they seem to have missed how BAD the liver was--if they had known this last summer they could have put her on a transplant list------i have to stop thinking about it cause there is no point---i just can't stop thinking of her son-----regarding your sweet son----you know i remember how stressful the kids find the first year---it probably has a lot to do with that----just not used to the system---- and is he writing midterms now??? tell him not to expect so much of himself-----the competition is much more intense at university-----OH THIS IS SO HARD,THIS PARENTING THING---- my friend {Kerry} used to be so worried about every little thing with all her kids and now she is gone----what will they do without her.

Yipes, Kiwi. Is it "normal" AND necessary to plow 3 x day? Every day ALL winter.??? (Retirement to New England is getting closer and more real.) Are you in the deep snow boonies? would you need to plow all the time if you were closer to Portland? What a shame about your truck. I guess duct tape isn't going to be good enough. Lucky daughter to get French Silk Pie.

Shatz: DH likes the pellet, poison and flagon, too. I don't remember having crushes on movie stars as a "kid"… My family wasn't much into movies. Maybe 'crushes' just felt too risky.

Aww, Baggz… so sorry for the loss of your friend. I was waiting in DH's diabetes MD office this morning and a woman who was also waiting on her husband made mention of her sister in law who'd had cancer, was OK for 5 years and "then it recurred, and they found it everywhere and she died right away. " That was NOT a happy thought, nor a welcome one. I think we can't help but wonder if we'll be able to communicate well enough to able professionals to get the best treatment possible. I hope the 14 year old can establish a support network FAST if Dad can't take up the slack. Big losses for both of them. Maybe big brother can help. All those paternal hormones etc. I try to remember to be grateful for the health, happiness and friends I DO still have. Sometimes it's easier than others.

Cowp: Please un-acronym "lcp"… it isn't registering in my addled brain. Sorry your son is stressed. You sound relatively calm. It gets all of us eventually…. and seems to be something you just have to learn to deal with your own self! Somewhere I read that the best response to stress (or worry) is ACTION. I'm not sure it even matters what the action is. Here I am closer to 60 than I like to remember and I'm still learning the basics.
Besides, I am totally jealous that you have only 1 #$%^ing lb to lose!

I finally figured out that opening up Word to the side of the threads allows me to make notes and then I can cut and paste and seem all attentive. Don't know why I didn't think of it before. Stay warm y'all… and off that highway in Pennsylvania.

Greetings to all the rest of you!

lcp is little cutie pie, my ds's gf.

I am depressed this morning.

I do not have one lb to lose. That thing is out-of-date and meaningless. I don't want to change it because I don't care about it.

Kiwi's socks are almost done. May get mailed Tuesday. That is the plan.

Bye.

I've been off the last couple days being sick. Stomach flu barfy sick. I forgot how good it feels to be able to keep your lunch down.

Bagzie, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. Sometimes it just makes you wonder how there can be so much sorrow in the world. I'll be adding her husband and children, and you, her friend, to my lengthening list of people to pray for.

Today is my little Kayden's first birthday. If you've been reading my blog (not that I've updated much) you know her mommy and DS have split. It's already gotten ugly and my DIL is refusing to let us have her even for a few hours today. I'm trying not to wallow in sadness, but it gets pretty hard some days.

And now that I've cheered you all, Happy belated Valentine's Day.

Time to get a whole bunch of work caught up on.

Oh dear...such dreadful news all over. It's a good thing that boredom and not sorrow is a food trigger for me... lest I be even more so with all this.

Bagz- My heart goes out to you and your friend and her family... loosing a parent is never easy but so much harder when you are younger and especially a young teen. just terrible. Yes Cirrosis can happen even if you are a non drinker.. and it happens more than we think. It just is maddening when it could have been detected earlier! :hugs:

Wabby: I sent you an email. I hope you take care of your self. and happy birthday to that little sweetie!

Kiwi: enjoy DD time with you... and NO SHOVELIN!!!

Cowie: please post pics of newest sockart. I bet they are loverly!!! perhaps the academic den mother Bagerilla is correct... new environment, higher expectations... DS is feeling the pressure that he brings on himself and nothing more..except maybe a frat house giving him a wedgie or forcing beer down his gullet.. I do hope he is not a frat boy..he doesnt seem the type.

My brain is on full and overload and I am retaining nothing. I think I will take a "nancy break" .. I love the Nancy Drew mystery pc games (yes dorkygirl alert) and will endulge this weekend.

OHHHHHHHHHH the dead of february and all seems grim ----- wabby ,that is so unbelievable about dil---how could she take that joy away at such a time----we need to pray that SHE has a major change of heart----at least if they stay broken up the courts will insist that your son gets his share of time with kAYDEN--- and of course you will be a part of that---it's just hard to believe with all that's happened that anyone could contribute to your sadness---it makes me mad. -----------well,at least kiwonk will have a happy weekend with her baby girl!!!!xoxoxoxoxo

I didn't do very much shovelling, honest! I'm not telling you what I did do yesterday...

