STAYED UP ALL NIGHT TO START....WHAT'S GNU?

morning janet and my OFF family!!

well its a nice day here in willoughby today...chilly but sun is out....have to work today 1:45 til 9. hate working nights for some reason...maybe its because i would rather dirty pans and not wash them...lol

need to stop by work and pick up my check and go to the bank and then stop at the vitamin shop and pick up some protein shakes for my 5 day pouch test next week. rick wants to get his hair cut also this morning so can't be online much today...lol i also want to call and make an appointment for bandit to get him a haircut and bath because he is getting so matted up and he bites me when i try to brush him!!! he is so good when they do it...hummmm guess he just thinks i am not supposed to do it...lol

had a nice baby back rib dinner yesterday...rick loved them and ate several of them...finding more things he likes that i cook...about time if i do say so myself!! lol

talked to my sister online yesterday and asked how gary was doing...said he is getting a little bit better but not much...he is still in rehab nursing home...i guess his mom and sister have only been there to see him twice....he didn't get to go with them to there christmas get together...figures...but i am glad i am no longer a part of them!!!

well not much more to talk about today so will get my face on and get my running around done before work....hope you all have a great day!!!

OH!!! george...OMG!!!!!!!! WOW!!!! WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!! YOU THE MAN!!!!! CONGRATS!!!

hugs

Good morning all,

We had a rough night with our dog, Skeeter, last night. He woke us up every half hour to go outside.  At least he didn't mess in the house. I don;t know if he got into something and it didn;t agree with him or what.  Not sure what was going on with him.  He seems fine this am though, acting normally,  but we are watching him closely.  Needless to day we are so tired and of course we have the girls, last day of winter break.  they are being good though, playing in their "stove box playhouse"  It amazes me that with all the stuff they got for Christmas, other than their Nintendo DS's their favorite thing to play with is this huge box.  They have decorated it, we took pics yesterday.  This morning they wanted to eat their breakfast in there....LOL!

Got about half the Christmas decorations down yesterday, finishing that and laundry today.  Tomorrow we do my family Christmas at my mothers with my brother and his family. Next week we can get back in a routine. I'm looking forward to a routine.

Hope you all have a great day.
Hugs, Paulette

Good Morning and Happy New Year. I am back to work, but the only one. I am literally the only one on the floor today. I watch way too many home makeover shows, Ilove them but I guess they got stuck in my sillyhead, why you say? Well.. let me tell you. Ray and Liz  ( SIL & DD) had big plans for the baby nursery but were really doing not much, so I got some fabric samples and they chose the colors, brown and blue and I must give them credit, they bought the paint, They want the theme to be puppies, not baby puppies or cartoon, but out doorsy. So we found the perfect fabric at a craft show,I I got on line and found it , plus a border. I asked Liz, what do you think about when Ray goes to work,( on Tuesday) you go to Grandma's house you and her make the curtains. Faith ( granddaughter)and I will paint the room, we will meet for lunch while the paint dries, then go to your house and put up the border and curtains and when Ray comes in from work TaDa..finished nursery. Yea, still looks good in print. andyway we got the bottom half of the room painted, bottom is chocolate brown, top blue, had to wait for the brown to dry before doing the top, then  have to wait at least 24 hours to put on the border. Plus after we finished the top yesterday( With  Rays help) I went over to my moms and after 2 days they Still were not done with those curtains, good grief, So hopefully tonight after work IF she gets the curtains done and the rods bought we will do the border and finish the room, only 3 days. I am very glad I did it though, Ray said he probably would be procrastinating for another year grrrrrrr. Can't wait to see it done. Hoping it will kick start them to do some major organizing in their messy house.
   Wow George your updated pic is amazing. Congratulations. Guess I had better get some work done. Oh us "gals" saw Marley & Me last night too. Awsome awesome movie !! Blessings

Hi there Janet and all!

Stopping in after digging out of almost 70 inches of snow! I am only 60 inches tall so now you see why you haven't seen me for a while. Just kidding. Over 60 inches of that, fell in December.
We have had a record snow, surpassing all in the past. It is getting old I have to tell you....
More today and is snowing right now. We lost our cable, (phone, TV, and computer) the ice from the roof pulled it down. Comcast was out in a matter of a couple hours and I was shocked! But very pleased.

I stop in and read every morning and often after work or dinner but while I have wanted to post, I just haven't. Don't know why....I so love to see you all and think of you often. I think my depression is pulling at me. No reasons just is...

