Hey everyone!
Thru Thick & Thin was formed to give and to get support on our journey to lose weight and maintain once we get there!
Everyone's welcome to come along, and I forgot what else to post cause I didn't copy it .
How's everybody today? I'm okay; I just found out the girls are out next Wednesday, and I'm not, so I have to farm them out somewhere--any takers?? Marybeth aren't you off next week? Mama, how about you? I'll get back with you after you think it over. I guess I'll send them to their grandparents.
I have one of my headaches today, and I didn't sleep well....I hope I can make it thru two more workdays. My boss is out of town today, so it should be slow. I have a really boss now...she has her ears pierced all the way up, her bellybutton pierced, and a tattoo! I told my girls about it--they wanted to know if I was going to do that too--I might get my ears pierced a second time, but Little Man doesn't like tattoos, and I haven't seen my bellybutton in eight years.
I'm going to go and take some Advil---I'll talk to all of you this weekend, hopefully! This weekend is housecleaning and yardcleaning weekend. Yay.
Love you all, and I'll try to write more this weekend--my head hurts!
Sally

Good Morning, if you can call it that~~You girls got your work cut out for you, I'm in the dumps and you all have got to help me out. The only thing I can thank of is that my sister is talking crazy again. I've gone through 2 years of crap and now it looks like it's starting again. God help her and me. When I got up this morning after a restless night my blood pressure was 176/105..I took it again a few min ago and it is down to 140/86. Now I'm wondering if my state of mind is affecting it. Jen...would know, but girls she is in the hospital today. We all need to put her in our prayers. I'm sure she will be OK, but she has a couple of rough days ahead of her.

Tobey~~You was in late yesterday. Have you noticed how each of us has a time of the day that we write..at least most of the time. Girl..isn't it really cold in your part of the country in Dec.? I don't like cold weather, but I guess running would warm you up. I got the tips for my nails yesterday but I'm not going to put them on for a couple of days. My nails are so thin and sharp, I find they scratch great, if you don't do it too hard, I could cut myself with them. I have ugly hands and they are really ugly without my nails. But my hands have served me well over the years. Those geese are coming our way on your attachment. We have Canadian geese that stay here by the thousands all year long. They raise their young here too. I thank they are the prettiest birds on earth. I love to watch them when we go fishing. They come to the camp grounds here and get really close to people.
The reason they are here, not too for from my house there is a refuse for them, and they just stayed and kept having babies.

Jo Jo~~I got a bank statement yesterday and I'm going to force myself to go through it today. I'm trying to change a lot of things about the way I had let my life get on hold. Years ago I would do the statement as soon as it come in the mail. But the last few years I would let them go for 3 months, and then it makes it harder to do. I am also paying bills when they come in. I've been guilty of letting them go and paying a penalty. I hate it when I live that way, and how I got there I don't know. But I am the only one that can change that. As for as your old robe, my God I never through away anything until it is in threads. I would like to change that too. I have cloth all over my house, and I mean a lot of it, and can sew anything I want to, so why do I wear things until they are thread bear. Got me, something is bad wrong with me. I must change that. Loved your little attachment, and I needed a hug this morning.

Tammie~~I am so glad that you lost 2.5 lbs....CONGRATS! Your right about worms being under the green hulls on the walnuts. I didn't pay any attention to them because I had on heavy rubber gloves. Besides they was dead, I froze some of them that was real green so that got rid of them. When I froze them it caused the hull to come off real easy. You hang in there on the diet, it pays off big time.

Sally~~Here's a great big CONGRATS ON YOU WEIGHT LOSS! Thanks for starting a new thread. I can't even find time to have my closest grand kids over here. Sorry! I was just thanking, aren't you in your 40's? You must have had the mutts later in life. Mine was grown by the time I was 40. Well kind of grown, I still wonder about them now! I just thought, Lord help me, my son will be 40 next year. GEESH Did you read what I wrote above, "I have a headache too and I didn't sleep last night. I don't want a tatoo, and I haven't seen the bottom of my belly button in a few years either. I have been thanking of getting second holes in my ears. Hubby has bought me over the years a few pairs of small earrings that I could use up ther. Hope that head gets better, mine too.

