Well girls I am ready for things to slow down guess all this business helps burn some cals. I took the DH to the doc's yesteday we are still awaiting some info. on the thing they left inside him. The doc which is the heart doc but not the surgoen wasn't too pleased and the one med he is taking and those awful shots I had to give him in his tummy were not related to the valve but for what they left behind so far it looks like from what we are told. I contacted the hospitals record dept. today and the DH has now signed a release and the paperwork is going to be faxed to me at my office. Then next week if I don't get the answers I will give it to a lawyer to figure out. I would rather have it come out than have him on that awful med that thins his blood etc. and most likely does other horrible things to your insides. I am not a happy camper nor is he with all of this. But tonight tried to get into decorating the tree. Bear wasn't being a very good boy if he keeps it up he will get some coal from Santa. My diet hasn't been too bad but today I skipped lunch then had chinese for dinner not so good at all. Bad girl today let the stress monster get me!!!! Oh no!!! Better straighten out. No cookie baking yet too busy! Marie sounds like having the granbaby was fun good for you. I can't wait til that day in HI. Penny wow what winds. Wow! We had our first snow storm today. I did make it to work but used travel time they give us during such days the window of 2 hrs. if you make it in late its okay no doc. My ins. has been so wonderful thank god I stayed no regrets here! Hope all that left is just as happy. Judy hope your doing well I saw Pikes Market in a magizine recently thought of you AND my visit there and wished I was there. Best coffee in the world and how about the gum wall. Did you see it near the market ? If not next time ask where it is its crazy. Well girls gotta fly and visit with the hubby a bit.

Juls - Your floor design sounds very nice. It must have taken a bit of nerve to undertake such a big project! Good on ya! (bit of Aussie speak there :lol:)
We were in one of the biggest thunderstorms ever when we lived in Sydney. We were at a drive in movie and the lightning was striking all around us knocking out light poles, etc. - quite dramatic! I love thunderstorms though, as long as I'm somewhere safe. Unfortunately, we don't get many here in Oregon.

Marie - Our DS wasn't interested in me reading to him until he was about 2. Then I couldn't put the book down at bedtime! I remember he loved "Where the Wild Things Are", "Goodnight Moon" and of course all the Dr. Seuss books. He also loved an Australian book called "The Outback Rocket Ship" which was a bunch of animals like kangaroos and koalas trying to make a rocket out of beer bottles, etc. - even I enjoyed it! Another unusual book he liked a lot was "The Haole Boy and the Girl from the Sugar Islands". Sometimes it just seems like yesterday he sat on my lap while I read to him, which would be difficult now that he's 24 and 6'3"!

Carol & Judy - I hope everything is going well with you.

We had quite an interesting few days weather-wise. Oregon even got on the national news! There has been lots of flooding, especially on the coast and near rivers. Luckily, we are up about 60' from the river that runs though our property. Our local wetlands area is almost flooded and they may have to close the road that runs near it. Luckily, the rain and wind have died down a lot, so we can start to dry out. We got 6"-8" of rain here locally. I was out in it doing Xmas shopping and it was like leaning into a force 9 gale! We were very fortunate that none of our big trees came down. Food-wise, I've been a bit more in control so I'm hoping the scale will cooperate on Friday! :crossed:

Hey, ladies! I have returned. My trips were good, and it was good to see my folks briefly after my meetings. I will check in tomorrow with more.

judy

Penny my weather is smoothing out today to. Good thing I would like to hit the gym this afternoon after work. Yesterdays snowy roads weren't gym weather better to get home where I belonged. But today maybe they will con't to stay good. Stay safe and are you all done making soap? My friend and I worked for a couple of days on that and its done and wrapped. I made some extras for the kids teachers saves my daughters from spending cash at christmas. I am ahead on my wrapping as the time I have been home with the hubby I kept busy. So far everything is wrapped a few gift cards to get but they can wait til later and stocking stuffers to purchase along the way til christmas. My hubby and I do stocking for all the kids and their spouses etc. its funny but last year we were going to stop and only give to the kids my SIL said to my daughter it won't be christmas without it. So we continue trying to add little things which are the kids favorites like mallowcups etc.... All the little ones get a new tooth brush along with their candy etc... Grandpah likes to put them together its kind of his job. I have enough of my own. I just caught up at work from being out it felt good to finally be where I should be. Nothing on my calendar for today so I will start my visits and do a report then hit the gym. For dinner tonight I think it will be a chicken casear salad. I need to prepare a lunch for today going without one yesterday wasn't good think maybe I will just stop and pick up a ww meal. Easy and low in cals and I don't have to do anything. I feel good and not so tired I don't get tired less I sit down. I plugged in my tree this a.m. and started a fire my adirondack room looked so nice the hubbies village is on a shelf around the wall in the middle in back of our tree which stands up into our skylight. It does look peaceful and wow staying home today would be lovely but I must go.
Judy glad your back in town again. Boy traveling is nice but climbing in your own bed must be nice too.
I am ready to send out to the hospital a fax today requesting results etc. from my husbands operation records and the MRI. Last night the hubby was a bit vocal and said I am going to take these meds with me a shove them at the doctor and tell him to live on them. He was a bit sad looking last night and I worry he has lost 10lbs wish it were me but he didn't need to and I am concerned with his loss. Well we will get through this mess and hopefully someday be back to what was normal for us. Take care and have a good day.

Carol, I'm sorry you're having to go through all that with the dumb hospital. Wow on that they didn't tell you what the meds he was having to take was for their error. Make sure your ins knows so that the hospital foots the bill. It would be wrong that your insurance pays for their mistake. I'd say your lawyer has a really good case of malpractice.

Judy welcome back.

Penny, I'm glad that you're above the river. The weather here was pretty mild in comparison. Our glass deck table shattered and caused a bit of mess with the 50 mph winds but I was thankful we didn't have the over 100 mph winds to the west of us. now we have to figure out how to dispose of the the shattered glass. DH says it's very heavy.

Food was better yesterday. I ate a bigger breakfast and it stopped the morning munchie monster. Same today. A half hour till lunch and I'm getting hungry. So I'll keep that up. I'm eating less calories by not munching on everything in sight during the morning.

I got lost walking the doggies this morning. The fog was heavy and I missed the road back to my house. I wasn't really lost. I had to turn around and focus on looking for the road. It was eerie. And the commute to work was deja vu back to the accident. Except the heavy fog was freezing on the road. I was slow and careful and avoided the nasty highway where the fog is thickest.

Hi Juls!!!

Back to work.
Marie

Hello girls just popin to say hi. I haven't been so good in the food dept. today guess I will attempt to do better on thurs. Friday is my work christmas gathering. I am attending if the weather is good but no staying too late as the hubby will be home alone. But I think I will go for a bit. Maybe they will give us a bonus hah hah they say not this year but I have a feeling it will be a little something extra time will tell. I think it would be okay to give it for how many years in attendance. Well gonna go off to bed and Marie you are very right I think the hospital should cover the cost of those items related to this but who tells them us? I don't want to get stuck with them thats for sure. Oh time will tell just want life to get back to normal here at home with the health etc.. Catch yah on thurs.

