Prayers for your x with the brusies Pam ........I know I am out of the loop but I hope that is correct.

Gaby was promoted out of the nursery at church!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



YAY Gaby,...........means she is potty trained. Never have been soooooo proud!!

Rachel and becky both won their games. I go in the morning for the lawyer thing and ................yes, a huge relief to let someone else be Perry!!!! woooo hoooooo -

Beter get - just wanted to say hello..........

Good morning ladies,

Pam - oic about the xh. Yikes, he may end up in the nursing home. That's a lot for your son to deal with, but I know he can do it. I also read to my kids like crazy. All of them are love to read yet today. My son has my copy of The Broker and I think he'll like it.

Marti - no, it doesn't sound awful that you're glad this particular friend got the job. A few threads back you mentioned why, and I know your judgement is sound. Crescent City sounds like so much fun!! No worries this time.... just relaxation and romance. Bet you can't wait!

Susan - YAY for Gaby being promoted, and for Rachel and Becky winning their games. Good luck at the lawyer's office today.

Hello to the other Jaded Ladies.

Neal and I ended up just goofing around in town yesterday for awhile. Then we came home and got out the atlas so he could show me where he wants to go next year on Valentine's Day. The panhandle of Florida... won't that be fun? I've never been to the Gulf side of Florida, and there's lots to see and do. There's an island off of the Alabama coast that we have wanted to see for awhile now, called Daulphin Island, so we're going to see about that, too. I know that area got hit badly by one of the hurricanes last fall, so we're not sure what's still standing!

Not much going on today. Housework beckons, even though I've tried to turn a deaf ear to it, lol. BIL is back in the hospital, so I will probably go see him afterwhile.

What're your plans for the day?

Marti - Those sound like wonderful anniversary plans. I think that part of the coast is absolutely gorgeous. My dad lives in Brookings (north of CC, in OR), so we have spent lots of time down there over the years. You may even catch the tail-end of whale migration...take your binoculars!

Pam - Eddie sounds like a strong man, too bad he has to handle so much with his dad...but it sounds like he is stepping up to do what he can. You've raised him well.

Susan - Hooray for the potty training! Leigh finally gave up day-time diapers around Christmas...so I know exactly how you feel...it's liberating...and frees up some $$. Christmas was a great time for her to do this, let me tell ya, Congrats on the wins for R & B... a good weekend all around, eh. Sending you good attorney vibes today....

Jane - The panhandle sounds like fun...I have a cousin in Clermont...the one who miraculously endured the 5 hurricanes without losing her house...If we had traveling $$, I would go visit her and see all the Florida sights. By the time I have enough money, her family will have moved back to Oregon...oh well. Hope BIL is doing better.....

No school today, so James is having a friend over for a playdate. We are going to use up the rest of some ice cream and make some homemade ice-cream sandwiches. I have decided to pray and put it all in God's hands...think that will keep my face out of the cookie dough? I signed up for Beliefnet's spiritual weight loss email newsletter, so everyday I get a little tip and last Monday's tip was "Pray"...today's was "Don't skip snacks".

Tonight is the open house for the preschool, and I think I am supposed to go..but not sure. DH spent a large part of the weekend puking, so I am not inclined to go out for a meeting tonight unless is absolutely necessary.

With all the vomit drama around here yesteday, I let all the housework slide, so I have to play catch up today. I also started knitting a cute stocking cap in purple and lavendar stripes. Hoping to crank out a few of those with some leftover yarn I have. A pretty ho-hum, pleasant kind of day on tap for me..hope everyone else has a great one.

My DS finaly got into Myrtle Bch. last night at 12am. He had all his lugage. Is that amazing? The airline tried to dump him in Charlotte NC telling him he should rent a car and drive but when he asked if they'd pay for it or refund some of his money they refused. He sure sounded miserable on the phone.

Jane, have fun in Florida but remember hurricane season starts at the end of Aug so make sure your out of there by then. Don't want you and DH to blow away. Can't have that!

Marti, your coming to CA.Have you seen Hursts Castle San Simion? It's amazing if you haven't.Then theres the Redwood Forest. Makes you believe there is a God when you see it.

