G'day all,

Karen you made me laugh about your s-i-l and her dealings with doctors I think there are a lot of people like that.
I am sorry you are so worried about your dh, sounds encouraging that he has now opted for the 'diet wagon'. You do have a lot on your plate with your s-i-l, the huge move to Florida, coping with the hurricanes as soon as you get there and now your worrying about your dh's health . Once your dh starts to feel a lot better because of the new lifestyle of healthy eating and excercise, he will probably wonder why he never did it years ago.
I hope little Sprout is behaving himself!

Peggy I missed (how?? ) reading about your expected grandson I don't know what sex my grandchild is yet. Reading between the lines...I am a bit with you with the names. I have been told that if it is a boy it will be called 'Noah' and a girl 'Matilda'. Not overly fond of either name but I guess it will grow on me.

Slavika The move is in 8 days time, Sunday the 21st we leave Adelaide and we arrive Monday 22nd in Sydney. Next week will be some serious organising and starting to pack the Landrover for the big drive over.
I just hope that I can very quickly organise getting some internet connection.

Glenda it is amazing that even the smallest 'bingles' can create such havoc. I fell a couple of days ago and thought I was OK but I landed on my hip and whilst it isn't too serious, it becomes quite painful lying in the early hours of the morning and I cannot stay in bed any longer.
As far as the 'knitting needles', it is a procedure they do not use often, in fact my specialist tells me today they would opt for chemo rather than the 'knitting needle' procedure. It wasn't as bad as what it sounds, the isolation was the worst part having your dinner tray left at the door, no visitors, nurses calling from the doorway etc. etc.

Lily have you given up WW yet? I hope life is a little less hectic for you.

Hi Trudy hope you are fully over your bout with the flu now.

It is very busy for me at the moment, mainly catching up with friends before we leave and many other last minute things that have to be organised.
Amidst all this dh also applied for another position (in the same company) just to test the waters a bit.
He received a call yesterday that he has an interview on Tuesday! He is playing golf in the afternoon, interview is at 6.30pm (phone interview conducted out of Singapore) and we have to be out to dinner at 7.30!!!
He now has to look a bit closer at the criteria of the job he applied for

Hope you continue to get better Ann.

Cheers
Maria

Maria Sprout is being a good little Puppy Boy. he is like a small vacuumcleaner. Should have named him Hoover.
Karen

((((Karen)))) sending you hugs. You sound overwhelmed right now with sil and your dh's medical problems. Want to hear about you out enjoying the Florida sunshine with your dh. I am sure that the diet and lifestyle change will do wonders. Your sil sounds like a real character with the drs. My mil has quite a few that she makes the rounds to.

Maria I would be so confused if I were you. When you wake up do you have to remember what city you are in? And now a possible job change. Will it involve all the traveling? Noah must be one of the newer names. A friends son just named theirs Noah Jude. Last year my son and dil liked Peyton for a boy. Sounds like a town to me-remember Payton Place? I just seal my lips.

Trudy and Slavika hope you both are over the flu and can have teatime together this week.

Glenda-really don't care what sex the baby is-just want it healthy. Was doing some Christmas shopping yesterday and had to buy a baby shower present for my niece. She is expecting a girl and it sure was fun looking at all the girlie things. I was in total shock at the cost of some of the baby stuff such as the beds, car seats etc. You can tell it has been a long time since I bought any of that stuff.

I think I had better get to it and do something around here. It's my turn for canasta club thursday nite and I have to start planning now.

G'day all,

A bit of an almost 'wintry' day here. The weather has been most peculiar.

Went out to dinner last night and the host made seafood lasagna, it was beautiful but I don't think very WW friendly

Peggy I know what you mean about the price of baby stuff I also have only recently started looking and I have been quite amazed but also amazed at the variety of 'stuff' you can now get.
If Noah (the one from the Ark fame ) was to come back today, he would be totally trendy with his name .
My dd also has her names picked out eventhough she is not pregnant yet, Indigo for a girl and Jet for a boy
She is a girl who forever changes her mind so there is hope!
DH is not all together sure if this job he applied for involves a lot of travel. He applied for it because he thought he would work for the best part from home but on having a closer look at the criteria that may not be necessary so

Off to catch up with a group of friends for lunch today. Four of them have spent the last 3 months travelling around Northern Australia. It will be good to hear about their experiences.

