Carlene

I'm a CW girl all the way, except for really old rock and roll, from my youth, back in the stone ages. I read a lot, especially biographies and historical fiction (more history, less fiction). I have really eclectic tastes in literature. I enjoyed Watership Down as much as Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett) I loved the Dune trilogy (Sci Fi) and I'm a Stephen King fan.

I took a lot....it didn't help.

Carol... I lost my mom in a very similar fashion, though she had been ill for years with Parkinson's Disease. She threw a blood clot that hit her lungs and caused pneumonia. I took her to the ER and they were treating the pneumonia, then she threw another clot, but they were able to revive her. The doctor had me fill out some forms, outlining what measures they could use to sustain her life, and which they could not. You check the boxes... yes__ no__ all down the list. It was awful. I felt like an executioner. She was in ICU, on a Heparin drip, and her doctor was standing next to the bed when she died. A massive clot hit her brain and she was gone in a second. Not 10 minutes before, she was complaining because they hadn't brought her Breakfast. The quality of my mom's life had been extremely poor for years. She left her house only when she had to go to the doctor. Before my mom died I thought that losing her would be the worst thing that could happen to both of us. Years later, when my husband's Cancer started to advance, I realized that I had been wrong. My mom's death was very sudden (and painless), and that in itself is a huge blessing.

Because they were creeps before they were exes, that's why.

Carol Strayhorn should be Rick Perry's new best friend. She's the one who got him re-elected.

This is how desperate people are to get rid of the Republicans... Updated: 10:41 a.m. CT Nov 8, 2006 PIERRE, S.D. - A woman who died two months ago won a county commissioner's race in Jerauld County on Tuesday. Democrat Marie Steichen, of Woonsocket, got 100 votes, defeating incumbent Republican Merlin Feistner, of Woonsocket, who had 64 votes. Jerauld County Auditor Cindy Peterson said she believes the county board will have to meet to appoint a replacement for Steichen. Peterson said she'll check with the state's attorney to be sure that's the process. Peterson said voters knew Steichen had died. "They just had a chance to make a change, and we respect their opinion."

I want to make one thing perfectly clear....I have not mentioned Mr P's activities or speculated on his future behavior with anyone who actually knows him. In other words, I have not fed the rumor mill. I thought LBT was a totally safe place to vent my feelings without doing any harm to either Mr P's reputation or that of the caregiver. I do not presume to think that the behavior of consenting adults is in any way my business. The only legitimate reason I have for even updating the thread is the impact these events have had, or will have, on my own marital relationship. I cannot assure my DH that I will be comfortable socializing (double dating?) with Mr P and the caretaker as long as Mrs P is alive, and that makes him (DH) very unhappy with me. Moreover, he has declared that should the occasion arise (and even he agrees that it's almost inevitable), he will be going to dinner, movies, etc with the happy couple, if that's the way I am going to be. He will simply tell them I am sick....or busy...or something. I, on the other hand, would prefer that he say something (to Mr P) along the lines of, "Carlene said she would love to see you, but it would make her uncomfortable if you brought a date." Does that sound so awful? If it sounds awful (and self-righteous), what's the alternative? Force myself to do something that goes totally against my grain? Why would I do that? Why is it incumbent on me to make someone feel at ease when I don't think they should be feeling anything of the kind? How did I get to be the bad guy? And in response to your comments regarding wedding vows, TOM...I hold my vows sacred. ...to be my lawfully wedded husband. For better or for worse. For richer or poorer. In sickness and in health. For as long as we both shall live. I think it would be nice if more people took theirs seriously, too. But if they don't, they don't. Would I snub people who don't live up to my standards? Certainly not. But we choose our friends because of commonalities. I'm not a party-til-you-puke kind of girl, thus I don't enjoy being around people who are. I wouldn't attend a swingers party, even to spare my best friend's feelings. I would never cheat on my husband and would rather my friends didn't invite me along while they cheat on theirs.

I am extremely worried about Perry running for President in 2008. God help us.

Telly... Me, too. I think Hillary is way smarter than Bill, more politically savvy, and a thousand times classier. When Newt's mom confided to Connie Chung on TV that he had called Hillary a bitch, I thought Hillary's response - to invite Mrs. Gringrich to lunch - was dignity personified.

So they say. Even when my kids were growing up, they were the exception, rather than the norm. We had a single mom living next door to us. We were in our front yard one Friday afternoon when her ex came to pick up her little boy. As soon as he pulled up, she appeared with child and suitcase in hand, kissed the boy, heaved his luggage into the back of the truck, and disappeared back into her house. I said to my DH, "I wish I had one of those." "A Toyota mini-truck?" he asked. "No," I said, "An ex-husband who comes every other Friday to pick up my kids."

I replied to this earlier and the post never showed up. Forgive me if this turns out to be a rerun. To answer your question, no. You are not a bad person, nor is Mr P. He is a wonderful person. For 40 years he has been the epitome of the devoted husband. And death isn't always a bad thing. In the case of my late husband it certainly wasn't. He had terminal Cancer. My mom had Parkinson's Disease for many years. It left her physically unable to care for herself, as well as angry, combative, paranoid and extremely disagreeable. It stole her memory and her ability to enjoy life. She wanted me to quit my job, leave my husband to care for our 4 children, and move into her house, so I could take care of her 24/7. I refused, but I don't think that made me a bad person. My mother and I had a relationship that was of her making - not mine. I never took a vow or made a promise that I would care for my mother "til death do us part". I did do my best to look after her, without totally derailing my own life. I think I was a good daughter. I think you were, too. I forgot to mention that as she was wheeled out of her home for the last time and into the waiting ambulance, Mrs P took the caretaker's hand, looked her in the face, and said, "I love you." That, I think, would have stopped me cold in my tracks. Anyway, I don't think I am especially strong. The only thing I take credit for is waiting until after my husband died before I started dating.

Posted on Tue, Sep. 19, 2006 email this print this Text-messaging teens lose their seats at movies By JOHN AUSTIN Star-Telegram Staff Writer ARLINGTON - Talk may be cheap, but text messaging could cost you the price of a movie ticket. This past weekend, teenagers who were using text messaging were escorted out of The Parks at Arlington mall’s 18-screen AMC theater by off-duty police officers. “All we’re promoting is a distraction-free environment,” said Nate Reid, the theater’s general manager. He added that the policy has been enforced since the theater opened in 2002. “We have a very high teenage audience. It really is a problem with the teenage audience.” A person using the name “Knotlazy” was so incensed with his daughter’s ejection that he posted a message on Kevin McCarthy’s Dallas Digest message board. “My daughter just got thrown out of a movie theater,” his message read. “She and a friend were escorted out of a theater for reading a text message on their cell phones. “They had their phone on silent. It was a text message so no talking, no noise. A uniformed policeman said the theater has a very clear policy on no cell phones and they had to leave, walked them to the door and told them to not come back that night,” Knotlazy wrote. “I can see it if they were talking on the phone, but having someone open their phone and text message in a theater does not bother me. She said the police were escorting teens out of the theater through the whole movie.” Reid said many movie patrons find lights from cellphones, which are used to send and receive text messages, distracting. AMC enforces a “Silence is Golden” policy. According to AMC’s corporate Web site, this is a “proactive national program aimed at providing a distraction-free moviegoing experience. ... Employees actively monitor auditoriums to ensure a quiet moviegoing experience. An entertaining pre-feature trailer is also in place to remind guests of the importance of this message.” AMC spokeswoman Sun Dee Larson said Reid’s actions were “news to us.” But, she said, “any distracting behavior will be addressed.” AMC has 411 theaters and 5,601 screens and is the No. 1 or No. 2 exhibitor in 22 of the 25 largest U.S. markets, Larson said. Tadd Mansilla, general manager of the Rave theater at Fort Worth’s Ridgmar mall, takes a different approach. “I’ve talked to some kids,” Mansilla said. “They just turn ’em off. “Either that or I’ll sit with them,” Mansilla said. The Rave chain owns 24 theaters with 382 screens in nine states. Jeremy Devine, marketing vice president for Dallas-based Rave Motion Pictures, said text messaging isn’t the only offender: Loud talking can also get a warning from the manager. “We sort of reserve the right to ask people to leave” if they don’t comply with managers’ requests to turn cellphones off, Devine said. Knotlazy’s post drew a round of applause for the theater from many on the message board. “Sorry, but I am glad they are kicking them out,” wrote Cliff. “I sat in a theater not too long ago. ... I cannot tell you the number of times I saw people open up their phones and check text messages. The screens were such a distraction I wanted to chuck a shoe [at] them. It ruined the movie. The bright lights from the screens were so noticeable that it took away from the movie.” Spacecowboy wrote: “Good for the theater!!! It is rude to have your phone light up in the middle of the movie. ... It distracts from the movie by disrupting the ‘suspension of disbelief.’ ” Knotlazy wrote that he told his daughter “rules are rules, she is supposed to obey even if she thinks it is unreasonable. They lost the cost of the tickets, no refunds.” That sounded right to OnTexasTime. “If most people leave the theater to go [to] the bathroom,” OnTexasTime wrote, “they should do the same when they feel the need to use their phone.”

Mrs. P has suffered a fall, which resulted in a broken pelvis. She will spend 3 days in the hospital, then be transferred (permanently) to a very nice nursing home. That was Monday. Last night, Mr. P and the care-giver went out to dinner - a restaurant where Mr and Mrs P used to be greeted warmly as "regulars". Perhaps I am too quick to judge, but I think these two could be just a tad more discreet. This morning my DH had breakfast with Mr P. He mentioned a mutual friend of theirs whose wife died a year or so ago. "Death isn't always such a bad thing," said Mr P. There is an 800 pound elephant in the room. It's name is Nancy.

My thoughts exactly!!! I have been saying that for ages and no one seems to understand what I mean. Thanks, Lisa. Once it was determined that the WMD did not exist and we were not in any danger of being bombed by Iraq, we should have tiptoed very quietly to the nearest exit and closed the door behind us as we LEFT THE COUNTRY. God did not put us in charge of the planet Earth. We do not get to decide who needs "liberating" and who doesn't. We are entitled to protect ourselves - our homeland. That's all!!!!! If the world were a grade school playground, the USA would be the biggest bully in the whole place.

I can eat popcorn. I buy the low fat, microwave kind and spray it with fake butter (zero calories). Sometimes I can eat a lot, sometimes just a little. Having a Lap Band makes each day a new culinary adventure.

Just so you know....the band is not magic. It's going to take some work on your part. You will need to exercise and keep away from stuff like chips, candy, ice cream, etc that will always go down easily. After-care is EVERYTHING. Are you getting banded in the US? If not, be sure you have a fill doctor lined up BEFORE you have surgery. The band will not work without good restriction, which is achieved only by a series of adjustments. You have the opportunity to prove your hubby right, or prove him wrong. But my guess is that he would LOVE to be proven wrong in this instance.

I am a spitter, too. It's because I insist on eating stuff I shouldn't sometimes (last night it was brisket that was a bit dry), or I'm stressed out and shouldn't be trying to eat anything, sometimes I don't chew well enough, and sometimes it's just a mystery. I always ask for a to-go cup when I order my meal and I keep one or two in the car. If you have a chance, steal the barf bags out of airplanes. They are great!

I have had better success with the band. I won't call it "luck" because luck had nothing to do with it. I have worked at it. I also am a "hard stick", as far as fills. Even under fluoro, a Nurse Practitioner once stuck me 8 times before I raised up and told her to stop - go get the doctor. If I were you, I would go back for a fill and give the band my best shot. It doesn't work without good restriction. BUT...good restriction is NEVER going to take the place of making good food choices. Chips and candy and ice cream will always go down very, very easily. If you can't stay away from that stuff, it's going to be an uphill battle. I researched all the options before I chose the band. There are trade-offs with all of them. The bypass works well for most people for about 18 months, then the pouch stretches and you can eat more, the dumping stops and you can eat sugar again, etc. Good luck with whatever decision you reach. I think success with the band depends on a combination of things: a good surgeon, great after-care, good restriction, some exercise, and controlled consumption of "slider" foods.

I say we outlaw Brittany Spears altogether.

Me, too. But I believe it. My doctor prescribed IV Boniva because I can't take the pills. That's IV, as in it has to be given intravenously. I picked it up at the drugstore and the pharmacist said, "If I were you, I would take this to a doctor's office and have them administer it." YOU THINK??? Gee, I figured if this went well, I might try performing a tummy tuck on myself.

I called Rush Limbaugh a pill head, a bush head, and a d___ head. I also called him Ann Coulter with a penis. But not stupid. I never called him stupid. I think a man who can get by with what he has and is still raking in massive $$$ can't be stupid.

I don't like to talk on the phone while I'm driving...I just don't. And I don't like to walk thru a store, talking on a cell phone. I used to think it was pretentious. Now, with the advent of wireless headsets, it's kind of bizarre. People think you are talking to yourself. Or they talk back. Because they assumed you were talking to them. My mother-in-law does that a lot. She hasn't grasped the idea of blue tooth technology yet. Worse still, she's hard of hearing, so while someone nearby is carrying on a conversation via their headset, she is trying to "answer" them. I drug her out of a store just the other day and once in the car, she said, "That was a nice friendly young woman, but I couldn't understand a word she said."

Oh, my God!!!!!!! I'll bet you wanted to say, "You certainly are, sweetie."

No, I think the double standard is the way people view Medicaid for elder care as opposed to children's Medicaid programs. Why is it acceptable for someone's mom to give away her money, then live out her life at the state's expense, but the single mom who looks to the same state for similar assistance is often vilified. Hardly anyone rants and raves against old people draining the taxpayers via their excessive Medicaid expenses. Poor people, however, get that all the time.

What other reason could there be? If my MIL has enough money ($800 pension, $1200 SS, $1350 private insurance, plus $1650 from her savings to equal $5000 per month) why shouldn't we use all of those to finance her care, instead of transferring her money to my DH and his brother and getting the government to pick up the slack? Or putting her in a less costly home so that DH and BIL don't have to forfeit any of "their" money (inheritance)? It's not their money until she dies. Until then, it should be used for her support and care. That's my opinion, and my BIL's (DH hasn't cast his vote yet). My MIL is a die-hard Republican, yet here she is, wanting to fleece the system. Cracks me up.....