Good morning all I am up and sitting here with my hair dye on. Oh trying to be one step ahead of my game. I tell yah many reasons lately for a few extra grays. Anyways thougth I snaz myself up before my christmas party friday. Having a nice cup of coffee and thinking about having a healthy plan for the day. Gonna eat a nice breakfast then take some salad for lunch and a tangerine, planning on making my ck breast for dinner and some veggies. So I am hoping to stay within my cals today a little lower might even be in order.
I need to sew maybe tonight I have three christmas stocking to make and send to HI. So if I don't get started those will never get done. Also whipping up some of my cookie dough might be a smart move too. Take care and have a super day. Oh the director yesterday asked me how I thought things in the office were going. I told her great and she said I am so glad you stayed and I replied me too. Then she said that would of been a great loss to our dept. I thanked her for her kind words. Sometimes things work out for the best. I just got my print out of time yesterday and at this time have 1.5 weeks vac and still 40 hrs. sick. Pretty good for this time of year. I am saving at least the week of vac. for March HI trip. I am taking off the 21st and then the 26th for christmas little added time off. Maybe a real break!! Bear is being so good today I just have to give him a bone every morning hah hah!

Morning all, well it was raining this morning so Kody gave me sad eyes as I rode the exercycle for 5 miles. :( Poor puppy. By the time I left for work it was snowing. Go snow go. I really want to go skiing.

Carol, good for you having a bit of time left over for time off from work. With the lousy November you deserve a break. HI will be fun. I envy you on that one.

Penny, I hope you're drying out up there. The weather has sure been mean lately.

Juls and Judy, hope you're doing good.

Food was better yesterday. But definitely room for improvement. Thankfully I love exercise and it's helping keep me on an even keel. If I didn't I'd be shopping for new, bigger clothes.
Marie

Sorry I haven't been checking regularly. It's been very busy at work--fundraising, fundraising, fundraising--and at home I've been distracted by family issues. My 87 year-old grandma, who's always been extremely healthy, sharp and self-sufficient, has suddenly turned up with what I think is moderate dementia. My mom and her eight siblings (all in their 50s and 60s) around the country are all panicking, grieving and constantly on the phone to each other. Although my mom is on OH and Grandma's in CA, my mom is the big sister, and she is worried about everyone else's issues as well as her own...We have been blessed that Grandma's barely spent a night in the hospital her whole life, but it's unnerving to have the aging process accelerate literally in a few weeks. In the midst of Xmas shopping, I will need to make sure to leave money and credit card space to help Mom fly across the country if she needs to.

Penny, I thought of you with this weather lately! I'm glad you aren't negatively impacted.

Carol, I'm glad that even with all of your struggles at home, you haven't lost your zest for Xmas! I hope the hubby continues to improve, and maybe even gain some weight.

Marie, poor Kody must think he's on punishment. I hope you can take him out on the slopes soon.

Juls, I hope you are doing well!

I am hanging in there. My foot's beginning to hurt again, so I will call the doc and ask for meds again (boo!). Eating could be better--my season for lunches out and receptions has started again, and it's very cold and icy outside, so I have to step up the exercise!

judy

Good morning girls well its christmas party evening at work so I am attending. The hubby is all for it and even said I should stay over as some have rented a room. No need for that I will have a little veno early on and then lay off for several hrs. before attempting my trip home.We are not getting a christmas bonus someone from past employment made a big mistake in the budget so we all have to cut back this year hopefully in the future we get it again. Things happen and thats life. I am going to call the hospital today as oh so funny the records we requested on wed. a.m. haven't come yet. Wonder why? Oh some follow up today I say! I feel bad for people whom don't have anyone advocating for them in these situations what happens to them? Work is busy but going well. I have an emergency meeting this afternoon didn't plan on this one but will suck it up put the big girl panties on as the younger folks say hah hah! My intake was good yesterday around 1500. I made a wrap for lunch running late in the a.m. and just threw it all in a ziploc and ran out at lunch time put it together with some jalopeno hummus. A friend in the office that eats her lunch and is all sticking her crackers or grabbing a little of your lunch etc. carrots or what ever you may have stuck a cracker in my hummus when I had my mouth full. She let out a yell when she realized it was hot. Hah hah that will teach her to stay out of my stuff we all had a good laugh not at her but kind of with her. Well exercise hasn't been great I feel a bit guilty not coming right home and then with stopping to due some christmas stuff it just isn't happening so I am trying to do the stairs at work park a ways out and walk to our main office 10 min each way for a meeting yesterday. Better than nothing. Well catch you all soon we are having good weather today but the weekend is to be rain turning to snow Marie did you send that my way? Marie I am so willing to give you all my snow for your activity but want the ground to be just white for christmas. Shopping is coming to a close and last night I decided no way am I sewing christmas stockings I am going to buy them and revamp them with putting the names on them with cross stitching. I must be either getting lazy or wiser not sure which one. Take care and have a super day. My clothes are fitting better but I haven't done the white box in a bit. Oh Judy its not easy is it. A friend of mine is going through the same thing with her mom aging isn't fun at any rate but when changes happen quickly its so hard on everyone. My thoughts are with you. In this past yr. we have seen changes with my mom whom is going to be 86. She has always tried to be generous to lots of charity causes and people who send her enevolpes all the time but always only sent a few cks. Lately my sister has informed me she is sending alot more than we knew and she really can't afford too. So we are trying to not let our other siblings know yet but deal with it in a sensitive manner me of course being the one because they would just out right take her ck book away and thats not good. She needs some independence. With your gram is she on meds and if so is she taking them properly cause that can make big changes in their life. Just a thought.

Ok, I just wrote a long post that I accidently deleted. The quick post needs an undo.

Quickly, Carol, the stockings will look great.

Judy, I'm very sorry about your grandmother. My thoughts are with you.

Kody was good yesterday and today he got to go out for a walk on the ice/snow with the pretty stars shining.

Marie

Oh, hooray, hooray, it's Friday! I can't wait to sleep in a little bit on Saturday. I'm feeling a little run down, and I know that a lazy weekend day will really perk me up. I'm trying not to come down with something, so the past two mornings I've slept a little extra, at the expense of morning workouts. I will ride the exercise bike when I get home tonight, I don't see myself working late today.

Marie, your evening walks sounds lovely. I miss starry nights--it's too bright in the city to see much, then I find myself staring at a beautiful, bright...airplane headed to the nearby airport! :rolleyes:

Carol, I hope you're enjoying your party! Re Grandma, she hadn't been on many meds before. I'm wondering (from the other side of the continent) if she has Parkinson's, from the little I heard through the grapevine. I've pushed for the southern California family members to get her to a geriatrician ASAP so we'll know what we're dealing with.

