phyllser

Surgeon's office finally called. They have me scheduled for esophogram in radiology next Friday morning.... a week away! Might take fluid out of my band! I hope not!

Add my congrats to that, Jessica! You're doing a GREAT job and making so many life changing decisions!

Problem is the LAP-BAND® surgeon's office is about 60 miles south. The hospital he uses is in downtown Seattle. Holiday weekend traffic is unbelievable! Everyone going to the mountains or across the sound towards the coast. Tracy & Jim had an awful time going to lunch and movie because they had to take a highway that leads over the mountains! So... what I decided to do is wait it out until morning. If things aren't a whole lot better, I'll go to the primary care doc's walk-in tomorrow morning. Don't see any blood in my stool. I think if it as blood I'd be feeling weak. I'm just tired. Did fall asleep a little while ago, though... sitting straight up in my recliner and as soon as I got in to a deep sleep... suddenly woke up with same crap in my mouth again... just a little bit. I did go to pool PT this morning... Almost called and canceled, but thought it would be good for me. And I did feel better after an hour of exercise. So far today.... 16 oz Crystal Lite, 16 oz SF, FF latte, the other half can of tomato soup and just now had a 100 cal Skinny Cow Truffle... Hungry for some food. Might have a little mashed potatoes for dinner. And about to try a glass of wine.... which actually might relax my tummy a little. Wow! Candy just came to sit next to me.... oh... Earl has his legs up on his chair instead of his foot rest up. That explains it. She is really HIS cat! Tracy found me a cute little puppy on the internet yesterday. Geez... to get one of these dogs from a shelter or rescue place, you have to fill out a 2-3 page application and email/send it before they'll even talk to you! I told Tracy I keep getting hung up on the question, "are all family members agreeable to this adoption?" LOL! Uh... no! I think he is weakening. Jim & Tracy bring Gigi over almost every day! Today she jumped in his lap first, then came and sat with me. After about 10-15 minutes he's all.... "Gigi, come and see Daddy!" And she did. And he's giving her cat treats and talking baby talk to her! This is the puppy Tracy found on the internet.

Stupid surgeon's office NEVER calls me back! You'd think with those symptoms, they would have returned my call in a timely manner. They close in an hour, so I'm not holding out much hope of hearing from them before Tuesday now! So... I called my primary care doc's office. They transferred me to the on call nurse. She did not freak out over my story, and said I would have to come in to walk-in in order for them to figure out what is going on. Duh! So... no "nursely" advice or recommendations at all! So....it's late now, but if there is not significant improvement before tomorrow morning, they are open 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. for walk-ins tomorrow. So I'll go in tomorrow morning if I have not had a big change for the better. Right now still have queasy stomach.

Waiting for Dr's office to call me back. I know... kinda scary!

ALERT.....TMI....Read with Caution!!! Not having a good week! Trouble with hard Protein ALL week. So yesterday I did only liquids.... 2 SF, FF lattes, coffee in the morning, 1 cup tomato Soup for lunch (125 calories for 1/2 can, Janet), glass of wine. So... was feeling pretty okay by late afternoon so I had a small mac and cheese lean cuisine for dinner. WRONG ANSWER! PB'd ... well, just slimed, really, and was extremely uncomfortable the rest of the evening..... do you gals get that pain in your shoulders again when you're tight or stuck??? I sure do... thought I was going to die. So I stayed up until midnight and then went to bed with 2 huge pillows and a small one under my head. Woke up coughing up stuff at 1:30 a.m. and that was about the end of my sleep. Have a call in to my band dr because I coughed up brown slime all night long. Hope it's not blood. Earl's been working on taking the stains out of the sheets and my night shirt all morning because a couple of times I dozed off and then wasn't prepared with Kleenex when I woke up coughing and barfing. I went through about a half a box of Kleenex I think! It was horrible. Similar experience about a week or so ago.. but this was much worse this time. And all the coughing made my lungs hurt. So... doing liquids again today. Tracy & Jim are on their way over and they're going out to lunch.. I know they're going to ask us to go with them.. but only if they're going somewhere that I can get soup.

