[EZMONEY]

I will catch up soon ladies.

I was at 173 this morning...humm...not doing bad...but not so well either. I guess those 2+ months of 170-171 were gonna end sometime.

Two nights of late meetings at church...yesterday and later tonight...plus meeting son and daughter in law for dinner tomorrow night....will try and catch up this week-end.

ALLISON ~ Continued prayers for your mom!

CAROLYN ~Angie says thank you for the birthday wishes.

Gotta go.....prayers ~ Gary

[lilybelle]

Robin41, videotaped evidence would probably be handy to have. Of course, I'm too afraid to just stand there and video it when I'm being charged and growled at. My only thought is how quickly I can get back into my house, my car, my garage or somewhere to safety!

[baffled111]

This dog situation is terrible, Lily. The woman is actively turning her dog into a monster. Why doesn't she just train the bloody thing instead of beating it when it menaces her kids? Honestly, some people shouldn't be allowed to own pets. A dog that has been treated badly by its owner is just as likely to harm the owner as anyone else. Not good.

This week has been a bit rough. Classes start next week and I've been in meetings all day every day. The beginning and ends of semesters correlate highly with extra social activities. We're eating out at friend's places or at restaurants 4 times this week. And when we eat around these parts, we also drink. Friday won't be pretty.

[lilybelle]

Hi everyone,

I'm already up and on my first cup of coffee. I've already taken both my dogs for their morning walk/potty break. It's funny how Lucy wants to just walk a few feet and Molly needs 1/2 a mile at least to decide where her perfect spot will be. LOL.

My muscles are feeling better today, as I totally let my body rest yesterday. It was hard , cause I was bored and Shelbey was begging to go to the gym, but I knew I needed a rest. What really bored me was her watching about 5 hrs. of CSI marathon. Then I stayed up late to watch Dr. G Medical Examiner, I love this show. Also watched Nancy Grace.

baffled, you are totally right that some people should not own a pet! Her previousy dog was a Rottweiler that had to be destroyed after it bit the 6 yr. old neighbor boy. Of course, according to her the boy "provoked it". Once again that dog was allowed to roam free. I actually believe the first person this Pit is gonna attack will be her or one of her small kids.

In other news, Lucy is healing perfectly according to our vet. I was gonna take the face shield cone off of her, but she immediately tried licking her wound and I had to put it back on her. I was having trouble getting her to swallow her antibiotics, but I found wrapping it in a small piece of cheese and she gobbles it down.

[Meg]

Lily, I'm so glad your muscles are feeling better today. As for the neighborhood's dog -- what a heartbreaking tragedy. It must be so hard for you to watch this and not really be able to do anything (besides protect your family, of course). People who abuse children and animals ... ugh, I don't want to tell you what I think should happen to them.

I woke up with a cold so am muddling through the day as best I can, though I skipped the gym. It hasn't been a good year so far! Maybe it's this crazy weather, bouncing from 32 degrees to 72 and back again.

[lilybelle]

Meg, it is heartbreaking for me to watch. Knowing she has taken this dog from a cute little puppy last spring and made it mean. It also bothers me that she is teaching her kids that hitting a dog is how to control them. We have always had pets for our kids , and they learned from the time they were barely walking to treat our pets with love and kindness. That Pit probably could have made a wonderful pet if it had been treated right. Of course, I feel horrible that this dog will most likely come to an early demise after it bites someone. I sometimes lie awake at night wondering when she will call me (knowing I worked 20 yrs. as an RN and just live across the street) when that dog does attack her or one of the kids! I'm sorry to say this, but I would be too afraid to enter the house, all I could do was call 911!

Meg, sorry you have that dreaded bug. Mine lingered forever, but I feel fine now. DH was getting sick when he was home last week and I was praying that I won't get it again. I also won't go to the gym if I'm ill. Don't like the glares you get if you let out a little cough, LOL.

[alinnell]

I agree that video is your best defense with the dog, Lily. When we had the neighbors complaining that my dog "barked from the time I left until I came home" I had my son set up a video surveillance system. He had a cheap web cam and he found a program on the internet to record with a motion detector. We set the web cam up where it pointed from the dog door out toward the street (where the dogs usually stay to watch for me). Needless to say, in about 2 weeks of taping, all we got was the dogs going in and out and no barking--except for one time when a neighbor brought his little mutt dog to our gate to say "hello" to my dogs, and even then he didn't bark. He only barks when the neighbors (the ones who complained) stand out in front of my house and talk. Oh well.

I've been on plan for two days. No change in weight except for the +2 Tuesday -2 Wednesday that I expected. No wine last night and none in the house to tempt me. I made tomato lentil soup for dinner and had just 1.5 cups and 1.5 pieces of bread with it. I walked last night and ran this morning. If I get another good day or two under my belt I'm sure the scale will begin it's downward crawl.

