Wow Meg! The strength of your spirit and optimism just flows off the page! Not many people sound so cheerful after a surgery like that! I'm sending you vibes for fast healing!

Hi Chickies!

I haven't been around in awhile...I have that whole...spreading myself too thin thing going on from time to time... But I have some good news to update you all on...DH just finished his 12th cycle of oral Chemo and it may be the last one he has to take! He has to do another MRI in Oct as well as a PET scan but we know it is going to be ok... I am doing well on my Radiant Recovery program...it has been three months now... I have downdosed to 10mg of my medication and am in the process of being tapered off entirely...I will be off within the month!! Yay!!! Not a moment too soon because it really is stalling my weight!!! Argh!! Anyway...I have only had 2 minor binges since I started on program and one gave me a migraine so I think I may have actually learned something!!! I am feeling all sorts of emotional and physical changes and I took action for something I have needed for a long time! I went into a doggie day spa grooming place on Friday and basically talked complete strangers into giving me a chance to work there! (They didn't have a want ad or anything!) I have a working interview tomorrow! I have butterflies!! Basically they are going to work me a regular shift...see if they like me and I like them and go from there! Yay!! I haven't worked outside of the house (I did some data entry for a few months!) in over 16 years! The only bad thing is it will completely nix my yoga & pilates class at the Y, I will have to practice at home or go to my teachers house when she gets back from her trip to India. I will work it out though...

Love all you guys even though I am not around much...you are all an inspiration to me!

Raven

Welcome back Meg!
You do sound like you're doing great and you look fantastic (except the swollen knees--ow!). You have a fantastic attitude and I'm sure you'll heal quickly.

Paperclippy-- I love water aerobics! Haven't done it in a long time though. I just recently went through my swimsuits and got rid of the fat ones. For some reason, I downsized all of my other clothes, but not the suits. Baby moles sound so cute. If you think that is crazy, I rescued a fledgling crow a few months ago and drove him/her to the animal shelter in rush hour traffic.

Anne-- wow! That is great that ds slept so well. I hope he keeps it up. And I bet older ds will go to bed early and sleep well tonight too! Too bad you have to go back to work soon-- that is tough.

Robin-- so sorry you hurt your knee. I hope it is a "quick" injury. But I would have loved to have been rescued by the lifeguard!

So, my daughter was dropped off at the airport yesterday morning to catch her flight to college (as a freshman). She was going 5 days early to do a community outreach program. She called us when the plane landed and said she was going to get her luggage, seeing if the people were there to meet her, and she would call later. She never called. The rational part of me assumed everything was fine. The irrational part of me worried that she was kidnapped from the airport. We sent her a couple of text messages late last night and heard nothing, so I spent my 3rd night in a row without sleep.:dizzy: Today, we tried calling her and her phone went right to voicemail. We didn't really have a way of getting ahold of her and we were trying not to panic. Finally, after 3 pm, she called. She said they had gone straight from the airport to a homeless shelter and they couldn't have their cell phones there. They spent the night at the shelter (I have no idea what they did, but she said it was very eye-opening) and they had just gotten back to the college when she called. Now I can relax and maybe actually sleep....

I have been ravenous which I am sure is due to the lack of sleep. My weight is up big time (after being at my lowest since I started losing on Saturday morning) as well due to some food slips on the weekend.
My younger dd started high school today (so excited!), and the kiddos returned to my school too. Candy and goodies in the staff room plus pizza lunch provided-- I avoided all like a good girl. I also start a class today towards my masters degree so I have to get back in my studying mode. And try not to slip on my gym time-- I will be a busy girl!

Hello to everyone else! I hope everyone has a great week!

Wow, everyone is so chatty this week! It's only Monday and already I can barely keep up.

My eye is coming along but it's still pretty technicolor. And the spot where I actually hit my head is still very painful to touch--I think it was actually numb for a couple of days last week so I didn't notice how painful it was until recently. I ended up taking a day off from working out on Saturday. I'm always loath to do that but swimming, which is my normal Saturday workout, was out of the question (goggles and black eyes don't mix :nono:) and I just couldn't face the gym. I took a nap instead. :faint:

