Good Morning, Tuesday!

Still sending prayers...I hope all is going well at the SS office!!

HUGS!!!!!! connie d

Good Afternoon Carla and OFF Family,

I spent the day taking my friend for a shot in her back.  Because of her insurance she must go to the hospital, two hours before she's scheduled for it, and wait to go back to the OR, for a fifteen minute procedure.  She gets sedation, so she can't drive herself.  When I get the same shot, I go to my doctor's office, don't get sedation, and I'm in and out of there in about an hour.  I've never had to go to a hospital for a shot in my back.  It's always done in a special area of the pain management doctor's office.  Needless to say, I prefer my way.  Unfortunately, she has no choice with her insurance.

I thought I got a good night's sleep, but right now, I am totally exhausted.  I do not know why.  I'm also light headed.  I also ran out of one of the essential oils that helps open my sinuses, and I'm waiting for the order I placed over the weekend.  Not sure when to expect it.  

Colleen called me today.  A couple of weeks ago, she took Izzy to audition for a select choir program at Michigan State.  Well, Izzy got in, so she begins rehearsals in a couple weeks.  Since rehearsals are on Monday, during dinner time, and Colleen leaves for one of her classes, at supper time, she asked me if I would drive her.  I had offered at the time she auditioned.  I am so excited for her.  When I was her age, I auditioned for the chorus at school.  My wonderful music teacher had us performing great stuff, including Gilbert and Sullivan, in elementary school.  I didn't realize till I was much older that I actually got to experience something rare back then.  We did "The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, and Mikado."  In junior high, I auditioned for the select choir.  Everybody got to be in the regular chorus, but our select choir got to do more complex songs, and do performances at all ten elementary schools in the district.  Then, in high school, Chorus, and the select choirs were actually classes that met everyday, and counted as a major, just like English, and all the other academic classes.  In my senior year, I made it into the select choir.  That was a blast.  We had 100 singers, out of 4,000 kids in the entire school.  We had a band and pianist performing with us, with drums, guitars, bass.  Some of our members also performed dances when we sang.  We performed in schools, historic parks, malls, and then, in May of my senior year, we went to Germany, to perform at the U.S. embassy, and a variety of venues, including an opera house.  We stayed in the homes of a children's choir we had an exchange agreement with.  It was such an awesome experience.  One of the band members, known to be a pothead, stayed with the family that owned the pub in the town.  There is no drinking age in Germany.  Our choir rules were that we couldn't drink alcohol, unless we were with a host family.  So, one night, he invited a bunch of us to hang out with his host family in the pub.  They treated us like royalty, feeding us and letting us sample German beers and Rhine wine, made with grapes grown along the Rhine river.  Plus, we took a boat cruise on that river.  I am so excited for Izzy.  Chris was in the select choirs in junior and senior high.  By then, the school district stopped the overseas trips, because of the terrorism in Europe, pre-9/11.  Both he and I got to perform in the musicals every year at high school.  We did Broadway stuff.  My favorite was Fiddler on the Roof.

Well, I saw Vickie's pics of the boys' first day, and Kathy's pic of Jazz.  Absolutely adorable.

Vickie, if you could tell me how you post pictures her on OFF, within a post, I would appreciate it.  I'm not allowed to post pics of the Munchkins on Facebook, so I wanted to try to share a couple here, if I could figure out how.

Love,

Trish

Hello Trish....That was nice of you to take your friend to get her shot. Even if it is a hassle you are a good friend to do it anyway.

Congrats to Izzy on getting picked for that choir program at Michigan State!! It is wonderful that you can take her. I know you will really love that. It certainly sounds like singing is a gift in your family. That is very special!!!

Have a good evening...love and hugs to you...connie d

Trish,  I really don't understand fully how the picture function works here on OFF, but I've finally figured out a way around it.  What I do is this:  I post a picture on FB, then I click on that picture.  When the picture comes up in a new window, I right click on it and the option to "copy picture URL" comes up.  I click on that option (nothing appears to happen, but it is copied).  Then I come here, click on the little picture icon and cursor starts blinking in the "Source" box.  I hit CTRL V (for paste) and the image URL is copied into that box.  Then I click OK.  It's awkward, but it works.

I know you don't want to put pics of the munchkins on FB, so what I would do is this:  post the picture on FB and make your privacy setting be "ONLY ME".  Copy the image URL, post it here, and then go back to FB and delete your post.  I've done that before and it worked.

Hope this helps.  (I'm sorry about the situation with your mom and sis!)

Hi, everyone.  Well, I have another nasty headache -- I think it's tension. 

