hagerteresa

Hey Kathy, You paid $10,500 for your surgery? Did you go thru a referal service such as belighter.com? I thought I paid a lot at $9000 which included the referal service fee thru belighter (a complete and total rip-off). How did you second fill go with Eubanks? Isn't he a doll? Best wishes, Teresa

Hi Melissa, Glad to hear your wound got all fixed up and glad it all went smoothly. Best wishes, Teresa

Hi everybody, I need your consumer opinions once again... My husband and I really want to fly to Kona Hawaii this spring sometime/ anytime to visit his birth parents. I know I have heard airline tickets are supposed to be getting cheaper because of the Delta price slash thing but so far I haven't found any great bargains on the net. I know several of you have mentioned being able to get good prices on travel and was wondering where your website of choice was or if there is anyone with special connections who could hook me up. I am planning on using our tax refund to get the tickets which probably won't be here till mid-February but was wondering if people could start giving me some advice or keeping their eyes open. Like I said, the time/date of travel isn't any big deal at all. Thanks for your help. Teresa P.S. So far I LOVE my newish car. Thanks for all the feedback on that endeavor.

Hi Janie! I'm so glad to see you back here! I posted your message the other day but its nice to see you here yourself. Teresa

Hi Kathy, She is adorable!!! Your looking great too! Teresa

In Oregon it ranges from $150 w/out flouro at the docs I use. Flouro is an extra $100. That is about the cheapest in the state though. When I checked prices went as high as $500-600 elsewhere in Oregon. Teresa

I am a house keeper and it requires lots of stretching and bending. I took a week off and felt pretty good going back at the end of that time. I tend to think for myself the longer I sit around and have a pitty party the longer I'll be down. I like to get back to normal-type schedules as soon as possible. Try to plan the four days off attached to a weekend so you get six days off. Best wishes, Teresa

Hello, Remember Janie? The girl who paints murals??? She called me last night and we got to chat. Her computer died a few months ago and so she has been without internet service. She really misses everyone and sends her best regards. She said a new computer will be arriving soon so she'll be back then. It sounded like she was doing pretty good though. She has an appt. for her first fill later this month and since she was banded about the same time I was, the fill sounds like it is needed. Anyway she wanted me to tell everyone hello. Teresa

I agree with everybodies for myself. Thanks guys for doing all that brainstorming for me. Teresa

Hi Melissa, I hope you have talked to Penni or Lisa by now. I don't think it is an immediate emergency but I do think you will need to have it looked at and possibly corrected. Who was your doctor? Sending warm thoughts to you, Teresa

Hi Lauri, Thanks for updating us. We miss you! I sure hope you feel better soon. Its good that you have such a nice caring mom and family helping you out but I do agree answers should be coming quicker. Sending you hugs and warm thoughts, Teresa

Thanks Marie, Yes, it will all work out. I just don't like the that insurance making me feel like I did something wrong when in fact there was nothing I could have done any differently. Since I had a well maintained, dependable vehicle and it was almost paid off, I think that is how I should end this deal. Shoot that guys bumper is going to cost more to fix than what they are offering me for my car. I'm like you though, I try to make my cars last as long as possible and keep them so they are dependable thru-out their life. I hate driving a car and worrying if I'll make it home. I think I'll like my newer car though. I has a lot of features I've never had including airbags and an alarm and REAL wheels! It is sharp looking too. I wish it got better gas mileage but decided it could be worst too. My dads truck gets like 10 mpg. My car should get about 20 in town and 27 on the hwy. My old car got about 28 in town and 34 hwy. Thanks for your reassurance though, Teresa

Wow! Neat pictures. It looks like a cool place to visit. Teresa

Hi Ryan, What terrible things that are happening to you and Patti. I really feel for you and am praying for you as well. It seems like bad luck is circulating around the world like a plague. Hope 2005 improves for everyone. Teresa

Hi Darcy, How old is your taurus? I had an 89' that always seemed to have something go bad on it but it never had any engine or transmission troubles and lasted about 300,000 miles before I sold it to some Hispanics for $500. I have researched, researched, researched and everything says that Ford including the Taurus seems to have teething years on their cars. They often have several bad years and then they finally get it right. They all said the pre 1996 Taurus's were terribly and below average on dependablity. The same went for the Tempo but now the Tempo is on of Consumer Reports Best Bets. The Taurus rates Average for reliability but after that accident I am considering safety more too. The Taurus (and most Fords) has been rated one of the safest cars since day 1. I tried and tried to find one of those "historically good" brands but they all either had too many miles or were out of my price range. I needed something in my price range and figured I wouldn't be able to find anything else as new with those miles for my money. I also figure that if Chevron kept it and drove it 79k in 3 years, I don't think they would have maintained and kept a poorly running lemon type car. I wish I was pschic when it comes to cars. Hopefully I don't have too many expensive problems but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there. It really only needs to last me a couple of years anyway because I'll purchase what I want when I get a teaching job. Best wishes, Teresa

I forgot to mention that I paid my doc in a cashiers check and brought very little cash accept for my credit card.

