Happy Birthday to you Wanda and HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!
We do have the best group - always sharing what is going on and giving great tips....I agree with you Glenbury, enjoy, enjoy and next day get back on the program!
Wanda, I'm glad you like your job but 6 days/wk is rough! I have 2 nieces that do the same work but don't think they work on Sat. They are constantly tired but look forward to a good retirement.
With jobs being scarce in some parts and no jobs in some categories, I notice most of our family & friends are thankful they have jobs.
One of my sons, recently separated closed his recycling business since prices dropped so much and his wife went to court asking for alimony and he had his own business for 20 yrs and had been a welder earlier. He got hired on and his take home pay is not even enough to pay the alimony.
He has hired a lawyer & had to borrow the money and has been going bananas about his finances. I say he was fortunate to get hired on so quickly but he has to work 3 - 12 hr shifts and it is very tiring. He had cancer of thyroid 10 yrs ago and had thyroid removed and has been less engergetic since. We try to help as much as we can but these cases can get nasty.
He is a good, honorable man and the judge would not listen that he did not have a job and since he went to court without a lawyer.....now his lawyer has had the case for 2 weeks and nothing is done so far and he must pay $500/wk alimony or go to jail. It is so unfair as his wife would not work during their 25 year marriage and after the 2 children were grown decided she wanted to have fun and no longer be married. She told her lawyers he made lots more money per year than was factual and now he has all his IRS evidence and I hope this will help him get a new hearing and alimony reduced. His wife has a college degree and he only has a high school degree but he was a very good welder when younger and I am glad he can still work at age 52. What a mess!
Sorry, didn't mean to unload but this has all been a shock.
We will all strive to have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy being with family. Wishing all of you the very best.
Carolyn
Carolyn,
I can relate to that story, except the shoe is on the other foot. Yes, I left the marriage, but under different circumstances. He was an alcoholic and very abusive to me and the girls. We had to stay in a shelter for almost a month until he was made to leave the residence.
While there he never paid one bill. I was left with the mortgage, car payment, doctor bills, etc. I had to get help making the mortgage through a local church.
Besides working part time with the postal service back then, I also worked cleaning houses and condos.
I finally finished making the last mortgage payment several years back, also the car was paid off. I have the titles to both of them.
Since then, I have become regular with the PO and have bought me a 2005 Honda Element. (I bought it new). My ex has gone from girlfriend to girlfriend. He is still drinking and is still abusive. I saw him at one of Sarahs competitions and he looked 20 years older than what he really is.
He beat me to the divorce and now I'm stuck with all of Sarahs medical bills. He is under a court order to keep insurance on her. I wound up getting it on her through my job. He would never keep it.
It's still rough with finances. I got myself over my head with credit cards and enrolled with a credit counselor. I feel like sometimes pulling my hair out.
It's going to get worse with your son before it get better, unfortantely. But tell him to hang in there. There WILL be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Wanda
PS HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!
It has been quite awhile since I have posted anything here and I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, got Friday off so will catch up on everything (hubby has to work, so will have lots of time for myself). Gonna go and take it easy and watch some tv. Will talk with you all on Friday
You all take care,
Donna
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was safe and uneventful.
As for mine, it was the most calm, and undramatized Thanksgiving I have had in years. We had it at my nieces house. Mom had said she was not having it this year because of all the crap that has been going on. Well, everyone took her at her word. As far as I know, no one went. I wasn't even in the mood to go see her this year.
I know she's my mom and i love her, but, there is only so much crap I can take. As long as she takes only one daughters side in EVERYTHING, I really don't want to go there. Maybe this will tell her how we all feel.
Like I said, it went great. We all laughed and carried on around the table. We didn't have to watch what we said or how we said it. We weren't walking on egg shells the whole time.
Before dinner, my brother n law said grace. That got everyone teary eyed. My dad always said grace before we ate.
After dinner, we all sat around the table, drank wine, or liquor and played games until around 12am. They played longer, but I had to work the next day and I live about 30 mins. away. They said they finally stopped somewhere around 1 or 2.
The day after Thanksgiving (at work) wasn't even that bad. The packages were kind of heavy, but the mail was not bad at all.
Everyone have a great week.
PS
Just wanted everyone to know that I did not drink and drive. I think I was the only one (besides my daughter) that wasn't drinking. I do drink socially, but not when I have to work the next day. I usually drink when I go on trips with my sisters, so I can really have a good time, and where no body knows me.....just kidding.
Hi Wanda and all you youngsters,
We had a nice Thanksgiving with our youngest son & wife & 2 grandchildren. Our other children all did their own thing as it has been too much for me to handle 20+ for a meal as I tend to want to do it all and it does me in!