Girls my head feels like it is going to split open. So I'm going to go and make Jen a card and post it for her. You guys have a great day and be good to yourselves. My food was in line yesterday, and so it will be today too. I'm not going to even read this post, I've had a heck of a time getting it in here.

Hey everyone.

I have to go to town this morning to have my blood pressure taken for a life insurance policy. I told them that I was currently on medication for it so they want to make sure that I am not going to explode tomorrow. I also have to go by the vets first. I had such a stressful day with that place yesterday and never did make it on here. I ordered my dogs HeartGuard and Frontline from that place advertised on Animal Planet and it is cheaper. A girl called from the vets office and said that they would meet the same price but the vet wouldn't sign the verification of my dogs tests so that I could buy it somewhere else. I got so angry that I was ready to spit nails. For one thing, that is illegal but the main thing that galled me is their trying to force me to do business with them only. That is also illegal. To make a long story short, I spent several hours on the phone and elevated my blood pressure and am changing vets today.
We'll see what kind of hassle I get when I go by to pick up my records. I am very tempted to file formal charges with the state of Florida.

I am sorry that I don't have time to write to each of you so please forgive me. Hope y'all have a great day and I'll try to come back in later or at least tomorrow.

Good morning ladies

Had a pretty quiet night last night. Poor dh got stuck at work and ended up working a 13-hour day. So I took the time to do 2 loads of laundry and bake some LF biscotti. It was a new recipe for the biscotti and they turned out great. They are pretty - 2 toned half-chocolate and half-plain. They actually look like something you would buy in a coffee shop or bakery.

Jojo: What a nice surprise to have a better balance than you expected. It is like when you put on your coat for the first time in the season and find $10. That didn’t happen to me this year. Last weekend I put my coat on for the first time this year and found a roll of cough candies and some Kleenex. Blahhh. I think I may hit the malls this weekend as well. I know what I want to get everyone – it is just finding the time to get out there. Here are the conversions for distance: 5km = 3.1mi, 8km = 5mi, 10km = 6.2mi. Everything always sounds bigger in metric.

Tammie: Congratulations on your loss!!! That is fantastic! Do you enjoy going to the TOPS meetings? I have heard of the program but don’t actually know anyone who has attended. Running is something that I discovered about 6 months ago and have become addicted to it! I am not doing any marathons – yet. I think I may try my first in marathon in 2003. In October did do a half-marathon and will try again next year. In a way I find it liberating. I also know the more I get into running, the less likely it will be that I will ever gain my weight back.

Jen: GOOD LUCK AND GET WELL SOON!!!

Sally: I could probably take a vacation day next week. All you would have to do is ship your girls to Toronto! I’m sure they would have a blast. Mind you by the time they got here, it would probably be time to pack up and head back. I used to have my ears pierced twice but I haven’t worn anything in the top holes for years. I am sure that they have grown over by now. Don’t think I could ever get a tattoo. My MIL got one about 8 years ago. Still remember when she came home and announced that she was going to do it. We all thought she was joking but She got a butterfly tattooed on her bikini line. OUCH!!!! And a belly ring … hmmm…. Don’t think I could do it. Sounds too painful and knowing me I would probably get it caught in something. Although maybe a clip on ring would be fun. Just a little something to freak out dh!

Yes we tend to fall in a pattern. I normally like to start writing when I get to work in the morning. But for some reason I was really grumpy yesterday morning and didn’t feel like writing until late afternoon. I was in a bad mood for most of the day yesterday – and for no good reason. Oh well today is a new day and I feel much better. Yes it does get cold here in December. I will be running at least one of those races through the snow. But with the proper “equipment” you don’t feel a thing. It is actually quite exhilarating – or so they say. I am hoping it will help me get through the winter. I wasn’t really cut out for Canadian winters. I should have been born where you are! Maybe when I retire I will become one of those snow birds. My natural nails are really awful – thanks to genetics! I just tell myself it looks more athletic. Which is just really an excuse for laziness – but a good one I think. I love Canadian geese too. They are beautiful birds. We live right by Lake Ontario and there is a park there where the geese live all year round. They would normally fly south but because people have been feeding them for years, they just stick around. In the summer we also get a lot of ducks and there are normally some swans too. I had never seen a swan up close until we moved here. Well I hope start feeling better soon. It is no fun too feel like your brains about to leak out!

