Good day OFFers! (Seems to be appropriate for anytime during daylight!) I trust you’re all having a wonderful day and if there are bumps in the road, you ‘re more than ready to take them on. Cheryl~ Sounds as if you had an unexpected mini-vacation and aren’t they always welcome. Great to have a boss/co-worker you like. Makes the journey that much more pleasant. I’d be glad to see the pictures of the Redwoods. While I’m sure they are spectacular, there’s nothing like the real thing in person, right? If ever I’m going there, I’ll have to get to Eureka and say hello since it’s on the way. I’ll include Gloria in my prayers. I thought Leukemia was a cancer of the blood. At any rate I expect medical breakthroughs real soon. Advances are happening at a much faster rate than previously, so I’m hopeful. Your poor little man! He’s really going through the ringer. I wonder when it all slows down, if he were to write about his experience, what he recalls and learned from it? I hope the x-rays prove nothing serious and a simple recovery. Eileen~ It is said that if you love Hawaii on your first visit, you will return! See ya soon! Unfortunately, when the whales come here in the Winter months, that’s when the surf is at it’s roughest. I’m glad your surgery is behind you and you are recovering. This will soon be a memory and you’ll feel so mush better. When our feet hurt, it shows on our face. Incidentally, the name tailor’s bunion refers to when a tailor would sit cross-legged to do the sewing and a bunion would build up on that part of the foot. Watch out for the QVC addiction. Right now, you are a captive audience! Eileen, you are doing so well on your journey, I want to congratulate and applaud you for your ongoing victory. Ruth~ Yes, you are in paradise. I’ve been there and I love it. There are so many special places in the world and plenty of them are right in the good ole USA! I would love to return again someday. A few questions, Ruth: is the possible upcoming surgery a result of wls? If you do in fact need it, aren’t you in a better state of health to go through with it? When you said,” I feel whatever I give I get back so much more,” I thought was divine. That’s the economy of sharing and caring and not too much else makes you feel so good. You are always ready to share your knowledge with others and that is priceless because you give from your experiences so willingly. No charge and interest-free! Such a deal! And you say you’re not religious…it just means something you do on a regular basis, like sharing. You are a living treasure. Enjoy paradise. Nancy~ Sounds like your son had the ultimate Hawaiian experience before he became earth-bound. People who do that certainly don’t have regrets of a missed life and perhaps become better parents.(Just thinking out loud here!) On one visit to Maui, I watched a man blow glass bowls and they were exquisite. I love glass, colored or otherwise. Do you get to see your grandson often? Too bad about the event with the locals but they are very territorial and descendants of warriors. Not making excuses here, just the facts, ma’am. I look forward to hearing about the support meeting from you. As I’ve stated before, they don’t have one on this island and it’s one of many reasons I’m becoming gun-shy of wls. So many obstacles to overcome. I haven’t given up; just lost some momentum. Until you remember your what’s new, I’d opt for seeing myself in a store window and liking what I see! Good for you. Mickey~ I am not from Hawaii. My DH always tells people that I’m from the Big Island…..New Jersey! He gets a kick out of that. He’s got a good sense of humor, most of the time; very dry. Ah yes, the boss problem. You learn a lot about yourself when you have a difficult boss. For instance, in your daughter’s case. If my boss threw a stapler at me, you bet the next person they will speak with is my attorney. No need to drop down to their level. Sort of like pest control. See you after work Karen~ the weight loss program originates from Oahu and is a partner to the small hospital on Molokai. There is a commercial on tv for this program and one of the patients is from here. I have yet to be able to contact her but you suggestion is warranted. I’ll try locating her and seeing if she’s interested. I might just have to go to Oahu once a month and make it a mini-vacation. I have friends there and we love doing things together so I’m not opposed to it; it just gets costly. Sounds like Kimo made some good business deals for their future. My son and his ½ sister are mixed and, while I may be biased, the mix is beautiful. Thanks for the info on Kimo as I’ll be sharing here! Joan~ you sound very sure of what you want to do and that’s good. In no way was I telling you what to do, rather, what I probably would do. I know you’re tired but it’s a good tired. Perhaps you are pushing really hard in the water during the class. It is resistance training, akin to weights. At least you know you’re doing something but don’t injure yourself. You may have a dinner and dancing engagement around the corner! Take care of Joan. Karen~ You are doing well. The “tool” gives a boost to the weight loss for that early window of time that you’re in. Weigh****chers always says that 1 ½ to 2 #’s a week is the way to go for lasting results. I think the first 18 months gives such a profound weight loss that it’s difficult to slow down to what would be a normal loss. The fact that you are going down is terrific and you recognize that. Let’s see…2#’s is over 6000 calories avoided. Super! I would love to take a belly dancing class. I love music and movement so much. Sorry about your aunt but what a sweetheart she must have been to remember you in such a tender way. Do you have contact with your uncle? You’re right; we don’t stay around forever and frankly, I don’t want to. Until tomorrow. Debbie~ What a wonderful way to enjoy breakfast; with the otters! A dream come true. My sister is a medical transcriptionist for a group of physicians in Los Angeles and I would love for her to be able to work from home. Unfortunately, the work is highly confidential and the group won’t permit anything but in the office. She drives quite a distance to work and it takes a toll on her, at times. I’m sure you are happy to have been retained. What one thing would you like to see in order for things in your area to turn around? My offer for a visit still stands…anytime. Rusty~ Sixteen months old? HMM…isn’t that when their feet turn into wheels!? You write with an accent! Your word picture of learning to knit as a young girl by the fireplace is so heartwarming and charming. I’m willing to bet you do beautiful work. Trading bad addictions for good ones is the way to go. Snowshoeing sounds wonderful and what a workout as well. Like I said earlier, paradise is where you are happy. The scenery you described is fabulous. I’ve been to the Rockies and it is breathtaking. Sounds like momma moose may have been as surprised as you were. Do you take along a camera for such outings? I don’t know if I’ll ever hear the word tiny in reference to me but I’d take average at this point in time. Sharon~ I didn’t know you could feel flu-like symptoms from a massage. I learn so much here. I have a few friends who quilt and the gatherings are something from our collective pasts that are sorely missing. This is when women would visit with each other but something more important was going on. The older women would mentor the younger ones and life was a shared experience without the need for outside therapy. I may be romanticizing this a little but I do believe there is some truth here. This forum is somewhat like that minus the face-to-face factor. I think that’s why the GTGs are so wildly popular. You do have a busy travel schedule coming up. Where in Hawaii would you be going to? Your DH is going to CA for business, I take it. Sounds as though you’ll stay busy and the time will pass quickly. How nice to have a chiropractor in the family. What is your daughter going to study in Hawaii? You enjoy the time with your family while you can. Louise~ As spring arrives it becomes beautiful everywhere. Your neck of the woods sounds gorgeous. I think Ruth stated it well. You are no longer stuffing your feelings with food and that’s a huge accomplishment. As you get closer to goal (unless you’re already there,) it would make sense to slow down. Otherwise, you would disappear altogether! Do you have someone to speak to about what you are feeling? You are to be commended on how well you’ve done in less than a year. I wish you well in addressing this. I don’t have anything new to report so I’ll just say hope your Thursday is smooth. Sue

