Bagz, you sound just like me. Must be the mentalpause. How do you survive winter without boots? I have 2 pairs of boots that I wear almost every day -- one low hiking style and the other taller leather and rubber snowboots with big thick insulated removable liners. I can't even get the mail and the newspaper without boots. I have a nice pair of suede furlined tall dress boots too, but the zipper pull broke off and I can't drag the stinkin' thing up past my fat calves anymore, so I don't bother with dress boots. (Why bother, I live in the woods anyway)

Your in-laws should be ashamed of themselves, Wab! I am incensed on your behalf. But I think it's lovely that you care and are willing to put the time in for Gpa Jim. I hope he appreciates you. I'm trying to imagine being in that same situation, and coming up a bit short. I mean I can imagine taking care of my in-laws, but I can't imagine my SIL sitting idly by letting me. Anymore than I would twiddle my thumbs while a sisterIL or brotherIL took care of MY parents. It doesn't compute.

Howdy ellabella! You are most welcome to join. The question is usually, how long can you put up with us? :lol3: We have, many of us, been hanging around online together for some years now. What did we say, 10, Bagz? Sad to say, I am fatter now than ever. However at least I am willing to go outside and do something in the winter.

:s:

Later, cowsies.

Kiwi

Well, thanks for the welcomes! The motivation may be running a little thin, but what the ****? You're intelligent and interesting, and if you've been hanging out for ten years and are willing to let me jump in, here I am. I'm sympathizing with the weather-related stuff, Oh lawdie how I hate winter! Didn't used to. Used to ski and everything. Yeah. Well, now all I want to do is get safely to and from my car without falling on the ice and breaking my butt. Of course, it can be very pretty. In pictures. Your tree is wonderful, Bagzz. For a while when I first married my present DH, we were living in his house/studio up on top of a great big hill - or maybe it was a mini-mountain - in Temple, NH, just over the ridge from Mount Monadnock. That hill would freeze solid after it snowed, and driving down into civilization, you took you life in your hands. Absolutely beautiful up there - in both winter and summer. The views were breathtaking. BUT, it meant a two hour trek to work in Boston for me, and we ended up buying an old restored victorian in central Mass (pretty much equidistant between Manchester and Boston) and I love it.
With re: caring for elderly relatives, and especially in-laws, I took care of my ex-husband's mother for six months when she had terminal uterine cancer. She was a lovely woman who did so much for every one of her kids - and daughers and sons-in-law and all the grandchildren. But, when she couldn't stay home by herself any longer, they all had a million excuses. I had a rotten relationship with my own mother, and she had retired down to Florida right after my father died, so I didn't see much of her in her later years, anyway. Having my mother-in-law with us for as long as we did was a nice thing for me and for my kids too, really. Interesting, though - when she got real bad, and we had to hospitalize her, and she only had a few days left, my sister-in-law (her daughter) swooped down and insisted on taking her home with her. What was THAT all about????? Tsk.
Oh, jeeze. I've done the car thing, too. Or forgotten completely where in the danged lot I parked it and roamed around like a lost soul with my grocery cart from one row to the next.
I have boots. Many boots. All I wear is boots in winter. Tall boots, short boots, leather boots, suede boots, rubber boots. ANY kind of boots. My feet get cold.
And, finally, what I'm doing, see, is low calorie, high fiber, drinking lots of water, which I never did before, peeing a lot, and WALKING. Yes, folks, I have walked THREE times since Saturday! And you know what? I feel good! I feel virtuous! I am a happy little heifer! (Watch - the end of the week will come, and I won't have lost a bloody ounce!)
Sorry for writing a short story, here. I'll try for MUCH shorter from now on.
Cheers!
Ella

We like short stories.

Today I'm on the girl scout cookie diet. One of the guys here brought in 2 boxes this morning. Then they all take off to do work and leave the cookies here staring me in the face.

Gpa doesn't like the food at the rehab facility. He says the tv doesn't work and there's no remote, until I pick up the remote from the table and turn it on and it works fine. He says the place is cold, so I run home and get his favorite tv blanket. Getting old is a b*tch. ------------ and I took his hearing aid in to be fixed and it's unfixable. A new one starts at $1000 -- and he really needs 2.

No need for boots here. No snow. No ice. It was sunny and 65 yesterday - back to 50's and rainy today. bleeh. Fits my mood.

Hello! Welcome Ellabella!

Peachie, did you ever have your multiquote problem fixed? It's the button with the "+ on it, next to the "quote" button. Click on that when you see a message you want to quote, then at the end of the thread, when you want to reply, hit "Post Reply." Ta-Da!

Wabby, I'm so sorry people are putting so much responsibility on you! It seems to be that way, doesn't it?

Still knitting, still schooling, still Sparking.

yada yada yada
 

I'm such a bad cow! Too many birthdays and the mother of all migraines. Almost had to use my Lufthansa air sickness bag yesterday. Various children have also been staying home from school with miscellaneous stomach aches. ''Tis the flu season around here.

Still fat, still unmotivated.

Hi Ellebelle! And thank you so much for noticing that we are intelligent and interesting.

So sorry to hear about Grandpa Jim, Wabby! Like you need any more stuff to worry about. :hug:

Back. Hope you don't mind if I jump right in, here. DH is a software engineer. Been working for a major hospital in NH for about seven years, now, never any problems - in fact, he was a major player in a complete system replacement and wrote/adapted all the new software to accomodate it. New boss came onboard about a year ago who doesn't seem to have a clue about software applications, and they've been like oil and water, these two. Like I mean, TOTAL personality conflict, which apparently erupted today in a bit of an unpleasant confrontation. So, DH is figuring to look for a new job, and I'm a bit of a nervous wreck, although of course I grinned at him and said, "This was just what you needed to push you towards something else... You KNOW you've been wanting to move on!" Yeah, right. Fact is, I'm nervous. The man is no spring chicken, He's sixty. I know that he has the skills and the background and all that, but gawd....do they hire sixty-year olds? Of, of COURSE they do, right?
Ahhhhhh. I'm sure it'll all be fine; there are actually some major hospitals in our area, and if he worked closer to home, it would be better for him anyway. Right now he drives about 50 miles each way.
So, I'm just sort of in shock - didn't expect this, really. Figured he was just kvetching about his boss, but everybody does, so I didn't see anything unusual in that.
Well, this, too, shall pass, I'm sure. Just needed to get it off my chest. :(
In the meantime, I'm STILL eating on plan, as they seem to say here on 3FC. Don't ask me why. Ordinarily, any sort of upset sends me scurrying to the refrigerator.
I was driving home tonight feeling so damned witchy. My daughter called and asked me if I could stay home from work next Friday to watch my granddaughter because there's a development day at school for the teachers, and my daughter can't take the time off - already has appointments with clients that day, and her husband, who teaches in Boston, doesn't have a development day. Yes. Of course I can. You know, my kids are all grown, now, with jobs, husbands (well, my son has a girlfriend with whom he lives out in LA) and some have children (not my son, thank Gawd), but they have these busy, busy lives and sometimes it feels like I am constantly doing for them without much payback. Maybe that comes when I'm old and feeble. Oh, ****, I'm just feeling churlish and I know it!
Time for me to pack it in for the night.
Sorry this was all about ME. Really.