I'm excited to report that I ran six miles on Sunday. I still didn't feel up to the gym and it was overcast and a little chilly, so perfect for running outdoors (don't ask why 6 miles outdoors seemed easier than then gym--I can't explain it :dizzy:). The first 4.5 miles were great, but then my knee started to hurt, so the last 1.5 miles were not so great. But I made it--6 1/3 miles in 57 minutes, exactly, which isn't a bad pace. :chin: It makes me wonder how much faster I could manage if my energy weren't so down from my head injury and I didn't have to stop and walk because of the knee problem. Oh, and then I locked my keys in the car :frypan:and had to walk home, so I got an extra 20 min of light exercise in :cb: (hey, it counts!). Then I took another nap when I got home. :faint:

The cleaning people came today so I have a spotless kitchen. I love that! :carrot: Even better, it is going to stay spotless all week because I have all of our dinners prepared through Friday! I love that even more! :broc:

Meg: Those are some seriously swollen knees! It definitely looks like about 4 lbs of water (and titanium) per knee! Yeesh, the whole story just gives me the heebie jeebies :dizzy:, especially that part about the bone saw :fr:. What an ordeal! I hope the swelling goes down quickly and I also hope you've scored some serious pain medication!

Mudpie: Congrats on running 6 miles this weekend! I guess we both had the same idea :idea: (great minds think alike and all that ;))!

Robin: Oh no! Not your knee! Didn't you just get over a foot injury? I hope your knee recovers quickly (and if you still can't bend it tomorrow, maybe you should see your doctor about it). Score on the lifeguard though! The usher that helped when I hit my head last week was old--I definitely think my head would be healing faster if it had been some young hottie!

Lily: Don't you know how to change a tire? The best strategy is to try to arrange for the tire to go flat in a place where there are virile men (preferably hotties) around. If this can't be arranged, tow car with flat to such a place. Open truck, get out lug wrench, and look confused :dizzy: and helpless :dunno:. Say "oh yes, thank you so much!" when virile men offer to change tire for you. This strategy has worked several times for me, although I've only used it when I managed to get the flat in a place where there were already men around. I've never had the gall to actually tow the car just to get someone to change my tire for me :lol.

Sheila53: So sorry to hear that you have to move to Idaho. :( I can see how that would be a come down from Oregon (especially with a new kitchen--hopefully your renters will be appreciative). But at least you'll be with your DH and this time will most certainly be different. You're much smarter about eating and exercise now!

Alinnell: I'm sorry about your headache :headache:, it sounds like it really :censored:. But it sounds like you have a great plan for this week. :carrot:

Midwife: I hope you get your medical issue resolved. I am always loath to take a day off from exercise too. I know it will be that much harder the next time I'm back at it.

Paperclippy: I'd be pretty hard-pressed to kill a mole too. Killing spiders is one thing, but once the pests have fur and look cute, well, it's something else entirely!

Megan: My eating wasn't great last week either. I think I was definitely doing some "poor me" eating. Luckily I did okay all day, it was just in the evening that things went horribly awry, so I managed to keep my calories at maintenance. But it was really the wrong way to be going about maintenance. This week is going to be better!

wndranne: I can only imagine how hard daycare is! Congrats on the minivan and swimming. Those first few swim workouts are always a doozy, but in my experience, you get it back quicker than you expect. When I first started swimming again, I could feel a noticeable improvement every time I swam. It's just an amazing cardio workout.

Ravengirl: Congrats on the new job! That's great that you just walked in and convinced them to hire you! You go girl!

Michelle: :hug: Kudos to you for getting through the ordeal with your DD. Maybe the program should have mentioned that they were going to do that in advance, so you would have known where she was. I would have been out of my mind :crazy:!

Good morning all!
 

Just a quick hello and a note about my jogging attempt's aftermath. I thought I'd gotten away clean :p with jogging 6K after not really even running to catch the bus in the last 20 years.

Not so. Although I wasn't really sore yesterday I found my feet and legs becoming more and more unco-operative with each dog walk. By the time I got to the 5th (last) walk of the day I was stumbling :tired: over tiny stones and generally not having much control over how high my feet would lift off the ground.

Muscle fatigue is an interesting :?: reaction to a new activity from my body.

I'm doing weights this morning :strong: (DH is away so I have a lot of quiet, non-busy time before work) and we're going kayaking in the evening. I'm curious to see if my arms experience the same fatigue as my legs :shrug:. I lifted and carried a bunch of large rocks on Saturday and it did make my arms sore.

My body the science experiment ;). Makes all of this a bit more interesting.

Dagmar :twirly:

Wow, this is a chatty group this week. Hi everybody!

Meg, I hope your recovery continues to go quickly. Those knees look painful!

