Hi Gang!

I've just spent the most wonderful weekend that I have had in a long, long time. I splurged on a hotel room by the water in San Diego for my dd and I. My dgd was in a cheerleading competition there, and her squad (and dozens of other squads) were also staying in the Hotel. However, they were "housed" on another part of the Hotel. We got there on Friday afternoon, and spent the first two hours just sitting in the room (it was cloudy) drinking wine, eating cheese and crackers, and talking. One of the things that she continually said was, "Mom, it is so great to be with you alone for a 'girl's' weekend." Golly, that warmed my heart so!! Then, we went to dinner at a fancy restaurant in the hotel, came back when dgd and her friends descended on us for a couple of hours. We watched a movie, and went to bed. Got up early yesterday and went over to Sea World where the competition was. It was a grueling 8 hours in an overheated pavilion filled with dozens of cheerleading squads, their friends and relatives. To say that it was loud is just a ridiculous understatement. But, my dd stayed right with me and made sure that I was as comfortable as possible. When she wanted to see dgd, she took me with her and included me in everything! Oh you guys! I am feeling so blessed ~ I mean, overflowing, filled up and just so held and loved! Last night we dressed in sweats, went out to fill the car with gas and found a little hole in the wall Mexican take-out and bought dinner, took it back to the fancy hotel and ate in our room. Watched another movie, listened to dgd and her friends' dramas (nothing like a 14 yo girl!), and went to sleep. Then, up this morning to check out and have bkfst, and make it back to her house (after dropping me off) before the buses made it back.

That's the itinerary. The deeper and most satisfying part was that we got to talk and talk and talk. Sooooooooooo good. I learned things about her that I have been wanting to know. She learned things about me that she didn't know. I was so impressed with her ability to grow from her experiences recently. She is really a very, very special woman. She DOES know her tendency to show me the "drama" part of herself. And, she admitted it to me. God bless her! She actually paid for part of the weekend! Kind of like you, Donna, I was so danged impressed! She continued to affirm how good it was to be with me and have the time to talk about important things.

I learned that the reason that I don't hear from her very often is that she is just too busy. Three kids, single Mom, working in a high profile job (that is ending!), and all the myriad things that go with that keep her pretty busy. And, she is bone tired. I do understand that. I've been there!!

What a special person she is. Wow!

Good to hear about all of you. I'm not commenting this time, but will soon. I promise. I'm sort of floating on the important and good feelings.

On the home front. Dh learned on Friday that he is going to have to have back surgery quite soon. The Neurosurgeon showed us the MRI and his back is just a mess. He has bulging, and burst, and slipped discs from L2-L5. Looking at it there is no wonder that he has been in so much pain and has had his walking stopped because he leans so dramatically to the right because of the pain. The surgery will take 3-4 hours and he will be in the hospital a week, then rehab at home for several months. A year and a half before he is back to "normal." We are both very concerned and pretty scared too. They will coordinate it all with the Hematologist who will be in the operating room to monitor his blood. (He's a hemophiliac) So, we are doing what we can to make our home handicapped accessible. There isn't much to do to tell the truth. All doorways and halls are already wide enough for a wheelchair. Though I doubt he will be in one. They will not let him go home until he can manuver on his own. But, I am researching all the ins and outs. I had the Dr. explain the exact surgery that he is doing, complete with medical terms. So, here we go.

I'll keep you up to date. And, about my eating.............well............I can say this, my body image is better.

Peace, Peg

Peg, How wonderful to hear positive things about the weekend with your daughter. I know it was a good thing for both of you. I'm so sorry to hear that Bob's back is in such awful shape. How is he going to manage the stairs of the apartment building? I know that anytime he has surgery or even a small wound it is scary. At least you are in a great locale for good doctors.

This turned out to be a pretty busy weekend for us. We actually planned to go to the movie to see "No Country for Old Men" both Saturday and Sunday. Lots of things including a work in hair appointment kept us from going on Saturday. Today DS called and asked us to come baby-sit for a while. DGD had been up all night and was whinny and clingy. They were both worn down and needed someone else to help tag team for a while. DDIL and I discussed the possibility that she might be wheat intolerant. That could certainly explain a lot of her problems including the fact that she is so tiny (still under 20 pounds at 16 months). I certainly hope that is not the case. Raising a child on a gluten free diet isn't a pleasant thought.