Good luck Kelly and hang it there. I'm thinking about you, Teresa

WOW! YOU had a weight problem!?! You look great now! Good job!!! Yes please share all the details of the botox... That dress looks lovely on you, Teresa

I don't think customs is anything for you to worry about. I was also picked up at the san diego airport and driven across in a taxi and left that way. The taxi driver knew exactly what to do to make it all go very fast. I think customs took us a whopping 4 minutes of waiting and all. It did feel a little nerve wracking but they just passed us right thru asked the standard questions and off we went. We didn't even know we were excused. We stood around for a minute when one of the custom's officers noticed us still there and he shewed us out and told us we were done. I know people have all kinds of experiences with it but I wouldn't waste my worries over it. Just bring only what you need too so there is less for them to x-ray. Best wishes, Teresa

Okay, I know most of you know I was in a car accident last week. I don't know if this problem is related but it is driving me nuts. For about 2 days after the accident my port area really was very tender and sore. I don't think the seatbelt rubbed or pulled on it in the accident and thought maybe I had just slept on it wrong. Sometimes that happens. That pain has gone away but now I have a needle like pain in the same area anytime I bend over or lean. I thought it was initially coming from a scar further down because there was a little bump on it and a needle size sore on it but now I am pretty sure it really is coming more from the port region itself. My job takes LOTS of bending over so it has really bugged me. I don't want to pay for an appt with the fill/ aftercare doctor without getting a fill but don't know if this is something I should go to my primary with either. I will have an appt next week with my primary so maybe I'll bring it up then. I haven't mentioned this to the doctors I've seen before (for the accident related injuries) because I wasn't sure that it is accident related. What do you all think and what should I do. I don't see any redness in the area, no heat, nothing. Just sharp little needle type pains. Thanks, Teresa

Well folks, I ended up bringing that Ford Taurus home today. It is a gorgeous gray 2001 model in perfect condition. I had the brakes looked at today before the signing at the bank and they were 75% good in the front and 80% good in the rear and all the tires are brand new with the manufacturer markings still on the tread. It has 79k miles but it all looked good under the hood too. I ran a VIN check and that came out fine as well. It was evidently a fleet car for Chevron Corporation in Washington state. I paid $4900 to someone privately and thought that was a pretty good deal. Thanks for all of your advice. That horrible insurance company is still dilly dallying around with my totalled cars value and my medical claim. They just keep jacking me around. There is no question that they are taking responsiblity for the damages but they are being SLOW, flakey and rude. I had to leave them a message today reminding them that I am the victim here. Oh-well... At least I get 8 massage therapy sessions out of the deal. LOL. My neck is still stiff and sore so those will really be appreciated. Best wishes folks, Teresa

I'm right there with you folks. I wouldn't even go to the doctors this week to weight because I felt certain I had gained 10 lbs since last week. Today I finally mustered up the courage to weight on a customers scale that has always been accurate and I actually did stay the same. Thank GOD!!! I really did not want to have to relose that much extra gainage. I also haven't been to water aerobics for weeks due to one reason or another and I need to rededicate myself to that. I'll be glad when all the boxes of goodies are out of my house too. Its been killer... Best of luck to you all and here's to a NEW YEAR! Teresa

Hi Misty, I have had my band 7 months and like you, felt at the end of my ropes with dieting. I was actually a Mexico patient and don't regret it a bit. I can still take most pills whole but the biggest ones may need to be broken up. I typically eat more like a cup of food at each meal and average 1200-1500 calories a day. I use fitday.com to track my calories and nutrician. I started out 5'4" and 362 lbs and am now at 282 lbs. I also love food and like to snack but the band really helps keep it to a minimum. If I am in a real binging mood now after being banded I still probably only eat 1/2 of what I used to. I get full much sooner or stop if I feel any discomfort. Overall I am very happy with my progress and hope the best for you. Teresa

After researching cars all night, Zoe you should be glad you got the Cruiser instead of the Mini-Cooper. The Consumer Reports gives the Cruiser good ratings for reliability and value but the Cooper got below average scores and overall poor quality. I do not deal with dealerships. Marie, you should check the kelly blue book site for classified listings in your area. I only believe in buying cars used from private people. You get more bang for your buck in most cases. I would like to have my mechanic check it out but he is very biased against fords. I understand the early models did have a lot of problems but evidently they have gotten better with time. I don't know... My mom is going to go look at the Taurus tomorrow. I have been looking at classifieds for other cars but they are a couple of hours away and I haven't gotten to go look at them yet. Anyway got to go. Teresa

Hi Nancy, Sending best wishes and thoughts to you and your brother... Hopefully everything is just fine for him and his family. We are worried to because our church has a family over there doing missionary type work for a couple of weeks and was evidently going to go to the beach for a couple of days last weekend for some sunshine and waves in the affected regions. On Sunday nobody at church knew anything about their condition but hopefully someone has heard something by now. What a terrible disaster that has occurred. I am a science major so it kind of fascinates me too but it is awful how many people have been displaced and have died. Let us know when you hear something. Teresa