Tammy, here is the recipe for the Mexican Tater's and Beans. This is really good.


MEXICAN TATERS AND BEANS

6 cups sliced cooked peeled potatoes
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups salsa
2 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
6 slices Monterey Jack Cheese
6 slices cheddar cheese
2 cans (15 oz each) chili with beans
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup crushed tortilla chips

Place potatoes in the bottom of a greased 13x9 baking dish. Sprinkle with onion. Add potatoes. Mix Salsa and butter. Pour over onion and potatoes. Top with sliced cheeses; spread with chili. Sprinkle shredded cheeses over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Sprinkle with chips just before serving. Makes 10-12 servings.

(we don't have Monterey Jack Cheese slices, so I didn't use any. Just used shredded cheese for everything. I got a great 4 cheese mix of Mexican flavors)

Hey There
 

Hello Everybody- The shopping is done except what we will eat for Christmas dinner. Cards out and some of my anxiety less. Son and daughter still haven't resolved their problem. I can't worry about that. It makes me sick. I am just waiting to see what will happen. They are both educated ,midlife children.
:hug: :hug: Chris.. Take some long walks. I always found that to help me.The holidays are not my best time of year either... I manage to cope and try to keep things as normal as possible,what ever normal is.
Mima- I always wanted to get on cable but hubby is scrouge..Looks like we may have a warm Christmas.. Everything hurts my stomach lately. My back is saying hello. Too much tension.
Happy- I won't even write that recipee down. It looks too fattening for me to make.Last year I helped paint the outside of the house.. That was the only way to do it. The hubby won't let anyone do it.. He still is mowing the yard in parts . He is a very stubborn person about things like that..I am waiting for the time he finally admits and gets someone to do things around here.
Tammy -Don't get sick.. I know that is easier said than done when you are around sick children.My daughter has something all the time.
Meme- You do too much.. When you get to my age you will be winding down. Your family better keep you well. We don't go to the movies much. Usually wait for them to come out on cd.
Tops Christmas Party tonight.. Another eating event!I will try to be smart...
Joanne

Anne, thanks for the recipe! I know that's something that would be eaten by my family.

Joanne, that's too bad about your son and daughter. Wish they would resolve their problem for you and your husband. I'm trying to stay healthy. I'm going away this weekend with friends, so I took a personal day for tomorrow. I didn't go to school today. I won't be going back until Monday at noon. Maybe people will be healthy when I go back. I sure hope so. We don't go to movies much either. Hope you enjoyed your TOPS Christmas Party! We had our elem. staff party the other night, and it was so much fun. Nothing glamorous at all. Just sandwiches at a small restaurant in town. Lots of laughs though.

Chris, I hope you are feeling better. I know that I get down around the holidays too. Tough time for many people.

Two of my good friends have lost a parent this week. One lost her father on Tues., and another lost her mother yesterday. Also, one of the 5th girls lost her father in a truck accident in South Dakota. His cousin was killed too. They were up there hunting, and the truck went out of control on an icy road. Steve left a 5th grade daughter and 8th grade son. It's been a rough week.

Pain,pain pain. My back and stomache hurt all the time.I am going to call the masseuse.He comes to the house.
Have fun on your weekens, tammy.
PTL Brad' sugar was 89 before dinner. We have been going for walks-last night before dinner. And I slept 8 hours last night.
Going to the big flea market this am and then to the insurance Co. they sent the wrong policy. Have one more week.
And I got a great haircut!!!!! Nice, nice lady.
Only person I haven't bought anything for is DIL. No wrapping yet.
Mima

Meme, do you still have your gall bladder? The pains you are describing are exactly what I had when I was having problems with mine. My pains were so bad in the chest at times that I thought that I was having a heart attack.
I laughed when I read about your hubby being home 11 days. Bob and I have already talked about how it will be with both of us home after I retire. Could be interesting!!

Mima, the weekend is going to be in the 50's so we'll have nice weather for shopping. Sure wish there would have been some snow though. The little town where we go is absolutely beautiful when there is some snow there because of all of the decorations. Good for Brad's sugar!! I was going to take mine this morning, and I totally forgot about it. I've been doing it once a week and keeping track on paper to take to my family doctor when I go back in February. Hope you bought lots of nice things at the flea market!

Chris, hoping you are doing ok today!!

Yes, I am doing ok. I have had a major wake up call this morning. The 'ex' has a hernia. And of course she is just like DH and I in the fact that she can't do anything the simple way. This is the type of hernia (copy and pasted from a website) "strangulation: pressure on the hernial contents may compromise blood supply (especially veins, with their low pressure, are sensitive, and venous congestion often results) and cause ischemia, and later necrosis and gangrene, which may become fatal."

