TerriDoodle

Yeah, I have to be really careful with hamburger, too. I have to make a very conscious effort to chew chew chew and still I have to eat slowly. I have been where you were last night...but maybe not QUITE that bad! That one sounds like a doozey. Do you ever try the papaya enzymes? They actually work pretty good for me. Yes, Suzanne - Hannah has her permit now!! I'm too old for this sh*t. Evan called last night to let us know that he's fine and working the program. Also....that there's a famous movie/TV star there but, sorry, I can't tell you who it is. He also found out that Stevie Ray Vaughn (my all-time musical hero) did his stint there, too. He's impressed and I guess it gives the program some credibility, so that's good.

No Jane... I think they're going to charge the balance to my credit card on June 11 (2 weeks before check in). Congrats to the whole soccer team, Michelle!

Hi Girls - Thanks for all the good wishes. I feel like there's a vital part of my body missing, but I guess I'll get used to it. I can call him and leave messages, but he calls me back when he has time and/or feels like talking to me! I last heard from him Saturday night and he was heading for bed. I guess I'll call the unit and speak with the director to see how he's doing so far. I'm sure it's not easy although the people all seem wonderful. He said the food was really good -- so that's a relief. Had a nice visit with my girlfriend in San Antonio and wish I could have stayed much longer. She lives on 3 acres at the top of a hill...and it's so quiet and peaceful there. Her husband is an awesome cook, too. Dr. JazzyB - I'm so proud of you! I'll run over to FB and see your pics!! Jane, Happy Birthday!! .... sorry I missed it. I gotta run an errand so I'll catch you all later...k?

What a bummer, Dr. Pam!! Thank goodness for photoshop!! Send those pics to me... I'll doctor them up for ya!! Haydee -- Looking at the HEB ad right now... whole briskets are $0.87/lb!! Those make wonderful pot roasts! Corn is 6/$1 and Strawberries are 2 lb/$3!

I'm here! Judy and TracyK are on the road. Heather is VERY pregnant and probably sleeping! Jennifer is sad :thumbup: (((Hugs, Jenn)))) And I think we just lost TracyinKS again .... Pam, I suspect we won't hear much from you this weekend, either! You're going to have such a good time!! Can't WAIT to see your pics in your schmancy robe! I'll be on the road early tomorrow morning and will be back Sunday afternoon. I am looking forward to the drive out of town to my beloved Texas hill country and to stay with one of my best friends -- my college roommate. I might take some alone time to go climb Enchanted Rock -- one of my favorite places on the planet. It's actually where I want my ashes spread after I die. The pictures in no way do it justice at all. The views are incredible. Tonight we have to get Evan all packed up and prolly make a run to WalMart to get a few things he'll need. He's gonna be in a bad mood and I'm not looking forward to any of it. TTYL!

Michelle... Instead of "Zen", try "Zinfandel". I recommend it.

Jack - this was written by a CNN Money reporter!!

Hi all - Janie - don't knock crawfish until you've tried them! You oughta see the people swarming around any and all crawfish boils in town! Those people can't be ALL crazy! Well, maybe in Louisiana... Haydee - hope you make the most of your down time, girl! Do you make an effort to shop for your meat when it's on sale? I save 25-30% on my grocery bills if I scour the flyer and buy only what's on sale and work the menus around that. What store do you use? Kat - that was so nice of Rick! Now don't you feel horrible?? Yum! Fresh veggies! I'm jealous! I do NOT have any sort of green thumb whatsoever. YOu should just politely tell your MIL that you're tired of being blamed for the actions of another...and you just don't want to hear another word about it. Period. Besides, what did she think was gonna happen by being so freakin' tight for so long?? Not to mention filling herself??!?!? She's got nobody to blame but herself. My son is pretty much of a mess.... he's going in for treatment on Saturday and will be gone for 45 days. At least he'll be safe for that long. I hope it does some good. Thanks for the prayers and please keep 'em coming!!