Our Kenny spent Thanksgiving w/girlfriend & her 2 children & his two grown children. Sounded like they got along fine. Kenny is having a time with his back hurting & having to stand 12 hr shifts doing welding for first time in 20 yrs. I hope he will get used to it as he needs the money.
Am getting excited about friends & family coming from out of town to my 80th birthday party. Hope to have a bunch of fun!
Wishing all of you a good Dec as Christmas will be here sooner than we imagine. Me, I'm never ready - always rushing around last minute - doubt if I will change at my age!
Keep in touch, Carolyn
HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY, CAROLYN. HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WANDA
Thanks Wanda,
My birthday is Dec 20 and my friends & family are so excited they too are telling me Happy Birthday early! I forgot to tell youall when it is.
I talked to the Mgr of the Banquet Hall today and she says it is already decorated for Christmas, so we will just have to get tablecloths & table decorations.
We have a D.J. hired and plan to order BBQ w/all trimmings when we know exactly how many are coming.
We have 75 invited (should have done 80, huh?) and so far no regrets.
This is such a milestone birthday that I figured we should have a hooray!
Hi Carolyn. Your 80th IS a milestone, for sure! This past May, my siblings and i threw a surprise 80th for our mom. She WAS very surprised and still says we did too much, but iIve told her, this was a special birthday and should be celebrated in a special way. She, like you, seems awful young for 80. My best wishes to you (early) Carolyn! Party like you never have!
I hope all is going well with everyone. One holiday down and another coming up. I did very good so far. I was worried about over eating..and I did, but got back on track two days later, after I'd finished the pc. of pie that was left here. I've been experimenting with Splenda white and brown and also wheat pastry flour. Can't say that cookies have turned out too great with wheat flour, tho. I check around on food sites for low cal desserts. I don't want to go the rest of my life not having sweets from time to time, so will keep trying new things. I had been staying away from baking while learning to maintain. Then I decided that once a week I'd have a store bought cookie. I knew if I baked cookies I'd eat waaaay too many. So far I have done fine. I'm still maintaining my weight and trying to get my walks in. I have been aching since last January and it was getting progressivley worse over time. I finally got in with a rhuematoid dr. and he is treating me for fibromyalgia and arthritis. I started walking less and less because I wasn't sleeping at night and generally hurt all over, even my face. I finally got back to walking after stopping about 3-4 weeks ago and actually slept good the past two night. Maybe I needed a break. I hated not walking because even tho I hurt alot later, I felt so invigorated after I finished the walk. I also found that even tho my weight was staying the same, I felt "flabby" from lack of exercise. I wish I could go back to doing regular exercises, but I know I can't right now. We all need some form of exercise, tho. My daughter broke her foot two weeks ago and was upset because she is immobile now (6-8 wks). I told her to atleast do some upper body exercises. Inactivity makes up too sluggish...Well, that's all from me for now. Hope everyone is doing good. I think we should all crash Carolyn's party!! PAnn
Great idea, PAnn
Everybody up to it!!!! LOL
PAnn,
So good to hear from you. I think that is a great idea to have one bought cookie/day as long as you are maintaining your weight loss! Marvelous! I am up about 6 lbs (after I had lost 11 before vacation) but with having the cold for over 2 wks., I decided I would just eat moderately & very healthy so I am feeling better and staying the same.
It would be fun to meet all of you.....so if you crash my party - please let me know who you are!
So far, I have invited 75 and had only 2 regrets so far. They had previous engagements and I only know them from art class. Have several friends from years ago and far off and so excited to see them again.
Every day I get more excited. If it was a surprise party, I would probably faint. It happened that my youngest daughter did that on my 70th birthday and after I got over the excitement, I loved it! Especially, seeing friends & family I hadn't seen in a while - you never get caught up on the news!
Today, I had art class and I started a new work. The drawing is all I did today and I usually am not too pleased but as time goes by, they take shape and I am always pleasantly surprised. My house is too small to hold them and my granddaughters want me to sell them but I grown attached to them after spending weeks on one & them having them framed......have never done that. It is a way to relax and I so enjoy the time I spend on this.
I have a suggestion for baking healthier....substitute half sugar and half flour w/whole wheat. The choc chips ones turn out fine....I add nuts too. You can get away with less of amount of fat too, but you may not want to experiment. I have so many grandchildren, they just eat them up....almost anything I make.
I make that old fashioned cocoa fudge that used to be on the Hershey's can, everyone loves it - I add one cup of nuts and it is soooooooooo good. My g'dau who is expecting in Feb-Mar asked me when I would have it ready as she is craving it! I told her I would work on it.
I have been so busy just doing the routine stuff, cooking, cleaning, etc. Had planned to make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving but youngest son wanted Lemon Meringue so I did two of those. My husband keeps wanting the pumpkin! So, that will be next!
