The Swing into Spring Challenge!!

[zipp2play]

Needless to say, eating has been a mess! I am going to do a MANAGED up day and then hit hard tomorrow with a DD!

[DesertGurl]

Monica~ Holy crap! What is it with my girls this weekend! First Tami's almost mowed over by a car and now you with your poor DS in the ER. I am SO glad that everything is ok and you were able to come home with him. Went thru a scare with DD18 this last summer in the ER..turned out they didn't know what her pain was from and never figured it out. And no, you guys were not bad parents..you're just parents of teenagers...that equals drama most (ALOT) of the time!

Movies I watched this weekend? I watched: The Woman in Black, The Lucky One, PS I Love You..and last night DH & I watched Perks of Being a Wallflower..GOOD movie...reminds me of The Breakfast Club when I was 16.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was very low key and close to home. Weight is bouncing back & forth still...back up to 232.4. No TOM, now 15 days late. Another girl who JUDDD's is having the same issue and asked me if I thought it might be our diet.. Uh, yeah! Yeah I do! I just don't know why? Frustrating thing is the last couple days I've gotten sorta bloaty where my fingers and feet got sort've puffy, and having regular pms symptoms and then nothing..it all went away. Again. Strange stuff my body's doing!

[lynne2u]

Monica, holy crap is right!! What a horrible date night, and no wonder your eating was a mess. Me, I'd have probably dived face-first into a bag of Cheetos in the ER waiting room, followed by Twinkies. Fortunately, with JUDDD tomorrow really is another day (Kissa's signature quote), and you'll be back in the saddle before you know it.

And now I must yell at you some, I'm sorry. Here goes.

You are NOT bad parents. Far from it.

You kept checking in with T, trying to find out just how bad he was feeling. When you got sufficient evidence that it was an emergency and not just typical teenage drama, you took him to the ER. He suffered some pain for a while, but he got treatment and he's on the road to recovery.

It's not your fault the ER was full. And the fact that you feel bad that he suffered for a while is what actual bad parents would not have done.

I have a kid with serious health issues, and I've struggled to balance hypervigilant paranoia on the one hand and "just letting him be a kid" negligence on the other. I've felt bad about making him walk to school in the cold when he actually had leukemia and we didn't know it. And what I'm trying to say is I think you did great, that's all. You couldn't have known, and he'll be fine. In fact, he'll probably milk that parental guilt for all it's worth, which is as it should be.

Sorry again for the lecture, you must have hit a nerve.

Tami, OMG you got hit by a car!! I'm glad you're ok. How does it feel the next day? Are you very bruised up, or did it just go away?

Danielle, your scale is beginning to make me mad . I wonder if your UD calories are too high? Carbs aren't agreeing with you? Something's gotta give, that's for sure.

Your low-key weekend sounds lovely. I just saw Napoleon Dynamite for the first time last night - wonderful.

BTW, Have you all seen Royal Tennenbaums? Some love it, some hate it, nobody's neutral. Anyway, I loved it, and I just saw "Darjeeling Limited" which reminded me of it very much and I loved it too.

Me... Gavin's sickness has basically passed. He's on antibiotics for a sinus infection. The drawback of living on the coast is that it's so damp here, we all have chronic sinus infections. It's one thing to vacation here, but living here full time? I don't know if I can handle all the mold. Mold in your house, mold in your lungs, mold in your sinuses. Okay, that was probably TMI.

I'm realizing I use food to keep me from going postal. Should I be happy about that, or not? I mean, it's good not to go postal and end up on the evening news. If gingerbread scones keep me out of jail, that's a win, right? Thoughts?

Happy President's Day, ladies!!

Lynne

[DesertGurl]

Lynne~ yes, the scale is being a definite PITA I'm trying to not let it get to me but sheesh...2 month's in the low 30's is getting old.... I did recently lower my cals to reflect correctly on the calculator but I dunno if I should go lower? I'm at 2100/420. The DD number is usually much lower, anywhere between 200-300.. I dunno? I'd hate to think carbs are the issue since I struggled getting the scale to move when I lc'd strictly.. Ugh!

Love Napolean Dynamite! DS does a perfect impression of Kip.. so funny! I haven't seen the other movies you mentioned, I'll have to check those out.

Definitely, anything that keeps you out of jail is a-okay in my book!

[misscobi]

Omg, Monica... what a nightmare! So glad DS is on the mend now! Agree with everyone else... you are not bad parents at all... there's no way you could have known! Wow. Just glad he's ok!

