Good morning ladies,


I started a big ole long post over the weekend and was adding to it between things. Then last night my computer was acting wonky with internet - kept getting errors that I was not connected. I think our service is sucko - anyway it got to the point I could not do anything internet related and I had to reboot. I lost the screen I was working on with cannot connect internet errors. So if at first you don't succeed...


Will try to summarize. Dentist appointment - they have to drill off all of my crowns. Thought they'd yank them out, especially because they are so wiggly loose but they said pulling on them would damage the underlying tooth stub. I started out ok but at about 90 minutes in, I suddenly got hit with this horrible wave of phobia. Had to make them stop because I went roaring down the tunnel of panic attack. I knew I should have popped a valium beforehand but did not anticipate this reaction because I have had a lot of dentist work in the past. This was a first. I guess I don't like that drill which is bad because I have a whole LOT of drilling ahead of me. After about 15 minutes of sitting there and some oxygen, they asked if I wanted nitrous oxide and I agreed. It helped me to refocus away from the nerves and I was able to stare at the ceiling tiles and count spots and make patterns with the lines in the ceiling tile textures. We adjusted the future appointments to about 2 hours each. Thank goodness because the next appointment would have had them working on the bottom 9 teeth and that would have been a doozer. I felt embarrassed about the reaction but they were so kind and understanding - said it happens to other patients. They formed the temporary crown by gluing the 3 teeth together instead of individual temporaries so that seems to be holding up better.


There is still drama at the Senior Center with the receptionist / secretary who is massively immature and is playing vindictive games. She is purposely doing things that waste my time and I hit the wall last week. Decided I am done with the games, not going to waste my precious volunteer time and fired back one of my cannons. DH is at the same point. Something has to give. I am delighted that outside of bingo this week, I have the whole week to myself.


It's starting to warm up. We are supposed to be in the 50's temperatures towards the week's end. We still have a ton of snow - did have freezing overnight so there are ice ponds to be maneuvered. Yesterday we were pulling up to the house and the turkeys were running from us - several of them slipped on the ice but since they can flap their wings they were able to stay upright. If I had caught a video of one actually falling on it's butt, it would have killed my sister with fits of laughter! Spring is coming. You can smell it in the air, you can hear the birds songs, the deer's coats are changing colors as they start to shed their winter coats. I'm sure under all this snow shortly we will see shoots of green that those deer are waiting for.


So I'm going to stay home this week and get caught up on things unless we plan a trip to Duluth. I would like a run at Sam's Club again.


Susie - I am so HAPPY that you are setting boundaries for your work and expectations. People will push as much as they can and unless you are insubordinate, they won't fire you for setting reasonable expectations. Sometimes you just have to do that. I admire your fortitude about the early morning exercise routine. I think it helps to start the day that way and give you some positive energy and peace of mind getting it out of the way. Glad the commute to your new location is less stressful. Will be interesting - and please update us - if your snack time is satisfied with just some r & r time - it was like when I was smoking - going out for a cigarette sometimes was a chance to get away from the chaos and decompress for 10 minutes. I have been cutting back my portions and often if I have a bigger lunch I don't eat a lot for dinner but then around 9pm I am looking for a little something (at this point it's 3 or 4 hours until bed for me) and I find that giving up that late night snack is really difficult. So good luck with your plan.


Ceejay - I hope you are having a good time with your friend and that she is being a friend and not a demanding burden. Any news on your niece and the new baby?


