Good morning...

Time to catch up! Our ice is gone, so I went for a walk yesterday to get some exercise.. it felt so good to get outside after being iced in for two days. We all had the day off yesterday due to MLK.... so a very nicely timed ice storm, I must say. Today, everyone is off to school and I have a preschool meeting this a.m. so it is back to business as usual. I kind of enjoyed sitting by the fire watching kid shows and working on my projects. I made a cute little pink and white crochet poncho with some faux fur trim - ohh laa laa. Also knitted a Wavy Gravy scarf, which looks just like it sounds... has wavy edges. It is so nice to be able to do that stuff without pain - my shoulder problem used to limit how long I could work on these things, but I was in good shape.

Thanks for the good thoughts for David's DSG. She did pass away peacefully in her sleep a few days ago.. meant to post an update, but have had little computer time with DS and DD being stuck at home. She was a great lady who did not welcome the indignities of age.....everytime she needed a higher level of care at her facility, she made sure everyone knew she was not happy. I admired that, really - she was just a strong independent woman for so long.... at the end she was ok. She did not want surgery; she just wanted to sleep and her family agreed, so she died the way she wanted to. Her sister passed a few years ago and I know she missed her terribly, so I am happy to know that they are reunited now.

My brother's friends who were in Thailand have been given up for lost, also. There was a memorial for them on Saturday. My brother couldn't drive up here because of all the ice... so I had a couple of phone conversations with him..he was ok about it. He and his other stranded friends were going to have a memorial of their own in Eugene. Today is his birthday....my "little" brother is 37!


Jane - your temperatures makes us Oregonians look like a bunch of wusses. Anytime we get ice or snow, it is usually just for a day or tow, then the temps go back up to 40s. I don't go anywhere out of fear of the folks who can't drive worth a darn in this stuff more than fear of the conditions themselves. Remember Carol Burnett's As The Stomach Turns? I loved that spoof!

Pam - ok ok I confess - I watch As the World Turns and Guiding Light , but not religiously. I watch them if I am either snowed in, or I am doing some kind of project at home when the kids are out. When I was a teenager I was addicted to All My Children, but then became hooked on Guiding Light... and GL has really been my main addiction for 20+ years now.

Mindee - I just saw Mystic River, I thought it was ok, but not Sean Penn's best performance. I thougth his best performance ( besides Spicoli of course ) was in Dead Man Walking. But the movie itself was pretty good - let me know if the book is worth a look - sometimes I think the books are better than the movies. Glad Bdo is taking to the milk formula...pretty soon he'll be one and you can switch him to cow's milk and tippy cups....that is, if you can catch him!

About pregnancy - I read someone's observation once that when moms are carrying girls, they seem to gain weight in their face. I thought that was such a strange observation, but since then I have noticed it to be true! I certainly had a fatter face with DD than with DS. I had such big babies than I was just plain big everywhere, but I did notice that I carried DS a little lower than DD... is that a gender thing, too?

Marti - I thought your page was adorable and Ellen's poem was the perfect touch! You are both so talented! Whe do the JL "Aunties" get to see a picture of the your brand new nephew? I'll bet he's a cutie....

Ellen - Good luck with your Upper GI today - yuck. But you know if they can find outwhat's wrong, then it's worth it.

Julie - A belated congratulations on losing a pound....hair in your food must have made you lose your appetite....best diet around, lol!



Hi Cristi, Angie, and everyone else!

Katy, I am having a scarf knitted...Momma Chris (lady from work, who I call Momma Chris cause she mothers me so much...lol) must of been pained watching me knit, she took my stuff and left for the weekend on Friday and I haven't seen anything since. She said she was almost done. I love knitting! lol My scarf is brown and gold, and I bought beads in those colors that I will attach.
Big plans for the day is, return Monte's movies I bought him for Christmas, he only now admitted he doesn't like them...lol And yes I will return my ring finally today too. Need to get my other rings cleaned, pick up a shirt for Tanner, I got a chip in my windshield so I need to get that fixed.
I wish I could stay home and put some loud music on and clean. Brandon and I have a chiropractic appointment today....
Ellen, I was telling Brandon about how talented you are in verse. Hes like she should write songs.... Ellen you should write songs. BTW what is the name of my kitty?

