Well chicadees, it was a rainy day here, so DD begged to go see "Shark Girl & Lava Boy." I told a little white lie to get out of that one. I know, shame on me, but with all the kiddie movies I go to, I'm avoiding that one like the plague. Instead we saw "Bewitched" which was fabulous!!!

I saw the chiropractor about the (ouch!) foot. Apparently I jammed the metatarsal bone...the one I broke 2+ years ago. Don't ask me how. He adjusted me and did ultrasound. We will see how it goes.

Hey Rob, an idea to try for your foot. When I saw my chiropractor today, he told me how he ices his foot...he fills a clean bucket or clean small garbage can up with cold water, adds ice, and soaks the foot for 20 minutes. You just have to be careful that it isn't too icey. Doesn't that sound cool? I'm gonna give it a try. Today I had ultrasound as my foot soaked in hot water. It was a bizarre and sometimes painful sensation.

Also, when you talk about soda, do you mean you can't drink diet soda either? And if so, why?

cool? Sounds down right bone chilling.... but I'll keep this method in mind... for my left foot and for those I dislike! hehehehe

No soda.... at all... NADA..... nobody's rule but my own.....

Evening all!!

Robyn: Don't forget to answer the message. I gave you some ideas for AT.
And I love your son's come back! I have a collection of buttons that have various smart-aleck sayings on them. One of them says, "I think, therefore I am. What's your excuse?" And of course, my favorite: "If at first you don't succeed, become a school administrator!" I wore that one at the last SF convention I went to, and got lots of laughs. I'd never dared wear it before because you never know when one of your principals might show up... especially since I worked in a place that had more administration than... well... it was a very extensive ratio! 1 dean of students, 2 assistant principals, 2 curriculum supervisors (both of whom supervised staff as well), 2 directors, one vice-president (okay, she worked for the overall hospital, but was in our building), plus 1 lead teacher for each program (5), and 1 compliance director for the admissions and IEP office. By my count, that is 14 administrators. We only have 180 kids!
Summer: I want to see Shark Boy & Lava Girl. I am, however, content to wait till it comes out on DVD. Interesting about your foot... But did they do ULTRASOUND in the water, or electrotherapy? The latter is more typically done in water. Ultrasound requires a gel and applicator. I get both on my foot. I hate the electrotherapy... you can do it in the water or not. My current PT and the last one do it without, but my family doctor growing up (a sports medicine specialist as well as GP) did it with the bucket. Oh, and I LOVE my new gym bag. My other bag always seemed so heavy, but this one was way easier to carry. The handles are 'bolted' to the bag instead of just sewn on, and it has a grab handle on one end which makes it way easier for clumsy me to get out of the car. I have the same amount of junk in the bag now that I have always had, with the addition of my new little shower kit... which MATCHES the bag. Aren't I sad? And the water bottle, yet the whole thing seemed lighter!
It was allegedly 94 degrees here today, and I made it home just before the MASSIVE thunderstorms hit. Good thing that I had to go out early this morning and then went to the gym right after or I wouldn't have been able to swim. It stormed from like 3:30 until 8:00. I'm sure they just closed the pool and gave it up for the night.
Oh... and the holidays, Summer... I often have issues with principals over my holidays. Fairfax County doesn't do any religious holidays except Christian which really annoys their HUGE Muslim population. They are very mixed ethnically and religiously, and they say they'd be closed all the time. Not true, because really the only Jewish holidays that the majority of Jews want off are Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Passover. Some would like Simacht Torah or Sukkot (especially those with younger children), but that's it. Hanukkah isn't a major holiday for us, and most Jews don't take off. Now, the Orthodox are way different... and living in Baltimore, that's obvious. The Jewish Community Center here is closed FOR EVERY Jewish holiday... and there are LOTS of them! I have them all in my PDA's calendar. Anyway... as I said, I'm more than willing to make up the time, and its not like I don't do lots of stuff with the kids anyway.
Oh... and I just can't even go into the whole diet thing. I'm eating WAY less food than I was before, way less carbs... and haven't lost ANY WEIGHT. The scale hasn't changed an ounce. I mean, some of my clothes fit differently, and I have more muscles... but the SCALE has not changed.

So, did you all enjoy trying to remember your password? Why do they do this to us every so often?

Oh my goodness is it HOT! PLEASE send us some of your rain! We just got back from a camping trip and it was almost too hot for a camp fire! We had to wait until after 8 before we could even think of lighting one! Thank God my camper has central air or I wouldn't have been able to stay. To think I use to love this heat!

One nice thing about being in a country school, we don't have many Barbie teachers let alone bus drivers! Teaching high school, I can dress up a bit more than those of you who teach the wee ones but it still has to be a material that red ink and overhead projector pen will come out of!