Tah,
Ella

Ella darling----you now know what we talk about here----not loooooosing weight!!! haha----that was a lovely rant----try not to worry too much about the situation cause perhaps the powers that be will not be any rush to lose your husband---especially when he has been so great at his job---maybe the boss will get the boot!!! ohhhhhhhhhh we poor women---we are always the ones everyone lays down their troubles!!!!right now,i would like to say we have been setting RECORD LOW temperatures and i am sick to death of it!!! i am freezing me arse off!!!

Ahh, Bagzie, if it were only possible to freeze a bit of my arse off, I'd do it. Much easier than cutting back on food, or horrors, exercising.

Ella, we are women, watch us roar. And take care of everybody else.

Gpa Jim is back in the hospital. Nursing home called and said they didn't feel comfortable keeping him, he was in pain and distended abdomen. They hauled him back to the hospital, and now they've decided he has colon cancer. Surgery today at 2 pm. You may ask why they're doing surgery on an almost 94 yr old. 1. he wants it done 2. he'd eventually be in horrible pain w/o surgery. 3. he may sail through this and be fine for another 10 years.

Sorry to be doom and gloom again.

DD is back from southern CA. She said she was so happy to be home that when her plane descended back under the clouds at the Portland airport it was all she could do to hold back the tears. Leave it to a native Oregonian to be happy when you leave the sunshine for the rain.

DH's youngest sister is having dire financial problems - long story, her own fault - and now she's being evicted from her rental house. I'm just waiting for her to ask if she can move in w/ Gpa Jim. I don't know what the answer will be. I really don't want the chaos. Tell me I have enough to deal with. Tell me she's a big girl, married, supposedly responsible for herself. Tell me it wouldn't be selfish of me to say there's no room at the inn here. Tell me. I'm such a sucker for a sad story.

Oh Lawdy, this is nice. LOL. Just participating in the "stream of life". Isn't that poetic?
Thanks for the "there, there..." Bagzz, and the reminder to roar, Wabby. I love roaring.
My ex-H had colon cancer. He wasn't as old as Gpa Jim, of course, but so long as the tumor is encapsulated, they can just remove the section that it's in, reconnect the rest, and he should be back in business, or at least back in whatever business 94 y.o. men are in in the first place.
I wish MY DS felt the way YOUR DD feels about So. Cal. Once he went out there to school, we haven't been able to lure him back except for a week in June and a week at Christmas.
I slept very poorly last night, got up at @ 1:00 in the AM and ate an apple dipped in peanut butter. Not "On Plan" as they say here on 3FC, but not nearly as devastating as if I'd eaten a chocolate bar. That would've had me binging into next year. I'm actually kind of looking forward to weighing myself on Sunday. FEELS like I may have dropped a few pounds, but who knows? With my luck, I'll have gained 10!
And Wabby, just for the record, MY vote is that you have enough on your plate taking care of Gpa Jim. I don't think you can be expected to bail out your irresponsible SIL as well. How much can they expect of you, anyway?
The weather down this way is looking up! Freezing our buttskis off all this week, but supposed to be in the high 40's tomorrow. I'll have to get out my bikini! (Auuurrgh. NOT)
Ella

Gosh, I didn't know about the Girl Scout diet! Nobody even sold me any this year. I feel terribly left out....

Here's what's wrong with that idea of losing weight eating nothing but frozen dinners: I had one last night before I went out to another meeting :faint:, and when I got home 2 hours later I was starving starving. The box said it was 9 oz of food, but really it was nothing more than an appetizer. So then I finished off the Doritos and started in on the Cheezits. Practically everything I bought yesterday was processed food. Although I did throw in some fresh veggies. I just didn't eat any of them. Lotta good they'll do me. I eat fat and salt when I feel stressed out, which believe me I do. This project is giving me a headache.

Oh Sugar, not that sick stuff again! I hope you feel better.

Well, Ellabella I feel your pain on the spousal employment front. Mine got dumped unceremoniously when the local paper mill went belly up 4 years ago. He sat on the couch and moped for what seemed like a lifetime and then got a job that only lasted a year and a half. He's been out of work now for 21 months, every minute of which has been excruciating. And he's an engineer with tons of supervisory experience. He just turned 50 and I'm starting to wonder if he will ever do anything. What I can tell you is that as long as he is still at his current job, he will have a very good chance to be hired, but lord knows if he ends up sitting on your couch for any length of time, you're in trouble! You are fortunate to be in an area where there are lots of options. We have almost nothing here. The job openings are so scarce that everyone and their mother apply to them, so the chances of getting the job are so slim it hardly seems worth bothering.
Well, I'm still sparking too -- every time I walk across the rug in my socks! That probably wasn't what you meant... :doh:
Oh if only. Frankly when my arse freezes, it doesn't seem to do it a bit of harm. I think if I tried to freeze it off, I would lose something I actually had a use for, like my nose or my ears... :brr:
Oh dear, you know you don't want to let her move in! It would be different if she were the responsible type and she actually wanted to take care of Gpa Jim or something, but if all she would do is add to your stress, tell her the place is infested with rats, tell her it's being demolished, tell her anything but "move on in"!!!
I think that would be mischief, in his case... ;)
Ah, my recurring nightmare last year before DD decided not to apply to anything farther away than NYC. I think she would love LA, but we could never spend the money for her to go back and forth much.

Speaking of DD, she is on her way home as we speak! She and the BF are coming home for the weekend. She picked a good weekend, it finally warmed up (to almost 30! whoopee...) and it's beautifully sunny.
I'm jealous. If I could eat apples, I would be a lot skinnier now. Shortly after my dd was born, I went on a diet that encouraged having apples with peanut butter or cheese as a snack, and I really enjoyed that. Unfortunately a few years after that, I became allergic to raw apples, along with many other fruits, and I've never found a really appealing alternative for snacking. You know, other than chips and crackers and everything bad for you.

Well, I must go do more on this hideous sign project. The project's not really all that awful, but it is keeping me up at night thinking about it, which makes me hate it. Maybe I'll enlist DD and bf to work on it. I actually cleared off the kitchen table for a change....well, most of it. I have a pile of mail for DH that is over a foot high.

Cowpeach: I just washed my new socks. They still look adorable.