Skeeter: I just went to add my post when you snuck in! I sure hope you are going to explode tomorrow! That is terrible what your vet is doing. I would change vets as well. Who wants to deal with an unethical one? Good thing you didn’t have to get you bp taken yesterday! Hope today is better for you.

Well I suppose that I should get some work done. I am hoping to sneak out a few minutes early. I want to get some shopping in before dh is done work (we commute together). Today is payday! YIPEE

Have a good one.

Tobey



JEN: This attachment is for you. You know we are all rooting for a speedy recovery!

Hello Y’all

Afternoon ladies, got in here yesterday long enough to read the posts but could never get back to post myself. No real big plans for the week off. I’m going to tackle some of the things on the ‘To Do’ list, bake some for the holidays and sleep as late as I want. Saturday I’m going north to No. Virginia to visit Mom and take her to see ‘Harry Potter’ and most likely dinner also. Haven’t gotten any invitations for Thanksgiving Day, I believe it’s the old Mexican sand off in my family and I’m not going to be the one to blink. I’ve had it too many times in the last couple of years, its time one of my other sisters had the pleasure. Hubby said if we don’t get an invite we could go out for dinner, now that sounds like a plan to me.

If we can’t get enough people to continue the WW@ Work program here, the 10 or so of us are going to car pool to one of the lunchtime meetings held at the local center. That way we can continue to give each other support. I’ve been good this week, exercising and staying OP. Not sure what it is about having even a small gain but it really makes you buckle down again.

Sally, ship the girls up if you like they can help with the holiday baking, but I think they’ll have just as good of time with the grandparents…probably better.

Sorry didn’t get to address everyone today, I’m still trying to clean the files off my desk before tomorrow afternoon. Hope all is going well for Jen today…

Marybeth
261/190.4/160

Hello

This is going to be really short. I'm so wiped out tonight. I just want to lay on the couch and maybe fall asleep for a little while but I wanted to come in and say hello. If I wake up a little bit, I'll come back later and post again otherwise I'll write tomorrow.
See ya.

Good evening ladies: My food plan is going ok so far today. I have to fight the munchies in the evening. I do have 200 calories left to spend(myDr. told me I should eat 1700 calories) its a good amount to keep me satisfied.

MARYBETH: I hope you keep going to WW . It really helps to have to face that scale once a week! Good luck

TOBEY: yes, I enjoy the TOPS meetings I've been a member on and off for 5 years! This time I'm determined to stay. SKEETER: I would find a new vet too!

MARLANA: Can you tell me how to copy? I forgot how and I may have to start a new thread one of these days. I forgot how
Also, what kind of surgery is JEN having?

SALLY: I got my ears pierced twice and I regrett it. They get infected and I've been trying to let the hole grow back and they wont Its been 15 yrs and I still get puss from them. My sister has her ears pierced 3 times and she has absolutely no problems. I don't know why I always do!


Have a nice evening everyone

Hi Ladies,
I overslept again, have a headache again, and have to hurry--AGAIN! I'm in a rut, folks! It hasn't rained here in literally a month, and I think my headaches are from all the smog and stuff...we have a lot of wildfires going, and it smells horrible outside. No rain in sight, either...someone do a rain dance for me!
Jen, hope you get a chance to come in and tell us how you are this weekend--we're thinking of you! Hope you're feeling much better.
Tam, hope you have a good day, and good weekend; I might get my ears pierced again, but that's about it....I don't think I want to do the other stuff, although my boss is like your sister; she said none of it bothered her at all. I had to help her fasten her top earring the other day and almost lost my cookies, though! Just looked like it hurt!
Skeeter, hope you get that mess straightened out at the vets...I've had to change a couple of times too. I finally found one who likes cats and one who prefers dogs, so we use two! I got a years worth of heartworm medicine for my Maltese last weekend, cause I always forget to go back and get it at the vet. I haven't tried the online people, but I may next year.
MaryBeth, I guess I'll ship the mutts to my ex's parents for Wednesday.....they will have a good time over there, although they could help you mess up your kitchen, and then tear into your baskets! Have a good one!
JoJo, have a good day, too--at least it's Friday; you get some rest over the weekend and maybe you'll feel better.
Mama, what's wrong ? You must get out of your funk, you know it affects us all....you just take care of yourself and let your sister do the same. You know you can't change her at this point. I did have the kids late...that's why I had two in two years! I was 34 with the oldest, and 35 with the youngest. I had trouble getting pregnant when I was younger; I lost two babies when I was in my early twenties, and then didn't get pregnant again for eight years. I didn't think I would ever have any, actually. Well, speaking of which, they need to get up for school! Hope you feel better today, Mama; I believe you have a birthday coming up, too, don't you??
Tobey, I love biscotti! I've never tried to bake it myself, though; I don't think I even have a recipe. I collect cookbooks, though, so I need to go thru them sometime and see. I'm trying a couple of new things for Thanksgiving dinner myself. Jeff has never had homemade rolls; well, not for Thanksgiving, anyway; he said his mom never had made them, and mine always did for holidays. So I'm going to try those. I'll have a couple of backups in the fridge just in case they don't come out! Pillsbury Doughboy to the rescue!
Love you all, and I'm sure I missed someone, but I will try and come back tomorrow or Sunday and see how you all are doing!
Love ,
Sally

