Good morning gals! Glad it is Friday I guess. Though with me, one day kind of runs into the next.

Jack's test went fine, but we were there almost 3 1/2 hours. I guess it takes a long time. I know no stranger so struck up a conversation with one lady and when she left, talked to someone else! I also had brought a book and started on it. Because Jack had not had a thing to eat, I took him to lunch at his favorite place, Abuelos. They have pretty good Mexican food. We kind of pigged out because I felt sorry for him so I didn't eat breakfast either. Unfortunately, my body rebels when I do something like this so I had to make a hurried trip to the bathroom before we could leave. I know better than to do it, but if I were smarter, I would probably be thinner too.

Jean: I imagine this kid's mom acts as bad as he does. They learn it somewhere and it is usually at home. I got an email from my sister and she was complaining because her grandson, who is a year older than Thomas, has parents who are convinced he has ADHD. I told her that it was bologna. Her grandson controls himself in some situations and doesn't in others, ie with his parents and other family members. I guess he is fine in school and at church. I told her flat out that a child with this condition cannot and does not control himself in one area then lets loose in another. He has behaviour problems, because he doesn't eat right, his parents have lax if any discipline, and he is overly spoiled. Besides, I told her he probably doesn't go to bed properly either. The kid is a brat and he is a brat because his parents made him a brat.

Fortune went to the groomers and came home looking like a different doggy. He was pretty scruffy looking when I took him and he was so pretty when he came home. I told him he must be the mascot for the Grateful Dead as he had on a rainbow striped kerchief.

Nothing else exciting from this part of the world. It is still very hot and very humid and no end in site. I saw on the news yesterday that Jack's hometown and that part of the country has some severe flooding. Well, DUH, it is desert and they have had a LOT of rain and usually only get a couple inches for the whole darn year. Sand doesn't absorb water very well anyway.

Have a great weekend you all.

Faye

Good morning ladies! Hope your weekend is starting out right. Mine is starting a little rocky. I got up out of bed and put a gown on and got stung by a wasp on my right hip. I am sitting on a bag of ice right now! It was in the dark so I thought I was imagining it except I saw one on the carpet last night and went to kill it and it flew away and I couldn't find it. When I got downstairs, I felt the area that was stinging and sure enough a bump had formed. I haven't been stung in a long long time and forgot how much the dang thing hurts!

Jean: We don't have Dairy Queens here, just phoophoo ice cream that costs a fortune like Stone Cold Creamery, Baskin Robbins, and a place called Brusters. It has great ice cream but is pretty expensive. Jack loves Dairy Queen and I know he misses it. It was one of our date staples a long time ago. You must be getting all the rain we don't seem to able to get a spit of. It rained one day and that has been in for weeks.

We are supposed to take our sil out to dinner tonight for his birthday, which was Wed, but I haven't heard a word from my dd where or when so I don't know if maybe she meant next week. I am going to have to check. I know she has been in Savannah Geogia since Tuesday sometime so I don't even know if she is back yet. Her husband was in Miami until Tues then she left and went to Savannah. Thomas has been one parented this week!

I guess I should get my morning chores started. You all have a very nice weekend, try and keep cool and enjoy yourselves!

Faye

Good morning gals! Wasn't planning an early rising, but I started coughing and couldn't quit. I get some congestion sometimes that I can't seem to dislodge and I cough until I seem to make it better. Unfortunately, laying down in a bed just doesn't work. I plan on retreating back upstairs as soon as I feel I am over the coughing jag.

We had a good time with the kids at Olive Garden, but Thomas was kind of standoffish, which is unusual for him. My sil was talkative though and that is unusual for him, especially to me. Maybe we were in a temporary alternate universe! He was funny because he started his new job with FedEx on Wednesday and he was saying all he does is sits and stares into space. It takes a week to issue email addresses, which he says means he has no computer, no telephone, etc. They take pictures on Tuesdays so he doesn't have a badge yet so he said he has to go to work every day with one of those stick on paper visitor passes and has to hang around the door until someone shows up to let him in. If I understand his job, he is part of the computer security for the company. I had my favorite, chicken alfredo for dinner last night. Not a diet menu item, but I didn't eat the whole thing if that gives me any points! On the other hand, they now have gelato and I wanted to try it so.....

Today is race day so I am just going to make some mexican food for lunch today I think. Nothing fancy, just some hard shelled tacos and some spanish rice. I miss my mil's spanish rice as she put green pepper in it. Jack hates the taste of green pepper so I have to leave it out when I make it. I think we are just going to hang out at the house today. They are predicting rain, but it is supposed to be 96 today so no relief from the heat. I just don't feel like getting out in the heat if I don't have to.

