Rosebud, thanks for the suggestion for the cancer society, I will check it out I don't want to change to another drug as the oncologist says if this works ( and it seems to be )
I can avoid chemo. This drug doesn't cause hair loss and doesn't have the terrible nausea that chemo does. Thanks for all the suggestions and prayers are always appreciated.

Hello everyone. Thank you all for the nice thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement. It has been kind of a tough week but I know my Dad is no longer in pain. He said several times over the last few weeks that he was ready to go home and we all knew it was just days away.. still hard. We will be taking his ashes to the lake that he always loved to go to, this is what he wanted, on Monday so I know it will be another tough day. Our son his family are here and have been for the last month or so and my Dad totally fell in love with his great-grandkids. I was so glad that they were here.
I will try to get back to a more regular posting soon. I really havre miised having all of you to chat with. And Gary, Thank you for all your kind words. They have meant so much and have helped me a lot. And they really helped my brother get through his birthday! I'm sorry I guess some of you didn't know that the 4th was my brothers birthday too. And it was especially hard on him until I got a WONDERFUL email from Gary that I shared with him.
Again--Thank so much to all of you.

Good evening , actually morning,

I am so late for yesterday but bright and early for today. Go figure....

Bargo, Have you tried to get prescriptions filled at Costco, there prices are usally better than other pharmacies? That was outrageous.

Karen, I will be praying for you and your brother. He made a great choice, the lake has to be such a sireen and peaceful place for rest.

Kathy, I am sure your WI will be fine, you have really been staying busy, that should have burned alot of calories. Now rest little darlin'.

Bootise, all I can say is oh yeah, I have those days too. But this too shall pass. Keep looking up.

Rosebue, the whime chimes sound marvelous, I have some also. Hope your neighbors are enjoying the melodious sounds, it not they will get over it, LOL.

Laurie, I believe you looked beautiful and so glad it was a nice. I am sure you do not miss those 95lbs, can't wait to say that. Now you have said NSV a few times now in your post, what does it mean. You know I am not always up on the most advanced lingo? Help a sista out!!!

Here is a big hello, to Wilma, Gary, Bev and everyone else I may have missed. Please charge it to my head and not my heart. Love to all and sweet dreams,

Ags

After bad storms last night and a tornado sited 2 miles north of us today is beautiful. The sun is shining and every thing looks fresh.

I got up early to take DH1 to work and decided and needed to take advantage of this beautiful morning and go for a walk. I ended up walking almost 3 miles. My plan was just to take a short walk to get back in the groove, but I began to pray and have a long talk with God and so I continued to walk. I needed this quiet time with God. I feel refreshed and renewed.

Bootsie - I trust you are feeling better today and the blues have past. "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Karen - I'm sorry to hear about the passing of your dad. We will keep you in our prayers.

Hello to Ags, Rosebud, Laurie, Gary and everyone else.

Have a great day in the Lord!

Kathy

bargoo - prayers continuing for you, hopefully this drug will work!

Karen prayers continuing for your family. It is great to have you back here with us!

Ags - NSV = non scale victory

Kathy - congrats on your walk! It sounds like it was EXACTLY what you needed

A good day here - not much opportunity for rest today, too much to get done since I was gone all day yesterday. BIL is coming in from New Jersey today. Mom is still here for another couple weeks.

DS2 is still home and his friend is still staying with us - it could be an interesting week. Oh, and my brother's kids and grandkids are coming over tomorrow.

Hmm, my posts are starting to sound like Gary's with all this family visiting!



Hope you all have a blessed day!

Laurie

HI GALS ~

Angie and I just got back from Kohl's in time for me to see the end of my ballgame We went to look at the Dyson vacuum she wants to get...for pet hair Sale starts Wednesday...like her and I tease each other when we open the paper..."look babe...Kohl's is having a sale!"....they are ALWAYS having a sale.

Work has been brutal all week! And it is going to get worse...boss says he needs us to work 4-5 hours a night...after our regular 8 hour day...on another project....a new office the company is moving into. I did have to lay 3 guys off this week but it wasn't as bad as I thought...right before I did it one of my main guys told me he was going to have to quit due to some personal problems at home....he lives about 500 miles away and it was just getting too hard on his family....which meant I needed to just get rid of 2 guys...my last 2 hires...and one was an apprentice. I felt bad for them but I will use them in the future if I can. It is very difficult these days...every single day I get guys coming in the building looking for work It is a very large project but the "looking for work guys" numbers are staggering...for all trades.

So what happens?...I lay 2 guys off...1 quits and I end up having 5 of us work (bosses orders) on Saturday for time and a half...money is always good but we would rather have had the day off...at least I would have

By working Saturday we missed our Starbucks walk so Angie and I went to church last night....then took off for a 3.5 mile Starbucks walk this morning about 6:15. We shortened our trip a little so she could go to a yoga class.

I will get back later...going to help Angie for a bit.