A-lo-ha! Good morning all- Hmm. I've lost my accent in verbal speech but not in my writing, eh? Not a huge surprise, I suppose. Whenever I go back to England, it takes about 2 hours and my cousins cannot tell it's me, with my American accent! I certainly wish I'd had my camera with me yesterday. I doubt I'd have had time to think of snapping a photo of her though. Mama moose can be so dangerous when they have their calves alongside. I was just relieved that she took off in a direction not including myself and DH. Everyone at the Nordic center at lunch was quite envious, having only seen birds and a few squirrels on their trails. Since I've been maintaining my weight, I've had several different descriptors assigned to me; tiny, delicate, skinny, slender, petite, small, etc. None have yet to become 'normal' to me and always take me by surprise. In fact, in a few cases, it was all I could do not to kiss the ground the person was standing on! Having never been a 'normal' size before, I had no idea what I was like under all of my excess size. Certainly a small bone structure was never imagined. Speaking of maintenance..it is by far more difficult than weight loss...for me at least. I had become an expert at losing weight. But keeping it off? Never more than a few months at most before regaining and always with a bonus! It requires vigilance, faith, combatting boredom, and persistance. For me, frequent meals throughout the day is a necessity; I get terribly hypoglycemic (and lose weight) if I don't eat every 2 hours at least. Keeping a daily food diary, exercising faithfully, going to support group meetings, monitoring my weight, journaling, grazing without going crazy with it, trusting that this can be done on a daily basis...it all takes work. I am, however, determined to live the second half of my life in a much healthier manner! Discipline has never been anything I could accomplish...such a frightful word...sounds like beating oneself or standing in the corner for the least infraction. But the 12th of February is my 2nd rebirthday and approximately one year of maintaining a loss of 1/2 my size and weight. Hooray! Today is a quiet day. Other than working on my writing, I plan to spend much of the day organizing my sewing room. Such a disaster in there! Knitting and quilting supplies are everywhere! I simply must get things a bit straightened out if I'm ever to finish my lace quilt. I go to the finishing class tomorrow morning. It has been such fun learning to make all the different lace blocks but it is now time to stitch them all together and get it up on the wall. I left the Christmas wallhanging up so DH didn't have to climb up there to hang up my other quilt. (The wallhanging dangles 22 feet above the first landing on the stairs and requires bringing in a huge ladder and precariously reaching out over the abyss to get the rod up with a heavy quilt hanging from it.) I'll be glad to get this one up. Hope I can put the squares together as beautifully as the squares themselves have turned out to be. I hope all have a marvelous day! Cheers, Rusty 260/130 size 24/size 4-6