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Judy
highest = 180, goal = 138-140
Every single time I put food in my mouth, it matters. No more Fooling myself!

Judy: My middle daughter was gluten intolerant until she hit puberty. With the advent of health food stores, and the "allergies" field, it won't be so hard. Just difficult in school. But, even that has become easier as the schools have realized that there are such things as food allergies. I had to worry much more about what other people gave her than what I gave her.

Peace, Peg

Couldn't sleep so got up and straightened the house then thought I'd pop in. Snow is on the ground but no problem, going to play at the gym this week and work up a sweat without the suns help. Monday and Tuesday I don't have to rush then can come home to shower since I'll be kid free from 10:10 (bus comes for Charlie) until 3pm (pick up Jay/then Charlie from school)! Going to be so wonderful to have mommy time.
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Alida - Wow that is a neat picture! Really unique, which I love. Thanks for sharing it with me. I've never seen one before.
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Peg - I loved listening to you talk about your dd. / I'm surprised your DH can move! I'm so sorry your DH has to go through this. I'm glad you'll keep us posted.
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Judy - Boy did I learn something about gluten! Gluten Free - Hannaford Supermarkets I can't believe how many foods contain it! I really hope this isn't the case for your dgd. Hopefully this is something like Pegs daughter and she can out grow.

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Monday morning...counting down!

Peg, what a delightful report from your weekend. You more than deserved to have that rewarding experience. Of course, it's easy to believe that your dd is wonderful--considering her mom. It's good that you got more than a glimpse.

Judy, we DID see "No Country" on Friday. It's a long, extremely violent movie with no happy ending. Not exactly escapist stuff. If you didn't get a chance to see it, you probably came out ahead. My niece-in-law is working on a business plan to open a gluten-free bakery. Hope she gets that up and going real soon! My friend is trying to go gluten-free (which works well with low-carb.) But it's easier for grown-ups to exercise the discipline than for kids in an ocean of pizza and burgers and "artisan" breads.

My uncle, who has been living in an Alzheimers unit at the OFH, has been hospitalized. I think Hospice is the next step. My sister and I took our dad to see his brother yesterday, and it was pretty sad. My dad is the oldest sibling, and still the healthiest (relatively speaking). My aunt is at wit's end. Those end-of-life decisions are so hard. This aunt is my mother's sister (sisters married brothers), and she was there with her other sister, whose husband is also living in Alzheimers care. All this is a fairly grim confrontation with the possible future. And all I've got to say is--don't miss enjoying a minute of NOW!

This going to be a busy week! I'm feeling much more relaxed now with my trombone practice--envisioning a time when I can actually play music on the thing. Lenten studies at church. A dinner party on Saturday--yikes! When am I gonna shop?? It's all good. I can probably sneak out of "work" since...well, who cares?

Everybody count your blessings. Take care of you.

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

Morning ladies. Another gorgeous day here. I did my check around the yard yesterday and found a few lilies close to the house peeking through....way, way too early. If we get another frost which is likely, I'll lose them. Maybe it's going to be a really early spring instead.

Peg: Of course your dd is wonderful....look who raised her! I'm still glowing after my great day with my dd so I know how you feel. Life is good!!

I'm amazed that your dh got around with his back in that bad shape. My dfil had 2 discs that had collapsed and he just sat in the chair beside the fireplace. He was in constant pain and wore pain patches every day. I'm so glad that your dh is getting his fixed...they refused to do my dfil due to his heart problems.

Barb: Go ahead and sneak out. I do it all the time. Sometimes I wish I would get fired...like that's going to happen. lol Only 3 more Mondays?

Heather: Nice that you get some "me" time. That's what I was trying to get all day yesterday. I wanted to scrapbook, but never did find the time. Always something else that needs to be done.

