Evening, all!

What a bunch of drinkers we have here! Three of you all knew about Mike's light Hard Lemonade. I barely know what the stuff is. ;)

Summer: Ick. I've gone 'round with best friends too. My best friend from high school didn't invite me to her wedidng even though I introduced her to her husband (she quite literally would NEVER NEVER have met him if not for me!). She became infected with her parent's views of Christianity, I'm afraid. The first question her father asked me when we became friends in 8th grade was not my name or how I was doing, but what church did I & my family attend. He was quite shocked (in a not good way, might I add) to find out I was Jewish. And that was her reason for not inviting me, although I suspect there were others (including the fact that I dislike her husband and all his friends with a passion, though we were all friends at one point), but that was the reason she gave me boyfriend at the time. You see, they invited my boyfriend to be IN THE WEDDING PARTY... but he was not even allowed to bring me as a date. And if that isn't the height of rudeness, I'm not sure what is. Good luck with the podiatrist appointment!
And as for your "crunchy" friend: do they realize that many fruits and vegetables have MORE carbs than some processed foods? Seriously. That's why I'm not allowed to have most fruits, and also carrots, and some other veggies. About "Epstein Barr", that is the closest thing to what I have... she should be seriously watching what she eats! The other name for EB is polycystic ovarian syndrome. As I've said, if that is what I have, then its probably one of the most severe cases that anybody has ever seen! If she's got a mild case, she should be okay in terms of fertility. But weight gain is a big issue.
Robyn: You're one busy chick! I hope you have a wonderful time at the beach!
Kerry: That sounds like the kids I have at Parent-Child for lessons. They scream bloody murder when I take them from their parents to hold or demonstrate!

My day was pretty uneventful: I guarded from 12:30-4, did my workout (lifted weights and then swam)... my private lesson didn't show up, so I helped out with the swim team kids today. I got more laps in because those kids swim the whole length of the pool! I was teaching one of the boys how to do breaststroke tonight. I will be guarding tomorrow from 3-close.

Regarding my stuff: I suppose I could call Allstate and ask them. Afterall, they are telling me they can't find my belongings which must mean they were stolen (probably by other staff and my supervisor!), right? I doubt I'd get very far filing a police report with Baltimore City police. They didn't want to do anything about my car, but fortunately an office on the city force lives in my building and did it for me. I see him occasionally, so I might be able to ask him. I can also call a lawyer... my friend from swimming's cousin is a lawyer, and he was the one I talked to back in April when they were jerking me around so badly. This isn't an employment issue anymore, though, so he might be more willing to take the case. My friend says that he can send an investigator to the building to look for my belongings.
And Robyn: I'm not allowed on their property because they decided not to renew my contract and I resigned. If that happens, you're not allowed on ANY of their property, ever. They told me I could get my stuff, but it would be at THEIR convenience so security, admin and HR could watch what I did. I was absolutely not willing to do that. It also had to be at a time when there were no students or staff on campus. Given that they are a year round school, staff is there 11.5 months, when the **** did they think that was going to happen? Did they think I was going to sit around and do nothign all summer so I could go when THEY wanted me to go?? And if I had gotten my stuff, I still would have had to wait till the end of June because the kids didn't get out till June 22!
ARRRRGH! I'll figure out something. But I hope it doesn't come down to a court and a lawyer... if it does, then we'll have some issues.
:mouse:

OK you bunch of lushes.......(I could go for a frozen margarita myself :lol: )
I am laughing my #$@ off Summer at your crunchies.....Ha OMigosh that is too funny. That would make me insane. I work with this man, who sounds so much like these people and he makes me insane. That is a plus of moving to the sixth grade I don't have to look at his face after he stole my Math Chair job last year. He and his family will only eat organic food. They have one television in the house which is in their bedroom and is only allowed to be on for news, and information. Kids aren't allowed to watch tv, when his wife was seventh months pregnant last year, for her anniversary he gave her a tiller so it would be easier for her to work in the garden, would not let her use mosquito repellent. I could go on and on. HE'S A FREAK.
He does not value womens opinions. Sorry, sore subject.
Not a whole lot going on here. I was going to go and clean up the living room, but little guy is having another sleepover and the living room is occupied. (Not that I want to do that, but it needs to be done.)
I am excited I finally found a bathing suit I like at Tj Max today. It was a Ralph lauren with a halter top and solid black bottoms. I got a size sixteen. The great thing, is that i can wear the bottoms with another tankini top I have, so I will get two for the price of one. It was on clearance sale for eighteen bucks. Also found two really cute skirts at walmart for three dollars a piece. I couldn't believe it! They were both size sixteen too. I started out in january at a 22/24. I am sort of in between, it just depends on the outfit. Anyway that's terribly exciting to me.
I think I will go ahead and dust the livingroom since they are just watching TV.
Talk to you all later!
Pam

gee, I go missing for a few days and this site goes nuts!!!!
No way I am going to get to all the posts....not with Dh home. Robyn- did your innards check out ok?? Scared me a bit with that...was this just routine stuff, I hope?
Dd did go to Md to see her friend- and has been having a wonderful time. They have toured the Naval base, gone fishing at nite several times, sightseeing in DC, last nite went to a Tiki Bar (whatever the dilly that is) and she called this am while I was walking, and told Dd they would be out all day today too. Her friend was ecstatic that she and his Dm came to visit him- and as I mentioned he is hysterical to be with- one of those people who you smile just looking at. (what a wonderful contrast to Mr Moron...... :lol: ) so she seems to be having a great time.
Me????just been busy- working a bit, trying to get some home improvment stuff done and grabbing moments with Patricia Cornwell. I have a feeling I know where Trace is going and I hope I do not want to strangle her.....these books are killing me.
Hi everyone....be back later.
Ginny

Hey Gin! :) Glad your daughter is having a good time in Annapolis! One of my very dearest friends married a guy who went to school there.... Yeah, they did the whole "chapel" thing right in the middle of GradWeekRush! It was crazy! AND absolutely a load of fun! I adored walking around there (back in the day!), checking out all the "GoodHumorMen" running around in their whites! Memories make me smile! LOL

They were checking out my gallbladder...which appears normal.... so we move on to other tests....that someone told me are not nearly as fun as laying there for the ultrasound... I'm not going to worry about it for a while...at least until I get back from our time at the beach!

Glad you checked in...I was starting to wonder...and worry 'bout ya! ( ...and your dh and his baseball loving self! ;) )

Oh BTW, as if ANYone really wants to hear me rant about our ISP.... we have progressed to cable...Holey Smokes....Didn't know that could be THIS fast! LOL

take care...hope everyone is having a great weekend!
meeeee

Hi everyone,
What a day it was here! My dh and the sds's had to just go watch the baseball tournments in town this morning. I stayed home to ride the excerise bike and to get my shower. Than they were to come home and we were to go for Chinese and take a drive to see where the one school was that I have class at next week was located at. It is an hour away from our house. But when they came home we were still going out for Chinese. But we have to wait for the kids mom to come pick them up and than we are going to go look for that school. Mind you the reason the plans changed today was because they just had to go back to the ball field to watch another ball game. I am so sick of baseball. I am hoping that for atleast a month, I can have my family back before they start football season. So I came to terms with getting to spend really no time with the family this weekend due to their love of baseball and my love of staying cool in the summer. I get very crabby and tired when I am in the heat for a long period of time. So it is best if I stay cool. We went to lunch and I watched my sdd eat three plates of food from the buffet. I told my dh that I give up trying to help her make healthy food choices and to lose the weight. I said that I was just shotting myself in the foot where her health was considered. She got on the scales yesterday and was 131.5. She cried that she couldn't understand why she wasn't losing any weight and than went on to blame it on the food her mom fed her and the chocolate pretzels she ate all last week at her mom's house. My dh was floored when I explained my reasons for being angry after lunch. I said that I was watching her slowly kill herself and I was tired of seeing her cry and make up excuses for her weight gain her in the last month. She has gained over 10 pounds in the last month. She is 9 years old and 131.5 pounds. Not a healthy weight for a little girl. So my dh talked with her and explained to her that she needs to slow down in her eating habits and start eating healthier. She went for all the fatty foods on the buffet bar today and couldn't figure out why she felt sick afterwards. Enough about my ranting and raving over my sdd. I just am tired of working so hard to make her see how eating healthy can improve her lifestyle and the killer of it all is that she asked me for help to lose her weight. I am not saying she needs to be put on a diet, but just needs to make healthier choices about food.
Pam that is good news about the smaller suit size. So did you dust the living room last night? So how was the sleepover last night?
Ginny glad that your dd is having a wonderful weekend! Sounds like a fun trip!
Hello to all the rest of you. I just don't have time to get personal right now. My dh is outside saying bye to the kids and than we have to go on our 2 hour round trip drive to find this school for my class. Talk to you all later.
Kerry

Hey!
Had a great day today. Stayed in the pool most of the afternoon, it was fantastic.
Ginny: Just hang on with that book, I can't tell ya more than that. I'M DYING TO TELL YOU.......