Well gals, I need to clean the litter box, feed the pets, etc so I am going to go. Have a great Sunday.

Faye

Good morning ladies! It is wet and sticky and nasty here today. We had a huge storm roll in last night, which was great for the rain, but did nothing to help the humidity and temps. On top of that, it blew out the power and it didn't take long for the house to heat up. I was giving it an hour then we were gonna pack up the pets and go to the Red Roof Inn for the night. It's bad enough if for some reason you don't have AC, but not to have fans in this heat is unbearable.

Jean: I am going to send you vibes, but truly which ones do you want, the "I QUIT!" vibes or the "hang in there and hope it gets better vibes and my attitude improves." Bless you heart. This is the first year I have ever heard you really be down about having to go back to school. Hang in there and if it doesn't get better this week say adios! Just think of what you can get done in your house!!! Sounds like everyone had a good time yesterday. Thomas swims like a fish and loves the water. It won't be long until they close their pool for the year though. I don't know how much his grandparents bring him over to his house to swim after school. Man, if it were me, I would be over there with him everyday! If they didn't live across town, I would go to their house and swim more. They have told us to feel free and come swim whenever, they don't have to be home, but like I said they live clear across town.

Susan: Hope things are going ok with you and Stan. I assume they have done the procedure on his bone again? Hope you have gotten your nursing situation straightened out as well.

Gloria: I hear the coast is becoming quite comfortable now. It must be nice. We are still cooking down here.

We just hung out at the house all day long, watched a CUBS game in which they got beat and the NASCAR race in which our favorite driver came in 3rd. About the only thing I did, outside of regular chores, was make us lunch! Consequently, I have gobs of cleaning to do today. I forgot to do the upstairs vacuuming all weekend long so I have to double up on that besides the fact that Thursday is shot because Jack has a cardiologist appt and I want to go and see what his test results are and Friday I have an eye appt that takes up the morning. Ahh well, as Jack says, the house will still be here when I get to it.

We got a letter on Saturday from Tricare saying they changed the name of the patient. Jack also talked to the lady at the PT place and she said she had changed the date as everything was dated with his birthdate being 2000 so maybe just maybe they will pay the darn things now. I do wonder if we are going to get a bill for all the copays as they never collected any. I ask her the first appt if she wanted the copay and she said they didn't ask for one and if Tricare doesn't indicate to pay one we don't. I guess if we get a bill for 13 copays we will just pay it!

Gotta get going and get the laundry in the dryer. Everyone have a good Monday!

Faye

Faye, I know what you mean about the coughing spells. That's what sent me to the doctor and I was diagnosed with asthma...I coughed for 2 hours without stopping and my husband said go to the doctor or he was taking me. I know you have a lot of allergies, maybe that is what is causing it.

Had some storms last night and the heat and humidity are back today.

Stan's bone procedure will be Friday at 7:25 am. I took him Saturday for the preop stuff at the hospital - the nurse said she saw his name and was hoping it wasn't him having another procedure. He's doing so much better, gaining weight and eating good. If we could just get this foot over with, I think he might be able to stay out the hospital for awhile. The last bill just came in from his hospitalization - $173,000. I almost died on the spot until I saw that we have to pay $100.

I officially became an old lady, on paper at least, today and signed up for Medicare.

Susan: Nah, you are just starting the great part of your life! Well, other than the Medicare part, which can be a nightmare, the rest can be fun! Maybe sometime next year you and Stan can take a little weekend trip together or something just to have some fun time. I am praying for that leg and foot that they will finally be able to get it cleaned up. I know that you are glad he is finally taking a health turn to the good as far as eating etc. I was thrilled to hear that.

I got the nicest note from my sister. My son was in California for his Jiusitu tournament and on Saturday night he and a couple friends had dinner with my sister and her family. She emailed me this morning and said my son was such a joy to be around. Makes his mom so proud of him even if he is in his thirties! My sister's family doesn't get to see my son very often so to hear her say how nice he is made me very proud.

Well, I am in the middle of cooking dinner so better get back to it!

Have a wonderful afternoon!

Faye

Good morning everybody! It rained again last night and it very very humid and sticky this morning. I don't know when we are going to get a break from this heat. I did mention to Jack that the days are getting shorter as he had to leave on the deck light when he left for work because it was dark.

