checked on my corn stalk and now we have THREE corn husks! I am starting to pollinate the new ones too. The big one's silk is almost totally brown now. I'm glad I didn't use all the tassel on that one cause at the time I figured that's all we'd get. Farmer Mary is my name, :D

About my weight...it was at 164 but since then it has fluctuated as high as 166 but is now is back down to 165. I have been eating more than I should. Hope today to do better. Breakfast was a fried egg (spray oil), 1 slice ww low cal/carb bread, and 1/4 cup Trop 50 OJ. It has kept me full this morning, but maybe the diet coke I drank while shopping helped too. ;) At Winco you can buy a soda for $1 and after the gym, it tastes really refreshing esp on a hot day. Don't keep soda at home but do enjoy one now and then when out.

Another issue came up with the kids' loan ..this is so crazy...but then immediately they decided it was ok and are still saying they will sign the forms on Monday. Sure hope so as I know they are SO tired of this. I hope after all this they are happy with their house!

Today I hope to clean the family room.. mopped the kitchen floor yesterday while the kids were out so I'm on schedule for what I do these days. Many more things I would like to do though.

Carol - I am the exact same way...knowing what to do is not the same as doing it. I'm trying to remember all the things I know about healthy eating and dieting and applying it, but esp in the evenings I can so easy get distracted by my desire to eat (not true hunger). When I eat I try to at least eat lower cal/carb things but I don't always even do that. I figure as long as I'm doing better I'm headed in the right direction at least and in time maybe I'll do even better. I sometimes think of joining some weightloss program again but except for Prism, I've never done well on them and I honestly don't think I could even do Prism again. I don't like any program that tells me not to eat certain foods. I do best just decreasing my portions and eating healthy. I place my food on my plate so that veggies are 1/2 my plate, carb is one fourth and protein is one fourth. Realistically I pretty much have to stay away from things like casseroles containing pasta or rice as I tend to eat too much of them. That hasn't been easy with the kids here but I am trying and when they are gone it will be a little easier as dh doesn't care for things like that anyway. As long as I eat simple, protein and veggies with a separate carb I do pretty well except for the evenings when I have to really keep my snacking tendencies in check. Oh and restaurant meals are a challenge too!

We have what I call the "ding ding" which alarms us whenever anyone enters our yard. It's irritating at times but I really like it at night. It cost very little and honestly I think it is our best security system even though we also have the monitored one with sensors all over our house. I'm glad we have both but this little ding ding really makes me feel the most secure and in control. These days we sleep with our door closed and I think we could sleep and not hear it, but I do hear it at times since I'm not a very solid sleeper. Dh doesn't usually hear it. I wait until I hear it ding several times, then I get up and check the monitor. If all looks well, I generally wait to see whether it will keep dinging, cause usually it's just an animal.

Mary, I think if something would ever happen to DH I would get an alarm system. He wouldn't do it now. I would feel safer if I had it if I'm alone.

DH doesn't like casseroles either. He likes his meat, veggies and carbs all separate on his plate. He says casseroles are for women. I'm not sure what he means by that, but he's right...I do like casseroles. I just don't make them anymore because I'm eating less carbs, but I do really like them. Maybe what I like about them is you just put everything together and bake it, instead of having to cook each separate item. Like baking a cake, instead of cookies.

I also don't like plans that tell me what to eat. I like to make my own decision what to eat. I feel that if you eat what you're hungry for, you will be satisfied easier than if you eat something else. I find that if I try eating something healthier, then I'm still hungry for what I wanted in the first place. So I'm better off just to eat that and eat less of it. I'm not losing any weight, so I guess that isn't working. LOL I always thing that God should have made us so that we can eat whatever we want and the body gets rid of the excess. LOL

Good luck growing your corn, Farmer Mary!