I'm thinking of spending next weekend in NYC, to see friends and celebrate my upcoming birthday. But it's so expensive this time of year! It would be quite a splurge. But you only turn fifty once :yikes:.

Hope everyone has a great weekend--judy

:hug: G,day ladies sorry I haven,t been around for awhile we have been having some terrible weather here downunder thunderstorms with hail and terrific winds so we have been having frequent blackouts so to scared to turn on anything electrical that isn,t needed at the moment.

Carol I hope DH starts to put weight on again soon and you get something done about that bit that shouldn,t have been left in he shouldn,t have to take medication for something that was their fault, I,m with your DH only I would tell the Doc to put the meds where the sun doesn,t shine ;) sorry your not getting a bonus you work so hard all year you deserve it but like you say that,s life. I,m off to my DH works Chrissy party tonight and I,ll be in big girls panties too :p but they are a God send at times, I could just picture that poor lady with the hot mouth it was good she could laugh about it but I guess she will be a bit more careful about what she helps herself to in the future, do you colour your hair or just cover the grey I,m a redhead so no grey hairs for along time for me yet ;) I remember you describing your DH village last Christmas it sounds so cosy.

Marie poor Kody he really is in the dog house lately with his walks, I think I would swap the thunderstorms for the snow you guys have I hate thunderstorms I,m a big sissy lightening scares me and when I was little I used to hide under the bed if there was wind, if I could get away with it I probably still would :o

Penny thanks mate, it was a big job but very rewarding they look tops and I got plenty of exercise in to so a plus all round Sydney does have some great thunderstorms in fact all of aussieland does, mother nature can be cruel or kind but I think it is her way of letting us know the way she feels about the way we treat her earth sometimes. I remember The Outback Rocket Ship its an oldy but a goody :lol:

Judy I feel for you with your grandma, age plays some dirty tricks, hope everything is OK with everything else and you don,t come down with anything you are probably run down because you do so much, Take care of yourself the exercise routine will be there when you are ready to get back to it don,t sweat it. I know what you meen about starry nights when we lived in the city you couldn,t really see them now we are in the country they are so bright you can make out constilations and it looks like if you reached up you could touch them, they are so beautiful its the little things that make life good. I just hugged 50 it isn,t to painful I think I like it better than 49 I have a thing about uneven numbers :D

I,m doing OK staying on track
Well everyone take care and try to have a good weekend.

JULS

Hi everyone, well I learned my lesson yesterday - to go the advanced posting as there is a undo button. :)

Judy, I hope that you can get your GM to a specialist through your relations. Knowing what you're fighting is always better than wondering. I hope you enjoy your weekend. I am totally with you on the too much work and no unwind time. Today I'm a bum. I'm going to make my family's Czeck holiday bread and grind the last of the stained glass for the Christmas presents so DH can solder them tomorrow during football. And Judy, I vote for spending #50 celebrating in style. That's a cool number. I agree with Juls on that.

Juls, oh how I love thunderstorms. I think they're erotic. :o Too bad they don't do that for you. :D

I'm sitting by my fireplace staying toasty as I look out the window and see about 1" of the white stuff. The mountains are frosted with the stuff. It's absolutely gorgeous out. Mt Shasta, the ski area I have my season pass is hoping to open next Friday!!!! Oh, I'm thinking snow but the long term forecast isn't. But it's to be chilly so they can make snow. And they are on a humungous mountain (14,000 ft) so the weather is always different even though they're not far away.

Well, I'm going to start my holiday bread. Have a great weekend. Penny and Carol, take care.
Marie

Judy - Sorry to hear about your Grandma. It's especially hard this time of the year to be worrying about loved-ones. It sounds like she's been in good health otherwise, so that's a blessing. I hope you don't come down with something. Don't overdo the exercise till you get your energy back. You probably get exposed to a lot of bugs traveling so much. Congratulations in advance for your big "Five O". I hope you manage to get to NYC for your birthday bash.

Carol - That's funny about your coworker with the "sticky fingers" grabbing some of your spicy dip. That will teach her a lesson! :lol: I hope you had fun at the Christmas party. We've been invited to a New Year's party, but my DH doesn't want to go as it's "Dinner Jacket and Tie" for guys and he hates dressing up. He doesn't even have a dinner jacket, so I don't know what else someone would wear in that situation. It's one of my best friends, so I'm a bit torn as to whether to nag him and get him to go but then he'll just be sulking all night. I hope your DH is continuing to feel better. Sounds like the hospital is already giving you a bit of a run around.

Marie - I bet you were so ticked losing your long post. :mad: I know the feeling! Kody must have loved his snowy walk under the starry sky. It sounds lovely. Did you guys get much snow from the last storm that went through? Today the sky is blue and it looks gorgeous out, so we're looking forward to going for a walk down by the river. It's still almost at flood stage but starting to go down. Luckily the paths in the park aren't under water.

Juls - Sounds like you've been having some dramatic storms down under. Good for you staying on track. I've had some good days and some bad ones so I'm at a standstill with losing weight, but hopefully the new year will bring some new willpower! I usually gain 5-10 lbs. between Thanksgiving and New Year, so I'm right on track! :dizzy: I'm a redhead too but mine is courtesy of L'Oreal these days! :lol: I was naturally red when I was younger, but it faded out. I don't know if I'm gray as I've never let it grow out.

I have two parties coming up next week, so I'm going to have to be extra careful with the calories. I may try having a protein shake first to kill my appetite a bit. We're looking forward to getting outside a bit now that it's drying up after all our wet weather. We're so much luckier than some people who lost everything in the terrible floods we've had, mostly near the coast and people close to rivers. I'm so glad our house is a lot higher than the river down below. Just the thought of all that mud in the house is just awful. I feel so sorry for the folks having to clean up and throw away most of their possessions, especially with the holidays just around the corner.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Morning everyone, it's a cold one here today. When I got up it was 11 degrees. It was a cold walk. DH went with me again today. DS2 and I are going to yoga today. We got distracted yesterday (hime with computers and me with Chrstmas stuff). But today, we're going to try. I'm not sure how my toes will do as they are still very sore.

Penny, enjoy your river walk. I'm glad that you didn't lose much with the storm. We got a little snow but what we got is staying. I just wish it would dump 3 feet on us and then I could go skiing. :D

Food was so-so yesterday and probably will be most days through the holidays. I try to be good and if I'm not bad then that's progress. As long as I don't give up. Right?

Well, today is football day. Go Packers Go!!!
Marie

Marie - It's cold here too and we may get a few snowflakes. I hope your toes let you get out and about today. It's very cold in Boise today (15 deg.) and our DS has a shooting match all day - that's dedication!

I don't know much about football, but I'll root for your team! Go Packers! :cheer:

Oh, the weekend is almost over...boo! It was mostly good for me. I'm feeling peppier than I did on Friday. I slept late both mornings :smug:, and did some chores, bought fresh produce :) and did good workouts both days, including an other 45-minute stint on the XBike. I've earned gold stars on my food log--having groceries at home helps!