Okay Janet.... here's my food for yesterday. BF was the last of leftover breakfast from last Saturday... It was a "Joe's Scramble"..... eggs, fresh spinach, mushrooms, onions, ground sausage.... they were pretty stingy with that. So... I had it Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and it came with hash browns which I split up over the four days, too. Impossible to figure out the calories. But probably 3-4 eggs to start... so no more than 1 egg each portion. OH... there was a little grated Parmesan cheese on top... very little. Lunch... Primetimers.... 3 small BBQ ribs... not much meat on them, about 1/3 cup baked Beans, 1/2 cup cole slaw (with too much mayo) and 1/2 chocolate chip cookie. SF, FF latte in the afternoon... probably about 6 oz of skimmed milk. 4 oz glass of wine, 1 oz cheese. dinner was lean cuisine penne Pasta w/chicken... I think it was 290 calories. Got stuck. PB'd, so NO snack in the evening. oh... forgot... I had about 1/2 cup of MY cole slaw with my dinner. VERY little mayo in it.. I used white balsamic vinegar and splenda for the dressing with just a little Best Foods mayo. I think I might have a little with my wine this afternoon. It's almost gone. Felt miserable when I woke up this morning. Still in pain from last night dinner. So... only coffee in the morning. SF, FF latte in the late morning. Tomato soup for lunch.. 1/2 can = 125 calories, 6 crakcers = 120 calories. Mid-afternoon... since I had only liquids so far today... had another SF, FF latte. And I'm about to have my glass of wine. Don't know about dinner yet. Picked up a couple more small Lean Cuisines and might eat one of those. Or... bought 4 cans EAS Protein drinks.... might have one of those.

I've been threatening to get a tattoo.... DH says NO! But he says NO to most fun things!! LOL! Like I"m begging for a puppy lately. But.... have to tell you about the funny birthday card I saw today.... Two old ladies sitting on the front porch... On the front it says... 'I had a rose tattooed on my boob when I was younger." Inside it says, "Now it's a LONG-STEMMED". Hummus is a good snack.... beef jerky, okay.... now my mind went blank... but that's a start!

Don't worry about it! No offense taken! Had a Lean Cuisine Penne Pasta and chicken dinner last night. Did not go well! Still feel terrible. Barely getting my coffee down this morning and can't even think about eating anything!

welcome back!!

OMG!! You are NOT a BAD MOM for not insuring your GROWN UP kids!! For heaven's sake.... get over it! It's the RIGHT thing to do. They need to learn to be responsible for themselves!! I think Tracy & Jim & I might go puppy shopping while Earl is off getting the electrical work done for the tow bar on the new car tomorrow! May check out some local shelters... and maybe even the one that is east of the mountains!

So.. who do you think will win tonight??? AI, that is! Last week I was rooting for Lee... but he didn't do so good last night. Crystal was amazing, though, so I voted for her. I think she has more "star quality", but they are probably both quite marketable! Will be interesting to see who wins, but I think Crystal was the clear winner last night. Thought we'd go to costco after Primetimers today but Earl said no because we don't need gas! Okay.. so we'll just sit hear and watch the rain ut the window the whole rest of the day. Wish Tracy wasn't working today. I may go to Kohl's by myself. Better than watching the rain and listening to Earl snore all afternoon! And I was going to remember to look for the Cabot cheese, too. Earl says we have to big chunks of cheese in the refrigerator and when they are gone, I can pick whatever cheese I want! Yeah, right! Like Mr. Control Freak is going to let ME pick out the cheese. I did journal all my food for a long time. I got burned out, I guess. Just can't find the discipline to do it right now. I'll tell you what I eat.... YOU can write it down!! :smile2::biggrin::laugh::biggrin:

Too funny! Can't wait for some more stories! But I like the "check my drawers" the best!! Yeah... I weighed 200 for so many years back in the 70's-80's, I think my body just wants to settle in here. I've been so tight, I'm not able to eat too much. Yeah, ate out too many times lately... Tracy & Jim are a bad influence!! LOL! But I have ramped up my exercise! Hey... guess who is here for a morning visit... sitting on my lap, licked my bf plate clean and is now washing my arm!!! HAHAHA!!

