When is the date, Sandy? I can understand your not being excited yet. It is such a new thing for you to date!

Take deep breaths!

All of those things I had planned to do in the house yesterday? I did not do one thing! I vegged out all day, and was so annoyed with myself! I am going to have a second cup of coffee and get started on doing some things right now! Some of the jobs I want to do in the house will wait until summer is over, so I am just going to put them upstairs in the den, and stop thinking about them now.

Sandy...I just couldn't imagine wanting to date again so quickly. If I ever get rid of mine.....it will be forever and a day before I try it again. Will your husband give you a hard time since your divorce isn't final? My husband would make life as hard on me as he could....part of the reason I'm still here.

I am interested in
how the dating scene is now... :)

He won't know anything about what you do, Sandy! Go for it!

I postponed the date for this evening and went out to dinner with my daughter, because she asked me to wait awhile longer. Hope the guy understood and keeps talking to me until I'm ready. Laura reminded me that I have a lot in my bucket and should focus on doing some of those things instead of adding more. So, for now, if God wants me to have another man, he'll have him knock on my door.

I went to the mall for a haircut, to get a bra fitting and new bras, a couple of new work tops, and a pair of work shoes. Then, I cam home, took a nap and went out to went out to dinner with Laura (two night in a row). She is really keeping an eye on me and I love it!

Janet, the dating scene is just a bunch of diry old men! At least thats what I'm finding at my age. And, it's fun to email them and sort through all that before you decide to actually talk to them.

Sandy....I PM'd you....I hope you didn't think I was judging you because your divorce isn't final. It came out wrong.....I just meant that if my husband had anything on me to add fuel to the fire....he would and did when we separated 20 years ago. He wasn't very nice, I don't know why I ever came back....

Janet, it's ok, not judging, being concerned and I need and appreciate that. I love you, girl!

Janet....I hope my reply to your post didn't get you to thinking you were being judgmental!! I just read back and can see how you might have thought that. You certainly are not being judgemental! You are sharing your wisdom and your concern for Sandy.

I, on the other hand, am glad that Sandy is so open to her new life! It is great that she gets all of our thoughts, and can weigh them out and make decisions.

Sandy, I see that you have decided to wait for dating, and I think that, since you made that decision, then it is the best decision!

Somebody was telling me today that instead of going on dates, I should just use Skype. I think this is a great idea! It saves a lot of trouble, and you can tell right away if you want a date! I am planning to go on Match.com. I need a good picture of myself first.

I had fun today. Went down to the pool and hung out with my friends. The husbands and older kids were here, and they are all so nice, and so much fun!

I let the guy I've been talking with talk me into meeting him for lunch and he was very nice, but after two hours of sitting there, I begged forgiveness, telling him that I'm not ready for anything more than talking. He said he'll call me, but I'm sure he won't.

No Judy....it wasn't you that got me to thinking about my post....I got to thinking about it later and thought...oh no. Then I felt so bad and needed to explain.

I'm glad you're going with your head and heart Sandy....only you know what you're ready for.

Judy....I think Skype would be a great way to start online dating. Didn't even think of that one.

Today I didn't do anything but a coule loads of laundry. I was going to go to Wal Mart, but decided it was just way too hot to go anywhere. I did watch a Lifetime movie...something I haven't done in a long time, so it was nice.

Tomorrow starts a very busy week for me. Monday I go to the neurologist in Lafayette for my follow-up appointment and then back to Frankfort to do some banking. Tuesday I go for physical therapy, Wednesday Mom's physical therapist is coming and I think the nurse, Thursday I have a mandatory bus driver meeting in the morning and then take Mom to her regular Dr. in the afternoon, Friday I go for physical therapy again. I am also planning on making an appt. at Wal Mart Optical to have my eyes checked and hopefully some new glasses....the ones I have are absolutely horrid. Time for new ones.

Hopefully the humidity won't be as bad as it has been the last few days. It has been so hot and uncomfortable.

