Shane hope your non-teeth are feeling better. I got a Sheryl Crow CD, waaaayy out there, but fits real well with my "mom" jeans. It's funny, I don't FEEL middle-aged. Sob.

Thanks everyone for the words of wisdom on the kids. We cuddle as much as possible, but DD is a kicker! She's had a few good days in a row now, though, and now that DS has weaned, I'm getting almost decent sleep about half the nights as DH is taking turns with me. Sleep helps. A lot. If anybody has any doubts as to the value of sleep in making a person a decent and functional human being, doubt no more.

Lily, glad to hear Shane is coming home soon!

:wave: to everyone!

Anne

Dang, Anne, you aren't middle aged. I'm 100% certain you're younger than me and I don't consider myself middle aged (just yet).

Michele~what is the tattoo your DD got? My DD is still deciding on what and where she wants one. I wouldn't for a million years get one myself. I just can't do that.

Shane~I like my Blackberry--it's the Curve. DD had the Pearl and she loved it, but she dropped it on Christmas and I decided to let her upgrade to the Bold which she loves even more. I don't think I'd like the Bold as much. I have this thing about fingerprints, and it's a touch screen.

So DD is taking an Intersession class at school--I think it's the Philosophy of Sex and Love or something like that. She told me yesterday (via Facebook!!) that her professor "totally ruined" all the Disney movies for her. I guess he pointed out how Disney movies always had the weak or semi-weak female that gets rescued by the male. So true. Anyway, we had a great discussion about that!

Allison-- the tattoo is of a daffodil. It symbolizes hope which is meaningful to her. You can see it on my facebook photos. She did say it was the worst pain she had ever voluntarily asked for!

My dd just finished a class that was English of Love or something like that. She said everything the professor had them read ended up being tied to sex and that the professor made the class very uncomfortable with the way she talked and wanted them to "share" (and this is a Jesuit Catholic University!). My dd was very happy to finish the class.

Shane - hope your feel better soon! I had all four of my wisdom teeth cut out when I was in high school and I remember it being unpleasant...

Anne - I hear you on the sleep thing! DSS still won't stay in his bed all night, last time he was at our house he got up 16 times... I got pretty much no sleep at all... He is with us again tonight and it is time to start getting serious on this bed thing. He has been in a big boy bed since May, it is timte to stop this playing around. If DH can't do it then I'll have to be the heavy. I don't have some of the guilt issues that DH has - he isn't always as hard on the discipline, I think because he feels guilty about not being there all the time....

Alinnell - is this the class where they also talk about all the subtle, or not so subtle, phallic symbols in Disney films? I took something like that in college myself...

Lily - glad your son will be coming home! I know it has been hard.

Michele - don't let your daughter bother you about your breasts. I'm having implants put in next week, but I have wanted them since high school. if someone tried telling me I needed to get them things would get ugly! And, like Shane, I was vile to my parents when I was 14. I remember saying terrible things to both of them, more often my dad than my mom. I pretty much ignored my mom... If I could go back and redo it today I would in a minute... You & your DD will come out the other side.

DH didn't make it to work out last night - he wound up having to stop somewhere after work and then said it was too late. He did make a point of telling me he stayed within his calories for the day and will plan again for exercise tomorrow night. I'm trying to figure out how to help him see that he can do this, right now he is stuck in the "I just can't do xxx for yyy reason" cycle.

Question for you guys - my SIL's grandfather passed away on Sunday. She and my brother have been dating since high school, so together for almost 16 years now. I've known her family the entire time, they are close with my family. They, and all the rest of my family actually, live almost two hours away. The visitation is tonight, service tomorrow. Do you think I need to go to the visitation and the service?

Michele~that's actually quite pretty. I know my DD doesn't want to have hers in any colors--just black. She's still leaning toward some different music symbols. She had one friend draw up something for her, but I'm afraid it would have to be rather large for the design to work.

Shannon~no, not the phallic symbols as far as I know. I guess the discussion yesterday was about how Disney perpetuates the myth about women needing men for everything as if we weren't able to do anything for ourselves.

