Hi Everyone,

Sheila, hope your birthday was really special. Sounds like you had a good day. Did your garden turn out the way you wanted it to today? It sounds like it will be absolutely perfect. How are you progressing with the wedding plans? DH's Mom is 91 and she has to write things down because she forgets them shortly after we have discussed things with her. She is a dear religious person and still is able to drive her car and gets around nicely and still lives in her home. We are very fortunate to still have her. DH's brother lives with her and she still makes meals, cleans a little and insists on doing the wash. It is suppose to be only 38 degrees here for Easter Sunday with a chance of snow showers. Good thing we aren't planning any outside activities. I'll hide the grandkids Easter baskets inside the house, of course I don't remember ever hiding them outside anyway. I could just see our two dogs finding them and dragging them around the yard. There was a rabbit in our yard the other morning, it has been around all winter. I really am surprised our retrievers allow a rabbit to hang around here, but sometimes they can act pretty dumb.

Willow, I didn't get the pictures completely done. I plan to finish up after Easter and things settle down again. I did get all my stuff marked and put in boxes with covers and put up on tables in the garage. DH and I want to clean up the basement and I am going to go through the cupboards and get rid of things I no longer need down there too. Now I will really have to follow DH's house rule of. "Nothing comes into this house unless something goes out." He hates clutter and he doesn't believe in hoarding things. How is your hip doing? If Minnesota has been anything like Wisconsin this past week and on into Sunday, then you haven't felt any warm temperatures either. Sitting in the sun in your swing sounded so wonderful. We did get all our yard raking done though. I hate that job, it is too much like excercise. How old is your sister that was born on the 20th of April, it isn't the one named Bonnie is it? That would be a hoot. So your birthday is next Tuesday, and Shiela's was last Tuesday, and mine is the Tuesday after your's. This is sounding a little peculiar don't you think?

Charlotte, Your door sounds lovely. Hope the remodel is progressing right along and going smoothly. I am so sorry about your son and his troubles. I will continue to pray for him and his little girls and for your health. You sure have had a heaping plate the past few years. I agree with the ladies, you sure don't need all this stress, considering the impact it has on your health. Things have to get better Charlotte, they just have to. We will always be in your corner Charlotte, just like you are always here for us.

SunnyD, good for you, just trucking away on that treadmill, burning up calories and throwing them out the door. You sound mighty determined, we will be just as excited as you will when you reach you goal weight. Enjoy your Easter and all your involvment in your church, you sound very happy today, warm summer days cannot be far off, I for one am really looking forward to them. The days are getting longer now and the day-light savings time really helps in the evenings after work.

Puss, you little rascal, you probably ran off to France with your DH and brother, you lucky person you. Or you have gone up to be with your Mother. She is a really a fortunate person to have you, I hope she knows that. Have a Happy Easter with your dear family.

Jacquie, hope everything is ok in Canada and warming up a bit. Keep up the good work with the excercise. Enjoy Easter Sunday.

Take care. Bluet

My dear friends...

Thank you all for your encouraging words & concern. Please keep the prayers going. I really shouldn't have whined about myself. My children are much more important than I. Just need to vent sometimes.
My son is doing very well at the moment. Working very hard on the house. Missing the girls sooo much through the week. He cared for them most of the time, when at home. Said he did all the cooking, & cleaning. Caring for the girls...such as bathing, dressing, etc....because their mom was gone or high. I wasn't sure of all of this at first. I thought he just wanted us to "be on his side". He gave me a "Day Planner", though, to keep for him that she had. She posted everything in it. Not only about him taking care of the girls...but, all of her drug using, buying & selling of drugs... of her & all her family. Also, some of the things that we know are going to be dangerous to face, as revenge on people. I made copies for his attorney & him....but, I put the book in a safety deposit box. Honestly, all there was about our son was the pot. Not a lot about that....anything else about him was that they fought a lot, or he had a bad headache & was throwing up, & not able to work. It's like I said before...our son is not innocent...but, he was NOT raised this way...& got in over his head. It literally scared him to death, finally, & decided if they were going to kill him....he wasn't going to let them raise his little girls in that mess. He honestly believes he's going to die sometime during this. He's looking so much better, though. He's gained 15 lbs! Talking much better. The flare ups are less, & still getting counseled.
We've never been through anything like this before, & don't know what to think of people like this. Our way is "sit down & talk out differences"...of course, can't do that here. When my nephew was killed, it happened before I knew things were going on....they live away from us. It was a nightmare at the funeral,etc. My sister hasn't been right, mentally, since. I not only lost my nephew that day, but, also my sister. I can't live through my son being brutally killed. Please, please pray for our situation. Again, thank you all for being there for us.