It's good to be busy, Janet! The more you do, the less energy you have for thinking about problems!

I am going to town, potting my coleus, and then pooling it. One of these days, I have to get over to Jessie's! I was there about 3 days ago, but the kids are now home from camp, so I need a day with them.

Mom isn't doing very well today and her Dr. isn't in until Thursday. She just can't eat and swallow. Since she couldn't eat the meat, mashed potatoes or peas I fixed her tomato soup. She drank about 1/4 cup and that was it. I put her back in bed. A little while later I heard her calling me. She had gotten up on the commode and must have sat there too long, her legs went to sleep and she couldn't get up. Once I got her back in bed Mom then started throwing up the tomato soup. After that.....a coughing spell kept her busy for a couple minutes, but I got her through that. Now she is sleeping. I feel so bad for her.



This morning I went for my appointment with the neurologist. He might be a fine Dr. but I don't like him. Very hard to talk to and doesn't explain things very well even when I ask him too. So...what I got out of it was this: I have degenerative disc disease (which I guess is common?) I also have a slipped disc between C5 and C6 that is touching my spinal cord. At first he wanted me to go see someone about pain management. I told him that wasn't going to help the problem, just mask the pain. So now he wants me to continue with the PT and wrote on a script paper for the PT to use traction. I go for PT in the morning and I'm suppose to go back to the neurologist in a month. I think I'm going to talk with my regular Dr. to see if I can see someone else. This guy is just too weird for me. I need someone easier to speak with and who can explain things better.

He did say that if the therapy doesn't help, we can see about injections of some sort and then the next step would be surgery. I just don't know what else to say, excet I don't need this right now.

Oh, Janet, you can't steal a break lately. Hang on and this will pass. I'm praying and you need to be believing.

Crazy day for me: took my car to the dealership because a new vehicle with 16700 miles shouldn't have run out of water and get so hot the ac switched off (even in this weather), got a "loaner" car that cost me $28 for a day of insurance, got to work at 830 and couldn't get logged in to my computer until about 15 minutes before it was time to leave for my therapy, which was very painful since I was so tense and stressed, went to get my car and was charges $34 to rotate the tires that I thought should be a courtesy thing. Somewhere in there I got a call that I can't proceed with fostering until a whole year after the divorce is final. The realtor was out for a funeral today and wants me to come out and sign the house offer contract tomorrow.

If I can make it through Thursday, I'm taking vacation on Friday.

Sounds like you've got it rough too Sandy. But we will get through it, because I believe we will!

Wow! You both had tough days for sure!

I hope Mom has an easy night, and an easy day tomorrow. I am praying for her and for you. If you don't like the neurologist, I don't blame you for wanting to see another doctor. I hope you can find someone soon!

I had a nice, lazy day. Then Jessie called me and vented about all of the things that have been happening lately, beginning with Brandon's ear surgery, Mackenzie's broken toe, Kassidy's TMJ, my ex coming up to stay with them, Steve's uncle wanting to stay with them (HE WILL NEVER LEAVE!), and her fighting with Steve about it, and then little Rocky got sick and had to be run over to the vet. He was throwing up all morning, and since he is so tiny, that is dangerous. The vet wanted to keep him overnight, but Jessie wouldn't leave him there. She hasn't called, so I would say he is okay now. She cried on the phone, and I felt so bad for her! I'm going to go over there tomorrow and visit with her.

The good thing is that Mackenzie is going to hang out with 2 friends at the mall, eat dinner out, and they are getting their nails done. How nice for her! I like one of these girls a lot, and hope they are close friends this year. I don't know the other girl.