Meg~I hope you're feeling better! It's so hard to motivate when it's cold and you don't feel well. However, I do think that exercise in some form actually helps you get over things. I was really surprised my last cold didn't move into my chest (like it usually does). I like to think that my lungs are really healthy from all this running and they just wouldn't succumb to the cold!!!

Baff~it's so hard to diet when your schedule changes! I know that's why the holidays do it to me. Thankfully I have at least 5 weeks with no changes in store so I can really stick to this plan.

[LisaMarie71]

I can't really catch up with everyone's posts because I'm so tired I can't keep my eyes open, but I just have to say to Lily that I'm so sorry you have to deal with that stupid neighbor!! And Meg, I hope your cold gets better soon!

I'm learning that fatigue is definitely a big part of the first trimester!! Some days it's soooo hard to teach when all I want to do is go home and fall asleep on my couch. The tough part is I always have more schoolwork to do when I get home, so I'm getting behind. Every time I pull out some essays to read, I fall asleep after going through two or three (and I have around 130 students total, so you can see how far that's getting me).

It's getting harder and harder to keep my secret because I want to tell everyone that I'm pregnant. But if I let it slip, the whole school will know. It's not like I work in an office with a few people anymore -- now over 1000 students would be talking about it, and if something happened that would be REALLY awkward. Because my husband and I both teach here, it will be big news for a lot of the kids, many of whom have been asking us for a long time why we don't have kids.

I'll stop rambling and read essays now! Hope everyone's day is good!

[lilybelle]

Lisa, here's hoping that your second trimester will be more comfortable for you. Pregnancy is exhausting! I understand about you not wanting to let everyone in on the news just yet. I usually waited til about 12 weeks to tell people. I am so very excited for you and your DH though!

Allison, I could set up video surveillance of their dog growling through my glass door. But, I'm not willing to risk trying to be outside and video it. I could also video the neighbor lady using a paddle on it to run it back across the street. About a yr. ago when we were having trouble with a neighbor man (with a long psych history) we videoed him in our yard tampering with our vehicles. He'd get in Shanes jeep and turn the lights on and windshield wipers and radio and such. Nothing real big, but he'd also turn on our outside water faucets and leave them running full blast. He is not causing us any problems currently.

[NightengaleShane]

Hey everyone! I know I'm posting less lately; I've been taking tests and going to interviews nearly every day, and when I'm not, I'm just busy with work. Speaking of which, the test yesterday was NEAR IMPOSSIBLE! I froze for about 30 minutes (two hours were allowed), then I told myself, "I came here to get a job, not fail a test." I completed the test and checked my work twice, then found out (to my consolation) that most people do not even pass the test and that the highest score anyone has ever gotten is 84%. I HOPE I did well!

I went to an interview this morning and I am pretty sure that I did well, though I will not know for sure until two weeks have passed. I dressed very professionally - I wore a pinstripe suit with a tight black shirt under it and platform shoes. I blow dried my hair and pulled out the ends with a straightening iron, then put a little make-up on and was out the door.

...but I was out the door with my clothes in one plastic bag and my shoes in the other... and the clothes somehow got caught in the spokes of my front wheel and FLIPPED ME OVER! I took quite a brutal fall; I wasn't able to stand without feeling like I was going to black out, so I laid on the payment. Lucky for me, a motorcycle guy and two pedestrians were very concerned about me, and the motorcycle guy called an ambulance. By the time the ambulance got there, I was no longer blacking out while standing and was fine apart from the scrapes and bruising that I got on my hands, arms, torso, and... uhm... even breasts a tad . I said right away that I didn't want to be taken to the hospital in the ambulance because I haven't met my deductable I do NOT want to be hit with a $500 bill. Anyway, the paramedics took my vital signs and said I was good to go. They also said they would not send a bill. The motorcycle guy offered to pay the ambulance bill if I needed it I couldn't believe my ears... STILL, I was fine, though I am NOT looking forward to all the pain I'll be in tomorrow. It'll also put me out of commission for exercising, which makes me sad.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Angie and Pat! (even if I am a little late)

Sheila - I'm sorry to hear about your dad Same for your mom, Allison - your story about your dad and the "sandwich" made me snicker... so THAT is what a senior sized portion is...

Kim - Awesome abs? I'm flattered... a compliment from super abs woman That really motivates me to keep going.