Kiwi

i want to stop by and tell you that i have to go and drink some booze tonight--i have enjoyed today's conversations and will comment on them when i return in a tipsy state------------well,maybe i will wait til tomorrow!! love yas all!!!!!!

Divine Bovines
 

Just me. Back yet again. I won't keep posting constantly, I promise. It's just beem SUCH a weird couple of days, now. I don't know how to insert quotes - I'm so illiterate computer-wise, I'm afraid. :shrug: So, have to rely on memory. Gawd, Im sorry to hear about your DH's lack of work at present, Kiwi. That must be so frustrating - for him as well as for you. You're right - there IS opportunity around here, and hopefully he'll find something quickly. My next-to-oldest daughter is the area exec. director of the American Heart Association, so she has a lot of contacts in the hospitals, and has said that she'll use them. I really don't know what I'd do if he were to be unemployed over a long period of time. I have to admire your strength. I'm afraid I would've just crumbled. Maybe not. I guess we do what we have to, don't we? I'm sensing that the women in this little "club" are extremely strong and capable people.
Well, he and I have both settled down some after last night's shock and dismay, etc., etc. Maybe no apples & peanut butter for me in the middle of the night tonight.
Oh Lawdie, Kiwi - you know, when I was on the Atkins diet for lo, those seven years after my son was born, and staying nice & slim & svelte, I would've said "Who CARES about fruit, anyway?" I've never been much of a fruit OR vegetable lover. But I just can't face another lifetime of Atkins, and I've been reprogramming myself, here. I'm actually enjoying fruit and veggies like I never did. So, I'm sorry that you've developed those allergies. I don't think those frozen dinners are enough for ANYBODY. I was bringing the Lean Cuisines to work for lunch for a while, but was starving an hour later. Always ended up at the vending machine, which didn't have a single healthy thing in it. Not a single one.
I'm eating fiber, fiber, fiber, which is surprisingly filling, and drinking a LOT of water - something else I've never been able to do. Always hated it. I'll let you know if I'm ten pounds heavier come Sunday when I drag my butt onto the scale. I've just been feeling like this - :sumo: for so long now, and I just can't stand it anymore.
Well, I'll have to go throw some paper balls for the khat now. Otherwise, she won't let me go to bed in peace.
Bye for now,
Ella

Well, apparently Bagz didn't make it back
 

here last night. Or else she posted something so heinous she had to delete it. :lol:
I'm available for computer coaching...It has stretched my tolerance way beyond the breaking point and has put a huge strain on our marriage. Sometimes I think it's mostly pure stubbornness that keeps me here. Whatever it takes though, I guess!
Well, there's a sport I can get behind! Mine are especially fond of foil balls. They like the way they skitter across the kitchen floor.

DD and the BF are in the kitchen making macaroons with dulce con leche sauce at the moment. Apparently he came over and made her breakfast. I say apparently because I was asleep. Good thing they're good kids...

Oo the house smells sooooo good. Very dangerous.

I took these pictures a few days ago when it was snowing and drifting. The 1st one is my wreath on the front door. The second one is the drift (cliff?) in the backyard; if you look closely you can see the wind whipping up a dust storm of snow. Fun and games in Maine.

Later gators
Kiwi

I cannot keep up. I mean, I cannot catch up. I see we have a new kid. Hi, Ellabella. Welcome. Just be fatter than me and it'll all be ok.

So, in spite of the fact that I have not read all your posts (I skimmed them) I am going to rant. Do not feel that you should read this. Go clean something.

I love my afternoon kids. All of them are wonderful and the class is peaceful and we get stuff done. The morning kids are different. I am convinced that several (5 or 6) are emotionally disturbed. Possibly they have problems resulting from something their moms did while in utero. They are hor ri ble. And I have no power in that room which makes me seethe with anger toward them. I am not allowed to physically punish them. They do not stay where put and will not serve time out. I am told not to call their moms. I can't work with the good kids because the bads will pile up, usually with a girl on bottom and boys on top, and someone will pull the posters off the wall, and someone will turn on the water and leave it, etc.

So they're supposed to be interviewing for a new teacher for that room on Monday. It makes me a bad person. Really, I can not stay in a room with 17 other people who can hit, kick, scratch me and I can't do a thing about it. I'm told get down into their faces and talk so they'll know I'm serious. I'm told to separate them. Well, they ALL need separating. I'm told to move them every 15 minutes. Forget it. If they don't get me out of there, I'm going to believe I've been set up.

Then, DS has gone to his dad's. I have his whole life being positive about those people to him and encouraging relationships and all that. I'm done. I told him today that every single person with our last name, except MAYBE him and me, are stupid. Actually, we all are.

1. The dad's phone is out of order so DS can't call him. The dad knows this and does not call DS.

2. DS decides to go to every supermarket in the chain his dad works for and ask if he works there. He find them unhelpful. He calls me.

3. I call an aunt who lives near the dad and ask if she'll call DS, who is near by and lost, and tell him how to get there. She won't. I believe she was unwilling to foot the phone bill. She wanted him to call her but he's driving and he can't write down the number and I want to slap them all.

4. He find it.Accidentally, I guess.

So how it work calling cell phones from land phones. If it's an out-of-area area code but you're in the area, is it long distance?

Kiwi, I think you're admirable. If I had a DH, I hope I'd hang on to him, too. I a going to watch tv and vegetate now.

Divine Bovines
 

Greetings!

