Hi guys, just popping in for a minute. I have been down with the flu. Fortunately I had the flu shot so the symptoms was exhaustion and a sore tummy. I am still feeling weak today but only after I cleanned for an hour and a half. lol Guess I must be feeling pretty good. I am going to lie down now for a bit and see if I have the energy for lane swim this afternoon.

When I am up to it I will post to you all.

Dee,

Get to feeling better!!!

I went for acupuncture today (this was my second time). I am using it to see if it does help with appetite. So far, I can say, it is helping me. Not sure if it is in my mind or not, but I have been leaving food on my plate just about every meal. Also not snacking like crazy at night. Also have more energy. But the best part, has nothing to do with my appetite or diet. On July 1, 2001 I fell and really hurt myself. I hurt my right elbow/hand and left leg. I have had a couple of surgeries from this fall. The worst part was I had no feeling in my pinkie or ring finger on my right hand. (Being right handed this is weird and took some getting used to). I can use the fingers just not feel a thing. Well today, she put a needle in my right elbow and then one in my right shoulder and I had that pins and needle sensation in those two fingers. Once she took the needles out, I could feel. I keep poking and sort of hitting my hand to make sure and I can feel!!
Just wanted to share! I am so excited!

Debbi~that is so cool that the acupuncture helped get the feeling back in your fingers!

I'm sitting here at work getting ready to go to DD's school and meet with her guidance counselor. It's kindof a two-fold meeting. One, we need to talk about colleges and scholarships and two, we need to discuss her impending failure in AP English. At first I thought she wasn't applying herself (which IS part of the problem) but I found out last night from two other parents that no one in the class has gotten above a D- all semester. Do ya think her grading scale might be a little off? DD wants to drop the class and take regular English (which is fine with me). I still want her to take the AP test (which I am very confident that she will pass). She's struggling in AP chemistry (why she took this is very confusing to me--she wants to to into music education...) but at least she is passing that one. And she's getting A's and B's in everything else including calculus and AP US History. Something tells me it might not be all DD's fault for this poor grade.

Oh, and I moved my ticker. Down to 141.5 this morning. Still 6 pounds to go to get rid of the holiday weight gain, but it's working!!

Debbi--that is so freakin' cool!!

Allison--good luck with your counselor meeting. I hope the school is willing to evaluate the teacher's methods since no one in the class has above a D. (Except that one exceptional student who's put there to make everyone else look like fidiots--gets an A on every assignment so we KNOW it can be done :devil: )

Debbi-That's great!

Dee-Feel better!

Allison-I hope all went well with the meeting.

Bad news--Mike was laid off yesterday. Back to job hunting. The construction business is so transient. We have a new mortgage payment so things are going to be rough for awhile.

Dee hope you are feeling better.

Shelley, hope Mike can find something fast!

Allison how did the meeting go? Sounds like it is the teacher in this case, not your DD. As a teacher, periodically I take a blank test and count how many of the students got that question wrong. I then look and if any question has more than 50% of the students getting it wrong, I really look into it. I have changed grades when I have done this, and given points for that question.

Still have feeling in my hand and it is so amazing! I keep checking!

Good morning everyone!

The meeting with the counselor went well, I think....I explained that he progress report showed her getting a D-, but he looked up on the computer and it showed her getting "better than a C." I quote that because they are not required to report a good grade on a progress report, just anything less than a C, so basically her progress report is blank for English. There had been a glitch in the system, and the first progress report was sent out with incorrect info. A second was sent, but when there was nothing reported for English, I didn't know if it was correct. So, I'm thinking all is well--she's doing fine. Then DD comes into the office and we tell her that she's getting a C, and she says that the teacher in fact told her she is getting an F.....so I guess my next step is to contact the teacher directly.

In the meantime, we discussed trying to move her from this AP English class to the other AP English class. Can't be done. Her current class is small and the other one is overfull, so they won't do a transfer. We talked about moving her to CP English (college prep~the only other alternative). He explained that there is where she will run into 2 problems: 1) the class is too easy and that's where all the problem students are put (normally, everyone who is interested in graduating takes AP English) and he's afraid she'd get bored and wouldn't like the crowd and 2) if she changes from AP to CP, the UC (University of California like UCLA) schools will not accept it~she'd have to take another half year of CP to make it consistent. That means 2 English classes next year as a senior.

We'll digest the information for a few days and have a talk with her next weekend. She really can't make a change until the end of the quarter which is at the end of January. Meanwhile, he let her borrow a catalog on colleges and universities so she can look up some places for music education degrees. He wants her to go to Oberlin, but I'm afraid she'd freeze up there! And I think it's more geared toward performance not education.