IMHO... funerals are an important part of the grieving process and help to bring some closure for family and friends. SIL's mother refused to have a service for her husband 3 yrs ago. He was well known in the area and a VIP in the company he worked for. I know for certain that family members still have a difficult time dealing with the fact there was no funeral or memorial of any kind. She couldn't deal with it, so she adamantly insisted there be nothing at all.. no celebration of his life, no funeral, no burial. He was cremated and that was it!

Laura, Had to smile as I read your post.... remembering! We have 4 kids with only 6 yr spread between oldest and youngest. So.. by the time the 4th one went to kindergarten... I literally danced in the street!! LOL! The neighbors got a kick out of it! I have to say, the youngest was also our biggest challenge and I SO needed a few hours break! Good workout at the pool today. My PT seems to be somewhat more rigorous than our Water aerobics in the winter. Back is a little achy. She told me to stay off the bike today because she ramped up my exercises a little and she wants to know how it feels tomorrow. Having trouble getting food down the past couple of days. Had a small steak last night and it was a challenge. Having cole slaw and one rye crisp cracker with lite cream cheese, smoked salmon on it and been working on it for over 1/2 hour with most of the cole slaw still in my bowl! I made a huge container of it yesterday... for dressing.. mostly white balsamic vinegar, several packets of splenda and a couple of TBSP of lite Best Foods Mayo. It's really good. I don't like it creamy. Today I put a few fresh strawberries on top.

That sounds like a great Breakfast for mushy stage and beyond. I will have to try it!

DO NOT cover your children!! They're all over 21 now, right?? They need to take responsibility for themselves. Get jobs that have coverage, etc. No one in school now?? Colleges have health insurance available for a reasonable price. Get a plan that will allow you to get the surgery that you need!! So... how was the LOST finale???? Gave up watching that several years ago when it just got too weird!! TOO FUNNY!!! Bailey's in his coffee!!! :sneaky::tongue2::tt1: :tt1:You should be able to get SF Irish Cream for his coffee, but maybe not at Starbucks. Their SF flavors are so limited considering the myriad of SF flavors that are out there! There is a SF white chocolate powder that is wonderful! I usually get that mixed with a little SF Raspberry or vanilla. So.... scale went up today... TOPS weigh in... I'm back a hair over 200 again and it's depressing!! Just farting around with the same 3-4 lbs for way too long!! Up, down, up, down, up, down!! Especially considering all the exercise and walking I've been doing. Have to revise what I'm eating! Apparently my body likes this weight! I weighed right around 200 for a lot of years. But I don't want to stay here!! Anyways, nothing to do with that... I'm feeling kind of depressed and weepy for no apparent reason! Go through this from time to time which feeds my theory that even after menopause we still experience some sort of "cycle". Then, since Earl skipped TOPS this morning, I went to the pet store on the way home. Not a good thing to do when I'm already depressed! But I'd never been inside their main store and it is truly beautiful! Big aquarium room, reptile room.. all beautifully decorated with soft lights and music! Would never seriously consider buying a dog there because their prices are too high. They had Chihuahuas and Toy Poodles. The poodles were so cute... 5 of them, all blond... but $795 and NO papers! Not registered. And that only includes puppy shots and exam. Shelters are way less than that and often include spay/neuter, all shots and pet exam. But... I spent about 1/2 hr browsing through their books on several small breeds... Yorkie, Shih Tzu, Maltese, etc. I really want a Yorkie mix. One book said that Yorkies make great therapy puppies... like to take to a nursing home or hospital, because everyone they meet is their BEST FRIEND!! That's the way Gigi is! Tracy will bring her over and she opens the door and lets go of Gigi's leash and she races across the room and dives into my lap! Love it! Oh... so you have another hour of Lost to watch. So you haven't seen the climax yet. Thought there would be comments on Face Book this morning but haven't seen any so far. Home before noon this morning and nothing else on the agenda for today! Just sat around all day yesterday. Can't do that again. Will maybe take a cruise around the neighborhood. And think I'll go do my routine at the gym, too. You probably all saw Karri's prom picture already, hope she doesn't mind, but I'm going to post it anyway. It's so cute and so funny!