Laura - we needed an extra refrigerator out in Tennessee where we kept it in the garage. The appliance guy recommended with the excessive heat of the south or cold of the north that you not put a refrigerator in the garage - the compressor has to work too hard to keep the refrigerator at one temp and the freezer at another. So get a refrigerator - no freezer or a stand alone freezer. Since we already had the smaller refrigerator when we moved here (which we keep in the basement) when we needed the freezer space, we researched that. Chest type freezers are generally not self defrosting and I didn't like the chest one because I am short and even with interior baskets, it seemed inefficient to dig through stuff looking for things. So we opted for a stand up frost freezer, self defrost upright freezer. A Whirlpool brand I think but I can check if you like. In fact it lasted about 5 years and then we replaced it with the same, newer model. One of those expensive worn out parts that made more sense to just replace it. I like the freezer, there is lots of light in it to see things. It keeps stuff at negative 5 degrees so everything is nice and rock hard. When we lost power, it kept everything frozen for 3 days which was pretty impressive. I do not have to defrost it. At Dh's suggestion, I purchased plastic organizing trays and have those on the shelves so I have chicken, pork, beef all nicely sorted. The shelves are glass and sturdy because stuff doesn't sit easy on the wire racks and frozen stuff can be heavy - the tempered glass works out better. And yes, I would agree that the higher priced models have the frost free. Not sure any chest type of self defrosting no matter what the price. I can't see defrosting a freezer so any extra cost was worth it to me - especially when I have 1/2 a pig or 1/4 of a cow in there at any given time. Hope that answers your questions. Happy shopping. I think it's good that you are babying that foot of yours. You can try to gently push it a bit but be very mindful so as not to head back down that pain road. I am having the same concern with the tendonitis. It seems to go dormant rather than completely heal up. You will probably need an almost ski boot type of shoe with excellent protection to support that foot. Or maybe gently wrap it to support it = then you need 2 different types of shoes. Guess you need to move to water exercise!


Shad - I am so happy to hear that you finally got a bit of lovely rain. How happy the plants must be. We have well water and even with that natural untreated stuff, the plants still appreciate the rains. Sorry to hear you gave up the French classes - I'm sure you can find something to occupy the mind. How nice of you to help out with the books for the students. And you are right - I much prefer the drier air up here even with the dry skin, quickly drying produce and the abundance of static electricity over the heavy wet humidity down south. I hated in the summer that I'd take a shower and could never dry off completely even with a fan blowing on me. Talk about getting your underwear in a bunch! So hard to get clothes on a damp body. Your flowers are absolutely beautiful. I know you like fragrance, I like color and you certainly have that. Bummer on the expensive window repairs. But new ones are hopefully energy efficient so that should give you some savings over time.


Hello to Annie wish you'd check in. I keep praying for you girl - like you say God's time but I'm getting impatient.


Got to post now. DH kept interupting me because he was trying to compose a note and then when he's done it's like "are you going to be ready for lunch" well yeah, I would have been if I could have focused on my task at hand. So now I need to go get cleaned up.


Have a good week everyone.

Afternoon

I set boundaries while ago. It is a big pet peeve of mine not to be able to plan ahead and with bff I can not. Today I did my own thing. Had a weigh in at 10.30 in which I had lost 1.5 pounds woot woot. and then on to the gym to walk on the treadmill and use a couple of weight machines. She has asked me to fix stew meat with certain veggies so that's what I'm doing now. It's in the crock pot. She keeps saying she would like to do this or that. so I'm waiting. Today I told her that if I get out in Springfield I try to do it while there is less traffic which is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.. I told her today that if we were going to point a lets go at 1 p.m. tomorrow. If she doesn't get up I'm not even going to ask her to do any thing else. It all involves her time line. She mentioned this morning that their house need to have renovations done that involves mold removal Oh no, I'm trying nt to show anxiety but it is here.

Happy
Yes our baby girl is here. She weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces and has a head full of black hair. Her hair looks curly but her dad has curly hair also. I have pictures on FB.
Good for you in stepping down from most of he volunteering.
I had a mild panic attack when I was int the dentist chair. I raise my arm up and started waving my hand. The dentist raised me up immediately. I was gasping for air.

Hello to all the rest. Send me some good vibes please.

Happy: Oh my with the dentist appointment; I was getting nervous just reading about it. I'm glad they knew what to do to keep you from wigging out....as I get older I seem to be getting closterfobic and I can feel myself starting to panic. It can be something like my feet have been in boots to long, or the seat belt is bothering me; or my coat feels like it is suffocating me I will try to talk to myself and calm myself down but the only thing that takes it away is I have to get the boots off, or the socks or the seat belt or the coat.

We are havin more sunlight and that is so nice but I still don't feel that 'hit of spring". Enjoy your week before you with no committments!

Ceeyjay: I saw the post of the new baby...she is so pretty. Good for you for that great loss!

Laura: Are you able to do the rower with your foot? I remember that you seem to really like that piece of exercise equipment.

Shad: I'm so glad you got rain...is everything looking lush.

Annie: I sure am missing you and what is going on with your family and yoursel. I'm still praying for the job situation...I know God will be faithful. Love your sister friend.

