Hey girls! We got a new fridge! Okay, well actually it won't be here for 3 weeks, but at least there's an end in sight to my misery. I was feeling awful this morning, so DH said, "Let's just go and get a new fridge instead of trying to fix this."
I've got to run, but I'll be back later. Just wanted to share my news!
xo

I know, I know I shouldn't weigh everyday...I just can't seem to not do it! I just need to get over letting it affect me so much! I know that I have been lucky, getting this close & it just now getting slower. Hopefully it will pass quickly & I can shed these last 10 (or 15) pounds!

Ellis, So glad you got a fridge! Now you can fill it will yummy fruits & veggies!

OK need to go finish making the pies for the picnic tomorrow!

Hello everyone

I have been MIA for a few days as DH took the computer to work to do an upgrade, I am currently typing from a fetal position,with one hand and shaking from withdrawal symptoms

Hope all is well with everyone. And thanks to all for the encouragement with the exercising. DH and I walked over there on Saturday and spent 2 hours just working out, sitting in the hot tub and having an extra long swim. The pool felt so refreshing as it is very hot weather wise here. We were the only two people there so it was some great together time for the two of us.

I lost 2lbs this past week due to the gym and I was out clubbing last night and spent 3 hours on the dance floor
my calves are a little sore today though.

Ellis- Yay! A new fridge! What kind did you get?

Christina- I try to limit my weigh-ins to once a week so I don't obsess about it.

Well I have to go and put the groceries away now, and yes it is all good food, fruits, veggies, some lean deli meat and feta cheese. Great now I am making myself hungry! oh yeah I did have a buster bar from the Dairy Queen today, but it is ice milk so it's not as bad as ice cream. Yeah sure, I am justifying my splurge

Hope everyone had a great weekend !

Mauvaisroux

hey chickies!!

sounds like you're all doing great! i'm glad. not much news here.... walked all but one morning last week. (hurrah!) and i've been trying to eat better... not doing too bad!

soozie - glad you had a good time! old friends can be so fun to get together with.

ellis - yea! new fridge! glad the disaster is over for you!

mauv- you skinny thing you! i get all your tenacity when you're at goal and don't need it anymore.

not going there with the sex thing.... been so long i don't remember!!

kind of a drive by again... hope everyone had a great weekend.



*hugs*

S.

Hi everyone!

I haven't read all the posts that I've missed while I was gone, but I did read some. I left for my vacation on Saturday morning, and I had a blast. However, Thursday night, I got a message that my grandmother was sick. I was on vacation with my parents and boyfriend, and after talking to the rest of the family, we decided to go home early. We left at about 11:30pm, got to the hospital at almost 4am, and I didn't come back to my apartment until 10pm.

I feel like I have a lot to talk about regarding my grandma because of everything that's happened. Some of this I wouldn't share with people, but I feel like this is a good place to let some of it out. You ladies are so kind and supportive--hope you don't mind what I'm about to lay out for you!

My grandmother was like a second mother to me when I was growing up, but she has had a lot of problems in recent years. She was always sick--in fact, she has had her stomach, breast, spleen, and gall bladder removed. Every since her stomach removal (due to cancer) she has been in and out of the hospital, so this had been going on for about twenty-five years. She's a tough one, though! She always pulls through.

The bad part is that she became addicted to prescription medication. She started taking pain killers to ease some of her pain, but it grew into a nightmare. She had been through rehab facilities a number of times in the last six or seven years. My grandfather was always able to keep tabs on it by hiding her medication. However, he passed away two years ago, and her addiction has raged out of control. In fact, the grandmother that I saw for the last two years really isn't my grandma at all.

There was a bitter feud between my mom and one of her brothers when my grandpa died, and there was a HUGE, HUGE brawl at the hospital on Friday morning. However, they have calmed down and are actually talking and spending time with one another. It's still a little tense and uncomfortable at times, though.

I was VERY close to both of my grandparents. They lived about five minutes from me, so when I was a kid, I spent as much time at their house as I did my own. My mom tried to hide a lot of their illnesses from me because she knew I would be upset. That was fine when I was younger, but I was not prepared at all for my grandfather's death. My mom told me not to visit him in the hospital because he was being released soon. The next thing I knew, I was at his funeral. It was very confusing, but I promised myself that I would not be left out of the loop anymore. Since then, my mom has been much better with me about stuff like that.