Thanks for the suggestions for books. I have my list ready. Unfortunately we do library on Wednesdays and we went before I got on line. Hopefully I won't lose my list before next week.

I did pretty well with the healthy eating while camping except those darn SMores. I just can't stop at one. I guess that's how they got their name!

I am with Summer. Brad should have never left Jennifer. They were just too cute together! I can't remember the last time my Dh and I went to a "grownup" movie. We use to go every other week when my children went with their biological father but he has only shown once in the last 10 months!

Sue

Evening...
More thunderstorms tonight, but I did get a little bit of swimming in. I also did some cooking... baked eggplant with fat-free mozzarella, to go with the pork chops or steak (I usually broil everything, so I take two out at a time so I only have to do it once or twice a week.) I think, however, that I overestimated this time... the pork chops were thicker than I thought, and the steak is absolutely HUGE. Hmph.
I just watched the re-done version of The Lion in Winter. I should remember it, I am sure we watched the original when I took AP European history, but I thought it was about Thomas Beckett... and it wasn't! Its about Eleanor of Acquitane and King Henry II. Patrick Stewart did a decent job as Henry, but I kept waiting for him to order his sons 'ahead Warp Factor 8!'.
I also saw my orthpedist today. Per usual, he blew off anything having to do with the concept of nerve damage in my ankle. He's blaming the tightness in my calf and the constant cramping on the injury from 6 weeks ago, and any problems with the ankle itself on the arthritis I've apparently developed from the repeated injuries. Oh well! I told him I was moving to Virginia, and he told me that HE was moving to New York! I guess its a good thing that I'm moving! The last time one of my doctor's affiliated with the University of Maryland moved, it took the University 6 months to find another physician and send out notices. We briefly considered an ankle brace, but the only thing he had was the same thing that I have had for the last 5 years. It doesn't fit with any shoes except cheap cloth sneakers (which I can't really wear to work... we're not supposed to wear sneaker-looking shoes), or my sandles. And, you know, the first few years when we had no snow in the winter, it worked okay. But the last 3 winters when we've had all this snow and rain, its been bad. Plus, principals really don't like their teaching staff (especially the staff that has to chase kids!) wearing sandles.
So, instead, they're going to do custom-molded orthotics for my shoes. I'm sure that will be loads of fun! He was able to give me a place to look for an orthopedist who doesn't necessarily do surgery first. The orthopedist I first saw that the school district sent me to after the initial injury in 1999 (way too late, but oh well!) was very interested in surgery. I'm not: they want to fuse my ankle so that I can't lose my balance. The guy I'm seeing now said that might be necessary later, but not at the moment. Which is good: Fusing the ankle means the joint doesn't move. The orthopedist said that I'd be able to 'function', but he agreed that I wouldn't be able to teach the kids I teach now. I'd have to teach calmer kids who stay in their seats when they are supposed to. Or not be in the classroom at all. And I'm not interested in either option at the moment.

Today I had a play date combined with exercise gentle on my knees and foot. Can you beat that? My friend (teaches at my school) brought me to the Y as her guest to swim laps. They had free childcare! I haven't swum laps in YEARS. Anyway, I did two laps then needed to catch my breath. I ended up doing 20 laps with rest in between. I am too out of shape to swim continuously. But, it was better than sitting on my a*s doing nothing. After showering, we took the kids to Burger King. I got a double cheeseburger and tossed the roll, and had a diet coke. Then we took the kids to see "Herbie..." It was fun. DD didn't want the fun to end, but my friend had stuff to do, so that was that. DD and I are so alike...when we are having fun, we don't want it to end. We could go all night!

I have stalled on my weight loss, but that could be because I have my period. So, we will see how I am in a couple of days. In the meantime, I'm sticking to the program and exercising.

Non-stop thunderstorms all week . Tomorrow the "tricklets" (triplets) are coming over for a play date. I'll be wiped out tomorrow night.

Where is everyone? I hope this means everyone is doing something fun. It is another thunderstormy day here. I have a set of triplets over to play with DD today. It is really quiet upstairs right now. I'm afraid to call them for lunch, because God only knows what they are doing that is soooo quiet.

Summer, I'll keep you company!!! We too have non stop thunderstorms here.....and it is miserably humid.b Hope the triplets did not self destruct too much..you are a brave woman!

Sue- so you too suffer from no adult movies???? My Dh will only go see violent stuff....and I am looking for something a wee bit kinder and gentler than that. He does want to see Cinderella Man (some blood and guts in that of course!).

Mouse- custom orthotics should not be too big an ordeal.....had a pair once and they did help me. Fusing your ankle does not sound like a good option....glad you let that go!

Robyn- glad you made it thru the inlaw visit ! Do you deserve sainthood for this? Congrats on the no soda! And happy cleaning....mine was in the same state, having not been really deep cleaned since spring break. Don't ask how many swiffer cloths I went thru......

