Hump Day Wednesday

Hey Connie!

I wanted to answer you about the support issue...

It is complicated because they have 2 separate cases in DE for my daughter and myself. He owed Kelly for the 5 years she had Jazz, and then he owes me for the past 8+ years. He lives in NC where they have our 2 cases combined. Anytime a payment is collected NC sends it up in one 'piece' and then DE distributes it.

I have never actively pursued it, but my daughter has. She suggested I attend a court-ordered arrears hearing in September since he owes both of us. It was at this hearing we learned how the States differed in how the cases were set up, etc.

Anyhow, he was ordered to pay $1000 at that hearing or go to jail until he could pay it. He seldom works...he lives w/a long-term girlfriend who makes her own money...good money...and apparently does not care if he contributes to her household. She must have paid the $1000 b/c he told the judge he had not been working due to a bad back! (For almost 13 years...yeah, right!)

So while NC is much better at holding parents accountable for support...the only way money gets collected from him is when he is hauled into court, and apparently they only do it a few times/year.

I hear you about having 'nothing' as my girl's dad was a lot like your ex. He transferred to Shreveport for his job at GM when the girls were 'tweens' and hardly looked back. He paid his support...I'll give him that, but not a dime over it for proms, graduations, etc. He married wife #4 down there and from what my daughter told they were living the same kind of 'high' life as your ex...she went down to visit him at 19 and never went back she was so disgusted with what she saw. He died in January and cut my 3 girls and 2 steps from his marriage prior to ours out of his will.

The good thing that came out of all of it was it brought us all closer so I have to believe and focus on there is a silver lining in every dark cloud. To hell with him and Jazz's dad...they are/weren't good people. Same apparently w/your ex.

Good Afternoon Kathy and OFF,

Well, it is absolutely gorgeous here today. I'll take it.

Yesterday did not go as planned at all. I ended up taking Lincoln to the zoo. Then, to a playground right next to it. He kept running away from me when I wanted to talk to him about going home. Then, he threw a fit when I strapped him in his car seat, and kept hitting me. I told him firmly that he is not allowed to hit me, and he started to cry hysterically. I held him, and hugged him, and told him I love him. From there, we met Colleen and the kids at another playground. After being at the zoo, and then watching the little Stinker rolling around in a huge pile of leaves, my head felt like it would explode from my allergies.

This morning, Colleen picked me up to go over to the high school. The third grade was going to be doing a cross country run, a mile, around the track and school property. It was perfect running weather. Izzy did great. It was awesome to see the kids there. Plus, there were high school track team members there to help the kids. I got a video of Izzy running to the finish line. Colleen told me she had spoken to the kids' pediatrician about when they would be old enough to run a 5K, which is 3.1 miles. He advised her that children's hearts are not developed enough to run that distance till they are 9 years old. I know Colleen would love to have them train with her during nice weather. I wish so much I could have been an athlete. Between having a congenital heart defect, and a mom who didn't believe girls should do sports, I became a perfect couch potato growing up.

After I got home from the race, I put stew in the crockpot, to freeze for when I am recuperating. I have a list of soups I'll be making, plus breakfast burritos, and freezing them. Colleen told me how. They're not going to be Mexican, because I'm using sweet Italian sausage and mozzarella cheese. But, they'll be yummy with all I am putting into them. Eggs, sausage, cheese, hash browns, green onion, and red bell pepper.

Tonight is Crosswalk, the kids program.

Must scoot.

Hugs and Prayers,

Trish

Hi, everyone. I haven't posted in quite a few days but I've been reading posts. I'd like to say that I, for one, appreciate all the posts on OFF. The fact that we are individuals who share our life's experiences is very valuable to me. I may not be able to relate to everything that is said in a personal way (through a shared experience) but I love reading about your lives and it matters to me that you are taking the time to share it here. The diversity of this group is simply wonderful. And, even though we come from different walks of life, our experiences of losing and gaining weight -- as well as the desire to maintain a given weight -- is ultimately what brought us to OFF in the first place. I guess I love OFF JUST THE WAY IT IS (and the way it is varies from day to day) and I sincerely appreciate you all. I find support here for the challenges that come my way so even if I haven't experienced the same exact thing as you have right now by reading and investing in your life as you share it here I believe I will be better equipped for my own future. Thank you for being YOU.