Gayle, I was looking back where you said they gave you a sleeping pill when you had your sleep study. The paper with my instructions said not to take anything unless it was prescribed by a doctor, so I wasn't even allowed to take something to help me sleep. I did take some Tylenol Arthritis though, but it didn't help. I remember when I had my heart surgery they gave me a sleeping pill every night but it only kept me asleep until 2 or 3 AM. Then I would lie there awake, waiting for the breakfast tray! LOL People complain about hospital food, but I loved having someone cook my meals and just put them in front of me.

Good morning GG's

Looking kind of iffy out right now. The last couple days have been sun shiny.

Horrible day yesterday. We (my sister and I) got a letter from the court telling that my scummy brother has filed an application to be appointed as my mothers guardian. She has a lawyer who was appointed as her guardian the last go-round when my brother tried to do this. I am kind of mixed up about what has taken place ~ one version is that the lawyer has resigned from that position ~ the other version is that my brother filed for guardianship and that is why the lawyer is no longer going to do it.

The social worker at the nursing home ~ when mom first went there ~ had to go to bat for mom and went to court to get a guardian (not my brother) for mom. My brother lied to the social worker at the nursing home regarding having power of attorney over mom. He said he had it, she asked him to bring the papers saying that, so she could have them on file. He kept saying he would bring them, then told her he had brought them. She turned her office upside down trying to find them ~ they weren't to be found. She called the lawyer who my brother said made these papers ~ and what she found was that there never were any papers. He had been lieing all along. What a piece of work. During the time when he claimed to have power of attorney, he blocked my sister and I from being able to inquire of the nurses/staff about my mom's condition or how she was doing. That was a just plain hateful thing to do ~ I feel he was on a power trip ~ because we had done nothing that would have been a reason to be blocked like that.

Anyway, he is at it again. I feel sick. We are going to have to go to court and go to battle over this. My stomach is all tied up in knots and head is aching again from the stress this is causing. The only good thing that has come if it ~ is that my stomach is so upset, I don't feel much like eating ~ even the good (really the bad) stuff, and my weight was down this morning.

My husband tells me not to think about it. That every thing will turn out ok. I try not to think about my brother. I will succeed for a few brief minutes, then, he comes crashing back in to my thoughts.

I don't know the details yet of all of this, so I don't have any answers to questions ~ please say a prayer for us and my mom ~ that she will be protected from this awful possibility.

Carol Sue ~ They gave me the sleeping pill ~ I didn't take my own. I don't know what it was, I probably asked, but just don't remember. The doctor (head of the sleep clinic) gave orders for it. So, it was part of the way they do it. The sleeping pill they have prescribed for me at home is Sonata (brand name), Zaleplon (generic name). It is a mild one. They way they have instructed me to use it is ~ if I lay there for more than 20 minutes when I first go to bed and can't fall asleep ~ take it. If I wake up in the middle of the night and have 3-4 hours left to sleep and can't fall back to sleep (again the 20 minute guideline) ~ take it. And because it is mild, they said if I needed to I could use it at the beginning of the night and also repeat it if I woke in the middle of the night and could not get back to sleep. I have taken it in all these scenarios. It doesn't leave me feeling groggy like some of the other sleeping pills I have been tried on did. I don't often use it though. I worry that I will become dependent on it. I think it helps being retired. I find that when I use the sleeping pill is when I HAVE to get up for something and am having trouble sleeping and know I need to sleep ~ I take it. But if I don't have any reason to have to get up at a certain time and know that I can sleep as long as I need to even if it takes me a while to fall asleep, I just do that.

I feel the same way as you do about the hospital food (though I've not had too many experiences with it ~ maybe I am just not a picky one ~ as evidenced by my billowing body). It is a treat to have a meal that I didn't have to prepare or clean up after fixing. I think some people just do it because it is the “thing” to do ~ complain about hospital food.

Farmer Mary :D I hope everything works out for your son and his family with that house. I am like you and Carol Sue about the eating ~ I know what I need to do, I just have trouble doing it. And kind of like your thinking ~ I feel like even if I don't always do the right thing ~ every time I do do it right ~ is one less time that I am doing it wrong. Like at least I am not doing the wrong things 100% of the time.