The weather here is close to tropical. Does anyone else get barometric headaches? When there is huge fluxuation in temps I get some brutal headaches, the past few days we have gone from minus 40 to plus 4.
egads forgot have a meeting in less then an hour,,,sitting here, not showered...gotta run
bbl

Good morning. Think I feel good enough to add a few extra min to my walk today. It's so warm here it's almost air conditioning weather.

Ellen, Dark Shadows was about the wealthy Collins family and their spooky house. It had ghosts and vampires and witches. It was all the rage for teens. I watch Y&R now but wasn't able to get into Passions.So sorry you missed out. I'd be nurvous to if I was having an Upper GI. Sending you much positive energy so all will be well.Please let us know .

Jane,I loved Angelic,Barnabus,and Quentin. My foster mother swore it gave me nightmares. A while back I watched it all over again on the Scifi Channel.It was really awful. So funny how tastes will change with age.I do wish they'd redo it but make it better. I still love scary stories.

Katy, I watch ATWT and GL to. GL has a new bad boy who I predict will become a big star. Tom Pelphery.I watch or listen to lots of soaps. It's nice to do your house work or other chores and have one going because you don't have to give them full attention and can still keep up.By the way,I hope thats how I go when the time comes,in my sleep with those that love me near by. Sorry about your brother's friends in Thailand. Such a tremendous tragedy it bogals the mind.

Good morning to one and all.I check back in later. Love Ya, Pam

Hello Ladies,
Have a few minutes left of lunch so figured I'd check in and say hello.
Just went to the post office to go send off the letter I wrote to my friends husband in the air force. Its funny how you dont think you have much to say to someone and then once you pick up a pen, you amaze yourself, 3 pages later!! So I went out to mail that off and gas up my car!!!
Its like below zero here today, its so cold outside!!! I have to work at the hospital tonight for clinical, so Im not a happy camper today, I hate having to go work there after working here all day...I know it will pay off eventually, but in the meantime it rots!!!! Hope all is well with everyone, and I'll check in later
Julie

Okay...was on earlier but had to leave for a few minutes but I am back. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Just been busy, busy, busy. Too much going on for once. Then of course TOM happened to pop in and is making me feel horrible. I really thought I was thru with this and then BAM! Didn't bother weighing in with that going on. My plans today were to clean house and of course that too is not going to happen. Anyway...

Pam~oh, I do remember Dark Shadows and loving it. I was 15 at the time, wow, so long ago! I don't watch soaps any longer. Quit right after DS#2 was born, which was 22 years ago. I had been watching one and can't remember what the heck was going on but they dragged it out for a week and I never found out because that was when I said "NO more!" I started reading and watching Lifetime at that point. But when I watched soaps my favs were Ryans Hope, All My Children, One Life To Live, General Hospital and my all time fav was Edge of Night. I was sad when it ended. Anyone remember that one? There was a guy on there named Miles who I liked, the character, his looks and the name. Anyway...while he was a looker I really liked the name Miles but with a y and so DS#1 ended up with the mn Myles. My SIL liked Ryans Hope so much she named her DD Ryann Hope!

Ellen~I'm here girly. I have been lurking when I had time. Just didn't have much time to post after all the reading. You ladies have been a chatty bunch. And THANK YOU for the poem, that was so sweet. I did print it out and will put it in my scrapbook along side a pic of you when I get one! Hint, hint You know...you seriously should think about getting published lady. Get all your poetry together and publish a book. I also printed the poems you made for Marti-hope you don't mind. They are just so sweet and good. I am sorry to hear about the troubles with your doc. Kind of sound like the one I had. She wasn't that bad but she did intimidate me. She always wondered why my blood pressure went up when I went to see her. She would listen but sometimes she seemed in a hurry to get me out the door. But for the most part she was fine and then BAM! she quit. I did however find a new woman doc (don't like men docs) and she is right around the corner from us, about 2 miles. Now to actually get in there and see her. Hope the GI goes well today and you get the results you are hoping for.

