Tuesday Morning
Good Morning,
I'm busy today. Have to get ready for my appointment at the hematologist's. The cancer center where he works has a shuttle so I can get a ride from them. Colleen is crazy busy with her new responsibilities at the college.
House is a disaster. I didn't get my research done yesterday. Busy day.
Must scoot.
Thinking of special prayers and needs.
Hugs,
Trish
Albert Schweitzer
Hello Trish and everyone....the sun is shining and the temp is 19 but with wind chill it is 3. It sure looks pretty out there.
Trish...please slow down and remember to take care of yourself before you crash!!! 
Vickie...I am glad that you are feeling better today. It all takes time. Enjoy your tea while you write up your list.
I am okay...going thru another Flare up. I have been icing and medicating and sleeping as I can. It has been a tough several days. I am hoping it lets up soon.
Nic and Stephanie are leaving tomorrow. I will miss them. They are constantly running in and out!! I posted a picture of them on my Facebook timeline. Did anyone see it? I need to check it out.
Tonight they have dinner with Uncle Tom and my exe's side of the family. Tomorrow they go to Carrie's. Spending the night there and going to Iowa on Thursday. Stephanie flies back to Montana on Sunday. We will all miss her, none so much as Nic! I have a feeling after he graduates from ISU (Iowa) in May he will be moving to Montana. She still has a couple years of schooling left. The thought of Nic being so far away really bothers me. Kind of like when Amanda moved to Oregon! Time will tell!!!
Prayers for our precious OFF Family and their families. Special prayers as requested. 
Have a beautiful day everyone. 
I will try to stop back in later.
I love you all so much....hugs....connie d 
Good morning Trish and my sistas!
Dear Trish--BREATHE!!! Oh, you sound so frazzled. The house will keep. Just concentrate right now on your immediate tasks.
I am feeling much more like myself today. MUCH. I was still a little weak and headachy yesterday, but my tummy was better. And y'all know how I always say some good can come from every situation? Well, I guess my good was that I was already so miserable that my first day without Coke passed with a minimum of withdrawal.
I am really proud to say that I got through almost the entire day with no sugar! I did finally falter right at the end of the day. I ate half a candy cane at bedtime. I just felt like I was going to crawl right out of my skin if I didn't have some sugar. Oh, it's a terrible addiction, isn't it? But I immediately felt wrong about having it. I will throw them away today. I thought I could keep them in the house because really peppermint has never been a problem for me, but I see I was wrong. Apparently I will eat anything with processed sugar when the craving is upon me.
I have so much pressing in on me this morning. I'm going to have to sit quietly with a cup of hot tea and make a list. Then I can prioritize my list and begin ticking things off.
I am glad we're doing the Resolutions plans and the accountability thing. I NEED IT. I got on the scale this morning and damn-it-all, I am over 200 pounds again! I weighed 202 this morning. I swore I would never be here again. At least it's not worse. At least it's not 272 pounds again. Right? Right.
I truly feel, now that I've got the onus of the holidays off of my shoulders, I can begin to move forward. I will always grieve. I will always cry. But I feel I can begin to rebuild my life without my darling husband by my side. He is with me in spirit. He's here in my heart. And he would want me to move forward. So I will.
I do have a few other resolutions that have nothing to do with WL. One is to be kinder to my mother. I have been so resentful of her living here, even though I'm the one who moved her here. Oh, the circuitous path of grief. I have wanted to be left completely alone, which is perhaps the most unhealthy thing I can do for myself. But because I have resented NOT being alone, I have been unwelcoming and unkind in small ways to my mom. No more.
I also plan to find some way to rejoin society. I live here in total isolation. I haven't met any of my neighbors. I don't have any friends in my new city. All of my friends live elsewhere. I haven't joined a church. I need to force myself back into the society of people and begin to make new friends. Not sure just exactly how I'll do this at this point, but it's one of my goals.
I need to close now. Time to shower and make that list!
Love you all!
Vickie
Hi Ladies,
It's sunny here but very cold. My spirits are better today. I went to the laundromat this morning. It was very busy there. I still need to put away my clothes yet. I'll exercise this afternoon. I still need to finish reading my Sunday paper.
Everyone have a good day. Thoughts and prayers for everyone.
Love and hugs,
Yvonne
Hi Trish and all,
I'm loving the goals and accountability we started. I've been doing pretty well so far. I brush my teeth at 8:00 rather than 7:00. It works better with my schedule such as it is. I got a meditation ap and do that every night for twenty-thirty minutes. Then I color for half an hour or so. It is very I have always thought of myself as an artist, and that piece of me gets ignored at times. Even though the coloring is of a picture that has been drawn already my artistic sense is so much in play with choosing colors and shading. I'm also doing an online course that is centered around de cluttering the house, my mind, etc. ...it is also relaxing. I'm not sure if it will help as much as the book I read about "Tidying Up" though. I really liked that one.
I am getting ready to take a long bath.
Do you ice your back Connie? I'm not sure which works best for me ice or heat. I guess both do, back and forth. But I only have to do that if I have had a hard day. When I was working every day was a hard day, but now I feel the pain mostly at night when I lay down or turn over. And on certain days. I rarely take pain pills during the day though because I need to be able to drive.
Vicki, I hear you with your Mom. Making the decision to be kind to her will help you I am sure. It is hard to live with your mother. I did it for three months and my mom would forget that it was a sacrifice for me and be demanding...whew. I frequently would take myself back to the day when my mother missed the bus at the casino and I had to drive two hours at midnight to pick her up. When the casino called me she was scared and crying. I was not happy but before I drove into the parking lot I talked myself into making it a good thing. I saw my mom at the glass door waiting. I parked and pulled out some cash. As I walked in I hugged her and said "ok I'm here... Let's gamble!" I handed her a bunch of cash and her face just lit up. She was showing me her favorite machines and telling me how to play the progressives. We gambled a couple of hours and I drove her to her car at the bus stop. Then I followed her home. She was so happy. It was actually one of my best memories. And all it took was me deciding to be kind. My mom was a great mom...I was lucky to have such a mom. But of course dealing with her aging was not easy. We got through it. My daughter will get to deal with mine someday I hope and if I am lucky she will be kind to me.
Time for my bath.
Julia
What a touching story about your Mom Julia. I was very fortunate when my Mom moved in with me....largely in part because I was still working and had a good friend who needed a job and we hired her (used part of Mom's social security to pay her) to care for Mom during the day. She and Mom hit it off right from the start. So I was with Mom before work and in the evenings and on weekends. We weren't "in each other's face" all day every day, which made a big difference. Shirley and Mom got dinner started every afternoon, and helped with other chores. I considered myself very lucky. After about 1-1/2 years, Mom got sick and Hospice came in to help with her meds and other health needs. She passed within a month - I felt blessed that I had the opportunity to have her in my home during that time.
Mary
HW: 380 SW: 324 GW: 175