Oh Janet, you DID have a really rough day. And by all means, find another neurologist!!! Gary sees an orthopedic doctor for the bulging disks in his neck - so that might be another option. I absolutely won't tolerate doctors who won't talk to us or who act weird! Actually one of Gary's docs is pretty weird and he used to act much worse than he does now. We went to him because he is the BEST pulmonary doc in Austin and at that time they were thinking Gary might need a heart transplant. If you have a heart transplant, you must have the best pulmonary doc you can get. When I described his behavior to my daughter (a fifth grade school teacher), she told me he probably has Asburger's, a form of autism. I think that is why we were able to tolerate his behavior - because I could look at him and think he is not an a$$hole, he just can't help the way he acts. Now, after seeing him for 3 or so years, he has learned how to interact with us (a characteristic of Asburgers, they can learn how to interact with certain people) and we all get along pretty well. But it was tough in the beginning and I wouldn't have tolerated it if not for needing his expertise at the time.

Sandy, you had a terrible day too. I just hate car trouble, especially when the car is new and shouldn't be acting up, but I guess those things happen. I didn't know you were getting to go ahead with the house. Is this the one you were going to buy a few weeks ago?

Judy, I know how hard it is to hear your daughter cry and to know she has many very significant issues right now. It just breaks my heart when it happens to me and my daughter has NEVER had any problems like your daughter has. I know you will help her get through this.

I just got through unloading my lower cabinets (just the top shelf of the lower cabinets), taking out all the kitchen drawers, and getting everything off the top of the counters. The counters get taken out tomorrow! :eek: We won't have a kitchen sink tomorrow either, so i guess we'll just have to go out to eat. Oh Darn!

I will have to move my computer, since the corner desk is going tomorrow too. So, I'll be on the iPad till Wednesday when my computer desk is supposed to be assembled in the office/bedroom.

Yes, Gayle, looks like I might get my little house. I cashed in an old IRA that should get the house and my appliances. Should go fairly fast with cash. My one deal breaker would be termites.

We're finally home!! Had a great weekend except for my brother which I'll explain later. I'm too tired to write much so I'll tell ya' all about it tomorrow!!! I missed you guys!!!!

Glad you're home ... Get some rest.

Oh My Goodness!!! Gary and I tore out the corner desk this evening. We looked like two beached whales rolling around on the floor, trying to look up and under the inside of the cabinets to get out the million screws holding it to the wall. But we did it! I think we'll donate it to the habitat for humanity re-store.

I am so glad to hear that Gary feels well enough to do this work! Your kitchen renovation is moving along!

Welcome home Diana!

I don't know what I am doimng today. Jessie is taking Kass to the dentist to have her fitted for a TMJ night guard. I have to call her, and may go with her. There is a new TJMaxx in town!

Wow Gayle, you and Gary must have gotten a boost of energy. At least now it's done. Can't wait to see your new kitchen.

I am so glad you're back Diana. More than anxious to hear about your weekend.

We had a busy weekend and it looks like we will be busy until the end of summer, again! :(

It was a long weekend here. On Friday we drove out to the lake to visit Scott's parents. What bothers me the most about going to "the lake" is that we don't even get to SEE the lake. I took my bathing suit in hopes of relaxing on the beach, but all they do is hang out in their yard (driving distance from the water). It's okay, but I feel like I could relax in my yard at home!

On Saturday we went into the city for a wedding ceremony. After the ceremony we went to Sears Clearance for a water filter for our fridge, and while there I browsed through some dresses for all the weddings we have to go to. I found two, regular priced around $100, for $19.99 each, PLUS it was 24% all women's fashions for the weekend :D :D :D I got them both for $30. Then we headed out to a small town for the reception. It was a lot of fun! We got back to the lake around 1:00 am and went straight to bed.

On Sunday, Scott's sister, brother-in-law, and nephew came out. We helped build a new deck, and not much else went on. It was sooooooooo hot, we couldn't do much but sit in the shade (I wished it were on the beach though!). We all went to bed pretty early.

Monday was Scott's nephew's 2nd birthday :D We got him a Fisher Price Little People car parking garage thing and he was just mesmerized... he didn't move away from it until they left! After they left, we built another section of deck. Then we just sat around until we ate supper and we drove home.

