Can't be without my friends. You all are a big part of my success.

Happy Birthday to Maddy! We all love her and her Grammy!

Hi, Ladies,

Glad to hear Janet is doing well. I made it to Omaha. It was cute, Brad was very surprised. I knocked on the door and could see through the window he was in the dining room working on a puzzle. When he saw the dogs at the door, he was like what??? It was cute. Then he panicked cleaning. The house was clean but he wanted to vaccum real quick, etc. I am working remotely today and tomorrow. I do have a bit of a cold but it doesn't seem too bad.

Have a great day my friends. Hope to ttyl.

Good Evening All,

I don't know what happened to yesterday...I seem to have lapsed into a time warp of sorts...but it was great to see the updates from everyone!

Michelle...I am so very sorry to read of your dog. Wow, 20 years is a very long life for a pooch. You provided a very good home, be at peace with that. Hugs... And good to read the exercise is going well, too!

Dawn, how fun is that to surprise Brad! I love doing those types of things. One year I made my sister a birthday cake, and traveled from Orlando to Daytona Beach to deliver it while she was at work. She was so surprised and happy, but was not too pleased that I was in town and did not see her. I hope your cold does not become a major one. Enjoy your visit!

Dee, great news about CJ...a wonderful story! I was sorry to read of your reflux, you have to be serious about treating it fast. I hope the slight unfill will help. Please let us know how you are. Congratulations on your additional weight loss!

Diane, I hope your next appointment goes well...please check in with us and let us know how you are.

Terri, sounds like all is well in the Noel home...that's wonderful to read! I hope your recent fill will put you back in the green zone. Keep up with your walking, I love it, and does not seem like exercise to me I enjoy it so much.

Janet, I am so relieved to have received your text and know you fared well with the surgery! You are amazing...now onward to more mobility! I am so sorry I did not realize it was Maddy's birthday...so please share HBD wishes from me as well!

Physical therapy is going well, so far. I have to stretch and manipulate my toes on my left foot. I hope no additional surgery will be necessary

The deck is 90% completed with the staining, looks so much better than the weathered look we had. Definitely will post a picture, but likely will be on FB, as I still have difficulties with getting pictures out of the camera, or posting a picture from my iPad or iPhone here.

Jack has also made great progress with the closet upstairs. It is all framed out, he has the wiring done, additional light switches in, and moved the thermostat for the upstairs central AC. It's ready for sheet rock now. After the seams are taped, compounded, and sanded we will move from the main level to upstairs. The house is slowly taking shape...it will likely continue to be a work in progress, as work on a total revision of the upper level master bathroom begins this winter.

Overall, the updates were great to read...keep up the great work ladies...each of us has great things in progress!

Love and hugs to you all...

Hello girls...

Well I seen the cute surgen today and he is very concerned about me hurting through every meal....so he took all Fluid out of my band and schedualed a upper GI on Monday....if all looks good ( no slip ) he will put all or most of the fluid back in !!!

I am looking forward to eating tomarrow with out any pain....

Carole you sure are saving a lot of money having Jack as handie as he is...

Dawn...how cute of Brad to try and clean up when you surprised him....

Terri.Janet..Diane and Michele....hope your doing good ...

As for me...today is 5 yrs that our family was bless with making CJ a forever part of our lives..I thank God for CJ every day he has had such a positive spot in each of our lives...and people who meet him say they same....

The whoopee pies didn't stay in the house I made them for the boys football team.....the pee wees played last night and lost in the final mins...~sighs~ but as always Isaiah says we had fun !!!

I had a surprise visitor yesterday ...another foster son that joined the marines and has grown against all odds....he has the will power of a very mature adult...he always has...he came to us a week befor Christmas with just one pr of jeans and 4 white T shirts...and even after spending al kinds of money for clothes for his chiritmas he continued to wear just them dang T shirts...years after he left here....he sat down with me one day and said...mom know why I didn't want the clothes....well long story short....growing up he had to buy...wash..take care of his own clothes... cuz he was the adult in the home...taking care of a drugged up mom...part of his nightly rutien was to wait till she passed out on the front porch and then he would drag her into the house so the neighbors wouldn't see her in the morning....Sooo he just wore the white Ts as his signature...and no one knew he didn't have clothes...

Ok tomarrow I see my nut....she is going to be happy with my weight..130..but she isn't going to be real happy that I have had acid reflex for over 2 weeks....and I just cant seem to eat.some days..I have ate my share of sliders...What I don't understand...last night I ate one hard shell taco from Taco Bell and it seemed to go down fine...but for the rest of the night I couldn't even keep Water down...in the mornings even coffee and yogurt hurt going down....but by night time...im so hungry...I eat sliders..

You are so amazing! I always wanted to have foster kids. I love children and I especially have a heart big enough for those that don't have someone to love them in this world. I just joins junior league and they just started a foster ytd program. Can't wait to get into that!

Congrats on your 5 yr anniversary with CJ!