Judy: Under 20 lbs? Wow, that sure is tiny! Isn't the doctor concerned? I sure would be. But, you did get to spend some time with Miss O...that would be nice.

Looks like my dmil will get the reverse mortgage that she needs to pay off the loan that dfil had taken out. She'll have to kick in $16,000 to doit. I'm still pushing for them to look into bankruptcy for the credit cards. I mean, she's 77 years old...there is no way in heJJ that she'll ever pay off $42,000 in credit cards. No one seems to want to listen to me though. Instead they are thinking about having us co-sign for a loan so she can pay them off. I refuse! It definitely won't be paid off when she passes away and then we're stuck with the payment. We'll see what happens.

Our mechanic here is giving my explorer and oil change today. He just showed up and says I need new brakes too....yipes...always something.

Back to work. Have a good day.

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Donna
238.5/168.2/150
I will see my goal weight again!

Nothing terribly new, dear ones. Still basking in the warmth of the weekend.

We leave in an hour or so to drive out to Palm Desert to have dinner with my dh's dd for her birthday. We are going to a Scottish celebration of some kind after dinner. I hope its not too much walking for dh. His dd is a little clueless when it comes to that.

I'll be back tomorrow.

Peace, Peg

Oh, by the way, remember when I said last Christmas that we hadn't had even an inch of rain in that year? Well, as of this morning we have now had 17 inches of rain. That's almost a record for our area. I mean, we are in the desert, for pete's sake!

My name is Susie and I used to post in the vets forum in another life.

I'm really sorry to go MIA, so much has been happening. I've been here following along with each of you. Please forgive me for yet another reprint of the post in my journal.

to everybody.

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Ozzie's Place

hi guys,
fly by for me again as well. I finally wrestled with the last of the sanding and got to actually PAINT the shutters today. Being relatively new at DIY, I learned today that with spray paint, less is more! <snort> But it takes more paint to be less...huh? LOL! I was trying so hard not to have any runs, drips or errors, that I think alot of the paint ended up in the atmosphere instead of on my shutters, so DH had to make a run to Lowe's to get me one more can. Anyhoo...it's done and they are back where they belong. (over the kitchen sink, Alida.)

Peg and Donna...Yay for you two! Glad you guys had such wonderful weekends! When our daughters *play nice* they are such a joy, eh?

SistaSue, I have thought almost from the *git-go* that DH and I might have had a different bug; now with your DH sick, you are definitely giving me fodder for my theory! LOL! Oh, I SOOOOO hope you don't get yet another URI of another variety. Our news casts have had stories several nights in a row about how our ERs and hospitals are running full to the brim with sick folks with the flu and pneumonias.

Judy...wow, little O is only 20 lbs? Does she have many of the gluten intolerant symptoms? Getting allergy tested might behoove her, for sure.

Bert...glad to hear from you, as always.

Heather..busy, as always

Barb, ditto! When you retire, you'll wonder how you ever had time to work...LOL! That's what I've wonder a couple of times myself.

Bren, MK...big waves to you both!

OK...gotta scoot. I'll try and get a pic of the shutters and new valance in the next couple of days. Tomorrow, I will most probably start in on detailing out my kitchen; washing all the cabinets with Murphy's oil soap, then applying a new coat of Scott's liquid gold; cleaning out some cabinets and re-arranging some things. Then, I think I will probably try to do a room each day(in detail...washing the woodwork, deep cleaning, washing the light fixtures, etc). I need to call and schedule an appt with the carpet cleaning guys, and also a fellow who does dry wall work/texturing. I would like to have the walls that currently have wall paper to match the *orange peel* texture of the rest of the walls in the LR, entry way and kitchen and dining room. I'm getting pretty geared up to start the kitchen and entry wall paper removal(after my bff visits).

Everyone be well!
(((hugs)))
s

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Shelley
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Visit Kassie's Korner



Life deserves a treat now and again, but life also deserves being healthy[with required disipline] to make it worth living!

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That's my line.

