Hello Trish and sistas!

I'm sorry you're still suffering with the allergies, Trish.  I need to get a Fitbit, I guess.  I know I'm walking about 3 miles (or more) daily now.  I get in the car sometimes and "clock" my route.  What else does a Fitbit do besides measure your steps?

The scale moved again this morning!  196.6  It doesn't seem to be going down very fast, but it IS going DOWN.  I have to be grateful for every ounce.  However, tomorrow is my monthly check-in with the PA at the WLS's office.  I'm anxious to see my "official" results for the month.  I'm working very hard to regain my health and my figure (such as it is, LOL!).  I want to fit back in my bathing suits this summer.  And my shorts.  And all my size L clothes.  I had pretty much weeded out all the XL clothes before Butch got sick.  So I don't have a lot to choose from right now.  If I can get back into the 180s, my size L's should start to fit again.

Had a busy morning here.  Mom wanted to go get her hair cut (why she didn't do that LAST week when Carrie was here, I'll never know), and then to the bank and the grocery store.  But Caralee was real good for the whole excursion except for the last 5 minutes in the car.  Funny thing, though.  I had to put her car seat in the bottom of the grocery basket, and then there was no room for anything else!  Good thing my list was so short. 

Oh, and she slept pretty well last night.  Up at 3 a.m. and then again at 8:30 a.m.  Wasn't too bad.

So on Thursday, Mom and Caralee and Patty Kate and I are all going up to Waco.  Caralee has her two month appointment on Friday morning.  It will be Carrie's first chance to take her baby up to Baylor and show her off to all her friends and lab mates there.  And the ladies in the office are all about to die to get to see her. Carrie is very excited.

Also, Carrie says if I bring my new computer, we can take it to the Baylor bookstore and they will load the full versions of MS Office and just about any other software I might want on there for a very minimal price.  (Like $20!)  They do that for all the students.  So Carrie will just pretend that it's her new computer.  I don't use a lot of software anymore, but I do need MS Office and Adobe Photoshop. 

Then on Saturday I am getting a BIG BREAK!  I'm going to drive up to Dallas and spend the night with my BFF from forever ago.  We've been BFF's since 1st grade, if you can believe that.  Her husband in out of town for the weekend, so it will just be us.  I am over the moon excited to get away for 48 hours!  No kids, no babies, no dogs, no mom--just grown-up girl time!  And I'll get to sleep all night in a bed all by myself!  Sheer heaven!

I'll drive back to Waco Sunday evening and on Monday, Mom and I and the baby will come home.  Carrie will do her four day work week and be back at my house the next Thursday evening.  We are slowly finding our rhythm.  I told Carrie to select at least one daycare for us to go visit on Friday afternoon.  Might as well start looking them over and interviewing them.  If Carrie really is going to be in Waco through next December, then it seems like putting Caralee in a daycare there in Waco might be the best solution.  I feel certain I'm going to have to help her pay for it.  But I paid for most of Benny and Budder's day care.  It's just terribly expensive to have babies these days.  Young parents can barely manage to make ends meet.

All I have to do this afternoon is make bottles and take my walk.  I usually walk in the mornings, but I wanted to get our shopping out of the way first today.  It hasn't rained so far today, but we still have a pretty good chance of showers this afternoon.  Thank goodness we did NOT get the torrential rains and flooding that Houston got.  It all stayed just to the east of us.  So many of my family still live there in Houston.  It's been really bad.

Oh, speaking of family, I tried to text my SIL Karen yesterday.  She's the one with the ****er spaniel rescue.  I guess she's still ticked at me for sending Maybelle back.  But her husband, Sandy (who is Butch's younger brother), was just diagnosed with prostate cancer and I wanted to find out what is going on with him.  I got a three-word reply: "no news yet."  Hmph!  I will try again next week.  She'll have to get over her mad eventually.

I was glad to see on FB that our Cindy B. didn't flood at her house in Beaumont.  She's more on the southwest side of Houston, and the flooding yesterday wasn't as bad over there.  I hope Linda made it to AK all right.  She was leaving Houston yesterday during all the flooding.  Thinking a lot about Jeannie right now.  She has so much going on with her husband and her family.  Kathy has been MIA for quite a bit lately.  I hope everything is okay with her.  Connie, I am so, so sorry to hear about Gracie's concussion!  Oy vey!  Poor little thing.  But I am ever so thankful to hear the good news about Nic!  Answered prayers!  Judy, you face daily challenges with your job, but you continue to amaze me.  Eileen, I assume that your job is still secure for now, even with the change in ownership?  I hope so. 

I know I'm forgetting some of you, but I have to go make bottles now.  Can't waste a minute of precious nap time!  Love you all so much!

well there wasn't much I could do.  My bathroom is right off the bedroom so if I started hearing train coming through the house noises I would have jumped up and taken cover. Put pillows in there just in case to cover our heads. I am a light sleeper. I didn't feel like hunkering down in a room just big enough for the toilet. My bathroom is large but has a large glass blocks window. That would not be very tornado proof and if hit glass would fly

Hi AGAIN Eileen......yes... paid not pain!!!

I am tired.....time to get off this computer!!

HUGS and love....connie d

Linda!!!!!!!!!! All those nasty storms and you get the WARNINGS and YOU IGNORE THEM????????? WTH??????????????? SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!! Glad you are OK though!!!!!

HUGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

A dulcimer is like a small string instrument, sort of like a guitar but with a barrel bottom and a beautiful tone. You can hear one on you tube.