I hope you all have a beautiful Easter. http://www.harrythecat.com/graphics/b/easter12.gif

Hello Friends
 

Well, I see there has been some activity on here again.

Sunny, you are doing so wonderfully. Congratulations! It must be spring fever.

Charlotte, don't ever think you're whining. That's what this is all about, ... to be able to come here and vent and get support.
I hope everything turns out ok for your son and most of all for those little girls.
Have they gone to court or anything yet or started a divorce? If they haven't, he has just as much right to keep those little girls as their mother does. If no one has filed, he could go file and ask for temporary physical custody of the children until the divorce is settled in court and ask for permanent custody of them in the divorce. That's what my son did and he got custody of his daughter. Permanently.
Maybe these sherrifs will act on his information and get those little girls out of there.

Bonnie, my oldest sister whose birthday is on April, 20th is going to be 83 years old this year. She's 23 years older than me. No, it's not the one named Bonnie.
Hey, that's cool that Sheila, me and you have birthdays in one week increments.
Our weather is suppose to get maybe snowy this weekend. Shoot! I was hoping it was going to stay spring.

Sheila, sounds like you're doing well too.
Poor Dad! I had to laugh when he said Maybe there are things he doesn't want to remember. I think it's just probably age related. The arteries harden and you start to have short term memory loss, but they can remember things from years ago like it was yesterday.
I am really getting anxious for the flowers to start shooting up now that you've been describing yours. It hasn't stayed warm long enough here for them to come up more than 3 or 4 inches.

Puss, if you're reading, I hope all is well with you.

Hi Jacquie! How is everything?

My son and his new girlfriend are coming tonight or tomorrow. I haven't met her yet, and I'm wondering what she's going to think. She comes from a wealthy family, and here I am in this old house, and fat to boot. She'll probably think I'm lazy or something. Oh well, I'm me, and that's what they get.

I better go answer more messages. See ya all later!

Hello again
 

I had a good day today.
My foods were good and I did some moderate exercises again. More stretching and limbering up the muscles than anything. Some movements are limited for me, but I want to keep as much mobility as possible. I'll start out slow and build up as much as I can.

I subscribe to ALL RECIPES and todays newsletter from them had an interesting article, I thought.
It was how to figure your real age compared to your chronological age. Very interesting. My RealAge is 68.2 years as opposed to my chronological age of 60. And mostly because of my inactivity, which is causing my obesity, most likely. That and the fact that I drive too fast and don't have an airbag in my car. :p
It is a very detailed test and I copied and pasted it and my results so I could keep it for reference. It also gives suggestions on how to improve your weak points. It says that if I follow the suggestions on being active etc, in 3 years time my RealAge will be 8.5 years UNDER my chronological age. Cool!

Everyone have a good evening and a Happy Easter weekend.

Hi, everyone--

Hope you are all enjoying the Easter weekend. It's absolutely gorgeous here.

I'm going to be selfish and ask for some prayers and good thoughts for my best friend. She didn't call or send anything on my birthday, which made me wonder if everything was okay. I thought perhaps she was just really busy. Turns out she's been in the hospital in Hawaii since the end of March. She has heart problems, which were first discovered when she had a heart attack while in the parking lot of the volcano on Maui in 1983. Every time she goes to Hawaii, I get nervous, but nothing has happened since then until now. She had bypass surgery in 2000 after the 1983 bypasses were starting to go. Turns out those are failing already, plus she had undiagnosed stomach ulcers that were bleeding internally and causing her to be anemic, especially since she takes blood thinners. That put a major stress on her heart. She had two stents put in that were rejected, and then a third that is made out of some material impregnated with antirejection drugs so it's doing okay for now. If it fails, however, she's in big, big trouble.

