I'm sitting here at the boob hospital waiting for a radiologist. Since I am on my phone this will not be a long post. So far seen the nurse and doctor one. Still got further pictures to go and another doctor. Hopefully out of here by lunchtime. Then I will shout myself lunch at some place just because I can.

Good Morning and Happy Hump Day!! No longer trash day, it got moved to Thursday, really throws me off. hahaha


Cooked a roast and carrots in the pressure cooker last night. Yum Made mashed potatos, water beef gravey, all for Beef Manhattens. I just had the roast, carrots and a bit of potatoes. No bread for me. All was very tasty. Easy meal. Kudos from all you ate. Royce ate broken up texas toast bread with gravey (or dip as he call it). Geez I think I love those two grandbabes way too much. Jacob ate a lunchmeat sandwich with cheese as dinner food is not on his list of 8 things he likes. lol At least we can get him to eat. C is eating better these days as he had a bout of his "stomach, gut, pooper" issues while I was on leave. This is like the fifth time he has been through this. I did not give him one break, preached every day about it and told him he is doing to himself. I am over it and absolutely no sympathies from me AT ALL. One night he felt so bad he wanted to die and he told me. So my smart arse said, do you want to be buried or cremated? He didn't speak to me the rest of the night and I think he got my message, "shut the H up about your D stomach issues".


Got my bill from the surgery center part of my ankle surgery. $55,735.14. Negotiated rate insurance paid $8,467.27, I have to pay 99.73. Whew, what a break. My question is why if they accept the lower negotiated rate can they not charge all that, even those without insurance. Guarantee those without insurance don't have any money to pay the 55K. Maybe they would get more people to pay their bills, I don't know.


SHADDIE...patiently awaiting your results of all your tests. That is a lot of docs to see for a breast scan. Has me curious.


SUSIE...hey sister, so happy DHs scan came back so wonderful. Prayers do work. Very excited for that news. Trust me, I have to gimp a bit in the office due to the boot I am wearing. They get it. lol.


CEEG...yes, once your name is misspelled on your birth certificate, you are stuck with it for life unless you get it legally changed. Who wants to pay for that.


Hello to the rest of ya's. Got to get busy, boss is out today and tomorrow on travel. So I need to kick butt and take names later.


Hugs, loves, and prayers.

Quick pop in here to say hello. Have a 1030 meeting to prep for, may get back later this afternoon. Also have a session this afternoon about the transition of our health savings accounts to a new administrator.

Oh Jimmy John's Veggie Lettuce Wraps have I missed you. That is all.

Hi all,

Never did get in here yesterday and I was on the phone all morning. Now I need to get ready for therapy. DH is busy so I am going to drive myself. Got to try it sometime, doc said it was up to me and if I felt I had control over my leg. I think I do. I will come back and post after therapy.

Afternoon all.

Annie – Sounds like you’ve had a nice welcome back to work. Nice the boss is out and you can focus on catching up on everything. Re gyros – love them, but the taste/breath lingers way too long. Ewww. Don’t have them often, but it’s definitely a weekend thing. Yes, of course it would be wisest to make the stock right away. Doesn’t happen though... The beef Manhattans sound yummy. LOL re kid food preferences. :D Yeh, since C’s gut issues are essentially self-inflicted, I can see how it would leave you less than sympathetic after the nth time he did it to himself. SOOOO glad your surgery out of pocket was practically nil. Those providers just throw out those crazy numbers to see what sticks. Not keen on Jimmy John’s because cheese isn’t included on some of their sandwiches. It’s not a sandwich without cheese! And it’s not lunch if there’s no chips to go along with the sandwich. (Hence my excess weight.)

Ceejay – What a PITA re the change in license! Re my trip to Springfield, I’ve been in touch with my sister and it will probably end up being in early November. We're getting together to plan what needs to be done pre-move. Re fall clothes – I’d like to buy some ¾ sleeve tops. I’m pretty good on the long sleeve ones.

Susie – Fantastic result on dh's CT!! Hope there will be no need for surgery in the future.

Shad – I hope the b00b pictures came out good and there are no bad things showing up. Is your keyhole surgery this coming Monday, or the one after that?