Megan, Fay is visiting us here in the Atlanta area now. We haven't had the severe weather you had and we do need the rain, but it's kind of a bummer.

I had a busy week-end with my daughter's party. Here she is - what a wall flower! ;)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8...D480/ry%3D320/

and in this one you can kind of see my "buff" arms - :p
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8...D480/ry%3D320/

I had an unfortunate run-in with her birthday cake, which led to other poor food choices. I am back on track now after sleeping like crap on Sunday night and having a stomach ache on Monday. Will I ever learn? :devil:

See you guys later!

Hi, Haven't been around in awhile. Busy, busy. Bil's memorial was Saturday. it was really nice, saw a lot of family taht I don't see too often. Picnic afterwards. It was a really hot day. came home sick. not sure if it was something I ate or too much sun. DH got sick later that night too, but haven't had a chance to talk to anyone else to see how they did. Problems with air this week too. First, air in DH's truck went out. Then, Friday the air in my SUV. Sunday the sir in the house. DH fixed the air in my SUV, just had to wait a couple of days to get the part. Luckly, we know a air conditioner guy and he came out between other appointments Sunday so we weren't without air that long. At first he thought it was the compressor which would have cost 2,500.00 but it turned out to be a broken wire so ended up only 100.00.

Went to GS's soccer game last night and had to sit wrapped in a blanket. Crazy weather. More news. DIl got a new job and will be working from home. I've kept he kids since they were born. I'm not sure how i feel about this yet.

Meg, Glad to see you back! You're looking great, knees look good. Swollen yeah, but no S/S of infection. I'm a rehab nurse. You should have come to my hospital. i'd have taken much better care of you! No COFFEE!! Hey, we have coffee on the floor, you just have to ask. And a microwave too, so noneed for cold coffee. (can you tell i'm a coffee addict too?) I can believe it made a big difference in your recovery, your upper body strength. And the more fit you are, the better you heal. You do need to eat well though, need protein to heal. And what is this about not being able to shower in the hospital?

Wardhog, Your little "princess" is adorable. Looks like all the little "princesses" are at their best behavior. And those arms are BUFF!

Raven, congratulations on the new job. You must have made quite an impression!

Mitchelle, I read somewhere that lack of sleep makes you hungry too. It's like your body is telling you "ok, if I can't rest then feed me". Not great for me, since I have a hard time sleeping.

Barb, You ran 6 miles, and then walked home? I think you got your exercise for the day!

Robin, Hope the knee is feeling better.

Paperclip, I can't kill anything either. Not even a mouse, which I sure don't want around!

I got a really nice complement at the picnic. One of the guests told me i looked really fit. This was a "YOUNG" man too. Not exactally a "hottie" like Robin got, but I'll take it!

make it a good day, Freda

Hi everyone! This thread is moving fast this week and I am busy at work, so this will just be a fly-by.

Michele - I think maybe I didn't get rid of the fat swimsuits because I store swimsuits separately from my other clothes and almost never wear them, so I didn't notice. I was just excited to buy my first bikini and ignored the rest of them! :) I'm planning to go get a new one this evening. Hopefully there will be end-of-summer sales.

Ward - your DD is adorable!

Dagmar - delayed onset muscle soreness = :(

I have sore hamstrings and arms from scrubbing our bathroom Sunday! :lol: I am recomitting myself to keeping up with my occupational therapy home exercise plan for my wrists. I've been slacking off too much (only doing my weights once a week the past two weeks). This week I WILL do three days, so that I can move up to 3lbs 11reps next week and soon get to my exciting 4lb weight that I just bought.

Good morning all,

Ok, one day POP under my belt. I can do this, and no need to be so hard on myself.

Freda, being called "really fit" is a wonderful complement!

Wardhog, looks like the girls all had a great time being little princesses. Nice arms! :lifter:

Dagmar, lol, it's amazing how uncoordinated muscle fatigue can make you temporarily, but how strong it can help make you in the long run! A few more 6K's and your legs will be more used to it. ;) I personally love the soreness you get when you haven't done an exercise in a while - I call it "the good sore" or "the good pain" - it's somehow so satisfying!

Barbara, glad your eye is slowly mending. Sounds like a great run!

Michele, aww, your DD will be ok! Less sleep also makes me think I'm starving and also I crave salty things and candy. WTG resisting all those staff room snacks. Could you take an OTC sleeping pill or melatonin to help you get a full night's sleep? Sounds like you will need your energy, you will be busy!