Good Morning Friends~~I thank I might be able to stay up this morning. I didn't have a great day yesterday. I wanted to eat all day and did eat way too much. However the good news is that it was sf and ff stuff. I hope that I'm not obsessed
with food today. I'm not real sure but I thank Brett is coming today.

Marybeth~~Sleeping as late as you want to sounds like a wonderful vacation to me. I've been getting up early in the morning so long that I can't stay in the bed too late. I can go back to sleep in a chair though. We finally made up our minds about thanksgiving yesterday, we are going to OK. City and take our daughter and grand child out to eat. That's a long way to drive to eat, but at least after the drive is over we won't have to turn around in 2 days and drive Kassie back home. I can spend a few hours with her and be happy. It is a lot less stressful to go out and eat that spend the day cooking and cleaning and having a mob of people around you. Glad you found a way to keep going to the WW meetings with your friends.

Jo Jo~~I see you didn't make it back in, I hope the back is better.

Tammie~~COPY...A picture you right click and save picture to what ever file you want it in on your puter. Words, you left click and hold down and drag over the words you want to copy, let off the mouse and go to the top of screen and hit copy. That's it. To put attachments on your post they have to be under a certain size, I thank 40,000 bytes. Jen was having hernia surgery yesterday.

Skeeter~~I hope you blood pressure come out OK yesterday. Mine is still wild, it goes all over the board. Boy your having a time with you Vet, I don't blame you for going to another one. Those dogs are like kids. Girlfriend, what the heck are we doing wrong, it seems like you and I have a hassle of some kind going on all the time. I'm in a funk because of the resent going owns on the east coast. I don't mean the buildings either. I've got to get control of my feelings or I'll find myself back into food, and I just can't do that.

Tobey~~Well you got me, what is biscotti? It must be a Canadian dish, I know it's not Southern. We must all be going through a bad mood stage. I know what my problem is, I let outside things affect me so much, I need to learn how not to do that. Have you been watching Ophra and Doctor Phil? It has been so good and I found the issue with my parent that has caused me so much pain in my life. My Mother once told me I was the black sheep of the family. I've always felt like I wasn't as smart as the rest of my brother's and Sister's, not as pretty, not as good. I just have always had that feeling deep down inside of myself that there was no way I could measure up. It has caused me to handle things the wrong way in a lot of cases. I can't stand up for myself, my opinion doesn't count, the way my house is decorated can't be right, so many things in my life it affects. One of the biggest is I must be a people pleaser or people won't like me. Right now I need to tell someone in my family that I can't deal with what is going on in her life, and don't tell me about it any more. But I can't, she needs me, I'm the one she talks to, it's pulling me down, but I can't tell her, she might not like me anymore. So I have to find a way to put it on the back burner in my mind. Sorry I got started and couldn't stop. I could use any help you could give.

Sally~~I got carried away writing to Tobey, I'll try to hold it down with you. I had my headache until noon yesterday, and I have a slight one today. Well just read you post, Your from Tenn. and you have heard of biscotti!!! I want to tell you that I have a crazy mouse, it's fairly new, but it has a mind of it's own. As I was typing my cursor was going up the screen by itself. It seems so crazy. Yah...I had lots of trouble getting PG too, about all I had to do is sleep with his shorts. Your right Sally I have to get out of this funk and now. Maybe Brett will help me today.