Bags, I am so sorry to hear about your friend. Just so wrong, that shouldn't happen. Poor kids. Is the boy a friend of your ds? I hope he gets through it okay.
Yeah, you can't help but worry. So much work they take on, and so many other pressures at the same time. I'm sure he'll figure it out though.
Ohmygoodness, no! This was a whopper of a nor'easter; the snow fell from 8 in the morning continuously until way into the night. It also drifted a lot from the wind. So you have to keep up with it or it will overwhelm you. For your typical snowstorm, you only plow once, maybe twice if it lasts a long time, depends on the timing. To give you an idea of what it's like -- shovelling out your front steps is sort of a small-scale version of the same thing: if you get 3 or 4 inches of snow during the night, you'd shovel the steps once in the morning. But if it keeps snowing and drifting, you shovel several times because otherwise you can't open the storm door! (because they open outwards) Sort of the same with plowing, you let it build up, you won't be able to push it all out of the way.

And in Portland by the way, they had several inches. It usually melts sooner there though, being on the coast.
What I remember is having crushes on cute little boys in my class. Like cute little Ronald Hess.
That's so true. If you can just remember it when you are stressed!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aw, happy birthday to the little sweetie. I'm so sorry your DIL is putting you through this, that really sucks. I hope she will calm down soon and get more reasonable; she can't keep up that kind of anger forever. If she were thinking rationally she would realize how cruel she's being.

Well, things have to get better, eh? I'm going to go take a shower. It can't hurt.

Kiwi

This is my boss: She tells me and I know she told someone else that we'll be having a staff meeting Monday. She told me, "It won't be pleasant." She told the other person that she was going to eat us up. Isn't that nice? What a role model. What a motivator.

I was just playing cribbage online with a little icon representing me with pigtails. Girl icon. People ask asl and I answer 83 male Vatican and they believe it because they are morons. I got tired of waiting for the last guy to move and started looking at knitting blogs. He says, "So, do you knit?" I asked why he asked and he said he didn't know what we did at the Vatican. Gave me the creeps. Could he possibly know what I was doing???? Is my puter safe?

Where can I go with a girlfriend for a very cheap vacation in the summer? I suggest Oklahoma but she scoffed. I am broker than she but would like to get away.

Action. That's what I should do. Somebody remind me soon. Too late today. DS is in Tampa with lcp again. He did not go see his teacher. I asked and he snapped, "I'll tell you when I do." I replied, "It's normal for moms to be ask. If I weren't asking, someone else would ask and you'd have to call her Mom." He apologized.

One of my babies cried all afternoon because during nap, she dreamt that her mommy shot her daddy.

Another two of my babies were given candy by their other teacher and told to take it home. They took it out in my room and I put it on top of the cubbies by the signout book and said they could have it when they went home. One sneaked up there, got her candy knocking stuff off the shelf, behind the cubbies. I gave the other girl candy (they live in the same house) but kept this one to return to the other teacher. Was I too mean? I guess I don't think so. Why would it be too much to ask five-year-olds to follow simple classroom rules? They don't have rules at home, I think, and so believe they are in charge at school, also.

I am bored. Someone entertain ME>>E>E>>E>>

Kiwi, can I vacation on your boat? I'll bring dog biscuits. You and Frank can drive it around for us.

Cowpernia-- Socks can cure anything, I think. I got a new book last night by Ann Hood (of whom I had never heard) called The Knitting Circle. All about a group of women healing their various griefs and problems by knitting. It is pretty well written. I've already needed kleenex twice.
Even if Oklahoma would be a cheap vacation, I don't think it would be worth it! I'd say go to Hot Springs, Ark or Eureka Springs… unless your friend lives in Oklahoma and would pay all the bills.
I have no idea why the cribbage creep asked you about knitting. If you google The-Panopticon you can buy T-shirts that say "I learned to knit in prison." That might keep the riff raff quiet!

Wabby-- I'm so sorry that Kayden is going to be the rope in a post-marital tug of war. I hope her mommy's mommy will provide wise counsel. I don't think kids can have too many grand parents and/or guardian angels. (It takes a village and all that)… but the kids don't need to be drawn and quartered. I hope y'all figure out how to give her lots of happy birthday celebrations.

My favorite quote I found for Valentine's day was


Has anybody heard of him?

Shatz-- I wish it were boredom that "made" me eat. I'll eat for any uncomfortable emotion.

Baggz: I'm in your corner and indignant on Wabby's behalf, too.

Kiwi-- Whew! Thanks for letting me know that multiple plowing events are "not normal." Do you have a political position on snow blowers? I think living where the snow melts fast might be a plus! If you "get behind" how long does it take for it to melt... Or does it turn into a solid block of ice and remain immovable until, um, Memorial Day?

painty==don't worry about maine!!! you can always move to new brunswick----we never plow,we barely shovel unless old people are coming over and we get along fine--we just learn to kick things like snowbanks out of the way,and park on the road cause we can't get in our driveway and we let the snow harden to cement!!! i will send you some pictures!!! it's not scary at all---and you can always pay someone else to do it---that's what alot of people do to avoid having heart attack!!! they happen to alot of 'out of shape ' shovellers!!!---------i remember ann hood--her little daughter died unexpectedly---depressing

Chuck Palahniuk is an author who people either hate or love. Teenagers love him. I hate him. I began reading a novel of his. It began with a man going to a sex addicts therapy group and inside the building, before going into the room, he and a woman had sex. It was harsh like an emory board across my little imagination. I think he's known for shocking violent kinds of stuff. When my son was in high school, some students put him on the "recommended reading list." DS never read him. I was appalled and complained to no avail.

