Thanks Mouse. Now I get it. Sorry about the cost of your meds. I nearly ripped out my pharmacist's throat when they charged me $75 for a medication only to find out that without insurance, I'd be paying $500...so I let go of his adam's apple... Between the GREED of pharmaceutical companies, credit card companies, oil companies, and the prez and v. prez of the US, I want to puke!

Oooooh look up there! My signature appeared! Whoopie!

Evening Everyone,
Sounds like everyone had one of those Fridays. My Friday truly sucked. I had hoped that it would be a great day. That all fell to the down the drain when the one sub TA walked in my room to say that she was here to work with my wheelchair bound student. Then the PT showed up 1 1/2 hours late. Wanted to put my student in his gait trainer but wouldn't be able to stay and help take him out. Thank God my other TA came in at that time and said that she would help get him out. I could have just seen me trying to get him out of the gait trainer (Standing walker type thing) with my arm and shoulder problem. Then at recess duty, I took two kids in the office for throwing rocks at each other, only to come outside for my Down Sydrome boy to take off to the bathroom and camp for the remaining 15 minutes of duty. So I was in the boys bathroom all that time. Came back to my room to let the boys watch a movie for the rest of the afternoon so I could put grades on my computer. Only to have to deal with one behavior problem after another. 2:45 finally rolled around. I left to come home only to get a phone call from the company that I have my van loan through saying that I didn't send in my payment for this month yet. I told them that I wrote the check on the 29th of Dec. Mailed it on the 30th of Dec. So they should have gotten by now. Told me that I had to do all this friggin' paperwork just to prove that I had paid the payment. Called my bank and asked them if the check had been cashed. They said that it had been and it was posted to my account on Jan.5th. So I called the car loan company back, read them the riot act and told them to stop calling me and harrassing me about paying my loan. The guy said oh maam we got your check on Jan.3th I don't know why it wasn't posted on your account. It would be so much easier if you just let us electronic take it from your account and we won't have this problem. I explained to them that I prefer to pay it by check because that way I know that I have the money in my account and then I don't have to pay a lot of friggin' service fees. He tried blaming it all on the USPS. I told him that his company better learn how to keep their books better and to stop calling and harassing me. It felt so good to tell him off and hang up! Then I took my dsd to Curves to workout. We hurry home so her mom could pick her and her brothers up. Only her mom decided to work late last night until 7 instead of 6. She never called to tell us or anything. My dh and I had plans to go out to dinner and do something last night. So that was the last straw yesterday. I called in an order for Chinese (off their diet menu) and left to get that before the fat witch showed up. Came home to an empty house, eat my dinner and worked on putting more grades on my computer. Then I took me a nice long nap. My dh came home and we went to get movies from the movie store, only to find out that we had late fees. Paid those but it pisses me off that we got charged them for dropping them in the drop off box the night they were due. So I was very happy to see that Friday the 13th came to close. Today, I finished putting the grades on my computer, did some laundry, cleaned up my dining room (table I just threw stuff on), went to calling hours for our little neighbor boy. He was only two, he had a rare blood disease. His dad told us that he had finally beaten the disease, but had caught a virus and because his immune system was still so weak from his tranfusions that is what killed him. That if he would have caught the virus next week, his immune system would have been better and able to withstand it. Finally went out to dinner with my dh today and than went grocery shopping. So now we are waiting on our friends to call and tell us where we are going tonight. Then only that sucks about that is I can't drink anything alcholic since I am taking 800mg of iberounphen. So that is how my weekend has been going. I hope it gets better.
Mouse, so what was Berumuda Day? Hope you enjoyed your trip to Balitmore this afternoon!
Summer congrats on the 5 pound weight loss! You go girl!! Keep up the great work! You can do it!!
Ginny glad to have you back! We missed you. Did you go to WW this week? If so how did it go?
Pam enjoy your trip to Va. Beach this weekend. You deserve it! Sounds like you had a really tough week this past week.
Michelle congrats on your weight loss and the 5 miles walked so far! Welcome back. We sure have missed you. Hope all is well with you. Enjoying your long weekend!
Zelma, thanks for sharing your great weight-loss journey. It sure was inspiring and just what I needed to hear, since I was starting to get a little depressed about my weight being in a stalled out pattern. Plus with my bursistis issue and not really being able to do my full workout at Curves. Hope you are enjoying your last few weeks of freedom before the school bell rings for you!
Robyn, where are you? Hope the excerise class didn't injury you that you are not able to check in with us and let us know that you are still alive! How did you do at WW this morning? I know that you were looking forward to your wi.
Well I better stop babbling and go check my email. Talk to you all later.
Have a wonderful Saturday evening.
Kerry