Kerry: I understand your frustration about your sdd. I am in a similar situation with my own nine year old. You know I feel so terrible, because we were all eating terribly. Now, he is nine and very overweight. I looked at the height and weight chart for his age and he should be at the highest 90 pounds. However, He is about twenty pounds over that. I figured that by all of us watching what we eat, and excercising, it would help him. I don't want to hurt his feelings, but not only is it terribly unhealthy, but, kids can be so cruel, I just don't want him to have to go through that. The thing is, we can not buy any kinds of snacks I've discovered. Say, for example, that we buy low fat ice cream. He doesnt seem to understand that it doesn't help him if he eats half a box. So, I guess none of us will be able to have a snack. I don't know what to do. We began playing tennis everynight, and he loved it. But, it's been so hot that we haven't been playing.It's very depressing and I really blame myself. Hang in there it will be ok.

Everyone else........HEY!
I'm pooped!
Pam

Evening, everybody.

Not a very eventful day here, which is good.
Robyn: Wait till they decide you have to have a hidascan (or did they give you one already?). Those are a blast. Not. You have to lay still on a little narrow table for 1 hour, with an IV in your arm... then, when they're sure they can see what they need to see, they inject your with this hormone that your gallbladder has to expel. The first time I have it done it was "okay", and I didn't get sick then (you all may remember I got sick afterward because my supervisor pulled a stunt that day and I had to go back to the school), but the second time they did it, the injection made me really sick. It is only supposed to make you sick if you have problems with your gallbladder. The first test showed an abnormal ejection factor, but the second test was fine. Its not a very reliable test, especially if you have lost a lot of weight quickly or you have any kind of hormonal disorders. The ultrasound isn't too bad, actually. I've had CT scans, too... those aren't bad either except for the stuff you have to drink. I had that done when I was on glucophage and couldn't get the barium down at all. They gave me some other clear liquid that has permanently turned me off of Snapple Fruit punch (they mixed it with that after the orange juice/tang they mixed it with the first time made me sick in their lobby!). Make sure you let us know how things go!!!! Oh, and endoscopies aren't that bad either. Of course, I really like my gastroenterologist... she is the only doctor other than my endocrinologist that really believes my exercise and food logs. She believes the exercise because she sees me at the gym.
Ginny: I noted that the other day! There were tons of posts, and I was only gone for one day! Welcome back! I'm glad your daughter is having a good time. Annapolis is really pretty. I started undergraduate at Hood College in Frederick, MD: it is the sister school to the Naval Academy, even though neither school is single-sex anymore.
Their choir and the choir at Hood did some Christmas concert my first year there, and they were pretty good.
Kerry: I am not a baseball fan either. My students bemoan the fact, and the last set tried for 3 years to get me interested in baseball (Orioles, please!), football (Ravens, of course!), and basketball (the high school team!). I am also definitely NOT a fan of heat. I wasn't even before I started all the medications... I've always taken Benedryl and it carries heat warnings.
And, please excuse me for butting in... I shouldn't but I have to say something. Be gentle with your step-daughter, please. I was never seriously overweight as a child, but I was heavier than most of the kids my age. My grandmother went after me constantly about my weight, and was always on me about various things. Part of it is definitely because my father was bounced from the military because of a weight problem. But, what happened was that when I started gaining weight so rapidly from my endocrine disorder, I blamed it all on myself... I wasn't exercising because of my ankle problem, and also wasn't cooking very much, also because of the ankle (I couldn't stand very much), and grad school. I honestly believe that if my primary care doctor in Virginia hadn't insisted that I might have something physically wrong, that I would have continued to blame myself and continued to gain weight. And, I was making healthy choices: My grandmother did most of the family cooking and from middle school forward it was Egg Beaters, Turkey-based products, non-fried food, steamed veggies, fish, etc. When I gained the weight, my grandmother and mother didn't leave me alone about it. I was always getting picked at or on about it from them. It wasn't until I was diagnosed that my mom sort of believed it, and that took another year. My grandmother is just now starting to understand, but I do still catch her giving me those looks. I grew up hearing stories about the diets my grandmother put my mother and aunt on: hardboiled eggs, grapefruit, rubber girdles, cottage cheese. I can't help but wonder if my doctor (he was my primary care doctor from the time I was in 1st grade all the way through until I left Pennsylvania the last time in 2000!) would have noticed something was wrong if I hadn't been so wary of talking about the weight issue. I might have been diagnosed sooner. I don't know that, of course, but I do know that thinner people get better medical care. One of the teenage swim instructors has had the exact same symptoms as me: throwing up all the time, tired, etc... they are actively investigating her issues. And that was definitely not the case with me until I found my endocrinologist. I've also told all of you that she's had to go outside her speciality of reproductive endocrinology to nutrionist, medical endocrinology, etc to help me because very few other doctors would. They all blame eveyrthing on my weight. As I said, please don't be upset with me... I just had to say it.
Okay.
:mouse:

Holy Moly! I have only been gone five days and I am three pages behind in posts! I just breezed through them and don't have much time to comment but here are a few things...

Pam - Definately. What ever it takes. Go on your cruise. How often do you get a free cruise? How is your brother doing now that he is home? I bet he is thrilled to be there even if he still has a nurse coming in every day. I can't believe they changed your grade and weren't going to tell you about it. How strange. Don't they think their teachers might want to prepare or something??! Any word on the guy that was trying to lure your husband away? How scary for you. Luckily with 11 acres surrounded by fields, we don't get very close to the road ever. I would be a nervous wreck after that!

Ginni - I am so glad your DD went on her trip. Hopefully she will see how the other half lives. I married a control freak (the first time) and it can be down right scary at times. My self esteem and confidence level was so low by the time we divorsed, it was terrible.

Mouse - Can you believe that Rowlings? I am so mad that she did that to Harry again! I know in Michigan in order to be HQ to teach all the core subjects in special ed. you either had to pass each subject matter test or pass elementary test. Since what I teach changes every year, I am going the elementary route.

Summer - It is nice that your DD found something she enjoys so much. Plus cheerleading can be done year round! So far my children like to golf and bowl. They don't enjoy team sports very much for some reason.

Kerry - When you finish your classes are you then HQ or are they just preparing you for the test? What a pain this all is and probably about the time we all get HQ they will do away with it! I think they should have grandfathered us old farts in!

Robyn - Glad you are back on line. Sorry to hear you are going through all the tests. What a pain!

We had a great time camping. It was hot but we could swim during the day and the camper has AC. I think we talked about running into students during the summer right before I left. Here I drove 3 hours to go on vacation and there were Lakewood students camping at the same place! They weren't MY students but when you teach at a small school everyone knows everyone!

I guess I should join the AA group. I drank my share of Mike's light lemon-aid while on vacation. Man that is good stuff! I don't care for the lemon-lime as much but then I don't like Sprite either.

My car is in the shop today. The check engine light kept coming on whenever I hauled the camper. The mechanic said it just needed a tune-up. Hopefully that is all it ends up being. I did ask him to check out the shocks as it is getting pretty bumpy in there. Of course that could just be Michigan's roads!

It is suppose to be 93 today with a heat index over 100. We did get some rain yesterday, so my grass is green again. I think it is suppose to cool down tomorrow.

I got my schedule in the mail yesterday. Looks like I will only have two preps this year (biology and physical science) YEAH!!!! I won't know what to do with myself! I went to grab my student's schedules last night. It appears that almost every student has at least one conflict, so that will mean some work. At least I can bring the stuff home and work on it in the AC. Our school doesn't have AC at all and every classroom has one wall of windows, so you can imagine how hot it gets in there! I also found out that our principal hired a new special ed teacher. I sure hope he is a teacher and not a jock. We actually have seven new staff members this year, which is a lot for a small high school. Out of those 7, I know 3 and they are all Jocks. Our principal is a dumb jock and likes to hire more of the same!

I guess I should go finish my laundry, feed the children and call to see if my car is done.

Sue

Welcome back, Sue!
The highly qualified thing varies by state: I have one of the same options, which is to become highly qualified in each area, but I can't do the elementary option unless I teach self-contained students not working toward a state diploma in Maryland. Virginia is still a mystery to me, but I know I'll be highly qualified once I finish the Master's plus 30. Pennsylvania wants me to go back to undergrad and do a full degree in elementary education as if I weren't already a certified teacher. Not only do I have a permanent PA license, but I have met their Act 48 requirement (180 hours of professional development every 5 years) with 720 hours total. But, I'm not highly qualified.
It annoys the hay out of me, because while I'm not considered "highly qualified", I am highly qualified enough to do things to determine whether other staff are highly qualified! Like, I spent 2 weeks scoring for the National Board of Professional Teaching STandards (if you're national board certified, you're highly qualified, no matter what), and also sat on the panel that helped ETS determine the cut-score for the severe disabilities subejct exam.
I'm totally with you on prinicipal who are something and like to hire others to compliment themselves... that is, afterall, what goes on in my last school! The skinny blondes get whatever they want, whenever... and those of us that don't fit that phenotype are gotten rid of as soon as possible. :shrug: I don't get it, frankly.
:mouse:

Kerry, my DD is turning eight years old in November, is tall for her age, and weighs 50 pounds. According to her pediatrician, she is of normal weight. I am alarmed that your nine year old SDD is 131 pounds. This is no joke. This child's weight is beyond your help. SHE NEEDS PROFESSIONAL HELP. It is obvious that she is using food for comfort. She is too young to comprehend the impact of her actions. I know children just like her. They are smart, beautiful, and fun to be with. But, they don't understand the damage they are doing to their bodies. She is on the fast track to diabetes. She is laying down fat cells right now that will be with her for the rest of her life, and being a thin adult will be that much more of a struggle for her. I was thin until my 20's, and I'm struggling like ****. I don't even want to know how much harder it would be for me had I been a chubby child. You seriously need to get her counseling with a professional who deals with eating disorders in children. This is an eating disorder. A professional will help the whole family and her deal with her emotional and physical needs so that she will no longer need to overeat to be content. I don't mean to push my opinion on you, but I can't stand to see a child hurt herself like this. And remember, this is not only your responsibility, but also your DH and his ex. If the ex won't get on board, at least she will be getting the right kind of help from your home and the counselor.

