http://www.ecardgallery.com/egreetin...dafrnd08/1.gif

Good Saturday Morning Ladies!

Here are some more pictures of my boys and me the first picture was taken on Sunday (last Sun.) and the second picture was taken this past Tuesday (my face & neck are all scrunched up the way I was sitting there & I look plump-er :o ) and the boys wanted to cuddle with me. Pictures 3, 4 & 5 are of Guido playing with my Ladybugs... yep, I have Ladybugs guys (don't think me strange or odd now :o ). I keep my bathroom door closed to keep the kitties away from them. I didn't have the heart to throw the 2 -3 Ladybugs I found in the house last Fall out into the winter snow, so I kept them and now I have 24 of them. I keep them all under glass in my bathroom, so the boys cannot get to them. I have learned allot watching them. I feed them raisins, apples and cukes to keep them alive and wash out their home every 2 - 3 days to keep everything clean. The wooden heart closes up, so I wait till most of them go inside at night (most do) and that's when I clean their Dome Home :D As soon as the winter weather breaks I will set them free in my gardens. Hope you all don't think I am crazy now... it's not something I have ever done before, but thought it would be a fun project for the winter and it has been. I learned allot about their habits. Enjoy the pictures.

Take Care guys - I hope you have a Healthier today... http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_4_23v.gif

*******
LINK to the pictures ( just scroll way down once you get to the thread ;) )
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...152#post524152

*******

A lapful of kitties! I love the fact that Guido (is it Guido?) likes to hang out in the sink. I can never figure out why cats do what they do?? I mean, what attracts a cat to a sink? I don't think it's at all weird that you kept the ladybugs. It just shows what a wonderful person you are to care for all living creatures. And ladybugs are wonderful--especially for your garden. Now, if you kept spiders, I would think much differently of you! :) I made a deal with spiders--if they go into my house, they're history, but if they stay outside (or out of sight), they can go about their business.

It's supposed to be sunny today after the morning fog disappears. I'm feeling like I want to do something. I think we're going to go down to the Center for Wooden Boats and see what what facility would be like for a wedding. My DH really likes the place, but that's because he's going to take sailing lessons there. When I started looking at wedding places that had a water view, well, I was horrified. Most of them require that you use their expensive catering staff and the total cost was coming up to $3,000+. The Center for Wooden Boats is on a lake, not the Sound, but it meets the water requirement. I'm trying to get this all figured out so I know how much money to start putting away for this event.

My DD called yesterday asking if we'd move to Virginia. I know she wasn't serious, but she sounds so lonely and homesick. She was supposed to go to Tennessee with a friend, but the friend didn't call her until late so DD made dinner plans. My Dad said, "Well, I never got homesick when I was in the Army." Okay, says, I, you were in your late 20s and early 30s, you were stationed about 30 miles from your home, and my mother went with you to Texas when you were there. I mentioned to DD that she had said she'd like to try living on the east coast for a while. She said, "I am living here, and I hate it." She's been there all of three weeks, I think. Poor kid!

Charlotte, what's happening with your house and your legal case these days? I can imagine that you're getting cabin fever, and I hope that you see an end in sight.

Willow, how did the hip appointment go? How are you feeling?

Well, everybody, have a great Saturday!

SATURDAY Afternoon...
 

Good morning, ladies!

I'm so sorry you're having snow, SunnyD. Snow is not my favorite thing, and I know you're sick of it by now. Two warm days followed by snow--it would definitely drive me mad! Just when you start thinking spring. . .

Well, it's sunny and warm in the sun. We took the dogs down to the nearby park for a walk. My MinPin was being an incredible butthead, and we told him he wasn't coming back there again. The walk was a bit much for my old dog, too. I hate to leave the dogs at home when we walk, but between bad behavior and old age, I'm thinking we're going to have to take them on shorter neighborhood walks, and do longer walks by ourselves. While we were walking, my DH took photos because we were thinking that my DD could have her wedding there. We could rent a tent in case it rained and for shelter from the sun. It would be a beautiful setting right by the water with the mountains in the background, and the ferries tootling along. I'm including some photos.

Today we're going to go look at open houses, which is kind of a thing I like to do. Someday I will own a home again, and I'm planning on it being the last one I own so I want to get it right, or at least as right as I can given my budget.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing Sunday!

hello Friends
 

Hi everybody,
I'm just checking in for a couple of minutes tonight.

Sheila, the scenery is beautiful. I'm sure she will be happy no matter WHERE the wedding takes place. She won't be able to see anything but her love that day anyway. :D
I'm glad for you that they set a reasonable date though.

I've not been doing much of anything the last few days.
been laying on my side a lot.