I am happy to have seen my grandma over the past few days. The doctors don't have much hope for her recovery. She's on a ventilator to assist with her breathing, and her heart rate is very erratic. When I saw her yesterday, she looked better--sleeping peacefully. She hasn't been able to talk, but we have to believe that she can hear all of us. It's a "wait and see" situation right now, and we don't know what's going to happen. I don't want to sound crass, but I am hoping that she can finally be at peace and with my grandfather. Her life would never go back to what it was before, and they don't think she will change much more based on all the available evidence. I'm really okay with that because I feel good that I saw her, and I am comforted that she will be with my grandpa.

Thank you ladies for listening. I learned after my grandpa died that people are there for you when you need them the most. Now is a time when I have turned to the people that I love and they have surrounded me with love, wishes, and prayers. It's comforting and amazing to have that, and I want you all to know that you have given me that simply by reading my post. Thank you!

Kat

Hey darlings,

Shel, you are doing GREAT!!! Sounds like you're going to be the next skinny (after Mauvais and Chris). Keep it up, sweetie!!

Oh, Mauvais... no computer... how dreadful! Glad you've got it back. Congratulations on the 2 lbs!! I should have met you when you were fat. Now I'm going to feel like a fat lump when I see you.

Hi Chris! Hi Ruth! And Kat and Squeak!

Okay, my new fridge is black with stainless steel doors. The freezer is on the bottom in a pull-out drawer. It has a Brita thingy on the door for water. And the vegetable drawers are at hip level and are see-through. Maybe with a fridge like that I'll lose some weight.

Hey Mauvais, the gay pride parade is on right now! Did you go down? We went down briefly, but had to hurry back for the kids. Everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Sooz, I'm glad you had fun with your friend. And Chris is right, next year when you see her you are going to be a BABE again!

Den, your lunch must have been yummy! And not too bad for you, huh? Does the word MONDAY mean anything to you?

gotta run... watching an Abbott and Costello with the kids. And I know it's bad and I'm going to get cancer tomorrow, but I'm drinking a diet pop. I need some scratchy carbonation!!

'bye lovies...
xo

Kat sweetie... I must have just missed your post... I'm so sorry about your Grandma.
Yes, she can definitely hear you, so keep talking to her. She'll be so comforted listening to your voice and knowing how much you love her.
It makes me feel good to know that you consider us highly enough to share your grief. We DO love you !!! Even though you can't see us. We're here for you, honey...
I'll be saying prayers for you and your Grandma. You're right... she will be in a far better place... and with your Grandfather.
Don't let the rest of your family upset the love you have for your Grandma. All will be well.
take care Kat...
xoxo Love Ellis

Hi All!!

Kat-You are NOT being crass by saying that you want your grandmother to be at peace. You are being supportive and loving. It is really hard seeing someone you love fade away like that, and it sounds like she has been suffering, which I know is painful to see. I believe that it reaches a point where it is time for a person to go. My grandmother lived beyond that point, but luckily not by too much. I am sorry that your family is bickering, since I'm sure that that only adds to the stress everyone is feeling. You are definitely right about staying in the loop, and I'm glad they contacted you even though you were on vacation. We went through a situation similar to that you experienced with your grandfather's death, and it makes it HARDER not easier. Sometimes parents actually make things worse when they are trying to protect us!! You are lucky to have experienced such closeness with your grandparents, and you will always have their love and influence inside you. We're all keeping you in our thoughts sweetie.

To the rest of you- I'll stop in again tomorrow.

Hey Girlie Girls,
Firstly I want to say to you Kat...hang in there, they say that hearing is the last sense to go when someone is nearing death so as everyone else has already said, yes, keep talking to your grandmother. The time that a person is near death is deeply sad but it is also deeply spiritual and even beautiful in a way. My mother died if cancer when she was 54 years old. It was tragic but her death was a really amazing time. She was able to die in her own bed with her family nearby. It was a gift to have those final weeks with her and to talk and listen and just be close. I also lost one close friend to cancer, likewise it was nice to be with her and to say our goodbyes and I do think that very much like being there when a child is born being there when someone is dying is a miraculous thing...and it does feel like a relief when someone you love can let go of their pain and this world and move on...especially when you see them suffering...so, don't question yourself...do what feels right for you. What a blessing that you got to see your grandmother with an expression of peace on her face!!!