Sue, glad you enjoyed camping. Welcome home!

Mouse, in my school it isn't the skinny blondes who are favored, it is men. My principal (who is a married female) LOVES MEN. Our previous "teacher in charge" was a veteran female teacher. Our current one is a handsome, charismatic, male teacher who only just got tenure! Her favorite para is male, and he is constantly pulled out of his 6:1:1 SED classroom to do her bidding. And of course, she favors Nimrod, our brain-deficient male custodian over our now-transferred hardworking, ***-busting female custodian. P.S. If you read in the newspaper about an inner city school in CT that gets blown to smithereens, it is my school. My DH has already been given instructions to name Nimrod as the one to blame.

Rob, put your health worries behind you and enjoy your vacation to the beach. You deserve to relax and HAVE FUN!!!

:hat: Okay copycats...everyone knows you all love Mike's, how about your give Baja Bob's a shot...no pun intended. www.bajabobs.com He not only has sugar-free margarita mix, but all those other frozen drinks and I think martini mixes too!!! I love his margaritas, and the best is that they are guilt-free!!! :cheers:

Did I tell you I have an appointment with a podiatrist? Well, my chiropractor's lame insurance person told me my appeal was denied and suggested I become a cash customer. That's a good one. I can barely afford to pay three days a week of copays, and he thinks I can pay his fee?! If his office staff can't provide good enough documentation to prove that I need treatment from him, then guess what? I don't give a sh*t anymore. I will see the podiatrist and pray that they offer me more options than surgery and drugs. Hopefully they will give me P.T. and maybe a steroid shot in my foot. And another thing...I hope the podiatry treatment costs WAY MORE than the chiropractor so that the insurance company gets it where it hurts them the most. :p

JUSTICE: Do you remember my day at the movies ruined by the balling baby? Well, when I got home, I emailed the theater's main office. Today in the mail I received two free passes to the movies!!! ;) It pays to let people know how you feel.

I'm still p*ssed at my friend whose DH thinks his sh*t doesn't stink. Our only contact till we return to school will be that sleepover. After that, I'm backing off completely. It will be entirely up to her to make arrangements for play dates and social get-togethers. I'm not wasting my energy on her anymore. :p

Tonite, DD had gymnastics. Unfortunately, the YMCA in my town does not have it, so we have to go to the next town over which just so happens to be an affluent area where women stay home with their brats while their DH's work so many hours, they never see them. DD has taken gymnastics at this YMCA since she was 3 or 4 because it has the best reputation in our area. Unfortunately, I have to listen to these women talk about their shallow yet glamorous lives. I used to join in, but became so nauseated at one point, I just read now. It is funny how these women didn't bother me as much before I taught in the inner city. But now that I've seen both sides, and somehow fall in the middle of the two, I can't tolerate their bragging knowing that just 15 minutes away, people are really struggling just to put food on the table. These women are so spoiled what with their daily spa treatments, tennis games with their young, handsome instructors, sailing trips, and afternoons spent at "the club." I am surrounded by obnoxious rich people. My DS is rich. My church friends are rich. Many of my coworkers are rich. Many of my close friends are rich. I never cared before, but they all just get on my nerves now. I can't change where DD takes gymnastics. There aren't other options. But, we have considered changing churches to one in our neighborhood. I have made many new friends who are just plain, old, regular joes, and I like them a lot. It is amazing how my job teaching the poor has given me a whole new perspective on my life.

Hey! I lost my post again!
Not a whole lot happening around here except for dog hot days. It was 100 yesterday today supposed to be 104, tomorrow 103. Heat indexes in the teens. Yuck. We went in the pool for a little while yesterday, but it wasn't too much fun. Hard to breath when it gets that hot.
Sue: Welcome back. Hope you had fun. Our school never lets anyone know anything until a few days before the teachers are supposed to go back. It's like the pentagon. The only reason I found out, is because there are these two men at my school who pride themselves on the fact that they know the latest scoop. They call everyone to let you know the low down. It gets on my nerves. I guess sometime this week I will go get a Math Book. Or not.....................

Mouse: This whole highly qualified thing, is the reason a lot of people were moved at my school. In Virginia I am 4-8 Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and Math. In North Carolina: k-9 Language Arts, Social Studies, and Math. You should just run the school. Lord knows you have so much coursework. Have you taken any of the All Kinds Of Minds Workshops? Child Attuned? I'm getting ready to do that the week of August 8th. Sounds interesting.

Summer: I never was a margarita drinker, however, we went to Texas Steakhouse one night, and I had a frozen strawberry one. Omigod, I could have licked the glass. Ha! Sorry things aren't working out between you and your friend...........

Ginny: What's up with you? You've been very quiet.............

Hey Kerry!

Robyn: Isn't the cable internet great? We got it in December. I don't think I can ever go back. Hope your tests go well.

I am getting ready to do a quick clean up around here. Son's gone to work, youngest one spent the night next door and my hubby is getting ready to go off to work. Wow, I will actually be by myself for a couple of hours. I won't know what to do with myself.

Have a good day!
Pam

Just a short hello......trying to get something done here in this miserable heat and with 3 kids around. Ok, you can stop laughing now. Oh and start laughing again because here I sit like a jerk, reading and rereading several of these addictive Cornwell books attempting to piece together all the stuff she throws at you regarding the "death" of Benton. Half the time I am laughing and the other half the time I am crying.....so now you all know I am insane.

I've skimmed the posts...regarding the overweight Sdd. How sad too. My Ds is the only one (16) who seems to have inherited his mom's weight problem. And at 16 he is finally seeing the light. No, he does not eat great- but is taking a much better look at what he eats, his activity level (although PS2 wins out far too often) and how he looks. So there is some hope. But I know he is a stress eater like his mom and Dad.
The only difference between mom and dad there is that somehow, Dh's metabolism carries him thru and he does not gain. But the long and short of it is......I know from both my Ds and a friend (who I just got started on WW online) that leaving the materials out about healthy eating and just not having too much junk around is key.
Also- instead of buying a 1/2 gal of ice cream- go for a box of sugar free popsicles or similar. Automatic portion control- and you can still have that snack. I'm gonna agree with Summer that perhaps a visit to the Dr would be helpful, or some sort of professional help.
Sorry not to get personal......I am trying hard to catch up today (had to work all day yesterday, Mom filled in for Dd who was coming home from Md.....her trip was fantastic). So no wonder I am such a burn out.
See ya later!
Ginny

Well, for some unknown reason, my insurance company changed its mind and will now cover the chiropractor for 5 visits. Now what?! I have a podiatrist appointment in two days. Of course, the chiropractor office is thrilled and wants me to book them. Now that I've committed to seeing the podiatrist, I would kind of like to see what he says especially if he will prescribe physical therapy. I would guess that I would get more than 5 sessions of PT. In the meantime, I feel a sense of loyalty toward my chiropractor. Oh well, I guess Thursday's appointment will tell.

Sorry about my rant about those superficial people in my life! :o I just get so frustrated some times by all the spoiled women I know who don't work, many of them with grown children, while we all bust our humps during the school year. Yes, we've got it great having our summer's off. But, when you look at all the hours of work we put in outside of the classroom plus being required to get our master's degrees, I think we work as hard as any other professional if not harder.

I was a good girl and went to the gym today for an hour long workout. DD tried out the babysitting for the first time in years. She did well considering that there was nobody near her age to play with. I'm fortunate that I have this option. While I was there, I was approached by a personal trainer. She looked like a Russian gymnast and had a body like I would never dream of having. She was nice and asked me questions. She offered me a free consultation, which would of course lead to expensive personal training sessions. I will probably give the free consult a shot, but unless she is outstanding and cheap, it won't continue beyond that.

I've decided to go back to only one carb a day. I have begun to gain again, and that is not gonna continue. I know I am retaining water, because I just started my period, but, others are losing on phase 2 while I'm not. Yes, I should increase my exercise, but it is hard to do much more with my foot injury. If I can at least do the gym 3 times a week, it is better than nothing. And rather than return to phase 1, I would like to see if just one carb would help. We shall see.

I just have a minute. I am actually taking a break from my school scheduling. Nothing seems to be an easy schedule fix and I am losing my mind!