From that I am getting that if it were untreated it could become fatal. The 'ex' is having surgery Tuesday and could be in the hospital for a minium of 3-4 days. It is possible that she could be in the hospital for Christmas.

DH called me this morning in tears after having spoken to 'ex'. He is so worried about the 'ex' dieing and what it will do with to the kids. I told him we would take it one step at a time and I would be there for the kids any way we need to be. DSD, Katie, had such a hard time when her grandma and grandpa pasted away and he is worried what it will do to her. I told her with a lot of love and counseling she will be ok. But he needed to stop putting the 'ex' in the ground before she even has the surgery.

Oh Chris! I can relate a little to this because we had a similar situation with my hubby's ex several years ago. Sure wakes you up, doesn't it? I agree about not burying the ex yet. Take care of everyone, and keep us posted.

I'm leaving in about 20 minutes for the trip with the friends. Have a great weekend everyone!!

Thanks, Tammy. Have fun with the friends.

Good morning.We went to the pageant last night and it was wonderful!! We had to switch cars but it was ok. Brad drove the "big"van!!!
have fun, Tammy.
My best gf had to deal with that situation.Chris. Her ex has lung problems. We have been praying for him. And he is doing better. She was very concerned about her daughter.My ex got very sick and died the same month my 2 graduated from college. It was a very hard time but we dealt with it. It made them stronger!!!And I even went with them to the hospital.
Joanne-about your kids. This is what I have told my gf. Don't get in the middle of it and don't take sides. Pray that they will deal with it. I know it makes it hard on you, though. She finally came to accept it but that doesn't mean she likes it. I remember once when my daughter was having a war with her brother. But he used to say sarcastic things to her and he had to learn not to. She was much younger.And then there is another situation with her other brother but that's too long to tell. A long time ago. I prayed for you this morning.
6 hours sleep . That sounds like 2 naps. Bye Mima

Quiet group!! I got home about 1 1/2 hours ago. Had a great time with my friends. Shopped till we dropped. I did take a break and stayed at the room for a couple hours yesterday late afternoon. I knew that I needed to rest, so I did.

I'm not going to school until noon tomorrow. I knew that I'd be tired, so I planned ahead for once.

Tammy,glad you had a fun weekend. It is nice to get to know your body and know when you have to stop. The board is really quitet. I was away all weekend. Went to my nieces in Edmonton. She had a Christmas get together today. Enjoyed it.

Catch you in the morning.

The choir did wonderful this morning. They really sang their hearts out. I was so proud of them. And the baby girl who 'played' baby Jesus was beautiful. She played her part well and didn't cry once. ;) There was one song where a woman had a solo part ... had to come off the stage and get the baby, carry baby Jesus up on the stage and sing to him/her. The baby just layed there in her arm and stared at her the whole time. It was so cute and so touching. While the choir finished the song with 3 choruses she took the baby around to the choir members ... we sang "I want to see you, I want to know you, I want to feel your presence fresh and new each day; I want to hear you, I want to touch you Lord, I want to fall in love with You, again." It was a very moving piece. That baby girl just seemed to know what it was all about. She acted like she loved every minute of it. Her mother said she laid there and watched me lead the choir throughout the whole Cantata. She just had on her diaper and we had her wrapped in a piece of soft purple fabric I bought to match her mother's outfit. The Choir bought me a corsage of red roses and also $80 worth of gift certificates. I told them if they kept that up I might consider going into choir directing full time! :D

Tammy ... I still have my gallbladder but I don't think this pain is from that. I think it's mostly muscle related now because it has almost stopped. I've been taking aleve and darvocet. I had stopped taking the darvocet for a while. Wanted to get off them for a few days. I like to take a break so I'm sure I'm not 'hooked'. Thought it best to take my break before Christmas hit me. I took a few over the weekend and the pain has eased up. So I think the pain is probably in the muscles. I still get a twinge right between my breasts but that's the costocondritis. It will probably go away on it's own eventually. It usually does with aleve.

Chris ... tough with the ex. Hope all goes well Tuesday. You sure don't need that stress on you during Christmas. At least it is one they can do surgery on so that sounds promising. They can do wonders now with things like that. There are so many people walking around with a hernia that is inoperable ... ticking time bomb.