Mindee~how old is Brandon? Question for ya...have ya tried regular milk? I don't know what parents now days do but when mine were small at 6 months of age we put them on regular milk. Of course I have known some who gave their kids formula till they were a year old and even breast feed till they were 3 1/2, ugh! Anyway, was just curious. My nephew was allergic to formula-even the soy. He couldn't hold it down and the kid drank a lot of homo milk and 7-up when he was a baby.

Marti~I remember all too well all four pregnancies. Guess it is something we mothers never forget. My face never got fat with any of the kids but you wouldn't believe my belly with DD! I swear it looked like I was going to pop. She was due in Jan and DH and I went to a concert the end of Dec to see Alabama and every time I got up to go potty the guy behind kept saying "Is it time?" I was huge and carried her really high, the boys I carried low. Anyway...CONGRAT'S on being a new Auntie again! Love the name Lucas Dean and can't wait to see a pic! I just love babies! And the scrapbook page of Jhanai is so cute! I loved it when the kids were that age. Of course I love them at any age. They just grow up too darn fast. DD will be 21 next week and DS#2 will be 23 next month! Oh,yes we already painted. The week before New Years. V was off for the week and painted the LR, kitchen, dining area, entry and the wall where the stairs are going downstairs. And I do love the green. Which reminded me I have pics waiting at Walgreens to pick up. So you guys can finally see it. Decided I am going to just go with a border afterall. I am headed to Home Depot sometime this week to see what they have and if I find something I will do it this weekend. I am afraid if I stencil it won't show up very good on the green.

Jane~I am picturing you dancing thru the house to the rolling stones cleaning. Have been doing a little bit of spring cleaning myself lately. Salvation Army is coming sometime this week to pick up some furniture in the garage and I thought I might as well clean out the closets and such and make it really worth their while. Although, with just the furniture it is worth their while.

Katy~my face never got fat with any of my pregnancies, just my big old belly. I did carry DD a LOT higher than the boys tho for sure. I looked like the good year blimp with her and of course while the labor was only five hours from start to finish (with DS#2 also) she put me thru the worst pain! DH had to leave before I pulled his arm off. I finally told them I wanted something for the pain and they did not argue. Gave me something and took me straight to the delivery room. Aaaahhhh...the joys of motherhood. Wouldn't trade it for anything. Sorry to hear about DSG. It's hard to lose a loved one but she did live a very long life. I just think it is amazing to see someone live to 90!

Angie~have a fun day shopping today! Hope you get something nice. So did you mention what you are exchanging the ring for? Another ring? Sorry...so much has gone on since I posted last and it is hard to keep up.

Susan~engaged to a Russian also eh?! I think I would have been afraid to wear the ring also. he must really like you to give you a ring. Speaking of rings...did you get one from Rocky yet?

Anyway...guess I have gone on enough. Hope I didn't miss anyone but please forgive if I did. Just too much to try and catch up on. So HI to everyone else.

I did manage a little bit of cleaning before the cramps got too bad this morning. Got the kitchen cleaned and the floor mopped and that's about as far as I got with the cleaning. Well, I also made the bed and did the entry and moved my milk can that holds umbrellas to make room for the sofa table DS#2 made me. Did I mention that? He made us a sofa table for Christmas and it looks nice. I know the kid loves to build things but I didn't think he would know how to make a sofa table. I gave him a pic of the one I wanted and he went to town making it. The only thing he is not pleased with the color choice so he is going to sand it down and redo it. I think it looks fine as I don't think everything in the room has to match-it would be a pretty boring room if everything matched. But that was my agenda today-to clean. Since that will not happen not sure what I will do. Maybe just relax and read some. Need to finish the book I am reading and get some cards ready to be mailed. Anywho...I may try to get on later, not sure. If not hope everyone has a great day! See ya

I am sooo MAD! Im so close to tears. Because Brandon has to redue his english hes lost his chance to pick up extra credits, so now his graduating this June is hanging in the balance. Hes angry and was very cranky on the way home. Hes got grad photos this week and I thought maybe we could do a haircut then go back to have them taken and he refuses.
I need to go calm down,,,,

Oh Angie...((((((HUGS)))))) to you and Brandon, poor guy. I do hope everything works out for him.