I just learned that my rent will be going up by $235 a month :mad:. That's getting me up off my rear on the question of buying a place. I've already signed up for a free homebuying education seminar in early January, and I've pulled out all the material I've collected this year about mortgages, condo fees, etc. Maybe I will be a homeowner by the summer, or at least renting in a cheaper and/or better apartment.

Juls, I love your chic new graphic! Very elegant--and slim! I don't mind thunderstorms, as long as I'm inside. I gre up with people who were really frightened by the storms, and my grandfather was killed by lightening when my father was young. As long as I know where the flashlight and candles are, I'm fine.

Marie, I would love a fireplace. It's so nice that you use it. But I would never wish for a big dumping of snow...unless I could stay at home for a few days (in front of a fireplace) and not have to venture outside. And I agree, not being bad is progress, if that's your goal, especially during the holidays. I am trying hard for a "whoosh" next week. Once I go to my folks for a week at the end of the year, I will be doing well to maintain.

Penny, i'm so glad that your lovely home wasn't damaged by the flooding. Good luck with the parties. I have been buying the Curves shake mix, and the chocolate is starting to taste good. I have it for b'fast most days, but since it's all pumped up with vitamins, I don't take my multi those mornings. But Penny, you are rooting for the wrong team! The Browns are the ones who really need your help!

judy

G,day lovely :angel:s.

Marie I love to get under the covers in a thunderstorm and hide thats about it my DH gets frisky when there,s a storm ;) I guess we are all different. I think my fear comes from when I was little I was locked out of the house when my Mum was at work she was late home, well we got a hail storm with heavy winds and lots of lightening scary for a 6yr old so I have not cared for them since. You make your Mountains sound so beautiful and your fire sounds so warm and cosy, we have two open fire places here one in the dining room and the other in the living room they are lovely when we get really cold nights in the winter which we do. How is the book going I,m almost finished it is a hard one to put down.

Penny I use Loreal too when I feel like having a blonde moment DH likes my natural colour it,s a dark honey colour going more auburn as I,m getting older, I hear you loud and clear with the weight over the festive season I,m going to try and be good but I am not going to sweat it if I gain a lb or 2 ;) I,ve been having the Ultra slim diet shakes they seem to help with cravings especially the chocolate ones.

Judy I thought if I put a slim Red Head up there it might help with motivation I hope to get somewhere near my goal weight by my 5th wedding anniversary in January I want to get a long evening gown and go somewhere really posh for dinner, crikey it will be just my luck we will get a thunderstorm on the night and I,ll be hiding under the covers instead :lol: bummer about your rent it is like that here it is getting nearlly as expensive to rent as it is to buy your own home good luck all your doing is paying off someone elses mortgage for them with a bit of luck you could be in your own home :hug:

Carol I hope all is well with you and your DH :hug:

Take care everyone :grouphug: I,m in a hugging mood I guess I just love Christmas :tree:

JULS

Hi all, a quick note as today will be a bear at work and almost DIL's birthday party at my house this evening. I think I've got everything managed except my co-leader for the seminar today hasn't bothered to do anything. Can you tell I'm mad. she emailed me over the weekend and complained how busy she was...

Judy, I'm sorry about the increase in rent. I guess they had to pay for the expensive gym equipment. Good luck on the house hunting. Now is definitely the time to buy but watch for inflated prices.

Juls, good luck on the 5th anniversary goal. Wow, I finished Double Cross a couple books ago. :) I very much liked it. I can't wait till the next one comes out. Let me know what you think when you're done. I'm not going to give anything away. I'm into the Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp series now. I'm on the third one. They are very good.

Penny, don't listen to Judy. Rooting for the Packers is the wise choice. :) They won and clinched their division. I know they won't win it all but it's been fun watching them have a good season.

Hi Carol, hope your weekend was good.
Marie

Good morning ladies hope your all well.

Marie I haven,t had a chance to do much reading with doing my floors and other painting projects but only have a few pages to go I,ve enjoyed it so far I,ve got 2 more to read after this one both James Patterson, The Quickie and You,ve Been Warned I,m not familar with Vince Flynn but I enjoy Dean Koontz.

Now girls don,t get fiesty over your team,s remember it,s CHRISTMAS a time to be charitable LOL.

I,ve had a good start to the morning, tooth still playing up hope to get to the Dentist YUK next week to have it pulled so at the moment still on a soft food diet, I weigh in tomorrow so I hope I have,nt gained if I,ve stayed the same I can live with that.

Hi Penny, Judy and Carol.

Take care everyone bye for now.

JULS

Judy - I'm glad you're feeling more energetic. That's a good idea rewarding yourself with stars for "good behavior". I think we did that with our son when he was a little whipper snapper and always in trouble! :lol: It worked well for him, so maybe I should give it a try! Do you get a reward when you get a certain number of stars? Ooops, sorry I was rooting for the 'wrong' team! :lol: I guess I'll just have to keep out of it or I'll be in the dog house with you or Marie if I root for either team. Bummer that your rent is going up. It's quite a buyer's market right now, so maybe you can get a good deal if you decide to buy your own place.

Juls - I like your slim redhead too. I wouldn't mind looking like that! I had a funny mental picture of you in an evening dress hiding under the bed with the thunderstorm raging and your DH getting "frisky"! :lol: Still, I hope you reach your goal for your 5th anniversary and there's no thunderstorm to mess up your plans! I hope you get some relief from your toothache. Too bad you have to get it pulled, but I know how it feels to have that kind of pain and you just want to get rid of the darn thing.

Marie - Congrats on your team winning, but I'd better just stick to rooting for the Cubs and Mariners (in baseball season of course) otherwise it's not fair to Judy's team, the Browns. You have every right to be mad at your so-called "co-leader". :mad: I hope she pulls her weight in future.

Carol - I hope all is well with you and your DH.

I got most of my Christmas shopping done today and I'm glad as it's already getting real busy at the mall. It took me about 10 min. to get out of the parking lot - and that's on a Monday! I bought some nice rhinestone jewelry to wear over the holidays - earrings and a bracelet. I thought a bit of 'bling' would go well with my new black dress. I was lucky to also find some really cute (and comfortable) flats to wear. Just for fun I tried on some 3" heels and couldn't even stand in them let alone walk!!!

Hi everyone. The seminar went alright and the co-leader did what she needed to do. So that was good.

The b-day party was great even with a few bumps (the fresh pasta I'd bought that was good through Jan 7 was moldy so I had to make my own - took longer and wasn't as easy) but overall it was great.

Juls, I hope the tooth comes out soon. Tooth pain is one that is nearly impossible to ignore.

Penny, good for you on finishing the shopping. Other than stocking stuff, I'm done. I did amazon.com for almost all of it. I love free shipping and no crowds.