Hi' date=' Ladies,

Glad to hear Janet is doing well. I made it to Omaha. It was cute, Brad was very surprised. I knocked on the door and could see through the window he was in the dining room working on a puzzle. When he saw the dogs at the door, he was like what??? It was cute. Then he panicked cleaning. The house was clean but he wanted to vaccum real quick, etc. I am working remotely today and tomorrow. I do have a bit of a cold but it doesn't seem too bad.

Have a great day my friends. Hope to ttyl.[/quote']

I hate being sick. I am all in to my essential oils and so far they have kicked whatever is around in the butt. Everyone in my office got REALLY SICK except me!

So sweet you surprised your Hunny!

OK... so where are all my buddies As I sit here typing a 5:00 AM? Been up for a couple hours. I got bitten by some unknown insect or spider yesterday while sitting on the front porch. Now over half of my left forearm is swollen and VERY itchy. I have taken all I can and put topicals on it to no avail. I have even tried ice. Nothing! I HATE BUGS! Will likely end up having to go in for a shot of steroids today. Yuck! Supposed to meet by younger daughter Etta for lunch today after a medical benefits seminar from IBM where Franc and I retired. The seminar is being held next door to Etta's work. I hope I can even make it. I hope everyone else has a good day.

Doreen, sorry to hear about your unfill, but you have been through a lot recently. I hope you will get back on track soon. And Yay for you! 6 pounds down!

Oh Terri you should go right to the ER !!! Maybe I watch to many showed on animal planet...but I know spider bites can be so scary....please don't wait...

Michele....a foster youth group sounds like a very rewarding thing....You know I started fostering children when our two sons left for college together....not only do you loose your children you loose the house full of their friends that use to be there every meal...lol

I look at your pic and still go WOW each time you post...you are looking so good.

Dawn how are you feeling....did your cold make a fast exit...I hope so.

Carol..its the weekend ...for me that's a lil more relaxed...wondering if that is just the opiste for you and Jack with all your working on your home...

Janet...hope your feeling no pain !!! How long are you in the hospital stay for ...thining of you hun...

As for me TGIF !!! I get a few days of not having to drag kids out of bed !!!

Tonight were going to bundle up and go watch the school team football game..CJ loves the marching band ..tomarrow Jakie has a game and Isaiah is going to a b day party...sunday they both have games..I will try and post a pic I took of them last Sunday....

Happy Fri the 13th every one...

terri get to the DR !!!!

Good Morning All,

Terri, I cannot in good conscious like your post! I agree that Dee is correct...you should see a doctor and not fool around with reactions to venom. I am with you...I hate bugs. Of every description! Please let us know how you are...

Dee, very sorry that you had to have your band emptied...it should not be too difficult to continue to maintain compliance with portions. I hope that your tummy calms down . You have a full weekend ahead...no wonder you continue to lose weight! Remember to pace yourself!

Janet, absolutely wonderful news that you get to leave the hospital so soon! Continue to improve every day...when we visit in November, we should enjoy a nice stroll somewhere. Be thinking what options around the Englewood-Madeira Beach area fit that criteria...how is Ange? Did Maddy enjoy her birthday?

Michelle, good to read that you are doing well. You certainly stay active, which helps so much with weight loss. Keep up the great job!

Dawn, how has the remote job site been working out? Is the weather more harsh in Nebraska compared to Illinois? When I was a young child we lived in Wisconsin...my father decided he no longer wanted to deal with the harsh winters in WI!

Diane, please let us know how you are...sending positive thoughts your way!

Here are the next NFL players...lol

So today we finish up the deck...and hopefully will be able to locate the thrift store operated by the Watauga County Humane Society. I have several large boxes of donations I would love to drop off. They are hindering progress with getting my office space usable.

Band is mostly behaving...I am still getting my exercise in, but 5 days a week is about all my knee and hip will permit if I want to be able to walk and climb stairs.

I hope everyone will enjoy their TGIF...and have enjoyable plans for the weekend...

Big cyber hugs to all!

Morning all! I'm on day 19 of my 90 day challenge. Tonight I'm having a 31gifts party at my house. If you've never heard of it you should check it out. So cool! 31gifts.com

I got on the scale this morning and I decided to go and calculate my BMI and guess what? IM OVERWEIGHT!!!!

Not obese, not morbidly obese but Overweight! Wooohoooo!

I have to work on Saturday because a stupid client brought me a hot mess to finish their corporate return due Monday. Grrr. I'm going to see anjela Johnson in Sacramento on Saturday with my girlfriends. She's a comedian.

Sunday I have the football game. Next week I am working Monday and Tuesday then taking the rest of the week off. Woohoo!

How's my cyber mom? Dawn, are you working from home today too? Are you getting any work in?

Love the football player pics...too cute!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hi, Ladies,

Terri, how is your arm doing? I know you said you taken stuff. Did you take Benadryl? If so, and that didn't help, I would seek medical attention. It shouldn't be that swollen. Keep us posted. Hope you are able to make your lunch.