I actually came back for just a few minutes to ask if anyone heard about that 66 yr. old Indonesian woman who just had a baby. And I thought they said it wasn't an accident that she had been trying for nine years! Can you imagine being a mother for the first time at the age of 66?! EGADS!

Hi Everyone
I thought when I went to bed last night the only thing I had to worry about was this test today, I couldn't have been more wrong, I crawled into bed about 2 am and settled in for the night, My son had gone to master their cd recordings with some friends about 6, but he hadn't come in yet,Just as I was dozing off there was a loud pounding at the door ,feeling a little upset that he was making a rukus , thinking because he had forgotten his key,I went down somewhat irritated to let him in, I soon discovered that they had been in a terrible accident , just up the road from our house, and they were Hurting and shaken,and standing at my door, all this just houses away and I knew nothing till they came in the door,Today is a serious of x-rays for all, 3 tough guys didn't think they wanted to go to the hospital
in the wee hours of the morning , but today are feeling the rath of their injuries , of cracked ribs ,concussions, and lacerations, good thing they all had seat belts on.I am so THANKFUL That they are all safe and that the injuries weren't worse than they are. You always worry about these things , every single day. and pray it doesn't happen,but sometimes it does. I worried about the road conditions when they left and begged them to be careful and all was well until they were just a block from home. It was well past 6 am before any of us saw a bed, and the short rest wasn't very good.
I got up to go to my test, my son came with me, got it done , came home I was exhausted .I thought that I would just lye down ,but hadn't had anything to eat so I thought I would like some soup. so I opened the can and since my can opener isn't so good it didn't open all the way,so I bent the lid back.and tried to pour out the condensed soup but it wasn't coming out so I shook the can a few times and the lid hit my finger and cut it open, so back to the hospital I went for 8 stitches,and now I 'm home and my finger is throbbing , my head is pounding , and all I want is sleep, I just though I would fill you in on my day,so far, will be back in a while well maybe this evening, and catch up on everyones elses news.Hope your day is going better than mine.

Oh my goodness everyone!! (Can I keep up??)

Ellen--I'm so sorry that your son was in an accident but thankful that he's ok!! And your poor finger!! I'm sending you tons of hugs your way!!

Angie--Poor Brandon!! But think positive....he may be ok. I had the same thing go on in my senior year.....(I had the baby so I had to take time off) I was on the balance of not getting two of my classes....so they sent someone to home tutor me (only a month before school was out) and I managed to pull up the grades. Is there a way you can get someone to come out and tutor while he's out of school?
Sending good thoughts for you and brandon!!

Cristi--Oh so glad to see you! You know, I did read the paper today about that 66yrs old woman. I was flabbergasted wondering why in the world would you want to do that at that age?! Speaking of pregnant....I had gone back to look at photos of me pregnant w/both my son & Jhanai......my NOSE got huge with Jhanai! I read somewhere that the membranes in the nose will swell if you're carrying a girl. Of coarse it's an old wives tale!! Looking forward to seeing your pictures of your house! That's a lot of painting! I didn't realize it was more than one room.

Julie--You must have had much to say for three pages to be written! I'm sure your friend is going to love getting such a long letter!

Pam--I will admit, that at a younger age I was addicted to soaps. All My Children and Young & The Restless....but I don't watch them now. Although I did flip through the channels not too long ago to see whose still on there....I didn't recognize anyone!! (that's how long it's been)

Katy--We didn't get any ice down here. In fact....it's been awfully scary warm! I was outside last night and I was in a t-shirt and wasn't cold. The temps at work were crazy...people were sweating. Bizarre!! Right now the sun is blazing! In fact, that's what woke me up this afternoon...I was too hot. (of coarse the heater was left on so that didn't help) Hope you're getting this sunshine today too!

Jane--I DID go see the new baby yesterday. I took Jhanai over there (but she didn't go near him since she still had the sniffles) and OMG!!! SO tiny! I forgotten what a 6lb baby looked like! He's so quiet compared to what his sister was. And my BIL said that he slept in more than she did! She gets up a lot still in the middle of the night. I had brought my camera and completely forgot to take pictures!! But I did tell Sarah to send me some pictures through e-mail so I can share them with friends.