Wish I could find something to help my painful feet. I have a bad back that my spine doc says is causing the leg & foot pain & I refuse to take painkillers so I have difficulty walking very far without burning, painful feet. I can manage about 5 min. and have to rest. Yet when I was on the cruise, I danced & danced one night and could not believe I did so much but I was sore for the next few days. The rest of the time, I did not feel up to dancing, but then that runny nose & feverish condition had lots to do with that I imagine.
For the last few years, I have not done gift shopping as it is too much for my crowd....which is 20 plus so I just do the cash bit. I know its not as much fun as opening a gift but I hate to buy stuff that has to be returned.
I am hoping we can get our decorations for Christmas up this weekend. Hope all of you are getting your holiday plans up and running and are having a great time.
I was thinking about just making my traditional Christmas treats as always. I just have to keep too many out of my own mouth. I'll try some using your suggestion, tho. I made some no bake the other day that are really blah. We used to make them when I was a kid and called them Mystery Cookies. They had oatmeal, peanut better, cocoa and butter in, nuts too, I think. They were good. I wonder if the deer will eat the ones I made the other day.. I can relate to foot problems, boy I've had that for a long time, but I did find that after making myself start on the treadmill and sticking with it my feet didn't hurt as much over time. Yours comes from the back, so I'm not suggesting you keep trying. Just listen to your doctor..Atleast you got one night of dancing when you were on vacation..memories:-) Even tho you gained on vacation and then getting sick, you have managed to get 6 pounds off again, so you're moving in the right direction Carolyn. Well, we're going out for fish fry after I finish work at 5:00, so I better get. Fish Fry is a bif thing on Friday nights here in Wisconsin. Hope all is well for everyone and that you are all is staying on track by being good now in preparation for when Christmas hits :-) The new year is right around the corner. Maybe it's a good time to reflect on last year's resolutions and to make new ones or update the old for 2009. My next goal will be to quit smoking! I'm confident that I'll maintain my weight now, so after we get out to AZ. for the winter (sometime after Christmas), I'll start working on that. It'll be harder than learning to eat healthy and exercise, that's for sure.
Wanda, I hope you're doing ok. I'm so glad you were able to have a nice Thanksgiving....PAnn
Hi PAnn, Carolyn and everyone,
There was a candle lighting service at the funeral home today. (The one that held my dad's service). Unfortantely, I was not able to make it. My daughter was in our Christmas parade today. I know they had to have froze to death. I was wearing a down coat w/ a lining, hood and gloves and I was STILL freezing my tush off. I sat out there for two hours, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I'll do the same thing next year. All the girls looked so cute with their white dress with green or red trim. They had their air blades decorated to look like candy canes. And of course I saw Santa Claus, HO HO HO!!!!!!!!
Went on dad's MYspace and left him a message. I still have a hole in my heart. I know with the holidays here, it's just going to get bigger as Christmas gets closer. I'm looking forward to my grandbaby coming home. Christmas will be the last time I see her in person until I can save me up enough money to go to Maine this summer. I guess I won't be going with Sarah on her competition next year. I only have one big trip a year. MAINE, HEAR I COME!!!!! I will just have to settle for the local competitions. They are just as exciting as the others and less expensive.
Still haven't started shopping yet. I was supposed to take Sarah after the parade today, but it was too late after we ate and she changed clothes. I guess we'll do it next week.
I have to vent about something....Sarah's boyfriends mom is a -----. She and her boyfriend have moved out of the house and left her 16 year old son to fend for himself. They have moved to Virginia. They brought back his dog this past weekend and he is sick. They didn't take him to the vet. They think maybe it's heartworms. When they left they gave him $13. I guess they think that's supposed to last him until he gets his SS check next week sometime. They went to Germany for a month and it was two weeks before they ever sent him money. He was eating at my house. I was taking/picking him up from school. Dropping him at his house to pick up some things. This is when gas was $5 a gal. She has her head stuck up her boyfriends butt and is neglecting her own flesh and blood. I have suggested calling SS, but her boyfriend don't want me to. He doesn't want to go to a foster home. I told him he would be alot better off than what he is now. At least he won't be worrying where his next meal is coming from or if the electric bill is going to be paid. The more I learn about her, the less I like her. I can't imagine turning my back on my own child....for anybody. BTW, she never repaid me for feeding her son, or using my gas to take him where ever he needed to go.
Thanks for letting me take out my frustration on you guys.
Everyone have a wonderful week.
Hi I bought my Slim Fast tonight and start in the morning. I don't know how to post other than by clicking "reply". I am 61 and want to lose about 30 lbs. I've tried losing before but I really need a buddy or someone for support. Trying to do this by myself hasn't worked.