Last night I felt pretty sick and couldn't get to sleep until 2:00 am. I think I got too much sun on the weekend. And when I fell asleep I had the most awful dream about dating some guy and he was going to take me to meet his parents and then all of a sudden I just remembered I have a fiance and a house and I couldn't believe I hurt Scott like that. I blame that dream on watching the Bachelorette finale last night!

Just not having a good week. My new boss is intense and is confiding too much in me. She had three different printers out of whack this morning and wanted to act like it wasn't her fault. Then, she asked me to look up a social security office, arguing that there must be one closer and decides to go driving around looking for one she thought she saw. I'm trying to help her get settled in, but she lacks organization skills.

My neck is sore today, glad to have PT tomorrow. Jeff and family are coming in so we can go to moody garden in Galveston. They go every year, but I haven't been in 20.

Oh, and, they accepted my offer, so, I bought a house.

When The Bachelorette is giving you nightmares, you know it is time to stop watching!

Was it a holiday weekend for you, Linds? Scott's parents sound boring! (Don't let Scott see this). They should use the lake!

Sandy! YAY! I'm so glad you bought the house. You'll be so much happier in your own home. Sorry about the boss. Maybe she won't last long :D.

Lindsay you had a busily boring weekend! Some people are just like that, but why have a lake home if you aren't going to enjoy it?

I don't know what I should do. I bought an all in one printer in March, which prints and copies nicely. The scanner and fax do not work. It's past the warranty, so I doubt if I will be able to get anywhere with the store I bought it from.

It cost almost $150, and I have tried to fix it to no avail. Amazon has a $40 off offer on certain printers, and I need one that works, but I hate tom lose $150!!!

I don't know what to do!

Holy Cow Lindsey....they must be boring as watching paint dry. I would love to have a lake cottage and enjoy ALL the benefits. Maybe you can breath some life back into his family.

Hope your PT goes well Sandy and that the pain will go away. Sucks having neck pain...now I know. And....:cheer::cheer::cheer: so happy you got the house you wanted. Now you know we'll want pictures of it too, right! So excited for you!

Judy can you find your printer model number online and see if there is a solution? Rick has been doing that a lot lately on darn near everything and saving a bundle on repair costs. Can you call a computer repair store and see if they can fix it or lead you in the right direction?

Today I went for PT and I do feel a bit better tonight. I have been doing my exercises faithfully so hopefully I'll be pain free one of these days.

I opened a separate post with a couple of house pictures.

Glad you're feeling better, Janet. I'm having a pain pill night.

The house is beautiful Sandy.....I so wish I could do something like that. You're so brave and let me tell you.....you have one person here (me) in awe!

We got the countertops, sink and stove removed today. My poor kitchen looks like a bomb exploded! Now I have to walk to the bathroom to empty water out of glasses. I almost threw it where the sink is supposed to be. :eek:

It is so great that you got the house, Sandy! I saw the pix on your other thread, and it is so perfect! Congrats!

Thank goodness for your PT, Sandy and Janet! I hope that both of you feel better soon!

I find it too coincidental that they decided to build a deck while you and Scott were there, Linds. Who invites company to build decks? Unless that was the plan?

Thanks, Janet, but I already did the Google repair search, and did what I found people suggested. For the most part, this printer has been deemed a piece of crap! It also uses way too much ink.

I wrote to the company, and will decide when I see what they are willing to do. It still prints and copies, so I may use it for a while, and then replace it. I do want to get some of my money's worth, and don't rally need to fax or scan much.

Yes it was a holiday weekend here. It's just called "civic holiday", basically an excuse for another day off :) I love my province for all of our statutory holidays lol! We have one long weekend almost every month.

I think Scott knew they'd be building a deck but I didn't know that. His dad has a bad back so Scott helps out with stuff like that, so almost every time we're there Scott is doing something with his dad that requires lifting. Scott's brother-in-law is a champion muay-thai fighter so I think he helps out a lot too. Compared to him, Scott is a string bean!

I really don't mind just sitting around and relaxing but I really don't understand why they don't take advantage of everything! I guess maybe it's just our backgrounds though. They are city people, so maybe sitting outside their campers (they decided not to build a cabin, just brought out two campers) is enough for them.

I'm from a tiny little town and even before we had a cabin my parents would take us to the lake all summer long. I didn't swim in pools growing up! It was lakes, beaches, campfires. Even now I don't consider it "camping" if there's electricitiy :rolleyes: I told Scott that when we first started dating because he has always been in electrified camp sites so they can plug in laptops, and cook in an oven inside the motorhome! Haha I made him go "primitive" camping last year in the mountains :D We made popcorn over the open fire and had to warm up our PJ's before running to the tent at night. It got to -2 degrees C overnight, and we just had to snuggle closer to stay warm :)

So I guess it's just different lifestyles! I can sit in my yard anytime, but in the city it's not private and quiet in their yard so maybe that's what they like. If I had a beach in my yard at home, I wouldn't be complaining lol!

Sandy, I'm so happy for you on the purchase of your new home!!! I haven't looked at the pictures yet but I will!!!

Gayle, I can sympathize with you about the remodel!!! I once redid my kitchen and it's hard to live without water and a sink in the kitchen!!!! Hopefully it won't be much longer and you'll have your beautiful new kitchen!!! I can't wait!!!

Judy, I hope that you'll find a solution to your printer problems. I've found that I google alot of problems on the internet and have found solutions to some of my problems.

I don't know where to begin on my weekend....on one hand it was such a good time.....on the other hand it was a fustrating time!!!!

We ended up getting there about dark.....we walked in and there was a small group eating at the island in the kitchen. I went in and started talking to them and it was obvious that they were fustrated with one girl standing there trying to eat her sandwich. It took me awhile but I realized that it was my brother's new girlfriend, Libby, and it was obvious that she had taken too much medicine (which I was told by accident because it was a new prescription). She was so zoned out that she couldn't hardly eat her sandwich or communicate with me. When my brother came in I told him that she needed to be taken care of so he and my Mom took her upstairs and put her to bed.

The next day we all did our thing but Delaine and Libby did everything alone (by their choice) also they had Delaine's daughter, Libby's daughter, and a little friend who they didn't keep an eye on.

The next evening she did it again!!! Libby went upstairs.....found the medicine that my brother had hid and took a bunch again. No one had believed that it was an accident that she had taken so much of it before. Delaine decided to take her home but she was so out of it that trying to get her downstairs and into the car was almost impossible. Glen finally went up and talked with her and finally got her in the car.

The sad part is that Libby's not the only one with a problem.....my brother is into meth but my Mom is totally convinced that he's not!!! Why would he have a girlfriend with such a problem if he was doing alright......and have her since Easter????? I said some things and Mom is not very happy with me......I saw her last night and she's still tryng to convince me that Delaine is not having any problems. Libby confided in Glen that in a couple of days of going home that Delaine would be making his meth!!!! If I told my Mom that she would totally not believe me. She wants to believe everything that my brother says and my brother wants to say what he knows my Mom wants to hear. AAAAggggggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!

However, in spite of all of this......I tried to totally ignore the drug problem and had a good time visiting with my aunts, uncles, and cousins!!! We swam twice a day and the lake was just wonderful!!! I did really, really good on my diet which was really hard when Margie made homemade apple cobbler!!!! It was almost a diet breaker!!!!!

Then when we left Glen and I headed for a little town near Kansas City (we stopped at a flea market on the way) where we spent the night with my cousin that has her basement fixed up like a little B & B. Glen really liked it and enjoyed seeing the work shops and all. Then next morning we got up and went and got some tires for some equipment....went to a couple more flea markets and then came home. Over all it was a nice relaxing weekend inspite of my brother's fiasco.

Our family doesn't feel like they have money for vacations so we're leaving tomorrow for my cousin's house for a couple of days and then we're going to Ocean's of Fun in Kansas City. It's a big water park. So I'll be gone again. We have 12 of us that are going so it will be a good time. We've been before but it's been a LONG time. I love the wave machine and lazy river!!!

So.....today I'm doing laundry and getting ready to leave again!!!! Glen's heading to Beaver Lake to get his scuba certification so he won't be going with us. He's excited to get that done!!!

Busy....busy......busy!!!!!

Wow Diana that seems like quite a weekend!

It is very sad about your brother and his girlfriend... and especially that your mom won't believe it. That seems to happen a lot though. My grandma is in total denial about my uncle being an alcoholic, and he knows that and takes total advantage of her. She spends every day waiting for a phone call from him to drive him wherever and do whatever. He's on probation now, because he was in jail for driving drunk, rolling his SUV, and killing his passenger :( He has no remorse about it. I just found out that while we were on vacation he went back to jail because he was at a house party and someone "spiked" his drink. That's what my grandma told me. They wanted him out of there so badly they put alcohol in his drink when he wasn't looking so that he'd go back to jail. Really. She will believe every excuse he makes and she'll make every excuse for him. It breaks my heart. She will not believe he has a problem, because he says he doesn't, and I guess that's easier on her. It makes me so mad to listen to it though, and I have to change the subject.

As for everything else, I hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation and visiting! I have always wanted to go to a big water park. I hope you have a ton of fun!

I do plan on having a ton of fun at the water park. I just hope that it's not too busy because being from a small town I'm not used to crowds.

I really think that if my Mom would acknowledge that my brother had a problem then he would actually try harder to get off of the drugs. He does want to please Mom and he wants her to think that he's alright and doing good. It's just a huge mess!!! I have his daughters sending me messages on FB and telling me how he's doing and I have talked to Mom but she thinks that they exaggerate and lie. She believes everything that Delaine tells her. Oh well.........

How sad, Diana! I hope his children are not very young, and can soon get out of that environment one way or the other. It is frustrating that your mom doesn't believe that he has a problem. That makes her an enabler, which is bad for everyone. Maybe somebody will see the light and decide to straighten out.

The rest of your vacation sounds great! And the upcoming water park! I love water parks! You will not find that many crowds if you are going during the week.

You are going to love it!

Wow, sounds like everyone is busy and have a lot going on. We've had a lot of computer issues lately. Two of our computers were on the fritz and had a major software problem, long story, but things are finally working out. I've been online for quite a while strictly on the iPhone, and at work where everything is blocked.

Bought Rex a whiz bang laptop that should be here tomorrow. That should fix our problems. We're getting all new up-to-date software so hopefully we will be up and running for a while again. My computer is back running. I don't need anything fancy for what I do here at home. I'm fine with a tower that works and lets me save my pictures and get online, and use Skype.

Our oldest daughter is due to have our first grandchild any day now. Her actual due date is August 8th. We're hoping she will start her labor this Friday evening so we can fly to California and stay for two weekends and the week in between. I want to maximize the time there, but only use 1 week of vacation so I can travel more after the baby is born. Pam (the MIL) and I bought tickets together to travel there for Labor Day weekend when the baby is about a month old. We just can't stay away too long. This is the first grandchild for both of us.

She's having a girl. Emma Scarlet, not sure about the spelling of Scarlet. Her husband said they were going to spell it Scarlette and make it as long as possible, but he jokes around a lot and you never know when he is serious, so we'll see.

His battalion deploys to Afghanistan again in October, but they are leaving three Navy Corpsman behind to accept the wounded as they come home and Carlton is supposed to be one of the left behind. We won't know for sure though until they finally leave and he's still here. With the military, nothing is a sure thing.

So my days are sitting on the edge of my chair right now, waiting for THE call!!!

Congratulations, Marilyn. Love our babies.