Me, I am in diet lemonade and sugar free jello today....tomorrow is the colonoscopy and that is about all I can have. Tea without milk STINKS! Aw, in 24 hours it will all be over and I will be able to eat once more. At least today I do not have to count any points.
Be back later.....
Ginny

Oh Ginny! I feel for you. I've had EVERY upper and lower GI test ever made during the last 20 years. It is not fun. I assume you will be doing suppositories or enemas? Oh boy, been there, done that. Phew! People that purposely have colonics really make me wonder. Good luck with the liquid fasting. Hey, you'll probably drop a pound or two. I truly hope that it all goes smoothly for you. Enjoy the general anesthesia.

Right now the triplets and DD are dancing and singing to Ashlee Simpson in her playroom. One of them is dressed as Ariel, DD as Tinkerbell, and the triplet tomboy girl is in her normal clothing as well as the triplet boy. The triplet tomboy keeps coming downstairs asking for help with stuff and drew me a picture. She's driving me nuts. They have pretty much torn DD's bedroom and playroom apart. Their mother is supposed to pick them up at 4:30 which means she probably won't arrive till 5:00 because she is always late.

Good news: I made them macaroni & cheese for lunch...one of my major weaknesses. It is the first time I've made it since 6/20 because I was afraid I would really want to eat it. Well, I tasted it, and I wasn't impressed!!! Yippee!!! This South Beach Diet really does take away carb cravings!!!

We had a very brief spout of rain this morning. Just enough to make it even hotter! It was suppose to rain again around 1 this afternoon with a cool front to follow. So far nothing but hazy sunshine! I may have to break down and water my plants!

Today I have been playing catch up from being gone camping all week. How does a house get so dirty when you aren't even here? I guess it was actually the mass caos that surrounding the departure!

Fusing bones doesn't sound like a good option unless there are no other options.

I am hoping to drive up and check out a new campground tonight or tomorrow. This one has a pool for lounging plus a river where you can rent canoes. My Dh is pretty picky. He had never been camping before he met me. Actually I go to set everything up while he is at work. I also break camp when he is at work. In between I am the one who does the cooking and cleaning. I don't mind as I actually like to camp but one time we were sitting around the fire and he said, "I don't know why everyone thinks camping is so hard?" I almost had to beat him over the head with my camp cooker! LOL So any way he wants to camp where there is a pool, so we are checking out some new sites. I don't want to go too far until I am sure of the new camper.

I got an email from my principal (sent to all staff) that he wanted us to start thinking about grants for the fall. I emailed back and said I would love to as soon as he lets me know what I am teaching and whether or not I have a room to teach in. He replied that he was hoping to know by the end of July. I guess that is better than the middle of August!

Ginny - actually we eventually get to see the movies as my DH will usually rent one on Fridays but it has been forever since we had a grown up date night out!

Summer - so did you make the box stuff or real mac and cheese? I find that a lot of stuff I use to really love (french fries for one) now make me feel ill when I splurge on them. It is funny how adaptable your body can be.

Sue

Hey! (and Mouse...I HAD forgotten your PM... I will work on it tonight after dinner!) Spent the day at WaterCountryUSA...part of the parks that we have seasons passes to. I am exhausted.... Spent ALL of my time in the windy pool with the hard and fast current! I don't know exactly what kind of exercise to call it...cause I was running, swimming, floating with and against the current! I'm exhausted...and grinning! My foot does hurt...but we had such a fun time. Today was the first day with sun since Saturday... and so I got a sunburn. I wore 40 and applied it twice... I'm thinking I've got to find a bottle of "virtual shade" somewhere.... I've got to get them something for dinner.... OH and I thought of you guys today .... I was feeling icky due to too much sun and nothing in my belly...and drank part of a soda! You know the sugar trick...and it worked...and I told my ds that I had to confess my sin when I got home... He looked at me like I had lost my mind! The sugar kept me on my feet long enough to get to the car and get home...to get some proper food. Gin, Tea is for Sugar, honey. Not milk! Hope your test goes ok! I'll be back after dinner... Mousie, I promise to address your PM tonight!