Alinnell - Disney does perpetuate that myth... I think about it every time I buy "Disney Princess" stuff for my two little cousins. I always want to show them how the princess can kick a little tail sometimes too, instead of waiting for the prince to rescue her.

I much prefer the Pixar films - they seem always have a strong female character. (And, I have a cousin who is an animator for Pixar, but not that I am biased or anything... :) )

Quick note:

1. Shannon, I would say you could just go to the funeral, unless you going up and staying overnight.

2. Temp is 10 above, on the way to 20 according to the forecast :) Of course, it's windy and there's snow predicted. Why do I live here???

Pat, 10 above sounds like a warm spring day from some of the days you have been describing! :) I have actually wanted to ask why you live there, if you don't mind? I had a job interview scheduled at University of Alaska Fairbanks in college and ended up canceling it - when they sent me the info packet and it talked about not walking alone on campus during the dark days because of the risk of getting gored by moose I decided I would rather stay in the South... I have heard that it is beautiful up there, though!

Shannon, I would probably plan to attend the service.

Thanks everyone for understanding about how excited I am that my son will soon be home. I miss him terribly and this has been rough on our family. The only good thing has been the constant e-mails so we do keep in touch almost every day. He does call home about every 10 days or so too.

I have a dilemma. My son's GF gave me a huge bag of clothes that are too small for her. They are size 1-2 jeans with small and XS shirts. These are too small for me and I had planned to give them to Lacy's friend, Payton. (who is very tiny). Payton tried them on and being a size 00 they are all too big for her. Since my kids go to a very rural , small school I was wondering about asking the counselor if she knew of a girl that could use them. They are very nice clothes! There are a lot of underpriviliged kids at our school and I'm sure someone could appreciate them. What does everyone think? I really don't want to make the 1 hr. round trip to give them to goodwill.

I had another good workout yesterday and plan on walking on the treadmill at home today. The cold weather finally hit here last night and it was 12 degrees. I think it's warmed up to 20 degrees now and I about froze walking the dogs this morning.

I made a meatloaf last night out of 1/2 extra lean beef and 1/2 ground turkey. Cooked a pot of beans and some spinach to go with it. It was very good and I stuck to my 1 serving rule! There is plenty left for dinner tonite so most likely will be having the leftovers.

Anne, I definitely understand the need for sleep. I'm a grouch if I don't get enough sleep.

It appears my oldest SD, Samantha, has managed to get herself in trouble again. She is now working as a bookkeeper for a trucking company. They are now missing several work receipts and a large sum of money. They've asked her to take a lie detector test. With her history with money, I suspect she's guilty! Also very suspicious that the week before Christmas she showed up and inivited our whole family out to a restaurant and she insisted on paying for everyone saying "I got a nice Christmas bonus"!

Shane, I'm Lol at your Mom not knowing how to text. I don't know how to text either and really haven't even tried to learn. I fight technology for as long as possible, LOL.

Shannon, it's the same old story why we live here - my DH spent a summer working at a high altitude research site and when he was done, he spent some time in and around Anchorage and Fairbanks. He was determined we were going to move here. We were living in NH at the time. I had applied to grad school in Seattle, so when I went there, he got a job guiding a hiking/canoeing trip for 6 weeks, and ended up in Anchorage, and found a job. I came up twice during that year (and he came to Seattle once) and when I finished school, I moved. The next winter we flew back to MA (where all our stuff, including his truck, was stored at his parents' house) and drove it all back to Seattle, then he took the truck on the ferry, and I flew back to Alaska. That was in 1973/74, and we've been here ever since.

Now Fairbanks is a whole different story. :lol: It's much colder there, and gets dark sooner, and light later. But they have nearly 24 hours of daylight in June, while we have about 19.5. And it's warmer there in the summer. 80 degrees is normal, 90 not unheard of.

Oh, Lily, sorry to hear that Samantha has not changed her ways. :hug:

Text, we're supposed to know how to text??? :) All I do with my phone is make/receive calls. I have occasionally used the camera, but only with someone's help, and come to think of it, that was on my old phone. Besides, my plan does not have texting included.