Well, very busy day so I'd better go. The walk this morning was COLD but the stars were incredible. I love living in the country.
Marie

Hi, ladies--

I am doing well today. Ate on program yesterday, and had an good hard workout on the bike this morning. My DVD player is acting weird, so I'll try to clean the head or whatever before panicking. I've been splurging on DVD box sets (using the holiday sale coupons) but mostly I use the thing for my morning workouts. I have a little mini-DVD player, but it's not the same, watching those tiny figures doing kicks and curls:smug:. Today I had an egg and two ounces of ham, with salsa, and V8 Juice for b'fast, sliced turkey and half an apple for a snack, and a strange but tasty lunch of chickpea salad, seaweed salad and seafood (mostly mussels) salad.

Marie, I'm glad that the seminar went well and your co-worker pulled through.

Juls, your hubby sounds like a fun guys to wait out a storm with :D. Your anniversary will be a good goal to reach for, good luck!

Penny, i think you can root for the Browns and the Packers, since they won't be playing each other this season (thank goodness) and aren't even in the same conference, no conflicts. I lived in Chicago for many years, and loved the Cubs back in the '80, and still love seeing them play in glorious Wrigley Field.

Shopping? Shopping? Oh, my, only 14 shopping days left, and I've done very little....

:wave: G,day :angel:s, it is a beautiful day here down under.

Penny I got a mental picture too from your description :o sounds fun might spice things up a bit :lol: yeah the tooth thing is a bummer but I would rather have it out than keep this pain. The jewellery sounds nice I usually get some bling for the holidays this year I got some Rudolph earrings, I,m not even half way through my Chrissy shopping got a slow start this year but I love the hussle and bussle of Christmas I don,t even mind the cues I just stand in line and listen to the Christmas Carols I guess I,m a bit weird but I love Christmas :dizzy: your outfit sounds nice you,ll be a knockout ;)

Marie I,m glad the co-leader pulled her weight and did the right thing, the tooth is a pain but it will be gone soon I just hope I can get in sometime next week I,m waiting for them to ring me back. I,m with you I love living in the country too the stars are soooo incredible.

Judy hope you get your DVD player sorted your food intake looks great and healthy good for you keep it up I,m sending you some good mojo :goodvibes Judy my DH is great fun in thunderstorms in heatwaves in any condition being Italian he is always frisky ;):o

Carol how are you, hope all is well with you and your family as usual I bet your busy, take care.

I,ve had a good start to the morning I had some scrambled eggs with mushrooms, coffee, Lunch I, going to have some caggage soup and a big icy glass of skim milk, Dinner, fish in parsley sauce with some mashed sweet potatoes and some yogurt for dessert.

Well everyone take care remember some you time, I,m off for a :coffee2:, :grouphug:.

JULS

Wow girls guess its been awhile so busy and need to get myself on here more often sorry. But I have been doing okay got to the gym yesterday morning before work and it felt great. I had a little flex time so I used some in the a.m. Last night I worked until 6:30 group home christmas parties and mingling with families etc... PR but it was nice. The hubby goes on thurs to see the surgoen and I am ready to ask some questions and hope to get answers but also no I might not. So we will see. He is starting to feel more like himself I think slowly. We got new baby pictures and oh I can't wait to get my hands on him. Sent out my HI christmas package yesterday with a gift card etc. still it cost me 29 bucks. Crazy huh. Oh well just think how far it goes and a little of home will be fun for all of them. Even sent some homemade grape jam packed it well hope it makes it.
Marie I made pierogies with my family sisters nieces mom and my one daughter this past saturday. Got to keep the traditions going its so important we lose so much over the years as we get our own and then get so busy no one keeps things up. So it was interesting and fun. I would love the Cez. bread recipe us polish back ground people gotta keep it up so if you get time send her on. I have most of my baking done still will attempt a few maybe and then make up some plates to give away to some folks.
Sounds like everyone is working on christmas fun and still exercising thats important. I did manage to dance a bit with the girls from work on friday wore off a few cals we took in. I have been taking my veggies and some wraps and creating my sandwich on the spot no time to prepare ahead of time. Oh Marie I am looking for a lap top any ideas as I know you work with computers etc.. I have no idea what I am looking for and want to stay under 800 or less would be super its a gift given to me for christmas all I have to do is figure out what one. So any input would be super. Juls I love your reading and look forward to chatting with you soon. Penny you too. Judy I feel renting is tough you owe nothing in the end. Seek it out and if it feels right put your foot in and buy something think of the fact that first time buyers get super deals and the write off will be super at tax time. Many houses out there right now don't buy too big think of the up keep. Well talk to you all soon and we will catch up. Have a super day keep moving and burn off what sweet treats your taking in with the little holiday parties and treats.

Marie - I'm glad your almost DIL's birthday party was fun. Good thing you know how to make home made pasta - I bet it was delicious!

Judy - Ok, I think it's safe for me to root for the Browns too! :lol: Sounds like you are doing great food and exercise-wise. Wish I could say the same :^:.

Juls - You reminded me of my Mum's cooking when you mentioned fish in parsley sauce. I haven't had it for years, but must give it a try. Do you just make a plain white sauce and add the fresh chopped parsley? We used to also sprinkle malt vinegar on it as well! :dizzy: I bet that wouldn't appeal to a lot of folks over here. I also remember Mum used to make baked soused herrings cooked in vinegar, bayleaf, cloves and pepper. It used to stink the house out!

Carol - I hope everything goes well for your DH's visit to the surgeon on Thursday. Yesterday I saw one of my girlfriends who had a triple-bypass exactly a year ago and she's looking great. I know she had a terrible time for months after the surgery but now she's looking and feeling so much better. It obviously takes quite a while to get over such a major surgery. I'm sure your family in HI will enjoy getting your home-made jam. There's nothing like home made items made with love.

I'm a bit sleepy today :tired: after getting home at 1:30am last night. We had our ladies' group's annual Christmas party at one of our member's homes. We had a buffet style meal with the whole works turkey, ham, stuffing, bread sauce, gravy, rutabaga (British tradition), roast potatoes, brussels sprouts with bacon and about six different desserts including a flaming Christmas pudding with hard sauce and brandy butter. We were served drinks by my friend's DH and his buddy who dressed up as waiters. We all got very jolly - there were 24 of us, so it got pretty rowdy at times. My DH was nice enough to drive me there and pick me up at 12:30pm. The wine must have been good as I didn't even have a hangover :D! I cut back on cals quite a bit today so hopefully I didn't gain another 5 lbs. :o.

A quick Hello to all you lovely ladies! We had our staff holiday luncheon today. I had a cup of pumpkin-ginger soup, and a wonderful grilled trout and artichoke dish. My dessert was hot buttered rum :devil: and worth every calorie. Overall I made good choices, and we all laughed a lot. Our soon-to-be-boss was there, and it was a nice way to break the ice.

I'm working on some deadlines and am at the office much later than I planned to be. This morning was laundry, so I must get home to work out. I ran the lens cleaner on my DVD player, let's hope that did the trick, otherwise, it's back to the ExBike.

