so daunting to read of what you have to do to clean the house! and so sad the kitties are ill. Hang onto that last paragraph that you wrote!

Hi and to our thread!! It's pretty wonderful that you are getting married but I understand your stress and sadness over gaining. 11 months is a long time and it is totally do-able for you to lose quite a few pounds, the hardest part is starting!! and then sticking to it..I hope so much your extreme sadness is over for the moment, and that you can start to take the steps forward

I found it easier to quote everyone's stuff and respond, instead of copying and pasting and then losing it

Hi Kathleen! how are you doing? you are sooo good to be our resident leader /cheerleader and we are so grateful Please tell us what is going on with you!

Hi MrUki, thanks for the explanation of your name! kewl. Have you been in Japan? Oh and you can post/write AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE! We might not respond to all of it..but sometimes doesn't it feel good to type things out?? 'cause then we feel that at least one person in the world is listening

I had 2 temporary crowns put on last Wednesday..today, when I took a bite of toast, one of them broke!! argh!! at least the dentist could see me right away, and did not charge for the visit (good thing because he averages out to about a freakin $200 an hour) I am never buying that Wheatberry bread again!! the wheatberries get TOO hard when toasted.

It is cold here but not crazy-cold, the high today was around 22. We now have snow on the ground, couple inches, so it is probably here to stay. The motorcycles are tucked into the garage, and that is sooo sad for me, but now we have more room in the driveway for the 3 cars.

I accomplished taking care of one area of clutter today, yay! my bureau top. I had tons of knick-knacks and junk in little containers all over it. I consolidated alot of stuff, threw out some, dusted, and now it looks alot better. I also repurposed a little wall cabinet into being a jewelry holder, it looks great and will take alot of my bathroom clutter out of there. I also put up a mirror in our bedroom, maybe I can do some of my makeup there instead of hogging the bathroom (just one bathroom in this little house)

do any of you (besides Kathleen, we've had this talk ) suffer from clutter anxiety?? it got worse for me, after my dad died, and we had to take care of his condo..it made me realize, that SOMEONE has to clean up after you once you're gone, and it is not fun to put your children through that!! It seems that for the first half of our lives we are accumulating, then for the second half, trying to get rid of it. I have no problem with recycling/repurposing items (as long as they are taken out of the house) or throwing out, but my DH is not always on board so it's a delicate balance.

Holly: Since you asked how I am.......

Today was FINALLY my appointment with the endocrinologist. I absolutely LOVED her!!! She was very POSITIVE and HOPEFUL and SMART!!! Everything she said made sense to me and gave me HOPE that she can get me feeling better and finally losing weight again. She thinks, based on today's exam and consultation, that I am insulin resistant. NOT diabetic. They are two different things. She thinks that, way back after my high-risk and very complicated/difficult pregnancies, along with the death of my newborn twin son and my daughter's handicap diagnosis and in utero surgery and beginning of therapy and sexual abuse healing journey, my body sort of "broke down" and I began to be insulin resistant and gain weight. Not sure which came first, but she said it is like a snowball. The insulin resistance causes more weight gain and the weight gain causes more insulin resistance, etc. She said that she wants to help me "roll the snowball back up the hill." She is confident that she can help me feel better with less fatigue and SLOW, GRADUAL, and LASTING weight loss. They took 9 vials of blood and she is going to check my thyroid levels, adrenals, insulin, and all other info she needs to know. She plans on increasing my Synthroid, if necessary, and probably adding a T3 med to that. As I was HOPING and PRAYING, she said we want my thyroid to be functioning at an OPTIMAL level and not just "within a normal range." She gave me carb and protein levels to strive for each day. Basically, she is reducing my carb intake and increasing my protein intake. She said that if I only cut carbs and don't eat enough protein, I will crave carbs and be hungry. Once we get my thyroid levels OPTIMAL and address the insulin resistance, IF I am still having problems losing weight, she will add Metformin, which will help stimulate my metabolism and break through the HUGE PLATEAU I have been on (for about 4 years now) regarding weight loss. I hope I've explained this all correctly. It makes so much sense the way SHE explained it! I couldn't have been happier with the appointment!!! This is what I have been hoping and praying for!!! Finally, SOMEONE is going to help me get healthy again!!! I am so thankful for today's appointment and this very competent endocrinologist (Dr. Polly Reddy)! She REALLY seems to know her stuff..... very well!!! Thank God!!! And, once again, I am HOPEFUL!!! What a difference a day makes!!!

Fi: I am so very sorry that you were at a -3 with depression pain when you last posted. Darn it!!! I hope things turn around very soon! Do you have any Qigong appointments soon? That seemed to really help you. Can you and Bob elicit any help from anyone with all that you have to do to rid the house and farm house of ringworm? I hate it that you have that daunting task in front of you. But I am so happy to read what you wrote about still feeling good about the state of the world somewhere inside of you. PLEASE DO "blow on that tiny flame and try to get it going stronger." Don't give up! You will eventually and gradually accomplish what you need to do ~ ONE thing at a time! Oh, how I hate to hear that the kitties are nauseous from the antiviral medication. Poor things! Hoping and praying that things ease up for you and the kittens as soon as possible!!! Hang in there!