Gary, gotta laugh. I love Kohl's and we don't have one close. I spent the last hour on the website ordering several items that were part of that "sale".

I did get some amazing pieces for fall, all at 80-90 percent off

I think I need to buy some more hangers

Oh, and
The new glasses have arrived.
As promised, here is the pic

SCOOTER ~ I hope you have a great time with all that family around! I am not sure Angie shops anywhere else! Shhh...I don't think she knows she can order on-line....

KATHY ~ Glad the weather is better and you were able to get that walk in! That is a great way to start the day.

TRIKERBABE ~ Awesome date night! Angie and I are going to walk 1.5 miles to my son and dil's house next Friday and join him and a few of his friends and walk over to a concert in the park...should be a nice evening.

KAREN ~ I hope Monday goes as good as it can. We will keep you in our prayers. Nice that you are back with us from time to time. I am glad your dad had some great memories to take to heaven with him!

BARGOO ~ Prayers the medicine works wonders! Praying for low costs!

ROSEBUD ~ Prayers for your leg. I hope you had a pleasant day sorting through the music. We have a wind chime at our front door that we can here if the door is open to the screen....outside of our bedroom window, on the lower level outside, is a small fountain that runs continuous...I like it most of the time...sometimes the water running annoys me

BOOTSIE ~ I hope the week-end ended up much better than it started! Has the snake returned....yikes!

WILMA ~ I hope you had a great time at the cottage...snacks sound right up Angie's alley...Angie's...

BEV ~ I hope the trip to see Dennis was rewarding for all of you. I will get a letter to him this week. Great 3 pound loss! Never had Corona lights..I will have to try one...I do like Corona, we usually have some in the fridge...and limes.

RONNI ~ Hoping things are going smoother in the family situation

PENGUIN ~ How cool to be able to see so many new things!

SUGA ~ I hope you had a great time at the wedding...congrats to the new bride and groom!

HELLO TO ALL OF OUR MIA's

Well, the day started off a bit cloudy, but then the peaked out, so we decided to deliver a load of wood for the shed to our lot and have a picnic lunch. We were gonna stay for the afternoon, but big, dark clouds and winds rolled in -- and just as we drove away, big came down too.

Next week, we hope to take up some more new wood and finish the frame; we are keeping to a good pace -- lots of time left, so we are not in a hurry at this point. Have to go to timberland and buy some more anyways.

LAURIE ~ thanks for all the encourging words to keep going. I try to remember times that I felt so good when I was slimmer before; and that helps me too. I weighed-in this week and did have a 3 lb loss, but I'm concerned that it may just be a water fluctuation; I won't know for sure until the next time, so I'm not gonna move the #'s until then ... and oh, your glasses look great, and so very sophisticated too!

GARY ~ that almost doesn't make any $$$ sense -- to lay off 3 people, but make 5 regulars work 12-13 hour days and Saturdays @ $ x 1.5 ... the only possible benefit may be that the job might get done faster, but that still remains to be seen. I don't understand employers who wouldn't rather give 3 more men a job when they can, esp in hard times like these. PS ~ you posted while I was typing; thanks for the prayers for my leg. I think DH was kinda getting a bit annoyed with all the clatter; these chimes are quite large (2-4 feet long) and they sound just like church bells too! ... hehe ...


HI KAREN ~ prayers going up for your brother and you, and your whole family at this time. Nice to have you back here posting: we love your posts!

AGGIE ~ I like your attitude -- if they don't like it, they will get over it. DH tied them with a flowered piece of cloth until all this wild and windy weather moves along.

KATHY ~ we have been having some storms up here too, but I'm not complaining becuz we need it for our trees; we have lost way too many already. I'm so glad that we planted so many or we may have been wiped out. The Spirea bushes we planted are doing well though ...

HEY BARGOO ~ that sounds great; I'm glad your present drug is working so well for you. Is it just for Leukemia or can it be used for other kinds of cancer, or do you know? My uncle TOM was on one that was milder, but now what he is taking seems to have a few more side effects (this is his 2nd or 3rd round, I think). He is on a respite right now while they are on holidays, but his oncologist wants him to take chemo for three years in total, but the rounds go for 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off, so he isn't on it all the time.

Well not much else going on around here, except that our back door won't close; it almost seems too big for the door frame, and it seems to have slipped our LL mind for almost 4 months now. Anyhow, we lock our porch doors instead for now. So, we praise GOD for all the things that are going right for us today; and all the many blessings that we have here, and we'll ignore the rest, right?

Hope everyone is have a SUPER-DUPER SUNDAY!!! Take good care and to all our CE's out there, and all our MIA's as well ... ROSEBUD

Hi Everyone, Well, another thing has happened and tomorrow won't be happening for us. The man from the morthuary had a heart attack last night and so the whole day has been cancelled for us. Don't get me wrong--- I feel bad that happened but I have tried to talk to my oldest brother and my younger sister to see why we couldn't just do this by ourselves but they don't want to do that. So now we are all in a holding pattern again just waiting to see what will happen next. I was in a very melancoly mood all day just knowing that tomorrow we would be able to put some closure to this chapter but now it is all in limbo again. I just seem kind of lost right now and don't quite understand why they need someone else to do this when it would be so much more personal for us to do it ourselves. And I think it would mean so much more to all of us---but I guess I am the only one of the 4 of us kids that feel that way. Just trying to bite my tongue a lot but it is sure getting sore!