Good evening, all! My boss called me several times today and I kept putting him on ignore, thinking he was my alarm. I have the same obnoxious ringtone for both! :) I'm going to be returning to work tomorrow, personal training on Thursday, and bodybuilding on Saturday. I am not very swollen or sore (just a little fat kid double chin action), but not fully up to par, either, and running a low fever.

Shannon and Anne - thanks for the well wishes. As I said before, it is really not as unpleasant as I thought it would be. I chalk that up to having such painful expectations due to horror stories from friends and having a good oral surgeon. He was expensive, but he did a good job.

Allison - yeah, her professor is right, in a way... I think Disney DOES make its women out to be weak. I myself rather prefer women who can kick some butt! Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to dress up as strong women (think SuperWoman, WonderWoman, BatGirl, CatWoman) for Halloween as opposed to those prissy Disney princesses ;)

Michele - I have always thought classes like "English of Love" would be enjoyable, but I can also see where it would make someone uncomfortable. I took this awesome class called "Rebels, Body, and Pleasure" where we had to write poems about our private parts and bring in CDs with songs referring to genitals. I brought in "My Vagina" by NOFX just to be funny - for those who have never heard the song, Google search the lyrics. It is the kind of content where you look around nervously and laugh.

Shannon, are you going? I think you should if you can. If it is too late to decide, send a card or something.

Lily, I think it is a great idea to donate those clothes to underprivelaged kids at Lacy's school! And... 00? Geesh, the girl IS tiny! I don't think I was a 00 since I was, like, 10 :lol:
I am sorry to hear Samantha may have stolen $$ from her job. :( :hug: That must be hard knowing that, even if you aren't her biological mother.

Originally Posted by traveling michele:
It just made me sad because I have never liked the way I looked (when I was heavy) and now that I'm thin I still feel like something is "wrong" with me. Didn't help my self-esteem.

This is certainly something I went through losing weight. I thought if I lost weight, I'd be gorgeous, perfect body, oh and naturally I'd have men falling all over me and be funny and have a perfect life. Right? I've read similar things from many people on this website, heard it from other who lost weight. The reality is far different, but I think I've made great strides in loving me and trying to focus on my best qualities, and overlooking the ones I don't like as much. Don't worry about having small girls! I compensate by going to the gym and just making sure I have a really nice booty - an (admittedly shallow, superficial) quality I can do something about. ;)

My mom just joined facebook. Of course she calls me and says "Do you have facebook?" I've showed her how to download pictures from her camera, program the VCR, check her voicemail on her cellphone... the list goes on. She is the most technologically inept person I've ever met, and I'm not any whiz myself! I try not to roll my eyes too much and remind myself my that when I'm 70 I'll be calling my (brainiac) sis's (future) kids to help me with these things.

I've been so busy the last 2 days that I didn't even get to eat all my planned snacks. Geez. I hope all the cortisol from elevated stress levels doesn't counteract the reduced caloric intake and maybe I'll actually lose some weight!

Speaking of which, must run to rehearsal... hope everyone's week is going well!

Megan, I feel you on the booty! My "girls" have shrunk significantly and since I do a lot of very hardcore lifting/strenght training, I have a definite, obvious separation between the pecs and the breast tissue, which causes the girls to look smaller and saggier :(

BUT... whatever I LACK up TOP, I sure do compensate for BELOW! And that is just FINE with me! I think BREAST augmentation is easier than BUTT augmentation anyway if I DO ever decide to get anything fixed!

I hope you can get rid of some extra weight by accident. It's THE BEST when that happens :)

Hi gang! I am back from New Orleans. We ended up there an extra night because our plane was going to stop over in Chicago and it got canceled. Oh well LOL!
We had a fabulous time. I ate waaaaay too much food, and the scale is way up today, but it was totally worth it :D
My sister and I jogged for 30 minutes each morning, which I have never done on vacation, plus we walked for miles and miles. My feet and legs are definitely tired. I went to bed at 9:30 last night and woke up at 7 this morning!
Anyway, fantasy is done now and back to on plan eating. Not that I don't love beignets, but I actually was really looking forward to my pumpkin oatmeal this morning!