Evening, all, again.
Wow, Kerry, are you sure you didn't join me? Your day sounds like one I would have!
Summer: Yea, but I also know that medical research for new drugs is very expensive. I have some sympathy: scientists don't come cheap, and its very hard to bring a new drug to market. I'm not sure that the prices are outrageous given the cost behind each drug.... and the risks inherent in bringin a drug out. You never know when an FDA-approved drug will cause issues and you wind up being sued silly. I mean really... there are ads all over the TV constantly: Zyprexa, Vioxx, FenPhen, etc, etc, etc. Also, once the patent on a drug expires (and I get the impression that they aren't as long as other brand-name items?), the company then loses money because health insurance won't pay for the drug. My drug is really new, and there isn't a generic for it yet.
I weighed myself at the gym tonight in all my clothes... and discovered that I lost about 5 pounds. It is probably 5 pounds of muscle becuase I haven't been lifting weights, but... I was wearing a sweatshirt, turtleneck, pants, and socks. That's at least a couple of pounds of clothing!
Then I got my swim in, and taught parent-child... only to have my 6 month old student puke on me in the pool. :sigh: I had to clean up the pool before I could clean myself up.

Evening Again All:
Well what a boring evening for us. Our friends must have decided not to go out. Because we never heard from them. So my dh and I went down to the local Pizza Pub and sat in there for a couple hours. I was a good girl and had a chef salad with no dressing and diet coke and then water. When we first got there one of my co-workers was in there. She is on an opposing team for our Biggest Loser Contest and she was trying to get me to eat a pizza and have some beer. But I told her no thanks I want to win. I said i hope you enjoyed your pizza and beer. She begged me not to tell her team mates on Tuesday that she eat pizza. I was really looking forward to going out tonight too! Sigh
Mouse, congrats on the weight loss! Did you enjoy your swim tonight. Sorry to hear that you got puked on by the six month old child. So what are your big plans for your day off on Monday? I am going to sleep in, go workout with my dsd and then help her look for a science fair project to do. We stopped at the library last night and got about 6 books to look through. I told her that I would supply the books and help her find a project to do. But other than that I couldn't help her work on it. Since I have to work late 4 nights a week, do 2 alternate assessments between now and March 3rd. Plus my IEP's meetings are on April 6th. So I will be busy over the next couple of months. I figure that her mom can step up to the plate and help her for a change. But knowing my dsd she will just work on the project here at our house, so her dad can help her. Maybe if we happen to get a few more snow days I might be able to help her on those days. Plus I plan on finishing a book I started last week.
Well I think I am going to go read for a few minutes and then head off to bed. Talk to you all tomorrow.
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Take care,
Kerry

Good morning!

Mouse- I hope there is a way to get that medication less expensive for you. A lot of times doctors can give out gobs of samples, especially if it is a new med that the pharmaceutical co is attempting to launch. I know it is horrible...the prices are insane......but thanks for the sympathy for the pharmaceutical industry. I was employed in it for 20 years- Dh is still there and it is pure **** working for one. It does for the most part explain the Atilla moods here. Won't bore you with the details, but the research is SO expensive. And our new global economy makes it insane. WOnt bore you with the details....... Congrats on your loss.... glad you got that swim in.

Kerry- congrats on being a "good girl" and getting the salad. Hope you were able to salvage the evening. Sure stinks when you want to get out and friends stand you up.

Summer- any of us would be screaming over 5 #! That is wonderful!
Congrats! I am SO happy for you. Who would'nt be screaming! Feel better too- hope TOM passes quickly.

Hmmmm....as this week was so busy, I forgot to mention my WI. I was up .8- and considering that TOM was this week I am hardly upset. My eating was poor last week. Took the kids to see Narnia last nite. Dh wanted to watch football, and said he would not like that kind of movie. (it was excellent, I think he would have really liked it). Anyway, the Weather Channel goofed- it was supposed to start snowing after midnight- and when we got out of the 2+hour movie 3 inches had already fallen and it was almost blizzard like. What a fun drive home.........kids ranked all over my bus driving skills ("aw, crap, Mom has her 4ways on......all she needs is her crossing gate and reds and we will really be seen") it was an interesting trip home, but thank God uneventful.