Well, I hope Bagzz had fun, wherever she went and wherever she is now (probably sleeping peacefully, which I what I wish I was doing - I wake up much too early, especially on non-work days. It's SO annoying!) I haven't been out for a drink in so long I can't even remember when the last time was. Now that I'm so old, alcohol just puts me to sleep, and I can do that on my own, so there's really no point. :dunno:
Hiya Cowpernia! :wave: Nice to meet you. I probably am fatter than you, so we should get along famously! Sorry to hear about the problems at school. Are you teaching a special needs class? If so, it sounds like there are WAY to many kids in there to be at all manageable. Here in Massachusetts, there are limits on how many special needs kids can be in a class, and if I'm not mistaken, it's somewhere around six - and that's WITH a teacher's aide in the room as well! If your kids aren't special needs, then they've got to be the most ill-behaved and uncontrollable group imaginable. My SIL teaches in inner-city Boston, and doesn't have that much trouble with his students. Whatever can their parents be thinking?
As for your son's pursuit of his father, I can readily identify with how you're feeling about that. My ex and I split a year before my second youngest left for college. All of MY share of the proceeds from the house sale went to her college tuition. (She also worked and got scholarships; things were pretty lean at that point). THEN, the same year she graduated, my youngest started, and I had four more years of tuition, books, fees, etc., etc., while the ex, who is a school principal ironically enough, went his merry way. He didn't bother contacting the kids, never sent them a dime for anything beyond the child support that came out of his paycheck off the top. So, now the kids are all grown, and guess what? They have this cozy relationship with their father and his current wife. Like you, I encouraged them, didn't say anything negative about him for fear of injuring their little psyches, and now they're all buddy-buddy. So what am I? Chopped liver? No, I still have a great relationship with all my kids, but the fact that they even bother with their father after he essentially abandoned them still sticks in my craw. :mad: Forgiving is a good thing. I always told them that. Just have to wonder why they take the advice you really don't WAN'T them to take, and don't seem to take your *good* advice, you know? :frypan:
I agree that Kiwi is admirable. And strong. The strength of women is an amazing thing, isn't it? You BET we keep this world turning. If it were left up to men, it would've fizzled away a long time ago. Have you ever noticed that when THEY don't feel well, they just shut down completely, want huge amounts of sympathy, need to be catered to, fed hot liquids, have extra covers put on their poor little selves, while WE just have to bite the bullet and keep doing everything we ordinarily do? Blah!
Kiwi! I definitely will be looking for some help navigating all the fun little mechanics of computering at 3FC! Thanks!
And, that's all she wrote. :comp: Or mostly. My two girls - and their two children, Morgan (a girl) 6, and Devon, 5 :hyper: , were here from @ 6:00 last night 'til 9:30 helping DH update his resume. Back today for dinner and to finish up the resume writing. I'm SO grateful (had visions of moving my furniture into a cardboard carton and setting up housekeeping under the expressway overpass) but ungrateful as it may sound, this does not afford me much relaxation before schlepping back into work in the morning. This old gal needs her rest, I'm afraid.:tired:
OMG, Kiwi! You have had some SERIOUS snow up there! Great pictures, but they made me shiver. Keep warm, for gawd's sake! Oh - I'll have to try the foil balls for the khat; DH folds notepaper into little balls for her, and they're all over the house.
Have a good day, all.

Ella :coffee2:

A few more questions Ellabella. Think carefully before you answer. In your house, can you see the surface of your desk? How often do you throw out junk mail? Where the last load of laundry you washed?

I read on this knitting list that this woman motivates hereself to clean by allowing herself to knit two rows after washing down the bathroom sink.That will give you an idea where I'm at if I find that idea brilliant. Which I do.

I relate deeply to the needing rest thing. After working with the preschoolers (17 in a room and it IS too many three-year-olds) I work one day a week in a supermarket. Last week, I called in sick because he had scheduled me from 11:00 to 8:30 and I couldn't face it. That is too d*mn long. Yesterday was 10:00 to 5:30 and I was happy to sell beer and chips to the spring breakers.

Now I'm going to do something in the kitchen so I can knit.

Ellabella and I are the same height. I've always found 5'6" very fashionable and it takes so little maintenance to remain that way. My hair rarely looks decent but I'm always nice and medium tallish..

Nice rant, Peachie! To answer your question, if the number you are calling would be a local call if they were standing next to you, it is still a local call when they are a million miles away, and if it looks like a long distance number, it's long distance even if they are standing next to you. So the aunt would be charged long distance no matter where DS is. Of course, most people don't pay more than 5 to 10 cents a minute for long distance these days, do they? What a cheap b****, she couldn't spend 50 cents to help out her nephew. Much better that he should try to call people while driving around in an unfamiliar area, right?

Honestly, I think a lot of ex-wives have regrets that they have made so much of an effort to "do the right thing" with regard to their kids' relationships with their fathers, but it is still the right thing. I am sure my mom wishes she had beaten into our brains that our dad was an unfaithful spendthrift with an irresponsible streak, but she kept it all to herself and I got to find out "my own self" what his flaws were, long after I had cemented a good relationship with him. I mean, I was a fairly mature person before I had to face the fact that he wasn't perfect, and I feel good about it looking back (he died, wow, ten years ago). I wonder what difference it might have made in my and my brother's lives if we had grown up not thinking the world of him. My brother always used my dad as a role model, but mostly he copied his bad attributes and didn't do much with his good ones.Ah yes, baby steps, right? I reward myself for each tiny little household chore with a cup of coffee and an endless "few minutes" on the computer. No wonder I never get anything done. Did I mention I cleared off the kitchen table. It's covered again. But I don't really care, because hanging out with my DD is definitely high priority than clear surfaces (although I would like to have both). She is on her way back to school (off to your neck of the woods actually, ellabella). I miss her already. Although truthfully I didn't see her by herself for more than a few minutes all weekend. But that's all right, the bf is a good guy and as far as I'm concerned he can come and go as he pleases. (DH finds it a bit uncomfortable, but hey, he's in Florida, he doesn't get a say!) BF was here folding DD's laundry when I came down this morning. I'm pretty sure he had just called her about 5 minutes before then. :dunno:
You're goofy.

Must go retrieve the doggie from the outside. Oh I hope she hasn't been digging. We had a big thaw yesterday. Still plenty of snowdrifts, but where the driveway and yard were plowed, it's either a sheet of ice or muddy dead grass. Yuck.

Kiwi

Thanks for the phone explanation. You try (I try) and try not to be stereotypical about people and THEY do it for you.

I always felt that kids believe they're like their ancestors and if I said "Your dad is a selfish, big-mouthed jerk," I'd be telling DS that came from such stock. But I'm on the verge of saying it now. DS has the widsom teeth to be removed in a week. The aunt, Aunt I-Am-God-As-I-Control-All-The-Family-Inheritance is going to be visiting one day during all this. I don't know why. She lives in the north. I wonder if she's going to see MY son. Anyhow, if these person don't end up paying for that surgery, I will spew.

Now, I'm going to eat popcorn.

WHAT A LOVELY SUNDAY CHAT YOU ARE ALL HAVING!!!WELL!!! my dd who is spending this term abroad is now heading to Ireland with her cronies for the week ---they will be in the land of the leprechauns for St Patty's day celebrations ---should be loverly!!---regarding Peachers!!!-- that is utterly ridiculous that you have to look after 17 kids---you must have so-called 'helpers' right??? if not,that must be totally illegal---there is no way there is one adult to 17 kids ANYwhere!!---i am sure if anyone is helping you they are decendents of the do-do birds.----it makes me tired just thinking of it............oops!! i want to keep talking but dh just brought in the groceries and i have to help unpack!!

What a lucky boy DS is, Peachie, to have God come visit him while he's having his wisdom teeth removed. I hope you don't have to spew.