Sandy ~ hope all is well with you.

Weight is staying down at 165 even though I haven't been eating too well. Mostly when I feel full though I've stopped. Dh brought home peanuts and of course I want to eat them all the time. They are good to eat in small portions but I always overeat on them. I didn't like my lunch yesterday...had only a few bites..but ate the peanuts instead. Maybe it all balanced out since I didn't gain. Today so far all I've had a is a high protein vanilla shake made with milk, 1/2 banana and cinnamon. I plan on going out to eat tonight which will be a challenge. I think sometimes I overeat due to emotional reasons..there isn't much to watch on our very basic TV these days and I can't often get to my computer, so with so many in the house I tend to escape to our bedroom to read, and that often leads to me snacking. Normally I would not snack in my bedroom, but if I sit in the kitchen, there's always a little one asking for something and sometimes I need a break.

My arm is a little better since the shot and I can lay on it a little longer now. I haven't seen the report on the X-rays yet, taking longer than most but probably just that the radiologist hasn't had time to review them. My primary doctor thinks it is arthritis but he does also seem to think that it is related to my neck too just as my PT did. Hope the X-ray will sort some of this out. One thing I know, at this point I will not allow surgery on my back/neck. The pain is not that bad, I can live with it.

I still haven't weekly cleaned our family room...it's a mess from kids playing in there and people tramping through from one door to the other. I also might go grocery shopping so how much I'll get done I don't know. A part of me just wants to let the family room go and wait til the kids move out but that will be Tues now from what they are told. It changes all the time. I know they are getting anxious too...esp the oldest girl as she wants to be allowed to have her dog in the house. Here we make her stay outdoors except recently she's had to be caged at night in the garage due to her barking too much. She's a cute dog but is not entirely house broke and she jumps on everything even high tables. For me Halo is really one too many dogs in my house, so I won't allow a second. She and Halo have always played really well together however recently whenever Halo goes outside, the other dog snaps at her. Sometimes Halo (who is much larger) actually seems afraid to go outside. And the little dog also snapped at and scratched at a couple other children who were here one day. She's usually just scared and runs from people...she never comes when we call and while she will follow me around she won't allow me to pick her up. Dh did manage to pick her up and put her in her cage one night when her owner wasn't here to do it so maybe she is warming up to him. He sits out on the patio a lot and she lays near him.

Glynne - Sorry to hear about your brother acting up again. He sounds very controlling. Can you contact the guy who had the power of attorney and find out for sure what happened? Might be good to know for sure what happened before things go further. Will be praying for you and your sister that what's right will happen.

Carol - My problem I guess is not just with casseroles..they were just the onl thing I could think of at the time to illustrate...but any dish where the meat is mixed with the heavy carb. Makes it hard to get enough protein yet not get too much of the carb. I feel I need to portion out these things not because I don't like my foods touching but for better control over the amount I eat. Hope that makes sense. Yet I am not consistent myself as I sometimes eat way too much of a snack high in carb and sodium or one that is high in sugar carbs. I really don't make sense sometimes even to myself.:dizzy:

What I don't like about hospital food is that they don't serve fresh veggies except for a bit of salad which is usually almost white lettuce. I understand because they have to cook for a lot of people but I miss fresh veggies every time I'm in the hospital. Or they cook the veggies to death, another complaint of mine. So guess my complaints are usually about the veggies. The main dish (usually meat and gravy or spagetti it seems), is not too bad if you add seasoning, and I understand many people can't have the salt so they have to be careful. After one hospital stay...when I had my hernia repair...they would bring me those little cups of vanilla ice cream and I keep eating them all the time...I don't like the kind with orange in them though, just the regular vanilla ones. I lost 13# with that surgery was surprised with all the ice cream I ate afterwards! ;)

Well, need to get something done around here...hope you're ok Sandy.