All 4 g-kids were in a play at their church tonight. It was "Christmas Crosstalk". They had a TV talk show set up on one side of the stage ... debating Christmas. Very pretty woman as the TV hostess. A professor (my SIL) and his assistant and Cowboy Dan from Texas on the Side of Christmas and two rich businessmen on the 'anti' side. It was a musical comedy. A choir of about 35 kids sang songs relating to what they were talking about. 2 g-daughters sang a duet. Needless to say ... I loved it.

That sure sounds great! I love to watch kids programs. So glad about your presentation. We had a real baby at the pageant. Dr. Powell jokingly said that couples plan their families around the pageant so their baby can be in it.
Glad you had fun, Tammy. SIL and I used to go to NYC and do that.
WE went to watch the boat parade last night, We sat in a field by the canal and DIL got bit by something and her leg had a huge red spot. Hope it;s ok.
Gotta go back to Beall's outlet becuase they didn't give me a discount on something.
Hope everything turns out ok tomorrow, Chris.
And glad about your weekend, Anne.
Joanne, I am praying for you family.
Alison said she liked the second half of the pageant better-that's the part about the nativity and resurrection. PTL
Mima

Thanks for the well wishes. From what I have been told this hernia is wrapped around some major arteries. I know the suregon. He is the best man for the job.

Sorry I haven't been around much. The kids have spent a lot of time here to help their mom rest. Seems like things are go go go when they are here.

I have been wanting a newer version of Print Shop...mine is version 12 and the newest one is 22. We were eating breakfast out with the kids yesterday. (I was real good....omlete made of egg beaters, heavy on the mushrooms and light on the sausage and only eat about 1/2 of it). I was reading the ads in the paper and Staples had the Paint Shop Pro Publisher's Deluxe 22 verison (normally $99) on sale for $79. Then there was a $20 instant rebate and a $20 mail in rebate. I had a $25 gift card for Staples that I had earned from My Points. So off to Staples I go, armed with my gift card and $35. I get to the check out and the guys says today is customer appreciation day and we get to pick customers and give them 12% off. COOL. He rings it all up, and I pay for it. Then I ask where is the mail in rebate. He pulls the ad out and says oh. He said sine it didn't print he would give me the $20 off of it and refunded me $21 (rebate plus tax). COOL. So on the way home I call my girlfriend telling her bout this. She does a search online and finds the manufacturer's mail in rebate of $20. SO in the end...I will have made $6 on this $99 program.

So here I am on top of the world. I get home and find it is a dvd not a cd. My dvd-rom won't work. To say the least I was depressed all day. Last night DH hands me $75 and says he was saving for a Christmas present for me. We never exchange gifts so I have no idea what he was doing. So after my WW meeting at noon I am going to go get it. YAY. Good bye depression.

Hope everyone is doing good.

Hey There
 

Hello Everybody.. Just a few more days till Christmas. I still have to buy 2 gifts.
Mima- I am trying my best to stay out of the kids fight.. Today is my hubbies B/D ,he is 81. The son will be here for dinner with his wife. I told the hubby we will not talk about any of it..
Tammy - The problem of Christmas dinner will be solved as the son and his wife have decided to do their own Christmas dinner with her family. At least there won't be so much stress. We will meet them Christmas eve for dinner and go to their house for dessert. I hope I can keep it together. I get upset thinking about this . My B/P has started acting up and it probably will not settle down till Christmas is over.
Chris- Sorry about your upsets too. Thank God there are no ex's in my life. I couldn't handle that right now. Well, I wouldn't. I am the type to say ex is ex.
Meme-My stomach is a mess along with everything else.That is nice about your choir. I am glad all went well for you. They must love you a lot..
Well, got to get busy. Back later...Joanne

Anne, glad you had fun at the Christmas get together.

Meme, I wish we all could have heard the choir. I'm sure you do an awesome job with them. Take care of yourself with whatever is causing the pain. No fun at all! The "Christmas Crosstalk" sounds like it would have been good.

Mima, I've never been to New York. I've been to Chicago a couple times with friends, and that's always lots of fun.

Chris, that's great about the Print Shop!! Woo Hoo!!

Joanne, Happy Birthday to your husband!! Hope the dinner went well. I know it will be hard to stay calm and keep the BP down. Take care and know that we are all here for you.

I was really glad that I only planned 1/2 of a day today. I got up with the dog at 6:00, went back to bed and woke up at 10:00! Felt great!!

Tammy, I have been playing with it all evening. I make the certificates for the Youth Bowling League. The director asked that I came up with different ones. Well with 495 bowling graphics I think I can do that without a problem.

