phyllser

Quick post! Just caught up on all of you. But Earl is sitting across the table telling me he's tired and wants to go over to the RV. Staying at our friends' house right now. GOOD exercise in the pool yesterday for at least an hour. Tonight too, but didn't exercise as much. And Jacki & I went 2nd hand store shopping today. I got about 5 books and a box of Christmas cards for $2. Jacki filled up her trunk on $18... curling iron, brass lamp, glassware, blanket, etc.! We're hitting another one tomorrow, and taking Earl back to that one because he was disappointed that he missed it when I told them there was an old Chevy front bumper in there!!! So many books!! Interesting place. But the clothes were just all in big piles!! You could fill up a garbage bag of them for $10, but it was just too overwhelming to try to sift through them! Love you all... gotta go! Jacki's across the street neighbor is Angelica Huston... she has a ranch over there. But 2nd hand store lady told Jacki that Angelica is her best customer and can be found cruising the 2nd hand stores and garage sales in the area quite frequently!

Welcome! Headed to Palm Springs area for the winter. "Snowbirds" from WA state.

I hit the garlic store today, then the Salvation Army store, Target, Ross. I think I was shopping about 4 hours w/o scooter. Got new sweats (Target), long sleeve polo and jacket at the Salvation Army store.

Anxious to hear how your PT went today. Surprised they're not giving you PT at home for these first couple of weeks. I couldn't face getting in the car again until I was home about two weeks! So... what did they measure your flexion at today?? I think you're doing VERY well... more mobile and more out and about than I was at 2 weeks! Can't believe you weren't invited to that family dinner!! That's just WRONG!! I would've been so mad! What were they thinking???

Yep.... time to get back on track. We didn't bring a scale with us, but I wouldn't want to get on it today either because I'm so afraid I gained a couple of pounds since we've been on the road! Tomorrow we get to our friends' house in Three Rivers. We'll probably be eating healthier there. Her hubby works in Memphis so he won't be there.. just the three of us. Maybe Earl will cook for us. I got lots of garlic stuff at Garlic World today.... rosemary garlic sauce, garlic stir fry sauce, minced garlic, fresh garlic, granulated garlic (good to use to make dip), even garlic cooking wine. I went without Earl so I could buy whatever I wanted!! :thumbup: Trouble with being at our son's is they are SO busy!! So then there's fast food, take out food, LATE dinners!! BBQ short ribs last night... and my very favorite mashed potatoes! But no gravy, and I don't think she used much butter and milk either. And the milk was either skim or 1%. I know because I had a little to wash down my brownie!! :eek::scared2: Yes, things are better already since we're on the road and on our own again! We traveled all of 45 miles today! Wanted to spend the night in Gilroy. I drove the car down and got here way before Earl, so that's when I went to Garlic World and the little winery near there and bought a whole bunch of stuff that Earl wouldn't have let me buy!! :biggrin::w00t: Then I went and got a Starbucks and to the RV park to wait for him. He pulled in less than 5 minutes after I got there. I waited until he got the RV pulled in to our assigned slot and then without going inside, decided I'd get on with the rest of my shopping! Oh, my! I figure I spent more than 4 hours shopping today, and only about the last 1/2 hr... at Target, did I use a scooter! I used one of theirs. I was so tired by then that I wouldn't have gone if I didn't know they had those scooters! Their sweats are al $5 this week so I wanted to get some smaller sweat pants and top. Which I did, AND the new Michael Buble' CD!! That was AFTER I spent over an hour at the Salvation Army store where I bought a nice jacket... lightweight, sort of a rain jacket ($6), a long sleeve polo shirt and a couple of paperbacks. It was Sr. Discount day, so I got 15% off everything I bought and spent a grand total of $12.56! Then I went to Ross where I tried on a lot of pants and didn't buy anything! I think at all the places I shopped, I must've tried on about 10 pairs of pants from sweats to cords to jeans! All I bought were the $5 sweats... Hanes XL. I can't find anything that fits right! Hips and thighs too big to fit in most of the 18's. I think I have 6 prs of pants with me that need to go in the Goodwill/Salvation Army. But then 'll have nothing to wear! Wanted to look at Kohl's and Lane Bryant too.... same shopping center as all those other stores I went in, but I was too tired and it was too late and Earl kept calling me on the phone to see where I was. It was our wine and "Judge Judy" time so I thought I better get back!! :biggrin::eek: Besides, I've looked for pants in both those stores (in OR & CA) in the last 10 days and found NOTHING! Oh... didn't have lunch until I got back, which was after 2:30pm, so not going to be very hungry for dinner. Maybe a baked potato. Wish we had some salsa. Keep forgetting to tell Earl to buy some. But, all in all, an okay food day and I had a BLAST shopping all by myself, and onfoot for the most part! Got some exercise.

This has been a terrible weekend for me foodwise! Too many temptations here! That spaghetti dinner for the football teams Thursday night, complete with brownies that came home with us. Out to lunch next day with BIL & SIL. Fast food before the football game that night, pizza after the soccer game on Saturday and more pizza for dinner... Well, I couldn't eat it last night, though. Ended up eating a small amount of left over spaghetti that was mostly sauce and meat. Today... football day.. they were having chips and dip for lunch. DIL made bean dip but it had refired beans in it, a block of cream cheese, sour cream and pico. She topped it with shredded lettuce, so I had some of it without the chips. Tonight we had BBQ short ribs and mashed potatoes.. another of my weaknesses! We leave in the morning and I get back on my PLAN!!! I feel so guilty for all the bad stuff I ate this weekend! DGD made brownies this afternoon, too!

Laura, Thanks for keeping us up to date. So glad the treatment is going to be getting started soon. So sorry for all that you and your family are going through right now! Hugs to all of you! Sounds like you had some special time with your dad and mom this weekend. That's good. Family is so important. We are very much enjoying this weekend with our son and his family! Football game Friday night, soccer Saturday, DH got to go flying with our son yesterday. Watching football all day today. Good times with family!!

Don't stress over the pain pills. I still take one every now and then. I hadn't had any for over a week, but the other night when i was having some discomfort, I decided it was better to take one rather than to toss and turn half the night because I couldn't get comfortable. I have resorted to 3 ibuprofen on occassion, even though we're really not supposed to take it. There are times when I have some aching rather than pain.... pain is rare by now. So I take a few ibuprofens and a lot of fluids so hopefully it's not doing any harm. Hope your flexion measurement is great tomorrow. It will come little by little. Does your PT guy make you do those "butt slides" I told you about?? LOL! I hated those, but now I can do them with no pain at all. We LOVE WalMart! Shop there for most of our groceries when we are in CA. In WA, store isn't any further than the one in CA, but the traffic is AWFUL and we don't go as often as when we're down south. Besides, we have Albertson's across the street, Safeway 1/4 mile away and another store a block away. Buy lots of stuff locally when we're at home. Haven't ever dry docked there with the RV, but I think it's great how they are so good to RVers.

That is great advice. I can hardly wait to hit the Salvation Army store in Gilroy CA tomorrow! Go there twice a year when we are going back and forth from our winter hideaway! It's only 45 miles south of our son's, which is where we are now, but that's where we'll stay tomorrow night so I can shop there and hopefully go to Garlic World store! DH is balking at that saying we still have some stuff left from when we stopped there in the spring! Yeah, but there was stuff that he wouldn't let me buy! So I have to go again! Kinda funny story... last year at this time when we stopped there we went to a little winery close to the garlic store. We tasted some wines including one called Garlic Red, I think. It was tasty and I thought would be great for cooking... like put it in spaghetti, etc. So we bought a bottle an a couple of others. So we're having a "patio party" at the neighbors' a few weeks later. I sent DH over to our RV to get me a bottle of wine. And when I took my first drink... I wasn't quite prepared for the garlic red!! Uh... it's really better for cooking than for drinking!

I am at that same frustrating place! Most plus size tops, too big. Women's... most of the XLs fit. But I wanted a Halloween top at Walmart last week and had to go with a 2X! Go figure! Pants are a HUGE frustration... 20's too big, 18's too small. I found a couple of 18's that fit, but have to be "relaxed fit", low rise waist, petite, or cropped pants even better. Cropped are usually ankle length on me and even some capris! Short fat legs... hard to fit. Waist has gone from 53" to 39". If I can get pants that fit in the legs, need belt to pull in the waist! Me... who didn't even own a belt for many years. Anything I ever bought that had a belt... I would throw it away! Now I am buying belts to keep my jeans up! Still trying to find a pair of black dress pants! Did find two nice jackets in Dress Barn last weekend. One is denim but kind of tailored and a little dressy. The other is mandarin style.. peacock blue. Both are 14/16, so I probably bragged about that last week on this thread!

Karla, Sure hope you're feeling better today and having a better day. We really do care! Hugs!

Don't get discouraged, Lori... it's only two weeks tomorrow. I remember that I had a dramatic improvement at about that point. And it was steady progress after that... getting a little bit better each day. What was your flexion measurement last time he measured? I started at about 67, then went to 72, gradual increase up towards 100 and finally got to 115 the last week of home PT. When I did the outpt PT, that therapist said the doctors don't want you to go past 125 because the hardware isn't designed to do that. If you WANT to go shopping... I'd go somewhere that has in store electric scooters and use one. It's a little humiliating the first time, but DO IT! That's what they're there for. I think they used staples on my incision because I am still carrying so much weight in my thighs and the doctor was very concerned about that. He had my whole thigh down past my knee wrapped tight in stuff that was like cotton batting that you'd use on a quilt or something, and then ace wrapped over that. He kept that on for 48 hours and wouldn't let me bend my leg for 48 hours. I don't remember that at all. I remember when he took the dressing off, but the rest my husband told me because I have very little memory of the days in the hospital. This is SICK... but my most vivid memory is that I ordered baked salmon with a side of mac and cheese and it was SO good and I couldn't eat it! I was kind of sick to my stomach from pain meds and band kind of tight and I couldn't manage more than a few bites. Just enough to recognize that the salmon was perfectly cooked..nice and moist, and the mac and cheese was delicious. LOL! I was so frustrated! :confused:

So sorry your son's didn't get that attention from their grandparents. Too us, that is a really enjoyable part of grandparenting. Our departure from the NW this month was planned around Thomas' Grandparents Day at pre-school! We'd been several other times with his brother and sister, so it was important to be there for him, too. The games... I wish we could see more! We've sat through soccer and football games in pouring rain, and cold wrapped up in blankets and keeping our hands warm with a cup of coffee! We love it! School plays, band concerts, DH spoke at one of the grandkids' elementary school along with some other grandpas on Veterans Day. These are the sweet things of life! Great, you've made some good decisions about your family relationships! You're right... no should have permission to put you down like that.. esp family! Weird sensations are sort of part of the package. I have that area on my heel that is still tingly, an area around the knee cap that feels numb and tingly, and sometimes the incision still feels like its pulling apart or something.. stinging, etc. The therapist told me to massage it with the tips of two of my fingers. I didn't want to at first, but when I did it, I found it did feel better. Sometimes I'll take a little ointment of some kind... melalueca, or antibiotic ointment, and rub it all up and down the incision. Yours is probably not yet healed enough to do that though. Are your stitches out yet? First I was afraid to have the nurse change the dressing.... BIG BABY! Being an RN, it's sort of embarrassing to admit that! LOL! But once she took it off, it really did feel better. She put steri strips on it. Then at the 10 day point, she took out the staples. Oh, my did that feel better! My RN daughter came up for a visit on day 9 and she was the one who initiated that. She had me call my home nurse and when she came the next day, out they came. Then I started washing it gently with wash cloth and soap in the shower each day, and when it was healed enough, I started that massaging the PT showed me. But.. they put a tourniquet around the top of your leg and do all sorts of traumatic stuff to that leg, so it's not unusual to have some weird skin sensations.

Exactly! She asked... what do I do if I go out on a date... this has to be a LIFESTYLE CHANGE!! If we tell ourselves we can never again eat certain things, we won't stick with the program. It's like balancing a checking account... plan ahead for those times when you're going to deviate from the program. Check the menu online, if possible, of wherever you're going when dining out. Cut your calories the rest of the day. Do some extra exercise. Get right back on program the next day. I don't understand asking for advice and then rejecting what's offered. Sorry... but I was a little offended by the response I got, so I appreciate the support I got from a couple of other "veterans", fellow sojourners! Thanks!

Good grief.... got involved in a long post on another thread and now I don't remember what I was going to say!! PHone call from my sister in the midle of it didn't help! Anyway.... what I can remember.... Laura, so sorry you're not getting much good news on your dad. Apples... the photos are great!! Love them. And I love your kitchen, too! See what I mean.... that's all I can remember! UGH! I do have to get in the shower and get to DIL's in about an hour!! DGD soccer game! DGS's team lost football game last night, but they were playing a very tough, hard hitting team that is at the top of their league. GS is the QB and he did very well... had a couple of good runs and good passing, including one pretty long touchdown pass. They were troopers and played very well despite the odds. Score was 41-18, I think. Not too shabby considering! DH is off flying with DS so I'm on my own this morning!

Okay..... some may disagree with my input here, but if you use common sense, calorie wise, etc., you can eat just about anything you want to, just in much smaller portions. Steak... I eat steak several times a month, but only filet, and only 3-4 oz, usually with sauteed mushrooms and onions, maybe a small amt of veggies. Italian... avoid things with a lot of cheese... like you don't want to order lasagna, but you could do spaghetti and meatballs... just make sure you eat only a small amount. Some restaurants will let you order a child's portion. We go out for Breakfast ocassionally. I like omelets, esp if they have seafood omelet. But I eat my normal portion and take the rest home. Did that last week.... DH had to throw it out after I'd had it every morning for four more days. We both got tired of looking at it! LOL! A couple of times I've shared eggs benedict with DH or DD... don't eat the english muffin. Sauce is high calorie... eat a small amt if you must have it. You are in Florida... do you like seafood?? Great choice. You can almost always get grilled fish in a restaurant that serves seafood. Don't get fries... get baked potato w/condiments on the side.. don't eat more than 1/2 of it. Some folks say their doctors say you can't eat salad. After six months I decided to see if I could tolerate it. Chew, chew, chew... I have no problem with salad. You just have to regulate yourself wth the dressing... ask if they have low fat and ask for it on the side. Become a high maintenance girl! Ask questions about menu items. We went to PF Changs once... asked the waiter a lot of questions about different things on the menu. If he didn't know the answer, he went and asked the chef. Then the chef offered to cook what I wanted in Water instead of oil. It was great. Another thing you can do... if you know where you're going to eat, lots of restaurants now post their menus on the internet and often even have the calories, fat grams, etc. Shortly after my surgery we were going to Red Robin with a group of friends, which is notorious for its high calorie hamburgers. So I looked up the menu on the internet, found a grilled chicken dish that was served with a side salad. At the time, they served it with 2 chicken breasts, so I ate one and DH ate the other. We went a couple of weeks ago because it's our granddaughter's favorite restaurant and we were taking her out to lunch and now you can order it with one chicken breast or two. So.... just a few ideas. Don't freak.... you will have healthy choices. Just remember... small portions, tender meats, low cal condiments, and ask a lot of questions. I read a book before my surgery that was written by two bariatric surgeons in NYC. They actually sometimes take a group of WLS patients out to dinner to demonstrate to them how to function in social situations like that. They even DRINK with their meal.... order a glass of wine and take very small sips during dinner! Drinking with your food is normally a big NO-NO, but their position is that if you use common sense, it's okay once in a while in that sort of situation. Like I said, some wil probably disagree with my input, but you can do this WLS and still have a semi-normal social life that includes food if you use common sense and learn exactly what foods you can tolerate. You don't want to have to run off to the BR and lose your lunch in the middle of a meal! But you will learn. Like... I can eat chicken, but only if its very tender. If I order chicken and find it's dry... I better stop ASAP because it's probably not going to stay down. You will figure these things out. Hopefully not the hard way. As soon as you feel some discomfort with something you are eating, STOP! Okay, I've probably rambled on long enough. Best of luck to you!

Glad your stomach medicine is working so well! Excellent! Yeah, I was "job eliminated" in 2000. I was a precert nurse (RN) for Prudential Healthcare... then they sold out to Aetna, and they decided to consolidate their precert services in Denver. So 13 RNs & LPNs lost their jobs. I couldn't find another job in that arena, knees were too bad for floor work anymore, so after a couple of years I decided I'd go on disability. I really loved that job, but I had to admit it was even hard on my fingers & wrists and I had to wear braces on both hands, so, probably wasn't good to continue even in that field. You are amazing... getting up so early and going to the gym before work is so impressive. I do remember when I was working that job I loved so much, that I used to get up at 4:30 a.m. so I had 30 minutes to swim laps in the pool or walk on the treadmill (couldn't do 30 minutes on the treadmill, but 10-15). Let us know ASAP what happened at the meeting! Stick with us Leslie! Not only when you have a question. I'm convinced that staying plugged in to this online support is an important part of success... at least it has been for me!

So sorry, Karla! Sure having a string of gut wrenching incidents lately! Know there's nothing we can do to help, but we're here for you, we care, and I'm keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

Good Morning! Pain pill to sleep last night for the first time in a couple of weeks. But didn't want to take any chances on not being able to sleep and still having discomfort in the knee after ibuprofen. Read for a little while, then slept like a log all night. Parked at BIL's until tomorrow. Military housing... we used to park in front of DS's quarters the whole time we're in the area, but two years ago they started giving us trouble about it. DIL bargained with the housing lady and talked to all her neighbors and they all said it's okay for us to park there on the weekend. In the meantime, we're 4 1/2 miles away at Earl's brother's house. That works, too, but I like being where the kids are. I love it when they (including DIL) come out to the RV in their jammies in the morning to talk to us, kids give us hugs before they go to school, etc. and I can watch TV with DIL & DS as long as I want without Earl whining that he's tired. He just goes outside and goes to bed! So, happy to move over there tomorrow. lunch with BIL & SIL today. Earl is inside visiting with them now. I'm still in my nightgown watching the Today show. I guess I should get dressed and be sociable!! Haven't seen them yet because they were gone when we got here yesterday and then we left. It was late when we got back... almost 11 pm, and dark inside. DGS big football game tonight... against the best team in the area, so it will probably be a slaughter, but hopefully, he doesn't get hurt!! He's the QB. He's over 6 ft, but not too hefty! Worry about him! Tomorrow morning, DGD has soccer game. She's just turned 13 yrs. And she keeps getting more and more taller than me!! Only grandkids shorter than me now are the four under 10 yrs old! Earl is going with DS#1 to airfield in the morning when we go to soccer. Organization called EAS does free flights for kids once or twice a year so Chris will be flying kids in his plane and Earl is supposed to help. He'll probably get a ride, too, before they come home. Then Sunday, it'll be NFL day in the house! They all put on their Seahawks shirts and watch football all day. Monday morning we head south again. Next stop Gilroy.... garlic store and my favorite Salvation Army store!! LOL

So sorry for your crappy day, Karla!! Don't give up! So tired. Got to DS's about noon. Walked around the block... long walk. Had two cards to mail. Steps here, and I'm trying hard to step up with the new knee. It's hard. No strength in that leg. So.. then we helped DIL with spaghetti dinner for 70 football players! Now I'm super tired and my knee hurts! finally getting some recliner time, but may need to take some ibuprofen!

Laura, So sorry for all that you are going through right now. Thoughts and prayers of all of us are with you. Short drive day today... less than 100 miles, but over Golden Gate bridge, through part of downtown San Francisco... stressful. Then, a lot of walking and up and down a lot of steps since we've been here. Walked around the block when we first got here... long walk. DIL served dinner to 70 football players, so we helped with that and I am exhausted and my knee is hurting! Tomorrow, lunch with BIL & SIL, DGS's football game in the evening. Busy day.

Hi, Moved about 150 miles today. Stopped in Santa Rosa at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. Only 94 miles tomorrow to get to Earl's brother's house south of SF. DS lives 5 miles away but we can't park at his place until the weekend.... military housing.

Any update?? Too quiet here lately! Where is everyone???

On your recommendation, I bought a 3-pack of the Italian blend when we stopped at a Starbucks this afternoon. Now I will have to buy some skim milk and SF flavoring to make something that sort of resembles a latte! 5th wheel and big truck to tow it with.... or smaller RV and pull a car. Rig in this park today is towing a SmartCar... very cute. My sis & BIL bought one this year to tow behind their RV. I didn't take a ride in it, but I sat in it and I think it ws the most comfortable car seat I ever sat in! I like lamb, too.... and oysters, as of this summer! I think I saw lamb in costco last week. So sorry for your pain, Steph. Hope you and Michael have a really good visit this week. Hope you establish some good relationships with gals in your new Bible study. That was great idea. Sometimes we need a sister's shoulder to cry on, and some good friends to lift us up in prayer... hands on! I am sure you gals can handle towing!! Sounds like it would be a great adventure! Hope your meeting with sushi guy goes well! NO water wings! Was wishing we had an amphibious vehicle there for a while... even today drove through some driving rain. Slept very little last night... partly because of all the noise... it would be quiet for a while, then pouring down rain again! So sorry about your sad day yesterday... remembering you bro's death, and missing him. That's hard. My Dad has been gone almost 14 years now. I still miss him, but to be perfectly honest.. the loss that still makes my heart hurt the worse is my Aunt Genny. Still think about her almost every day and miss her. Wish I'd called her more often, wish I'd told her how much I loved her! You know... all the usual things we go through when we've lost a loved one. Hope you're having a better day today. Love you, Sis!

YAY!! GOOD REPORT!! Glad you don't have to do the splint anymore! Hope you don't have to get the transfusion. Did they check your blood, too. They quit giving me BP med in hosp, so I didn't take it when I first got home. But within a few days, when RN came... it was up quite a bit, so I went back to my usual meds. I had that pain in my calf, too. I think it's because they have to get kind of rough with your leg when they're "installing" the hardware. It's been 7 weeks and part of my leg is still bruised and sore, and my heel is still "tingly". Feels kind of like there's a piece of crinkly paper between my skin and my sock! No one can tell my why. I didn't have to do that stomach exercise you talked about. My least favorite... what my home PT guy called the "butt slide"... done in a straight chair. I haven't been too good about my exercises since we've been in the RV, but make sure I do a few each day, and also some walking. Yes... the pain is worth it! Sounds like you're the same as me as far as straightening. They were amazed that I could do that.. I guess it's supposed to take the longest. But I had no problem with that one... it was the bending. It's much better now. You will be amazed at how fast it gets easier and easier to do those exercises.