Ugh....I'm feeling crappy today girls. I woke up hot and crampy. But I'm going to bed later and later and I'm not liking that because I don't get up until 1:00!! This morning I went to bed at 5:30!! I usually go to my grandpa's on Tuesdays, but it's too late to be doing that today since I haven't even taken a shower yet!!

As soon as I get some photos of Lucas I will definately post them. He's a cute little ball!! (he curls up so small....where as Briana liked to stretch)

I think I"m going to hit the showers.

May try to come back later

Hiya ladies,

Katy - so glad your DSG went peacefully in her sleep and is now with her sister. What a way to go! Yes, I remember As the Stomach Turns, lol. The baby always ended up in the umbrella stand, lol.

Angie - did they warn Brandon about this before the surgery? If not, I'd think they would have to offer extra credit work or something. I'd think they'd WANT to, considering why he missed... it's not like he was goofing off or anything.

Pam - why in the world did I say Jonathan instead of Barnabus? I'd love to see an old episode just for laughs. Question for you or Ellen: The new TV guide says that the gal who plays Gabriella (Eva Longoria) on Desperate Housewives was on Y & R for 2 years. What part did she play on Y & R??? I don't remember her at all, but as I said before, I only see Y&R once in awhile.

Julie - you're a smart cookie to keep your eye on the prize at the end of all this education and clinicals. Before you know it, you'll have some fancy initials behind your name and you'll be earning big $$$.

Cristi - good to see you!! What has kept you so busy? Sorry about TOM showing up and I don't blame you for not getting weighed! Maybe your loss will be even better next week. Did you find some border? I still want to change something in my house, but don't know what. I got the bookcases moved last week, and that helped, but not what I wanted, you know? I think I want to totally redo my kitchen, but it's such a big job! Btw, the sofa table sounds wonderful!

Ellen - (((HUGS))) well, sweetie, you've had a day from ****, and if I could compose, I'd write a nice little ditty for YOU, since you are so kind to write them for us. Thank God your son is ok, but I can just imagine the fear! We never ever get to stop worrying about our children, no matter how old they get. I sincerely hope tomorrow will be a better day!

Marti - yep, we want to see photos of the new little guy. Hope you're feeling better. Don't you have to work tonight? Noses swell with a boy, too. My nephews wife looked like Jimmy Durrante right before their son was born, lol. For you young'uns, he was a sweet old guy, but had a nose like an ant-eater, lol.

Well, I got some work done, and then delved further into my new book. It's mysterious, but very interesting so far!

Hey everybody, since Marti is at work, and she will be in real early on her birthday tomorrow, I thought we ought to surprise her with a bunch of greetings tonight, so she'll have them for in the morning. Here goes:

Happy Birthday to you,
happy birthday to you,
happy birthday, dear Maarrrti,
Happy birthday to you!!!!!!

Hope you have a great day, Marti!!!

Jane,She played the wack job married to Paul who tried to kill Cricket.Remember she had Paul's baby,the child he seems to have forgotten all about. The primetime shows I'm really interested in right now is "Lost","Desperate Housewives", all the CSI's,Law & Order,and "Boston Legal".

Ellen,OMG,what an awful day.Driving in the winter there must be treacherous. I remember I had to put chains on my car when I lived in the mountains. Do you use chains?


Katy,Love Carol Burnet. Remember the skit of Gone With The Wind. I crack up everytime I see her coming down those stairs waring the green curtins,rod and all.

I haven't been on in a while (life's been crazy) and I read through THREE chat threads this morning before I looked at the clock and realized I was in danger of being late for work -- then came home tonight and read through two more!!! Omigosh, there is no way I can remember who all said what, but I guess I'll just jump in with both feet...

First of all...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARTI!!!!!

Hope your day is as wonderful as you are And congrats on your new little nephew! That's a pretty great b-day present, hmm?

Ellen, how are your mama and baby kitties doing now? The pictures were so cute, I just wanted to cuddle them. Your cakes are really great, too -- I used to decorate a lot, but now only once in a while for a birthday at work, and nothing very fancy. I love the figure piping; that's so much fun to do, but very time consuming. I'm very glad to hear those folks in the accident were ok, even if they were banged up. As for your doctor woes -- you are paying your doctor, probably a LOT, for a service. If your doctor isn't giving you the time or attention you need, then you might be doing yourself a big favor by finding a different doctor.

