BOOTSIE ~ make sure you clean that spider bite with some alcohol or something right away; some spider bites can cause infections in the skin. Sending up prayers for protection for you about that ... glad the party went well, but you need to get some rest now, hun ...

DONNA ~ glad to have you join us here on our Christian chat thread. Hope your new chosen plan is successful for you, and many people may want to read a bit about it too. We get lots and lots of lurkers in this forum; for about every poster, it seems we have a hundred or more lurkers (that means, those who just read and don't post).

MAY GOD BLESS YOU and your DH, on your new journey towards better health ...


I am just waiting for our dinner to be ready, so thought I'd drop in for a visit for a few minutes. We are having Ham with baked yams, very small new potatoes, baby carrots, and green beans in creamed corn -- oh, it sure smells nice in here ... my tummy is growling too!

We have had two wonderful days in a row; and I think it actually got up to very near 70F today. We went up to our lot for the afternoon yesterday, as DH had to bring our lawn mower back home to see if he could fix it -- turns out, it blew a crank shaft or something like that ... doesn't sound too good to me. At first DH said, "it was finished" but then said that sometimes you can buy a new one ??? DH just confessed to me that he hit a rock which is what damaged it.

Well, the car ran well all the way up to our lot; it was our long, test drive -- so good so far, we will give it some more time to make sure it goes well. Seems to be, from what we can see so far. We are getting ready for the colder months ahead; our landlord came over and cleaned our furnace for us. It needed it; Dh had turned it on and all the dust stunk the place up and the fire alarm wouldn't shut off, so it definitely needed a good cleaning.

So, we are almost all set. We also started to close things up at our lot too. Have to bring all the food and linens home from the camper as well. The was so bright, and I crocheted for a little while in the afternoon on our new double lawnchair; that was so nice. Gee, I forgot to take my camera up to get a picture ... next time ...

Well, it's time to go check on dinner; have a great week ... Rosebud

Hi again Donna, I think what your doing, opening a thread, for the Lord is wonderful, anyone who loves God will more than likely enjoy it. Don't you go worrying about stepping on anyones toes, we love the Lord and anyone who can bring others closer to him I say GO For it!

Worked at the store today and did not get as much exercise as I wanted to all the men wanted to load the feed for me. Ate salad for supper and a taco.

Hi again Donna, I think what your doing, opening a thread, for the Lord is wonderful, anyone who loves God will more than likely enjoy it. Don't you go worrying about stepping on anyones toes, we love the Lord and anyone who can bring others closer to him I say GO For it, spread his word! I don't understand a-lot in the Bible and I will kinda ask questions , that is the only way I will learn.

Worked at the store today and did not get as much exercise as I wanted to all the men wanted to load the feed for me. Ate salad for supper and a taco.

HI GALS ~

Real quick tonight but I promise to catch up soon!

Spent Saturday helping out my ex-wife with the annual Viking Fest as usual....Angie, daughter, dil and sil had a great time on the BBQ shift we did as always!

DONNA I live down in Oceanside....have done many a job in Hemet...last one a Honda dealer off Domenigoni Parkway and ?

Be good ~ Gary

Was just reading a bit here for the first time. About to hit the sack, but...

GARY...how lucky you are to live in Oceanside!!! We love to vacation there! Drove the motorhome there for a week last year, and spent a week there this past summer w/ the in-laws. Just wanted to say

God Bless all!

