Hey all,
What a strange night I had last night. My bookclub was good/funny, lots of people there who were just looking for a platform to talk about their own suffering rather than the concept of God and suffering. Still, I was led there for a reason and there really was quite a bit of comic relief as the priest and book club leader tried to draw people back to the subject matter. A friend from work came and I was glad she was there to share the experience. We'll laugh about it this week I'm sure (not people's suffering, just the whole experience). There are 3 more sessions, and we are starting to read the book now (one I've read many times already, but that I'm happy to reread) so next week should be very spirited and we're going to break into groups so that will make things a bit more manageable.

Then I came home and went to sleep and woke an hour later because my cat was freaking out for some reason. Without going into detail this wake up led me to have a minor argument with DH (his fault!!!) and I kept waking up in the night feeling disturbed about something (not the argument, which was minor, and which I clearly "won" anyway). Something was just "off." I changed my alarm to 6am because I really needed the extra sleep and now I'm trying to wake up and get my head together. Very strange.

Today I MUST finish up some budget stuff at work and begin work on the fall semester calendars I manage (photography and digital signage, as well as the print production schedule). I have tomorrow off, which will be great, so I can clean my house and cook, etc. since once again we are going away for the weekend. Hope everyone has a great day...

Oy, Matilda! I hate when that happens. My theory is that the little silver bead gets out of the groove in your brain and takes a while to get back on track.

Huge day ahead. The Fair opens this morning at 9 and I must get some signage up before then. It's over 80ºF out there right now which means it will be almost unbearable later when I have to tiddle up and appear on the stage in front of the grandstand to receive a Citizen of the Year Award. That was the surprise from yesterday. If you meet anyone from around here, please don't mention it as it's top secret and I'll have to kill you! It'll be the hottest time of the day (5 PM) and I'm trying hard to figure out something cool and "cool" to wear. There's a big reception afterward but it's in the AC Fair Office. Home will feel good this evening.

I hope your day flows smoothly with no glitches. Wish me luck with mine which will start in ten minutes!

Matilda, your night sounds awful. Just get through today and look forward to having tomorrow off and your weekend.

I was going to have my coffee out on the patio, but it feels like a sauna out there already. I hope the girls will be able to spend more time in the pool at camp, rather than on horseback! Cindy and I are sneaking an ice cream cake over there at lunchtime and are going to surprise Maggie with an impromptu birthday party. No cake for me, though. Not even a lick! I have another party for my niece/Goddaughter who is turning 21 on Sunday, and little Tyler will be celebrating his 4th birthday on Monday. Good thing my willpower has been strong! I know I'll be just fine.

Congratulations Ruth!!! "Citizen of the Year"

Ruth!

Hey! Just made myself an iced coffee in the Slushie machine I bought for the little kid in me when in town yesterday. I'm taking it with me as I go out the door. (I added SF Irish Cream syrup to it and it tastes very decadent so early in the morning!)

Good morning It's an all day staff meeting up north. I'm so glad I only have 2 more after today. I'd feel better if the place I interviewed at made me a solid offer, but I'm still counting down to being done with this job. It's just too much stress and craziness, especially now.

Matilda - I hate days (and nights) like that. Hope the day passes quickly and without incident and you have a calm, relaxing evening.

Ruth - Wow, such a nice recognition of all you do.

Cottage - The heat really improves my willpower. All I want is ice water, iced tea, iced coffee and an occasional nsa fudgecicle.

Yesterday was definitely a crabby/depressed day so I kept super busy and didn't have any conversations that weren't totally work focused. I hope today will be better. Just found out that they did find a probable growth/enlarged thymus when they did DW's CT scan so there's likely surgery ahead. Then they scheduled her surgery consult for next Thursday, pretty much the only day I can't rearrange to be here rather than NY. She's going to record it all though and I'm feeling a bit better.

Time to find something food like that doesn't make my stomach turn. This weather and the stress continue to be great for weight loss

Hope your Thursday includes AC or a swim, better yet maybe both!

Cyndi, Will Julie's surgery require an overnight stay? I only hope it helps towards her recovery. Hang in there, both of you.

Ruth, I can't wait to try out your slushie maker! Ice mochas!

That's one of the questions for the surgeon. The thymus is behind the breast bone,so can be a bigish deal to remove. I thought I read something about some places using laser though obviously that would be much easier on her. Luckily her doctors are at Dartmouth so everything is as state of the art as possible.

Ruth - Congratulations!!!