Susan, Good for Gaby. I used B & B training like in hospitals for my son. On the potty every 2 to 3 hrs and we read stories while he sat there.Praised him when he did something and encouraged him for next time when he didn't. It worked. He was trained in a week and never had an accident.

Katy,sorry DH has been so sick. You sound like you have things well in hand.Ice cream sandwiches sound so good but off my diet list for now.


Thats all for now.BBL.

Hey Girls!!


Well, where to begin!!!!?????? Luckily I went back down to my usual 198 this weigh in, because if you remember last week I was flipping cause I was 3 lbs heavier and knew I hadnt been a bad girl!!! So at least Im back where I was now!!!!!
Finally decided yesterday that I need help and that doing my tapes at home just isnt helping me like I need it too, sooooo I went back to Bally's Total Fitness Gym and reactivated my membership...Ive been a member since 1997, but 2 yrs ago when I bought the house I didnt have time to go, plus I dont leave nearby the one I used to go to, so I gave up on it....I called yesterday, they were having a special to join back for $99 for the year, so I jumped at it and drove over to the one by my house and signed back up!!!! So Im trying kickboxing class from 4:30-5:30 tonight, Im kinda psyched!! I love aerobics, especially when you're out in a class doing it.. Hopefully I can keep up!! DBF said this will probably be good for me to boost my morale going back to the gym!!
My friends, husband came home from the army friday night.. I baked brownies yesterday morning and we went over to go visit with them....BIG MISTAKE!! They had another friend over and treated us like garbage. Neither him or my friend said more than two words to us...I asked if he got the letter I wrote him, he said yeah, but never had time to read it???? What a load of crap!! Needless to say after everything we do for them and their kids, we were not to happy to be treated like that....So we left there, very upset!!! The sad part about it is that its like you have to deal with it in order to play a part in the kids lives!!!! Its really sickening though!!
Well guess I have to get back to work!! Sorry I didnt have time to go through individuals right now, maybe later I can catch up!!!
Have a nice day
Julie

A very Happy Monday to all

Julie~I must say you are a better person than I am because from all that you have said about these so-called friends I would have told them where to go a long time ago. I know you love the kids and want to be a part of their lives but it seems it's not worth it. Unless of course you can get the kids without having contact with the parents, which I think would be hard. There's never any reason for a 'true' friend to walk all over someone like these people have you and your DBF the last few months. First at the hospital, then the shower, then the wedding and now this. Anyway... to joining the gym.

Marti~Crescent City sounds like a nice anniversary get-away and I know you guys will have a wonderful time. How can you not on the beautiful coast of CA?

Pam~glad your son made it there finally and with his luggage! He's a wonderful son for doing that for his father.

Susan~ for Gaby being promoted!! Sending good vibes that everything goes well today.

Katy~hope DH gets to feeling better. We all still have this cold and DD is the only one who was vomiting. Just wants to hang on...I also get that newsletter from Beliefnet, plus a few others, it helps and it is a GREAT site.

Jane~sorry to hear about BIL. I too need to clean house-let it go over the weekend, oh well.

Ellen~hope you are feeling fine. I miss you around her missy.

Hi to everyone else

Last night it started snowing again and man was it pretty. I don't think I have ever seen such big snow flakes-they were HUGE! The snow Friday melted by noon Saturday except for DS's snowman. He had the leaning thing going on and it melted some and then the top two parts fell over. It is still there but slowly melting. Woke up to about an inch of snow this morning and it will be gone by this evening. Anyway...it was pretty while it lasted. The rest of the week is supposed to be nice, in the 40's-50's. Had some errands to run this a.m. DD and I went to the bookstore. She still had BD money left and a few books on her list so we tried the other Barnes and Noble. Had a certificate from Hallmark burning a hole in my purse so had to stop off there. LOL I never realize how much I spend at Hallmark till I get those-it really adds up. Just needed to get some BD cards-got 10 cards and only paid 54 cents, not bad. Anyway... Now I need to get some laundry done and straighten the house up. Better get going or it won't get done.

Hope everyone is having a lovely day!