Carole, how fun that you are seeing more and more progress. As I am out here in Omaha, Brad recently repainted a couple rooms, had the yard fenced (so nice w/ the dogs), and today people are here staining the fence and the pergula and painting the trim on the house. It's all coming together very nicely and is exciting to see the progress. Glad you are able to keep moving too with your exercise. I have been doing well since I "recommited" this week to eating healthier and getting back to more exercise. I have noticed that pork tenderloin seems to be an issue for me and after making it for dinner last night, I am officially removing it from my list of foods to eat. It was tender but always seems to get stuck for me. Tonight, Brad and I are going to some fancy steakhouse out here. I am a bit of a waste, since I can't eat much but it will be fun. It's funny because I kept thinking I had NO restriction w/ my band (those months I was not eating well). Funny how this week since I am back to the basics of focusing on Proteins first and eating better foods, I am noticing the restriction again. Major difference by eating the right foods in how the band works.

Dee, that is very sweet that it was CJ's "gotcha" day. I am sure that was the best day for him as well. You truly are an incredible person to open your heart and your home as you do. Before CJ came to you, where was he or what was his circumstances (if you don't mind me asking). If that's too personal, I understand. I was just curious. Of the boys you have now, are they foster children or are they in your custody now? I can't imagine how hard it must be to see them leave. What an amazing heart you and Charlie have. Btw, my cold is starting to go away. It's more of an annoyance than anything with a runny nose and sneezing.

Michelle, that's so sweet that you to volunteer like that as well. I have thought once I get settled (and Brad has mentioned this before too) that it would be nice to do a Big Brother/Sister program or something. My neighbor, has never had kids, and at her age and single probably won't get to. However, she is outside w/ her dogs all the time and all the kids flock to her. It's soooo cute. She has birthday parties w/ the kids for her dogs and the kids are always hanging out there. One of the sets of kids were mad at each other and she talked to each of them so they made up, etc. It's just really cute that she is like an honorary mom to many of the neighborhood kids. Many of them whose parents just don't even keep track of them and where they are and she keeps them under her wing so to speak. It's cute too as there are 2 little girls next to her whose parents came from India. The girls are so sweet. Because their parents aren't from here they haven't been exposed to many traditional American foods, movies, etc. She has introduced them to the Disney movies, mac and cheese, board games, etc. They get so excited. They even love coming over to help clean up the yard just to hang out w/ her. It's such a great feeling being able to inspire or mentor someone. The college Audrey is going to is a Jesuit college. They are very much about giving back to the community, community service, etc. I look forward to that for Audrey. The mission trips she went on before did wonders for her.

Momma, how are you???? So excited you are home. No sexy hospital bed pics this time though. What's up w/ that??? LOL Feel better and rest up. Time to dust off those dancing shoes!!! I got your flapper dress all ready for whenever I get married!

Di, still thinking of you! Big hug!

Michelle, that is awesome on your weight!!!!! How much more are you looking to lose? I remember years back having my appendix rupture and going in for surgery. Afterwards, I got a copy of the surgeon's report and he wrote in there several times about "the patient being severely, morbidly obese". I was pissed at the doctor, as if "how rude". However, it was true. So, I can see when I get to be "overweight" I will be estatic too.

I went to a couple 31gifts parties this summer. I got a nice bag that stands up in the back of my car, a duffle bag that I love and am using here and a cute lunch bag.

Yep, I am getting work done from home. Brad is at his office. He just im'd me that he is hoping to be done at 2:30, lol guess I better get in the shower soon!

Have a great weekend and congrats!!!

Hello all. I'm so sorry it has been so long since I have been on here. It has been a very crazy summer to say the least.

My previously, somewhat, healthy father in law was admitted to the hospital on July 5th becuase he couldn't breath. It quickly got worse. He was hospitalized for 3 weeks and then released with hospice. Once home he got "better". Up and moving around and even the hospice nurse said she didn't think he needed to be on hospice. That gave everyone a lot of hope. But sadly he died five days later, he was 11 days shy of his 55th birthday. Of course there is a ton more to this story...he was a functioning alcoholic, a smoker and we found out that he had been using meth for quite sometime.

My husband is one of four siblings and organizing the funeral and dealing with the aftermath has been problematic to say the least...he's the executor and his sibling are not happy about it. I think they think he is going to rip them off or something. It's been very stressful and is no where near over.

But again, I'm sorry for not coming on here at all. I want to say I just didn't have time...but there's always some time to catch up. I'm sorry.

Anywho, I'm doing good. Down a little over 40 lbs and no fills yets. I've been trying to make it a point to exercise every morning and just take better care of myself in general. Oh and I just had my one year Smokiversary on Monday (did I tell you guys I used to smoke? Yup, smoked for 17 years). Mike is absolutely over joyed that I finally quit and we celebrated on Monday with a trip to Cold Stone Creamery. I got a very tiny frozen yogurt with caramel and almonds...it was delish.

I hope you are all doing well. I tried to catch up a little...but the shear volume is just too much. I did see that Janet had her knee surgeries!!! That is awesome!

And Dee and Teri met! Again, awesome!

Oh and I saw Michelle is in Onederland, congrats!!

And Dawn has way too much candy right behind her desk...I 100% could not control myself around that much goodness!

Looking forward to catching up with all of you guys. Bye for now

Oh and on a weird tech note...I lost all my friends sometime in the past couple months. I looked at my profile and I now have zero friends...very weird.