Hey Happy – What’re you up to? Busy as heck with thrift shop, bingo, cooking class, art class…..oh, and PT. Hope the session goes well today. And I hope the pain is easing up for you!

Hello to Dee. Come on back to visit us soon!

==

I had to wait 1 hour+ at the podiatrist last night with a packed waiting room. But I got an x-ray and ultrasound and finally my shot. I have no bone spurs! But I have very high arches. I always thought having a high arch was better than being flat-footed, but turns out they make you vulnerable to foot problems. Doc likened the high arch to a tripod and there’s more pressure placed on the heel, hence the problem I’ve been having. He wants to see me again in a week and I made the appointment for first thing in the morning next Wednesday to avoid a long wait. But I'll then have to either take part or all of the day off work, or announce a work from home day for myself.

The injection spot is very sore today, which I don’t recall from my two prior shots. Probably just blocked it out, LOL. Anyway, I’ve taken some ibuprofen and I have a frozen water bottle I’m using to ice my foot at this very moment.

Came home last night after my appointment to find a tablet device sitting on the sofa. Bf bought it at our preferred electronics store, which price matched Costco, plus we had a $100 gift card (won in a raffle), which made it all the better. I want to add the e-book and digital magazine apps to it. Not sure how it works if I have those on multiple devices. Likely a PITA. We’ll see.

That’s about it for me, so I’ll finally get this posted.

Morning all,

And a cool damp grey foggy one it is here too. Hallelujah, so much nicer than having temps in the high twenties and early thirties. The plants will be loving it.

So yesterday turned out to be a mammoth day at the boob hospital. Six hours to check out 'an area of concern'. 4 mammograms, 2 ultrasounds, squeezes, pushes and 2 needle biopsies later I am allowed to go home. My poor right boob. It is bruised and battered and has holes in it. The general consensus is that this is a fibrous degeneration of the breast tissue due to age. I will know for sure apparently on Friday. One thing that really bugs me is a lack of definite diagnosis. I like my ducks in a row and answers. Yes I am a pain in the butt. Anyway, that's two different doctors who are 98% sure I do not have cancer. A couple more to go and I might believe it. I just need to find out about that blood test that said I had elevated markers and what that might mean. The other thing that is bugging me big time, is that something in the uterus has got upset and I am doing a slow blood leak - so back to the doctor today to see if I can find out why. I hate the thought that I might have periods again! I'm suspecting that the vaginal ultrasound has pushed, prodded and poked something that didn't want to be pushed, prodded or poked but I need to know.
Sorry if all that was too much information over your coffee break. Thanks to you all with you thoughts, prayers and concerns. It all helps. However I don't need you to kiss my right boob better even if it is still very sore and itchy.

Niece and little niecelet came over for lunch the other day. I was a bit worried about how the ODDU would go with niecelet. However he performed beautifully and tried to lick her to death. We had to stop him from being nice to her :rofl: She was a bit fearful at first but soon got over that and then when she crouched down to see some flowers he stood over her and licked her again. That was a bit frightening for her. He is so big, but I was so pleased with him. He is growing up. Still has some of the wild child within and still needs careful watching at times. He can be a lot of fun - especially when he has raided the kids toy box (as opposed to his own toy box) and tries to sneak out the back with a teddy or a ball.

Happy - hope the leg is better after therapy, the pain must be getting a bit old by now. Good on you for driving yourself to the therapist today. Gotta start somewhere.
So nice of the chef to think of you in his cooking class and send home some of the goodies. You must have made some impression. But then chefs are notoriously strange at times! :lol3: Does he cook locally or does he come into town especially to do the classes. Most of the cooking classes we have around here are Asian. I like Asian stuff but I would love to have a Tapas class or something Greek or Italian. It's probably around, but I just don't get to see it. Good on the DH for making himself useful.

Susie - Hope this Admin will take some work off you and you can get a bit of time to yourself. Keyhole surgery is scheduled for 24th October. Not too far away now.
I hope the DH's health continues to improve. Glad the fistula has healed itself. Good news that.
Sounds like there is little trust between the company and the staff where he works.