Well, the roofers are back! I really hope they finish up today -- but we are supposed to have another break in weather on Friday so if not done by today then hopefully they can finish up by the end of the week. I'm sure the business owner wants his money and that should be incentive for them to complete repairs!

We took our dog to the vet today and I was able to ask the vet what other proteins might work for our pup since I am having difficulty finding bison meat in our small town (the one store that carried it has stopped doing so). Anyway, he gave me some other ideas which I appreciate. So, next on the list -- if I can't source bison -- is ground turkey browned and drained well. Our dog has E-IBD which basically is a condition where an allergy is formed to a given protein after it has been ingested for a while -- so nothing works forever. I called Costco to see if they carry bison and found that we'd have to drive a six hour roundtrip to get it from their Portland store. However, the person I talked to told me to go to the nearest store and submit a request form to the meat department and to keep doing that and that might entice them to start bring it in to that store. Anyway, I learned that you can buy meats on-line from Costco (not bison -- YET) and have it shipped to your home. I was unaware that you could do that. She said that they might offer bison on-line soon. Yay!

It was cold here last night and I was surprised to see that it was 37 degrees at 9:15 a.m. this morning when we were on our way to our vet. Brrrr.

I realized that I need to get my rear end in gear with regard to shopping for Christmas presents for our son and family. I need time to order on-line (we have limited shopping here in town), receive the items, and then package and ship them off. It's so hard to believe that Thanksgiving and then Christmas are nearly upon us.

I hope that, no matter what you're doing today, that you're having a good one!

Hugs and kisses,

Cindy P.

My oldest brother eats lots of bison and has ordered it online from a farm in Wisconsin (I think?) that has grass-fed bison, so the meat is leaner. I think if you do an online search you could find several places and call around.

Thank you for the suggestion, Eileen. I will do an on-line search and see what I can come up with.

Cindy P.

Cindy P- have you searched online for Bison meat. There might be a producer who can ship directly to you. What about Lamb? I know several dog owners with sensitive dogs who feed lamb.

Cindi B

Cindi B.: I'll have to ask our vet about lamb. I will be doing on-line searches to see if I can get high quality meat shipped directly to me. I'm sure there must be several sources for that.

Cindy P.

Afternoon OFF family!!!!

Well it was a weird kind of day here...lol I actually learned how to send a photo on my SMART phone!!!!!!! LMAOOOOOOOOOO I had to take a picture of the emergency alarm outside on the building so they could order one for one of our tenants that went bad...you should have heard me holler that I DID IT!!!!!!!!! OMG YOU CAN TEACH AN IDIOT AFTER ALL!!!!!!!!!!! LOL So NOW to learn how to post on FB and here with this SMART Phone!!!!!!!! LMAOOOOOOOOOO

Kathy...if those non payers of child support are not paying, are they working? If they are and they file their tax returns, they CAN take child support from that!! They do it here!!! Check in to that!!! And SHAME ON THEM for NOT taking care of that child!!!!!!! Good deal on that van also!!!!!!!

My legs are jumping can't sit here....have to go...sorry.

Thoughts and Prayers for ALL that need them!!!

HUGSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Good Afternoon My Dear Friends.....