Hello to everyone, Slavika you cannot be that well yet, haven't seen you post for a few days. Hope you feel much better soon.

HAve a great weekend,
Cheers
Maria

Hi Everybody
I am happy to report that I am once again feeling great. The same cannot be said for my DH. The pain (I guess sciatia)in his thigh and right down his leg into foot is really bad. The therapist said that he now has only 42% mobility in that leg and when the therapy started he had 60. He has 90 in his good leg. She will give him her report (for his doctor) on Tuesday and he sees his doctor right after that. I know there are several options to try (that they haven't yet) to get him feeling better. Because the flight to Maui is such a long one, he would never be able to sit for that length time the way he is now. Oye Vey....always something on the road we all travel in this life.
My brother and his wife came over last evening for a visit and it was nice just to sit around and talk. They are going on holidays around the same time we are, but they are going to the Mayan Riviera for two weeks. I had some summer clothes that were big for me (YIPPEE) that I gave to her to take with her.......she was very pleased to have a few extra things.
Well Ann how are you doing today? I wonder if maybe you will be allowed to come home tomorrow. I think about you all the time and know that Holly passes on our good wishes to you.

G'day all,

Good to hear you are feeling so much better Slavika but sorry to hear your dh is so bad with his back.
I had an operation on my back when I was in my early forties, I had similar problems so I can sympathise with how he must be feeling, cannot sit, cannot stand, cannot lie for any length of time Very, very frustrating and of course all the conflicting advice I received at that time was very confusing. I wonder from time to time if I did the right thing to have an operation but then when I hear about people like your dh, it all comes back to me and I am glad I have never been that bad again since having the laminectomy.
I hope he gets some relieve soon.

It is very quite around here, hope it is because everyone is busy!

I will start giving the house a bit of a 'spring clean' before we leave on Sunday.
I have made an appointment to see my cancer specialist on May 19, 2005, our grandchild is due to be born May 18, so I will return home around that time to combine both.
We have booked to see the Lion King, it only plays in Sydney and many people make the trip to Sydney just to see that.
My sister-in-law and her friend are coming over in January to see the show.
Some of our other friends say they will take advantage of us being there and will come over to see the show as well.
I think the time will go very fast, if everyone who say they will come and visit, actually visit, we won't have much time to be feeling homesick!

Hope everyone is well and happy,
Cheers
Maria

Karen, since reading your post about your husband's health, I have been thinking. If I wake up at 4 and cannot go back to sleep, I "borrow" trouble and worry about everything. The only thing that helps me not worry about the future is to literally count my blessings and thank God for them all. That often makes me rest and relax. I know that we just all feel very vulnerable about THE FUTURE, but we all just have to "step out in faith". If we worry about the things that COULD happen, we can just life in perpetual fear. I don't mean to preach because I know exactly what you mean. Just relax. Florida is a beautiful place and you made a great decision. Just remember SNOW!
Glenda

Thanks Glenda,

I do count my blessing and am having a better week. So is DH. His sugar is down a bit and we have learned more about readings and what they should be a different times of the day.

Slavika do you test and how often??

We had another beautiful day in Flordia. A bit too cool for the pool but for spending time walking and riding a bike and walking the dog it was great. i did have to put on a light wind breaker for the evening walk for Sprout. He is growing like a sprout. Full of energy. When i say we go for a walk. half the time we are running. He loves it and always looks up at me an "smiles" . If you can believe that!

Went out to the Air Base to do some shopping we can save several dollars by shopping out there. It is only 25 miles away . And it is one of the bennies of being retired military.

Tomorrow SIL has a doctors appointment, Wednesday we have to drive into Tampa to pick up DH's glasses they had to remake them. Thursday SIL has another doctors appointment . So it is another busy week for us old retired people.