Dee: Are you out there? I would love to hear from you.

When I came home from work, I got a big glass of water, drank it and then layed down for about 30 min.....and closed my eyes. I did have a peppermint when iI got up but then I was ok to pay some bills, and emptied the dishwasher. We had salads and baked potatos from Bob Evans tonight. My friend who is personally chefing for me, needed today off. Her dad had a mild heartattack on Saturday and they were going to do some testing today.

I am heading to bed. I hope to make it back tomorrow.

Morning all.
No sign of bff today She's still in her room. I'm not sure why she does this. Why did she even come up here? I haven't been waiting on her hand and foot either. I just told myself I'm older and can't deal with it. Now she is leaving her dishes in the sink and leaving things in the garbage disposal. ugh This will be the last time she comes to visit. She was okay until I told her that my nephew who stayed with me works with social security. He's been by a couple of times. I told her we could go to point A today if she were ready to go by 1.00 p m If she isn't I'm going to the gym. I'm not putting my life on hold for her. Sorry to be this way. She and niece were texting back and forth and I know she was wanting me to feel sorry for her and say just stay up here, but I politely told her I can have visitors but no roommates.
I'm not going to do personals.

Pretty good day. Accomplished a lot at work. Had a good workout this morning on the recumbent bike and got to take a good afternoon walk in the building. My Fitbit steps show it.

Ceejay: it is strange that your BFF comes to visit but doesnt really spend time with you.

It sounds stressful to have her visit.

Hey ladies. I have lost a couple of posts that just peed me off to no end. I am going to type it in Word and paste. Will be back later.

Well today is Wednesday. Stargate 3 2019. Been on this ship since October 2018. Nothing on the dang job front. One interview at Don’t Drive Naked. Google it. Vehicle wrap place. 15 an hour and NO benefits. Well I can get that much on unemployment. Yes, got signed up for it. Used to be a disgrace to me, but h*ll I have worked 50 years and by gum I am going to collect it. Sorry if this offends any of you. Seems my demeanor is brash. I need a break. Depression and ungratefulness has set in. Severance has ended and insurance ends at the end of March. Nothing much to look forward to. I just want to go to work.

Did a two day stent in the hospital in February. Vertigo so bad I couldn’t walk, vomiting and dry heaves. After an IV, nausea meds and vertigo meds I got to come home. Couldn’t drive for 2 weeks. Now I have no job and 10K in medical debt. Oh whoa is me. Pull my big girl panties up and stop whining. I know. I get that.

Had a root canal last week. OMGOSH one of the worst pains ever. Had it on Friday and pain didn’t stop this Tuesday. I have yet another one next week on Tuesday. Trying to get everything in before insurance expires. More bills to come.

Let’s see.. Royce turned 5 last week. Sam had a bd party for him at Great Times. A game place. I told her I couldn’t help her with the cost this year and she amazingly took care of it. Hmmmmm. She is babysitting more kiddos now so that helps her. Doesn’t help with my sanity tho. Haha Royce starts kindergarten in the fall, Jacob will be in 2nd grade. Where the heck did that time go?

Jacob had a little singing program at school a couple of weeks ago. It was really cute. He got cracked up after seeing us in the crowd making faces at him. Then we got cracked up laughing at him. It was really cute.

C did get his route sold and he drives the route for the guy that bought it. He gets a regular paycheck with taxes taken out. The good news is we paid off our Toyota Hilander so that is one less bill to worry about.

Taxes…well on Cs business taxes we owe 500.00 fed and 1300.00 state which is much better than I thought it would be. Still another bill. We have not yet gotten our personal taxes done yet. Hopefully we can get a refund to cancel out the business taxes.

Hoping warm sunny weather gets here soon as I know that will help my mood. At least I could be depressed in sun drinking iced tea. Yep still sober. 3 ½ years. At least I don’t have that desire or allowing this work situation effect my sobriety.

My brother from St. Louis came over last weekend. All I did is cook and bake his favorite things. I was worn out after that 4 days. Irish stew, apple pie, pineapple upside down cake, cheeseball, roast with all the fixings, orange cranberry muffins. I can’t even remember the rest of it.

Nothing is fun anymore. Everything feels like a huge chore. I need to get some things done around the house and am not motivated. Guess I am in a slump.