Cristi, were you asking about Netflix? We have been members for over a year, and love it -- but we were always getting late fees at Blockbuster, or returning movies we hadn't even had a chance to watch. We pay a set amount to Netflix every month -- I think it's about $20, but we never get late fees and can keep the movies as long as we like, and we can request older or kind of obscure films that are hard to find. And the convenience is worth it for us...probably wouldn't be if we didn't watch as many movies as we do.

For those of you reminiscing about Dark Shadows, there is some info here http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/D/...arkshadows.htm I barely remember the original series -- I was not allowed to watch it, but occassionally sneaked a peek They did a pretty decent remake in 1991; would love to see reruns of it. I think I'll check to see if they have it on Netflix...

Mindee, can Brandon eat any other milk products? My kids ate cottage cheese and yogurt, and tolerated cow's milk just fine. Maybe he just sort of needed to grow into it?

Angie, hugs to your Brandon, and I sure hope his credits work out so he can graduate as planned. Loved the pic you sent! And I would love to see one of the plays you are involved with. There's nothing else quite like live theater. One of my friends at work played the dentist in a local production of Little Shop of Horrors, and we went twice. He was in The Music Man (missed it, was sold out when we tried to get tickets); and now he is considering replacing one of the actors in "Pageant" -- a comedy play with all MEN playing the roles of beauty pageant contestants...it's supposed to be a riot! Oh, and thank you so much for the jokes you send! They really brighten my day.

Susan, be careful of liquor-laced chocolates and Russians with $20 rings -- dangerous combo! Besides, I've heard Hawaii is a lot prettier than Moscow

My oldest son finally came for a visit, and will be here in CA until the beginning of February. He'll go back to SD, then might get deployed to Guam *sigh*.

Middle son is enrolled in college full time at night, looking for work, and hubby is enrolled in college half time at night -- trig and chem, oh boy...work is insane and my life and house and paperwork are in chaos right now. I'm exhausted mentally and emotionally, and it's been gray and dreary for weeks... my eating habits are horrible right now, and I seriously need a change. And some time off, dang it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whew, sorry 'bout that. Started venting and then couldn't stop I was gonna backspace and erase it all, but then thought, naw, maybe it will explain why I only make it in here occassionally. Maybe I should stop by more often, then I wouldn't be so stressed? Y'all are better than chocolate.

OK...I gotta get paperwork together, or at least try to find what I need. The notary is coming to our house to sign papers for our re-fi tomorrow night -- Tim's ONLY night off school -- we lowered our interest rate, cashed out some $ for home repairs, and kept our housepayment pretty much the same. Wish the interest rate was just a little bit lower...or a lot lower...

Hugs to you guys, and thanks for being here,

Mary Kate
(Katiecat)

Marti, if it was just that simple, thing is hes done all the work, the reason he would lose credits are the amount of time he was off. He was suppose to be off only 6-7 weeks but 10 weeks later hes still at home and in pain. He starts physio on Thursday. And then once the new semester starts on the 2nd he will be back at school. Thing is its advanced drama! His teacher and I worked together on a play before...and this all hangs in his hands,,,
Mary Kate, I would love to do the Pageant. Too funny.
Ellen, girl you need some rest. Your son is ok, banged up but fine. I admit I would have freaked. But now you really need to sleep....

66 yrs old? And first time mom? No thanks,,,as much as I love babies I wouldn't want to be a first time even at my age. There is a woman in our cast who is the same age as me who is trying to have her first baby...meanwhile here I am with a son old enough to graduate.
Came home from rehearsal tonight to find our roof is leaking,,,huge stain on my ceiling near the vaulted area. Not at all impressed with this day. Should of noticed it earlier when I was in a fighting mood,,,grrrr So have to call the contractor and see what hes going to tell me. 3.5 yrs is way too soon for roofs to start leaking.
Anyways need to get to bed,,,,
have a hair appointment in the morning and well Im not sure whats shes got planned for color...hopefully wild! Cause thats how I am feeling....grrrr.....lol

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MARTI
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MARTIHAAAAPPPY BIRRRRRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MARTI
and many more
HUGS,