Here's an update on my x sob. Eddie just called from the hospital.He said he didn't even recognize him.He's skin and bones and his head is all beat up. Apparently he fell many times. He is agitated and violent and tries to fight with people. Has to be restrained at all times or he yanks out the IV's and catheters. Sometimes he recognizes people and sometimes not. Eddie says even if he recovers some now he can't last long because he's in such poor health. While we were still married he had a Uncle Bill who drank himself to death and I would try to warn him that this would be his fate if he didn't try to fight this addiction. I had no idea how prophetic I was. Thats exactly what he's done.I'm sorry Eddie is forced to see his Dad like this.

Pam~the ex-sob is probably carrying on that way because he hasn't had any alcohol in days. It's a terrible thing what alcohol can do to a person. It's sad though that Eddie has to see him in that condition, I feel for him. Hopefully he won't have to be there long.

Anyway...take care ladies and try and have a great day!

Hello everyone....

Susan--Hurray for Gaby!! I was thrilled when Jhanai was finally done w/diapers!! And as Katy said...it sure free's up some money too!

Jane--I'm really excited about going to CC....I'm hoping that I get the time off approved.....and I'm hoping that James does too. We may have to do it in April which is ok with me...as long as we get to do this!

Katy--I've always wanted to make homemade icecream sandwhiches....just have never gotten around to doing it. I may have to try it this Spring. Tell us how they turned out!

Pam--I love the Red Woods.....we were there the last time we went to CA...and it was James first time seeing them. (I had seen them many times as a kid) and it was so neat to see his expressions of it all for the first time.

Jewel--I just can't see how you do it! As much as you love those kids....there is no way those "friends" of yours should be taking advantage and treating you two the way that they do. They don't deserve your friendship. A friendship is something that is of value and should be treated as such....they don't seem to fit that bill! Maybe you should try distancing yourself for a couple months (kids included) and see how it goes. It would probably relieve a lot of stress!

Cristi--We have Sunshine right now. Not much rain. I believe it drizzled last week sometime. I'm really worried about droughts this summer! I can hear them limiting the water usage now.......

Well gals...I need to take the dogs out for a potty break and then hop on my gazelle. I have decided to do the gazelle during the week and not the weekends. Gives me 5 days of working out. (plus I'm lazy on the weekend!) But I may change my mind......

Anyway..off I go for now.

I just have a second , wanted to say hello.

Had a super day! Went like clock work and feel so much better after meeting with the attorney. I left Gaby at Dougs with the girls this morning - he had left for an oil change. Was on the coast within 80 odd minutes, really fast.......lol. Don't know how I did that but was a breeze.
Rocky did Yahoo directions for me last night and I knew exactly where the office was of the attorney. Actually his office is in his home. Blah- blah.

The attorney was nice, most of his clients are "modest means" and looks to keep cost down. He even said I could probably do the "trial" myself. I just laughed and said ......"ummmm, no......my "slam dunk" on the change of venue didn't pan out........I want you there" blah- blah

Anyway- he said that shouldn't have happened, that I should have gotten a change of venue. It was a visiting judge that was hearing our case that day,I guess. Blah- blah.

So, he is working on getting me out of the custody evaluation. The cheapest is $1500 or so, which would be $750 for me. I would come up with the money if I had to but he needs to go first........tired of the only one shelling out money.

Also, put in my wanting drug testing and he needs car insurance. The attorney said the city Mike was living in is known as "meth heaven".....lot of druggies there.

blah- blah.......k- back to my blah-blah cave......lol

Wow Ladies, I am so far behind I feel like Im at the front of the line.

First off HURRAY for Gaby!!! What big girl she is....big kisses from Aunti Ang
Good to know about the lawyer....

Pam sorry Eddie has to deal with the SOB, consider this a good learning experience...

Jane, whewww load of your mind is always good. Now you can really party it up with the retirement....

Cristi, how can you sit through all them scary movies? I whimper,,(loudly) and cover my eyes,,,its just not worth the $10. to go...lol

Katy, I got my scarf done,,,gold and brown with eyelash wool. And then I made fringe, and sewed on shiny beads...really cool. My parents came for a visit and my mom had a lady make me a scarf,,,its very long over 6 feet and funky red. Too funky even for me to wear...lol Clashes with my hair...ha ha ha (elmo hair)
Saw some other wool at Micheals on Saturday so I bought a couple of balls of that. One of the ladies at work says it looks like spider legs,,,gee thanks! (I am scared of spiders...spider challenged...ha ha ha (where do I come up with this stuff? )) So I asked Momma Chris to make me another scarf...she came me the hairy eyeball look but she took it with her...so I take that as a yes.