Thank you all for the continued support…prayers, thoughts, good mojo, light a candle. I love you all for everything.

Afternoon all.

Susie - Good to set the expectations so people aren't taking advantage, or disappointed when they expect things much sooner than can be done. == Great job getting up early and getting the exercise done before anything can get in the way. I need to get myself on a morning exercise track. I think I've decided not to dither over cardio workouts. I'm going to do strength training and other types of exercise like Pilates and yoga based on the videos and equipment I have and maybe some you tube stuff. Good idea to try to be fine with a glass of water. A good chunk of my (over)eating is mindless/automatic/boredom eating. When I keep busy, it helps. It's when I'm planted on the sofa watching tv that I look for food.

Happy - How horrible to have that panic attack during your appointment. Good to just get the stuff to put you out enough not to suffer through it. And making the appointments shorter. Don't forget the valium for next time!! (Or is it a no-no to have that if you're going to take the nitrous o.? Thanks for the freezer tips. We've decided not to get a dedicated freezer with auto-defrost. We don't really need a full-size freezer, so we'll forego that cost and buy a used fridge/freezer combo on craigslist. I pulled the manual for the basement fridge (was upstairs when we bought our house 19 years ago). It turns out to have been purchased in 1984 - it's 35 years old!!! Guess we got our use out of it and now ComEd can pay us $50 to let them take it away!

Ceejay - Congrats to you and your family on the new baby. Yep, odd that your bff isn't taking advantage of her time with you and is wasting it sleeping. I guess she has issues.... Good for you being prepared and not letting her talk you into some kind of living arrangement you don't want!!!

Annie - Awful you had to go to the hospital to deal with the vertigo! I hope you're okay now. And the root canal!! When it rains it pours. But good to do that while you're still insured. Any insurance to be had through C's job?? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some job opportunities to come your way. Good to hear that C. sold his route and now has no more hassles with the business crap. Well, after the taxes are paid...

Okay, have to shut down and catch my train. Take care all of you. Hey Shad - are you in the path of that cyclone???!!!

Morning
The beginning of the week was horrible. She kept texting me from her room complaining about it being hot. She expected me to wait on her hand and foot and I refused to do that job. She was hoping to move up here and I had to verbally say that I cannot have roommates per sis. She wants to be in control of everything and I'm not standing for that. I told her that my window of time to getting out and doing things is between 9 and 2. It makes me nervous to drive in heavy traffic. She wants to be in control of her niece to whom she lives with now which isn't going to well either. She kept trying to wear me down but I finally told her that I'm soon to be 69 and I WILL NOT be taking care of you, and that I can barely take care of myself. I have health issues also. All of a sudden she got better.
Enough ranting. She's leaving tomorrow.

Annie
I will send more good vibes for you and family. So good to see your post. By the way, your little ones are so cute.

Laura
If I didn't have Silver Sneakers I would probably cancel my membership this summer and work outside for exercise. I didn't want BFF to bring up the fact that I was going to the gym so I told her I was doing therapy. I'm trying to walk a mile every day. Takes me about 38 minutes at a setting of 1.6 miles per hour.

Guess I'd better get the washer going. Have a good week end.

My friend is on her way back to Arkansas

Good morning everyone,


I had the week mostly to myself and was looking forward to it but it zoomed by like it was on a bullet train. There were days where I looked at the clock and it was 8pm - where did the day go? I signed up for a bunch of free classes and made the mistake of thinking a new lesson came out every OTHER week but they actually come out TWICE a week. So I am behind in my classes and they will drop me if I don't catch up by Wednesday. I took 3 Microsoft Office products classes, one on weightloss, one on website development and one on non-profit management. The one on non-profits is pretty intense, requires a lot of work. These classes used to be $100 each - I took them in the past (different subjects of course) but now they are offered free through the library system. This week when we were at Sam's Club an outdoor flat top griddle caught DH's eye. So we bought it. Yesterday was a beautiful day so we made pork chops for him, salmon for me, griddled asparagus and I served it with a salad of greens with pecan bits, blueberries and strawberries. Good dinner. Although the asparagus was griddled with a lemon butter and it was too lemony for me. Sam's had really good produce - the strawberries were red, juicy and delicious - not like they taste in the grocery store right now. DH went out yesterday to run some errands and texted me when he was in the driveway. We had a bald eagle sitting in the tree across the driveway. DH discarded some older suet and refreshed the cage and the eagle had it's eye on the suet on the ground. It sat in the tree for at least 10 minutes before it flew off. Don't know if it got any. That was pretty cool to see.