Fed's economic forecast worsens Central bank now expects unemployment to rise to a range of 9.2% to 9.6% this year. Fed also predicts a sharper decline in GDP than it had forecast in January. By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer Last Updated: May 20, 2009: 4:20 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Federal Reserve's latest forecasts for the U.S. economy are gloomier than the ones released three months earlier, with an expectation for higher unemployment and a steeper drop in economic activity. The Fed's forecasts, released as part of the minutes from its April meeting, show that its staff now expects the unemployment rate to rise to between 9.2% and 9.6% this year. The central bank had forecast in January that the jobless rate would be in a range of 8.5% to 8.8%, but the unemployment rate topped that in April, hitting 8.9%. The Fed also now expects the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity, to post a drop of between 1.3% and 2% this year. It had previously expected only a 0.5% to 1.3% decline. At the April meeting, the Fed decided to once again leave its key federal funds rate near 0%, a level it has been at since last December. The central bank also announced that it did not plan on increasing purchasing more long-term Treasury notes anytime soon. The Fed disclosed plans to begin buying $300 billion's worth of such Treasurys in March in order to try and keep long-term rates down and boost economic activity. But according to the minutes, some members of the central bank's policy committee indicated they were open to increasing its purchases of Treasury notes and mortgage securities as a way of spurring more lending. Treasury prices rallied after the minutes were released, pushing their yield, which moves in the opposite direction, down to 3.18%. Stocks, which have moved sharply higher during the past two months on hopes that the recession may soon be ending, fell Wednesday afternoon. According to the minutes, Fed members did indicate they expected GDP to increase slightly in the second half of this year. However, it would not be enough to overcome the anticipated declines in the first half. GDP shrunk more than 6% in the first quarter. Policymakers acknowledged that there were some better economic readings in the period leading up to the April meeting, but added that they were not convinced the economy was out of the woods yet. In the minutes, Fed members indicated that there are a number of factors that "would be likely to restrain the pace of economic recovery over the medium term" and added that the credit crunch would "recede only gradually" and that "households would likely remain cautious" in their spending. Fed members expressed concerns about rising problems in the commercial real estate market as well, indicating that this could cause further problems for financial institutions still struggling with the effects of the collapse of home prices and rising mortgage defaults. The Fed also reduced its GDP targets for 2010 and 2011, but the central banks still expects the economy to grow in both years. Rich Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research, said that the Fed's new forecasts were "more of a reality check than a revision," given the deterioration in the labor market and overall economy since January. But he and other economists said it also appeared from the minutes that the Fed is pleased with how the economy has started to respond to the steps it has taken, including the purchases of mortgages and Treasurys. "I read [the minutes] as 'We think it's working, let's wait a few months to see how it plays out,'" said Gus Faucher - director of macroeconomics at Moody's Economy.com. He added that it did not seem like the Fed felt a "sense of urgency" to increase the scope of its Treasury purchase program. And Yamarone said it's important to remember that the forecasts and minutes are three weeks old, and that economic readings since the meeting, including home sales and the rate of job losses, have generally showed signs of improvement. "These minutes look like they have a bleaker assessment, but things were darker then," he said. "I can't say it's an accurate interpretation of their outlook today. I think that would be a little more favorable." First Published: May 20, 2009: 2:17 PM ET Find this article at: Fed's economic forecast worsens - May. 20, 2009

Anybody watching Glenn Beck and the ACORN drama?? Wow.

Thank you girls -- so much. I know I sound like a broken record but there is progress....just tiny baby steps. What I'd really like to do is drive into the middle of Wyoming somewhere and dump his ass on the road and speed off. LOL Thanks for putting up with me. Tracy -- I had to dig this up out of my dusty files...but this is a weight loss chart from the period when I was going to the gym. You'll see that my WL was not in a straight line at all. Fits and starts. And look at JULY!! I was going 4-5x a week and stayed the same weight for a whole month and then WHOOSH!!! Please, please, please...don't get discouraged...have faith that you are doing the right thing and will be rewarded accordingly. Besides, weight loss is surely not the ONLY benefit of regular exercise!!! You hang in there. Oh, and BTW, my mom got real sick in November and then came to live with me for 3 months....that's when I stopped exercising and haven't lost a freaking pound since then.