Marti, I think James' idea is awesome,,,get yourself a nightie...possibly find a B&B

Ok so guess what I did tonight????? I watched Bruce Colburn and the Barenaked Ladies jam!!!! Im like almost horse from screaming. It was so wild!
Chantal Kreviats (can't spell) and her husband Raine (Our Lady Peace) sang. Awesome, she is so pretty. And expecting their second baby.
Sara M (won't even try to mispell her last name) was fantastic. Her outfit inpired me for the fairy jewellery. ( I know,,,your like what? She was wearing this funky green top that was so feminine, and fairy like)
Anyways Im like flying high right now it was just awhole lot of concert for a $100.
All I can say is,,,if you ever get teh chance to see Barenaked Ladies,,,jump at it.
Anyone here ever see Corner Gas? Brett Butt and Rick Mercer where the MCs gawd they are too funny.
Well I need to get to bed....*sigh
Brandon starts school for the first time since Nov 17th. Big day.
night all

Good Morning ladies---

Susan--Rocky just keeps proving what a special man he is....to have printed out directions for you so you wouldn't get lost!! I hope this new lawyer does the trick and things go smoothly for you. My thoughts are with you!!

Angie--Hello there! You've been a busy gal!! I never even thought of buying a nightie!! I may just have to do that!! Or some really cutsie panties.....I'm just so excited. We haven't been away for 6yrs! Time for some "US" time!!

James & I have been talking about whether we want to keep driving and head all the way to San Francisco. I would LOVE to go there! It's been YEARS since I've been there. I was just a kid and I just loved it for some reason. Probably because it was so different than Oregon...

Work was pretty steady for the first half then just slllloooowwed down! Which was nice for me. I had a splitting headache and was ready to go home. And now that I'm home, I'm ready for bed.

So off I go to get some beauty sleep....ha!! If only!

Good night ladies!

It's February!!!! and Spring's right around the corner.

Katy - why no school yesterday? Just a winter break day? Hope DH is lots better today and that you don't catch it. I remember from our short-lived "quirk" thread you mentioned not throwing up since you were 5. Wish I could say that, lol.

Pam - we're not going to Florida for another year yet. But can't wait for that! How long will Eddie be gone?

Julie - sorry about your friends' rudeness. I can see how special those kids are to you, and understand why you would put up with the parents to see them, though. How'd the kickboxing class go?

Cristi - it's going to be in the 40's here all week, too. Love that! Also love the Hallmark certificates, lol. Although mine are probably much lower in value than yours. Our only Hallmark house is waaaaaayyyy on the other side of town so I buy most cards at you-know-where. Love all the new things at the HH, though. I always check out the Maxine stuff since she's my hero, lol.

Marti - aren't you supposed to rest your muscles by using the same ones only ever-other day? That's what I've heard.... but what do I know, lol. With Valentine's day right around the corner, there are nighties for sale all over. Some of them are down right hooker-lookin', but some are sweet. Maybe you can find something in-between, lol.

Susan - glad you and Perry Mason had a good visit. Seriously, I hope he comes through for you and you feel reassured now.

Angie - the scarf sounds cool, and just right for you. Glad you had a blast at the concert. Are you talking about Sarah McLaughlin? Or however you spell it? Prayers to Brandon on his first day back. He'll be the center of attention!

I have no business on here right now, because I'm trying to beat the clock. Macy was admitted to the hospital last night with pneumonia, so I'm headed up to see BIL, then Macy, at the hospital then offered to pick up Mackenzie from K and bring her home with me so the parents don't have to worry about her until this evening. Also have to work in a short visit to Wally World. Need bread and milk. And a mousepad. I swiped Katie's, and she wants it back, lol.

BBL when it all settles down.

Love ya! Mean it!!

Jane, That poor lil Macy, you once said shes a sickly child, and well it sounds right. Its like her amune system isn't working 100%. Doesn't help that her older sister is in K, I know Brandon brought home lots of germs and was sick alot, then Tanner, then back to Brandon. Hopefully she out grows all this.