Jessica - 5 days with no sweets? Good job. By the way, what IS seitan, anyway? All I think when I see it is Tofu is great, though!
Oh. I love CSI. I'm very, very addicted, which is sad because I feel like I've seen 'em all. Animal CSI would be awesome. And HEY, you forgot to say hi to me! <----just kidding

Lily - Here's a big for you and Lucy. I am glad to read that she is doing better, though! A lot of pitbull owners specifically train their dogs to be mean. It's quite heartbreaking, since (as you mentioned), they would not necessarily be such vicious dogs if they were not taught to be that way.

[Meg]

Ouch, Shane sweetie!! How horrible for you, but I'm so glad it wasn't worse. Hopefully you won't be too banged up and sore in the morning. And I have no doubt that you'll set the new record for highest score on the test.

Lisa, it takes a lot of energy to grow a new little person. But some people start to feel more human in the second trimester and I hope it's true for you. In the meantime, sleep as much as you can and help that little runner to grow big and strong.

[NightengaleShane]

Meg, thank you for the hug and you are right - I am very thankful that it wasn't worse. I could have fallen on my head, which would have been terrible since I was not wearing a helmet. I think I am going to Wal Mart on my way home from work and getting a helmet and a basket! Thanks for being supportive about the test, too... I really do not have any idea how I did, but you'll be the first to know

[paperclippy]

Lily - If you think that they are excessively beating the dog, you can report them for animal cruelty (not sure on the OK state laws, but in most states it is a criminal offense). Your local humane society or the ASPCA can probably give you some advice about the situation. Really it sounds like this is a bad situation for everyone -- your family, the dog owner's kids, and the dog itself. Especially since she has a history of training dogs to attack, there might be some sort of action that can be taken against her. In cases of animal cruelty they can actually prohibit people from owning dogs in the future. The saddest part is that whatever conclusion this comes to (if the dog bites someone, or if the dog is taken away from the owners because of cruelty charges), I'm sure the dog will end up being euthanized.

Lisa - I hope the fatigue gets better soon!

Things are going well on the food and weight fronts here. Today's weight was 141.4, so I'm hoping I'll still be at 141 for tomorrow's official weigh-in. Still no junk, although I did eat a teeny candy cane (which I only ate because DH gave it to me and I felt bad to say no, plus it was really tiny).

However, I think I'm coming down with something. The past couple days I have been really exhausted, and then yesterday I sneezed all day and started coughing at night, plus my head just feels kind of stuffy. It's not bad enough for me to stay home from work or anything, but yesterday I went to bed at 9, got up at 7, and basically had to be dragged out of bed. Once I was up this morning I felt better, but I still feel kind of out of it, and like my head weighs more than it should (probably from sinus pressure).

Yesterday was another aborted workout. Tuesday we ended up not going to the gym since we had to go to the supermarket and pharmacy and it got too late. Yesterday I figured I wasn't feeling too hot so I'd take it easy on the stationary bike. After 14 minutes my knees started hurting really badly and I had to stop. I spent the rest of the time until DH was done walking 2mph on the treadmill. All day so far today my knees and ankles have been aching, so with that combined with the potential cold I'm skipping out again today. I told DH he needs to work out without me, and that I'll just sit on the bleachers at the gym and read a book while he's in there.

I'm really annoyed that my ankles started hurting. I thought wrists, knees, and elbows was already more than enough. When I went to the doc the other day, he said it's possible it is being caused by the hypothyroidism. He said since I have tested negative for everything they can think of and I don't have any swelling (and while my inflammation tests come back elevated, they're not really all that high), it really doesn't look like I have any sort of inflammatory disease. So, fingers crossed that the thyroid medicine will solve my problems. Otherwise I don't really know what to do, since the fact that I keep having new joints start hurting makes me seriously doubt that it's "just overuse."

Blah, sorry for the ranting. I am so tired of having achy joints! I'm only 25 for crying out loud.

[paperclippy]

Shane - you posted while I was typing mine! Hi!!! Ouch, sorry about the fall. I still have a scar on my knee from when I fell off my bike during college. Seitan is wheat gluten, it's used as a meat substitute because it has a whole lot of protein in it.

[alinnell]

Lily~haha! I remember you posting about your insane neighbor. I figured he must have moved since you hadn't mentioned him for a while. At least he's leaving you alone (must be back on his meds!). You know, you can always stick your video camera on a tripod and have it aimed out the window each time you have to go out (like to get the mail or whatever). I agree calling the ASPCA to see what can be done is also a good idea.

Shane~ouch! Buy a helmet! My brother once fell on his bike--right into the path of a car. The car didn't hit him but his head hit the pavement pretty hard--had it not been for the helmet, he would have been seriously hurt. I had a friend in college that hit a pothole while riding his bike. He went over the handlebars, hit his head, went into a coma and died. Too young, he was only 19.

Jessica~I sure hope you don't have some sort of inflammatory problem. Are you on thyroid meds yet? Hope you're feeling better soon.