Have a good day and a good weekend everyone.

Good morning all.

It is a beautiful, warm, sunny morning. And best of all ITS FRIDAY!! After work dh and I are going to meet for a light dinner and some shopping. They have just opened up a Pottery Barn here in Toronto (first in Canada) and we are going to check it out. I have heard a lot of good things about it and am looking forward to poking about. Then tonight dh is going out with a friend to see a band that is playing. I would like to go too but I really don’t want to stay out until 3:00 again this weekend. So I think I will take the chance to stay home and do some homework. That way I will have less to do over the weekend. On Saturday we are going to a friends house for dinner and then off to move. Plus I want to get some Christmas shopping done (and grocery shopping) and plan on a long run on Sunday. It is suppose to be 60F on Sunday – which will be perfect. Dh said he might even strap on his roller blades and tag along. He will of course be way a head but he will come back and check on me. I like this idea because we live where there are miles and miles of beautiful trails. However most of them wind through wooded areas where I am just not comfortable running alone.

Mb: Your plans for Saturday sound very nice. I am not sure what movie we are going to see. If you don’t get an invite for Thanksgiving, you and hubby should do something nice. Maybe you could get take out from a nice restaurant and set up a romantic dinner at home. We did that once. It was fabulous. The food was amazing (we got it from our favourite Greek restaurant) and then the only dishes were just the China that we used. Its too bad that you didn’t get enough people to sign up for @ work. Although it is good that you still have a big enough support group to car pool. Glad to hear you have been OP this week.

Jojo: Hope you got some much-needed rest. How is your back doing?

Tammie: The evening munchies can bring out the in the best of us. But it sounds like you are staying strong. Way to go!

Sally: Don’t you just love mornings? Your headaches could definitely be environment related. I used to get terrible headache from pressure changes in the weather. However, they did get better. Now I only get them about once or twice a year when there is a huge shift in the weather. I got addicted to biscotti just over the past few months. So I decided to attempt baking some one-day. To my surprise they are very easy to make. Just a bit time consuming since you have to bake them twice. If you ever want to try to bake any, just let me know and I’ll send you some LF recipes for them. My mom also makes homemade rolls. Mmmmmm – I can picture them right now. I am sure you won’t need to resort to the doughboy tubes. I bet yours will taste amazing.

Marlana: Biscotti is actually Italian. Here is the definition from the food encyclopaedia:
Definition: [bee-SKAWT-tee] A twice-baked Italian biscuit (cookie) that's made by first baking it in a loaf, then slicing the loaf and baking the slices. The result is an intensely crunchy cookie that is perfect for dipping into dessert wine or coffee. Biscotti can be variously flavored; the most popular additions are anise seed, hazelnuts or almonds.

I will also attach a picture to this post so that you can see what they look like. They have become very popular mostly due to the trendy coffee shops and cafes. I have to admit that I am not an Oprah fan. I think it is great if people can get something from her but personally she just rubs me the wrong way. I think the way you feel is natural. At least I hope it is because I feel that way as well. I have always been a very shy person. Not because I am afraid of people – but because I am afraid of what people will think of me. I am afraid of saying something dumb, of being too this or too that. I have got a bit better over the last little while but I think that will always be part of my personality. I also want to be a person pleaser and can go overboard. Running has been a great tool for me. It makes me feel strong both inside and out. I also do a lot of “self-talk” when I catch myself trying to beat myself up. It sounds corny but it does work. Never feel bad about sharing these feelings – trust me I know exactly where you are coming from.

Well I have been drinking too much water and herbal tea – so much for a much needed break. Hopefully I will have a chance to check in this weekend. I also hope we hear from Jen soon.

Enjoy life!
Tobey

Hi Gals! Thanks so much for all of your thoughts yesterday. It must have helped. This is the easiest surgery yet. The pain doesn't seem bad at all, didn't get sick from the anesthesia, and this hospital is better than the one I work for! My belly is swollen, but that'll go down in a couple weeks. Now I've got plenty of time to write my paper for school!



