Carlene

I live in Texas. Most cities have tornado warning sirens (for obvious reasons) and in the spring, they go off regularly and scare the pants off you - even if you have lived here all your life and never knew anyone personally who was killed by a twister. I have seen a few up close and personal, but there were no cows flying thru the air (anyone remember that movie?).

Donna... How old was I when I had my children? Well, my oldest is adopted (I was 21), then I had three subsequent children when I was 24,26, and 27. But I know about older parenting, too. My mom was almost 40 when I was born, and her sister was 44 when she gave birth to twins! How old is too old to start a family? Well, we are raising a grandchild - she just turned 14, my husband is 62, and I'm 57. Good grief...I've been raising kids for the last 35 years! As for adoption vs biological, it's a non-issue. I knew on the way home from the agency that this was MY baby. My other kids used to say I loved Tommy best because he was adopted. Not true, but I did love him first. You are right about it being hard work, but the payoff is priceless, IF you are longing to parent a child. Not everyone is born to be a mom - especially at 44 - and if you have doubts about jumping into this, I can certainly understand. On the other hand, if your arms are aching to hold that little baby, then I say don't let age deter you. Now for the down side. Your life will never be the same. Next year's vacation will not be romantic (but Christmas will be magical). Your house will never be the same. Before he is potty trained, your carpet will be pretty much trashed, as will the interior of your car. You will be spending your Social Security check on braces and senior prom, but so what? He will force you to keep in touch with a generation that you might otherwise never learn to appreciate. But at the end of the day, the whole thing comes down to just one question...how badly do you want to be this child's mother? It the answer is more than anything, then go for it.

Thank goodness you qualified that with a time frame! At first glance, I thought I might have dated you in college! Not to worry, though. I wasn't old enough to date 44 years ago. Especially not an "older" man like yourself. LOL

You are so welcome, Amy. I too had a hard time with the "work related" thing, but I thought maybe you could use the basket/organizer thing on your desk and the "smelly" stuff - well that's just for relaxing AFTER work. Maybe light the incense, put on the CD, and climb in a hot bubble bath.

I don't know where you live, but this is absolutely NOT true in the state of Texas. Until a few years ago, you could sub if you had at least 60 hours of college. Now you have to either be a student teacher, or have earned a 4 year degree. My DIL is a Kindergarten teacher's aid and she isn't allowed to sub for her own class because she only has a 2 year degree (in Early Childhood Education). But if you had a degree in Computer Science, or Architecture, you could sub in that class. The world as we know it is sorely lacking in common sense.

So, TOM, did some of us also sleep thru English Comp, as well?

Patience, people. The DNA results will be the turning point. If it matches, it doesn't matter how weird this guy is - he's the killer. His background reeks of strange behavior and disturbing acts. I think the authorities did the right thing by arresting him on the second day of his job as a 2nd grade teacher. If you have to take a chance, err on the side of protecting innocent children. At the very least, the guy needs psychiatric help and definitely has NO business around 6 year-olds.

I'm in Texas!!! Maybe I can snag it as it crosses the border.

Please quote your source. The ransom note was NOT proven to have been written by Patsy Ramsey, according to everything I have read about the case. Handwriting experts (several) said only that they believed it COULD have been. The note was printed - not written in cursive - and it is impossible to say for certain who wrote it. At least one handwriting expert did say he thought it was written by a woman, but he would not be more specific than that.

We must give him the benefit of being presumed innocent until proven guilty, and I think the Ramseys would be the first to agree with me. Unfortunately, they did not receive that same presumption. Shame on those who made this terrible tragedy even more unbearable for John and Patsy Ramsey.

I am also very, very glad that this man has been arrested and hopefully his DNA will prove conclusively whether he killed her or not. There was DNA evidence found in her underwear and under her fingernails that did not match anyone tested thus far. This family has gone thru hell for an entire decade. Even their son (who was 9 at the time of the murder) was a suspect. I cannot imagine the pain poor Patsy had to endure - knowing her family was innocent and being unable to prove it.

My first job (age 15) was in a tiny, one-person snow cone stand. The snow cone season in Texas lasts about 5 months, so I was out of a job about the time school started and I didn't get another job until I was 17 or 18. I was a clerk in a drug store and I was terrible. My till always balanced, but I kept forgetting to give the doctor's wives their discount and it irritated the crap out of them. They would make me do a void and re-ring the whole transaction, just so they didn't have to pay an extra 20 cents. I hated the store manager. His wife would bring their 4 kids in and stay for hours while the kids trashed the store. Then us peons had to clean it all up. Having this job was the wake up call that I needed to go to college after all (I had taken a couple of years off after high school). There were 40 year old women working there who thought this was a "good job". I didn't want to be one of them someday.

Julie... I am not quite 5 feet tall and I'm perfectly satisfied with my weight loss. I wear size 2/4 and already have a hard time finding age appropriate clothing to fit me. Where do you go after that...the children's dept? When I said I had lost over 80% of my excess body weight, I was quoting the most conservative weight/height charts I have seen, just to err on the side of "fairness". If I knew exactly what chart the doctor was using who threw out the 65% number, I could respond more accurately. Most doctors, however (my own included) consider me to be at goal.

My gifts are on their way to someplace that's supposed to have fair to partly cloudy weather today, with a low of 58 and a high of 90. Boy, would I love to see a low of 58! My DH and I waited until almost 9 o'clock to walk last night and it was still above 90. Whoever decided that "hot" meant something to be desired has obviously never spent the summer in Texas!

The group leader obviously doesn't know poo-poo from shinola about the band. I know lots and lots and lots of people who have done way better than 65%. I am about your age and I have lost over 80% of my excess weight, even by the most conservative charts. I'm not as tall as you, but I weigh 127 pounds.

I am virtually at goal, so what I get most often is, "Are you going to have it taken out now, so you don't starve to death"? Like there would ever be a time when I was in danger of starving to death.....PLEASE.

Nov. 29, 2004 -97 pounds No serious problems. I got too tight a couple of times and had to have small unfills.

We just got back from a Mexican resort. We tipped the cab driver $1.00 per bag. When we had no luggage, we tipped 15%. At the resort, I left a couple of dollars every day for the housekeeping person. It's safe to rely on US customs when in doubt.

Surgeons in my area advertise that they will band people 60 pounds and more over their ideal body weight. That would be self-pay, of course. No insurance company is going to foot the bill for Lap Band unless you have a higher BMI and/or co-morbidities. Be sure you have access to local follow-up care. Many doctors will not do fills for patients banded in Mexico. Good Luck!

Not to put down your doctor, but lots of WL surgeons prefer to do GB simply because they make way more $$$$ off it. Not only is the surgery twice as costly, but they don't have to do all that follow-up with fills. Fills are a money losing proposition for surgeons - $200 x 20 per day = $4000. But 4 GB procedures will net him ten times that. As for rapid weight loss, it's long-term that really counts. Look at Carnie Wilson. She weighed in at 180 the other day (Celebrity Fit Club) and was thrilled. She's lost 8 pounds. Befroe GB she was 300, but got down to about 120 (after plastic surgery). Now she is gaining it all back. (And I'm not too sure I trust those CFC scales, either. I saw Chastity Bono weigh in at 160 once and I just knew there was NO WAY. She was 200 if she was an ounce.) BTW, I was banded almost 2 years ago and have lost 97 pounds - 88% of my excess body weight. And I'm not even special!

Once a cheater, maybe not ALWAYS a cheater, but it's definitely easier the second (third, fourth, etc) time that temptation strikes. It's like cookies! That second one just BEGS to be eaten! Also, you don't need the stress of being compared to his oh, so fit and toned girlfriends. Tell him you're getting plenty of exercise - you're running like hell to get away from him!

My daughter was born on the cusp of Gemini (the twins) and Cancer (the crab). I told her that just made her twice as crabby.

Yeah, it's goin' up into Yankee land. That would be north of the Red River. HA HA