Ginny - the portion control thing works great if you can stop at one. I bought Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches since I couldn't stop on the ice cream. Last night I ate the whole container - 6 SANDWICHES!!!! I can't even blame it on that TOM! I think I have actually gained 10 pounds this summer. I did so well for so long and now I have absolutely no control. I have to weigh in tomorrow too. So far today I have been good. I have to put the past behind me right? Start with today.

Summer - I would love to try your Baja Bob but I had a bit of an incounter with upside down margaritas in my younger years and can't even say margarita without thinking I may barf! Too bad because they look so pretty with their salt and fancy glasses! Congrats on the free passses! That almost made it worth it. So what are you going to see? Men are also favored in our school. The administration makes all these rules each year. The women follow them, the coaches (men) don't, then we are all *****es for doing it. They are never disciplined for not! Luckily I don't have to deal with too many rich people in the country. Teachers are actually considered rich around here! My DH's bosses are rich but I don't have to deal with them too much except to hear my DH whine with envy about their latest toy. The good thing is they get sick of things as soon as the next model is out and sell the old to their employees for dirt cheap! That is how we got our printer and digetal camera. They are much nicer than we could have afforded otherwise. Now my husband is trying to get a Cadillac Escalade (don't even know how to spell it) from one of them for me since my Durango is a 1999 and is starting to wear out.

I think all this HQ stuff if crap. I can see hiring teachers that are qualified for what they are hired for but if a veterin teachers has been teaching something forever they HAVE to be qualified by now! I just ran into one of the middle school's teachers wife and she said her DH just took the test. I'll have to find out what to expect from him. He didn't have his results back yet but if he passed it, I am pretty sure I can pass it. He is a great guy and does great with his students but I have met smarter people!

Okay I am going to go make myself a low cal salad. I've done it before I KNOW I can stick to program again. I have to lose these pounds or the clothes I bought for school last year won't fit right. I REFUSE to dig out my "fat" clothes!

Sue

Hey all....
as the wicked witch of the west said, "I'm melting, I'm melting!" WHAT is up with this heat?! It is so HOTTTTTT here!

I went to get my hair "fixed" this morning. Did I tell you how wonderfully sweet my hairdresser is? She has been doing my children's and husband's hair for 9 years, since we were both young children! (Actually, I was old and had two children (The youngest was about 10 months when I first met her!) BUT she was still in high school! LOL) I went for literally years with not doing ANYthing to my hair...maybe a little trim..(When Emily convinced me too!)...but most often....nothing!
Well, Em "grew up"...she became the owner of the salon. She then built her own salon and moved out of the storefront thingy... And well, I also figured out...about 4 or 5 years ago, that if *I* didn't take care of me.... no one was... I have (or HAD) really dark hair. Dark hair that went gray and drabby very quickly AND I tried to color it myself in the comfort and privacy of my bathroom. YIKES....not only did I dye my bathroom various colors...I also made my hair various horrid shades. So for about 2 years now, I've had regular appointments scheduled every 5 to 7 weeks....and "Em" has been coloring my hair in her very cool and upscale Aveda salon and spa LOL Times change! ...AND when my dh lost his job, I called Em......and told her that suddenly she had a Tuesday at 5 opening as I just couldn't rationalize my hair color appointments with my dh not working. Without hesitating she announced that she would call me from home after work. Today was the 4th time that I've had my hair colored for the price of the haircut ($15)........and I have to insist on paying THAT! At first I didn't want to do this.... I even tried to "go natural"....but geesh it really does look and make me feel so much better to have the blahhh colored up! Em says that I'm not "just anyone"! Have to tell you.... I will be loyal to her 'til the end! DH will have to drive me to the salon to get my blue hairs set! :) She is really really special to me..... and I guess I just needed to tell someone about how kind she is! Geesh! Sorry to gush!

Since this is already so long, I'll only add a few things:
*Raspberry Margaritas are the BESTTTT! *I "can get into" my classroom when I want to now. How about next week?! Maybe! *Teaching in an area of poverty will REALLY change how you look at things and people! (In my 17 years at my old school, I also learned some cool "city" lingo, too! LOL ) While I love my new job and school and those kiddos, I *DO* miss my city kiddos! *Summer, go to both the foot dr and the chiropractor!!! Yeehaw about the movie passes and your time at the gym! *Sue, welcome back and ewww about the lack of airconditioning! My dear friend is teaching summer school in the Bronx without airconditioning....She has kids literally fainting daily! ...and Um, I'm with you regarding issues about self control! You and I would get along pretty well...I have a story similar to your Skinny Cow Story...but sadly it is way too long to be included in THIS post! LOL (righttt) *I had to pull out some of my fat clothes.... When I get back from the beach...I *HAVE* to get back to WW. I have already begun to THINK about what is going in my mouth...and I'm getting in a bunch of water.... but when I get back from the beach...I've gotta do something as they don't allow fat naked teachers at my school...what about yours?! LOL

Gotta run...these darn people want food again!
take care,
meeee

Robyn- congrats on getting the hair done, girl!! Bet that makes you feel like a million$$ and how sweet of your friend todo that. My hair sounds a lot like yours.......and my Arlene does a wonderful job of keeping it my natural color. I do such a crummy job w/o her and she is my sole indulgence. (figure I put up with 10 months of baseball and all the other stuff.....least I can do is get my hair done!) Hope this heat breaks for you soon too!!!!!!!! Start logging in your food intake.....that will help.

Sue- well, haven't we all done that??? (eating the whole box). Me I can't buy any of the 2 point bars WW makes (except the pb and jelly ones, I think they are awful). I eat the whole box in one day...lotta good that accomplishes! Go for that WI tomorrow...and start fresh. You made the first big step by going for the WI. Remember what Laura (my WW leader and patron saint!) said...."I came, I weighed, I cried, I stayed!". Tomorrow is another day.

Summer- how funny about the insurance.....which can be so unpredictable and fickle.
Hope going to one carb does it for you. And I hope that foot is better.

Not much new here.....somebody please dig me out of these Scarpetta novels......I sneak in 5 minutes here, 5 there.....haven't done any major reading in a day or so, darned things are addicting.
Sorry if I missed you..
Ginny

Evening, all.
I talked to a lawyer today about getting my stuff back; he's not willing to represent me although he told me exactly what I need to do on my own. His reason for not representing me is valid: he'll charge me more than my stuff is worth. However, the law requires that a company/business be represented by a lawyer, which means their side will have a legal expert and I will not. I clearly need to cultivate lawyer friends.
I guess that means that they are going to get away with this. That makes me almost as sick as the thought that they are keeping and using my stuff; getting it through deceit and lies. But I am the one with the communication issues, right?
My new district isn't looking much better right now. The personnel specialist says that she sent me email on Monday telling me what school I was in, and since I didn't respond I might lose my "intent" status... I have received every other email she's sent me, but not one on Monday. And I was home all day yesterday: I spent it on the telephone with the electric company (which proved nearly incapable of setting my account up for budget billing!), AT&T (who screwed up my order three times and lost a customer they've had for more than 20 years), and the cable company (who will provide my cable and my telephone service (its not the Internet Phone stuff... its a regular land line; they became a local provider when the law permitted it). And the moving company, and the gas company. The gas company was the only one that was easy! The only time I left my apartment on Monday was to go see my physical therapist to get the orthotics for my shoes. I wore them for the first time today: 2 45 minute sessions, one of them while I was working out upstairs.
All in all, it was a VERY frustrating day!
I'm guarding Thursday of this week, 3 days next week, and one day after I move. The aquatics director was really short handed for August because everybody is taking their vacations and some of the others are going back to college, I'm moving... so I told her it wasn't that far and I'd come up if she'd give me a whole shift (8 hours instead of 2).
And it is SOOOOOO hot outside! The actual temp here today was 101, with heat indexes not much under 110 degrees. Yesterday was 106 as a heat index. I hope it really cools down, because I have to take the cat to my mom's house, and I don't want to have him in the car when it is so hot... A/C or no A/C, he'd be uncomfortable.
In fact, I had headed toward the gym after I picked up the orthotics (the better to avoid still more phone calls!), but actually got sick after I walked from the parking garage to the hospital for the PT appointment, and then back. The garage elevators don't have A/C or a vent, so they were super hot! It had to be from the heat, because I'm following my eating plan pretty well. I can't be positive, but it looks like I might have lost some weight. I won't believe it until next week to see if the scale stays the same or goes lower. Especially since I'm not going to meet my goals this month... that is mostly because of the theft of the gym bag, though. I lost a whole week. By the time I got my stuff replaced, we were doing overtime for the National Board, so I missed that week too.
Alright: I'm off to clean out the bookcase near my desk: I keep all the paper and stuff for the computer there.
:mouse:

Good morning.
I'm so glad I'm not alone..............I have been eating horribly. It seems like everytime I go into the kitchen I eat something. It's not good stuff either. Ice cream....Omigosh, I bought some Edie's slow churned light triple chunk fudge..........Big mistake..........Day before yesterday we went to sonic and I got a Orange Vanilla Cream Slushee. Ok, Robyn: we don't allow fat naked teachers at my job either. Actually the thought of having to put on regular people clothes, make up and brush my hair all before 6:30 is terrible. I found out where I'm being moved yesterday. Turns out it was the very first room on the sixth grade hall I was in when I came here. It used to be seventh grade. They told me yesterday I could go get my key and move my stuff whenever I'm ready. It's a bunch of stuff.........i dread that....
Supposed to 115 here with the heat index. I went into the pool for a little while yesterday, and it was sort of too hot to breathe. I ended up going back inside.
Speaking of hair color. I decided to highlight my hair. Well, the directions looked easy just put the goop in this little comb thing, then brush it through your hair. How complicated could that be????Oh well, it was a mistake. One part looked very gold, like Dennis Rodman had dyed his hair or something. So, I ended up having to color it back to light golden brown. Then, my son's girlfriend ended up coming over and highlighting it for me about a week later. I told her I wanted it done very subtly. You can hardly tell...............It looks better, but not the look I was going for. I think I'll just leave it alone. It's pretty light anyway from all the sun and chlorine.
And I am unhappy to say, I have managed to color the carpet in front of my sink. Yikes.......
Speaking of hair.........My nineteen year old came home with a shaved head yesterday. His hair is really blonde, so now you can't even see the hair. I just shook my head and rubbed it for good luck.
My nine year old and I spent two hours yesterday cleaning his pig pen of a bedroom. He collects a variety of cards and they were everywhere. I feel much better now, and I will be able to find him when he goes into his room. I told him I am going to put a sign up on his door that says that before any of his friends go home they have to help clean up. He says don't do that. I said well, this is ridiculous.
I am up to 176.5 this am. Horrible. I drank probably half of a two liter of Pepsi yesterday. I also drank water, but that was being a little counter productive to drink all the Pepsi.

Sorry this is so random. HEY TO EVERYONE..........
Stay cool today.....
Pam

Pam, I have the same problem with DD (7 years old). She works so hard to clean and organize her room and playroom. Then her friends come over, and you can't find the floor. In fact, on her first day of camp last week, we looked in her closet for her sneakers which had not been worn since her last gym class in school. They were not in their designated spot. We searched high and low. I had to grab a pair of sneakers a size smaller which were going to get consigned for her to wear. She barely got them on, and we were late for her first camp day. By the end, she was hurting. That afternoon, we continued the search only to find them at the bottom of her bin of dress-up costumes. One of her friends had put them there. Thanks kids! When I demand that they help her clean up, there is no guarantee that things will get put back where they belong. Now, the dress-up clothes come out of the closet and the door gets locked. At least this way the contents of her closet remain untouched.

Mouse, well, you tried. Your old school probably knew all along that they could get away with this. They suck. As far as the communication problems with the new school, I think all school systems are a nightmare of bureaucracy (sp?). My district lost my first application/resume. I had a principal that wanted to hire me but couldn't because personnel had no record of me. The second one got mailed by certified mail just to cover my butt. I can't tell you how many times I supposedly was sent something crucial at my school and never got it. I almost lost my national accreditation over it last year. Good luck with everything.

Robyn, your Em sounds like an angel. What a total sweetheart. I wish she were up north with me as well. Last year when I had to stop being bleached every 5 weeks to save money, I asked my Mary Frances to dye me back to natural which ended up being double the cost. Okay now, we are trying to save money here...Once back to natural, the light stuff underneath kept trying to come out which meant more color. The whole thing backfired. She had no suggestions for me, when it occured to me to get highlights. They only get done about every 3 months or so. So now, I save a boatload of money by doing highlights. But, actually, Mary Frances' prices have just gone up because she finished a course making her a master colorist. :p She is just so good, I'm afraid to let anyone else touch my hair. I was a toe-head blonde till the age of 12. My mom would spray "Sun-in" in my hair in the summer to give my dirty blonde hair highlights. At some point I started coloring my own hair until the fateful day I combined a color with an old perm. :fr: YIKES!!! That was a bad idea. I ended up with very blonde straw on my head. So, for the past 15 years, I have been blonding up my dirty blonde professionally. Once again Robyn, thanks for the giggles!

Sue, what is an upside down margarita? :?: Go get yourself that Escalade! Woo Hoo!!!

Hi Ginny and Kerry!

Best friend update: The ***** left a message that we must be able to find time for a BBQ/cocktail party at my house, only her DH won't be joining her. Can you imagine having such a busy schedule as to not allow you to attend any events for an entire straight month...especially when you are a lazy, spoiled man who DOES NOTHING except work for your father's bank?! He does no volunteer work...no yard work...no housework...no childcare...no church...no grad school...just recreation. Please tell me what fun it would be for her to come over by herself for a BBQ and drinks with my DH and me. I'd be fine, but as patient and tolerant as DH is, he would eventually get sick of woman talk. Hey, maybe she can get a date and bring him along!!! :lol:

Nextdoor Nightmare update: She returned home from the mental hospital yesterday with a diagnosis of Psychosis. Last I heard, she was put on Risperdal. She could probably use some Haldol along with that. Anyway, they must have her pretty drugged up because we haven't seen her since she got home.

Today, DD and I are going on a day trip with the "tricklets" (triplets), their mom, and grandparents. Our town is on the coast of Long Island Sound, which is nice, but we prefer open ocean water which is cleaner. So, we are driving 90 minutes away this morning to Ocean Beach to spend the day there. I'm not looking forward to the drive, but supposedly it will be worth it for the nicer beach. We will see!

We are actually going to have a COOL day today! YIPEEEEEEEE! Actually I think I may need to put on pants as it isn't suppose to get out of the 70's. I am going to go into work and take advantage of the coolness!

Robyn - Hmmmm. I work with mostly ADHD children and live with an ADHD DD, so your writing seems right in place to me! LOL. How sweet of your hair dresser to reduce her prices for you. She definately is a keeper! Those things are so expensive these days. I our little one horse town I still pay twenty something for a hair cut and I have blocked out what a high light is because it was so much. I'll need to do that soon though as the sun has caused me to be a bit over high lighted right now. I need to get back closer to my own medium brown. I think my DH would like me to go bleach blond though. What is it with men and blonds anyway? My school is pretty lenient but fat and naked wouldn't fly. Now from what I see the students wear I think young, skinny and nearly naked is a go. I totally understand your difficulty in starting with the exercise after an injury. I hurt my knee at Christmas and haven't exercised (except golf) since. I actually thought about it yesterday, so that is a start!

Ginny - I WILL go to WI tonight and take my lumps. I have just over a month to fit into my school clothes. I actually did well yesterday point wise but not so go on my water. I am going to work on that today. Once school starts and my life HAS to be on schedule, I'll be much better about getting to the meetings. I am going to try to not miss any except the week we are on vacation until then. I know the program works.

Mouse - Sorry to hear you won't get your stuff back. I guess you need to be glad the lawyer didn't just take your money and run. I don't envy you dealing with the utility companies. I think I would rather go to my OBGYN then deal with them!

Pam - Repeat after me - Pop is evil. Between the sodium and the caffiene, it will bloat you and dehydrate you. Not to mention the calories if you don't do diet. Moving classrooms is such a pain. Isn't it amazing how much crap we accumulate over the years?!

We had a little excitement in our small town. A woman was bit by a rattle snake! Luckily they got her to the hospital and she is going to be fine but they haven't found the snake. She lived right across from our school secretary. I don't think I would go outside again until it was found. Luckily I live 8 miles out of town, so we should be safe.

I guess I should head out. Wednesday is library day and then it is off to work I go! I was able to fix several schedules but I have a few that I will need to call the student on. Actually it will be fun to chat with them for awhile. I do love my summer but I miss the little buggers too. I guess in my case they are big buggers since most are 11th or 12th graders.

Sue

Summer: We must have been posting at the same time. I hope you enjoyed your day at the beach. An upside down margarita is where you lay on your back and they just pour the stuff right into your mouth. It was a big thing around these parts in the 80's, which unfortunately coincided with my young and foolish stage. Anyway we had a contest one night to see who could do the most. I won or lost depending on your point of view! I feel queezy just thinking about it and it happened over 20 years ago!

Sue

Morning!
Gee - its been so busy here since last nite......

Sue- ya want to share some of that cool weather with us here in NY???? It is miserable here!! And stay away from the rattlers.......not very good friends to keep I am afraid. Good luck with the WI. I switched myself to Core 2 weeks ago, and no I have not been perfect with it- not even close- but have found it easier for me for now.
It takes out several of my trigger foods and counting points. Have you ever tried Core? Maybe you can use it to jump start you a bit.

Summer- enjoy the hot day at the beach. And use lots of sun screen!!!! Stay cool.
The playdate wrecking crew visits here in NY also. Guess that is a universal problem.
Dd has one friend who will take out EVERYTHING and then dance out........it sure hurts my Dd when she has to clean up after her buddies. Hope things work out with the neighbor and she takes her meds. Does she live with someone who can attempt to remind her to take them? (Don't you take that job on!) And I would never in a million years have a bbq without her husband (your friend, that is). My Dh would not put up with it.

Robyn- glad that your foot is on the mend........when are you going to the beach?
Hope your book shows up before you leave- I have the same thing going with a book that I am 12th in line for (jumped way up in the past month) and that is for the entire Ramapo Catskill system (several counties). SO........the week we are gone I will probably be getting the book. Anyway- I know this is not a pretty subject, but would you consider going for some damage control with your eating?? Something maybe not to lose weight (if you are not up to that yet, and we all know what a mental struggle it is) but simply maintaining. Then back on track in the fall. I dunno,just an idea.