Tobey- I've heard good things about Pottery Barn too, but we haven't gotten one yet. You're biscotti sounds good. The only problem is that once I start eating something like that (sweet and starchy) I never stop. I'll eat til I'm sick! I'm exactly like you with the shyness thing. The interesting thing about it is that I'm not like that at work. Probably because I have to look out for my patients, but when it's just me, it's another story.

Marlana- Yes, your mind and emotions play a big part in your blood pressure. Mine is usually high when I go to the doctor, just because I get nervous and don't want him to think that I"m a complainer. It's usually fine when I'm at home. Once I checked it at work and it was 150/103. Yesterday at the hospital it was 96/60. Part of blood pressure control is stress relief and stress reduction.

Sally- Your headaches could definately be caused by weather and the environment. I can always tell when it's going to rain 'cuz I get terrible sinus headaches. I've gotten my ears pierced 3 times, the top hole isn't too good though, I got some scar tissue in it and can't use it. My bf wants me to get an earing way at the top, he thinks it's sexy. I wouldn't mind a tattoo, but it's so permanent.

Tammy- Congrats on your weight loss. It's so encouraging to see results! I had an incisional hernia repair yesterday. Not a huge procedure. I had my gall bladder out in April with the laproscope (tiny incisions), and then got a hernia in June. So I had that repaired then. I went back to work in August and got another hernia in the same spot. I put it off til now. New surgeon, new hospital. It should work this time. 1700 cal does sound like a good amt. It's great that you've gotten your doc involved.

Marybeth- I "lucked" out this year. I can't have Thanksgiving, the turkey is too heavy for me to lift. It's at Grandma's this year. Sounds like you guys have a good back up plan for your WW group.

Skeeter- Your vet sounds like a jerk. You are right to switch. I would at least threaten them with the filing of charges just to see what they do. Sounds like they need to get scared!

Jojo- I hope your back is feeling better today.

I've got to get off this line and call my doc to see him next week. Check in later!

Jen

Hi Everyone.

Today was the day from H E double toothpicks!!!! We are getting ready for a big meeting on Monday and the stuff I needed done had to wait till today because the supervisors "couldn't fit me in" and then there was a screw up and thats what I had to take care of this afternoon. I didn't realize I was tired till I got home and was sitting here at the puter. DH is going to want to go out to eat tonight but I don't even feel like doing that. I just want to kick back and play a game on the puter and then later watch Providence.

I was planning to do some Xmas shopping this weekend BUT they are trying to pass a week of sales tax free shopping here in Illinois which would start the weekend after Thanksgiving so I may wait. Just depends on my mood and how bad I want to save money.

Marlana, I think you are going to have to let go of your sister and her problems, maybe tell her you can't deal with it. Easier said than done but then it would take a lot of pressure off of you and maybe force her to take care of her own life. I was doing really well with getting the bills paid in time and then we got all these medical bills that was left over after the insurance paid on them and I'm having a hard time dealing with them along with our regular bills. When I get like this, then I start paying bills late but I haven't been as bad as I have gotten in the past. I'm keeping all the major bills up to date. My back is much better than it has been. Yesterday was a little rough in physical therapy tho. I was just to tired.

Jen, so glad you came thru your surgery just fine and your not having to many problems. I've never had a problem with anesthesia, coming out of it anyway but it seems like I have trouble sleeping afterwards. I'm not sure if its from not being in my own bed or if its the stuff they bring you out of the anesthesia with. When I had my hysterectomy tho, I couldn't hardly stay awake and couldn't figure out what the deal was but then I said something to the nurse after about 3 or 4 days (I was in the hospital for 10 days afterwards because of complications) and she said they would shut the "continuous flow" off on the pain pump. I was giving myself the morphine (when I was awake enough to do it) and it was on continuous flow. Oh, I have to say, that was an awful time for me. I had to have one of those tubes shoved down my nose to keep my stomach empty. That was awful. They had it almost all the way down and I yanked it out and then they had to start over. It was Awful, Awful Awful!!!!

Tobey, it turned out to be a beautiful day here, I'm sure it was probly close to 80 degrees for the high today. I'm not sure if we have a pottery barn around here or not. I can't recall hearing of it before except my MIL used to go to this one town a few hours away for their pottery. I'll have to ask her if it was a Pottery Barn. I was so tired last night but I wasn't able to take a nap. When I went to bed I had trouble getting to sleep. Hate that!!! I guess I was to tired to sleep.