Marti, hope your headache is gone. I think you should go as far as you can,,,then once there. Send James off to buy a paper while you light some candles, get some music, get into the nightie, toss some rose petals....lol

Julie you are the one I forgot to say something last night. When I was reading what you wrote I was wondering if you ever go back and reread what you are saying. And if so...why do you let someone treat you like that? I would of kicked her butt to the curb long ago. kids or no kids...she needs an adjustment. Selfcentered lack of common sense hag. Come on Julie say the last sentence...repeat. The next time she calls asking for something,,,say you have better things to do, hang up. If the kids mean that much to you that you would let yourself be treated this way,,,my thought is, find a organization that you can volunteer at that you can spend time with kids with. You deserve to be treated a whole lot better then that,,,,you are angry/fustrated/hurt way too many times to have a *friend* like her.
Now the fun part,,,at kickboxing,,,picture her as the bag...now kick the living snot out of it...whewww doesn't that feel good!

Well I should get ready for work...
ttfn

Just a quick pop in this morning...

Marti, Crescent City sounds wonderful! That will be a fantastic, romantic getaway for your first anniversary When Tim and I want to take a long weekend, we like to go to Mendocino/Fort Bragg, but one time we went to Carmel/Monterey, and that was beautiful too. We love to travel. Got our tickets for Disneyland in March for our fifth anniversary, and I'm so excited! Send some of that sunshine down here, will ya? It's been gray and dreary here for probably 25 of the last 30 days...

Susan, really glad the meeting with the lawyer went so well. I agree with what some of the others have said here -- be really careful about what you discuss w/Mike's mom -- and keep copies of every single email you exchange. I'm sure she probably loves and cares for Gaby, but she also has Mike's best interests at heart, and some of the questions she asked you (like questioning Gaby's paternity) set warning bells off for me. Warning bells and big huge flashing red caution signs. Anyway, just my two cents. And hurray for Gaby being potty trained!

Jane, poor little Macy! Hope she recovers quickly. That's really great that you are there to help with Mackenzie so her parents have one less thing to worry about right now...

Angie, BNL is one of my fave bands, on CD or in person. They are fantastic in concert! With the other acts you got to see sounds like it was an awesome show Wish I could have been there, too. You mentioned it was for relief -- was it for the tsunami victims?

Katy, I tried crocheting, and never got very far (about 8 wobbly inches wide of an afghan). If I could knit, I'd knit Tim a couple of stocking caps because he keeps misplacing his, and his poor shaved head gets really cold... :sman:

Cristi, I could really picture those huge, beautiful snowflakes...

Julie, yay for joining the gym! Kick-boxing sounds fun...but I'm more of a yoga and curl up on the sofa with a good book kinda person Don't think reading burns many calories, heehee...

Had a great visit with my oldest son. He goes back to the airbase in SD today. Middle son's car died, blown headgasket, but fortunately a friend was selling her '96 Hyundai for a good price, so he's back on the road again. Good thing too, because he started a new job this week Mon-Fri, and school Mon-Thurs at night, so he's gotta have transportation.

OK, *sigh*, I've put this off long enough...I broke a tooth this weekend, and I have to get a root canal done today!!! I am terrified, never had one before. I grind my teeth in my sleep (stress-stress-stress) and I am supposed to wear a bite-guard thing, which I'm not always good about. The dentist says I have to wear it every night because my fillings won't give, but my teeth sure will -- and that's exactly what happened. I've evidently had a crack in an upper molar for a while, then about 3 weeks ago I ground my teeth together so hard in my sleep that it woke me up, and I thought, "Oh, this isn't good". My jaw ached for days, and I noticed I was pretty senstive to cold. Then Sunday night at eleven pm I was flossing,and the cracked piece between two of my teeth just sheared right off!!! AUGGGHHH!!! I went to my dentist yesterday, and he said nope, he couldn't fix it, I have to go to an endodontist -- and they had a cancellation and got me in this morning. Anyway, I'm so scared I feel like I'm gonna throw up. Anyway, I won't talk to you guys again before I have to go do this (leaving in an hour), so I would really appreciate it if anyone reads this to please say a quick prayer and send good thoughts my way that I don't panic and run screaming in terror from his office...

trying to steel my nerves...