A plane just flew overhead very low, like it was going to land. Weird. Private plane. In the winter they land on skis on the lakes. I wonder if sometimes they get the wrong information about conditions where they're going to land and put the wrong thing on their, um, feet, and then can't land? Like if the lakes had all melted and there was no snow but they had skis on? These are things I wonder about... :chin:

DD informed me that she is going to get her wisdom teeth out this summer. Apparently she forgot to say "Mommy dearest, please make me an appointment to have my wisdom teeth out" because I certainly don't have it on MY calendar. Isn't it darling how they just assume you will know that they need something and take care of it for them? :rolleyes: She and BF are suggesting they should have their wisdom out at the same time so they can recover together. I told them they definitely should take turns, because who will take care of them if they are both recovering at the same time? (Silly question, of course, the mommies will)

I am still making signs. It will never end.

How cool to be in Ireland for St. Paddy's Day! She is just having the time of her life, isn't she?

I've noticed everyone has gotten rid of their sigs, out of sympathetic horror at the one I had up the past week or so. Do you like this one any better?

Kiwi

Yes that's better. Sure.

What do they do in Ireland on St. Pat's Day? Green beer? "Kiss me I'm Irish' tee shirts? Wear green or get pinched? I need to know.

Where is Shots?? ??

hello cows---i have decided to try to loooose the winter weight i have put on---around 8 pounds of extra fat have found their way to my aprongutasauraus reximus--it is very uncomfortable and my pants are singing----and the song is loud and ugly.so tomorrow i will go to yoga class cause i have to start out slow----i need to excercise but i have been such a slug that i have to do SOMEthing------------i am going to try to upload pics of the studio i go to===the bonus is----the instructor is a sweet 30 year old guy and he loveeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssss me HAHAHAHAHAH---actually i think he loves my daughters but i don't mind if he gets to them through moi!!!!! {miss piggy} now,let me see if i can do thisssssssssssssssssssssssss

by the way,i forgot to mention kiwonkers great pics---i esp loved the door with the christmas wreath----that reminds me,i should take my garland down off the porch rails-----today it rained so that crappy snow is finally starting to disappear-----i want to say more but my shoulder is tired of typing.maybe acupuncture would be good.

Divine Bovines
 

Me. Back. Kiwi, it's strange thinking of your DD in the same city I work in. Dunno why. Just odd to have connected with you here in cyberspace and find out you have a CHILD here, and have been here visiting yourself. Oh, I know there's nothing odd about people coming to - and going to school in - Boston. Just feels deja-vu-ey or something. Or not, I guess. :dizzy: As far as remaining positive about my ex where the kids were/are concerned, you're absolutely right, of course, and I did my very best to do that although it took some SERIOUS will power, for sure. There sure were times when I wanted to just cut loose and carry on a really loud and nasty rant at him (or about him) and I'm glad I refrained although the frustration level was VERY hig, trust me. :tantrum:
Cowpernia, my desk and junk mail constitute a piece of dynamic, living, changing art. Someday it will be declared a national treasure and included in a time capsule for future generations to try and figure out. It will keep astro-archaeologists busy for years and years. It's quite beautiful, and especially so when a pile, all of its own accord, slides to the floor in a graceful sort of lava flow, and other piles fill in the space it left with new and awe-inspiring configurations. You don't "clean up" art. And 5'6 has worked well for me, too, except that to be height:weight proportionate, I'd need to be 6'5.
Bagzz, having only eight pounds to lose is not nice.
Oh, I hope your DD is enjoying her stay on the emerald isle. Makes me envision her running happily through a green, green field with lots of yellow flowers, and climbling castle turrets and singing Irish drinking songs at a wonderfully grungy old pub whose sign has hung since St, Paddy hisself was there.
Eventful day, here. Frosted my hair this morning. :flow2: I CAN'T have a hairdresser do it. They're afraid of lawsuits - like if all my hair fell out, or something - so they NEVER use a strong enough bleach, and they NEVER leave it on long enough, and it comes out a gold color with little orange streaks here and there, which is NOT what I'm looking for. So, every so often, when I am totally fed up with my mouse-brown hair (I'd LOVE some nice silver streaks, but no luck so far) I drive myself over to the drugstore, pick up a frosting kit, and DH helps me pull the hair through the little holes in that cap-thingie. I leave it on long enough for silvery-blonde streaks, and then I'm happy for a while until it grows out again. It came out pretty well again this time. (Every time I do it, DH is waiting anxiously to see if it all falls out :lol3: )
The kids came over again, and the resume seems complete. Tomorrow night they do cover letters. We had dinner, and they left about a half hour ago. I'm soooooo tired.
I lost TWO pounds. Tried to change my little chart-thingie, but now nothing seems to come up? (Just a little red x in a box). Oh, well. When I was in college, I could lose ten pounds in under a week. Age brings wisdom - and a recalcitrant metabolism.
Have a great week everyone!
Ella :twirly:

I Miss Schatzi Too!
 

Oh, don't worry, we've all had that feeling. That sort of uneasy, what if she shows up on my doorstep, what if she's an axe-murderer feeling. It passes. :lol: Actually I am a Mass. native, born in Salem, raised in Marblehead before we moved away when I was little; also I went to Tufts U. and lived in the area for a few years after college.
How lovely. I too am a sculptor of pressed cellulose.You have had an eventful day! I don't know if I would ever be brave enough to frost my own hair. I am a stick in the mud when it comes to my hair. There's a mental image, eh?

And congrats on the 2 lbs!! :cheer: You will probably have to redo your weight-tracker. Sometimes they go flooey.
I feel your pain. Literally. I've been on the puter too much today. Ugh.

I have 3-1/2 more days of the single life. Most of which I will probably fill with sign making :rolleyes:, but I won't say I haven't enjoyed it...

Night night
Kiwi

I WANT TO GO TO YOUR YOGA STUDIO, BAGZIE!!! Why do I have live so far away from evvvvvvvvvvvvvvverything.

Why isn't there a pouting smilie?:bb: :tantrum:

:drinkup:

The yoga guy is too old for any of Bagzie's seven dd's so he MUST LOVE HER> Who wouldn't? I do.

Kiwi, I even have yoga availble here. It's at someone's house and it's serious stuff, more than I wish, but it's here. You probably have a yoga teacher out there.

The time changed. I need more a change than that though.

They have a yoga class at the high school. But I am not a student. I think they still have a yoga class through the hospital fitness program. But when I tried to sign up, it was full. There's no place you can just go to and say "I want to take yoga" and write them a check and go to class. You have to know someone. :yoga:

I actually spelled "write" "R-I-G-H-T". I have become stupider and stupider. :stars: I blame the mentalpause. Did anyone see the Rachael Ray show today, with the lady who talked about being DAM? (for newbies, that's Dark And Menopausal) She made it sound exciting and fulfilling. Anyone want to come with me when I go beat her up?