This was very interesting info! As a retired nurse, it is quite amazing all the "new" stuff I learn here just from reading all your posts! Wow! It's been a long time since nursing school!! Didn't hear of things like "fibromyalgia" in those days! I guess I'm OLD and uninformed!! LOL

TOPS walk was fine.. was disappointed that it was only .8 mile... took me 35 minutes, so I thought it was over a mile. Oh, well.... last year I rode my scooter for most of the "walk". Walked a very short distance so I could get my badge! We went to Breakfast when we were done... just Earl & I. Brought most of it home with me though. Yes, guy behind me was young, too... I did not know him at all, really... but they have a young daughter, too, and it is so sad for little kids to lose their dad so young and she's only about 8 yrs old. Oh, my!! And I thought you were busy before! You've had a whirlwind week with more to come, sounds like! Congrats on the new grandson! We went to Tracy & Jim's after the walk & breakfast. Visited with them and my Gigi puppy for a while. Then Earl wanted to bring the Chevy home, so my pretty new car is sitting over there and he'll be fussing with his Chevy all afternoon. Think I need a scooter cruise around the neighborhood. Maybe I'll go see what Target has on sale. Then we're supposed to go back to Tracy's for dinner... spaghetti & meatballs! But she said she'd keep it healthy.. she's going to buy ground turkey for the meatballs. And maybe I'll take a can of my french style green Beans and not eat the Pasta. Earl made that last week, though.. and I had it for 3 meals before it was gone and I PB'd every time for some reason!

TOPS walk this morning. Slept in. Now have to rush! Meeting at bldg at 9 a.m. So sad about your friend's SIL, Janet! I have to go..... TYL

My vitamin D level was about 1/2 what it should be a year or so ago and came up nicely by taking over the counter Vit D. And I take over the counter B Complex and she's never told me I was deficient in any of the B's. So... don't really "know", but this is just my personal experience.

Good Morning!! It IS still morning for a few more minutes! Had 9 a.m. PT appt this morning. Intended to get to the gym early enough to do recumbent bike and wgt machines BEFORE PT, but... didn't make it and only had enough time to do the wgt machines. Hard workout at PT... so sorry I said it was wimpy after the first one!!! I was dripping with sweat again today! Pool has strong jets that they've been turning on at the end of my exercise session and have me walk back & forth and sideways against the current, holding one of those flutter boards in front of me! And having me go up the step, like 20 times each leg, etc. SO.... by the time I finished all that, took a shower, and decided I was too exhausted to go back upstairs and do some time on the bike! Oh, well... I had a good workout. My arms and legs are feeling it! Tracy and I went to the gym together yesterday and I worked out about 40 minutes... 20 bike, 20 wgt machines. Then we went to Surf Shack for lattes. Problem is... while we were there, SIL called and said he was taking us out to lunch! BAD! So... went to this Chinese place he likes and Earl met us there and I ate something to greasy! Made me feel like I wiped out my whole exercise session! Stupid! He really likes that place and I can never find anything very healthy to eat. I should have ordered a bowl of Won Ton Soup!