Tomorrow morning, early, they are going to try to aspirate fluid from my hip, then inject a steroid. I am so scared that I might have a bad reaction to the steroid or that it might destroy the bone, or something will go wrong. I also am afraid it is going to hurt like the devil, but I'm to the point that I'm willing to try anything to relieve the pain.
The only thing is, the appointment is about 35 miles away and they are predicting freezing rain for early morning tomorrow. GREAT!! If it's too bad out, I'm just going to call and cancel it. I know they won't be happy about it if I do that, because they want 24 to 48 hours notice if you cancel, but I'd rather have them mad at me than have an accident.

I'll check in tomorrow and let you know how it went.

I've been thinking about you, Willow. Hope everything went okay--wasn't too painful and that it's going to help. Also hope that you were able to make it!

My day did not start out well at all. Everything was fine until I was about to leave for aerobics. I had just gone to the bathroom, walked out the bathroom door and heard this funny noise, looked down and saw water running out of the bathroom into the hallway. Of course I yelled for help, and my DH came in and stopped the overflowing toilet. We used a ton of towels to soak up the water, then I had to mop the floor, and wash the towels. Needless to say I didn't make it to aerobics. I really hate low flow toilets, or at least that one. My other toilet I have to flush twice (how water-saving is that?), but the one in the big bathroom flushes fine, but it plugs up easily and then runs off and on. All I can say is that I am glad that it was pumping out clear liquid instead of what could have overflowed!

I'd signed up for a new class at the Y called Women on Weights. I was thinking it was going to be free weights, but it isn't, at least not yet. And we hardly got any time on the weight machines because it was so busy. I was rather disappointed.

Did anyone watch Sex and the City last night? I really enjoyed that show and am sad it's off the air. But I liked the way they wrapped it up.

Well, the weather went from sunny and warm to drizzly and lukewarm, I'd guess you'd say. My DH tried taking the dogs for a walk this morning when it wasn't raining, and my old dog just didn't want to go. He got about 1/2 block, realized he was pretty much dragging her which wasn't fun for either of them, and brought her back home. She didn't eat much this morning either, and has been rather picky about food lately. I hope yesterday's walk wasn't too much for her. And I really hope she's not getting ill. She's 17 and 2 months so she's rather up there.

Hope everybody's Monday is going well!

Hello Friends
 

Well, all my worrying and fussbudgeting was for naught. It was about
the least painful thing I've had done. Even less so than last years,
done at Mayo, which wasn't bad at all.

The MRI done last Thursday showed a lot of fluid yet, and the Dr.
today said there is an awful lot of arthritis in that hip. :-(
Once again, they could not get any of the fluids out, but they said
that isn't uncommon.

I was in heaven for about 5 minutes after they finished. I could lift my leg and pull my slacks on and walk without a limp just like old days. But, then the Dr told me to stop walking because he wanted the steroid to stay in the hip joint and capsule as long as possible so it could work, and walking etc would wash it out.

They put the steroid in, then made me sit there for about 15 minutes,
then they asked where my person was sitting who was going to drive me
home. ....???????!!
I said I didn't have anyone to drive me home. I didn't know I was
suppose to have anyone along.
I said it's my right leg that I use for accelerating and braking, and
my left hip that had the procedure done on it. They weren't real
happy about that, but said if I ever have to have anything similar
done on my back or arm, I would DEFINITELY need someone along.

The Dr. said to go home and not to walk today anymore than absolutely
necessary. He said we don't want the blood rushing in there and
washing out the steroid right away. It needs time to do it's work.

He also said (before he ever started)that he wanted me to understand
that this doesn't always work. Sometimes it works for a day or two,
sometimes for months, sometimes it breaks the inflammation completely
and permanently and sometimes it doesn't do a darn thing.

It's doing SOMETHING tonight, that's for sure! I keep breaking out in
sweats. Whew! I hope that means it's getting rid of the inflammation.

Get this! .... I'm getting a CANE tomorrow. YUK!

Sheila, so sorry you had such a rotten day. Will the machines always be so hard to get access to? I'd ask about that. You paid the money, and you deserve to have full use of the equipment.

I don't watch much tv so I didn't watch Sex and the City. I've been trying to read Dr phil, but something keeps interrupting, .... either I get a phone call or I fall asleep. :dizzy:

I've been wanting something sweet a lot lately, and I've been eating dates. I LOVE those things, and they are high in calories, but also high in fiber and iron, and they do the trick for me.
I could eat them by the pound, but I've been having 3 or 4 at a time with decaf coffee. :o

Could your dog maybe have a bad tooth that could make her not want to eat and walk? Poor thing! I hope she's OK.

Sunny, I hope I didn't hurt your feelings last post I made by not posting a reply to you. I was really hurting and wanted to post quick and go back and lay down.

Those cats are really cute.
However, are you sure those are lady bugs? Or are they Japanese beetles? Those things are such PESTS!! You may be sorry that you kept them, and, they multiply like crazy and crawl inside walls and the tiniest cracks imaginable and are almost impossible to get rid of.
They are larger than the lady bug, more orange in color and they stink to high heaven when they get squished.
it's starting to warm up here and they are starting to slowly crawl out of cracks around windows, down chimneys, around door frames,.....

