Megan, glad you got some sleep. Let us know how the conference call goes.

I'm taking the afternoon off work today to go to my endocrinologist appointment. Well, I haven't left work yet -- I'm waiting for some stuff to finish before I go. Work has been pretty hectic lately since we're finishing up a project and there is a lot of last minute stuff to be done.

Well, I got all worked up for nothing. (I'm sure you guys have noticed, sometimes I get worked overexcited ). The boss wanted to let us know that since our funding is uncertain after August, our contracts which normally run June-June will only be June-August for now. But I already knew that the current grant ends in August, so it's nothing new. I must have been tenser than I realized, bc now that I'm breathing a sigh of relief and relaxing I'm really tired!

Jessica, let us know how the visit w your endo goes.

Whew Megan!
I'm sure that is a HUGE relief! I would have been worried too-- I am a natural born worrier.

Probably it doesn't help that my avatar is wearing a red blouse. No, I'm not as fond of red as Nancy Reagan or the designer Valentino. But it's one of my best colors. And like Jessica, I've got a lot of black dresses, so it seems like it's time for a really good red one.

I'm here at work, past the time when I'd leave for the gym, working on a report on the iPad 2, waiting for a fellow writer to finish work on something about Microsoft buying Skype, so I can proofread it & move it along.

Yesterday, the guy who sits across from me in this three-person cubicle setup was let go. He'd been on a performance plan, a kind of probationary thing, but I didn't know it. He'd worked here for 11 years. His sudden departure has snapped me out of my sulk. But I also feel jittery. Here in the cubicle land, we're like a flock of geese still lifted up in the air after a gunshot has taken an individual goose out. We'll settle down eventually but for now we're all a bit scared.

Hi Everyone,

I had one of those days...felt like I was going to self combust due to my stress levels.
All I wanted was a huge glass of wine and some junk.
Had a glass of water and went for a bike ride instead.
Quite proud of myself.

S

I went the opposite route and had the junk .

Dagmar

WTG Sznn!!!

Jessica~how is your husband doing on PX90? Just asking because you know my DD did it for a month and just recently I told her about a different exercise program that had been investigated (Henry the Health Hound--he determines what are scams and what actually work) and she bought it. For $17! Anyway, she's done a couple of the workouts and is impressed in as much as she can do it in 1/4 the time each day and she feels like they're doing more for her than PX90 workouts.

DH and I are off to San Diego this afternoon! We're mostly all packed, just need to get a little work done this morning. I may or may not check in this weekend, so everyone have a good one!

Jealous of you . Allison going to San Diego. I used to go to Sandy Eggo often when my son lived there. He has since moved to Sacramento, not nearly as interesting a place to visit. I also lost my free hotel, Have a great time and tell us all about it.

Megan, sounds like the call was a relief!

The endo appointment went well. We are trying increasing my Cytomel to twice a day (so 5mcg 2x/day instead of 5mcg 1x/day). His other option was to increase the Synthroid to 88mcg but last time I had that dosage my TSH and T4 went too far in the other direction, so I picked the Cytomel option. He also wants me to take a vitamin D supplement in addition to a multivitamin. Hopefully I'll see some improvement soon. I am going to give it 2 weeks and if I don't feel any better I'll try the Lyrica the other doc prescribed as well.

Now the issue is figuring out when to take these pills. I can't take the Cytomel within 4 hours of the multivitamin. My current plan is to take my first dose with my Synthroid in the morning, take my vitamins with lunch, and take the second dose when I get home from work before dinner. Hopefully it will work out okay.

Allison, DH is doing great on P90X. He's getting tired of the diet, but he's definitely getting results. He has one more week on phase 1 of the diet before he switches to phase 2. I get the impression from what he's said and from looking through the materials that P90X is much more tailored to men than to women. What is the other workout your DD is trying?

Jessica,
Sounds like your endo is listening which is half the battle!

Hoping to pick your brains this morning. I need to find (cheap) gifts for my parent volunteers. I have probably 20 parent volunteers that help in the library to some extent. Some help every other week for half an hour, and others help weekly for a couple of hours. In the past I've done gift cards, hand-made note cards, etc. Any ideas of gifts and where I might find them cheaply? I want it to be something they'd actually use.... thanks! Oh-- I also need them fast to hand out next week.

Jessica~when my DD switched to phase 2 on the diet (where they add in more carbs) she found that she tired much quicker and had a hard time keeping up with the exercise and that's why she ultimately quit. This is a link to the website http://pep.rs/2/3185/3036603/1/51/95394/1305089596. I went to the website myself and really had a hard time navigating around, but my DD said that she was able to order the videos and download them for just $17. I don't know if there is a diet associated with the program.

Michele~Starbucks gift cards. Any $ amount and almost everyone goes to Starbucks every once in a while.

+1 to what Allison said. Starbucks gift cards are the most useful, and even a $5 gift card will get you something.

Allison, according to the P90X materials they say you can stay in any phase for however long you want, and that you should pick whichever phase diet gives you the most energy for your workout.

You could probably get reasonably priced ballpoint pens at an office supply store, or an appointment calendar might be good. those are things I always use keeping track of my volunteer meetings, etc.

Thanks for the ideas!
So far I have ordered some cute memo sticky pads. I was thinking of buying some nice chocolates and putting little bags together. Perhaps with the starbucks cards too for the more active volunteers-- I can't afford it for everyone.
I also found a cute poem that I'm printing and laminating. I may buy some magnets to attach to the back so they could go on the fridge. It says:

A TRIBUTE TO VOLUNTEERS
--(Author Unknown)

V aluable is the work you do,
O utstanding in how you always come through.
L oyal, sincere and full of good cheer,
U ntiring in your efforts throughout the year.
N otable are the contributions you make,
T rustworthy in every project you take.
E ager to reach your every goal,
E ffective in the way you fulfill your role.
R eady with a smile like a shining star,
S pecial and wonderful - that’s what you are!