Guess I'd better go see what Dd's are up to...the older one is in a crabby mood today. See ya!
Ginny

Hello.
Sorry to be AWOL. Friday, 6 seconds after I return from taking the cherubs to the buses, my cell phone rings... DH reporting that I need to hurry home as our friends had called and invited us to their house for a "family dinner"... Their oldest 2 were heading back to college and they ask for us to come! Kind of sweet... and a great surprise...and a fun time that didn't end until after 2 a.m.! Woke up on Saturday morning after 9, I'd forgotten to set the alarm for WW. The weather was horrid. Temperatures falling, wind blowing, rain..... WW stays open until noon. But, I had no desire to drive over a bridge in that weather nor the rest of the trip in "city" traffic. So, nope, didn't make it to WW. For the rest of Saturday, I piddled around the house, doing laundry, breaking up the 2Princes' disagreements, trying to talk to DH about going to the beach, and finally, I gave up and took a nap. A LONGGGGGGG (too long!) nap! ::sigh:: WHATEVER!

It was 68 on Friday with tornado watches off and on and a horrible thunder storm Friday night. By Saturday night it was something like 24, wind chill much lower than that as it was blowing like crazy AND it snowed. For hours! No huge accumulations or anything but STILL! Rather odd!

So. Dh and the boys have gone with the other testosterone filled folk to Hatteras. They have some "HoneyDo"s to get done around the beach house as well as the promise of a great timed outgoing tide on Monday morning! They will do their work around the house today/tonight and they will fish tomorrow! They will return on Monday evening!...and I am here alone. Alone! Alone! Alone! With the house completely and totally destroyed! Since I napped yesterday... and now all my hired help has run for the beach....sigh! I've got it to do on my own! But hey, I'm ALONE!
This doesn't happen often! Whooohooo!

Now about that Southern holiday that Mousie was asking about.... copied right from the Wikepedia...
Lee-Jackson-King Day was a holiday celebrated in the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1984 to 2000.
Robert E. Lee's birthday (January 19,1807) has been celebrated as a Virginia holiday since 1889. In 1904, the legislature added the birthday of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21,1824) to the holiday, and Lee-Jackson Day was born.
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan approved an Act of Congress declaring January 19 to be a national holiday in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Since 1978, Virginia had celebrated King's birthday in conjunction with New Year's Day. To comply with the federal decree, the Virginia legislature simply combined King's celebration with the existing Lee-Jackson holiday.
The incongruous nature of the holiday, which simultaneously celebrated the lives of Confederate generals and a civil rights icon, did not escape the notice of Virginia lawmakers. In 2000, Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore proposed splitting Lee-Jackson-King Day into two separate holidays, with Lee-Jackson day being celebrated the Friday before what would become Martin Luther King Day. The measure was approved and the two holidays are now celebrated separately.

Hope that answers the question.... and REALLY, not everyone owns a Confederate flag here in VA! BUT there is a LOT of history around these parts! AND nope, we didn't get Lee-Jackson day off from school! (HOW unfair! as all state gov. workers did!) I will also confess, my 1st graders were taught about MLK! I did NOT teach anything about the other two fellas!

Sorry that everyone has been having icky Fridays and Saturdays....

Congratulations on your 5 pound loss, Summer. My sister had the same virus that you did and reached her 10% at her WI! She also raised a lot of eyebrows and was asked the secret of her success during the meeting! She says she got a ton of groans when she told of her Weight Loss plan for last week!
Mouse, I am feel your pain regarding the price of prescription drugs... even with insurance.... Gin, do they give you a discount on yours? Kerry, don't you hate book keeping errors on THEIR part? ...and the harrassing calls?! Hope your weekend gets better!