Lynne, I totally get the wet/damp/moldy/dreary EVERYTHING about living on the coast. I was so thrilled to move to the land of the sun.... and now? I have really mixed feelings about the whole thing. I do love the temperate coastal weather... but I need to see sun at least most days of the week and that didn't happen on the Monterey Bay where I grew up, so... seasonal affective disorder anyone?

Danielle, our scales must be talking to each other. I'm grounding both of them until they decide to play nice!

Yes, I'm ok. Thank you all for the concern. No lasting effects from the impact with little old lady's bumper... not even a bruise

[zipp2play]

In fact, he'll probably milk that parental guilt for all it's worth, which is as it should be.

I am completely SURE he will. He did spend SUnday telling me, you couldn't have known MOM! Really, it's over now. Move on!

I'm realizing I use food to keep me from going postal. Should I be happy about that, or not? I mean, it's good not to go postal and end up on the evening news. If gingerbread scones keep me out of jail, that's a win, right? Thoughts?

Me, I think it is a coping mechanism and it is a more acceptable one than say, drinking, taking drugs, beating up things....YOU NAME IT!

Tami - SAD is a true thing I can definitely say, I FEEL much better on days when the SUN is out even if it is bitterly cold!

D - you were a movie watching fool!

L - thank you! I know it seems obvious but it is good to hear. He is fine and when it went bad, we moved very quickly to get it handled!

T is doing well. He has to be reminded to take Advil. Since leaving the hospital he has only taken Advil with the exception of 1/2 a percocet. I think that is GREAT. He is home with DH today. It is his intention to go back to school tomorrow. Hopefully that goes well. Thursday he has an engineering expo to attend and I know the Mom that is in charge of his group (him and his bud Max) I called her last night and she said, we will take is SLOW and EASY! That made me feel better too!

Today I am aiming for a good DD!

[misscobi]

Monica, isn't it nice to know the other parents and know they're look out for your kids. Love that kind of parent networking. Glad T's doing well! Good luck on your DD

I still haven't stepped on the scale... but am being strict low carb & fast -5. I'll jump on the scale tomorrow morning and hopefully be surprised? Or at least not angry? lol

Have a wonderful day ladies! I've been in a spring cleaning/project kind of mood the last couple of weeks. Figure I better make the most of it while it lasts!

[zipp2play]

Spring Cleaning???? Girl, come to MY HOUSE! It could so use it.

Tristan stayed home again today. He is still pretty sore. No need to push things. He and DH will head there at noon to gather homework and such. Tonight / tomorrow they are calling for massive snow here. Tomorrow school and heck, possibly Friday may be out too! Kid may not ever go back to school!

Food was good yesterday, I think I had right at 500c. Great DD for me!

Tami - did you hop on the scale?

[misscobi]

Awesome DD, Monica! Yep, spring cleaning... weird... but this house certainly needs it. We've been tackling small projects every Sunday and it's starting to pay off and make me feel guilty about neglecting the rest of the house. Kind of a nice snow ball effect. We'll see how long it lasts Glad T can take it easy for a bit. If school is cancelled tomorrow will the field trip be postponed?

I did get on the scale this morning. I'm back under 200. Not much, but I'll take it!

[zipp2play]

YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!!!! You are doing so well! They say that if school is cancelled the Expo will still happen. It is then up to the parents to get their kids there. If KU is closed (Kansas University) then Expo closed. It is an engineering competition that he and his partner worked weeks doing their project. Not sure if I want it all to be cancelled so T has extra time at home, or what. It's all just a mess!

[zipp2play]

His partners Mom is a friend of mine. She took the day off to go to the Expo with them. I just emailed her earlier to ask if she was going to still go if Lawrence Schools are closed. I haven't heard back from her. I had spoke to her Monday to make sure she would keep an eye on T. Make sure he doesn't over do it. She was more than happy to help him out.

[misscobi]

Thanks Monica... slow as molasses, but it'll work. I don't always help the process as much as I could, so yeah... it'll work

It's too bad they can't just postpone the Expo, keeping everyone off the streets for the day and giving T some extra time to heal

[DesertGurl]

Monica~ yes, a movie watching fool. We watched Sinister last night...scared the holy bejeezus outta me! Good movie.
Totally agree, it'd be nice if the expo was postponed so he could rest! I have no clue what it's like to live in snow whatsoever..and the coldest weather I ever got to was Bay Area weather but no snow..so you know...I'm clueless Glad he seems to be feeling better despite being sore.

Tami~ you and me slow..together. I'm definitely not winning any landspeed records for weight loss. It's excruciating but I figure the alternative is worse...to weight more is just unacceptable. See my P!NK pics? I'm seriously in withdrawls I would kill to see that show again..amazing stuff.

Well, TOM finally started in full swing yesterday. It is royally kicking my a$$. I began doing some research into perimeno and links tied to a tubal ligation I had done after DD16..interesting stuff...I truly believe I've stumbled upon something and am understanding that perhaps I was pushed into perimeno early and have been out of whack for years.. skipping periods for the last year, early starts too..and so many of the perimenopause symptoms fit me nowadays.. need to get my hormone levels checked, as well as thyroid.. Even tho I have no definitive answers I feel somewhat calmer at least in knowing that I am not a total loon and that there are other women who experienced the stuff I did post tubal.. Spent many years feeling crazy because no one listened to me..put on anti-D's, adhd meds, low fat diets, nothing worked..very frustrating. I gave up trying to fix it and accepted my new normal of just feeling awful all the time. Well now, I'm just P.O.'d about it and feel betrayed

So despite feeling miserable and sick the scale is playing nice.....kinda. Monday I was at 232.4, Tuesday:230.4, and today:230.6.... only UP .2 after an UD that included french fries and some hershey's chocolate. Pleasantly surprised for sure and just crossing my fingers that after today's DD that I'll finally see 22-something... I woke up extremely hungry today..I don't often wake on a DD this way so it's kinda annoying. Windy and raining so I'll be couped up inside under my blankies trying not to go into the kitchen.

[misscobi]

Omg, I had forgotten to go look at P!NK pics! You got some amazing pics and were sooooo close! How freaking cool! Sorry to hear about the peri stuff and learning that it could be why you've suffered all those years. So annoying I'd be upset, too. Are there any recommendations that could bring you some relief? Or do you just have to ride it out? Ugh.

WooHoo for nice scales this morning! YOu are soooo close to those 220's! I'm sure by the time TOM leaves you'll be there!

[DesertGurl]

Yeah we were so close..it was kinda shocking to see that she really is that pretty in pictures..and so humble and hilarious. was very cute, a girl next to us had flown in from Wyoming by herself to see her..when P!NK came out the girl was in absolute tears..she would go nuts every time she came in front of us..she was prolly 22 or 23? Very sweet. I admit I got teary during a couple songs..got me through some very very rough times!♥

Well I'm guessing that I am probably estrogen dominant so I'm probably in need of some progesterone..supposedly that can help the heavy periods (sorry TMI I know!) and at least curb some other symptoms as well as maybe promote some weight loss.. I just need to find a way to swing the labs (no insurance) for hormone levels and total thyroid panel..those 2 things can mimic eachother so both need to be checked.

[misscobi]

Booo to healthcare costs... really wish we, as a country, could come up with some better options for managing healthcare & healthcare costs. I know it's incredibly complicated, but really, does it need to be? Probably not. Sigh. Are there any supplements or anything that would be safe to try before testing?

[DesertGurl]

There is stuff that you can do holistically..haven't read too much yet as I'm still trying to absorb the ideas I've read already about possibly being in the middle of peri There's some progesterone creams you can buy that are bio-identical that supposedly will help but I dunno? I threaten DH all the time that I'm moving to the UK or Canada all the time...ridiculous that this country can't get it's ****** together and come up with something.

[misscobi]

Agree completely...

[lynne2u]

Danielle, I can't find your concert pics. Did I miss the link? The P!NK link? (Sorry, had to. ) I really get the "feeling betrayed" thing. You're not crazy, you've got hormonal stuff going on. I don't have health insurance at the moment either. Chinese medicine, maybe? Cheaper, and they seem to know what they're doing.

Monica, I feel sorry for the kids working so hard on their projects only to have the Expo be iffy! I'll bet the university stays open, though, snow or no snow. Hopefully your friend has a snowmobile. Has the heavy snow materialized, or was it a dud prediction? I hope...

Tami, I'm glad to hear that your close encounter with a car's bumper turned out to be a non-event. My house needs some spring cleaning, too. Maybe I'll do some of that today.

Me... the copyright saga continues. I talked to an attorney yesterday who told me to go register my copyright online for the stuff that appeared in the book - I've got 90 days from date of first publication, which was Jan 29th - and that copyright registration will give me serious leverage at the bargaining table. He also confirmed that I'm basically holding 4 aces in our poker game with the publisher. He told me he'd be happy to help push if necessary, but considering the 4 aces, it really shouldn't be necessary; and according to his preliminary research, they owe me rather a lot of money (by my standards, not theirs). Ka-ching! So I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Sigh. This isn't at all what I expected my first experience in publication to be like.

I'm going to go do something productive now. Eating isn't going so well, so I'm just not going to talk about it. The pants still fit.

Lynne

[misscobi]

Originally Posted by lynne2u

The pants still fit.

Sounds like a win to me! Glad the lawyer gave you another key to making sure you're treated fairly by the publishers! Four Aces sound pretty promising! Go get 'em, Lynne

[zipp2play]

Tami - anything new on the DOGGIE???

D - glad TOM showed up. Sorry you are having such issues. In December of 2011 I had an endometrial ablation done. I haven't had a period since. I still have some PMS, but NO FLOW at all! Honestly, now I have lost track so if I am emotional, I wonder, is it PMS or EVERYONE AROUND ME!????!?!?!?

Lynne - so glad your publication nightmare is looking like 4 ACES to you! I hope those suckers have to pay BIG TIME! You deserve what is YOURS!!!!

Expo could be postponed or completely cancelled. It's a NO WIN situation. Spoke with my friend and she said she will see how it is tomorrow and go from there. She and I plan to chat early tomorrow morning. They live out in the Country where roads won't get treated, so I am thinking if it is remotely bad, she will stay home. Now, this is all I F we get what they are predicting. Some reports say 2+ inches, others say about a FOOT! Now, how can you go from 2 inches to 12+???? Really???? Heck, it will be ALL or NOTHING I am sure! I need to be a weather person, I would still get paid to be horribly WRONG all the time!!!!!

[DesertGurl]

Lynne~ no you didn't miss the P!NK link cuz I never posted one I just told Tami to go to my journal link at the bottom of my post and head to page 26 at the very top.. I've got a few more pics that I didn't post if anyone cares..or if you do FB they're on there too..

Yanno, funny you mentioned Chinese medicine..DH actually mentioned that last night..he was saying how if we were still living in San Fran I'd prolly have my pic of really good ones

Monica~ contemplated the ablation...ALOT. Again, insurance issues... at this point though, choosing whether the lights stay on or my sanity stays in tact & I stay out of prison from punching someone in the throat...the latter may win out and we may be living by candlelight

[zipp2play]

I completely understand. My Ablation, even with insurance was $1400, but it was money well spent!

[zipp2play]

We have Thunder snow right now! Fun times. Blizzard conditions. Schools all cancelled last night, before 1 flake had even fallen! Kids were THRILLED!

Good up day yesterday and thus far, I am HUNGRY for my DD! I am chugging the water!

[DesertGurl]

I can only imagine the kids are thrilled to be home! Are you home too?
We had snow here if you can believe that! We didn't get it by our house, but DH called from work and said they had some flurries.. and further downtown it blanketed everything. I was just glad that I wasn't out in it having to drive anywhere!

Scale holding steady....DD yesterday and today I was down .2
Dang TOM! Ironically, starved all day yesterday and today I'm not hungry at all..

[zipp2play]

I'm at work. When I came in, this picture would have shown sidewalk. That was just 3 hours ago!

[DesertGurl]

Holy crap that's alot of snow.. I just wanna swim in it!

[zipp2play]

You know, by the end, I bet you COULD swim in it!!!!!!

[misscobi]

Wow, Monica... guess the foot predictions were more accurate? Any Expo news?

Thanks for asking about the doggie... we actually did get results back yesterday that consumed most of my day. The results were completely unexpected given his previous tests and pretty much the worst we could get The 24 hour monitor showed that his heart rate is fluctuating greatly and jumped as high as 250 several times during the 24 hour period. They like them to be under 160. His heart rate had been low at all three vet visits leading up to this 24 hour monitor including what should have been some somewhat stressful situations. Given that, his age, and no underlying heart disease, this was totally unexpected. The main risk of him being in atrial fibrillation is his heart racing and going into cardiac arrest. We all, 3 cardiologists included, thought it would likely be a couple of years before that happened. Guess not So UC Davis who did the monitor recommended a medication and then monitoring again in a couple of weeks. I'm waiting for confirmation on the medication from the leading canine cardiologist in Northern California, the one we went to for the second opinion when we first found out about all of this. I'm sure the protocol will be the same - medicate & then monitor, just want to be sure he agrees on the meds. Ugh. My poor baby... of course the bank account is taking a huge hit which really stresses hubby out, but he's being a saint about it so far. I'm doing all research and trying to make everything as cost effective as possible, but it's still really expensive. Thankfully meds aren't bad, so assuming the first med works we should be able to just monitor every 6 months or so eventually? Yeah... really stressful day yesterday. I did turn to eating, and you guys will totally laugh at me. Opened my window early and ate half an apple and some almond butter. Closed window early, so totally harmless, but definitely still an emotional eater. Sigh.

Danielle, friends from AZ were posting pics on facebook yesterday... pretty cool!

[zipp2play]

Tami - sorry about the doggie !!! Sounds like you are doing what is necessary