Sally, your post about thinking your headaches might be from the wild fires in your area made me think about a cookout we went to about a month or so ago. They had a fire going and I honestly thought they'd added something to it to give it a special odor and I asked someone what it smelled like to her and she said "leaves" and I just laughed like crazy. Leaf burning has been banned in town for many years now and I just forgot what they smell like when they burn. I realize its not the same thing thats going on where you are but it just made me think of that. I'm not sure I could do a rain dance for you tonight but I will tomorrow. Tonight I will just wish for you some rain.

Tammy, I was going to TOPS last year but I got tired of some of their "rules". They expected you to call if you couldn't make it to a meeting and then when you called they wanted the reason why you couldn't make it. I considered that my business. I know each chapter sets their rules and there were some other things I just didn't care for. Made me feel like I was in school again. I did like the commraderie of the group and the support and some of the things they planned away from the meetings. I should go back because its so cheap and for the good reasons but I know once winter gets here, I'll end up skipping meetings because I don't want to go out in the cold.

Marybeth, I hope you have a nice week off and I hope you enjoy your trip to Virginia.

Well, I've got to get going. Take care everyone. Have a great weekend.

Hey everyone.

I feel like I have been gone so long but it has only been since yesterday. I didn't write very much yesterday but I read everything and thought about y'all. I got my house cleaned today then we went to see an elderly man that lives out at the campground and need some help moving his pontoon boat out of the river this weekend. The have flooded the river to 30 feet for the last few months and are now going to start dropping it down to 11 feet and he needs to get that boat out. This is supposed to be a healthy way to halt the growth of some of the weeds that are taking over the river. The end result is supposed to be a healthier river for the fish and other inhabitants. It is already one of the best places for bass fishing and this is supposed to make it even better.

Jen~I am so glad that your surgery went better this time. You need to pamper yourself for a few days now and take it real easy so you don't get another hernia. You seem to work very hard normally so you have earned this down time to rest and recuperate and heal. Don't push yourself too fast and enjoy it while you can. My blood pressure seems to be staying kind of high even though I am on these pills. I need to go ahead and find a new doctor and see what is going on.

Marlana~I have been having sinus headaches lately too. It must be something in the air. Well, I guess we are going to Orlando for Thanksgiving dinner. I told my daughter that I expect her and her brother to work it out so we can have a nice quiet family dinner together. We'll take the dogs with us so that we don't have to worry about them being alone for such a long time. It's 5 hours of driving time alone. I'll be glad to see the grandkids though.

Tobey~I loved that attachment that you put in for Jen, it is so cute. I did change vets and hopefully there will be no more problems with my pets meds. It is so expensive down here to keep them healthy and free of fleas and ticks that I need to take advantage of deals like that when I can. That biscotti looks great.

Marybeth~Hope you have a good day with your mom and enjoy your week off. Keep up with the Mexican stand off, it works. I did it and got a call from my son inviting me there for dinner. Then he and his sister got into an argument over me and who's turn it was to invite me. I told them to settle it between themselves because I wasn't getting involved and that I would see them on Thursday and hoped that someone cooked.

Tammie~Congratulations on the loss on your first weeks at TOPS. That is a great way to get started. I had my ears pierced twice also but never really had any trouble as long as I wear gold ear rings. If I wear anything else, it can only be for a short time or my ears get sore.

Sally~Aren't those little fish just gorgeous? You won't believe this but I bought another one Thursday and another little octagonal tank for him. This one has an orange body and some maroon and dark blue in his fins that fades out to white. He is so pretty that I just couldn't resist and I guess my husband couldn't either. 4 fish doesn't sound bad until you realize that they have to live in their own little tanks and can't share. My breakfast bar won't hold anymore fish bowls and tanks and leave us any room to eat. So I am going to have to stop buying fish. My daughter told me tonight that she has a couple of 10 gallon tanks with all the necessities that she is going to give me and that really scares me. What if I buy more fish to go in them? This is starting to get out of hand. I need help, I think. I'm sorry to hear about the wildfires. I sure know what that is like.