Pam- start drinking water girl!!!!! Try not to get too upset with the weight gain. You took it off before, it will come off again. With all the darned heat, water retention is a problem (had a WW leader tell us that a year ago) so it sounds like water weight to me. Hang in there.......and keep the one man wrecking crews out of Ds's room!!

Mouse- Wonderful news that you think the scale is going down!!!!!!! I am so happy for you. On another note- sounds as though you have had much more of your share of grief with idiots. That must annoy you so much losing your stuff like that. Well, maybe you can look at it as baggage from the old school (and although I am sure replacing the items will be frustrating) and getting rid of baggage from your former employer is a good thing. Stay cool in this miserable heat......hope that you got your cleaning done.

Past 2 days I have gotten my "long" walk in (almost 4 miles) and have gotten out early to avoid the heat. Usually don't have time to do so during the school year. This afternoon I am taking the kiddies bowling ($1 a game special!!!:)) after Ds's physical.
Tomorrow is WW and some shopping (nothing exciting.......want to see if they have any summer specials).
Better go see what the kids are up to. See ya!
Ginny

Yes, Robyn, I definitely have a cloud over me. There is a REASON that one of instant messenger IDs is Eeyore, and I have tons of stuffed Eeyores around my apartment: I like him, but his personality just fits me so well. :smug:
I have a coffee mug from one of my best college friends. It shows a picture of a cow lying upside down, 4 feet in the air, with the moon above her. The caption reads, "Really, I'm fine." That's my life. I'm pretty certain that most of the messes I get into are my fault. Oh well.
I replaced my ring today, since Allstate mailed me the check for the lost items. My $189 ring now costs $370. The rest of the money went to pay for the credit card purchases that replaced the gym bag, swim suits, etc.
As for my storm cloud (and if you've ever noticed, Eeyore has one of those follow him around too!), I pulled a muscle yesterday when I was lifting weights. It was strange, though, I was using less weight on the machine than normal!
I was never allowed to have a messy room growing up or to leave anything out: my grandmother would literally throw the stuff away if I did.
Its hot here again today: 106 degree heat index already, and its only 1:30! I was going to the gym, but I don't think I can even swim right now.
And, I've heard nothing from the personnel department at the district. I'll call them tomorrow if I don't get an email from her today. I save copies of my emails, though, and they haven't bounced back from her address. I would just really like to get everything settled... its not like this is my fault: I've done what I was supposed to do. I even found where I wrote MR on my letter of intent and the grade level... I'm still not sure where they got severe disabilities from.
:mouse:

I came online to check the weather for tomorrow as I've heard talk that the heat wave will be gone.... I didn't get past today's (current) temperature .... Currently it is 104 and the heat index is 117.............. The news teasers just came on the t.v..... They are saying that tomorrow there will be an actual cold front. I just hope that we're alive to greet it! OMG, Ginny, they just showed on the news that the neighboring town is hosting a Baseball Tourney..... They have been playing all day...and tomorrow! (The next question is rhetorical...cause we KNOW the answer!) Have those dumb men LOST thier minds?????

I'll be back..... as soon as I dry up the puddle that is me!

Hi Gals,
I am still alive. Just buried in learning about how to teach science to 6th graders. I am learning alot of neat ideas. Just don't think I can use some of them with my students. Next week is going to be my last week of classes. Than I am going to have a party to celebrate that I made it! LOL I might just go out to dinner at a nice restaurant and treat myself to a nice evening out.
I gained 4 pounds last week. So I am up to 204.5 pounds. I knew that I would probably gain the weight from sitting in class all last week. SO I just need to cut back on my eating this week and move more. Plus drink alots of water.
Thank you all for the wonderful advice for my sdd. She has started to do a little bit of physical activity during the day. So I think that might help her and just watching what she eats a little bit better.
Well it is dinnertime. So I will come back later and chat with you all.
Kerry

Kerry- I know the gain you saw will be gone in a week or so.....we all know how wonderfully focused you can be!!!!!! Keep up the great attitude. Great to hear from you. Hope all works out with Sdd too. Your knowledge and dedication will surely rub off on her sooner or later. She is blessed to have you around to help her.

Robyn- Don't steal my cold front!!!!!! (think I will go even more nuts if it stays like this much longer.) :lol: So you going to go watch some baseball???
It is addictive and my Dh would be out there with them if he could!!!!! It is after all baseball....... (which somehow snuck in our marriage vows......)Stay cool. Dry off.

Mouse- ok should be call your Eeyore???? Glad you were able to replace your ring. I know it had a lot of scentimental value to you. Don't you take my cold front either!!!!! Please spare some cold air for me. this heat is awful.
Let us know how the communications with the new school are going.

Took the gang bowling (I stink!) but it was fun. Guess I had better relinquish the computer to Dh-who did ask me to turn it on for him. Have a great nite!
Ginny

Sue, I had a similar experience around 16 years ago with "Purple Hooters." They are made with grape chambord and some other hard stuff. Well, I was at a party where this nuckle-head was making the women lie down on their backs as he poured purple hooters down their throats. I downed several and got soooo inebriated that I not only spent the entire night their, when I returned home the next morning, I was still drunk!!! As God is my witness, I will never drink another purple hooter again!!! I surely hope my DD is wiser than me and doesn't put herself in harms way the way I used to. His angels had to work overtime with me. :angel:

Gin, thanks for the feedback about my friend's DH. I'm glad to know that my opinion isn't unreasonable. Oh, and my poor nextdoor nightmare lives with her brother who is in MAJOR DENIAL. When their mother was alive and very violent with alzheimer's disease, they handled it all wrong. They didn't get her treatment until she was near death because they thought she was just cranky. This chick had all the symptoms of alzheimer's and could be dangerous to herself and others. So, I doubt her brother is handling her mental health issues much differently. I pray her doctors made it clear to him what her needs are including making sure she is not only taking her meds but swallowing them as well...not hiding them under her tongue till she can spit them out. Good for you making it 4 miles! Glad you enjoyed bowling...I stink too!

Mouse, I love Eeyore, but the Disney character I relate to is Tinkerbell. I dream of being petite and cute like her. My personality is a lot like hers. I am the youngest in my family, and I had to do cute stuff to get attention. I would feel left out just like her. I would become frustrated just like her. I just adore the story of Peter Pan with its "I will never grow up" theme, and I can relate to her the most.

Everyone, why doesn't each of you name the Disney character you most relate to? Just for fun!!!

Rob, it was hotter than Hades once again in CT. Being in the icey cold Atlantic ocean for the majority of today got me through it. We are having thunder boomers tonite. Yes, men are nuts. :dizzy: :lol: :yes:

Kerry, I know you will drop that 4 pounds and more in no time. Stay in tune with what sdd is doing so that her weight doesn't get out of control. Thank God she has you for such an inspirational role model.

Well, the drive to Ocean Beach was only one hour because the tricklets' mother has a friggin' lead foot!!! The 90 minute drive took 60 minutes because we drove between 75-80 mph in a 55 mph zone the whole way!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD...His angels were with me once again: 1. I managed not to get a speeding ticket. 2. We didn't get killed. I have never been there before, and I had no choice but to follow her closely so that I wouldn't get lost. Next time, I will mapquest it and meet her 30 minutes later! Phew! Anyway, once we got there, I caught my breath, and the palpatations abated, it was a blast. Ocean Beach has a boardwalk with shops, amusement park rides, water slides, pool, showers, and a b-e-a-utiful beach. The beach itself reminds me of Nantucket Sound off of Dennisport, Cape Cod, MA. The white sand is c-l-e-a-n, s-o-f-t, and loverly. The water (Atlantic) was also c-l-e-a-n and really cold. I spent most of my time in the water since it was such a hot and hazy day. It was soooo refreshing. I was ready to grow gills and flippers and commit to becoming a mermaid. DD and I left after 4 hours because DH was expecting us home. It took me 2 hours to get home because there was a major motorcycle accident on I95. The sick part was all the morbidly curious gawkers who slowed things down more as we were trying to pass the accident which took up 2 lanes. The only reason we could get by was because there was a McD's rest area to pass through. Anyhow, just as the thunder boomers began, we made it home in one piece thank you very much! Next time, DH is coming, and we will stay longer to enjoy the boardwalk.

Tomorrow is a play date with "snowday girl." Yippee!