Mima, I used to watch the boat parade's all the time when I lived in Michigan. I wonder if there would have been one here out to the lake. Never thought of that. Bet it is done and over by now if there was one.

Meme, I would have loved to hear the choir the other night. Betting it sounded great. It was so nice of them to give you gifts.

Today was WW meeting day. I did real well. I lost 3.4 pounds for a grand total now of 39.4. Now if I can loss the other 1.6 pounds to get to my New Year's goal.

Congratulations on the weight loss Chris. Sorry to hear about the ex. Hope everything goes well. Print Shop sounds great ... good buy. I have had Paint Shop on both my computers for years. Don't know what I'd do without it. I need an update but guess I'll have to wait a while. Hubby bought me a building and is now talking about covering the back deck for me. We lucked out ... we are going to have to have a new roof put on our house. He told our Ins. man about it the other day and told him the wind had blown quite a few of the shingles off up there. The house is about 16 years old so he didn't figure there was any way the ins. would cover it. Well ... the guy came out and took a look. He called the other day and said to come up to the office and pick up our check to have a new roof put on. Over $3,000. So, since the ins. covered that, he's decided he might just cover the deck while he's getting the roof put on. I've been wanting it done for years. With a new office building and the deck covered that's about all we can afford for a while. (Along with all I've spent on Christmas, too.) My kids are getting expensive. I can't believe what one pair of Arizona jeans are ... and on sale, too. AND THEY WERE RIPPED AND NEARLY WORN OUT!!! :p ;) And of course what I buy for one boy I have to buy for the other and what I buy for one girl I have to buy for the other. Double your pleasure and double their fun! :D

My eyes are killing me. I'm quitting that stupid Optometrist. I called them today and told them I had to have some relief because my eyes were itching me to death and I wanted to pull them out and throw them. I asked if I could come up and have him take a look at them. It was after 11 and they asked me if I could be there by 11:30. I said no way. They said I could come in a little after 2. He leaves at 11:30 and comes back at 2. I thought ... long lunch. So I said if I come in at 2 can you have me out in time for me to be back home by 3 because I have a student then. They said no. Then they said let them talk to him. Came back to the phone and said he was calling me in a new eye drop. Stop using the other one and start the new one tonight. He hadn't even looked at my eyes. I told her I needed something to stop the itching NOW. She said if I stopped using the old eyedrops the itching would probably stop. I was so upset with them. I called my MD and tried to get in ... he was doubled booked today. I got an app. for tomorrow at 9. I even went to the ER tonight at 9 and sat in there for 30 minutes ... thought maybe they could give me something to relieve the itching. It was so packed I saw I was going to be there for hours and left. I had to make soup and a banana pudding for hubby for work tomorrow and I was so tired ... I just wanted to come home. I stopped at the pharmacy and picked up the eyedrops he called in just to see what they were. It was a beta blocker! :eek: I'm taking a beta blocker in pill form ... Inderal. I had to fill out a medicine form so he should have know you're not supposed to mix those two. It plainly says right on the side effect warnings not to mix two beta blockers. (I already knew that anyway.) Now ... just suppose that I was ignorant about my meds or maybe an elderly person or someone who couldn't (or didn't) read ... someone who didn't know what a beta blocker was or what it did. And supposed I went ahead and used the eye drops. Then supposed I was one of the 14.6% who dropped dead of a heart attack. Think I could come back and sue the quack? :?:

Going to bed and see if I can sleep until time to go to the Dr. Hopefully he'll either figure out something to do or at least send me to someone who can.

Good thing you got that taken care of somewhat, Meme. I showed my doc what I took for my stomache and he said I could take something else. It was the same thing with a different name.Hope your ms can figure it out.
Slept later again. I went swimming yestaerday and in the whirlpool. Today we have to go back to the insurance company.Massage on Thurs.
We got a call from a member of our Sunday school class. One of the members had died during the night. We were with all of them on Sun. Funeral is tomorrow. Trying to figure out how I can keep my casserole safe in the hot car while we are at the funeral. One of you must know.I am thinking an insulated bag.
Prayers with you today, Chris. Glad you got a new Print shop.
Jill is ok from the spider bite







.Kids have a way of distracting your mind from everything.Yeah for the weight loss!!!
Hope your week goes well, Anne.
Good for you Joanne. Just think that everything is the best that it is for today.