Good Morning All: I've been busy entertaining my Mom and playing golf. I took her out to BUNCO the night before last and yesterday took her out on the golf course with me. She really enjoyed both activities and loves being outdoors in the sunshine. I am getting ready for my daughter's visit. They'll be here Sunday and we have so many plans. Jerry is still going from doc to doc with only slight improvement. I hope he feels better soon. I'm feeling fine and dandy, except for the arthritis in my hands - which golfing aggravates. But I'm having so much fun that I'll live with it. Have a good day everyone. Pat

There you are! I figured you were busy with your Mom and granddaughter. I must have missed your saying Jerry was having problems - hope everything he's feeling better soon. Debbie

Aloha Sue and the other OFFers. It is a cold, crispy, blue sky day here in the northeast. Not much happening, the house is back on the market and we many showings scheduled again for the rest of the week and weekend. My John went for hip x-rays and his artifical hip appears ok and the doctor sees no fractures or displacements. He just has to be more careful and that is like telling a child not to touch the pretty glass in a whimsical glass shop. One of the deepest reasons why I want and need to sell the house is to get him out of that big house and huge yard with all the work that goes into keeping it up. He is a proud man(since he is a stay at home domestic engineer and I go to business each day) and refuses all help and redoes all the work I do cause it just is never good enough to his standards.(the PTSD problem again). Living in that gorgeous RV will be very benefical since there is just not that much space to maintain. Wish me help. I am waiting to hear from my surgeons office to see if he will order another CAT scan and a pelvic US for me. Then I will have the 3rd opinion. Thanks for all your support. Very excited about Dorothy's new family addition. Hugs Monica

Aloha! It's cold and sunny here in West Michigan. I know it's cold because the doorbell rang at 9 and there was a package outside my door ... but not for me (for the former owner of this condo). But at least it's sunny, which is always a plus in West Michigan, where the sun doesn't shine much in the winter (because of the proximity to Lake Michigan). Another little (or big!) surprise appeared in my bank account this morning ... my income tax refunds. Filed last Tuesday and already have the money. Now I can get my bathroom fixed. I also plan to buy a recumbent bike, once I can be up and walking without crutches. I know all about the QVC addiction ... but since I no longer have credit cards, I have to pay everything by the funds I have in my bank account, and by check. So sometimes I order things, have second thoughts and just don't send in the check. Slows me down a little bit, but it's worth it. Too early in the morning to know what else is new. But the surprise deposits are definitely welcome. Would love to come back to Hawaii sometime ... if the money allows. I did enjoy my trip there. Eileen