Ceejay - glad your friend is gone and you can have your peace back. It always seems to be the same story with her, never an enjoyable visit for you. You have to remember that. Good for you for getting a walk in each day.


Laura - the refrigerator we had when we bought our house in AH was fairly old and we put it in the basement when we remodelled the kitchen and it was still running when we moved out. Like yours, lasts longer than the newer stuff. We only bought a stand up freezer because we had planned on buying 1/2 cows and pigs from the farm. I think you made a good choice with the regular refrigerator / freezer combo. Have you made a decision on your car - weren't you thinking of getting a new one?


Annie, Annie, my poor friend. When it rains it just MONSOONS in your life, doesn't it? I'm sorry about all the expensive woes and I don't know if I can pray any harder than I am (well yeah, I probably could) for you to get a job already. Geez... I get on my soapbox for a minute - they brag about this great economy and all the jobs that are available and I say bunk. Are they LIVEABLE wages? I'm sorry about the root canals - they are not easy to deal with. I do hope that the ray of sunshine smiles down on you SOON. I'm glad that C sold his route - at least you don't have to deal with truck maintenance any more. PLEASE LET THINGS GET BETTER FOR YOU and thanks for posting. We do miss you ever so much. And we are so proud of you maintaining your sobriety through it all. I can't believe how Royce is growing up. He seemed to do it faster than his brother although perhaps because Royce was more "toddler" looking. Blink twice and they are driving


Susie - glad that the water is working for you instead of snacking. I am curious about your personal chef. Do tell more. I'm always looking to "tweak the plan". So proud you are holding fast to balance and your time.


Shad, hope the weather is breaking for you and you are looking at hints of autumn just as we are looking at peeks of spring here. Encouraging. Will autumn bring welcome rains too? Still making progress on all the house work/repairs/remodelling?


We are supposed to go to breakfast so I will end this post for now. Have a good week everyone.

Afternoon all. Bright and sunny, but not even 40 at the moment. Oh well. I'm enjoying the view from our office. The sun shimmering off the lake in the morning, and the blue of the water after that.

Ceejay - Back to usual and not being on guard with your friend trying to make a home in your place! I'm relieved for you, lol. Good plan with the one mile walk per day. I need to figure out how much I walk between the train station and the office now. I thought it was the same distance as the old office location, but it feels longer. I think it's just the escalator and two elevators once I'm in the building that makes it longer.

Happy - We had a nice Saturday here too. I think it was several degrees warmer than forecast - in the 50's vs 40's. Nice. Good luck with your classes! How many? Sounds like a lot of work! That's okay - keep you out of trouble. No decision yet re the car. I'm not in a big hurry, as long as it's running well, which it is (knock on wood).

Hellos to the rest of your!!

==
Weekend was fine. Saturday I took mom grocery shopping. Bf put a new battery in the sedan - it was lower on power than it should be and that's probably why it didn't start on a couple of our really cold days. This morning I discovered the radio doesn't work - but there's a code that has to be entered to get it back. I guess this is a common thing with this car after a battery change... Bf also had the oil changed last week - or was it the week before that?? Anyway, all's good so far. I've got this week left on the commuter parking lot permit, so I'm hoping the temps will warm up and I can start cycling to the train in April.

As for replacing our basement fridge, once we factored in getting someone to deliver it, buying one used on craigslist would not have been worth it. We ended up getting a brand new fridge from our favorite electronics/appliance store. It's a floor model/out of box item and we got a great deal for something new and under warranty, with free delivery. Plain old fridge - no icemaker/water dispenser, etc. Perfect. It's being delivered this afternoon. Bf has arranged the pickup by ComEd of our old fridge next week and we also get $50 for doing it.

The dvds I ordered for my BOSU trainer arrived Friday. I bought the BOSU (google it) used years ago and haven't used it much. I finally decided to get some workout videos for it. They were from the site of the BOSU company, and they were free. They are intended for personal trainers to instruct them how to use them with their clients. I watched the beginning of one and I'm happy that they are in the format of an actual workout class. And because of their purpose, they have a lot of great tips for using it. I have seven different dvds. I also have a couple other workout dvds I bought at the thrift shop a couple weeks ago that I want to try out.