Well, feeling a bit better today....weather has been very warm and I'm trying to do some outdoor work. I went down the street to see my friend Shirley, visited and played a few dice games. I borrowed her leaf blower and will use it tomorrow--actually, it's a vacuum and has a canvas bag that catches the mulched leaves. It's electric with a very long extension cord that I'll have to maneuver around. She didn't have the brochure - we were trying to figure out how to remove the canvas bag and I was going to blow the leaves. We couldn't do it-when I was driving home I spotted one neighbor and stopped and asked him if he could get the bag off - he couldn't. Then when I came home from shopping I saw another neighbor and stopped there to ask for help, and he got the bag off. But when I got home and found the manual on line, I discovered there are other parts needed it I wanted to use it as a blower - so I had to put the bag back on to use it as a vacuum. Certainly much easier than raking. But I was glad I went up to my neighbors and asked for help--when Jim was around he did not want me talking to them because he never wanted anybody to "know his business" -- but they were both very nice. They had heard Jim passed and both told me if I needed help, they would help if they could.

I got an E-book from the library -- The Martian - it's out in the movies now, but I like to read books before I see the movie...it always amazes me how different a movie can be from the book it's based on. The book is very good and has kept my interest, which is a nice change. I've been trying to keep busy by reading and haven't been able to concentrate. I also want to go to Walmart or Michael's and pick up some yarn. Years ago I made an afghan for my bed -- I want to make one now for my queen sized bed. I made the afghan very big - like a slipcover so it went down the sides and was long enough to tuck pillows under it....I don't have instructions, but I'm sure I can remember how to do it...../\/\/\/\/\....I'll have to figure out how many skeins to buy of each color too.... I've got to keep myself busy!

May go to support group at the Weight Center tomorrow evening .. don't like driving in the dark, but should be okay since I'll be on familiar roads. Did some shopping today for "good food" - I got off track when Taylor was here and my sweet tooth got the better of my these past few days... and I confess, I bought some bagels the other day too....they were on sale and I chose not to resist them....I could live on bagels and rolls, and pasta.....

Cindy....My puppy Pookie is eight months old and I'm having a terrible time feeding him...he has gotten so fussy. when I first got him, I fed him canned food mixed with dry food twice a day and he ate with no problem...he would sometimes raid the cat's dish is there was anything left in it. Now, he has become a fuss-budget. Won't eat anything - I've been trying different brands and flavor and he's turning his nose up at everything, except the cat food. I tried making a home-made dish (on-line recipe of ground beef/rice/hard-boiled eggs, including the shells) and he and the cat both turned their noses up. And lately (TMI...) he's been farting smelly gas, and his poops are "loose". What are you feeding your dog? I hate to pay for a vet visit, but guess I'll have to - I keep hoping I'll find something he'll be happy with.

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Very long winded today......sorry I've blabbed on and on - it's just I'm feeling better.

Kathy....I hope you find work soon. It's tough living on a tight budget. Finding work is not an easy task anymore. When we were younger there weren't enough workers and jobs were easy to find, but that has all changed....One of the disadvantages of computers.

Eileen, thanks for your kind words. It's good to be able to post here and share my thoughts and feelings. You're right about taking baby steps; I know I'll feel better as time passes, but some days are very difficult.

Connie, You do help me, and everyone else here. You always encourage us and you bring a smile to my face. Your kind words have helped me many times.

Trish, you must be exhausted with all that outside activity today! Those burritos sound good. Is there something special about freezing them? I would assume maybe you'd freeze them on a cookie sheet and then when they are frozen, put them in a big zip-lock bag??? I was thinking of making some of Eggface's Bites.

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Got to go and open some dog food.....bought four different kinds today. Maybe I'll dig out some ground beef and make something for the dog tomorrow.

Hugs to all, and prayers for good health for everyone.

Mary

Mary, we are currently feeding our dog boiled bison patties with cooked frozen green beans and broccoli florets. H loves it. We've been dealing with our dog's E-IBD for 3 years now. He's had a variety of different foods. Our vet said he could also have ground lean turkey (browned and drained) and cooked carrots, green beans, and broccoli or scrambled eggs (no milk) and the cooked vegetables.

Good luck with your pup's fussy pallet. That's kind of the way the whole E-IBD thing started with our dog -- fussy, fussy pallet and loose to diarrhea stools tinged with blood.

Cindy P.