Messed up the post. Bye for now Mima

Meme, sorry you are having a hard time with your eyes. Are you going to try to find a new eye doctor. He should have asked what your current meds are...better yet he should have looked at your chart which had them listed. I am glad you are getting into the doctor's office today. That is great about the roof. It is always nice when something nice happens. I have used Paint Shop Pro X (bootlegged copy--which I lost when I had to reformat and they aren't allowing bootlegged copies any more) and Print Shop Pro 12 (which I have the discs for) for a while. I was hoping that the newer version of Print would allow me to add text to photos. But I had to go insert a picture into a project...a poster or newsletter, then add the text and save. Then I was left with all this excess white paper around the photo. I couldn't see how to crop it. So I then had to open the photo in Nero and crop it. Not sure if I am just not finding how to do it in Print or it isn't an option. Print came with a 348 page book....guess I have some reading to do. I love the graphics that came with Print that I can use in my certificates and newsletters. There are 495 bowling graphics alone.

Mima--Sorry to hear that a member of Sunday school passed away. Had the person been sick at all?? Sounds so unexpcted.

Ex's surgery is today. The kids did go to school today. DSD called me last night and asked if I could pick her and DSS up after school and take them to the hospital to see their mom. Of course. I have come in as a great 3rd parent who doesn't work and is always availible for taxi service. If someon gets sick while at school, I am there to pick them up while their mom and Larry are working. I have picked them up for volunteering at the hospital, going to a friend's or going to a movie while mom and my DH works. I remind them every now and again how lucky they are that I am their taxi cab.

ps Everyone in our ckass is OLD!!!!!Mima I am sure he was almost 80. Here I am waiting for the insurance company to call back-they didn't have our policy yet. In my whole life I have never seen such craziness. Mima

Mima, I hate dealing with insurance companies. They act like the money is coming out of their pockets.

WHEW ... was in town all day. Dr. app was at 9 and I didn't get done until nearly 1. MD said he thought my eyes had an abrasion at first. He numbed the lids and pulled them back to take a look but they didn't. Thank goodness. He said the lids were infected but he wasn't sure about the eyes themselves. He wrote a script for an ointment for the lids and sent me on to an eye specialist. I waited there forever. He said I had had a bad case of pink eye recently. I told him about the eye infection I had weekend before last. He said that was probably pink eye that I had then. He confirmed the glaucoma and said I'd have to restart some kind of drops in a couple of weeks but I didn't need to be on any drops for at least 2 weeks to let this infection clear up. He gave me some drops to use twice a day to clear up the infection ... it's not just on my lids it's in my eyes, too. He looked at the drops the optometrist gave me for the last infection and said I should never put those in my eyes because with glaucoma your trying to keep the pressure in your eyes down and those drops have a component in them that actually raise the eye pressure. I have to go back to him in 2 weeks ... he wants to see what my pressure is without using any drops and then he'll start me back on something else if the infection is gone. Guess I won't be going back to that optometrist. I've been getting my glasses there for years but I'm certainly not going to let him experiment on my eyes again. I still can't believe he wanted me to start a new eye drop without even seeing my eyes and clearing up the eye infection I had first. He thought I was allergic to the new eye drops but it's like the specialist said, without seeing my eyes, when he started me on different eye drops and my eyes didn't get better, how would he know if they were still having an allergic reaction to the old drops, having a new reaction to the new drops or if they had developed an infection from the new drops or if they had an infection to start with and it just hadn't cleared up. ;) That's why he said they had to get completely well before he'd start me on new drops. (sounds right to me.) Did I confuse you yet??? :D

Meme, No I am not confused at all. I am amazed at all you have been thru with your eyes. I hope that you are now on the road to recovery. I bet with all that was done to the eyes today, they hurt even more. Get some rest.

How did everything turn out yesterday, Chris? Meme, I had to change eye docs because the other one never picked up on my severe dry eye-now I have drops.
Stomache again-I guess it was the pork chops-and we are going to a funeral today. I am making a taco dip-does that qualify as a meat casserole? I bought an insulated bag at Walmart.
Joanne, hope the birthday dinner turned out ok.
Mike's family is coming for dinner on Friday-I will just make a buffet of that Taco dip and macaroni and cheese and veggies.
Boy, i am glad it's recycle day-have stuff overflowing. It sure cuts down on the rubbish,
I don't like pink eye-used to get it from my students-the med should take it away quickly-I hope.
Mima

Mima, Thanks for asking. As far as we know everything went ok with the ex's surgery. The report we got was from the 15 year old DSD. The hernia was large and involved some blood vessels. She will be in the hospital for a while...which wasn't defined as to how long that is. And she won't be able to go back to work for a couple of months.