Annie - hope the knee doesn't turn ugly. Not too long until the boot comes off. Will you need to walk around in flat shoes after that for a while. No getting into these 5" stillettos for a while for you. That's some bill for the surgery. Lucky you didn't have pay the lot. Or even half of it.
Glad to read that they are happy to see you back at work. Not surprised that the ankle was swollen after a day at work. Did they manage those pesky reports okay while you were away? See, they don't need you to keep fine tuning them after all.
Fried Pumpkin blossoms? Who knew they were yummy. Sounds like you had a good day in the pumpkin patch. I went down to the local strawberry patch last weekend. Got some yummy fresh strawberries and some handmade soaps for Christmas gifts. See I said the ucky word. I'll have to look up Jimmy Johns vegetable wraps. Which gives me the idea that I might make San Choi Bau for dinner tonight.

Laura - Has that horrible cough and bronchitis gone away now. Hate it when it hurts just to cough. DS2 is still complaining about his cough and cold. But I went out and bought 6 big packets of tissues for him - mansize they are called. So he has no excuse now not to just get on with it and see it through.
Interesting about the bike seat being auto adjusting. I can understand why you want to just put and ordinary one on tho'. Are you going to go for a promotion now that they are handing them out like lollies?

Ceejay - Just joking on tearing up the house. Why didn't you bring the security camera with you? Did the landlord pay for those or did you? Yes houses are a completely different thing than apartments and the creaks and groans are more pronounced. I guess you must be too far away from the uncles now to make a weekend drive? Better change the location on your avatar area now that you are a Missourian. :lol:

Think that is it. ODDU is waiting patiently for a game and I have the GP doctor at 9 o'clock. We have to decide what to do about this colonoscopy. I don't think anyone will want to do one of those a week after my pending keyhole (and perhaps full hysterectomy) surgery. Might have to put it back.
So onward and upward as they say. Just today's appointment, colon clinic next Monday, blood tests following Friday and the exploratory surgery on the 24th to go. Then I hope I will be shot of the medical profession for a several months. Hope springs eternal. Have a great day.

And there's Laura typing over my head.

Shad
Love to hear about how you are handling your health problems. Bleeding could be from an angry fibroid. But I would still be going to the doctor to find out. After all they want to know those things.
Speaking of house repairs, my sister is having her insurance agent to come and look at the floor where the washer overflowed. (drain fell out) tomorrow. The person who has been doing repairs wants her to do all the floors but I don't think that is necessary.

Laura
November sounds good. Are your sisters coming too? Ah, the podiatrist. Need to find one of those myself. My bunion is more than ready to be taken care of. I did see a podiatrist sign near Humana.

Annie, Happy and Susie :wave:

---------
I had an appointment at 11 this morning to talk about the Medicare Advantage plan the Humana has. I signed up for it. So we shall see if they will accept me. I left my house at 10 this morning cause I had no earthly idea how the traffic would be and it was raining, hard at times. I got there in 15 minutes. Luckily the agent was free at the moment and took me in. This afternoon there was a break in the clouds so I went to an auto mechanic shop that I've seen several times and the internet had great reviews about it. I need a license plate on the front of my vehicle and they can put the holder on the car. Just had to order the part.
I've been taking the back way so much that when I got through at the Humana office that I back tracked to get to one of the side streets that would take me back to Battlefield, my town. When I went to the auto place I decided to go down one more farm road and it came out one block past the place. I'm going to follow it tomorrow and see where I end up on Battlefield Road. I want to find the mall that's on Battlefield road. I like to explore.

Good morning ladies,

Short post for me today. I have to get ready for an all day art class which goes from 9am to 3pm. Then it's off to bingo at 4:30. Going to be a long day and no time for a nap so I'm not quite sure I can make it through. Leg is sore today - as it typically is after therapy. Not sure I should be driving today but I'll see when I get ready to leave. The class is only 3 miles away, not a big deal for DH to drop me off and it's next door to the hardware store he goes to at least twice a day anyway. :lol: I have to bring a lunch to class - Chef gave me a nice container of pumpkin spice soup I think I will bring to share with my friend who gave me the tomato bounty gift 2 weeks ago. I also have some delicious honey crisp apples. Apples taste much better when they are in season. Yum.