No, I couldn't get in the %*#!# healing waters because my devil child is a $%*#! #*%$@*!!!!! He's not even living here anymore and STILL is a pain in the $@#&*!!!! If I would have known THEN what I know NOW!!!!!! I WANT TO SCREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, man.......that sure sounds good right about now. I hope I remember to soak in the tub tonight....I'll forget all about it come 9:00. Somebody remind me!

...maybe a fancy schmancy enema???

Blah Blah Blah:boom:

JENN and TRACYINKS?? Did we lose you girls again???:purplebananna:

TRACY!! How can you live in Texas ...Houston no less....and NEVER have been to the rodeo????? That is really hard to believe! I get tickets every year but give them away! LOL I just don't care for it that much to fight the crowds, etc. Now, the BBQ Cook-Off is a whole different story! Talk about some excellent primo cowboy watchin'!!! Woo hoo!!! Yowza!! Just got back from Hannah's orchestra concert! My little angel is so good! I'm so proud of her! My other child is the spawn of the devil.

I just got a batch of scone recipes this morning from my girlfriend who says her family makes the best scones in the world! What is this, Scone Appreciation Day? My fave is orange/cranberry. Mmmmmmmmm.

Michelle - In your opinion, why do PTA's always have so much DRAMA in the organization? Seems like everyone I know who's involved in one has the same story!

Laura - he oughta go spend some time at a wound care clinic! 95% of those patients are diabetics who don't follow their diet or take their meds! There was a very sweet lady who was a roommate of my mother's at one point in the hospital....she was having her foot amputated the day after we left! It was so sad :laugh: Drama continues over here. Another long day ahead!

Sounds like Pammy, Suzie, Kat and Michelle are having WONDERFUL weekends so far!! Good for you, girls! Tracy, what did you end up doing yesterday? Anything fun? Hannah and I had a good day just bumming around the mall. We'd split up and then come back together, have a Starbucks, chat, shop, then split up again...it's fun that way! She's trying SOOOO hard to keep my spirits up and she's doing a fine job. I'm just not myself and have been very quiet. She, on the other hand, is non-stop chatter!! So I just let her run on!! OMG, that girl can talk about clothes for 10 hours in a row non-stop if you let her. We're still mulling over what to do. Jay and Evan have been away, but are coming back today so it's back to reality again. Keep praying!! Love you all!

I'm glad you said that, Laura -- I thought the lace ones were kinda creepy too. I think because of the color of the lace mostly!? If it had been a sweet creamy color with a pastel background or something, I think it could have been cute. But she obviously likes that setting a lot. Oh well, all the others are just precious!! I'd have a very hard time choosing! They didn't have cute photography like that when my kids were little -- Olan Mills was top-o-the-line....LOL Well, actually there were much better but way out of my league! Kids photography has come such a long way and you are very lucky!! Didn't get to have lunch with Tracy after all -- our schedules just kept clashing! I've had 4 days off this week and am exhausted from dealing with our family drama. I'm gonna have to ask you to step up your prayers if you don't mind. I've got 3 vacations planned in the next two months and now looking at shelling out mega-bucks for a treatment center. I am just not sure where the money is coming from!! I don't want to sell any stocks at these market prices, Mom's estate is tied up, used a lot of my liquidity to pay off bills earlier this year....and now this!! Do ya'll ever have those feelings like something "bad" is about to happen but you don't know what it is? I had those for the entire week before Evan cratered. Also had them right before Mom died and before one other incident that I can't recall now. I guess there's something to be said for "intuition" after all. Now I wish I'd have paid closer attention and not booked all these trips -- especially to colorado! I guess I could cancel, but hate to make Hannah pay for Evan's bad choices -- y'know? :scared2:

Didja slip him a little bit o' Benadryl? Somebody HAS filled you in on the magic of Benadryl, right?? (<--- this is a JOKE)

Laura - how did you keep him asleep all that time thru all that ??

I just had a bowl! Mmmmmm. Heather - would you share your chile/lime tilapia recipe?? Sounds wonderful! Well, today's chore is to get on the phone with insurance and hospitals.... time for inpatient intervention.