I love her so much, and I want her to be around for a long, long time. I hope you can take the time to say a little prayer for her or just wish her well. Thanks!

Dear Girls,
just wanted you to know that I am back, feel like I have been to **** and back but made a resolution today to sever links with the problem (or for as long as it lasts!) as it seems the only way to keep my sanity and self-esteem. Sorry I haven't had time to
read the posts yet but I will do over the next few days. Surrounded by my family for
he holiday which is what I needed after nasty and manipulative telephone call from her today. DBrother says she has discovered which buttons to push on me and is determined to do it full out now. Looking forward to getting back into the fold, have a happy Easter evryone,
best wishes x

Hello Friends, And Happy Easter!
 

http://www.debsfunpages.com/eastersw...asterbunny.swf

:D

Hello Friends
 

Hi everybody,
I hope you all had a nice Easter. I ended up not going out for
dinner, but my son and granddaughter went.
I had company until about 3 this afternoon, and then I took a pain
pill and layed down for a while. All they do is make me sleepy though.

Right now I'm making supper. Brown rice, sesame oil, onion, carrots,
broccoli and celery with a half a skinless, boneless chicken breast
on top of all of it, steaming away in a kettle. When it's done I'll sprinkle a little soy sauce on it. It smells good, and I
hope it tastes good.

Do any of you use the laughing cow cheeses? I love them, and they are
allowed on the South Beach Diet, but I haven't been able to get any
locally for several months now. I was shopping at HYVEE yesterday and
asked again when they were going to get some in, and the man I spoke
with said they are being shorted because the "biggie" (WALMART) gets
all they want and if there is any left it gets sent to the other
stores. Since it's been OK'd for the SBD, the company that makes it
can't keep up with the demand, so the only place that's getting it is
Walmart right now.
Well, I bought some fat free cream cheese and I divided it into 8 1-
tablespoon pieces (the pkg. is marked at each tablespoon) and I've
been mixing different seasonings with it and I like it as well as the
Laughing Cow cheeses for a spread. I've mixed it with Curry powder,
garlic powder, pizza and spaghetti seasoning, vegetable seasoning,
minced onion and dill so far and I like all of them. And, it's only
25 calories a TBSP as opposed to 35 for the laughing cow, and it has
2g of carbs where the laughing cow has 1g.

Sheila, of course your friend is in my thoughts and prayers, as are you.

Puss, I think that's the smartest thing you can do, is pull away from that situation. What you and your brother have been doing doesn't seem to be helping, so you need to save your sanity and your health. Good grief! Don't feel bad for not allowing yourself to be so abused. No sane person in this world would blame you two for not taking any calls until the health care providers say she is normal again, and if she starts in again, simply tell her you refuse to listen to anymore bull roar, and hang up.

Charlotte, hope your day with the little ones was a nice one.

My supper is done. I'm outta here.

Hello and happy Easter to everyone else, Jacquie, Bonnie, Sunny, Connie, and anyone else reading this.

Hi, ladies!

Fatpuss, it's great to see you again! I have to say I'm really glad you've come to this decision. Now the hard part will be to stick with it. Sounds just like a diet, doesn't it? Hope you had a wonderful day with your family. So. . .what did you end up doing last weekend? I'm thinking you didn't go to France, right?

Thanks, Charlotte, for praying for my friend. I'm so worried about her. Your son sounds like he's really getting things together. I'm glad he gave her an ultimatum--he's definitely thinking of his sweet daughters and their future. I'm so hoping that everything is going to go smoothly for your son. And how is the house stuff going?

Dang, Willow, I was hoping that your pain pills would ease the pain, but not make you sleepy. I wish they would make one like that--I'd definitely be taking them. I hate the pain, but I just don't want to be zonked out all the time, although every once in a while is good. I love Laughing Cow Light. We had a week or so where we couldn't get it so I stocked up. I have it on little minibagels, on crumpets, and in a kind of mock chicken cordon bleu. It's great stuff! What I haven't been able to find lately, and it's really bumming me out, is Smart Ones Fudge Bars. I went without for three weeks, bought three boxes when they appeared again, and now that I'm out, we can't find them again. I can't find anything I like as well for 1 Weight Watcher point.