Hello to everyone else...phone ringing...gotta run!

take care,
meee

Afternoon, everybody.
I got up this morning and went out early for my swim. I stopped at a buffet place to get lunch/dinner to bring home... I like going because I can get small amounts of lots of different vegetables, and protein. They also have tiny cookies and brownies, so I can get a little treat too.
I was going to go to the library, but I planned badly: it doesn't open till noon, and I was done by 11:30. I said I'd go out later, but I'm FREEZING, and its SOOOO windy, I'm not really psyched by the idea of going back outside where it is a lot colder than under my 3 quilts, denim duvet and thermal blanket... Its insane that I'm so cold all the time!
Kerry: Glad you got out a little bit and enjoyed your salad.
Ginny: It snowed last night in Baltimore, too, when I was leaving swimming lessons. I had to drive back home in it, which wasn't much fun. It stopped somewhere south of Columbia, but nothing ever stuck to the roads.
Robyn: Thanks for the lesson. I actually did go look it up... I'm amazed that I missed that my first time in Virginia or anything, because my mom lived here and I spent my summers in Richmond (grandmother lived there, and my aunt and uncle) till I was like 12. We had the very same strange weather. The thunderstorm woke me up briefly Saturday morning because it was SO LOUD, and SO STRONG! It sounded like somebody was bombing the city or like a plane had crashed at the airport nearby. I figured out what it was after I saw the lightining. And then, I mentioned, it did snow last night. I saw signs of snow in other parts on people's cars at the gym this morning.

The gym was PACKED this morning... as packed as it is on a evening when I go there. I mean, it is a 24 hour gym, but geez!!!! The pool usually isn't too bad, but I hate sharing lanes. The lanes just aren't wide enough unless both of you are doing a crawl/freestyle. I wore an elastic ankle support today, and it made a lot of difference... I hate wearing it, but I think I mentioned that my doctor read me the riot act on Friday for not taking better care of myself in that deparmtent.
Grrrr!!!! I actually did go back out to the library: only to find that the book they were holding for me was no longer there... it was sent back. And, then, I went to the grocery store and was all excited because this particular store has my sugar-free chocolate milk (that is usually my evening treat!), but I also noticed that they had the low-carb flatbread I found at a local Wegmans. Wegmans is expensive, IMO, and I try to only shop there if I there is something unusual that I want... But, I'd seen it there last time I was over there. It was $4.99 a pack there, with 4 large slices. Now, for me, the large pieces make 2 sandwiches. Anyway, I was so excited because the store near the library had the same bread... for $2.99!!!! AND, it was on sale this week for $1.99!!!!!! I bought all of the original version they had---all 3 packs. The only other flavor they had was sundried tomato, and honey wheat. And I didn't think to LOOK at the nutrional label. The package was nearly identical... There was also a promotional kid's sized flat bread attached for free. So, I get it home and I'm putting two packs in the freezer... and look at the kid's sized one. I'd had my mouth all set for a peanut butter and no-sugar fruit butter sandwich! And then I saw the label! These weren't the low carb ones! Oh well, I still have the peanut butter... and a friend of my mom's always gives me jars of no-sugar fruit butter from a local produce market in Elizabethtown, PA. That stuff is SOOOOO awesome! Its made on-site, and they close over the winter because they don't have fresh product (so I'm stuck with the one jar I have left of pumpkin till April or so). The proceeds support an assisted living and nursing home run by the Masons; the home also has a small program for orphaned or children needing foster care. They also sell the fruit during season.

Hey!
Well, hope everyone is getting some much needed rest. I am crabby, cranky and ready to kill. Tom has arrived and I seriously feel bipolar. Let me just mention.....Do not, I repeat do not shop for clothes during this time period. It makes me quite upset and disgusted. Went to Virginia Beach. Had a good time. Met my hubby at his brother's house at about 10 last night after spending the day with my family and hung out. Everyone was singing on the Karoke machine. I LOVE to sing, and do it non stop here. However, can't manage to do it in front of people. I mean, I have decided I must have serious issues. Well, everyone kept telling me it was my turn to sing, and I wouldn't and finally I said give me the microphone because it was nonstop for two hours. At that point, I just could hardly sing. My heart was beating, and my face was all red, and you'd think I was about to face a firing squad. I don't know what happened to me. I need to work on that. I have a problem speaking in public, unless it's my students. Adults, omigod I HATE IT! I NEED HELP. This may sound really stupid to you all, but I did not realize that I had this problem until last night. I used to sing at banquets and stuff when I was in high school, honors chorus, all city. I wanted to be on star search. Weird......I think I have some major esteem issues. Sorry to unload about something so ridiculous. But everyone was getting so pissed at me. I just seriously couldn't do it.

Other than that stupidity. I think it was an ok weekend. PLEASE GIVE ME SOME BUTT KICKING INSPIRATION TO LOSE TEN POUNDS AND FAST. I'M FALLING INTO MY SAME OLD PATTERNS AGAIN..