Well Ceejay - it certainly appears you are following in my footsteps and making yourself quite busy with things in retirement! Great opportunities to find your way around. Seems like you picked a place where you have anything you need - always a good thing. Your comment about the insurance reminds me that I should review the annual enrollment for mine also although I always pick the same option year after year. Thank goodness they give you the same thing as last year if you forget to sign up!

Poor Shad - such poking and prodding they have done to you. Poor boob too! My Mom had those biopsies done too - said they were quite painful. I hope the surgery goes well and you don't have to have everything taken out - that would be quite the shock to your poor battered body. :hug: I agree with Ceejay about the possibility of fibroids causing the leakage. Also agree with you about lack of enthusiasm for having periods again :mad: Nice to hear that despite his wild ways, ODDU is good with kids. Perhaps he realizes that little ones bring new toys :lol: To your question, the chef is local. He is from this area and as he built his career moved around the country and has decided to settle back into this area. We had people who drove 2 hours to come to his class the other night. Quite impressive as the class ends around 8:30 and that's a long drive. Not sure I'd do that myself. Perhaps that shows the lack of opportunities in the area. He is planning more spring classes so I'm happy he is continuing with this. If he has such large attendance, the college will also nudge him to continue. Take care of yourself my friend!

Laura - hope your foot feels better today. I remember the cortesone hurting for a few days until it starts to spread and give relief. Icing it will help alot. Yay on the new tablet - something more to figure out LOL can you use it on the train or do you need an internet connection? Bummer on the high arches - or maybe I am confusing that with a high instep. Considering how unique our feet are, it's almost amazing that standard shoes fit us - or do we all just tolerate an ill fit?? You'll have to do more high impact aerobics to smash that arch down :lol3:

Annie - bah on having a fight with C over the stupid food which he has control of. I guess even the pain doesn't deter him. Time for tough love :rollpin: Yep, don't cry to me. Congrats on your anniversary - doesn't seem like a year since your heart attack. You are doing well in spite of the medical challenges you have faced. Keep up the good work! That hospital bill is crazy! That's why you need insurance I suppose as much as we complain about it. Glad you didn't have to pay out much yourself. I guess from what they tell me insurance plans vary quite a bit based on the premiums so even though you have 5 people with the same provider - every person's end bill can vary by the thousands for payment. :dizzy: Crazy, crazy. Glad you are back and work and hopefully getting settled in.

I have to get ready now or I'll be late. Hi to Susie :wave: Have a good day everyone.

Hidee ho all!


Let me clarify all....The only reason for the 99.00 payment on hospital bill was because I had met my deductible for the year and out of pocket ($6800.00). So from here on out. Whatever I do, if free till the end of the year. hahahahhaa. Nothing is free.


SHADDIE....hmmm, I wonder what the average age is that women just fall apart? I am going to say 50s - 60s. Your poor b00b. I must say was not going to kiss it and make it better either. lol. Hope everything turns out well and your surgery is minimal. ODDU was a good boy for the wee one. I think all wee ones freak out at big dog's unless they are raised with them. Bruno tries to play with the grands toys also. We have to take them away from him on a daily basis. Bruno just turned 2, therefore he is very playful also.


LAURA...was the shot in your foot a cortisone shot? I can attest to those shots being very painful afterward. Hugs. I thought high arches were good also. hmmm. I have high arches. Nice steal on the tablet cost. WTG BF.


HAPPY...Your knee certainly is getting a work out today. Hope you are you unable to walk after today? Ice, ice, ice, iced T, vanilla ice, lots of ice. Oh how was cooking class? What did you make? Something yummy, I am sure. Yum pumpkin spice soup, love that. Nice of you to share. Did driving bother your knee much?


CEEG...glad you are having a good time with your new place!


Leftover roast beef sandwiches for dinner. Was just me and C. Quiet evening, got a load of towels done, tonight I am doing a load of work clothes. Work clothes, haven't said that is a long time. Bleh.


Got to get busy! Hellos to Susie, Dee and Chelle.


Love and Hugs

Laura...the Jimmy John's Veggie lettuce wrap has provolone cheese on it....yummy

Morning all.