The guy finished the planter, and I took a picture of it showing the stairs up to the 2nd backyard. You can tell how long the property is in this photo. It runs back behind that large evergreen tree. The photo doesn't show how much color there is right now--there's a great apricot azalea with grape hyacinth growing under it, lots of tulips in the planter along with this purple stuff that just pops up everywhere. I've also included a couple of the new path in the front yard. On Friday, the planting person is supposed to come in and plant it all up. The kind of rectangle place is where we'll put a small cafe table and two chairs.

Hope everyone is having a great Monday! The weather here over the weekend was tremendous. It hit 80 degrees on Sunday. While I like it a bit cooler, all the blue sky and sun was great. It was supposed to rain today, but we haven't seen any so far. I hope that spring is springing where you live--winter's hung around the midwest and northeast too long this year!

Happy Birthday, Willow!
 

Just a quickie morning post to say:


Hope you have a great day, Willow!

Hi to everyone, I seem to have been away for ages and I had a lot of reading to catch up on. Thanks so much for the wonderful support from you all, believe me, I really appreciate it. It would take far too long to explain the last two weeks to you all and I am sure it would bore you rigid but I will try and condense it. Weekend before last when i went up north my DB and I picked her up from the hospital unit and she was allowed out for the day under my care (this was a surprise to me as I went up only because she was in the unit and had arranged to meet up with my two best friends for the first time since all this started 3 years ago). My mother, DB and I were not in her house for 5 minutes when she starts rubbishing my DB for no reason. I defended him and asked why she was so nasty to him after all he had done etc. She was so angry and when DB threatened to leave she started weeping and wailing. Then I said I was leaving too and she stopped immediately. The whole day (apart from 2 hours I was out at lunch) was mixture of temper and weeping (we never paid her attention during this time just like a naughty kid she was). She was most surprised when I said I was leaving the next morning (just assumed my DB and I would be at her service the next day too). My DB contacted her psychiatrist and spoke with him a few days later and then the doc rang me unexpectedly at work. Asked what I thought about her second O/D incident and he said he doubts very much she will ever do it and if she does it will be the result of an accident messing about with the tablets. He repeated again that she knows which tablets are the killers but took only the sleeping ones. The doc told her he had spoken to me then she hounded me on the phone about what had I told him "dont ever tell that lot anything". She got really angry with me for nothing and spiteful too playing bad daughter, good son. She said I didnt spend long with her at the weekend and I said she wasnt nice to be with and besides, I had not seen my girlfriends in 3 years of going up north (mother tends to keep you prisoner when you go there and organises every trip out). I couldnt get a word in over the phone she kept talking over me the whole time - this made DH who could hear me really angry and afterwards said "don't ever do that again, the number of times you said 'but Mum' or 'mum, listen..'" He said I said mum a dozen or more times which in her ears transfers to she is the mother and the boss and I am back in the schoolgirl role. Then Dh said he was fed up with it all, how one small woman is dominating and dictating everyone's life etc and I burst into tears like a kid saying it wasnt my fault etc. That made him feel bad because both he and I knew he didn't mean it like that, he meant he was fed up with the turmoil it causes me and has often asked if he can tell her straight but I won't let him. Pheew! DB said she does it to him in reverse, good daughter bad son. Since that weekend she was an inpatient she has been on day release and back in the evenings till she insisted she wanted out over Easter. Then she was bad this weekend at her sister's (my DB tells me) and this morning DB told me she is now back in the unit and wants to be there. never knows what she wants and never did. Well, I really am sticking to my resolve of not contacting her until she rings me in a civil manner, I have felt so low the last few weeks. On the good side, my 2 friends and I went out with my DB and SIL to their club and had a roaring time (one girl is divorced and the other's hubby is away). We danced and drank all night (one friend totally and funnily drunk) and had a lovely time. We had a lot to celebrate, getting back together after more than 3 years and one friend having the all clear on cancer as the lung problem is sarcoidosis (?) - not nice but not like having cancer.