To the rest of the motley crew, they're tearing apart my kitchen as we speak, the room is almost completely bare...outside wall is down to the studs...ceiling is gone...can't wait til they're finished because its going to take me days to put everything away once the new cabinets are in place.
Ellis that new fridge sounds sublime...as I already said we're sticking with the old one since it isn't that old, its just your run of the mill regular fridge, but, we're having the guys run the plumbing lines so the next refrigerator can have the filtered water on the door...ah, a life of luxury !!!

Haven't gotten to the gym...haven't exercised except for cleaning and packing and moving boxes...but, food has been under control. Once this whole thing is over and my dd starts school in the fall my schedule will be better for hustling to the gym more often...until then...maybe I'll get back on the paddle boat...haven't even made time for that...

And Ellis you didn't answer my question about your friend who got married in Scotland...so now I'm certain that you're holding out on us and it was Madonna who is your old friend...please let us know when we can expect a concert...Canada or the US would be fine...any venue...my house...your house...

Hope everyone is well...bye for now...keep up the good work on those hot bodies of yours...Soozie

I'm BAAACCCCKKKKKK.

Still in one piece and while the scale may not say so, I am feeling a little lighter.

But since I still have to unpack, I will go back and read all I missed a little later. Just wanted to say Hi! and I missed you guys.

squeak

Welcome back Squeak!! We missed you! Tell us all about your holiday...

Kat, how are you doing? Thinking about you, sweetie...

Soozie, alright alright... I admit... it was Madonna. No seriously, my friend's wedding photo is right here in front of me. She looks beautiful... a white dress with one of those tartan thingys across the front. And her hubby is wearing a kilt (they're both from the same clan... inbreeding!!).
The photographer took photos outside the castle too, and somehow he made it look like it wasn't raining.
Hey, you've got one of those cool fridges! Send it up!! uh oh, DH is here with dinner that I didn't make... back later!

happy monday, chickies...

Kat - while i can mostly just echo what the others have said, i will add this.... please, if there is anything that you'd like to make sure she knows, don't be afraid to tell her. i did a lot of really selfish things when my grandma was so sick.... it was hard for me to see her like that, so i tried to hide from it and lost time that i so desperately wish that i could get back. tell her how much you love her... both of you will be comforted by it. *hugs* hang in there, and hopefully this will cause your mom and uncle to see that things should be patched up as well. and we're always here for you. keep that in mind when it seems like too much.


ellis - you lucky girl!! the fridge sounds devine! very food network, look at my fabulous kitchen, and now i'll just whip up something very Martha-ish. *giggles*

welcome back, squeak... hope you had a wonderful time. now get some rest.

soozie - no kitchen.... what a nightmare..... you do have your coffee set up somewhere close, right? i'd be lost without coffee... but look at the bright side - no kitchen means no dishes waiting!


sooo.... i took the plunge and broke things off with the bf.... he has literally no where to go, so we've agreed to be roomies on the condition that he's employed within the next two weeks.... this was decided thrusday, and things were dicy, but by friday night... god, so much ~pressure~ was off... we just kinda hung out and actually talked. like friends. it's an aspect of things that had gotten lost in everything else. i missed it. i'm glad it's back.

*hugs all around* you gals rock. still gotta see if we can't plan a get together.... i make a mean variety of party food.

(gotta stick that in somewhere. *G*)

S.

oooh! i have a picture now! *nods* face with the name, and all.

that's the office/warhammer part of the shop behind me, btw...

Shel! You babe you!! aaaaaaargh!! Your skin!! And your hair!! Dark!! I'm so jealous!!

I hope you'll forgive me for saying this, but I think you made the right decision with your BF. I was really worried about you. It's so easy to see things from the outside looking in. And I'm so glad that you've renewed your friendship with him. You're just going to feel so damned good about yourself now. And ****, you're intelligent, sweet, kind, strong and beautiful!! When you're ready (for sex etc, etc), they'll come knocking your door down.

Yes, my fridge will be lovely. Sigh. If only I could cook.
Oh... party food. I can make party food!! Let's have a party! Remember, my place is huge and ALWAYS available!!

Okay, where the heck is everyone else?
I'm having a "hang around the computer day", and I fully expect everyone to be signing in!!
xo Ellis