HERE I AM!!!! (LONG)

Well, well, well, what do you know! I just had to log in THE RIGHT WAY! NEWS: I'm down to 209 as of this morning. That's a total loss of 111 pounds! My sweat pants went from a 30/32 to an XL which is now getting too big.... oh poor me! ;D I'm loving this too much! Or am I? The move is finally done. Almost! Why on earth has it taken us more than six months to move? I have no idea! Anyway, all that's left is one more load of stuff in storage and we are outta there totally. Thank GOD! Some bad news, my husbands neice passed away last week. She was an awesome kid who went through a lot. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was like nine years old. They took that out but something about the surgery made her weight balloon way outta control. I heard that it affected her pituitary (hoever that's spelled!) gland and that's what made the weight sky rocket. We didn't see her a lot but when I went to the funeral I would have never recognized her. She was only 14 folks and she was in really bad shape. She was just diagnosed with pancreitis (spelling again) and she was ' full of it ' in the doctors words. Yet when she died the first time, after telling her family that 'She has passed' the stupid doctors brought her back to suffer for another 36 hours. She was tired and sick and it was time. I know that sounds sad but it's the truth. She's gone on to something bigger and better! Good News: Things with the house are moving along swimmingly! The flooring is on order for the kitchen and living room area and we already have the carpeting. We were hoping to have Thanksgiving in the house but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen since the subfloor is concrete and you gotta have it at a constant temperature of like fourty degrees for five days. Last night the mesas around our house got a dusting of snow.... somehow that doesn't sound fourty degrees to me. Not only that but the rain has been coming down. My MIL lives right close to us and she says that the valley hasn't seen this much rain in the nine years that she's been here. I told her we brought it with us! I did get my bathroom painted. Of course I also tore out a wall but well the rest of the room is a nice peachy color! My bedroom is gonna be painted like a sunset with three different colors blending on the walls and a nice earthy brown carpet. What can I say, I'm a bit off! I love my new house! Right now we are living in our travel trailer, something about me liking heat and cooking facilities keeps me there! I joined the century club about three weeks ago. Then things balanced out at 212 lbs. like FOREVER! Finally the blasted plateau broke this morning with three more pounds gone. YIPEE! Are we still planning on Vegas in March? Funny, I'm doing a show there this weekend. Actually the show starts on Thanksgiving Day and goes through Sunday. And technically it's in Henderson but throw a rock and I could hit a light in Vegas!!! That's it for now and since I know how to log in now..... I'LL BE BACK!!!!

Welcome back Gayle! So glad you made your way back to us! I'm sorry to hear about your niece. That is just so tragic - I really feel for her parents. What are you doing that you are doing a show in Vegas? Maybe my brain has been too far out to lunch, but now I'm thinking "Showgirls"! Glad to have you with us again! Dina

I'm really sorry to hear about your dad. I know how Bi-Polar really screws things up. Both of my daughters and I are Bi-Polar. So, while mental illness can take it's toll maybe you can just try to filter out the good times and while not forgetting the not-so-good, let them slide, at least for a while. Also, I wanna say thank you so much for posting my note. I figured out what I've been doing. I was trying to log on under OH Members rather than AMOS. I had to log in under Amos. What does AMOS stand for anyway??? To answer your question, my sweet hubby and I do Gift and Craft shows. We are 'Vendors' which is a nice way to say two really really REALLY bored people sitting at a table all day long hoping someone, ANYONE, will buy something just so we don't hafta pack it up at the end of the show... we are broke, desperate and seriously bored.... and in a casino.... could be worse places to be bored. Last time, no joke, I got so bored I got really tired. All of our stock boxes are 'hidden' away under the tables right? Well, one of the tables had nothing under it... nothing but me that is. I crawled under the table, complete with the pillow I thought to bring in, and took a nap! My DH thought I was out gambling until he tripped over my pillow because it was sticking out from under the table. He reached down and gave it a yank that should have carried it into the next state and then he saw me glaring at him. He said he won't make that mistake again!!! Scared the poor boy with a glare, I must be getting that look down really well if I can do it from a dead sleep! Mostly what I sell now are Purr-Ferred Plush (hmmmm did I spell that right???) Teddy Bears. I have lots of incense and oil burners too. Basically gift stuff though. My hubby sells this tool that he fell in love with and had to have.... now we both sell it... funny though, I sell more than he does but he actually has to leave me alone, like a restroom trip, for the sales to start. I think it's that guys think if a girl can do it they gotta have it, you know what I mean? And I don't play that up either.... nah! Not Me! I'd never guilt a guy into buying a tool for a tender handed GURL!!! Only every chance I get!

Gayle - I definitely am concentrating my efforts on remembering the good. It's a struggle because my dad and I hadn't spoken for so long, but there are good memories and there were good times. I'm just so sad for him that he couldn't find the right mix of meds that allowed him to feel human and be regulated. He convinced himself he wasn't bipolar before it was all said and done, yet he was type 1 and got really bad in the end. After finding a report card of his, I also think he had ADD, which might explain why some of the bipolar meds made him feel dulled. I know that it can be regulated well with meds, but it takes a desire to do well and a desire to live a normal life. Some bipolars get hooked on the manics and don't like letting them go. It's a way of life. I can relate on one level having ADD (which they thought was bipolar for the longest time). You develop coping mechanisms to deal with the disorder, and when the meds start working, you have to learn how to cope in a normal way - which is foreign. I'm trying to deal with that one now, now that I have an ADD regimin that is working. To answer your question about AMOS, it stands for Association for Morbid Obesity Support. As for your sales, my DH does that sometimes with his collectibles, but usually he just sticks to eBay. You don't have to wait around for people to buy something that way. Dina

Gayle, Nice to see you again! So sorry to hear about your niece. God bless your family during this hard time. Congrats on joining the century club!!! Very awesome! and congrats on breaking your plateau. Arent they awful!!! I wish you all the best and nice to see you again! Elizabeth M