Jean: I guess you kind of have to look at it that you can survive the year to get better money, etc., especially if you schedule is such you don't have to deal with some teacher's personality quirk. I am amazed as how offhanded people here are about their kids going to school. My sister is like that about her dd. She would take her out of school so they could go on vacation and all kinds of stuff. My kids went to school unless they were sick or we had a family emergency like a death or something. The kids have enough time off from school as it is. It is no wonder they come out not knowing a thing. There is one thing I think they should change though and that is college scholarships. I think they ought to be offered an extra year in case a kid wants to take one year off from school. I think kids that are serious about a college education would go back and I know I was kind of dreading continue school after I graduated because I was tired of it. Of course, you have to get the kid through regular school first, which is always a challenge.

Susan: I think you mentioned you use the South Beach Diet. Do you like it? I belong to a book club and decided to order his book and see if I think it would be a good fit for me. I have to do something as I am creeping back up on my weight and I need something I can really follow and be committed to. I see there is a big area about South Beach here at 3fc to help with if I decide to start it. What if anything do you NOT like about it? Thanks for anything you want to comment on.

Jack has his very last PT appt tomorrow. He said his foot is feeling much better and he thinks the sessions did his foot some good. I just hope that it made a permanent difference. Jean, did you have to go back somewhere down the line because you started having problems again, or did your sessions fix the problem permanently?

I need to go and unload the dishwasher and put the laundry in the dryer. Today is mop the floors day and I always hate doing that so I want to get it over and done with.

Have a great day everyone!

Faye

Faye, I like SB a lot. The only thing I really don't like is not having white potatoes, but even that is not forever. To tell the truth, I still have one about once a week. I like being able to eat out and all and still make healthy choices. It does allow a few treat calories per day but some days I save them up for a whole dessert. Be glad to help if you decide to try. There are a couple of good yahoo groups that are extremely helpful as well.

Good morning girls! I know it sounds boring, but it is still hot and sticky here. A nice 75 degrees sounds like heaven. I haven't even been out of the house except to walk to the end of the garage and get the mail. I need it to cool off so I can start walking outside again. I like it a lot better and seem to go farther than if I do a treadmill. On top of that, it is uphill going one direction, which works the heart nicely. I will still use the treadmill and need to get working back on weights again.

Susan: Thanks for the info. I am anxious to get the book and read it. My biggest problem will be pasta I think. I love pasta. Not big on potatoes for the most part so that doesn't bother me and maybe I will start getting sweet potatoes, which I think are on the list of things you can have and fiddle around with those a bit. Jack, of course, won't eat them, but that is ok, I can fix him a white potato. I think I can adapt to getting rid of sugar and using sugar free products. Fruit may be an issue, but I can deal with that also.

Jean: I laughed out loud at your comments about how much school time you have left. Jack figures out his work time according to when is the next day off. They changed their benefits and took away the two floating vacation days and gave them Presidents' day and Veterans' day off instead. Now except for March, June and October of next year he has three day weekends off every month. In April he has a week where he is off on Wed and Friday as Wed is Mlk memorial day and Friday is Good Friday. I guess it is a good thing you perused the handbook, huh? Jack has nine years as of this month until he can retire and believe me he looks forward to every year he can mark off.

He is off tomorrow for his yearly cardiologist appt so we will be doing errands and stuff. He needs to get the car tags as he has been putting it off. He has had the car inspected so all he has to do is go in and get them. He was Navy retired tags but they said that they are readily available and don't have to be ordered so we will see. No matter what, they have changed the tags for this year so we get new tags not just stickers. I am hoping it isn't too busy and we can zip right through.

I am delaying the inevitable. I have work to do and need to get to it so Iam going to go.

Have a great day gals!
Faye

Hello, ladies! Faye, you reminded me I got to get tags (I KWILT is my vanity plate) and renew my driver's license. We do that on our birthdays that end in 0 or 5. Gads, hope they don't make me take the test again!

Faye, SB only limits fruit the first 2 weeks then you can have it again. Whole wheat pasta or pasta blends, too. The first 2 weeks are hard but it really gets the sugar and sweet cravings under control and you stop thinking about the stuff. I can walk through the bakery now and nothing even looks that good. Even better, most of it doesn't taste good anymore. My real downfall is lemon meringue pie and then I don't care for the crust.

We finally broke down and bough a new tv. Ordered it from Wal*Mart website and it was only $22 for delivery so I don't think that was bad considering I have no idea how I would have got it home. My neighbor is coming over to hook it up for us and take the old one for his son.

I was reading the Wall Street Journal at lunch time...there was an article on electronic toilet seats - heated, and they wash and dry you so you don't need paper. Probably electrocute me.

I see the countdown has begun for Las Vegas. Tell you what Faye, we'll all send you a $1 and see if you can run it up to several thousand for us.

Jean, I don't envy your job. I was certainly not cut out to work with children on a daily basis, although I did teach English as a second language for 3 years when we first came to Virginia.