Cyndi - I hope the surgery goes well and it helps improve things for DW.

Hi, everyone else!

So I'm still in a bit of shock that my teen finally cleaned his room. It was indescribably horrible. The bad news is he didn't find his missing glasses, which he only wears on rare occasions when he removes his contacts, so we'll have to shop for new ones ASAP. Maybe he'll let me drag him to Bed, Bath & Beyond while we are at it.

Looks like DH worked on my computer last night; it needed a virus software update. That is what he was doing to his the other day when it died on him so I was nervous but things seem to be working. He did leave open a bunch of tabs about repairing windows though, but hopefully that's for his PC. I'm so lost with any thing to do with computers!

Good Morning

I made it through my busy Wednesday OP. Today we're trying to get back in the groove...there is so much to do here and our lawnmower isn't functioning. We'll paint early then deal with the mower and some other stuff. Ahh, looking East I see a hint of light. Time to get moving. I've been up for an hour trying to get organized.

Congratulations, Ruth! Enjoy your day, especially your recognition for all that you do. I'm glad someone gave you the secret heads up so you could prepare a little bit. I'm not a big fan of surprises anymore.

Matilda, I hope your day is less eventful today. At least you have a day off to look forward to.

Linda, it sounds like party time! Great that you have a plan to resist all the treats...they aren't that great anymore, especially when you weigh all the consequences.

Cyndi, it must be a very unsettling time right now with all the job stuff and now planning for surgery for Julie. Yay for Dartmouth and high tech medicine. I'm amazed how easy some things are being taken care of for my mom. Take care.

catching up from yesterday…..

bea, hope you have found a bit of motivation….

Furn, it's great that you've been able to look back at your last 8 weeks and see how you can improve on things. I'm like you...it's sometimes hard to get on a roll but once I do it feels just great!

Karen, how did your tutorial go? At least the lost glasses seem to have gotten DS's room clean...maybe he will still find them.

jenne, hope your boss is giving you some moments to breathe!

Rikki and Okie

Have a great day everyone! Stay hydrated!

Cyndi - will the removal of the thymus have a positive affect on her symptoms or resolve any issues connected with her diagnosis?

Motivation.
Motivation . . . well, honestly, not so much. I did manage to do the grocery shopping in the veritable middle of the night last night (10pm), vacuum, do two loads of laundry, and replace all the drop ceiling tiles that were moved in the basement. We had that bout with termites/carpenter ants the day before we left for the beach, and the tech guy never told me he was leaving the drop ceiling dismantled. I discovered that this morning. It actually took about 2 hours to re-set them.

The rest of the day includes putting away said laundry, cleaning the den and kitchen, and getting ready to leave for Cleveland in the am. I will be back Monday with both my children, who have been there with my mom since Monday. I adore my kids, and I miss them, but I have had a really glorious time being me, as opposed to "mommy" the last three days.

CYNDI - I am hoping that DW is feeling positive. I'll say a little prayer - they can't hurt!

RUTH - Congrats - so excellent for you!

MATILDA - when I have a night like that, I always give myself 10-15 minutes to write down the stuff that is sloshing around in my brain. Usually helps me find out what is "off" . . .

LINDA - I think we must be within about 20 min of each other. Both my girls want to start horseback riding - any suggestions??

KAREN - thrilled about the clean room for you. As a high school teacher, I ALWAYS hear from parents about the state of the kids' rooms. FMy mom just stated "anything on the floor at 2 pm goes in the garbage" every Saturday. Enough said . . .

EVERYONE - Stay cool. Stay safe.
Thank you all for being here. This is the greatest stretch of beach ever.

Be well -

Hi all! So glad today is Thursday and the weekend is another day closer.
I am just getting back in the swing of things, Day 3 for me. So far, not too bad. I forgot how good being OP feels! I feel so strong and in control... is that my sugar leveling out? :-)

It is going to be HOT here today, over 100 degrees with the heat index! I'll be inside working and the kids are at summer camp and on an indoor fieldtrip today. All activities are inside, except for the 1 hour bus ride to the field trip today, I am a little anxious about that.

I need to make my way over to the recipe section again. You guys have the best ideas!!!

Happy Thursday!

Good morning,

Ruth- Glad to hear that you are being recognized for all the hard work you do for your community.

Cyndi- praying for Julie

Okay I have too much going to continue, I started this at 8:30 a.m. and it is now 11:50 a.m. and just returning.

Have a great day