Hi Hula Girl! Thank you for your gracious invitation! Who knows, one of these days I might get George on a plane again. He white-knuckles it when flying! I on the other hand love to fly, and prefer that to driving! My round trip to work was slightly less than 15 miles! Now I run downstairs! Medical work is stressful, not so much the confidential nature, but the cases themselves, the suffering of the patients, the anxiety on their part. I've had many patients call me for help. All I could do was reassure them that their materials were being reviewed by one of the most knowledgeable, well respected pathologists in the state, and that we would have an answer for them asap. Our turn around time was almost always less than 24 hours once the materials were in our hands (unless my boss requested more testing). I only get one thing to turn this post-K mess around? For starters I like our politicians to get their heads out of their a$$e$ and their feet out of their mouths! I'd like for tourists to return, we need the tourist $$ to bring New Orleans back. We've heard so many negative comments about having Mardi Gras this year. Believe me, N.O. is not having Mardi Gras so we can party, we are trying to bring the tourist $$ back. One thing I do not miss is the crime. We have had only 11 murders since the weekend prior to the Big K (and I don't mean K-Mart!). I'd like to see the return of businesses and doctors. Many of our nicer restaurants and hotels have reopened, but the smaller places show no sign of trying to come back. On a selfish note I'd like to see the medical school/center reopen along with the area hospitals. Our younger son, the ER nurse, says he is so busy, theirs is one of the few hospitals open. He'll be 28 in April, and lately he looks more like 40 something! I am worried about his health and sanity. He works 12 hour shifts, sometimes 8 - 10 days with no time off. He's been recruited to work PT at another hospital near his home. So even on his rare day off, he's working. Anxiously awaiting word on Cheryl's son - hope everything is OK. Gotta go, the boss just called! Have a great day everybody! Debbie

Good morning everyone from sunny Colorado! It is rather warm today but very windy. This wind is supposed to be blowing in some cold and snow for tomorrow. You know how they have hell week on college campuses? Well, yesterday was like hell day here at work. I went home thinking I was just to tired to take Abby to her obedience class. But after I ate some cottage cheese and mandarin oranges and changed into something more comfortable I decided to go. We went to the advanced class last night. Boy! Are these poeple serious about the training! I later learned that many of them are preparing for a show in Denver which will soon be coming up. I thought Abby and I were probable in over our heads but I underestimated my girl. We were asked to put our dogs in a sit stay for 2 minutes. I didn't think Abby could do it that long but not only did she sit there for the entire time but there were a lot of distraction going on. I think we will stay with the advanced class as there is more individual attention. Plus it is cheaper. I plan to go home tonight and clean my house so after work tomorrow I can go home and watch the opening ceremony of the olympics. You know, sharing my days with you makes me realize how boring my life must seem. I'm just going to have to find a way to spice it up a bit. I wish you all a peaceful day today and look forward to knowing you things are going for all of you . ((hugs)) to all. Charlie

Hello Sue, hope you are having a wonderful day on your fair island. And hello to all the other OFF folk. I had a bit of a headache to start the day and then when I got to work they are doing some work in the room next to me and the constant bang-bang-bang from the other side of the wall did not help. They have quit for lunch so I'm hoping they will take a long lunch break! We are seeing a few clouds come in and hope it might mean rain. I'm not holding my breath though. On the positive side, this mild sunny winter has been very enjoyable. In fact the last two or three winters have been mild which you would think might mean a very hot summer---but not so--the summers have been more mild as well. My husband half joking says thankfully the drought will keep the droves of people out otherwise this would be an ideal climate the way it has been lately. Hope everyone is having a great day!

Happy Thursday OFFers, Johnny's left wrist is NOT fractured. His growth plate was injured, though, and he has a severe sprain. He was disappointed that he didn't get a green cast. They gave him a forearm padded splint and a sling. He'll wear this all week this week. The really scary thing about this injury yesterday, is that Johnny apparently lost consciousness momentarily. He has no recollection of hitting the ground; nor does he remember rolling over. The hospital did a CT scan of his head to look for anything troubling. THANK GOD, he's fine. We're still waiting on whether Johnny is diabetic. His second labs of the day (not fasting) showed normal glucose levels, but the fasting will tell the tale. Leukemia is a form of cancer, and is actually blood cancer. Abnormal white blood cells form and do not function properly. The bone marrow is also affected. The only point I was trying to make is that Leukemia is not a conventional cancer -- but is cancer nevertheless. Acute Myelocytic Leukemia or AML kills quickly. Ten days after the diagnosis,our Barbara was gone. We're settling into our new office routine the way the new boss wants things. He's into fitness and exercise and encourages me to go to my Wellness class Happy Thursday! Cheryl