Lisa: I sure hope the new antibiotic helps get rid of your bladder infection without nasty side effects! Happy to hear that you have another kitty to love and that you and Jennifer talked and all seems well. That must be a relief! Take good care of yourself and feel better soon!

Mossy: I, too, enjoy your colorful and animated posts! So happy to hear that you were able to get outside with your pup in the heat wave you are having!!! 32 degrees actually does sound much better than -20 degrees!!! What kind of dog do you have? We have three: a Brittany (Spaniel), Cocker Spaniel, and Clumber Spaniel! I just love them to death!!!

Holly: That is SO annoying when a temporary crown falls off!!! That has happened to me a few times. Good that the doctor/dentist could see you right away and didn't charge you again. BOO on putting the motorcycle away for the winter!!! I really admire the way you are attacking your clutter lately!!! My dresser REALLY needs to be cleared off, but I have just been too lazy to do it. I have tons of shirts piled on top of it. "Why don't I use my dressers to put my clothes away in?," you ask (and my hubby asks). Because that is too tedious and makes too much sense. I can see all of my shirts and make a quick choice this way. But it looks like CRAP if/when I ever look at it objectively! I need to practice what I preach and do ONE thing at a time to tackle my massive amounts of clutter. I am still working with the organizer some of the time, but I reclutter things after she leaves and I've had to cancel twice lately. I feel a little hopeless about it, but I am NOT giving up!!! I just need to DO IT..... ONE thing at a time!!! Thank you for the reminder that my kids will have to go through this stuff one day if I don't. I need to keep that in mind and get it done!!!

Kathleen— So wonderful to read about your app't with the endocrinologist! I am reassured to know you've got someone to help you achieve the weight loss you want and need, in a lasting way.

Holly— Sorry to hear about your broken temporary: that is so annoying when you have to go back and get it fixed. I've been there. Thanks for the vote of support, too. As for clutter anxiety, sheesh, you would not believe the state our house got in before I did the BERP (Big Entropy Reduction Project, for those who are new here): I hadn't quite accumulated enough junk (mostly paper) for an episode of "Hoarders," but believe me, it was close. I was very anxious about all that clutter for a loooong time, and I'm so glad that the kittens came along to give me the motivation to do that huge de-cluttering project. Now I really need to get into the swing of regular maintenance, because already there's a big pile of magazines that need to have images for collage clipped from them. And there's still a couple of small projects that should've been done during the BERP, but I ran out of time. So as soon as we sort out what's going on with the kittens' health, and as soon as Operation Ringworm is over, I have some serious work to do...

Mossy— I'm very impressed that you walked two miles—good for you! That's also on my to-do list: get started walking. It's actually going to be easier now that it's gotten colder, because my winter boots fit me a lot better than my summer walking shoes.

Lisa— I hope the new antibiotic works better for your bladder infection and isn't so hard on the rest of you. That's no fun. Thanks so much for all the support you've been giving me about the nasty cold and annoying-to-the-max ringworm that my kittens have.

I'm here to report that not only did I have a good morning today, which is kind of predictable given my diurnal rhythm, but my Qigong exercises were able to banish the depression pain that started coming on early, around noon. Qigong is amazing stuff: it really seems to be changing the way I experience depression, making it much more tolerable, and has radically reduced the frequency of my bad afternoons. Yay!!

Fi, just came back from another 2 miles with my little dog, Toto. It was above freezing and we really bundle up. As long as the wind is not blowing, we are good to go. She falls asleep almost immediately when we come in the door. The cold air knocks her out.

Me? I feel energized after moving around. Fi, yes...get on out there but be careful if you have snow and ice. We do, so it takes us quite a while to get our walk in. We were gone 2 hours today. We stop and Toto fritters around, leaves her calling cards for all of the other critters.

Anyhoo, what are all of you chicks up to today? What's shakin' out there in Chick Land? I can't wait for Spring to get here.

Dear friends,


I had such a meltdown today. I just have so MUCH on my mind, mostly financial. I know most of you know that feeling. I just broke down today, thank goodness I had a therapy appt this morning. I cried and cried during my session and wound up with a banging headache that lasted all day. I think I need a med change, I just can't handle my stressors anymore.

Thank you all so much for your support. I will post again tomorrow. I am so tired tonight. Much love to all.

Oh Lisa!!! my friend I am sooo very sorry that you had a meltdown, and that it left you with a headache (is it because crying fits dehydrate us??) I wish I could wave a wand and have a big pile of money appear to at least take care of your financial worries...it does sound like maybe a change in meds is what's needed, if you can't cope with life stresses? I hope you get a deep restful sleep tonight and that tomorrow is better

You and me both, chickie!

that is GREAT! and thanks for the commiserating about the tooth, I am just so glad that the visit/reconstruction of the temp crown was no charge to me.

Kathleen I hope I don't sound like a jerk when I complain about my place's clutter !! Like that I"m complaining about something that is a struggle for you. I'm sorry if I"ve been insensitive about that. I'll try to be more tolerant