Later--judy

Penny sounds like you had one heck of a good time out so late on a week night. Fun fun!!!
Marie your pasta story made me want some. I have never really made homemade pasta but just egg drop noodles for my soups. Sounds lovely and glad it all worked out.
Judi the soup sounds lovely I would be the only one here to eat that but it sounds good yum. We had a unhealthy quick dinner tonight not a great calorie night. The unthought out nights get like that eating healthy takes some thought. Not tonight. I got home late from christmas shopping and errands. I will attempt to be much better thurs. The hubby and I will most likely stop for lunch on our way home. The doctors office called today to remind us of the appt. and tell us to bring a list of the current drugs. Also had a call that another doctor was looking at the CT scan and would give a second opionion but I am not sure I am too pleased he is from the same hospital and doctors scratch each others backs if you know what I mean. I can always request another one if I am not satisfied and I told her we would. Gotta stand strong this is nothing to take a back seat on we need answers not courtships.... Well talk to you soon work is going well those ones who left are still causing issues with our company trying to take clients etc. crazy girls I say! Guess they just are trouble no matter where they are I like the new girl and our next one starts monday. Then we will have a full dept. again got notice today the company is paying for our lunch out for christmas thats nice first time ever for the dept. party the company one was last week.

I am off today the hubby has his appt then I am going to ck out a computer for myself as its a gift and I get to choose how cool huh? Well the one I am looking at has web cam which would be nice with my HI family so far away. I am trying to be on task with my intakes today. Starting off by ignoring the donuts in my kitchen the hubby purchased he needs the wt. not me. I would like to go to the gym today but will have to see what the weather has in store for us North eastern headed our way we hear. I got a coupon in the mail and my friend will get a month free at my gym. So having a buddy will be fun. I picked out some new work out clothes with funds from the hubby but he will wrap them and give them to me for christmas I will pretend I never saw them. Hah hah! It will be nice to have a new outfit to work out in looks comfy. Well talk to you all later keep your fingers crossed that we get some answers today they are a bit nervous with us coming in I think. The nurse called yesterday and wanted a list of current meds etc. and the blood test was sent to the surgoen this time. Oh how nice to get some attention do you think they might give us some answers. I sound a little bitter this morning but this hasn't been so nice for him or me or the family. Too much undo stress which shouldn't of ever been surgery itself was to be stressful enough. Talk to you all soon and have a super day. I hope to at least maintain but would love it if I lost a lb. during this season.

Carol, you have a right to sound bitter. From what you've written, they screwed up and then have since given you the run-around about it. I'd definitely get a 3rd opinion if the 2nd says it's just fine because of the reasons you mentioned. Make sure that the 3rd is from a hospital unrelated to the one the surgery took place at.

Judy, I hope the DVD players is ok. They are cheap if nothing else. With retailers trying to lure people in, you should be able to replace it for not much this time of year.

Penny, you party animal. Who'd ever have guessed that our mild mannered Penny was wild. And don't ever describe those yucky foods again. My stomach is nauseated at the description. :)

Juls, an Italian, huh? I guess you have nothing to fear in the thunderstorms then. ;) I'm pretty patient at Christmas time in the stores. I like the Carols. I just hate that they now start playing them in the beginning of October.

DH asked why we weren't going over the Mountain to shop before Christmas like usual. I said I amazoned.com with Free Shipping and I'm done. No traveling for shopping. Now, for skiing, you betcha. :) I'm hoping maybe this weekend but the weather needs to cooperate. I NEVER thought I'd complain that the sun keeps shining. :) But weather is supposed to move in Friday. I want to ski.

But then, I'm going back to the podiatrist today as there's a weird bump on my right toe. I'm hoping no more surgery today. Keep your fingers crossed that maybe he can just drain it or something simple.

Marie

Hi, all, I'm trying to distract myself, so help me out! My belly full from my big salad at lunch, and my snack of misc veggies and feta cheese, and I can tell that I'm only "hungry" from the neck up.:no:. So I'll do my check-in, have some mint tea, and this urge will float away. If not, I'll just drink more tea!

The lens cleaner did the trick, and my DVD player is working fine. Apparently you're supposed to clean the lens of your DVD player every ten hours or so of use, who knew? Maybe I'll clean my CD player, too! So since my last post, I worked on the EXBike for 40 minutes, and did a strength training video. I'm very proud of myself: I took a cab home last night so that I would get home before 8:30, and I quickly changed and went downstairs to work out:ebike:. Juls, thanks for the shot of mojo, I think that gave me the extra boost I needed. :D

People are saying that I'm losing weight, but my scale isn't budging! Maybe I'll get a new one for the new year. I bought a lovely little week-at-a-glance calendar that I'll use for a food log starting next week. The one I'm using is bulky and heavy, and since I don't track calories, etc., I never use all reference material. I just scrawl what I ate and when, how long I worked out, and notes to myself. I make hashmarks for water (when I remember). I'd love to start my new log back at the elusive 220 pounds--if only my scale would work with me here!

Carol, if you are dissatisfied with today's meeting, I hope that you contact the hospital's ombudsperson or complaint department right away to make your concerns official and for the record. Once you do that, the docs might have to follow certain protocols that make it harder to cover things up. It sounds like your hubby is in the Xmas spirit, despite his challenges.

Marie, I hope you get your snow this weekend. Maybe you can borrow some from Carol. I think I will mostly see rain and sleet (which as started already).

Penny, I don't know why people say such ugly thinks about British cuisine! Flaming Christmas pudding sounds like quite a spectacle.

bye for now--judy

Well girls the meeting with the doctor answered some of my questions and the hubby only has to be on blood thinners for another 7 weeks. He could have a beer last night and was pleased that it was a choice he could have. The doctor smoothed things over and offered me information but I still have this feeling inside of me that I need to follow up still. So today I will contact the lawyer which I spoke to before and ask for advise. The surgoen said the risk factor of trying to remove it wouldn't be worth it cause he feels its not going to cause any problems down the road. The night of the surgery they didn't do a CT scan as it would of put my hubby at a risk. I asked if it was a faulty device and I was told no it was someone not paying attention and the surgoen said he was at the top to my husband working on him when it happened. It was a mistake. One my husband could of paid for as within the first 24 hrs. he could of suffered a stroke not from the surgery but from the piece dropped in him. It is very small in size 1.5 cm by 3 cm. But still it shouldn't be there. Oh this isn't easy and the doc seems like such a nice person down to earth its hard to call hard ball on him. But in a way look at he stress its caused. I did mention to him that it put my family through a lot of extra stress worrying and wondering if things were going to be okay. He said well I told your husband and I said yah like he remembered NO! I had to wait till he was strong enough and tell him just about a week ago cause before hand it would of pushed him over the edge. He said well I am sorry that happened. Yah me too! So what does one do? I was a bit relieved yesterday but also wonder did they just tell me what they wanted to so it would just smooth things over? Are we truly out of the woods and should do nothing? Any thoughts I would appreciate them. At least he won't have to remain on these meds. Only the blood pressure one. His valve sounded normal and is working great now thats what we went for! I made some 7 layer cookie bars last night now I have to say I will blame stress for having those. Marie I did go to ck out a lap top and of course the HP one which was the best with web cam etc. was sold out. They put those great deals in just to lure us in huh? So I am still without a laptop. But after christmas maybe they will have deals. jUgetting on here instead of the snacking. I do that as well not a bad thing. Your doing great. I am off to the gym this afternoon yesterday we had a big storm its over another to arrive on saturday night through sunday. My daughter and her family are going off to a family gathering in Long Island I pray they have a safe trip. It will be nice for them to get together but this time of year the roads can be nasty. Penny my soaps are off to people for gift giving a friend stopped in last night to get a couple more. I am adding them to a few presents. Sometimes people say their to pretty to use. I wish they would use them thats what their for. jULS HOPE YOUR DOING GOOD! girls sorry this is so long I needed to vent I am going to have a piece of toast and a grapefruit for breakfast. Have a super day and lets keep moving I am off to the gym this afternoon.