I am back to thinking about food 24/7. Worrying and obsessing. Struggling to stay on top of it all....

Thank you to all who sent Christmas cards...they were special to me and very appreciated. I was awful this Christmas and didn't get many out. We didn't even decorate. I always go all out and just couldn't this year. We got the tree up with lights and no ornaments. Partly was because of Tom's fall. Partly was that I didn't get any days off near Thanksgiving or Christmas but for the day of. I did get today off as I found out I had a floating holiday after the beginning of the year so I snatched it up fast!

Our bedroom, promised to be done by November 19th, is still not. I was against the remodel just for that reason. To be fair to my sweetheart, the snow and the fall from the ladder did interrupt this project, but having all of these UNFINISHED projects all around me, and working full time, and not being able to keep things cleaned up like I like, I think adds to the "dark cloud" that hangs over me. I am so much better than in years past. I used to have to have the whole house spotless, laundry done, everything before I could work on homework, scrapbooking etc. I think though that stuff has just been piling up around here that it is really keeping me stuck. My husband is a clutter, saver, paper pile kinda guy and I am not! Well enough about that! Sorry.
Anyway, I am going scrapbooking tonight with my sister, unless it gets canceled because of the snow. I hope not, I need to go.

I am still so thankful everyday that I was able to have this WLS. I went to the Thrift store and was able to buy some size 6 pants still. So I am holding pretty well. Have gained a couple and that is what scares me...

Just heard the news, we have now had over 18 roofs collapse in town from the snow!

Our little doxie loves the snow, but one day when I let him out he jumped down into the snow and disappeared! Scared me half to death.

Beth goes back to school Sunday. So things will be quiet again.
She dyed her hair pink, underneath, and got another ear piercing. Bleck...She has such beautiful hair...oh well, at least she is only doing that! Could be worse.

Work is going well, but I forgot how much death I would be seeing. In the apartments we had residents die, but here at the rehab/long term care facility, it happens so much more often. I think that has really played a part in how I feel. We just had a resident pass away who was a sweetie. Her husband was in everyday, and sat with her. While staff may sometimes seem to be all business like, we do get attached to our residents and when they pass it is often sad for us too. Then I feel guilty that I am so sad when family are the ones  who have lost their loved one. Blahh... Sorry...see now why I haven't posted?

Really though, everything is fine, just fine

I am going to try to post more often ( I know I've said that before) at least to stop in and say hi to you all.

I am thinking of you Carla and sending prayers up.

Eileen, special prayers to you for a healed and pain free knee.

OK all, I think I will go take a little nappy poo...

Love you all, welcome to all the new people. You have found a great place here with all these folks.

Prayers to all who are sad, struggling or just need them.

Cheryl

OMGosh !! I know I keep hearing on the news  snow in Washington, but I had no idea , No Wonder you are tackleing depression !! That will do it hon. Hang in there, have some fun scrapbooking tonight and try to get in the sun as much as you can, find something that will make you laugh( helps get those endorphins reved up) . tie a string to your Doxie and your hubby when they go out, so you can pull them back in from the snow. Take care of yourself !!

cheryl- i have to pop in here- i am NOT a great housekeeper- i believe that dust is a protective covering for the furniture and i am unfortunately a paper/magazine piler-having said that--i have been working on that and made good progress--- and i find that i am so depressed because there is not a flat surface in my house usable for decorations or letter writing or anything--and it is not all my mess!!!!!!!!!!

so--i can relate to the dark feelings about that--i have no space to stack anything and cannot even walk into the third bedroom anymore- godforbid we get overnite company!!! i look at what needs to be done and just go find something else to do--i cannot get at any of my carfts stuff or anything enjoyable so i watch tv..or sleep-poor excuses but they are mine and i own them! you are not alone at this stuff sweetie!!!!!

Hello everyone!

Just getting to the board this afternoon.  Worked at the office this morning and then took one of the widows of the church to lunch.  She feels so alone and lonely!  But I can't afford to do this all the time! Had a grilled cheese sandwich and some green beans.

I have a couple of hours off this afternoon and then will drive to Charlottesville to visit a lady who has been having psycological (sp) problems and is in the hospital. 

Husband won't be home tonight so will probably go to Applebee's and eat alone bringing 1/2 of it home.  Some kind of fish.

George, you just look wonderful!  How long did it take you to get to where you are now weightwise????

Jeane

Aloha cutie pie with the light-up-the-room smile! And aloha to all the rest of my OFFers!