Chris, I can't believe that Print Shop has 495 bowling graphics!! I think you'll be fine doing those certificates. Wow to losing 3.4 more pounds!! I'm glad you are reminding the kids how lucky they are to have you around. Glad to hear that the surgery went well.

Meme, I'm glad that Tim has never been choosey about the brands of clothing that he wears. We did splurge on good shoes when he ran cross country. I certainly pray that all of the problems with your eyes will soon be fixed. I can't believe the doctor didn't want to see you when changing the prescription.
Mima, sorry about the member of your Sunday school class. I think I'll show up for supper on Friday too. Sounds good.

Today was our last day of school until January 3. Kids were definitely wound up.

Glad the ex's surgery went well.

Yep ... it's hard when they're choosy about everything. They have to have they're clothes certain brands and big on them, too. The boots I got for Jenna were regularly $50! I got them on sale for 1/2 price ... she is only 7 years old. That's kind-of rediculous. I spent about $120 per child and I used to could get my children 4 or 5 times what I got them for that. Hubby was easy this year. He wanted a mitre saw. I couldn't find him what he wanted here but he found it in a Northern Tool catalog so I ordered it last night. It's supposed to be here next week. He said he didn't mind it being a few days late as long as he got the one he wanted ... I said I didn't mind either as long as I didn't have to go to go out looking at saws again. I've been to Wal Mart, K Mart, Sears and Lowes twice. :p I got him a sports jacket at Penneys back in October and sent it home with my daughter so he'll have that Christmas day. Our friends are all coming over Friday night so now I have to have my house all cleaned and their presents wrapped by then. Plus, I have Jenna and Ross all day tomorrow. Mima ... I think we are all just going to go out and eat Friday night and then come back here for dessert and open gifts ... easier that way!

Well, seems I was allergic to one of the eye meds. the docs gave me yesterday, too. Don't know which one but I'd bet on the ointment since it is a steroid. I got up this morning and both my eyes were swollen nearly shut. I put cold cucumber on them and got the swelling down some. I went to WalMart this afternoon and got some homeopathic eye drops for allergies ... put them in when I got home and they felt a lot better. I haven't used anything any of the 3 doctors gave me all day and the itching has almost stopped. I guess this is one of those cases of 'physician heal thyself'. :p I'm more than a little worried about the glaucoma. I'm scared there may not be any drops that I'm not allergic to they can give me to keep the pressure down. I dread having to try yet another one but I know it's inevitable. Well, early and long day tomorrow. Guess I'll go to bed and see if I can get a few hours sleep.

Oh, Meme, what an ordeal.!!! My eyes get itchy when they are dry.
Can a funeral have humor in it. Well Laverne, the wife is such a bubbly person and that;s the way she was. When the service was over and we went to the mauseleum, we clapped for her husband going to Heaven-she is such a believer. Then we went to her house. Brad's mouth was watering for the taco dip I made. It seems we were only supposed to drop the food off and then leave, We sure laughed about that. Then we went to a store and I picked out 2 outfits for my Christmas present and then we went out to eat. I had beef orzo soup. Yum. And my stomache is better.
Hey meme-we have a Northern Tool in the front of the Park!!!!!!We don't spend that much on each other or anyone else because we are retired. the paper said we do not even have a moderate income. But i sure used to spend when I was working!!!!!Course our family keeps getting bigger!!!! But we have 2 homes that are paid for and money in the bank so I am not worried, Say to yourself that we have more money than a lot of people and not as much as some-that would incluse most of the people that are in our Sunday school class!!! ha!!!!!
Going to the insurance company today-tomorrow is the day our insurance ends-
Chris-glad everything seems ok . Bye for now Mima

Good morning ladies.

Mima - hope you get this insurance business straightened out soon. How long can it take? Glad you are financially secure. I guess I should worry more about finances, but I have NEVER worried about money. It is not that important to me, I guess. I seem to have enough when I need it.

Meme - Gosh, I hope this problem with the eyes resolves itself soon. Glucoma is nasty. My cousins hubby has it, and he uses some kind of drops. He has had it for years and he is only 55 now. I have lots of eye allergies and get two different kinds of stuff. One for the eyelids and one for the eye. I could use that right now. Have fun, and remember in less than a week, it's over and life settles back down a bit.

Chris - glad the surgery went well. I have PSP and I really like that. Never tried Print Shop, but that was a super great deal you got on it. Great weight loss and I hope you make the 1.6 by the end of the year.