Evening Ladies,
I had a nice dinner date with my dh tonight. We went to the local steakhouse where my dsil works. She takes good care of us when we go in there. I had a chopped steak dinner with green beans and a salad. So I think I have done a good job being on task today with my food intake. I did do a walking video this morning and worked out at Curves this afternoon. So one day done and six more to go before my TOPS meeting and next WI.
Pam and Robyn I feel for you gals in the South with the hot weather. I know that the heat index here was about 102-106 the last couple of days. Today was not too bad. It was only about 89 degrees today. We are suppose to get some nasty thunderboomers tonight.
Robyn enjoy your time at the beach. Think of me stuck in Ohio with no real vacation in sight.
Summer glad you had a nice time at the beach today. That sounds like a lot of fun. Don't you love it when you follow someone else going some where you are not familar with and you have to speed to stay with them. Hope your playdate with "snowday girl" goes well.
Ginny I stink at bowling too. But it is a lot of fun. Especially when my dh and I went with his nephews who are just a few years younger than me. The only time I am good at bowling is when I have had a little bit of beer or wine coolers in my system. LOL Good for getting your walk in outside. We finally got a new VCR/DVD player and I have been sweating with Lesile in the mornings this week. So I hope to drop my weight this week. Have a good WI tomorrow.
Sue, how was your WI today? I hope all went well with you. I hear you about missing your students. I have gotten really close with a few of my students, since I am really the only teacher they have all day long. Plus I have a close working relationship with the parents of one of my students. I have thought about calling to check on him several times this summer and than get busy doing something else or it is too late in the evening to call. I am going to cry at the end of this year when I have to spend him on to the high school since he has been my baby for four years. I have enjoyed watching him grow and mature. Did you get much work done in your classroom today? I will need to do that in a couple weeks. But I just need to get through my classes first.
Robyn how was your day with your friend? I bet you had a wonderful day! Was she able to help you magically find some tables for your room? I would like to have tables instead of desks in my room too! If you find some extra tables send them my way and I will do the same for you. LOL.
Mouse, sorry to hear that you will probably never get your stuff back. That is just awful! I am glad that lawyer was honest and helpful to you. Usually I can never say the words lawyer and honest in the same sentence. LOL When will you know for sure about your teaching assignment? I hope you can get that all straightened out soon. I will keep thinking positive thoughts that you did see the scale go down some. I will keep my fingers crossed for you.
I have a wonderful way of getting back at my dh for the way he spent my birthday for me. Remeber how we just had to buy the kids two new baseball bats on my birthday and had lunch at Captain D's. Well my dh's birthday is this coming Saturday and he plans on going to a derby to see his nephew run that evening. So my ds called me on Sunday night and asked me to go to WVa to visit her this coming weekend. SO I said sure! I am going to go down on Saturday morning and go to Curves with her so she can try it out. Than we are going to go shopping that afternoon and to the movies that evening. Than on Sunday afternoon, I will come home. I am looking forward to a weekend with just my sister. We haven't done that in a while. It would have been nice if my other sister was able to come down too. But we might just have to do that on one of those long weekends during the school year.
Well ladies, I need to read an article for my Science class before class tomorrow. I better go and do that now. Than in the morning, I can just skim it as a review right before class.
Talk to you all later! Try to stay cool! :) :)
Kerry

Hey ya'll! Anyone else having spring like weather? Today it is only 85 with a heat index of 90....after the last week...well...WHOOOOHOOO get out the turtle necks! I am about to walk out to do some errands but I wanted to give everyone my weather report..cause, well, I just KNOW you were worried about me with all my melting and stuff! LOL

So, Summer wants to know "my" Disney character.....hmm???
ok...I have 2 or 3.... yeah, I know, I know!
First, you know Hyacinth Hippo from Fantasia??? That is me! To a T!!!
If she doesn't count then... of course, you will all guess this one: SnowWhite!
(Actually... Tinkerbell is my proverbial favorite....kinda built just like me (NOT) but sorta gets in trouble by doing "stuff" and yet, really comes thru in the end! Dependable! yet fun! and SnowWhite IS my other favorite maybe because she is so pure and I'm, uh, more like the evil queen! LOL) (My oldest ds just walked by and I asked him...and his reply was "Cruella DeVille"! BRAT! He, um, sorta has my mouth!)

Gotta run...I've got an appointment at noon! Will return to talk about MY bowling skills and MY beach plans! hehehehhe! (((hugs to my girls)))
take care,
meee

Rob, Hyacinth Hippo totally counts...excellent choice. However, I prefer your DS's submission of Cruella DeVille!!!!! :lol: :yes: :rofl: :lol3: :rofl: :yes: :lol: I luv ya, but I think Snow White is a bit of a stretch...Okay great, now I've got Cruella's song in my head, "At first you think Cruella is the devil, after time has worn away the shock, you come to realize you've seen her kind of eyes watching you from underneath a rock!" All day I'll be humming this song...

Kerry, Okay, I am waiting for your submission of the Disney character you most identify with...By the way, I love your idea for DH's birthday weekend. You go girl!!!

I saw my podiatrist today. He diagnosed me with a heel spur and plantar fasciatis (sp?) and on the x-ray he found some leftover damage from my break which could require surgery to prevent another break in the future. However it is elective surgery, so I doubt my insurance would cover it. They would probably prefer I go all out and do major damage first keeping me off my feet for who knows how long. :p The doctor gave me a cortisone shot, HOLY F*CKING **** that hurt like F*CKING ****!!! :fr: :stress: :faint: DAMN!!! He sprayed this freezing stuff on first which I thought would numb me, but feeling that needle (and that was a BIG needle) deep inside my bony heel...YEEOUCH!!! Man, I saw serious stars...

Potty Mouth, sorry your Dr. hurt ya! Did the shot help? Family is squealing for food... gotta exit very quick.... Are ya still humming my song?! :)

:mad: :nono: :dz: :rolleyes: :no: NO, THAT F*CKING SHOT DIDN'T HELP ONE F*CKING BIT!!! :dunno: :stars: :yikes: :sorry: :tired: :censored: OUCH!!! :tantrum: :stress: :fr: :eek: :cry: "Cruella DeVille, Cruella DeVille..." ;)

Hey!
Went and moved all my stuff into the new room today. Boy was that fun fun fun!
Thanks Robyn: I will have Cruella in my head for the rest of the night.
I will have to think about which disney character I can identify with. You know, that gives me a great idea for ice breaker activities when school starts. I always have my kids think of the geometric shape, or math symbol which best represents them. They have to draw a picture of the shape, and tell why. They present that to the class, it's pretty neat. Still thinking.

Happy to report I only drank one soda today. I'm trying to get better....I am drinking unsweetened iced tea.
Got a great compliment from our assistant principal today. She is a health fanatic. She runs five miles every morning.......Blah blah blah. Anyway, she said Omigod what kind of work have you been doing for your legs they look awesome. I said nothing, but thanks. I have always had smallish legs, they are just normally all covered up. Still made me feel good.

Let me give you all a laugh....Ok, It's laugh or cry around here. My son's friend dropped him off at 12:30 last night, I heard him messing with the lock trying to open the front door, so I opened it for him. He was standing in the door with a red face, pants around his ankles and the biggest grin you have ever seen. I said Exactly what is going on with this new look of yours? He said what? I said" Is there some particular reason that you have your pants down around your ankles? He looked down, stepped out of his pants and said I had a run in with some Pepe Lopez, he laughed all the way up the stairs, and fell asleep. I was talking to my brother at the time who said he was sure his daughter was out at the club because she would turn 21 at 12 and could drink legally. I said well obviously mine has been drinking illegally.... Apparently he was trying to fish his keys out of his pockets and his pants fell down, when trying to pull up his pants he fell over, and I just happened to open the door at the right moment.

Talk to you all tomorrow.
Pam

Pam, yes that gave me one heck of a laugh until I remembered DD who in about six years (hopefully not sooner) will begin to be tempted by alcohol, drugs, sex, etc...Yeesh! Thank God we have a very open relationship. Just yesterday she (7 years-old) was asking me questions about sex. Don't ya luv it?! She was more interested in "when" than "how." She has no idea what sex is just that it looks exciting and like something she will want to do. Great. Anyway, I told her that people shouldn't do it until they are at least in college and engaged, but being married is better. I actually told her why...pregnancy, disease... And then I told her, and if you do it before that, your father will kill you! Then she told me, "Well that is why I talk about it with you mommy, not daddy." So, his authoritarian attitude just shuts down communication and in the long run, won't help us when she starts trying risky behaviors. By me answering her questions now, she trusts me knowing I won't go ballistic...even though inside I'm about to explode. I don't know any other way to protect her.

Okay, the foot is more bearable this morning. And guess what? After researching my ailment, it turns out that it most occurs in OBESE WOMEN. SH*T!!! Okay, yet another thing to add to my long list of reasons to lose weight. I wish I knew all the crap that would happen to my body when I gained weight before I put that first chocolate donut in my mouth. Maybe I would have handled my stress differently. Maybe I would have worked harder postpartum to drop the weight faster. Whatever. It is now or never. :p

My brother and sister-in-law are coming over tonite for a BBQ, so I have to shop, clean, and host. I doubt I will be back today.

Robyn, if I don't get a chance to say, "Farewell..." I'm saying it now. Have a spectacular time on vacation!!! I'll miss ya. ;)

Hey ya'll! I'm off to see the ocean...the wonderful ocean of oz... Will be digging my toes down in the sand in Frisco NC for a few days! I will return....they won't let me stay down there forever!

Gin, it was so cool talking to you! :) Summer, I'm going to send you an email from my home email address...it has a photo attached... it is NOT me...but I wanted you to see it anyway! LOL :)

Rest of ya, (((hugs)))
Talk to you sometime .....

take care,
meeee

We are having an amazingly wonderful week of weather here in Michigan. It is/has been in the high 70's low 80's all week. I am in heaven! Too bad I have spent most of it at school. I have been pretty productive though and I will happy for it come August. I finally got out to golf today. It wasn't pretty but it was golf!