Hello, everyone! Well, trying to get back on track again today and so far so good, but it's only 11:40 am so must be patient. We've got some wonderful sun today and for the last couple days, and that sure helps my mood. I've determined that I have developed an adjustment disorder that's hit since Dad died, causing me depression, uncontrollable eating, and just general unhappiness and unwillingness to do things that need to be done. Along with that, DS2 is off to college and having a terrible time. He was diagnosed with this adjustment disorder first, by the counselor at the college, as he became very depressed and anxious when several severe problems hit right away. He ended up sick from, first, the salmonella from the eggs, then, the flu during football camp week. Then, he's told by the coach that he's not really quite big enough to be playing this year (at 6' and 200 lb-who'd have thought that?), so he's red-shirting and working as student coach. Then, his latin class is unbearable and he's trying to switch for the 2nd half of the semester, but unsure of what to take. So, with all this, plus the changes from leaving home, he started having panic attacks and is very depressed. They've put him on antidepressants, but not working yet and we're just hoping he has none of the bad side effects from the drug (like suicidal tendencies,which happened to me once). He's doing ok in the other classes, but it's a struggle for him right now, as he just wants to sleep and worry. I just keep praying for him and stay in touch to monitor his moods. He also has a couple roommates who need some training in how to live with others, so he had to involve the dorm's RA in that situation.

DS3 is playing football and so happy to finally be able to after the last 4 years of not being able to play any sports. He's making some friends on the team and even went to the school's homecoming dance-we never would have thought he'd be the social butterfly

DH hurt his back last week and has spent a couple days home and is seeing a chiropractor. Chiro says it's a muscle spasm with lots of inflammation, so should go away before too much longer-thank goodness it doesn't seem to be a disc issue or something worse.

Other than that, it's just the same old same old, with the homeschooling and trips to town for fb practices, church, etc. Trying to just get some things caught up in my 'spare' time, as I've just been listless and unproductive most of the summer

Hope you all have a great day! Praises to God Who can work through us even when we can't seem to work on our own at even the simplest things

RONNI ~ sending up prayers for YOU & your DS2 ... yes, it may be an adjustment for him, since he was home-schooled, but he can do it with some advice & counseling. Is he getting some counseling? Hope so ... glad to hear that your DS3 is doing well; our prayers are being answered for him. Try not to worry too much -- and keep yourself busy, it really does help. Maybe set yourself up a schedule for each morning/day so that you can get something done; small steps, Ronni, baby steps even ... for only one-day-at-a-time.

BTW, the kind of issues your DS2 is having is much more common than you realize -- and I was just giving tips to a friend who's daughter was also home-schooled. I just explained about what she can expect, plus some studying & organizational tips so things run smoother for her. They had many questions and so I sent along as much info as I could; every little bit helps.

She is fortunate to be living at home while going to college. The dorm situation takes much more work -- problems come up all the time. I recall my youngest sister having problems with here roomies too; and some of my friends did as well. One of my friends ended up getting her own place in the end after 2 or 3 tries rooming; and the more I think about it, I can recall at least a half a dozen or more relatives/friends telling me of this kind of problem with their kids ... it is that common.

One of our nephews hated one of his classes and his whole course; and after the first year, switched to another related course: he went from chartered accountant to business administration, I think. Do you know this happens to a minimum of 33% of all students and up to 66% change classes and/or courses before they graduate (and sadly, some even drop out: on average, about 34%).

One of my nieces (and her whole class ), who graduated with 3 university degrees, had a terrible time with one foreign language course, which I don't even see why they had to take it -- and it was the only course she any problems with, so would you take a degree away from straight-A students over one "unnecessary" language course? I advised my sister to complain to the university; and the other students did the same. Guess what? They changed the course; they made that class elective, not mandatory for the degree and gave the students the opportunity to take an alternate class so they could all graduate. Sometimes, things need to be changed -- and this was one of those cases.

So, you see -- the issues your DS is having are not unique to him; they are common to many students. One good thing is that the school is really trying hard to help him, and offering him some options, which is wonderful. I really believe that there are solutions to every problem, we just have to be creative and brainstorm until we find it ...

HI GARY ~ now we know where you live ... Oceanside sounds a bit like heaven to me -- but you have to work so hard to be able to live there.

I spent my morning doing laundry and light chores around the house. We are having leftovers from our ham dinner for tonight. This afternoon, I will try to catch up on my mail and such. Hope you all have a good day ... Rosebud

Welcome Donna. I see you are a fellow quilter. We have very cold winters here and I love to quilt when it's cold. Good to have you here and I hope you find the support you need for your journey.

I've been doing well with the exercise. I am still taking a Monday evening circuit training class and then I walk the rest of the week. I measure myself at the end of each month and today I have finally seen results. Not much but results. I'm taking my time with this so that it will last longer. I am making an effort also to eat better and that has resulted in a 2 lb weight loss.

HI GALS ~

Taking a few minutes to post before Angie and I take the mutts out for a walk. It has been so hot here that we can't take them after work so we head out about 7pm when it is a bit cooler. They are really bummed they aren't getting their 3 miles in It was still so hot at 7 last night that Angie made the decision to come back after 3/4 of a mile out. Right now, at 6:30 it is 80 here.....but a nice ocean breeze starting up It had been cool for most of the summer.

I am working a lot closer to home the last 2 weeks...5 miles but under a lot of stress to "speed" up my guys...my guys are doing fine but the carpenters set our boss back 2 months so he is looking to me to take some of the slack out...figures...finally get a job close to home and he rushes me!

He was a little miffed I missed last Friday for my colonoscopy! He started to get mad until I told him I started the process for it 3 months ago...he has been x-tra nice to me since....he is under a lot of pressure too with this economy.

We are doing a family campout this week-end with about 20 of us....should be a lot of fun. The one we did earlier in the summer was outstanding!

My sister is doing well with her cancer recovery. She saw the doc today and he is happier with her white cells than he has been in a long time....praise be to God!

And yes, as the gals said, Oceanside is a nice place to live...I live in an area, one of those tri-cities, where I can be in anyone of 3 cities in less than 5 minutes....a very nice area to live in for weather and tourist stuff. So many places Angie and I can walk to with the dogs for breakfast or dinner, walk the beach or inland....all within minutes.

Well, I will catch up better soon....

Be good ~ Gary

Hi, everyone! Having a great sunny day again here-but they're saying the trees aren't going to be as colorful this year since we got too much rain-that'll be a bummer, because that's the best part of fall.

DS2 is sounding better today-he dropped the latin class and it seems to be a huge weight off his shoulders. He's taking a PE course and a first aid course that will count for elective credits. He's doing a lot of classroom observations this semester, because they want to make sure the kids who've declared teaching as a major really want to be teachers. Means a lot of writing, but he's doing really well at that, even though he hates it

Well, must get some work done here. DS3 has youth group tonight, so we'll be in town from 3:00 till 9:00 for the football and then his group. I get a lot of errands done on Wed evenings!

Hope you all have a great day! And, btw, I had a good on-plan day yesterday, so yay!! God bless!

HI TO EVERYONE ~ I had a busy morning doing house chores: the washroom, bedding laundry, and even vacuumed too. Sure got some exercise in today, but I did take a few breaks in between each job though. DH fixed his hobby bike (finally found the parts he needed) and was back on the road again this AM: which makes him so happy ... and when he's happy, I'm very happy ...

RONNI ~ glad to hear things are resolving well for your DS2 and you too ...

WILMA ~ Congrats to you; yeah, 2 lbs gone forever ...

GARY ~ glad to hear ANNIE is doing so well; and have a good time at the family camp out too ...

I am just waiting for dinner to be ready; we're having baked chicken breasts with loads of veggies -- nice & healthy. We were supposed to do errands and shopping today but DH was late getting back home and it started to pour , so we will go tomorrow instead. It is supposed to be for the morning at least.

Oh, gotta go -- dinner is ready; have a great night ... Rosebud

Gary: I'm also glad that your sister is doing so well. Cancer is such a brutal disease. You have given me hope for my brother. He found out that he has stage 3 lung cancer. His doctors say that he's healthy enough to go through chemo treatments and they think they can help him. We are certainly praying for that. I met a lady this week that is a cancer survivor also. God gives us glimmers of hope everywhere.