I am still making signs. :stress: I took my puter files with me to the music office at school, and the band teacher was opening them up on her computer. She says, "Which file is it? The one titled 'Good God' "? It was. I was so stressed out with this project at one point that I gave that name to a file. She said, "Oh I understand. I got an email today with the subject line 'AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH' " :lol:

Kiwi

Hi Y'all. I'm near beautiful downtown Burbank... actually, I'm closer to Los Angeles Airport. Having a nice rest after trekking around Laguna over the weekend. Our motel there was halfway down a cliff and lets just say I hadn't climbed that many stairs in a long time. I am stiff in unpleasant places. Oddly, though, then I walk past the stiffness, I feel pretty good. No doubt that means I should do MORE strettching, stair climbing and exercise. Feh.
I'm happy enough with my signature for now... although I want to lose at least 2 pounds before I put up a weight tracker. I HAVE SOOOOO much to loose. There was a woman in USA Today today that lost 96 pounds. By getting up at 6 o'freaking clock in the morning and running a couple of miles. If I could run, I'd be in good enough shape not to have to. She's also 20 years younger than me, so I'm assuming her metabolism is more responsive.

While sitting on the beach yesterday I got tar on my butt. Actually on my new cropped work-out pants. It looks like cr*p. Really. I got 'em on sale and will either try to find another pair when I get home, or see if there are any miracle workers at the dry cleaners. I enjoyed the beach thougy.

Stay well y'all, and keep roaring.:hug: :hug:

Ella: Welcome! My ex found himself looking for a job in his 50’s—ended up in N. Andover smelling like a rose. Windows open when doors close, etc. My DD is in Providence, RI and my son teaches in Dorcester Hts/Boston. Where in CA is your DS? But I’m in I live in Texas, Boo Hoo. . I completely understand about suddenly feeling old and feeble, and also wondering if I get enough appreciation. Sometimes I just have to carve out time to GET IT FOR MYSELF. Other times, I’ve learned to ask. :D
Thanks for assuming we are strong and capable. We are definitely opinionated. Well, speaking for myself!;)
As for kids and selective advice taking… what I wonder is why I can’t take my OWN good advice: Like be gentle with myself. Forgive as soon as possible (without forgetting). Trust that what goes around comes around. My kids have (finally) developed a good relationship with their dad. He didn’t “get” little kids, I think. But they know I was always there for them. And they had the liberty to make up their own minds about him. They get that he’s, um, rather self-referential, and smart, and that he cares. They also know that he’s likely to have more money to bequeath… heh heh. They aren’t stupid.:devil:

Bagzz: Love your new avatar. Looks like the sun is coming up! Hope your DD enjoys the fireworks over the Liffy… or wherever she went besides Dublin. Boston has rather an amazing St. Pat’s celebration, too. But the pubs aren’t as much fun!
Does Yoga help you lose weight? Or does it must make you sore? I am really tired of sore.:(

Wabby: Doom and gloom is when there’s an uncertain diagnosis, the patient is crabby, and the prognosis is negative. Death and dying are issues we have a tough time with… so we automatically think of them as doom and gloom. If G P has had 94 years and is willing to undergo surgery, he’s got something going for him… He can be a role model for stamina if nothing else.:cool:
A. You have enough to deal with.
B. It isn’t “selfish” to say there’s no room at your Inn.

Kiwi: That processed food stuff is dangerous, isn’t it? I don’t understand why senior engineers don’t command more respect. I guess lots of corporations want genius that only has a LITTLE experience so they don’t have to pay much. They get what they pay for is what I say. Is he the sort that would/could teach? Consult? :?:
I have a dear colleague whose hubby was in the same boat. And he’s hugely overweight… which must have made it hard for him to get second interviews, etc. Now he’s working for a big local government contractor (THE only UPSIDE to the war that I can think of). They’ve got a back log of bills, and she just switched to a FT job, in spite of wanting to be a full time mom. I know she’s considered leaving him. If you want hints on how to “speak your truth” I totally recommend B. Blanton’s book called Radical Honesty. It’ll grow hair on your chest and make you brave. Maybe some strong talk will relieve the stress you are under.:carrot: :carrot:
My DH wants to retire ASAP and then make things out of wood in the garage. Love the glitter version of YOU.

Cowper: There is nothing more aggravating than an EX who won’t get with the program. I hope that DS sees the light AND that he understands that it isn’t YOUR problem any more… and that he understands that soon. 17 ornery pre-schoolers is probably almost as bad as an aggravating EX. Too bad you can’t handcuff them together in pairs. They’d HAVE to figure out how to cooperate… eventually.:hug:

TTFN

ooooooo I want ot beat up Rachel Ray. Or her guest. either one.

My yoga classes are free. My teacher is spiritual and does not believe in charging people for what she didn't pay for.

My a/c is out in my car $900 to fix. What should I do? Can't afford a new car but should I pay this? Must have a/c. Florida.

I have nothing to say. I am a bore.

Yo Painty! :beach: Southern California! Sounds fab! The beach seems like such a foreign concept to me at the moment.

I have a faux yoga tape that is just about all the yoga I think I'm up to. It's some old-ladyish thing by Dixie Carter, more "yoga-like" than actually yoga. When I've tried more standard yoga exercises, they seem awfully hard. But they are supposed to be so good for stretching and strength.

You're quite right about corporations who would rather hire inexperience cheaply than pay for older proven workers. It really worries me that DH will never get any of the jobs that he applies for because of that. On the other hand, he really enjoyed the job he had for a year and a half helping the displaced workers in the area retrain and get rehired. He's also said he would be interested in teaching. And he's also looked into a lot of self-employment ideas. So he could carve out a second career for himself, if he just would. Frankly I think there is a part of him that just doesn't want to work again, and a lot of this piddling around with geneology, guitar lessons, making dvd and photo albums and crap is him "trying on" retirement. It's ridiculous for a healthy 50 year old to be thinking that way. I honestly think if he keeps it up he will die before he's 60. I mean before he headed out of town, he was spending all day every single day from early morning until dinner time scanning photos onto the computer or fooling with them on the computer or messing around with editing video on the computer. Now I spend too much time on here, but nothing anywhere close to that! You know, I read that several years ago and really liked it. Perhaps I should read it again. I'm actually getting around to the point where I know I will be making some changes. I'm not planning to dump the old fart, I mean the old dear, but he'll have get on board or I may run over him.
Preschoolers in handcuffs!! What a concept! :lol:

Kiwi

Good Lawd, Kiwi! I wasn't imagining you on my doorstep with an axe in your hand at all!!!!! :p I mean, you hear some creepy things about people getting involved in relationships on the internet, and then THEY turn out to be axe murderers or complete fruitcakes, or 20-year old hotties turn out to be 50-year-old-not-so-hotties-anymore, but YOU with an axe in your hand? I can't imagine that! I'm sure you'd find a MUCH more sophistocated way to kill me and steal all my valuables. ;)
ANYWAY, I'm thinking to try yoga, too - your video, or whatever it is, Kiwi - the yoga-LIKE thingamabob that doesn't push you too hard sounds perfect for me! I'm going to go find me one for the elderly tomorrow after work.