My son and his family are coming for Christmas!!! This is the son that used to live across the street from us. So we are planning things to do and places to see. High on the list is the beaches. The little granchrildren want to play in the ocean. Both the gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic ocean and The Kennedy Space Center. Not sure if they want to try Disney this time. The youngest is still a bit small. We'll see. We are hoping for nice weather.

Have to go
Karen

ANN ARE YOU HOME YET!!!!!

Slavika: Glad you are feeling better. Your poor DH tho. Sounds very Painful for him. As for a Vacation. No we didnt take one this year due to Hubby being On Contract. He has no Vacation. I have a ton tho. And I am taking every Friday off until the end of the Year I also have the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas off.
I have been cleaning house belive it or not and trying to get things in order.

Peggy: I love Canasta! I havnt played it in a long time but it was so fun!

Ann hope you are feeeling better.

Karen: How great your son and family are coming for christmas! Will be fun! Hope you have good weather for it. Sounds like great plans!

Maria: I dont know how you keep up with it either. I would be going crazy.

All Yes I did Quit. My last day isnt until Nov 30th tho. I had a heck of a time getting hold of my TM and finally talked to her today and set the date. I have started back to WW meeting on Sat tho and have really enjoyed it. Im going to a new Meeting. New people new friends is the way I see it. I have loved it!

Hi to everybody else!

Later!

G'day all,

Trudy I wish it was for 6 weeks, it will be for at least 6 months
I do have some good news though......today I organised to have internet connection and it is highly likely that I will have ADSL . I won't know for sure until I get there.
I will be taking everything with me hence we are driving over in the Landrover rather than fly.
I will continue with my business, I will continue with maintaining the website for the cricket club and write their newsletter, I will be happy to do little tutorials for a certain Canadian friend , I will get back to the gym and will start posting my weight loss progress again, I will be taking my cross stitch project and perhaps a few books
So you see I will keep myself busy.

Lily I am crazy, that is how I cope
Good to hear you are having a bit of a breather and have each friday off.

Karen you have lots of plans, how nice to have your son and family for Christmas. I am really looking forward to having my dd and her dh visit us in Sydney for Christmas.

GlendaI think you should get out of the habit of 'borrowing' worries! I do know what you mean though and it is easier said then done!

Out to a Christmas dinner tonight...

Cheers
Maria

Ann, where are you? I am sure she is home by now and probably not feeling too wonderful. She is supposed to have both daughters with her now, right? It has been two weeks today so the pain should be subsiding, I hope.

Lily, yea for your Fridays! Four-day weeks is the way to go! And I am so glad you will soon just be in the audience at WW. I have so many young friends who have gotten so caught up in stuff and my professional counseling is the word "No." It works and it works well. Sometimes you just can't do everything and sometimes you just need to do nothing but your life.

Trudy, those slit-eyed bathroom stops are what I do best too. I had a friend who did this and ended up in the wrong room though after a bit too much to drink. One of the funniest stories I ever heard.

You know, I have never really been a worrier and therefore I wasn't a great planner either. To be honest, I never thought I would live this long. At the time of my cancer, I just thought I wanted to enjoy each and every day. But as we get older, we probably think more of health issues than any other thing. And then in my darkest hours of worry I even take on the government. Good grief! Those heavy 4 am worry sessions leave me really able to face a stiff-necked demanding boss in the morning.

Slavika, what has the doc said about your DH's pain? Do they think they can get it under control in time for your trip? I have had probably 1/10th his pain with this whiplash from my wreck and it has made me feel so old. It is getting better though.