Julie, Sounds like you might be feeling just a little bit better. Good to see you posting again. A few of us hanging around! I hear you on the gym!! I tried to get there early enough to do wgts and recumbent bike before PT in the pool, but, not enough time. So I just went upstairs and did the wgts. By the time I finished in the pool, I was too tired to go back upstairs and ride the bike! First PT session in the pool I thought was wimpy! But... they ramped it up a bit when they saw I was a serious exerciser, and now I'm tired when I get out, and I work up a GOOD sweat! They turn up the jets the last few minutes and have me walk against the jets! That is tough! And they always tease me about my tan! Yeah, that kinda scared me, too! I know I push it sometimes! Need to be more careful!! It's tough to get in the habit, isn't it?! I am realizing that by getting the PT referral from my doctor, and going to the PT facility at the gym I've been going to, it's helping me develop a good routine for exercise. They have me scheduled for twice a week PT in the pool. So I am doing some exercise each time... but if I just get up a little earlier, I can do the bike and wgt machines BEFORE PT. I did that on Tuesday and felt really good about it when it was done. Today I feel guilty because I screwed up and got here too late to do both. Yesterday wasn't a PT day, but DD and I went to the gym together... so have to see if we can do that on my non-PT days. She works, but only 2 days a week, and she works at the school, so in a few weeks she'll be done until the fall.

Yeah... grab me a yorkie or shi tzu mix!! LOL We were supposed to get a lot of rain this week but, not so much. Sun is out this morning, but they're still predicting rain for today, tomorrow and Saturday! Neighbor in the apt right behind us died last night. Not very old. He was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer a couple of years ago. Very sad. They have a little girl about 7-8 yrs old. But then... he was the guy who used to throw his wife up against the wall and wake us up in the middle of the night the first year we were here. He was a drunk at that time. He changed his ways when he got sick!

Janet, Sorry for your lousy day yesterday... frustrating week for you! I have a theory that even after menopause, we do experience some type of cycle and slight PMS symptoms. So not surprised you were feeling that way. Hope you have a good day today. Good to take a break from the computer. I NEED to do that, too. I waste way too much time with the laptop in my face!! You are doing great, Candice!! I've been to the gym twice this week and Tracy and I are planning to go together this morning. Our schedules don't usually jive, so we haven't gone together yet. Did I tell you guys that silly place extended my complimentary pass until the 25th?? Crazy! I had my checkbook with me and I was ready to sign up and they extended my freebie!!! So I'll be on my 3rd week when this one expires! Plus now I'm going there for PT twice a week that my insurance will pay for. I go again tomorrow morning at 9 a.m., so I'll go early again and ride the bike first. Today I'm going to do that plus the weight machines. Food wasn't great yesterday.... Primetimers! Chicken Alfredo! But there was a really delicious veggie salad... talked to the lady that made it. She just used frozen peas, corn, green beans, chopped celery, onion and red and yellow bell peppers. The dressing was vinegar, water, salt and sugar. So I'm going to make some and use Splenda instead of sugar. I LOVE my veggies and that salad was wonderful. Just have to watch the portion because of the carbs in the corn & peas. Puppy... yes, I'm sure that cost is part of his "NO", but the main objection he expresses is that having a dog would restrict our travel. We go away on trips of from 4-5 days to a week, sometimes longer... and we can leave the cat and have someone check on her. Can't do that with a dog.. have to have someone who will dog sit or use a kennel... and they are SO expensive. But, Tracy and Jim have no problem finding people to take Gigi when they go away cuz she's so lovable and so easy! I'm sure we can find someone in Sky Valley that would take her... our next door neighbors, in fact, take one friends' dog for 1-2 weeks almost every winter. We're already planning a trip to Cabo next spring with Tracy and Jim... so trips like that would be a challenge. I'm not too worried about Candy because she's been very good with Gigi. It's been pretty amazing, really. Gigi is very timid, so I think Candy senses that she is no threat. Saturday when Gigi was here she was sleeping on the couch for a little while and Candy was in her usual place perched on the back of the couch. She got very bold and decided she was going to take a closer look at this little ball of fur, so she got down and slowly approached Gigi and started sniffing. That scared Gigi and she jumped down. But I think if she were here more often, they'd end up being friends. So... with a small puppy, she'd probably be fine.