I wish I could have tried one out this weekend, but I woke up Saturday with a sore rib in the back. No idea how that happened. Must have slept oddly. I was uncomfortable moving around too much, so I had to take it easy. I'm trying to decide if I want to go to the final stretching class tonight because I'm still sore.

I replaced my wallet and that arrived on Saturday. It's bigger and has more slots and compartments. We'll see how it works out... I'd rather downsize, but I just have too much junk I *think* I need to carry around. Sigh.

Sunday bf and I had breakfast with my former coworker who is now retired. We also bought two paint sample sizes for the powder room. I did a load of laundry. I finally watched the rest of the final season of "The Americans" series. I really liked that show.

I overheard bf talking on the phone to his mother in the afternoon yesterday ranting about how awful the basement was and how it overwhelms him so much he's just given up. That really ticked me off because it's a lot of his junk that's making it that way. I've decided to leave his workshop/tool area to him to dig out, but I'll take on the rest of the basement. He's not a natural at organization by any stretch of the imagination - none of his stuff has a home, and he's also the type that thinks throwing money at it will solve the issue. I'm so annoyed at him about this. I was glad when he left the house to go shop for his mom.

Okay, I've got to get back to work. Have a great rest of the day everyone.

I've had a headache today. I'm not sure why.
Yesterday was church and afterwards we went to see the baby. She is adorable.
I asked the man who did a lot of work here 2 years ago when I moved in to come and check on a couple of things , The entry way over head light has started flickering and my garbage disposal has quit. I have to get a new one for him to install later and a new light switch.
I had a doctor's appointment this morning, then went to the gym. My goal is to walk 1 mile. I can't do a 15 minute walk . Takes me around 35 minutes. I'm a turtle.
I'm curious as to what is going on between my friend and her niece. Her niece was really nice when she brought her up here but was a bit snappy when she came to get her. I know it is partly because my friend is really bossy and wants to be in charge of everything. and a know it all and wants everything her way..
I can only imagine what living with her full time would be.

Laura
I really need to go through my closets once again and get new homes for some things I don't use.

Hi Ladies,
I am happy to share 6 lb loss at TOPS last Thursday!

The weekend was a crazy one. It was a long weekend. DH took Friday to watch all the basketball games. He did have a doctor appt in the AM so we went out for breakfast...I love to have breakfast out.

Saturday morning I did one load of laundry and then my 13 yr old front loading washer front loading just stopped working. The drum wouldnt turn. For about the last 6 months the noise from the washer was getting louder and louder during the spin cycle and the guy who worked on my washer and dryer told me it was the bearings going out and it wasnt economical to fix it as it is usually $500 to 600 and to just use it until the noise got to me or it quit and it did just that on Saturday. My new one is comingnon Friday.

My brother and family are away on vacation this week so I did most of the laundry there on Saturday. I am doing a load of undergarments there tomorrow after work.

I hate it when appliances quit working!

I am going to go eat dinner and I will come back later for personals

Back to do personals.

Annie: it was so very good to hear from you.

Congratulations on your sobriety milestone. That isnt easy and it is something you have to live out everyday.I am very proud of you.

I was glad to hear that Curtis got the route sold, fingers crossed that your income tax return covers what you need and also a few "wants".

I enjoy seeing the pictures you post on Facebook.

I continue to pray for your job hunting.

Happy: it sounds like yiur time at home went fast....at least it was due to you doing what you wanted instead of your time being taken by what others want.

I saw the eagle picture on your Facebook page! That had to be amazing to see and to see it in your backyard!

Laura: I think you wimm really enjoy your new workout dvds, they sound really good and the sort of thing you like.

I had to laugh at your plan to clean the garage, it sounds like what I would do in the same situation.

Ceejay: It is great you are doing the walking. Dont worry about the distance timing. What counts is you do it routinely.

I loved seeing the picture of Olive....babies are just awesome and make a person feel good!

Hello Shad: any rain yet?

I am getting my clothes ready for tomorrow and then get in bed. That 5:00 am alarm that I set so I can get in 30 min workout before works sure seems early when it goes off.