Hey! I met Brad Blanton at a whole health expo. He was there with his SO doing a workshop, which I actually took, and it was good, if I recall correctly, although I don't recall why. I draw the line at honesty when it requires that you attend a session in the nude, though, and that's what I understand they have to do in those week-long seminar thingies that he runs.:o

Hiya Painter! Thanks for the welcome! MY SIL teaches in Dorchester (Boston) too!!!! My son is living in Los Angeles. He drives a bright red Mazda RX-hmmmm. RX-SOMETHING - that sports model with the back doors that flap up instead of opening like they're supposed to??? If you see him bopping by, give him a holler for me. Tell him anytime he's ready to start making his own car payments, It'll be terrific! (I just love that child so much, but that car was SUCH a big mistake!)
Yep, we're being very optimistic about this likely change in employment for the DH. He found some good openings online, all of which would be much shorter commutes for him. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and haven't even started choosing the carpeting for our new cardboard box home out beneath the overpass. (I'm figuring I'll give it until next week...)
If I were unemployed for any length of time (which I never have been, except to have four babies and stay home for @ six months with each one before heading back to work) I think it might be very easy for me to kind of give up after several fruitless interviews. I mean, it must be pretty hard on the self-esteem. I actually think that men identify themselves more with their jobs than women do, too, so without a job, for a professional man who has always been in positions of authority, etc., etc., it's got to be a real double-whammy. And about the only solution, unfortunately, would be for him to GET a job, you know, so it's a bit of a catch-22. In our case, the cost of living in the Boston area is so awful, that without both our incomes on a steady basis, I'm afraid we really would be up the creek without a paddle. Can you believe the price of GAS, again???? DH drives an hour and a half to work & back every day, and, depending on traffic, I'm on the road anywhere between an hour and a hour and a half each way, PLUS I pay @ $25 a week in tolls, and they're supposed to be going up next month! I'm actually thinking about retiring in another six or seven years to North Carolina, where you don't have to pay the kind of money we do here for a simple danged house! My sister lives right outside Asheville in Hendersonville, and paid $150,000 for a house that would go for three quarters of a MIL up here! It just doesn't seem fair, yanno? :mad:
Well, I guess that's all for now. (I guess I got carried away again. SOMEBODY oughtta shut me up!)
Good night all! Sleep well! :wave:

Ella

I used to have that Dixie Carter yoga tape. I hated it so much I gave it to the library. As I remember, she seemed to be playing the character from that tv show she was in. Southern lady who can do the splits.

I also have a worse one. Jerry Hall doing yoga, swinging her long hair around through the air as she moves from one pose to another and an Indian woman, who could probably do the stuff better, explaining what Jerry is doing.

Yep, the Jerry Hall sounds about as bad as the Dixie Carter one. The worst thing about the Dixie Carter one, I think, was the awful shiny lounging-wear she had on. Oh yeah, that and the vile quips. She has that borderline seamy way about her. A little too creepy to be sexy, you know? Smarmy? Oily? I just figured she actually was that character, in real life. I've had that video for, well, at least 15 years I'll bet. DD came across it a year or so ago and used to do the workout sometimes. I think she found it entertaining.

Wow, it really costs you guys a fortune to go to work, ellabella! Have you ever wondered if you could actually save money by not working? We looked into that in detail years ago, and discovered it was well worth my staying home. At least that's my story and I'm sticking with it....

Speaking of celebrities making money doing things poorly (yes, we were), have any of you tried to read a book by Maria Shriver called "One More Thing Before You Go"? My mother gave it to DD and me last year before DD graduated. It's supposed to be inspiring for mothers and daughters when the daughter's going away to college. Neither of us could bring ourselves to open it--it's all pinkish--so it's been sitting on the kitchen table for a year. I finally moved it -- into the bathroom, where I've been reading a bit of it. Self-indulgent claptrap.

I love being judgmental. Of celebrities, anyway.

I'm still doing signs. That's why I keep posting; I can't seem to help myself.

Kiwi

I have crepey eyelids! How ancient is that?
 

I have met many, many fine people from t'internet (just not you cows yet :( :( ) and have yet to be axe murdered. In fact I'm takin' another train trip this Friday to meet old and new friends and eat Mexican food. I'll be sleepin' on an inflatable mattress and taking allergy pills because of the cats. Doesn't that sound like fun? It better be - someone is even flying in from Albania to be there.

Birthday boys excitement is over and I can rest until MY birthday.

Smooches to you all. :hug: I'm so discombubulated lately that I just sit and start into space not knowing where I should start to get anything at all done. So I get nothing done and then it's bedtime, and then I can't sleep thinking about all the stuff I didn't get done, and then I'm too tired in the morning to even think about doing it. Some day I'll get a life.

I guess I could make a list though. :devil:

I read Sug's post before going to work and have of nothing else all day. Our baby seems crepe paper on her eyelids. Jeez, Louise.

And I also read that Sug is flying to Alabama without a banjo on her knee. Quite unacceptable. And eating beans and rice. Well, that part's ok.

My birthday is THIS month. I want stuff in the mail. Checks. Cash. Chocolate. Cars. The theme of this party is Things that Start with C.

Celebs love to be criticized. It means you're paying attention. How about Rob and Amber? Wasn't it great to see them loose the race?

These people at work were talking about a friend who painted her living room bright pink. Not hot pink. A pretty finger polish kind of pink. Lovely color, they said, and the gold curtains were beautiful. But, "it was just incorrect."

Elly, I have met Kiwi and she could heave an axe if she wanted to. In fact, I think she's hobnobs with lumberjacks and maple syrup harvesters.

At work, I have convinced them that I am unqualified to be in the room with these certain children and I AM FREEEEE. Someone else will take the class untiil a teacher is hired. I can go back to my old easy peasy schedule. Yay oh yay.