take care,
meee

Evening Ladies,
Every time I went to type you a post, the computer shuts down on me. So that is why I haven't been on here for a couple of days. I have been busy cleaning house, since we had an appraisial done for our home improvement loan. I am hoping to hear back something soon on it. Plus I am having a yard sale tomorrow and Saturday. So I have been busy gathering up stuff for it. My dh and I had a disagreement on Sunday about the way I clean house. He claims that he has to beg or tell me to do it. So now I go out of my way to do something around the house and than I point it out to him. I think I am proving my point but also driving him nuts. Oh well, he deserves it!
Sounds like you all are having a good week. I got to spend the day with my dh's niece and two little ones. I loved getting to hold her 8 month old little boy. He is such a cutie pie.
Mouse glad that you know where you are teaching at. Where are you going to be moving?
Summer, sounds like you had a fun playdate with the triplets today. So did their mom come pick them up yet or are they still at your house?
Robyn sounds like you need some aloe on you sweetie! I know that I have to layer the sunblock on me or I get fried. Glad you had a fun day at the waterpark.
Sue, your dh sounds like mine. When we get ready to go somewhere I am the one who has to get all the stuff ready and go to the bank and to the gas station, before we leave. So I know what you mean!
Ginny, I will say my prayers that your test goes smoothly for you tomorrow. Like Summer said this way you might lose a pound or two.
Pam, how are you doing?
I am reading The Broker by John Grisham right now. I just started it the other day. So far it is good. But I just haven't found the time to sit and read for a long period of times. Maybe tomorrow and Saturday, well I am waiting on customers I can get some reading done.
Well I better go and get this posted before the computer shuts down on me. Talk to you all later.
Kerry

Kerry, you made me laugh. The triplets' mom picked them up 45 minutes late, and then it took her another 30 minutes to get them out of the house. There are certain people who just can't get it together. I may as well accept it since DD loves the "tricklets" as she calls them. (When she first met them in kindergarten, she called them "chicklets!")

Ginny, I hope you are feeling okay and get rest tonite. I already prayed that your colonoscopy is stress-free, pain-free, and over before you know it. I know God heard me because He has been in extra close contact with me today. You know how you have days where you are kind of psychic? Well, today that kept happening to me. I think that is God talking to us and letting us know He is nearby. He will be close by you tomorrow.

Robyn, you poor thing! Ouch! I'm blonde, blue-eyed, and fair-skinned, so you know I've been there, done that more times than I can count. Especially since when I was a toe-headed child, there was no such thing as SPF. My mom had beautiful bronzed summer skin with loads of melanin and thought nothing of how my skin needed protection. We used baby oil, and eventually Coppertone, but there was no real protection. I'm sorry your skin is on fire. Take some aspirin if you have any...otherwise ibuprofen. Yes, you want aloe, but do you remember Solarcaine? That stuff really cooled me off. You can also take a luke-warm bath in baking soda. It is very soothing. Feel better. Take care of your boo boo foot.

Sue, I made the box stuff, which normally I love. There is nothing more junky than that orange powder cheese mixed with real butter and milk. I still can't believe that it didn't taste good to me!!! Wild.

Mouse, say, "No!" to fusing your ankle. That sounds frighteningly limiting and awfully permanent. I have orthotics that I can only wear in loafers. They don't fit in my sneakers and certainly not in sandals which limits me in the summer. I'M NOT WEARING LOAFERS IN THE SUMMER! I hope solutions are found for you. Tomorrow I will get more therapy on my foot. Yes, it is ultrasound under water. At least that is what the doctor called it. It is a strange sensation. I kept thinking I was gonna get electrocuted! The best part is the adjustment when he almost pulls my foot right off my leg! It actually feels good. How weird. I like all of it except for the neck cracking. I always tense up.

G'evening all.

Kerry: I bought the Broker on audio CD, so I could give it to my mom when I was done. She's an avid reader like I am, but since the botched surgery 15 years ago, her eyes are too dry for her to read comfortably... so she listens. It was AWESOME. I'll buy it to read when it comes out in paperback. And a different scene than his usual, which was a nice change. I'm moving back to Northern Virginia. I guess I'm okay with it, but I really would like to go HOME to Pennsylvania... instead, I keep winding up outside of the state. And really, I didn't want to move at all to be honest.
Summer: I love Macaroni and cheese... and I hate to say it, but I've had MORE cravings since they started trying this diet. I don't keep anything in the apartment that might have me eat it, but I'd love some macaroni and cheese... or actually, just the damn macaroni! I can have the cheese. I don't understand why people say that South Beach or Atkins makes them crave foods less. I haven't had over 60 carbs of any type (and most of those are dairy products or vegetable/berry carbs; I haven't had refined carbs the whole month) in more than a month. And I haven't lost any weight either! The only benefit I see from this diet is that I don't throw-up anymore...
Sue: I'll volunteer your husband for the last camping trip I went on. 55 kids with special needs, pit latrines, and my ex-supervisor... BEFORE he's had coffee and AFTER he's had campfire duty for 2.5 hours in the middle of the night. At the end of May, in northern Maryland. I've been camping before and slept in tents before, but those pit latrines were something I'll gladly NEVER experience again!
Robyn: I'll await your reply. I love water parks, by the way... If I could work outside, I might consider working at one during the summers.
I spent this evening trying to find clothes. I hate shopping of any type, but clothing shopping is the worst. I can't ever find anything decent to wear. I tried EVERYWHERE... Lane Bryant, Sillouhettes, Roaman's, Popken. It all looks horrendous.