Thanks to everyone for the help. I had not thought to talk to my husband about these feelings but I am thinking I will. He is my best friend and after being married for 38 years we can tell each other any thing and feel safe. Today the feelings are more intense and I have a sick feeling in my heart and stomach. It is a actual physical feeling with my stomach having butterfilies. It is like waiting for a shoe to drop and it doesn't. Does any one know of some good books to help me out on manageing to control my weight after reaching goal. Sue I have reached my doctor's goal for me but would like to lose another 20 pounds. Well, I have some more puppy stories to tell. Rory went to his first puppy class. We had a great time. He crawled through a tunnel like the dogs who do agility do and then got to pass the puppy or in "Rory's words, get lots of treats and loves from strangers" We all stood in a circle and passed your dog to the left. Then you played with a new puppy and then when time was up you passed that puppy to the left. By the time your puppy came back he had visited 10 families standing in a circle. Rory thought he had died and gone to heaven. Any way, we were all given a book to read and being the type A person I am I read the whole thing the next day. I then tried some of the things out on Rory last night and he was sitting and laying down on command by the time he had done it twice and was starting to figure out what was going to be next by about the fifth time doing it. I must have the Enstien of dogs!!! (just kidding) So this morning I put the book in my husband lunch bag (maybe he can get me trained that easy) I had the local head of dog club call me yesterday to interview me for membership. I am so excited to get back into the dog showing game. The only bad thing is they meet the same night I have a Rainbow girl meeting. So I will work with my Assistant to see if we can arrange so I can do both. Well, I thinking about taking off a little early today it is so nice out side. Maybe I will go for a walk with Rory when I get home. Louise

Louise: I don't know of any books about maintenance but I can tell you that I lost up to 70 pounds many times before and could never maintain. Now I simply weigh myslef daily and go on a diet if I gain 3 pounds. This is working for me. As far as your additional 20 pounds - go for it! All the best to you. Pat

Hi Sue and everyone. Not much going on with me. I had to go into work early this morning, 9:00AM instead of 11:00. For the past two weeks I have been waking up around 4:00 AM and can't go back to sleep till right before I need to get up. I am not even waking up to go to the bathroom, so don't know what is going on, other than I am tired of it. I had a hard time concentrating this morning and I had to be on the refund register today. I had the funniest thing happen today. This little boy came up to my line with his mom. And I knew he had done something in his pants because he was stinking pretty bad. Then all of a sudden he sticks his hand in the back of his pants and pulls is finger out and says OOOOOOOH. And you can guess what was on the end of his finger. Well, I handed his mom a paper towel and was very glad they left. It was funny but also a little gross. Other than that, that was my excitement for the day. LOL I have tomorrow off. Take care, Mickey

Mickey, When a little boy with a poo poo finger is your excitement for the day your life sounds like mine. LOL Charlie

Hey, Charlie, you are right. LOL Compared to some or most on here, my life is boring. Not that I am complaining, it goes by fast enough as it is. take care, Mickey

Hello, everyone! This is my first "WHATS NEW" post since my surgery! So Im way behind in all the news being w/o a computer for 2 weeks! Im supposed to start with pureed foods today but Im struggling to eat at all..I have NO appetite and the taste of water has changed..I prefer warm stuff to cold, Ive found..cream soups seem to go easily down. JB even made me fresh hand squeezed tangelo jiuce for me..wow! Maybe I WILL keep him now! The adhesive burns are fading..no longer itchyy..yayy! Im trying to press some flowers from each bouquet that I got when I got home..I add dried petals from each one to my "memory peaupourri " bowl..and writing "thank you" cards. Somehow the day progresses quickly...still having trouble sleeping but last night I took some gravol..and tho it took an hour, it finally worked and I slept 12 full hours before JB came up to see if I was still alive! *s* I surely needed that! As you can see, my life isnt too exciting at the moment..but I accept that I need to slow down a bit..for a while *s*...Im headed for bed in minutes...had over 500 emails to deal with when I got back bit I find it gets painful to sit online too long...must be slouching...silly me! Tomorrow Im attempting a soft egg...*grins* Im SO adventurous!! Nancy B