Hi Raven, it's so good to "see" you and hear that your DH's and your own health prospects are looking good. And congrats on getting a trial at a job! I'm sure you'll impress them and get a permanent spot in no time. I'm sure you will find a way to work your yoga & pilates in.

Anne, yes, I will stop "should"-ing myself. It's a personality trait (flaw!) of mine. I guess I'm a work in progress! Glad to hear your new van has so much space and you are able to swim now.

Meg, how are those knees today?

Have a great day everyone! :goodvibes

Michele~don't you just hate having to wait to hear from your kids? I go totally crazy and when you finally hear from them they're all like it's no big deal. Kids!

Barbara~I understand 100% how much easier it is to run outside than in the gym on the treadmill! First, you have a change of scenery. Second, if you run a mile from home, you HAVE to run a mile back. At the gym you can just stop at any time.

POP. POP. POP!!! Wow, yesterday was great, and I have plans for today being just as good!

Everyone have a great day!

Blue, I had to laugh at your instructions on how to fix a flat tire. Unfortunately my tire is flat in my own driveway (and not many good-looking men hanging out around here). LOL. Since I bought all new tires 3 weeks ago though DH didn't want me to mess with having it fixed. He is gonna take the tire off tonite and take it back to where it was purchased. It actually looks like it has a small slit in the side of it.

Megan, I'd be too embarassed to dress up silly while driving Shane's jeep with the doors off it. LOL. But, I did get a lot of looks yesterday!

DH gets home from work tonite. Sometimes I don't know if I look forward to his weeks home or dread them. My biggest problem is that since I quit smoking almost 4 months ago, it's very hard to see him constantly light up. I have to re-fight that urge every time he's home. Plus, the beer drinking drives me nuts since I don't drink at all! I don't know why that even a round of golf requires a 12 pack for him.

My son called home last night. He sounds happy and is looking forward to his visit home. So far , thankfully, no one in his troop has been hurt.

Michele, very glad to hear your DD was OK. That must have been terribly scary for you.

Lacy is doing great in school this year. She absolutely loves being in the computer program half a day at vo-tech. I think she found her niche. Shelbey is taking all advanced classes to try to get into a better college.

My 3rd oldest SD, Taylor, that is in the Coast Guard is having a real rough time with home-sickness. She is only 19 yrs. old and was recently transferred to Clearwater Florida. It's sad when she calls us crying and saying how miserable she is. I'm sure she'll be OK once she meets new friends in Florida.

Aaaahhhhh!!! The children are gone, the husband is gone, the dog is behaving and I'm drinking my coffee out of an actual coffee mug, as opposed to an insulated travel cup, after getting another couple hours of sleep after they left. I almost feel human again! Plus I am at a new post-partum low in my spectacularly rapid 1/2 lb/week weight loss plan.

DS just partied on at day care yesterday so much that he didn't sleep! He slept like a rock for about 5 or 6 straight hours after we left. They told me he did very well, mellow, interested. Score!! He also just almost made it though the night again, but as a nursing mom, I didn't. I was very sore at about 3:30 and didn't get back to sleep after.

DD received her sparkly leotard for her new gymnastics class in the mail yesterday, and she believes it is the BEST THING EVER!!!!!! Now if we can just keep it clean until Thursday.

Jessica, enjoy your aqua aerobics. Maybe you still have the suits because they can't be donated? I find it harder to throw things away than give them to charity.

Allison, I remember my mom was so excited to get me off to college. I think she had the car packed up several days ahead of time. I guess I was a total pain as a teenager, and she probably wanted to drink her coffee with no one screaming at her (it all comes around doesn't it??). But when I went to AZ for grad school, she was very sad. I hope your DD calls home a lot, and gets to visit often, too.

Hi Josephine!

Raven, glad to hear about your DH's prognosis. This sounds like one of those times in life you just get through the best you can, and then deal with the repercussions to your weight later. Good luck on the working interview!

Barbara, I may be right there with you on the eye and the swim goggles. DD crashed spectacularly into my eye this morning and I have a bruise coming on. I'll have to see how bad it turns out, but it hurts a lot right now. I actually miss running a lot too, but my knee is still tricky and painful. I'm thinking of thinking of seeing a doc soon--the postpartum joint looseness should be going away, and that won't be a real excuse soon.

Dagmar, you took 5 (!) walks with your dog after running 6 miles!! I'm so not worthy, and my dog thinks so too. Wow!