Sheila - my best thoughts and hopes are with you and your dear friend and I hope you get good results like I did with my DF. I agree with the girls that your wonderful DD is probably doing so well due to your loving care. At 88 I think he is marvellous - I am 50 and forget loads of stuff already. I didn't go to France but had a better razz with my friends. Your garden looks beautiful and what a lovely present it was to have an Andres! Happy belated birthday, I wish you a hundred more. Well done on the 72.2lb loss, that is some going and you should be very proud of yourself. Your son sounds gorgeous, studying and caring for little cutie who I hope is feeling much better by now. You were right about the lettuce, the half that died never rooted properly after the transfer but the others are looking better.
SunnyD - your new treadmill sounds lovely and to have lost 7lb in 3 weeks at Curves is brilliant. Like you said, even when you haven't lost any weight during a week you can feel it in your clothes. Well done on being so focussed! (I don't love my mother and haven't since I can't remember but I feel duty towards her - maybe if I loved her or she had been a good mother all this would be easier to bear)
Willow - Happy belated birthday! Hope it was a good one. Thanks for sound advice, it's good to have it from those who see it clearer when you can't yourself because you are trapped in a vortex. I guess what you are saying is I should be pro-active instead of reactive like the experts say. I intend to do that from now on because like you and Sheila say, nothing has worked/changed up to now. I am so glad you had a lovely time with lovely sons and gorgeous GSs. As for son's new girlfriend being posh and you saying you have an old house etc, if she is worthy of DS she will not be comparing trappings and fixtures etc but focussing on what a genuine and caring person you are. That can't be bought at a posh department store for any price. You are as good as the Queen of England, my dear. I hope you can see your doctor soon and get something which will work for your hip pain. Are you off work at the moment? Sounds like you should be resting up not working.
Bluet - Happy anniversary for the 25th. It's my 30th wedding anniversary on the 27th and I usually forget but lovely DH never does. We hope to go away for the first two weeks in May - we both need a break. Looking at Spain, Greece and France but undecided yet. It will make up for not having a honeymoon all those years ago through lack of finances, ha ha. It is a good idea you have about the photo boxes, must try to do the same myself and get all the loose ones sorted. I was thinking about you last weekend when I was trying to cram more books in the bookshelf - the one your DH has about nothing coming into the house unless something goes out. I tried to take a few books out but....... I will probably end up like last time giving 19+ bags of books to the charity shop eventually.
Jacqui - I was sorry to hear about your dear friend. It is really sad when you don't expect things to go wrong and so don't have time to prepare or say goodbye (like my DF) but sometimes it's best for the person even though it is more of a shock for those left behind. Hope you are comforted a little by the post mortem results.
Angel - my heart bleeds for what you are going through right now and I know we all feel for you and your family. Your DS sounds like he is really trying hard now to get back on track and hopefully with loving parents like his, he will make it. It can't be easy for him getting on track and I am sure he knows how lucky he is to have you behind him. I think he will make it and I hope he gets custody of the children, sounds like he is working hard towards it. I remember what Judge Judy (sorry Sheila! Ha ha) said during a case of battling parents "you gotta love ya kids more than ya hate each other, ya got that? Good!". Thank you so much for the cat images but I love the original one you found for me - can't improve on him, now. Your new front door sounds very swanky and posh, first impressions and all that, ha ha. DH and I sanded down ours when we painted outside last summer but forgot to varnish it and by the time we remembered, it was winter. So, come the fine weather we will have to make it look a bit less like a reject door.
Sorry this was so very long but at least I am up to date now. x

Meant to tell you girls, DH brought me a digital camera back from Middle East and we have learned how to put the pics onto the computer so as soon as my garden is a little more colourful I will post a picture.

[SIZE=7]WILLOW[/SIZE]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR WILLOW, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.

Sorry I am getting here a little late in the evening, but I thought about you all day. Hope your birthday turned out just the way you wanted it to.

Love.......Bonnie