I didn't go to yoga class today. Forgot to take yoga togs with me to work and once, I went to elastic waist jean-looking loose pants and she kept insisting I couldn't be comfortable in them. I was. But today I'm in real jeans so couldn't risk being wrong.

ohhhhhhhhhh i loved my yoga class and of course the cute thirty year old instructor had to give me SPECIAL help cause i keep loooosing my balance and he had to come over AND HOLD MY HANDS AND SAY 'DON'T WORRY---I'VE GOT YOU'----this while i have both hands stretched out and am trying to point one led straight back in the air while balancing on THE OTHER LEG--------LIKE THAT IS POSSIBLE!!!!!!!hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-----WELL,there's one reason to excercise. The 22 year old who works in my shop has a big crush on yoga-man so i told her what happened and she was totally JEALOUS!!! well,you must understand that a cow of my years would have to be pleased to make a young chick jealous-----these moments are few and far between--in fact they are rarer than a slim cow. it is rather demoralizing to be in that class as there were several very attractive ,slim and toned young ladies---there were a couple of men and a few others of my vintage--there is another class tomorrow night but i don't think i can do two classes in one week yet---i am still adjusting to all the stretched muscles!!!!! regarding you hagbags---i am glad to see that PEACH got out of that terrible assignment!!! good for you!!!!and kiwonkers you must be nearly finished those damn signs!!!!! ella!!!! your commutes sound horrendous---we have no traffic up here and not even a traffic jam----it's hard to imagine but we get a Boston tv station and they show the commuter traffic and i can't imagine being able to deal with that!!----by the way---my dad was born in Boston and we visited his family in Somerville for years---zip code 02145!!!! i always use it wnen they ask for a zip code on american websites----most of the time they don't like to have my canadian postal code!!!one more thing-----IF SUGAR HAS CREPY EYES WHAT THE **** DO THE REST OF US HAVE?????WHAT'S WORSE THAN CREPE?????LET ME THINK------SAGGY, BAGGY, RAGGY AND DROOPY. STRINGY EYES?????feel free to add more to this------WHERE ARE WABBY AND SHATZI?????

Well, here I am again (of course). Do you like my new avatar? I hope I'm not presuming too much on the herd as I do realize that I'm still *on probation* :) '
Perhaps, Kiwi, the Dixie Chick faux-yoga video wouldn't do for me after all. Sleazy, slimy, oily - oh, heavens! Almost as incorrect as a nail polish-pink living room! :rofl:
I need something a little more baby-boomer "professional woman-ish" - Like maybe Hillary Clinton in her work out gear and snapping the whip? :trampo:
And crepey eyelids? Oh MY! Well, if they REALLY get on anybody's nerves, there's always the old Preparation H trick. I learned that one YEARS ago from a friend who did some off-Broadway acting. Seems whenever the actors overindulged the night before and had any kind of bags or sags around their eyes, they would rub a little Preparation H around them and they would tighten right up. It actually works, not that *I* care anymore. My crepe and I have a long history together, and I like to think of it as quite graceful and romantic-looking. I ESPECIALLY love it when *women of a certain age* cover all that crepe with eyeshadow; you get multi-linear crepe - sooooo texturally interesting!!!!
Oh, celebrities! Tsk. I can't help it; I just find it annoying that so many undereducated, marginally-talented, and not-even-all-that-good-looking without their make-up artists and on-retainer plastic surgeons PEOPLE earn so danged much money!!!!!!!!! It's obscene, is what it is. Then you have the CEO's of all those big, multi-national conglomerates making a hundred kazillion dollars a year - like $10,000 an hour, and as far as I'm concerned, there's NOBODY worth that kind of money! NOT when just a tiny percentage of that could provide homes for the homeless, food for the hungry, etc., etc. But I'll jump off THAT soap box before this turns into a full blown rant.:sorry:
I CAN'T walk. I mean, I can't take like a half-hour walk without my leg with the pinched nerve hurting like the :devil: I've got to find an alternative way to get a little exercise, here. Damnit, Kiwi, you sound like you're in such great shape! (But you're younger!) I NEED to do more, but I took a walk yesterday when I got home from work - went 15 minutes in one direction and then turned around and headed back the way I came, and for the last ten minutes, thought I was going to die from the pain in that leg. :( MY old doctor told me to "walk it off" and my new doctor says surgery is the only recourse. I actually prefer the "walk it off" solution if I could just do that. Anybody know a good, low-impact way to maybe stretch that leg some before trying to walk some more? Yoga?
Okay, back to the grind. I tried wheat angel hair pasta last night with organic tomato sauce, cut up onions & peppers into it, added sliced black olives and some 93% lean hamburger, and it was delish! I *think* one serving was about 400 calories, and about 8 grams of fiber. DH liked it, too, so I can add it to the menu permanently, eh? What a coup!:D
Have agreat day, all! Glad you got rid of those cute liddle kiddies, Cowpernia - I betcha you really enjoyed hugging THEM goodbye. And hope you finally got those signs finished, Kiwi? Such fun!

TTFN :wave:

Ella

I'm right here, dearie. If you don't want to read a total trainwreck, just scroll through, and don't say I didn't warn you.

Gpa Jim's surgery went just fine. Nurses kept telling me he was doing exceptionally well. He was loopy, but he had lots of morphine in him. I visited him yesterday morning and he still was disoriented, didn't really seem to know who I was, etc. I figured it was from residual pain medicine in him. By evening his son visited him and called me to tell me he's still totally out of it. I'm going to go to the hospital at lunch and keep your fingers and toes crossed that this isn't permanent. I'm fearing that he's had a stroke or oxygen deprivation to the brain. I haven't talked to his surgeon since right after surgery, even though I've requested a phone call from him.

The DIL still won't let me or DS have baby. His atty is filing something w/ the courts today demanding it. She says she's afraid DS won't give baby back. I told her she's doing to DS exactly what she fears. I also told her that I couldn't believe her cruelty to me, knowing what I've been through. Nothing. Cold as ice.

DS is very sick again. Horrible cough, excruciating sore throat. He has 3 cracked ribs from coughing so hard. He can't work and we are overwhelmed here. I hate, hate, hate telling the other guys every morning that DS won't be in, but Lord, he can't work when he's this sick. I keep telling myself we just have to get through this time. One more day.

Sugar, I've been making lists. I make lists of things to do so I don't just sit and go crazy. 1. manicure 2. pedicure 3. take walk 4. brush dog 5. organize photo albums 6. garden 7. dust 8.take bath 9. bake cookies ......... then I sit and look at the list and do none of the things on it. My sister stops by almost every evening to babysit me. I count down the hours until I get to take my sleeping pill and have a few hours peace.

This is why I usually just lurk lately. Someday I'll be able to talk and not be so self centered.

I got mail today with beautiful printing on it that I could recognize as soon as I rounded the house. adn inside the brown paper is a valentine box and a card addressing me a "sweet little girl" which is right of course. I am keeping this until my birthday and maybe then I'll cut little holes in the ends and blow out the chicken bones so I can keep the box intact. Like those Russian eggs. All so gorgeous.

And for Ella, I'll say that we really do know how to spell loose as in lose weight but just can't do it. And chicken bones are yummy.

The little heifer who is supposed to take over the class of Future Felons of America is not showing up tomorrow. She is off to a bad start with me already.