Well, all, have a great day. I am sorry I am getting so philosophical in my old age.
Glenda

Hi Everybody
In the light of day I can count my blessings, but if I am up in the middle of the night it is not my "blessings" that is keeping me up, it's things that I take upon myself to worry about. Trust me when I tell you that I can worry about things you gals likely don't even think about......LOL LOL well maybe my friend Trudy might worry about some of the same things.
At the moment of course I am worried about DH and his back/leg. He sees his doctor again today and I BEGGED him to get some answers as to why he is in that much pain. I suggested that his doctor recommend a specialist, perhaps do a cat scan........I told him not to settle for the, "ok, come back in two weeks and we will see how you are doing". GRRRR Nothing is going to change in two weeks except the pain may get worse. I really had to have a harsh talk with that man of mine and convince him that HE is responsible for looking after his own health. I'll keep you posted as to whether my talk did any good or not.
Karen when I first was diagnosed with diabetes I checked my blood sugar constantly but I soon was aware that if I ate "sort of" of the same things and exercised at least 1/2 hour per day the numbers pretty much stayed the same. I know that the numbers are lower after fasting and before meals and higher at bedtime. I also know that my blood sugar is higher if I do not walk on my treadmill. I sort of test my sugar in the morning and then in the evening....but I don't even do that daily. If my routine has changed, say I ate out, or ate too much I would test more. Every year when we go to Maui, my blood sugar is out of whack just for a day or two. The folks there say it's because of the time change and the altitude difference. I can undertand the time change thing...but the altitude, I'll have to find out about that.
Holly how's your Mom doing? Is she at home yet? Did your other sister arrive now? Please give your Mom a BIG hug from me.
Talk to you all later. Bye now.
Hugs for little Sprout.

Hi Everybody

Lily that's great that you are going to be off work every Friday until the end of the year. Long weekends are great! It's good also that you quit working (well soon) for WW. Life is too short to work as hard as you have been.
Maria it looks like you will have enough to keep you busy while you are away. My days seem to go so quickly and I am sure your's likely do too that it doesn't take much to fill in the little bit of free time you have.
I read the report from DH therapist (that she prepared for his doctor) and she basically said that she couldn't do anything more for DH and that he was not getting better. She suggested more x-rays and some pathology as he has also lost 15# since the begining of August. I know a lot of the weight loss is due to the big shuffle at the bank and the stress there and also of course from the pain he is having.
He saw his doctor yesterday, and also went for more x-rays
this time of his leg at different angles. He also wants DH to have a complete blood work up done but the lab was closed by the time he got finished with the x-rays so he will go today. I checked on the internet to see what some of the tests were (from the abbrev. they use in requesting the lab work) and it looks like the doctor is checking him for everything........... from thyroid, liver & muscle enzymes, prostate, hemoglobin, white blood cell count. He also requested a MRI for DH, and that might take from three weeks to a month...... which isn't too long of a wait. DH sees the doctor again on the 30th. He should have all the test results back by then.
Karen in Canada our testing numbers are different then the United States. For example, in America fasting and before meals numbers might show up as 90 to 130. In Canada, those same results would show up as 5.0 - 7.2. To convert to Canadian standards you simply divide the American figures by 18. If you have some "snowbirds" in your park with diabetes you will know in talking to them that they test different. You didn't mention whether your DH was put on medication or not. I take 2.5 mg of Apo-Glyburide twice a day. One before breakfast and one before supper. Sometimes if I don't eat "enough" (of what I should have) my blood sugar drops so I carry Glucose tablets with me all the time. I can always tell when my blood sugar is dropping because I start to feel a little shaky.
Pets for little Sprout.
Peggy I don't know why I never learned to play Canasta. I love playing cards and board games but never mastered Canasta. I think a couple of times in my life I did try to learn.......obviously, didn't succeed, because I don't know how.

G'day all,

Slavika so pleased that some thorough testing is being done for your dh. It is not only frustrating and worrying for you but he is the one with the pain and no doubt is also worried.
I think once you get some answers you can then decide as to how to deal with it. The not knowing why the pain is not easing is the worse.

It has been very hot here, perfect to dry out my carpets which were shampoed yesterday. I have cream carpet throughout my house, it is beautiful when they have been cleaned but unfortunately it is very quickly grotty again

I have been up since 5.30am this morning thinking of everything that I MUST remember, do, pack etc. etc. before we leave

Cheers
Maria