JoJo~It was warmer there today than it was here and it feels really nippy this evening. I have never heard of a Pottery Barn except on the TV show Friends. On that show one of the girls bought a table that was a replica of an antique at one of those stores. That is supposed to be in New York. I'm glad that your back is feeling better.

Well, it's midnight and I can hardly keep my eyes open any longer. I sure hope that I didn't miss anyone so forgive me if I did. I wanted to get in here though before you guys thought that I had exploded or something. Y'all have a good weekend.

Hey Good Morning~~I thought I would come and read maybe one post, but since a few of you have posted I feel like so should I. I'm feeling so much better today. I'm not sure what the problem has been, maybe I have a sinus infection and they make me feel bad. If I'm luck we will be going fishing when it warms up a little, although the barometric pressure is a little high.

Tobey~~We've had pottery barn's here for a long time, would you believe I've never been to one. I have had my Christmas shopping for the most part done since last Jan. I always do that, catch the sales on kids cloths and that way I can buy them more, I have 7 grand kids, it cost a arm and a leg to buy for them. I have a couple things I'm going to sew. My 15 year old I want to make a wool skirt for, to match a very pretty black sweater I bought on sale in Jan with lots of bead work on it. She is going to love it. I already have the wool here in every color. Hey post you recipe for the diet biscotti...is it something that could act as a crust for the pumpkin fluff or orange fluff? Don't know just asking. Looks good! I have a question for you. Do you know how to make a web page??? Funny, but I just decided to start the self talk on certain situations to turn myself away from beating myself up and getting depressed, and to be honest just not to care so much what happens to a person, and to know it isn't my fault in any way if she messes up.

Jen~~I am so glad to see you here, boy have you done great, I was praying for a quick recovery, and by gosh your going to be well before you know it. That's great! Now girlfriend, don't you over do though. Just take it easy and study and write to us. Thank you so much for the information on blood pressure, I didn't know that stress affected blood pressure. That explains why it was so high when I got up the other morning...176/105...I had not slept good at all, because I was upset and worried about a family member about to make another stupid decision. The same one I'm going to do the self talk about, I was talking to Tobey about. She has a little too much control over my life. Talked to my RN daughter yesterday and she had moved from ICU to Emergency Room and she loves the ER, she hated it the first couple of days. She had a newborn baby yesterday that had been throwed in the garbage, she said it sure had her nervous because she had not worked peds. I ask her how in the world did they get an IV into a newborn, she told me into the bone. Woe...that has to hurt, she said the baby was so near gone she didn't feel anything. She did say the baby was still alive when she left for home. I couldn't do it! Nurse's are like school teachers, need more respect.

Jo Jo~~They have talked about a tax free day here in Okla. too, but so for that is all it is, just talk. You are so right, I have to let Sister make a mistakes and not feel bad about it at all. I've tried and tried and she just can't get her life headed in the right direction. It's not my fault. I was into medical bills last night. Our insurance is so crazy it's hard to keep up with. I had them piled on the table for weeks now. I only owe one right now, but there will be more to come. We have a PPO plan..."pee pore offer." I've been paying electric and bills like that late, because I've been deeply into my sickness of eating for quite a while. Since I got out a few weeks ago, the bills are paid when they come in. I don't function well when I'm into food. I'm a whiz when I'm eating right. Then why is it such a problem to stay out of food, it's an addiction. I didn't do as well as I should have yesterday, but today I feel like I will do fine. For one thing I feel better today.

Skeeter~~Where have you been, don't you know we miss you when you don't come in and write? Glad your going to your Son's for Thanksgiving. Isn't he the one with the baby? I know that will make the trip worth while seeing the baby. Here's the update on the Addpopper. It works great, I don't have them anymore. Before they ever pop up I hear something like a gun shot and that's it, no add. It hasn't caused me any problems on the puter. The only thing that is done one time is stop a link from working in my email that you sent. I just had to hold down on the ctrl and shift at the same time and click the link and it worked OK. I like it. Hubby's mom called me yesterday to see why we wasn't going to his brother's for thanksgiving, maybe it's because we don't want to. I'm not going to any of their houses for Christmas either. I'd rather be home alone.

Time to get hubby some breakfast, have a great week end everybody.
I'm having problems posting this thing!!!grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr