phyllser

WTH.... I don't know what happened to my post. Must have pushed a wrong key! Anyway.... I think Andrew is destined for retail management. He will excel there... but maybe with a different store after he gets some more experience. Looking forward to having Zoey and Bella meet, and the other dogs, too. They will have a wonderful time. She doesn't do too well with big, aggressive dogs...but she'll do fine with your little ones. We are going to Three Rivers for Thanksgiving... and my birthday happens to fall on Thanksgiving this year. Should have asked where you were bowling today. We were out and about and just looking for something to do. We went to Target where Zoey thoroughly enjoyed visiting with all the shoppers who stopped to OOOOOH and AAAAh over her! Good to hear from you. Sorry that you are SO busy! And that you have to keep working. Retirement is not too far away! Hang in there!! Happy Birthday to Tim. Hope he is closer to you when the next birthday rolls around. I think the sinus surgery will go fine... getting through the initial 24-48 hours will be interesting, but, hopefully it will go well! Last time he flipped out in recovery insisting he was getting off the gurney as soon as he woke up because he had to pee! They hit him with a mega dose of demerol and he was out for the rest of the day!! Which made us the last to leave the day surgery unit... around 4 p.m. when everyone else was gone by about noon! So I bought a paper back and I just downloaded a couple of new games and an audiobook to my iTouch!!! I still have to find someone to take Zoey for a few hours while we're gone. If I knew we'd be home by noon, I'd leave her here in her crate, but not knowing how long we might be gone, I'm going to ask someone to take her for the day. Stay connected!! Do you have Skype???? I forget!

Hi, Dave! Welcome to LBT and to "BandLand", Dave! I am a "Snowbird", so in CA for the winter. There are groups in the NW. I think there is one that meets in Marysville, for instance. Hoping someone here can give you some better information. Also, there is a "mentor's" thread called "I'm here to help" that is a very good online support site. There is a guy there from TX.. a truck driver, who has recently been posting there and just started his pre-op diet, so it's not all gals on that thread.

CONGRATS TO JAKOB!!!! WELCOME TO BOTH OF YOU!! Yes.... YOU CAN DO THIS!! Congrats on the casino win!! You did such a good job responding to everyone..!! Can I just say "DITTO"!! LOL Earl's surgery is next Wed. It seems like he is starting to worry about it. That's one reason why he said we HAD to go to the base yesterday to get our Rx reflls. He seems to think he's going to be laid off for a long time! I think he'll bounce back pretty quick once we get past the initial post-op day or two! I can tell he is getting nervous about it.

Yeah, it was definitely an accident... just playing rough. When I wouldn't play any more, I put my hand near the floor and told her in a stern voice... "You hurt me"! And she kept licking my thumb... so she knew.. It was one tiny little puncture and just a spot of blood. She is a smart cookie! Hugs on the homework and paper you're working on! I thought about the walk for obesity... I'd have to ride the scooter! Hope you enjoy the bowling fund raiser! What store is it that Andrew works at??? He will be manager some day. He seems like a "take charge" type. He gave some excellent input and must have done it in a highly effective manner based on the response. UGH!! Fleas!! We've had them a few times with cats.

Forgot that your surgery was that far away. But you planned it that way so you'd be off over the holidays, right? I'm mad at Zoey. We were playing fetch and she bit my thumb when we were wrestling over a toy. So I quit playing with her for now. Earl had sinus surgery about 8-10 yrs ago on the left side. I don't know why they didn't do the right side then! So this dr. is doing the right side. Sure hope it helps. Every night he goes to bed about 9-10 pm and by midnight he is out in the recliner because he has a sinus headache. I was thinking about going to urgent care today but then Earl went in to a panic because he was almost out of one of his Rx. So we spent the day going to the Navy/Marine base at 29 Palms instead. So... taking Ibuprofen a couple of times a day. Can't walk hardly at all. All week I barely made it from the locker room to the pool and then to the hot tub. I'll make it to the 28th! Glad you're back!! We missed you! Yeah, Mom & Uncle Ed are ecstatic about their new digs! Going to Scrabble, Pinochle in the afternoons, out to lunch earlier this week... shopping trip next week. My Mom told my sister... "we don't have to do anything but eat and sleep!!" Love the "STAR" photo! Checked out the Von's neighborhood yesterday when I went to DHS to refresh my memory....I think it's one of the nicer parts of DHS. Middle school is just down the street from Von's and fairly nice residential area. GRAPES.... too funny! There are worse things to binge on.

Is your kitchen ready?? Protein drinks?? Something to mix them with?? I bought a "Magic Bullet" and used that a lot the first few months.... and we still use it... especially like it for grinding coffee beans. When the time draws closer you might want to get some SF popsicles for your freezer. How about things like Gas-X strips, liquid tylenol??

HEY!!! Watch those comments about shooting SNOWBIRDS!!! I resemble that remark!! I got mine!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Voices in your head.... that concerns me!!! LOL Someone put a "Breadless Pizza" on one of the cooking threads. Don't know where I heard this, but I think you can use a thin layer of cheese and melt it for the crust. Wonder if FF cheese would work. Dominoes has an extremely thin crust pizza that we get once in awhile when we're really craving pizza. If DH would just get something other than pepperoni on it, I'd be a happier camper, though. I don't enjoy pepperoni because it is too greasy and salty. I'd be happy w/onions, bell pepper and mushrooms! Hmmm..... busy day!! A lot accomplished!! So sorry about Hawaii.... that I can't go, too, that is!! LOL I used mine a lot... and we still use it. DH, especially. He grinds the coffee Beans in it, for one thing. Clean your ears????? Come and give you hugs when you pretend to cry???? (That's pathetic manipulation, isn't it??) Zoey is too small to drink out of the toilet, but she sure likes to watch the water go down!! Yeah, too bad you missed the demo of Yoga moves Janet and Joyce gave us!! I have pictures!! Have you seen them??? I can eat shrimp, but have to cut it in small pieces (or take small bites) and CHEW, CHEW, CHEW, and it goes down fine. :smile: :party::hurray::party::hurray::party: YOU ROCK!! Chicken salad and tea sounds nice. We had salad, too. Mine had tuna on it. And now I'm having a cup of coffee... even though it's at least 95 outside!! I am sitting inside with the a/c! Not crazy about the new SBX flavored coffee packets. Wonder why they put sugar in it??? You're doing great with your exercise! I wimped out on most of my water exercises yesterday and today. Hip hurts too bad-sciatic type pain--left butt, down the left leg, tingling in the foot. I stay in the pool and keep moving for most of the hour, but just too painful to do most of the exercises. Or I do some jumping jacks or something, and it aggravates the pain and I have to take a break. Appt is 2 weeks from tomorrow. Asked DH today if he had any strong objection to me going to see a chiropractor in the meantime. He does!! I am getting desperate and thought I might try it and see if it helped. DH has sinus surgery a week from today. Follow-up appt and CT scan yesterday after 2 weeks on antibiotics showed blockages on the left side of his face. So... going to get it fixed. Right side was done about 10 years ago. Don't know why the guy didn't do both sides at the time! Zoey was groomed yesterday and she did so much better this time. Was sitting calmly having her face trimmed when I went back to get her. I couldn't believe my eyes!!!

Yes, Zoey did MUCH better this time! And I loved the groomer at Petsmart... I will make sure I ask for Theresa next time, but all of them seemed very nice and much different from the Petsmart people at the one we went to in WA. They said she did try to bite, but once they let her know who was in charge she was fine. She wouldn't let her grind her nails, though. But she was able to clip them. That one picture I took through the glass, they were still clipping her face and she was sitting still and being a little angel! The last picture was taken Sunday when we took our neighbor, Joy, to see her husband in assisted living in Santa Ana. She sat in the back seat with Joy all the way there and all the way back, and she LOVED Max, too. We took them out to lunch... and 5 of his relatives, too. So we're waiting to be seated and one of his daughters said "9 adults and a baby", so Max says in a LOUD voice.... "NINE PEOPLE AND A DOG!!" I said, "MAX, SHHHHHH!!!" But... the host never heard him anyway. Zoey was in her little red bag. I put it on the floor next to our table and she never made a sound all through dinner and no one noticed she was there! The sinus thing is structural, but causing infections. So Dr. said he can keep giving antibiotics or fix it, so Earl opted for fix it. He did a CT scan and showed him exactly what was wrong and how he would fix it. I should have gone with him, but I wanted to go shopping at Kohl's and take Zoey to Petsmart! I figured he didn't have the patience for all that. Yes, we need our peeps back!!!! Candice should be back today, I think. Linda is so busy. Steph and Karri don't like us anymore!! :smile::frown::grouphug: Janet must be still taking a "time out"?? Who am I forgetting?? Don't think I can do much at water aerobics this morning. Hip hurting still. Appt is 2 weeks from tomorrow. Strange how the pain can stop for a week or more and then comes back with a vengeance! Couldn't do many of the exercises yesterday but did my best to keep moving anyway.

Yuck!! That doesn't sound like much fun!! Busy day... water aerobics.. didn't do much... pain in left butt and down my leg, knee..... no matter what I did it hurt! Anyway, after that... lunch and off to Earl's dr appt. Had him drop us off at Petsmart... had Zoey groomed, shopped at Kohl's for about an hour, then Walmart, bank, Starbucks and by then Earl was back. Dr. did CT scan of his sinuses. Told him he can keep putting him on antibiotics, or he can fix it!! So... surgery next Wed. Hope it takes care of the problem! Out to Mexican food with neighbor's and our beautician... for Larry's birthday. Good time Zoey looks great!

Linda-- Always love to hear about your "Cora time"! Sounds so fun! Rad. trial.... that should be interesting! I did a drug trial on BP med once... turned out to be approved... Losartan... and now that's what the dr. has me on. My feelings, exactly, on the funeral. But... times have changed! I think the dog has respiratory issues because of her short snout and the hair lip. Then if the spasms last too long she goes in to panic mode. Earl has follow up visit w/ENT today. His last day of antibiotics, too. Not a whole lot of improvement, except that the sore throat is gone. Ear is bothering him now. My pain issues... stem from the back but pain is more sciatic in nature... left butt, down the back of my left leg, knee and tingling in the foot. Undoubtedly some nerve impingement. I FINALLY got an appt w/spine clinic, but not until the 28th. In the meantime, I barely made it through water aerobics yesterday. Almost quit several times, but just kept pressing on through the pain and kept moving through the exercises I couldn't do. Janet- glad you had a nice dinner w/Andrew. Yeah, you don't need FOUR dogs! DST time.... I'd probably agree w/you if I was a morning person!! LOL! But I"m going to hate it when it gets dark an hour earlier, and it's going to screw up our dog park time for me and Zoey BIG TIME!! As it is, we go over a little after 6pm and it's already getting dark. Last night there were 8 people and about 10 dogs there when we got there. She mingled with the dogs a little bit, but what she really loves is sitting on everyone's lap and giving kisses to all the people!! That's sort of NOT why we are there, but... she prefers socializing with the humans and not the dogs! Hugs on missing Michael. Doesn't seem like 2 years! And so sorry about the rift with Karri! You two have such a good relationship, and whether she realizes it or not, she needs the tough love sometimes... we ALL do!! And hugs to you, too, Karla, on missing your Dad!! Relax... you'll make it through the week. Hope everyone has a GREAT day. Water aerobics for us this morning... I"ll do what I can. Then Earl's dr. appt at 2pm... I might have him drop Zoey and I off at Walmart or Petsmart! Zoey needs to be groomed! And 2 young guys are coming to wash & wax RV and car... us and the next door neighbors. We were all siting outside... Larry & Wanda arrived in Sky Valley about 3pm yesterday.... and these guys came by with a "deal" if we both did it. So hope they get here early enough.. before we have to leave for Dr., so they can do the car first.

Praying for Robert, Cheri! God is good!

WELCOME!! Glad to have you join us! You're about to start a remarkable journey.

I'm enjoying "Blue Bloods", too! Hope you had a nice dinner w/Andrew! Happy Monday Morning!! Sounds like you had a good weekend.... except for the Alexa stuff. So sorry about her break up. MEN!! Or in this case, BOYS!! :puke: Long day yesterday driving our neighbor, Joy, over to Santa Ana to visit her husband....in assisted living there, waiting for bed in Alzheimer's unit. We took him out to lunch... along w/six other family members...grandchildren, daughter, DIL. They had a good visit. Nice place, but not as nice as the one my Mom & Uncle Ed just moved in to. At any rate, we left at 9 a.m. and didn't get home until 5 p.m. Quick dinner of leftovers and took Zoey to the dog park for a little while. It's getting dark so early, it's hard to get over there before everyone is ready to leave. But then I heard there were 10 dogs there last night and she would've been pretty intimidated by that!!

New flavors are NOT sugar free and are 60 calories. That's the one down thing about them... but there is vanilla, caramel, mocha, cinnamon,.... and two more I can't remember. Maybe Hazelnut. "Make" Earl eat yogurt!! HAHAHA!! Yeah, right, Karla!!! Like I've been trying to "MAKE" him get his flu shot for the last 3 weeks!

I think gal at C.O.D. hit the nail on the head with her "reverse sneeze" theory. But, you're right...she gets plenty of exercise... walked, play ball and throw the toys inside, and take her to the dog park every night for a little while. Just got back, in fact. She got in trouble. Got away from me and ran out in the street because she saw a golf cart coming. By the time I caught up she was on their laps licking faces! Then she didn't want to go with ME!!! SNOT!! I got some of the new flavored instant coffee at Starbucks today.. If you bought a pack of it, you got a free tall drink. SO I figured that was a good deal. New flavors come in 6 pack for $6.95, but if you get a free drink, that takes away the sting of $1+ a drink for instant coffee!!! :biggrin:

Hugs, for the challenges you are facing! You can do it! What happened after that last date? I thought you really hit it off with that guy. I must have missed something after that. The pills the vet gave us were broken in to 8 tiny fragments. Gave her one before she was groomed in WA, and it didn't seem to do much. She still bit the groomer!! LOL!

OOOPS! I thought I was all caught up but I had all of the posts since this morning to read yet!!! Glad you got the 6 lb back! Your face is lovely!! Doesn't look 55 to me!! Thanks for your perspective! Hadn't thought of it that way. I do remember that when we lived in OK and DH would go to WA on business, the grandkids always looked forward to grandpa taking them out for ice cream! Good point! Congrats on that health eval!! That is GREAT!!! What a testimony to the benefits of weight loss!!! I think Julie can probably somehow wrap an ice bag around that TENS unit if she wanted to. I think that's what my PT guy was doing. Loved meeting you, too, Linda, but wish we'd had more time to visit. Tried to sit next to different people each time we got together, but, alas, still didn't have enough time to spend with each one! Yes, Jodi... can't tell you enough how much we appreciated all that you and Jeff did to make our Vegas trip more enjoyable! I LOVED that limo ride!! I think I saw a comment you made on FB saying you expected to be spending more time in Vegas in the coming months!! :tt1: Hope all goes well!! Do you want an arrow from Cupid, too!??? LOL Hmmmmm... I still have sedatives from when she was spayed. Wonder if I should use that next time she has a freaky episode???? So... you have a monster truck???? LOL

15 Minutes an hour makes a lot more sense than 3 hrs at a time!! Hope it's helping. Sorry your night did not go well again! Our sleep was interrupted by a very restless, distressed dog last night. Not sure what was going on... chatted with a random stranger about it today who stopped me to admire my dog and she said her mother's dogs (short snout) do the same thing and the vet called it a "reverse sneeze", and then sometimes the dog goes in to a sort of panic attack... which pretty much describes what Zoey does once or twice a week. Last night it happened after midnight! So I was walking her around the neighborhood and trying to calm her until after 1 a.m. The she insisted on sitting in front of the bedroom window just above my pillow! And she kept whimpering. Finally Earl took her out and held her on his lap in his recliner for a while and she settled down... until she pounced on top of my CPAP mask at 6:45 a.m. Then just sort of sprawled across my face. Needless to say, I put up with that about 30 minutes before I gave in and got up! Your weather sounds so nice! Hope you are enjoying it and not working too hard. Busy w/shower, etc., it sounds like! Scary thought... hunters on your property! Yikes! Dangerous! You better equip that Caddy with bullet proof windows!!! We enjoyed the beautiful weather today, too.. Went to College of the Desert street fair. Zoey had so much attention! She loved it. Then we went to Trader Joe's, Starbucks and Walmart. By the time we got home... 5 hrs after we left, she was exhausted. She and DH are both sacked out! I did find her an orange vest type harness at C.O.D. that I will attach her "therapy dog" Patches to. Glad things are going well so far. Saw on FB that Nael has arrived in Damascus and Nels is having fun building tents in the LR!! Fun! Sorry about the colds. You're going to do fine! He'll be home before you know it! I forgot... how long will he be gone? His family must be ecstatic to see him! Too bad you couldn't all go this time. How they would have loved to see you and Nels!! Thought of you the other day... DD #2 called to ask me about John Deere toys we bought our youngest grandson... about same age as Nels... he'll turn 5 next week. We bought a truck/flatbed/tractor combination... I think down here at the fair in Indio, several years ago. Apparently big brother accidentally stepped on the flatbed trailer the other day and broke it. So, Thomas was somewhat distraught. Acted very subdued all day and got in trouble at pre-school and after talking with him about the events of the day... he said he was sad about his broken toy! Being that we bought it at the fair... no way to replace that exact one. But, I did a little research on Amazon.com, and Jodie sent me some JD toy website links to show me what it looked like.. and photo of an excavator that he said he'd like! So I was able to order some exquisite JD toys for his birthday, complete with shipping and gift wrapping! He will be a happy boy on his birthday! Got the excavator and a sort of a monster truck thingy w/flat bed and tractor.

Wow! Sounds like you need a rest!!! Four hours without the dogs will be great. So Andrew is finding out the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side of the fence!! Enlightenment is good!! He is now appreciating what he had! It's tough to live with grown up "children" because... they're "grown up" and want to make their own rules even though they are living under YOUR roof!! We've been there!! I didn't buy anything in Vegas! Never got to the outlet mall. Only thing I went home with was empty pockets and a T-shirt from Hooters that cost me a lot of money! Thinking maybe the scalping of the lawns is not helping Earl's sinuses to get better, especially with all the wind this week. Something was going on with Zoey last night. She had another one of those episodes of kind of going in to panic mode... going in circles on the bed, water coming out her nose... this at least an hour or two after she went to bed. So a little after midnight I took her outside to see if she had to pee. But she just wanted to go in circles, tried to drag me all over the neighborhood... straining to go over to Joy's, then Ruth's, then next door to where Larry & Wanda aren't yet... and my hip was killing me and hurt to walk.. so finally sat on a lawn chair on the patio waiting to see if she would calm down. Finally put her back inside and took her back to bed. But then she woke up Earl, too, and kept us awake until well after 1 a.m. She wanted to be near the head of the bed so Earl finally opened the blinds so she could see out, but she stood there at the window right at the top of my pillow, kind of whimpering. That went on forever until Earl finally took her back in the LR and held her on his lap in his recliner for a while. Not sure what happened after that but remember being awake at 3 a.m. And then at 6:45 a.m. she was literally walking on my face, plopped down right on top of my cpap mask until I moved her. Then she stood on my stomach! Finally settled down, but right on my belly, so... Saturday morning and I was hoping to sleep a little later but it just was not in the cards! Had to give up and get up a little after 7 a.m. She seems fine this morning, but... may have to take her to the vet to see what might be going on. She has these kind of snorting spasms... usually a couple of times a day, and we keep assuming she was just drinking too fast. Well... better go get dressed. We're going to C.O.D. street fair today. Karla... don't work too hard!! Candice, you're probably off to your sister's by now. Hope you have a great weekend with family and a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner!

Sounds like fun times at the polling booth!! LOL Sounds like a scary episode!! You should have gone to the ER, you know!! Glad to hear Mel got a clean bill of health! Punta Cana sounds GREAT!!

Now that I'm back in the desert, I realize there just wasn't enough time to visit last weekend... especially one on one... I had good visits with some, but not enough time with others, and definitely not enough HUGS!! Some of that was my own fault and I regret that! I am such a slug in the morning! Half of Saturday could have been spent much differently if I had gotten out of my room!! Missing all of you!!

Yes, Cheri.... AMEN to Julie's comments. Julie... your comments are always so insightful and thoughtful!! I would just add that my strategy in getting through difficult things is very similar... to praise and thank God for however He is going to use these difficult circumstances for HIS good!! Hard things happen because we live in an imperfect world... but God can use these things to further HIS kingdom. It's difficult to comprehend why these awful things happen... all we can do is pray that some good will come from it. Somehow, some way!! HUGS, Cheri! You know we all care and are so sorry for the loss of this very special boy! Arlene.... good work on the exercise!! You know what hey say... "No Pain, No Gain!!" Julie... I am so glad you got that TENS unit! I am sure it will bring you some relief and hopefully help you avoid some of those pain killers! They used it at PT on my back this summer, after the accident, and I really think it helped. Does yours have heat/ice options?? Can't remember how they did that, and couldn't really see, but they did incorporate ice when they used it on me, and I remember him giving me the option of hot or cold and I opted for the cold even though I HATE being cold, because I know there was some swelling and ice is more effective for relieving swelling. Sounds like you have a handle on all the wedding preparations! You are very talented in that area!! Do you want to cater our 50th high school reunion??? LOL!! Here I am 3000 miles away and I seem to be the only one interested in getting arrangements made!!! Trying to light a fire under the "locals" is so far not too effective!! Yes, Jodi.... you handled your Mom very well!! Have to make her understand that you expect her to follow your rules when you're not there! Love you, Julie!! You're doing a great job pushing through the pain. I think the TENS is going to make a difference!! OUCH!! I was going to say.... no problem... cleaning up the AC joint until I read the part about removing part of your collar bone!!! You are correct in being more concerned about that pain than the band!! You'll be in our thoughts and prayers!! We're here for you! Great suggestions, Sandy!! I used my Magic Bullet all the time in the early stages, and we still use it a lot. My DH uses it to grind coffee all the time, for instance. So it's not a purchase you'll make and then only use for the initial post-op period. We have in inverter in the RV that we use for the laptop and other things when we're on the road. It would be very useful. I was thinking the same thing, Laura. I started my pre-op diet the first part of May and my surgery was July 20th. But the surgeon wanted me to get my BMI below 60 before he would do it.. so I had that hanging over my head. And I was concerned about the liver after that was explained to me. You will be FINE!! Stop your pouting!!! LOL!! Didn't you say he hadn't seen his mother in 20 years!!! He's overdo for a visit!! We are all praying for safe travel!! Keep busy and the time will pass quickly!! HUGS!! How was water aerobics today?? I was so grateful not to have that cold wind today.. it's been with us most of the week! So was the wine still on sale??? I'll look for it tomorrow.. I'm sure we'll be making a shopping trip tomorrow. I am finishing my last bottle of the homemade wine I bought in NY this week. It is so good. This one is Blueberry Shiraz! Earl says it's too sweet, so I have to drink it myself!! :tongue::biggrin::frown::thumbup::frown: Hope you and Tanker had an enjoyable day driving around the countryside!! Sounds like a beautiful fall day to do it! It's a little warm here today, but I LOVE it!! Yes, we are ALL mother hens... and with different perspectives that complement each other!! And we care about each other!! Sounds like you have a good plan for recovery/rehab! You can get some of the pain meds in liquid form. Not crazy at all!! A free spirit!! I love it!! I can picture that! I have been known to make up songs, too, to express my exuberance... or sometimes other emotions!! LOL No offense to my ND friends, (sorry, Julie), but my most famous was called "I Hate Minot"!! It came about shortly after DH dropped me off at Minot AFB, in an empty 4 bedroom base housing unit with 4 kids from 1 1/2 to 8 yrs old.(he had to go back to Denver to finish an AF school he was attending!) Hardwood floors (imagine the pitter patter of 4 kids and a dog in a gym), cushions from our li ttle travel trailer were my couch, camping cooler was my end table. Cot from family services, card table and folding chairs I think some gracious neighbors lent me. The kids amused themselves by playing "Hide and Seek" and sometimes used the kitchen cupboards to hide out! Not to mention having a 2nd grade teacher put me through weeks of hell because our oldest daughter was "shy" and it was all my fault because I was an overprotective mother!! GRRRR! It was an interesting 6 weeks. The song was therapy!!! HAHAHA!! Mmmmmm, yes... been there, done that!! DH and I spent about 3 1/2 hrs apart during his 21+ years in the AF including a stint in VietNam, leaving me in NY near my family with a 6 mo old, 20 mo old and 3 1/2 yr old! We make it through, with God's help! Family was great, and joined a group of wives whose husbands were all deployed. That was a great help. But what really stands out in my mind was all that my Dad did! He would babysit those three little ones so I could go places with my Mom... WW, etc., and he always did it joyfully and often would be giggling about something the kids did while I was gone. I could call him at 10pm and tell him... Dad, I just realized I have NO milk for morning and the kids are all asleep... and he'd go out and buy me some milk. He was wonderful... and I'm not sure I ever told him how much that meant to me!! When I think of Earl being gone all those months... that's what comes to my mind!! Not the pain of the separation, but all the support of family and friends, but especially my Dad!! Okay... I've obviously had too much wine because I'm getting all sappy!! (only 2 small glasses, honest!!) I LOVE all of you!! So, did you enjoy your free time??? Zoey needs to have a visit to the groomer... just can't decide who to take her to down here in the desert. She needs ears, face, butt and nails done SOON! We are all SO excited about how well you are doing!!! CONGRATS!!! Being an RN myself, I am VERY impressed with your grades and how well you are doing in nursing school!! YOU GO GIRL!!! What a GREAT idea!!!

Enjoy your holiday weekend+!!

Earl is feeling better, but still complaining of sinus drainage and ear aches. Over a week on antibiotics now. Follow up appt is Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for asking. He's trying hard to cope with the heat today, too. I asked him to please not turn on the a/c until at least 3 pm! I hate having the windows all closed up, blinds closed and a/c on!! Holy Cow!! You have a busy week coming up!! No shopping??!! Bummer! I don't have room for anything anyway! I'm surprised I didn't catch any flack for the things I bought last week before Vegas!! Hope Bella lets you sleep a little later this weekend! One morning this week Zoey decided to walk on my face and neck a little after 7 a.m. because I was a little later than usual waking up! That pretty much did it... very effective. Sprawl yourself across my neck and lick my eyes. Then I slipped off the cpap mask and she thoroughly cleaned my nose! C'mon, Linda.... we're waiting anxiously for an update on Mel! Hibernation is a GREAT idea!! I love those Wheat Thin Flatbreads. I often have two of them in the evening with a little FF cream cheese. Tracy is going to be depressed this weekend.... high winds are forecast for the Pacific NW and 3-5 inches of rain!!! :biggrin::frown::thumbup::frown::tongue: I've been exercising hard every morning.. in the pool... I say "HARD" because I'm working when everyone else is talking!! LOL! Except Earl... he does all the exercises, too. And I double time most of them. Not bragging... but.. just to make a point... my hip is hurting again and then Earl says... you're not exercising enough!! YES, I AM!! But it hurts anyway! Tried to walk the dog today after lunch. Well, to begin with.. she refused to walk. Planted her feet and refused to move and then sprawled on the asphalt and was going to stay there and sun herself! But I couldn't have walked anyway... left hip hurt too much. I'm going to call that doctor's office AGAIN!!! Neighbor told me doctors there are great buy staff is awful and NEVER return your phone calls!! Surely they have received the FAX with the x-ray report by now!!!

So very sorry about your friend's death. That's so awful! Too young to die! Will pray for wife and family! Glad Mel had his biopsy! Keep us posted! You know his bark is worse than his bite!! I'm ready to go to the outlet mall or that other place you like any time you say the word..... "shopping", that is! LOL What wet wipes do you use?? I buy Cottonelle and they don't do that to you! Glad the hip is something temporary! Mine is bugging me again. I have been trying to get an appt w/spine clinic for 2 weeks!! Went there again today and took them DVD with my x-rays from March on it. Now she says she needs the report!! Give me a break!! It's the same hospital system.... Eisenhower! You would think the could get it off the freakin' computer! I have called there repeatedly and today was my 2nd time to go over there in person and I still don't have an appt!! Sorry for your struggles!! What more can I say! Didn't I confess about popping Papaya the last two nights!! None tonight!! And I'm afraid of them now because I think they might have contributed to my problems last spring!!