Debbi~I don't think its the tests that get to DD. Its the work. She is a voracious reader, but dislikes having to work. This teacher expects the students to mark up their books with highlights, margin notes, underlining similes and metaphors. She says it distracts her from the content, so she doesn't do it and she gets marked down for it. She had an essay that was due and she didn't do it. So it is mostly her fault. The counselor said he had not heard other kids having problems in the class, but several other Mothers that I know all say their kids are doing poorly in the class (D-). I don't know who to believe. DD had this teacher as a freshman and didn't do very well (managed to squeak out a B in the second half of the year, though). Once I emailed the teacher about her poor performance and the teacher said that DD was probably getting into the wrong crowd at school. Obviously she doesn't know my DD! That part is completely untrue.

Well, I've gone on too far. Everyone have a wonderful weekend!!!

went and got scale finally today and I weighted in at 178, not sure where it changes my ticker yet up or down but I also know most of that weight has been mucsle cause I can see definination and I have been workign and losing since september so i am happy. got a new workout dvd yesterday from walmart this abs on the pilaties ball thing im going to do in a few minutes... my brother has dedided to go on the atkins and im proud of him ,m hes doing great hes really needs to lose weight , hes driving me cray asking me so many questions about EVERYTHING I wanna kill him but at the same time I can see how devoted he is to losing weight and I am so proud of him. Now theres some pizza hut from last nigth that I didnt take part in thats calling my name , i just need to go and insult the pizza box haah. I wont give in . later ladies.

Allison- the college search has us all frustrated... these days I dont know what i want to do , I want to do journalism but now for some reaosn I find it less appealing and soemthing with animals or medical more enlithening mabey veterninry but I also want to travel the world. I can wy your daughter is stressed out with all those ap classes sheesh!

shelly- things being rough is the story of my life, sorry it had to happen , im sure you will be alright.

dee get better soon./

We woke to police & ambulance arriving next door this morning. They started taping everything off and then started going door to door to ask questions. To make a long story short, our neighbor passed away last night from a self inflicted gunshot wound. He had an ongoing substance problem. His son and my daughter are friends, once considered very best friends, until a few years ago when they started hanging out in different groups and growing away from each other. The wife has no family, she has lost both her mom & dad over the past few years. I'm not quite sure how we should handle things, we are not close friends, but yet we have kept track of each others family. I guess tomorrow we will go buy items to eat to take over to the house. If any of you have any suggestions, please feel free to suggest away. I have never had to deal with a suicide before and I want to just make sure I am doing everything appropriately. It is so sad to think one can get to the point to make such a decision. My heart aches for him and the family.

Gayle ~ My prayers go out to your neighbor's family! My sister's ex-husband committed suicide in the same manner several years ago a day before my niece's (his daughter) 7th birthday. Suicide is devastating to the entire family, but especially for the kids. There are so many questions left unanswered and a lot of "what if's" and "if only's". It's hard for adults to understand why someone would want to take their own life and nearly impossible for a child. The best thing you can do for the family is be there for them, now and in the future. So many people feel awkward in this situation and don't know what to do or say, so they don't do or say anything...no matter what you do, your kindness and concern will be appreciated!

This seems like a pretty bad time to introduce myself, but this group seems so warm.
gayle i lost my grandpa to suicide. there is going to be a lot of anger and hurt i that house and nobody wil know how to deal with it, sadness you expect when someone dies but when someone takes their own life it makes you so mad.and they may lash out at you or anyone who trys to help but all you can do is be patient and love em through it. My prayers are with you guys.

my best friend attempted suidcide last year. she has attempted it more than once. I still feel for her but theres only so much I can do , she doesnt resent the signs and she does it tto test how much her body can take. others know about it too so I cant do too much plus I live like 50 miles now from her. She takes sleeping pills to try to die on her sleep, she used to be a cutter, not to mention she used to anerexioc this is the same one that does drugs on top of it, in fact I havet spoke to her in a while and I dont really care. but anyways , I dont know what to say gayle , flowers I guess, and offer your help if they need anything.

welcome kathy

Welcome Katy!!

Gayle, not sure what to say, I think a meal or two sent over would be appreciated. Also, if it snows, to just shovel or snowblow the drive and walk way, little helpful things like that. My Goddaughter's husband committed suicide a few years ago, and I remember Paula telling me, no one wanted to talk about Matt anymore. She needed to talk about him, they have two children, 6 and 3 when he did it. The kids needed to talk about Daddy too.

Both Allison and Vouge, if I can help with anything college related let me know. I know all sorts of ins and outs, working there as you know!

Just an update, still have feeling in my hand and it is amazing! My friend who goes with me, says her foot doesn't hurt at all, and some days it is so difficult for her to walk. Well I am taking the decorations down and need to stop procrastinating and get back to work!

Gayle~don't stop at giving food to your neighbor. Every week or so, stop by with some "necessity" that you picked up at the grocery store. Even something as mundane as toilet paper or pet food. It doesn't have to be expensive, but take it over and they will understand that you care and if you deliver the items in person, they may open up and talk a little. It's devastating to them and knowing that there is someone willing to help and perhaps listen will be helpful. You might even offer to run errands for them.

Debbi~so glad you still have feeling in your fingers! That is totally amazing!

Welcome katyp!

Got to get to my Sunday chores. Everyone have a wonderful day!