:hug: G,day ladies from what I,ve read you all sound in fairly good spirits.

Carol you have every right to be a bit p***ed off for the slip up at the hospital it is great that they think it isn,t going to cause any problems but I would ask the lawyer what he thinks you should do at this stage. Please don,t look at venting as something you need to apologise for rather look at it as getting stuff off your chest with a bunch of old friends, hope you find the laptop your looking for and best wishes for your DD and her family,s safe arrival at thier destination. Do try to act like you never saw your new work out gear before ;) I do that with some of my gifts from my DH I get them he wraps them, even though I know what they are already the look of excitement he has on his face when I open them is soooo special and to me that is worth more than the most expensive gift he could ever give me :).

Judy your welcome I,m glad the mojo wishes are working sounds like your really out to :kickbutt: keep it up :goodluck:, don,t worry about the :devil: scales take notice of what people are saying if they are noticing then you must be doing something right and remember mussle weighs more that fat ask yourself how do you feel are clothes fitting looser do you feel lighter. I think the :devil: scales can be our worst enemy at times I still weigh in every Wednesday but if I,m up a bit I remember there are all sorts of reasons for it and I just let it slide if my clothes don,t feel as tight or my tape measure tells me I,ve lost another inch then that is what I take on board.

Penny yes I just make a simple white sauce and add parsley sometimes I put in a little grated cheese to low fat of cause. I,ve never tried herrings but I love sardines. I,m shocked here I thought you were a quiet one and your out rageing to all hours :dancer: :lol: hope you had a bonzer night :high: and all that yummy food if I was there to eat it I wouldn,t of needed a lift home I would of rolled :dizzy:

Marie, yeah an Italian but when I say that to him he say,s no I,m stralia mate he was born here but his mum and dad are both Italians. I guess the Carols in October would be a bit much they don,t start them here until the end of November.

Everyone take care stay well don,t sweat the small stuff, lifes to short and besides if God wanted us to be skinny all the time he wouldn,t of invented chocolate cake :T:love::lol3:

JULS :hug:

Juls, I like that idea of God and Chocolate Cake, but I might take it too far. I'll go for trying to be skinny and pray I don't end up fat. Skinny would be a big stretch from me.

Carol, I agree with Juls, hear the lawyer out and make an informed decision. Don't be swayed by not wanting to hurt the dr.'s feelings. They goofed up and it seems that he admits it. Do what's best for you family.

Judy, sleet and rain sound icky. Snow - I want snow and the weather forecast looks like it may start cooperating. But in a week if it goes as long as the 10 day forecast says, kick my but if I start to complain.

DH, DS2 and I are going skiing on Sunday. I learned my lesson last week. Don't ask, just tell. I told them we were going and that was it. Then I said, now that we have that settled and moved on to another subject. DS2 was thrilled and I think DH felt railroaded but he's on board. I'm EXCITED. I so much can't wait to go down the mountain. And maybe the summit lift will be open and I can go from the top. Oo-la-la. The summit lift is only open in safe weather (winds below 30 mph or so). It's above the tree line and very awesome.

Well, I should work but don't want to. Imagine that? :)
Marie

PS It's FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Judy - Glad you got your DVD working properly again. That hot buttered rum sure sounded good! I hear you about being "hungry from the neck up"! I very rarely get hunger pangs, even if I haven't eaten much. With me, it's all in the head. I wish I could get my stubborn brain to cooperate better :nono:! It's nice that you've had some compliments that you've lost weight. You may be gaining muscle with all the exercise you've been doing lately - way to go! :carrot:

Carol - Dealing with the doctor/hospital must be so frustrating for you and your DH. The only advice I think I could give you (for what it's worth) is that since another surgery to remove the item they left in could be risky and not advisable, it's probably best to think positive about it and put it in God's hands. As a cancer survivor, I've played a lot of "what if" head games, but that just drove me nuts! I decided to think positively and enjoy every day to the max, otherwise I'm just wasting whatever time I do have left by pointless worrying about something that may never happen. I have every intention to live to celebrate my 90th birthday! I'm glad your friends enjoyed getting your soaps. I find that soaps make a great gift and are always well-received. Yours sound very pretty if they don't want to use them.

July - I'm not so sure God invented chocolate cake - I think it may have been someone else :devil:! I remember how hot it was sometimes at Christmas down under. Do people still have a Christmas picnic at the beach? When we were there some people celebrated Christmas in July when it was the middle of winter.

Marie - I'm keeping my fingers crossed :crossed: for you that you get some good snowfall soon. I know you can't wait to go skiing regularly again. I hope you have a fun time on Sunday with lots of powder!