Yes, at 16 months little O is just under 20 pounds. She can still easily wear many 12 mo size clothes, but, is starting to wear a few 18 mo things. We have to roll the legs up on almost all her pants because she is so narrow through the middle that they don't stay up too well. She exhibits several of the wheat intolerance symptoms, but not all. That test is a simple blood test. According to DDil, general allergy testing is not very accurate for babies under 2. I do think that she needs to see an ear specialist. She has had numerous rounds of big antibiotic (Z packs) this winter. I'm afraid that she is going to become resistant if she hasn't already developed that problem.

Battery on the laptop is about "done". I've been typing a test........ have a good Tuesday everyone.

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Judy
highest = 180, goal = 138-140
Every single time I put food in my mouth, it matters. No more Fooling myself!

Hi, Susie. Good to see you coming to the surface, even for a moment. This too shall pass--but when already??? we ask.

Shelley, in Halls (upscale store) yesterday, I thought of you when I saw a gorgeous set of Italian ceramic serving pieces with rooster sculptures on the edge. At $186 for a small bowl, it was a little beyond my impulse purchase limit for you. Sorry. I'm sure your new kitchen decor will make you smile every day.

Judy, even in February, I'll bet spring fever is raging in school. And that's just among the staff. How do you keep the kids focused?? Answer: you don't. Good luck with that. (You are a saint.)

I have a busy but fun week lined up. Band practice tonight--and I've actually been practicing, so not too embarrassed to go. Lenten study at church tomorrow. Thursday--shopping and prepping for my dinner party Saturday night. Friday--dinner out with my friend and his dd, coming to town from Atlanta (I don't think it's specifically to inspect ME, but maybe). Saturday, dinner party at my house with my boss and her husband and other friends. I still haven't decided exactly what I'm going to make. The boneless pork chops in tarragon sauce were delicious during the trial run, but a bit labor intensive. I'd probably do better to bake them. I'm going to use pork tenderloin. Any suggestions?

My dad just purchased a 52-inch flat screen tv to mount on the wall in one of the lounges close to his room at the OFH. Even with his macular degeneration, he can read the writing, and he's thrilled with it. I expect he'll be making lots of new friends.

Donna, Heather, Peg, and all you lurkers and loungers--have a great day. I recommend that everyone have a look at Goddess's collection of inspiring and snappy essays. She's right and she's real. If you need a dose of attitude correction, she's your gal.

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

Barb,
Would you be interested in taking the dinner theme in a BBQ-picnic direction?

If so, cook the pork tenderloin in the crockpot(or roast in the oven) with S&P, a dash of liquid smoke, garlic and onion powder.
Serve it with LC BBQ sauce(I have a recipe I'd be happy to email you), Sharron Long's LC Creamy coleslaw...very yummy and quick if you use a bag of pre-shredded slaw mix,(i also have that recipe if you need), and either corn on the cob or baked beans for non LCers. For dessert a nice pan of LC cheesecake bars and coffee would be yummy.

Most of this can be made ahead...like the slaw dressing and bbq sauce and dessert. Right before serving, dress the slaw, heat the bbq sauce and put the rest of the dinner together.

just some food for thought...yes, pun intended! LOL!

happy cooking!

prolly back later; I think I slept to long, I've got the headache from heJJ this morning, and my coffee hasn't helped at all!

later, chickadees,
(((hugs all around)))
s

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Shelley
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Visit Kassie's Korner



Life deserves a treat now and again, but life also deserves being healthy[with required disipline] to make it worth living!

I'll have to go and check out Dixie writings after I check in here.
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Monday and Tuesday's are nice when I don't have to babysit and there is school because I'm totally kid free. 2nd day in a row I've decided to stay home to enjoy my exercise in the luxury of my own home. Starting tomorrow I'll be back at the gym so that I can focus on my exercise and not worry about who at home may need something. Tonight is parent/teacher conferences so we'll see how Jay in 3rd grade is doing.

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You know you are a true Texas when it's 40 degrees outside and you light the grill to cook steaks anyway.........

Barb, I cook pork tenderloin roasts fairly often. If you are interested, I'll tell you how.

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Judy
highest = 180, goal = 138-140
Every single time I put food in my mouth, it matters. No more Fooling myself!