No freezing rain here this morning, so I guess all the prayers and good thoughts from everybody is working,and I hope it keeps working in my hip.

I'll try to get back again tomorrow.
Take care and have a wonderful evening.

Pics ?
 

Good morning, ladies! Where is the rest of our crew?

Spring is definitely in the air around here, despite the grey skies yesterday and today. I noticed the forsythia in the backyard is starting to bloom, the flowering quince is blooming, and I've two crocuses up. Spring is so exciting!

The open house thing was kind of funny. The directions in the newspaper weren't correct, and we ended up on some little freeway going east when we really wanted to go west. We finally made it there, though. The reason I wanted to see the open houses was because I liked the outside design of one of them (rather Craftsman-like). I wasn't all that enthused by the inside, though, although one had a room with the attic-like ceiling that I love. When I was in my first marriage, we lived with his grandparents for a couple of months in their big attic room. I loved living with them (better than with him), and I loved that attic room. I think that's why I love rooms with those kinds of ceilings.

Willow, I'm glad the steroid injection wasn't painful, and I hope you can feel a difference this morning. How is walking with the cane coming along? I'm glad you're going for the healthy dates instead of other stuff. I like dates, too, although the stickiness is annoying. They sound great with a cup of tea! When I lived in Colorado, we had miller moth infestations every once in a while. They would move from the plains to the mountains (or maybe it was vice versa?) in huge swarms and get into the oddest places in people's homes. I found them in my silverware drawer, my dishwasher, the heating vents, etc. When they died and decomposed, it was gross. Plus it was gross just to open up a drawer and see a hundred dead moths. I think beetles would be worse, though. Do you have tomato hornworms where you live? I remember the first time I saw one of those I screamed. They have to be the ugliest creatures on earth.

I sent my DD a packet of photos and information on various wedding venues. I'm really curious if any of you have planned a wedding or know someone who has, and how much it cost? I asked my son how much his wedding cost, and he said $5,000 not including the food, which was a gift from a friend who was a chef, and the flowers, which he paid for by installing the flowershop's computer system. I felt a little bad asking him since his divorce was just finalized, but I was kind of curious. Where we live now is quite a bit more expensive than Boise, ID.

So, Sunny, here are my dogs, and my cats, too. I finally got a shot of them all in one place. My old dog is very camera shy now. She is a really pretty dog, but when I get the camera out, she goes all hangdog on me. It must be the flash that bothers her. The MinPin doesn't mind getting photographed, but he's a mere 12 years old.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

Thank you!
 

Question... ... ...
 

Hello Friends
 

Just a short post for now.

Well, Sheila and Sunny, it looks like it's us 3 for a while. :D

I love your dogs! Beautiful! I think your cats are too, but why do you let them get so skinny? :rofl:

Sunny, I don't have any recent pictures of myself. I think the last one taken is about 1 1/2 to 2 years old. I'm very camera shy. I look so awful that I'm ashamed to put it on here.
Maybe some day when I lose my weight I'll show a before and after pic. I'll have to have someone explain to me how to do it though.

Which reminds me, ... Did you gals get an e-mail from me with my grandson singing a victory chant?

My hip was feeling some better when I got up this morning, then I went and got my cane and picked up a few things at the grocery store, and this afternoon it started hurting again. I took some advil gel tabs at noon and it was better again this afternoon, so I just took some more now. It's not 100% better yet, but, I can walk a ways without limping.
I hope that steroid keeps on working until the pain is gone completely and stays gone.

I can't get used to walking with that cane though. You have to hold it in the opposite hand of the side the injured leg is on, because that's the hand that naturally swings forward when you walk. I guess my first instinct was to think, " I'll put it in the hand of the side where the leg hurts."
I got one that is aluminum and it's a multi green color, not that wooden color.

Anyway, I want to go back to swimming. My sister talked me into waiting until I go back to the Dr on Monday though and ask him first.

I usually weigh in the morning when I first get up and have pee'd. I got on the scales this evening, fully clothes and having been eating all day and drinking liquids, I thought I'd be up about 5 pounds, but I was only up about 2 pounds from where I was in the morning a week ago, so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm not down a pound or so in the morning from where I was last week.
I thought for sure with all this laying around I would have gained. guess it pays to eat healthy even when you're feeling crappy.

I gotta go get ready for bed. Work tomorrow. ICK! :wave:

Hello Friends
 

Alright you guys! That's enough dodging here! ;) get thee hiney's in here and let us know how you're doing.
Not posting isn't going to help, .... I don't THINK anyway.

I'm feeling pretty good this morning.
I didn't sleep much night before last, but I think that was from the steroid, and last night I slept pretty good. Stupid mask keeps losing the seal when I turn over in my sleep, then the farting sound of the air escaping out of the mask wakes me up. :lol:

I just had a healthy breakfast. Got a healthy lunch packed, and I'm off to work.
See ya all later!