Wardhog, your DD is gorgeous! Looks like she had a fun party.

Freda, stay cool! You can take care of me next time I have to go to the hospital. I was on Meg's coffee schedule too. Blech!

Megan, I "should" myself to death too. Easier to spot in others than in myself. I'm also working on it.

Lily, I know you can do anything you set your mind to!

Have a good day everyone!

Anne

Hi everyone!

I haven't posted since near the end of March. At New Years, I had a switch in meds and put 20 pounds on in 2 months. It was mostly due to a big appetite, cause I really didn't eat much junk. I leveled off at 130 and was able to 'maintain' that for a couple of months. But then I was having some really bad side effects (other than weight gain) and my doctor switch me back to my previous set of meds. The weight is coming off again and my appetite is small again. I've been away from my home scale since Friday a week ago, so I'm thinking I'm less than my ticker shows. At least I feel like I'm smaller when I put my hands on my waist.

DH finally got a job at the end of May, but it's draw and commission only and he hasn't made a sale yet. The draw just pays for his apartment and communing expenses and I lost my private insurance disability in April which was paying our mortgage. I've calculated out that between his tiny draw, my small Social Security Disability, and our dwindling savings that we'll be out of money in November. So, I've been having terrible anxiety over our financial woes, which I think is also keeping me from eating much - my stomach's in knots.

I did hire a lawyer and am appealing the disability termination. The company found my web site and saw that I have been selling a small amount artwork for the past seven years and decided that if I can do that, I can get a job as a 'fine artist' and earn a real income. Truly, the artwork was just a hobby that friends and family happened to like and decided to buy small pieces. I can prove on my taxes that I never actually made any money from it due to the expenses associated with it.

In the mean time, I can't even try a part time job to help us out financially because that would just be more fuel for the insurance company. I feel very out of control of my situation and that's what's causing the stress which often leads to depressive or manic episodes. So far I've been 'stable' with the help in the switch in medicines.

DH has decided to give up his apartment and bring our sailboat up to the Liberty State Park Marina in Jersey City near Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty so he can live on it for the winter. It will save us quite a bit in living expenses, but I think he's in for a very cold, wet winter. We've had some deck leaks on Fandango that we've never been able to plug and that plus the normal condensation that occurs when you heat a boat in the winter will make it very unpleasant to live aboard.

Right now, I'm up in his apartment for a few days before I head back down to South Jersey to the house to catch up on the mail and bills. Last night, I asked him to take me to the marina so I could have a sense of where he'll be. It really is a beautiful marina with a fantastic view of Manhattan. It's in a much better neighborhood then he currently is in (I'm not feeling very secure in the apt with the drug dealers on the corner...)

On a positive note, we've done a lot of sailing and entertaining on the boat this summer. We hosted a very fun dance at our yacht club in July. We have lots of fun activities schedule for this weekend and then next weekend we're using our credit card airline miles to fly down to Florida for my Dad's 80th birthday party. And the weekend after that we're sailing down to Atlantic City for our club's annual raft up party. So I do have things to look forward to. Tonight, I'm meeting DH in the city and we're going West Coast Swing dancing.

Meg - best wishes for a speedy recovery. Hope your legs unswell quickly and you lose that water weight.

Anne - congrats on the birth of your DS.

Jessica - what kind of dog did you get? I remember in the fall you were really looking forward to getting one.

Lily - congrats on being smoke free for 4 months. That's terrific.

Hi Alison and Raven

and hello to all the new people who have joined since March.

Welcome back, Carolyn! Sorry to hear that you are having such troubles. I hope you can get your disability insurance back soon. Our dog is a mixed breed - we think he is mostly a German Shepherd/Doberman mix, but I think there might be some Shar Pei mixed in there too (he has a very curly tail and a bit of extra skin around his face).

Anne - LOL, I remember when I was about 5 years old and I got a sparkly pink tutu! I think I wore that thing 24 hours a day for a while.

Back to work . . .

my job involves walking
 

Keep forgetting a lot of you don't know much about me. Just to set the record straight I'm a commercial dogwalker. I do 5 dogwalks per day (sometimes 6 if evenings are required) but I don't have a dog of my own.

The subject of dogwalking comes up a lot in my posts so thought I'd clarify that.

And if anyone wants a really spectacular bruise (Barbara take note) just have a one-year-old lab run full tilt into your face as you bend to pick up a ball for her. My eye was a multi-coloured sunset for almost a month.

Dagmar (the lab lady)