SCOOTER ~ Love the new look! Angie has new glasses too...wide on the side...love 'em.

ROSEBUD ~ Working Saturday on the job was one of those situations where we needed to so that we could complete an area so that another trade could continue to proceed without having to pull out for a few days...those things do happen from time to time...and the night job later next week is not part of our "normal" jobs...it is on the "side" of our regular work...we are remodeling an older place that will become our new office evidently...it is kind of secretive...me thinks our company is about to split partners...so glad they both like me! Our chimes are much smaller

KAREN ~ Personally I agree with you on that one. But as far as closure goes...the day you send dad to the lake doesn't matter....we waited months before we "celebrated" my mom's passing with Grammi Judi's Chili Memorial...and even then it was awesome.

At our second one this year we focused on saying and remembering something about many of our passed on loved ones...my dad and brother, grandparents...it was awesome...and I must say I "killed it" on the chili again

Thanks Gary, It has been really hard for me these past weeks. My older brother and my younger sister have decided that they they need to have all the power and control over everything--- I mentioned on my "facebook" that it is really sad that because of some people needing to control everything that others end up feeling isolated and all alone It has been hard, but I know I Loved my Dad, and he loved me too. I am trying so hard not to stoop to levels that he wouldn't be happy with. But my gosh, I can't remember when I have cried as much as I have in the last month or so. But I'm still holding my head high and know that my Dad would be proud of me. But sometmes I just want to lash out and scream! I don't remember it being like this when my Mom passed away 9 years ago.. But I am still going to try to keep smiling.

Karen my heart goes out to you. I went through the same thing with my family, I never thought my sister could be so thoughtless and mean. My brother was known to try to try to get what he could but my sister?But my sister I was not prepared for. I have decided that money is evil if you have it or if you don't have it. It can truly change a person for the worst if the person lets it.

Karen,I pray that our Lord Jesus wraps his arms around you tonight and opens a new door for you.

Karen I am so sorry that you are going through this.

I am fortunate that my brother and sister and I are close...and they look to me for authority on the "final" decisions, being the oldest and most responsible. Now my parents didn't have much when they passed...I took an old Laker sweatshirt out of my dad's drawer...my inheritence...wink

When mom passed my sister wanted her ashes...no complaints from us brothers...she did take care of her...my brother has my little brother's ashes...cool for him. I see things different....to me those are ashes...nothing more...nothing less....to my brother and sister it is important. For me...making Grammi Judi's chili is important!

We all see things different. I was lucky my folks had little and my mom and dad's parents had little when they passed. It is not the end of the world if your b/s want to wait...for whatever reason to spread the ashes...but dear...they may be able to control the situation but they can't control you!

My neighbor that passed away several years ago really loved my daughter...gave her close to 10 grand for college...car...etc...long story I can't go into on how many times and how hard I tried to not accept the $$$...anyway, he had a daughter that was estranged...before he passed...I notified her he was very ill...she came to me to tell me what an A$$ he was and an abuser...she was just going to forget about him and walk away. Long story short....I explained how he "repented" his sins by way of my daughter...because he was not able to reach out to her...I asked her to "do the right thing" as her dad was passing....take care of him....be there for him...(really a bit more involved but the basics here)...she did...he passed and she thanked me from the bottom of her heart....knowing that what she did was good! what he did was bad...but she walked out, head and heart held high....as he was laid to rest.

Hang in there....do the right thing...you will, I know....they can't control you dear...not saying they can't make you miserable at times...when the time comes you will walk out heart and head held high!

Gary - you never cease to amaze me in how you relate to people and what you say! I bet you are the best dad!!!! And yes, corona light with limes are superb! of course, my body has been hanging onto those 2 pounds...it did let one go so far!
The visit with Dennis was awesome! No glass, we could hug him!!! I just loved how all of the men that had kids there, were just loving on their kids, the kids hugging on dad, lying on him, it was precious. i bet that is REALLY good for morale! dennis says it feels more like rehab than anything! he is PRAYING that his daughter's mother will allow her to go see her dad. he needs to see her and she needs to see him. I thought it would be hard, but after seeing the joy and love in that room with all of the men and their kids...i think it would be great! Can everyone be praying that Dennis can see his little haley???? She is 4 and LOVES her daddy. Her mom needs prayer, she is well...just pray for her to have a heart change. her name is jennifer.

Laurie! LOVE the glasses!!!!!

Karen - i will be praying for your family. there is never an easy way to deal with death...and everyone handles it differently.

peace!