Tammy - so you are now free until the New Year:carrot: Hope you got everything done so you can just rest. How is your lower back? Are you going for more Facet Shots?

Joanne - Hi. Hope you are now finished and taking life easy.

I had yesterday off, was so tired. I went to renew my vehicle registration as it is due by the 31 Dec., then went to the Dr. and got prescriptions renewed. This breathing problem is a mile Emphezema apparently. I have NEVER smoked a cigarette in my life, but have been around second hand smoke all my life, except for the past 10 years. Anyway, I am going to try a med. that is an old one, but the Dr. likes it. It will open the bronchial tubes. If that doesn't work, then I need to get a puffer, but it is then something I will need forever (which probably isn't that far away:dizzy: )

Came back home and baked cookies. Still have to make sugar cookies but I will do that on Friday night and take them to Edmonton for Ashley to decorate.

Little Meela is healed. My DIL had her to the Dr. on Tuesday and he said she was better. On the weekend she was moving her little arm up and down and it didn't seem to hurt her.

Hope you all have a nice day.

Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you, I lost another 2 pounds so that makes 22 - Woo Hoo!!!!!!!

Meme, I can't get over all of the eye problems that you've had. Hope it all gets straightened out very soon. It has to be so frustrating for you.

Mima, I like the idea of clapping for the person being in heaven!

Anne, I'm off until Jan. 3. We're going to be going through some more things in the storage unit that we have rented, and hopefully we'll be able to stop renting it. We need to put some flooring down in the attic to store some things that we have up there. I don't plan to go back for any more injections. If it would have lasted longer, I might consider it, but since I really only felt really good for about 2 weeks, I don't plan to try it again. Right now I'm having really bad days and not so bad days with the back. The pain is always there though.

Sorry to hear about the emphesema. I hope the medicine will work for you. I had to reread what you wrote about forever not being that far away!!! Shame on you!!!! Glad to hear about Meela! 22 pounds is wonderful!!!

We went to a dinner theater for a matinee of "It's a Wonderful Life" today. It was wonderful, and the food was delicious. I was so glad when intermission came so I could just stand up and move around for a while. I should have taken a heat patch to put on my back while we were there. Had weighin at WW tonight. I was up a pound, but I figured after Christmas parties at school yesterday and the dinner theater earlier today, a pound wasn't bad.

I still don't have my Christmas cards done.

Well it is very contagious but you wouldn't do it on purpose and you didn't even know you had it, It goes away quickly with treatment-oh well!!!
The insurance nightmare cont. We went to the ins. co because they were supposed to have the policy-it was totally the wrong one-the original-so i said we'll go to the mall and call you to see if we can come back-they were willing to give us a 10 day extension. I called and she said we cpold come back, we did, and IT STILL WAS WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Well, she called and found out what he premium would be and we paid and that's that. I was blaming the agent but it was the underwriter. And I was very nice-never said anything about the phone calls not being returned etc. Admired her ring,
Then my chain for my cross landed on the table-no cross, broken chain!!!It was in the car, Thank God.Hope you have a good laugh about thatwhole situation.
Anne, have a wonderful Christmas-and Tammy, Meme, Chris,Joanne. rember why we have Christmas. It's a gift.
Had a great massage-he worked on me for 90 minutes. I am sore after but then it goes away and I feel great.
Suzanne is flying in at 2:30 and they are all coming for supper. Brad will get his taco dip. Bye for now Mima

Meme, I chuckled at the little poem at the beginning of your message. I can understand how you wouldn't want to sit all night at the funeral home when there is so much to be done. I've been swelling quite a bit lately too. I've had to take my rings off more than once this week because they hurt. Not doing anything different that I can think of, so I don't know why it's happening. I'm sure you'll be getting a hard time from people about the pink eye!! LOL Too funny!!

Mima, your situation at the insurance place is funny too!! I am still considering going for a massage at someplace different than I went to before. I don't think she really understood how much my body aches. I need someone who is aware of fibro. Enjoy the time with Suzanne!! Taco dip really sounds good. Tim is going to town to get a couple of gifts, and he's bringing a pizza home for lunch. Bob went out early this morning to eat breakfast and go shopping. We don't know what time he'll be home. He can eat leftover pizza I guess (if there is any!!!).

I now how Christmas cards in the mail. I can't believe how slow I"ve been this year. A woman at the post office this morning said that she always enjoys getting cards even after Christmas, so I hope people I sent to enjoy them after Christmas too.

Meme - Pink eye is soooo contagious. Hope you feel better after a couple of days on the new drops.