Went to see our therapist today.  Talked about some hard stuff.  It was difficult to stay present during the discussion -- to make myself do it -- but I do feel better now.  A little lighter. 

I read all the posts so far today and now I can't remember what I wanted to say -- except that I didn't realize until the other day that Jeannie has MS either.  She's like the Energizer Bunny -- I don't know how she does it all!!

Vickie, I like the headstone you picked out for Butch -- especially the idea of putting your wedding date on it. 

Well, my head is pounding.  Guess I'll take something and lay down.

Warm hugs to everyone. 

Cindy P.

Hello Cindy....I am so sorry you still have that nasty headache. I pray it goes away real soon!

I am glad you talked with your therapist today. It really can be hard going through some of the past. We would rather be thinking of other things. Like you said you do feel lighter now. Some stress was released and that always feels good. I think this therapist is a good fit!!

I hope you got to lay down and that now your headache is better. 

Have a good evening...love and hugs to you...connie d

Evening OFF family...not much happening today...just a tenant moved out ASAP and we caught them!!! LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO But one good thing is they had rent paid to end of this month. And apartment WAS clean!!!

Legs are jumping tonight...not sure WHY....makes me mad when they do this. I drink plenty of water so its not that. Going to chiro tomorrow maybe he needs to make adjustment?

Glad most of you found the wedding photos. The ones you found on my FB page LMAO are OLD ones!!! Back when Rick and I first met!! LOL

Had some shrimp and onion rings for supper tonight.

Need to play a game to unwind...but legs are jumping far too much...so need to sign off and walk I guess...come on Bandit...LOL

Thoughts and Prayers for ALL that need them!!!

HUGSSSSSSSSSSSS

Hello Judy...why do people not tell when they are leaving. Especially it is strange when the rent is caught up and the apartment is clean. Very strange in deed!

I hate that Restless Leg crap!! I have been up more times for hours during the night, walking the halls, trying to settle down my legs. I forgot to ask my doctor about what can be done for that! I think I will send her a message. I hope you get yours settled down soon. It is so miserable!!

Shrimp and onion rings....yum!! I haven't made shrimp in awhile. I am on a salmon kick right now. I will pick some shrimp up soon. 

Have a good evening...love you...hugs...connie d

Ladies,

I'm still at work.   I am working on a chapter for a book on teaching English as a second language.  I have written the chapter; however, I still have some editing issues before I send it to the editor. So, that's why I am here. I absolutely cannot write at home. Anyway, I have the doors to our suite of offices locked so no one can come in and then I get a message from a former student and he is in town and said, are you by any chance at work and I said yes so he ran to Wasabi and bought me my favorite Japanese food (he's Japanese) and I opened the door for him to come see me.   He graduated about four years ago and got a job working for Apple Computer in marketing.  He was in town for a conference and said I had to see my favorite English teacher and best tutor in the world. LOL   After he left, I was able to get back to work with a little more enthusiasm seeings how I am writing about teaching international students.   It was fun.   

I cannot for the life of me remember what everyone wrote about but I know you guys have all been productive today. 

I love my new hearing aides; I know I've told you guys how much I love them but there's a little power pack thing that sends electrical currents to my auditory nerve which helps the sound waves to by pass the damaged part of the nerve caused by the MS...I know it sounds really complicated but it's really very simple and I don't feel the nerve impulses or anything but I do hear a lot better.  When I take the hearing aides out of my hear and remove the thing that stimulates my nerve, I only hear ringing or buzzing in my ear.   I've had that sound in my ears for years now and when I got these new hearing aides, I loved that it went away so when I take them out, I want to scream.  So, I keep the hearing aides in until I get ready to fall asleep but today, I had an allergic reaction to something, who knows what, and it caused my ears to swell up.  I swear, my ears became so huge and red they looked like a boxer's ears and so I had to finally take my hearing aides out...so I've had to listen to the ringing and buzzing.  I hate that. Hopefully the swelling will be gone tomorrow.  I teach tomorrow and need to hear my students and don't need to hearing ringing. 

Well, I need to get back to editing this chapter. I've got ten more pages and I can say it is a good clean draft to send to the editor.   Yep.  Ladies, sleep well.

Hi Jeannie....how wonderful for you that your past student visited with his favorite English teacher and best tudor in the world!! I am so happy for you!! Then he got you your favorite meal too!!

I am glad the new hearing aides are working so well. Sorry about the swelling and ringing...UGH!!

Have a good rest of the day!!

Much love and many hugs to you....connie d