Hummmm.. Jan 2! New year, new day (still almost dark outside at 6:48 a.m.) and new adventures to find and share. Let's wipe the slate clean, and be open to all possibilities. Easier said than done, I know....but I try to be an optimist when I can. Doesn't always work!

Yesterday I actually did stuff that made me feel good and "lighter" at the day's end. I took EVERYTHING out of my closet, put it on the bed, and made piles.......one to thrift store...one to friends...one back into the closet. I had two HUGE trash bags full of clothes, shoes, purses, etc. I put the long muu muus and slinky dresses at both ends of the closet, and the short muus, tops, etc. in the middle so I could see what is on the floor of the closet. There is actually now room in there for lots of hangars that are empty! That will be nice when guests come for two weeks while I'm in Calif.

Gotta complain a little here because I want to ask if anyone else has had a negative reaction to the pneumonia vaccine. I had it on Wed. and my upper arm where the needle went is SORE .... very tender to the touch, and hurts when I move. I'm calling the nurse this morning just in case I should be doing something different. Luckily I had some vicodin left over from my surgery....took one of those.

I just reread what I wrote and thought BORING!! Sorry...but I wanted to come in and say Aloha...so I'll quit here before you nod off.

Have a great 2nd day of 2009........and I hope something magic happens that you share with us.

Aloha nui loa,

Maui Karen

Hi Janet and my OFF family:

Here I am, bringing up the rear again. It's snowing here. Not a lot yet, but who knows how much we'll get. My back has been bothering me lately, which makes my knee hurt all the more. Wish I could get out to the chiropractor. I'm sure that would help me. But can't drive, so here I sit. Maybe next week I can get Kim, who's taking me to my doctor's appointment, to take me to the chiro on the way home. Depends on how much time we have left at the end. Dr. Malvitz always makes me wait too long.

I was up this morning checking my HRA (health reimbursement account) that my employer provides. It's $1,050 that is supposed to cover our deductible and be available Jan. 1. Well, it's not in there. I had changed my Walgreens ExpressPay to that card, but then I had to change it again because there's nothing available (I usually use it all up by March on drugs and doc copays). So I checked my HSA (health savings account, which I put money in from my check), and that money was all in there already. So I changed my ExpressPay to that debit card. I'm upset with my employer for not following through on their promises. I called the HR administrator to complain and ask when I could see that money. She hasn't called back yet.

PT guy was here this morning. Today's session went much better. I can lift my leg up better and get it better the chair better, plus squat and bend better. He wants me to work on straightened it more. It hurts like hell now, though. Oh well, no PT again til Monday. If my back didn't bother me so much, I'm sure my knee would be better. The other problem is my BP has been elevated ... today's was 145/95, and it's been steady there since I've been home from surgery. Funny thing is it was low in the hospital. I haven't had high BP since I lost weight. I've been taking my diuretic, and it's helped take down the swelling, but not my BP. I called my PCP today to let them know what's going on and see what they want to do.

My New Year's was spen****ching football and reading. Went to bed early and watched the last game in bed and read "The Pillars of the Earth," by Ken Follett ... almost done! It's nearly 1,000 page book. Very interesting ... details the building of the Kingsbridge Cathedral in England, which is where Beckett was murdered. It's historical fiction, so much is not true, but a lot is true. I just love reading this kind of book. Follett is such a good writer, too, and pays such good attention to detail.

Anyway, I need to take a shower. Have a good day.

Guess Ill be last today,,at least Im posting,,thats an improvement over last year already! I decided I needed the support. The gal that inspired me to have the WLS in the first place has moved, and has gained a lot back, so she doesnt keep in contact much. I think she is embarrassed,,,but she would benefit from this site if she would just get on here. Oh well,,

We spent New Years taking down the outdoor decorations. We had had a fierce wind for about two days and all the creatures out there looked like they had had a wild new years party, blown everyhwere. We got everything back in the attic, then came in and had a great supper of roast beef and vegetables, with canteloupe for dessert. I talked Mike into playing a game of trivia with me,,shouldnt have,cause I lost.

Now Im cleaning out stuff and posting on freecycle, already had some picked up today. I gotta declutter,,,after all, a whole new  year of yard saling and thrift store shopping awaits!

Wow george! I was blown away by your picture! You look great!
I need to change mine but everytime I try it tells me my picture is too big,,,hmmm. Need to work on that...maybe if I go to photobucket first.

No snow here yet,,wi**** would, Ilove winter. Especially since I dont have to get out in it,,hehe.
Well, have a great day everyone,,,,

Blessings
Betsy