Mima - glad you finally got your insurance straightened out. That is maddeing when they don't do it right.

Hi Tammy, Joanne and Chris.

I just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. Hope you all get through the holidays in health. We are leaving for my daughters just after lunch and won't be back home until Tuesday evening.

http://www.riversongs.com/ecards/seasons.html

have a great time Anne. I never used to mil cards til late tammy. It's a whole different scene when you don't work. All that hectic stuff is over.
Wicked diarrhea last night. I got some Digestive stuff for IBS-with lactobacillus. Also ent bak on the antibiotic which counteracts the lacto. But it won't make it worse. Ate toast , rice, and applesauce. When I go to docs on wed I will ask him about yeast-not that he will be helpful. Docs usually aren't. have a good day-going to the pool-Suzanne is over ther. Bye Mima

This is truly funny. We all went out to eat last night and they were all giving John and I a hard time about the pink eye thing. I kept repeating that I didn't know how he got it because I swore up and down that I didn't even touch him that weekend I had it and after all hubby didn't get it. Well ... my best friend (John's wife) ... who hasn't a lick of sense!!! I promise, she is the type of person who says everything backward! ... said, no wonder he didn't get it, you don't even sleep in the same room together, let alone the same bed. It got real quiet at the table and I just propped my chin in my hand and stared at her. She was sitting next to me. She looked around the table and then at me and said, what. I said, just what are you infering? Her face turned every shade of red you could imagine. I said, do you ever even think about what you say or does it just ... pop out? She hit me and said, Oh ... you know what I mean. I said, well ... I'm trying to figure out exactly how you're thinking JOHN got it! Everybody started laughing so hard the whole restaurant was looking at our table. It was one of those moments you don't ever want to forget. Then, they all came down to our house to open gifts and I have those electric candles in all my windows. So when they got inside she said ... Oh ... I see how she's doing it now. She has a candle in her bedroom window so she can flash the light to let him know that it's all clear and he can come in. She's such a nut.

Well ... I'm a day ahead than what I usually am. The house is all cleaned up, the presents are all wrapped and under the tree and my pumpkin pies are made. I still have one more cake to bake and I'm going to do that tomorrow night and make the stuffing for the turkey and I'll be through. I even got all my washing done and cleaned the basement plus made a long garland with lights and berries to go all the way across the back of my bar (just call me Martha). :p Going to bed now ... I'm pooped.

P.S.
Eyes are worse but I think it's from being in the basement. It was really bad down there. Oh but it looks so much better now. I'm glad I got it done! Now the kiddies can go down there and play Monday and get out of our hair! :D

That is funny, meme. I am better=it's getting so frustratung about what to eat. And I think the antibiotic gives me a oain in my stmache. But at least I am not running to the bathroom. I'll wind up like my mother with a colostomy. But then she had it reversed. Enough of that talk.
Going to the 9:30 service and then with Suzanne at 6 tonight,Candlelight service and Meme's kind of music.
Glad we don't have to walk the dog all the time-it;s so humid-they promised 4 days of showers but it didn't even rain yesterday.
Merry Christmas Eve. Mima

Hey There
 

I guess everybody is just as busy as I am...
my daughter gave her dad his Christmas present early. A 3 month Pug... He named it Christie...My work has begun.. House breaking in progress.
I hope everybody has a very MERRY CHRISTMAS
Joanne

Anne, I hope you had a great time at your daughters.

Mima, I have a friend who decided years ago to send New Year's cards. She always did them over the Christmas break. I thought I'd be better this year since I'm only working a few days a week, but not so. Enjoy your time with Suzanne.

Meme, that is hilarious! I'm sure everyone at the restaurant was wondering what all of the laughter was about. You've done enough! Take a break Martha!!!!!

Joanne, did you know she was getting him the pup? Oh how cute!! Yep, your work has begun!!!

We keep thinking that last year at this time we were in Georgia. Sure was nice. We are getting together with my brothers and their families late Tuesday afternoon. None of Bob's family is near here, so we don't get together with them.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!!

Wow-a new puppy. Bet she's cute. We went to a wonderful service last night-And Suzanne came with us-then we tried to find a restaurant and ended up at the Chinese buffet. I took it easy. I haven't felt like cooking.
Going to my church this morning and then bringing 4 chairs, lots of presents, 3 desserts and a tomato to Mike;s , He's cooking crab cakes and roast beef, roasted vegetables, salad etc. Most of the stuff I can't eat.
Have a wonderful day and Merry Christmas. Mima