I had a lunch meeting/Christmas party yesterday and was fairly in control (mainly because only a few items appealed to me). I'm starting to have a protein shake as a meal replacement each day as this has worked for me in the past to start losing again. I don't have much social stuff going on now till Christmas and then a New Year's party, so it will be a bit easier to stay on track. I don't know why you guys assume us Brits are so reserved. We can get pretty boistrous (especially after a bit of a tipple!)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Girls thanks for the thoughts and wisdom that came my way. I have decided to put it in the lawyers hands and let him decide if we should be worried or not etc. I had a call from another doctors office which the new primary set us up with but it was in the same hospital as the surgoen no way. Don't think they don't scratch each others back. I only worry that they tell us the good things and not the whole story. After all he admitted this man whom assisted wasn't paying attention when someones life is on the line that your job to pay the best attention possible as this person has trusted his life in your hands. If it wasn't carelessness I would feel a bit better I think. In order to put this behind us I feel having an outside party review it would be the best we can do. It is near his lung and if it ever moved things wouldn't be good and with the human body who knows we don't know everything. Even if in the end a CT scan is needed yearly to ensure its where it is now you'd have a bit more rest. I do agree with you Penny sometimes we just need to hope for the best but my mind tells me differently this time so I think I have to go with my gutt. Hopefully its the right thing to do and the lawyer will ensure if he takes it on at all that bills accumulated from this mistake are paid by the right party. Thats mondays business to work on.
So on the intake front not awful for this time of year but the cookies aren't the best things I could eat. A friend sent over a plate for us yesterday he sugar cut outs rock they are soft and tasty. I am not making anymore cut outs this year but would love that recipe for the future lets see if she will share it? From here on in its drop or bar cookies only. Couple more kinds to fill my plates to give away to friends and coworkers.
Yesterday I had a super day at work. I took in a can of tea and some homemade soap as a gift to my supervisor. She loved it. Then gave my director 2 bars of lavender soap one with beeswax and lavender and the other lavender rose. She happened to come down to chat with me wanted to ensure that I was satisfied with the dept. and how its all going. She also wanted to ensure that the past issues I had with the supervisor from months back was going well. I assured her that I think things are going very well and all the coworkers are getting along there is no issues or behind the walls talk of dissatisfaction. Then she told me that it seems so nice to have everyone working so hard together and felt badly real bad over what happened in the past. I said oh well its made us all stronger and we appreciate a better work environment now. I gave her my soaps and said I just wanted to give a little token of my appreciation over my time out for my hubby etc... I said the lavender will relax you. She got up came over behind my desk gave me a hug and said you don't know how much this means to me and had a few tears. I hugged her back and said I am happy with my position and glad I stayed. A good ended to such a bad situation huh? So thanks to all of you for your past support and guess I truly made the right choice huh?
Marie enjoy that ski trip sounds like lots of exercise. Have you ever worn cuddles to keep you warm? Oh there great kind of womens long johns but so light wt. you don't no you have them on. We are to have a big storm roll in tonight around 10 pm and storm warnings til 10 am ooh! So I have some jewelry to make for gifts and pjs to make for the grandgirls and knitting too. So I will enjoy the fireplace and some winter relaxation time.
Judy I usually gain muscle and look like I have lost but actually stay the same or lose very slowly. So just keep up what your doing its working and the action your getting from others is so nice you deserve it. Penny your right on top of it with that one. Christmas on the beach sounds lovely where do I sign up? I can't wait to go to HI. to see that grandbaby. He looks so much like my oldest daughters baby pictures she is dying to go see him but doesn't fly and doesn't have the money to really go. So hopefully this next year the baby will come for a NY visit. I have gift card for 100 given from a rewards pt. system so I am going to Target to get a new camera. Mine is fine but my friend has one which takes better pictures and I don't want to miss a thing with the kids. Take care everyone sorry this is so long.

Happy Weekend
 

I am so happy it is weekend. I'm sitting by my fireplace with the Christmas tree lights glowing. My light therapy box is glowing and there are little snowflakes falling from the sky. It's a beautiful day. DH and I doggie walked for 2 miles (maybe a bit more). It was wonderful.

Almost DIL graduated from college on Thursday and the ceremony was nice and last night was her party. that was nice but I'm a homebody so 2 evenings in a row was too much. So today I stay at home and tomorrow I ski. Almost DIL might join us.

Carol, I agree about letting the lawyer handle it. I know that there are a lot of frivolous lawsuits, but this isn't one. Malpractice be definition is what happened. I'm glad that you're happy with your decision to remain where you work. Imagine how much harder a new job would have been with your DH's surgery.

Penny, I met you remember??? My thoughts of you being quiet are from that, not that you're British. Although I do think you're right that quiet is the stereotype. And your soaps are well received everytime I take a shower. :D I love the orange blossom. I'll be ordering more when I run low.

Judy and Juls, I hope you're doing great.
Marie

Carol - I totally agree that it's important to get legal advice and perhaps also a second or even third medical opinion. In my last post, I didn't mean in any way that you shouldn't take these steps. It's completely unacceptable that they didn't at least do a simple X-ray during the surgery (which I thought was a routine matter). No matter how "nice" the doctor is, your DH's wellbeing is of primary importance. I hope they will find that the piece they left in is not in a harmful position. The human body is a lot stronger than we think sometimes and will encapsulate foreign bodies to avoid damage. I will keep your DH in my prayers that all will be well. I'm glad you had that talk with your director and it went so well. It's good that she acknowledged what the problem was and appreciates having you on board. It's nice you have your visit to your new grandbaby to look forward to. I hope the big storm you were expecting wasn't too wild.

Marie - Congratulations to your almost DIL on her graduation! :cp: I can just imagine you sitting by the lightbox with the Christmas lights twinkling and the snow falling. A nice relaxing scene. I think I may need a light box soon if it doesn't brighten up a bit around here! I get a bit down when we have too many gray days in a row. I'm glad you're still enjoying the soaps.

Judy & Juls - I hope you're having a good weekend.

I just got back from the hairdressers and she recommended some layers as my hair is now past my shoulders and needs a bit of body. I also had some thicker bangs cut, which apparently is more trendy. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. It was so nice to just sit there and do nothing and she gave me a nice scalp massage too - soooo relaxing.

Hi! I guess I missed my Friday check-in. It was a good day, but a little too much fun...Since some folks in my office are heading off to vacation, we had a little office party for my birthday yesterday, and I had a big glass of wine in the middle of the afternoon, and then more wine and nibbles at a reception in the evening. Oh, well, not so horrible, but I didn't try hard enough to make good choices. Today I did the 5-mile walk cardio video, and dashed out for groceries and the first round of Xmas shopping before the nasty weather started. I treated myself to my first MP3 player, a 1GB Sharper Image music/video/photo thing, so I guess I'll have fun setting it up on Sunday. I was going to wait until the new iPhone comes out, but I will probably be on budget lockdown next year, and the MP3 player was on sale (and I used a 20% off coupon :dancer:.)

Carol, re the doctor's screw-up, you are doing the right thing, better safe than sorry, medically and legally. It was so nice to hear that your supervisors are validating you at work, hooray! Seven-layer bars...mmmm:drool:. My mouth's watering just thinking about them...

Marie, you sound like you're in great spirits this weekend. Have fun skiing!

Penny, I've been having protein shakes for b'fast during the week, but since I eat so much later on the weekends, I treat myself to oatmeal and a side of protein (an egg, sliced turkey, etc.) on the weekends for brunch. It doesn't work so well for me to replace lunch or dinner with a shake. I feel deprived and ending up eating a meal, anyway.

Juls, you're right that the scale can be deceptive, I should track inches, too! But when the scale doesn't move eventually, I'm usually doing something wrong (usually too-big portions and an eating rut). I know that I'm losing a bit around the midriff. One reason people are noticing is because I did a stern purge of my clothes recently, and tossed my roomier pants and tops. I still would like to see progress on the scale--I will be bummed out if I enter 2008 above 219 lbs. I haven't seen a number lower than 223 in a few weeks :mad:.

Okay, once again you've distracted me long enough for an evening craving to pass! Thanks!:grouphug:

judy