I am still bored. I would like one of those shirts though. Will go look.

Okay, I know a is age and s is sex, but what is l? Language? not likely. Land? hardly. I can't think of it. I will probably have thought of it by the time you answer me.
That's wonderful! I must use that sometime!
Good idea! Although I don't think DH will drive the boat for dog biscuits; he will want jars of mixed nuts and Orangina. We keep the boat on the coast from approx. the end of May to the end of September. When are you coming?
I am puzzled by that quote. It has the slightest ring of cupid-ness, but on the other hand if you think about it, it also sounds like he wants to beat the **** out of you.
I do not in fact have a position on snow blowers. If I had neighbors I might. Anyone who used a snow-blower while I was trying to sleep would be on my **** list. Also if a snow-blower is incompetently or deliberately blowing snow onto a neighbor's driveway or car, they are in deep doodoo, IMO. On the other hand, my friend L lost 2-1/2 fingers to a snowblower, which does not instill the reaction in me that you might expect.

The snow doesn't really tend to turn into a block of ice -- melting is required first for that to happen (and then refreezing). The real problem of buildup is that the snow gets too heavy for your vehicle to move and you have to call in a bigger vehicle to do the job. Here in Frozen Tootsies, we usually have snow that sticks around until April, although sometimes we have a thaw or 2 during the winter and then more snow.

We went to play pool and have dinner and play Texas Hold'em at our friends' house today/tonight. DD and bf came with us, but later they went to join his family ice fishing -- at night. Apparently there is one kind of fish that you fish for at night. Crazy. They didn't catch anything, but they ate scallops and had hot chocolate. They got back to our house just the same time as we got home and we all had more French Silk pie. mmmmmm

I have a headache. Too much poker.

Kiwi

l is location. The Vatican is a location. How's early June? What's Orangina? The pinata quote sounds uncupidy to me. Sounds like a blindfolded person with a stick is trying to knock goodies out of your heart by breaking it.

Does Jet like the blocks of snow? Do the kitties? I just can't think of animals outdoors barefoot.

DD and bf sound like they have fun. Are they having my share? Someone is.

Ah. There.

Oh location, duh.

Jet loves the snow. She will plunge right into a deep drift after her tennis ball any old time. The kitties won't go outside in the winter. They used to, but they got old and lazy. Sometimes I put them outside anyway, but they don't like it much. I'm not worried about the dog's feet, they are like leather. Little kitty toes are a bit tender, but when they were younger that didn't stop them from running around the yard, climbing on the roof and stuff. I still chuckle about the time my kitty Pine was on the kitchen roof and went to jump down -- she used to jump onto the roof of the old doghouse, which has since disintegrated -- and there was so much fresh snow that she completely disappeared. It was quite hilarious. She didn't think so, but she's a cat.

I'm still fat. Young people are having all the fun.

Goodbye.

Kiwi

Oh Bagzie - That's SO sad! Awful when stuff like that happens. My ds will be 14 in two weeks and I know how hard that would hit him.

There's this thing called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. It can also go along with the thyroid thing I have. I wonder if her liver was compromised already and all the drugs just pushed it over the edge. You'd think the doctors would CHECK these things.

Poor guy. Seems like it take some time to figure out what the profs really want and how to deliver that with a minimum of stress. I'm sure he'll be fine. And YES, you have every right to worry and to ask him about it. They get mad (I know my kids do) but they secretly want you to care.

Painty! Did U know that after you sign in you can click on the little "multi-quote" button at the right lower corner of each post and collect as many quotes as you want from different posts and then click on "reply" and they'll abe there? No cutting and pasting!

Happy Belated Birthday to that little sweetie. I read about the break up on your blog, Wabs. So sad. BUT I do think she will eventually come around and come back. Probably she is just so overwhelmed by the whole situation. After all, she and the baby were the center of attention for a long time and now that focus has shifted, and rightly so, but she needs to learn how to deal with that.

I'm glad the barfiness went away. My least favourite kind of illness, even if it does keep one from eating.


Ayup, I've changed my mind, I'm not coming to live with you after all.


Wow, they make Nancy Drew computer games? Nancy Drew is my idol!! My best friend Suzanne P and I used to skip out of gym class in 6th grade, sneak into the library and read ALL the Nancy Drew mysteries. Heaven.

She definitely needs to work on her people skills. Try to keep the children away from her.


Oy! I don't know about that one. I've had my heart used as a pinata on several occsions and sweepin' up all the debris was very messy.

In other news, I'm feeling blah, blah, blah and boring and down in the dumps and everything. Must go cheer myself up. Ukulele practice or something.