Annie – Meeting the deductible –both a good thing and a bad thing. More bad when one’s on a high deductible med plan. But since you’ve done it, get as much as you can out of it for the rest of the year!! I agree with you about when we just start falling apart. Early 50’s and I feel like I’m starting to... My labs from my employer’s recent health eval came back really good, but it’s the stuff that doesn’t show there that tells the rest of the story - this asthma crap, my foot issue, the sore/achey this and that which come and go with varying frequency, the minor colds that end up being bronchitis… Bah and boo. Yep, the shot in my foot was a cortisone shot.== Re the JJ veggie lettuce wrap – oh, yeh, *veggie* wrap, they have to throw in something good to make it tasty, LOL.

Happy – Hope you’re enjoying the art class. Hope your knee won't complain too much between the class and bingo later on. Re the tablet – I think we’ll mainly be using it at home with our wi-fi. Bf tells me we can somehow piggyback on our cell phone data plan by creating a hotspot with it… dunno, beats me. :shrug: I’m sure after a few weeks of using this tablet at home, I’ll know if I want one of my own to bring with me on the train. I have a feeling the one at home will be enough. It’ll be convenient to check things out on the internet and not be annoyed by the limitations of our cell phone screens and to not have to trudge back to the office to look things up on our desktop with the larger display. So how are you liking your new smartphone – or are you frustrated that the bad/weak cell signals in your area aren’t strong enough to get use out of it?

Shad – Oh gosh, you poor thing getting squished and poked most of yesterday. :( All that to diagnose aging b00bs. I hope that’s the definite diagnosis, but wonder if those markers could mean something else. Hope the bleeding isn’t a period – enough already, right?! Continuing to wish you the best with all this med stuff you have going on.=== Awww, too funny about ODDU licking the niecelet, but I’m sure he found her to smell and taste very good!!! And same for the toys!! I take it he didn’t knock her over - accidentally of course? == Yes, the cough and bronchitis seems to have passed. Still have a wee bit of congestion, but now I wonder if that’s just allergy type stuff. Breathing easier now too, yay. It would be nice if we could all get over our initial dismay/depression/anger/annoyance when we first get sick with a cold, etc. and then just muddle quietly through it doing what we need to do, but sometimes the self-pity and woe-is-me attitude take over and everyone in hearing range suffers for it. Sigh. Hope DS2 gets better soon for all your sakes! === Yes, once I’ve taken on and done decently with the additional responsibilities for a few months, I will pursue a promotion. May as well, since my very nebulous plans re moving on to something else are a couple years away yet.

Ceejay – I’m not sure if my sister (I just have one) and I would be visiting at the same time – she’s trying to determine when her hubby would be free from his work (he now does independent consulting projects and is semi-retired) to be able to drive down together so they can save on airfare and also bring home some of the items that they are “inheriting” since my mom can’t keep all that stuff. My mom keeps asking if I want anything, but I don’t want any of her large pieces of furniture. I’ve chosen a few smallish items. I’m sure when I go down there again I will get a hard press to take more stuff, and I will try to resist. === You sound like you’re getting to know the area now (and enjoying it) and finding your preferred routes. I’m glad you like the exploring, and now you have plenty of time to do it! :)

Hellos to Susie and Dee. :wave:
==
Yesterday I got stuck in the rain on my AM bike commute to the train, and wasn’t properly dressed either. And then on the way home after work, the temps had dropped. I wore a sweater home from work, but it was a v-neck cardigan and my top underneat had a scoop neck, so I felt the cold right on my chest. And the ride home was even colder – it had stopped raining and my bike seat was dry because it had been covered, but the handlebars were wet and cold on my bare hands. Thank goodness it’s only a few blocks to ride. And BTW, bf phoned the bike shop and figured out how to deal with the odd seat post, so that’s set now.

Chilly this morning, but I was properly dressed for my commute this time around.

Nothing much else to report today. My foot is better than yesterday, but still a bit sore. Our annual fundraiser activities begin today with the kickoff event this afternoon. The theme this year appears to be Las Vegas, but mostly just for the party rooms and not for the other activities (games, auction, etc.). Always an interesting few weeks.

Our open enrollment period begins Monday. We're switching our health savings account to Fidelity and I think it'll be much better.

Okay, enough rambling. Time to post.

Break out the champagne.

1 down, 2 to go. Breastscreen Queensland just rung me to tell me there is no evidence of cancer in my breast. Yahoo.

A great day in the worldly world!!!