Hey to everyone....Sorry not to get personal, but I have a terrible headache. So, talk to you later.


SUMMER: FIVE POUNDS IS AWESOME GIRL.....YOU KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK...

Pam

May be you needed more alcohol, Pam! Just kidding! So...did you sing? If so, what? Just wondering and trying to avoid cleaning the kitchen floor!
meeee home alone and not wanting to do a darn thing!

Last week, I brought my belly dancing tapes to school to show someone. A few girls from my grade 11 history class saw them on my desk and asked if they could see them. I told them to come back at lunch time and we could watch one. They came back....15 of them and we did the workout at lunch time. They LOVED it! We are planning to do this twice a week! I also just ordered a hula video! Hope that one is just as fun!

Well, Susie, guess you don't have a problem like Pam's, huh?! You are very brave to exercise with 11th graders.... especially doing belly dancing! Of course, I'm a 1st grade teacher... so anyone over the age of 8 makes me nervous!

So, I'm home ALONE.... and I've managed to clean the kitchen. I never did get to the bathroom last night.... but ...here I go as soon as I log off!

Go read the thread in Support that is titled :Atten:LovesBassets something like that! WOW! What powerful words are in that thread!

type to you later
take care, meeee

Hey!
Hope everyone is having a relaxing day.....Me? Just finished my report card grades.... Glad that's over. We have a required workday tomorrow. So, maybe I can get some filing done....

Robyn: Did I forget to mention....you're a smartass? By the way, already have my dress....But, thanks anyway....

I somehow, inspite of TOM managed to lose two pounds!!!!!!!!!YEAH YEAH YIPEEEEEEEE! Maybe I am headed back in the right direction. I am now only 1/2 a pound away from where I was before Christmas....

Maybe I'll get inspired like Robyn and clean something...Or not....


Later.....
Pam

Pam- there are a lot of things that I would do in front of 57 kids on the bus but NEVER do in front of adults. Most likely, the same self esteem issues that you face singing in front of adults are also a mental hurdle regarding your weight loss. Can't go there...I do not know your personal issues, but I know for me there is a fear of rejection thing going. But then, I also at times am able to look at a situation and know that while I am not the "best" anything, I can function just as well as anyone else, and if someone does not like that, too darned bad. Think some of that mentality came with passing the wonderous age of 40........... Hey, congrats on the 2# loss! And on getting those report cards done.

Robyn- the whole house alone!? Wow...........me, I would panic and start a million things and probably get none done......actually I am overcoming that.
Don't sweat the WW meeting. Crummy weather is a good enough reason not to go, and because there are so many new members (free registration) the last meeting was good, but bogged down with newbies a bit. Keep your focus, and get there next week. Cpngrats on the clean kitchen!! Bet that feels good.

Mouse- sorry the gym was so packed. Glad that you got out anyway. And congrats on finding your bread cheaper......

Ok, where do I begin. First of all, I am not all that comfortable, but I have s-q-u-e-e-z-e-d my rotund hyde into an old pair of size 10 jeans. My most comfy pair of 12's is now being relinquished to DOT week... (bus cleaning for inspection, a 4-5 hour grueling process that is horrifcally grungy) because they have really worn at the knees and along the inseam. SO now I have to replace them, and refuse to buy another pair of 12's. Yup, I am nuts.
And we adopted (officially, that is) cat #3 today. Peeping Tom (name is self explanatory, I think) has been hanging out at our house for 3-4 months. We started feeding him about 6 weeks ago.......and with this snow storm and the cold I took him to the vet this am. Thankfully, all his tests (worms, leukemia etc...) came back negative and he can now join the insane asylum in my house. He acts as though he has lived here all his life (estimated 6-8 yrs). What an affectionate cat. Hope he fits in well with my other brats. Speaking of the other brats, somehow a starling found its way in my house....and over the course of the weekend we kept finding body parts of it.
First a wing, then the body, then the head and finally the other wing. Not sure how it got inside, my other cats do not go out, and Tom has only been in the garage (for the most part).

I have babbled enough......better go fold some wash.....yup, Robyn, I fold my wash......sometimes!
Ginny

Hi Susie! Me being a bear of little brain, forgot to address you before. (brain dead mother syndrome kicking in, I am afraid). Glad you are enjoying those dancing tapes. Anything that gets a workout in is fine in my book! I guess you must have joined us while my computer was down and I missed your first post......welcome!
Ginny