Ginny - Did you finally get your cool front? My WI actually was better than expected. I was down 3/4 lb since the last WI. I am still about 8 lbs higher than I was before I hurt my knee but at least I am going in the right direction. I have tried CORE. I just can't do it. For one my full zone doesn't speak English. For another I end up eating TONS of every carb on the list. Core works great for a lot of people. I have two sisters who have done wonderful on it. I, myself need to measure and count points. Lucky for me I am a bit anal so I don't mind doing it.

Mouse - I thought of you when I went into school the other day. I decided I was having a "Mouse Day". First I douldn't get to the mailboxes because the janiters had just waxed and I had some papers in there I needed. Then the computer in my office wouldn't recognize my login so I had to go down the hall everytime I needed something. Then my phone jack didn't work so I couldn't even make calls! Glad to hear the scales are finally moving for you. That helps so much when you are working your tail off.

Robyn - I am glad you got your cool front. I hope you enjoy your beach time.

Kerry - I always gain weight when I am class because I think I retain things better if I eat while listening. You will need to share your good science stuff with me. My students are 10th and 11th graders but they are resource room so it is at a lower level. Enjoy your sister weekend. My last camping trip was with my sisters (all three) it was so much fun!

Summer - Oh no, not homework! My favorite Disney character is Tigger but I only wish I had his energy. I am going to have to give this some major thought. You are making my heal hurt just reading about your cortisone shot! I have wondered if one wouldn't help my knee but maybe I won't ask! My knee was doing so much better but just 4 days of walking around school and it is sore again. That isn't a good sign. Damn cement floors anyway!

Pam - Well I laughed at your story but I am not sure I would find the humor in it if it was my ds. Since my students tell me way more than I want to know, I am aware how bad the drinking problem is at my school. Unfortunately when you live in the country there isn't much else to do! I have decided to stress the don't drink and drive more than the don't drink at all. Hopefully I will have a few more years before I have to really worry about that.

Well I am off to meet some friends for lunch. I have been doing well for three days now, so hopefully my will power will hold out. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Plus my DH is bringing home my all time favorite pizza tonight. There goes my flex points for the week!!!!!

Sue

Afternoon Ladies,
I am free for a few days. I actually got out of my class early today! I was so excited. I came home to have the wind knocked right out of my sails. Today is payday for my district. I had been going to pick up my paycheck for the summer. The last time I went in, I was told that I could not send my dh in for my check anymore. I had to do that two times when I was in class in the earlier part of my summer. I said fine, mail my check the next pay period since I will be in class. Well my dh stays home today so that he could get my check out of the mailbox and guess what? No paycheck. So he calls the school board office and they were like um we mailed them out yesterday. Guess her check got misplaced in the mail and that is not our problem now. You will have to call the Post Office. So I call the post office and ask them how long it takes for a check to be mailed from one town over to the next town. They said that I should have gotten it today. So tomorrow I should get my paycheck. So I am glad that we have some extra money in the bank that I can take with me to go to my sister's tomorrow. My dh thought I was leaving to go to her place late morning or early afternoon. I loved bursting his bubble when I said that I was planning on leaving at 7:30 a.m. so I could make the most of my weekend with her. Thank God I have to met my friend at Curves to workout this afternoon. I can really use a good workout right now to blow off my steam over my friggin' check not getting here on time. This is the perfect reason I didn't sign up for them to mail them to you.
Summer, I will have to spend sometime thinking about my Disney Character. I will ask my ds to help me with it over the weekend. My sdd said I remind her of Tinkerbell, because I am always fluttering around doing a lot of things. Plus she says that Tinkerbell does fun things in the movie and I act goofy at times too. So how was the playdate with snowday girl? Your shot sounds like it was more of a pain than a help. Hope you have a wonderful evening entertaining your brother and sister-in-law.
Robyn, enjoy the beach! Have a wonderful and safe trip. I hope you remembered to pack sunscreen.
Sue, glad that you were able to get into your classroom to do some work. I have my last week of class next week. Than I plan on going in and doing some work in my room sometime between the second and third weeks in August. Congrats on the 3/4 pound loss. I have talked to several teachers who said the same thing about the weight gain while taking classes. I am just going to roll with the punches and start working harder to take off the weight when I am done with class next week. I figure that is the best plan to have or otherwise I will just beat myself up over it.
Pam, your story cracked me up. Thank you for that bit of humor. You just relieved some of my stress level over my check issue. You are a blessing!
Ginny, here is a good one for you. My dh told me the other day that he wants to go away with me for the weekend before school starts without the kids. I said okay where do you want to go? He said that I could pick it. So I thought let's go to Cincinnati,Ohio. That way we could go on the riverboat just over the line in Indiana and do a little gambling. He was like that is great! I really love that idea. I wonder if the Reds have a ball game in town that Saturday night. I wanted to scream. I just grinned at him and said I really don't know honey! I really didn't want to go to a Reds game to spend time with you. Remember this weekend is about doing fun things that we really didn't do this summer. He was a little bummed but I don't care. I wonder if your dh and my dh are related somehow. LOL
Mouse how are things going with you? Did you find out what you are teaching yet?
Well ladies, I better go and get changed. I told my friend that I would met her at 4:15. It takes me about 10 to 15 minutes to get to the gym, depending on traffic. Talk to you all later.
Kerry

Ok, so my idea of a fun weekend is NOT going to a baseball game........yup Kerry, sometimes I think we have married the same man. Rob-l great chatting with you.....have a great time. Hope you brought your pixie dust with you!:) Sue- good for you getting some golf in. Ok, so it was not pretty.....Tiger must have bad days too, right? And you had fun. The most important thing. Pam- yup, I loved the pants story. Ah the joys of raising a son......and a teenaged (or slightly older one) at that.
Summer-gee, you've been in the Navy????? hehehe- sorry the shot hurt so bad. I had to get them for about 6 months to reduce the swelling of a heel spur. Yup they hurt like **** but after each shot I got a wee bit better.
Been busy with a lot of nothing. WIsh I could get some quiet time in......and (oh please forgive me!) I am getting a bit battle weary from kid entertainment. But that is life and it is great having the gang around a lot. (of course the house is trashed all the time!). Did not get to WW yesterday.....got a 5:45 calll from work....and the run she put me on I thought was a normal BOCES run with a 9:15 return, ends up we went to Yonkers (1 hr drive) and did not get back until 10:30. What an expense......a driver and a monitor in a suburban to take one student to school. Unreal. Oh well, I got paid. So skipped WW.
Gotta go.......see ya and have a great weekend!
Ginny

Evening all.
Well... I definitely pulled something. Its not too bad if I sit up straight. It is getting better... I can blow my nose again without wanting to curse (though Summer has taught me some new words to use! :) Thanks, Summer!). Hopefully it'll be all better by Monday, since I have to move the lane lines for class, and put them back. The Monday instructor is the one that made the comments about "at least you're doing something" when I couldn't do her water aerobics class anymore (she yells at you and points you out if you don't do EXACTLY what she says, and she hates anybody being suspended. I can suspend very easily, and get a good workout that way, but the humilation from her wasn't worth it). I have no idea why some plastic disks and wire are so bloody heavy!! They aren't that heavy completely out of the pool, or if I'm in the pool... but if I'm on the deck, and they are in the water, its nearly impossible. Especially if they get tangled up after they're moved... or the hooks fall to the bottom of the pool. Then you have to get in, which means that everybody else has to get out of the pool since there is only one lifeguard.
I am officially catless for a month. Imp went to my mom's this afternoon. She met me in York... I had to have her with me to get something notarized, then we took turns cat sitting so we could each hit the farmer's market. I was thrilled to discover that one of the best bakeries at the market (Mennonite owned... they used to have a restaurant near my mom's house) has started making sugar-free pies. My mom says she'll pick one up for the Jewish holidays, because my grandmother was wracking her brains trying to figure out what I could have for dessert while there. I also got my car's oil changed and all the stuff checked out so that I can drive to Chicago without worrying.
My endocrinologist called me today (well, yesterday and I called her back)... she's taken away my bread again. She thinks its a bad move, so I'm only allowed to have a high-fiber cereal with milk. Guess I'll be eating a lot of the new Weight Watchers high-fiber cereal, since its the only one that has any taste. She did say I could have more fruit... not to go overboard, and still no oranges or melon, but its not all berries. I celebrated by buying a homegrown peach at the market. ;)
And I did find out where I'm teaching... at the high school that I went to for the interview the last time I was down in Virginia. I'm not real happy about it, because it was pretty clear that the principal didn't want me. I think he got stuck with me because I have a letter of intent, and he had an open position. I really just want to be somewhere that wants ME for what I can do for the kids. And its not like he'll have to go out of his way to make it hard on me: all he has to do is not let me leave early for graduate classes (which means I'll have to drop the 4:30 one, and double the time it takes to get the 30 credits I need!), and not allow me to make up time for the Jewish holidays, but instead make me take it as unpaid leave or out of my sick leave (which is the written policy). And he won't be out of line at all, not anywhere close to what my last place did. I guess we'll see what happens.
I'm sure I've missed bunches of stuff... Sorry about that.

:mouse: