Barb, I pray they don't make you all take the 30 days off or cancel the summer classes. I posted something I heard from a state rep that you may find interesting.

greetings ....

with everything going on with the doctors ... I forgot to mention that on Thursday - the lawyer called to tell me that he's received a letter from the 'Appeals' board about my case ... and he also received the letter from my neurologist regarding my new issues, including the liver ..

his message was sorta apologetic from dumping on me the doom and gloom he gave me a week ago Friday that I may not hear anything for possibly another 6 months to a year yet ...

so, receiving this letter has really caught him off guard and he apologized ... but stated that there still isn't a hearing date as of yet - and it may not be in the next month ... but closer than the 6 months he originally figured ...

all in all - thoughts and prayers are working ... and I believe that there is a higher power at work ... and it's not Uncle Sam!!! :yahoo:

Morning all. I am having a bit on anxiety about mom coming to live with me. I know that's normal. I just don't want to take away from Jim or anything. The good news is my cousin said they would bring mom up here for me so we didn't have to drive down there and back. That would be so great for Jim. Mom, of course, is nervous and thought we'd come but we think she'll be OK. They even offered to hitch a Uhaul trailer up to carry some of her personal stuff back. Of course we'd pay for that and it's a lot cheaper than renting a hotel room, buying gas and food.

Mom seemed better yesterday but repeated herself or asked questions about things we weren't talking about. We wont know what the doctor thinks until the 30th when she sees the neuro. I asked my sister to explain my situation and talk with the doctor about what his medical opinion is on mom coming here to Illinois.

:hug: to everyone! Thank you again for your support through all this. :hug:

Good morning friends.

barb...I hope this does not come to pass.:hug::hug:

Sandy...big hugs to you my friend...YOU are an amazing woman.:hug:j

fin....spending time with friends is lovely, I hope you enjoyed your visit.

vonn...Thinkin of you.:)

debd...hawaii sounds delicious.:D

Kelly, Tricia, holly, sarah, moo, pam, weav, Wiz, all of you big hugs to you!

Its a lovely day here in New England...November has been very kind
in the weather dept.:)

I am feeling a bit better today. This weekend I was sick, sick sick!:(
I was the last one to get this nasty h1n1 so it should be gone, gone,
gone from our house. At least we got it over with , right?:)

Im just puttering and resting today as it is my first day up since Friday.

Everyone go out and have a great day.:grouphug::hug::hug:

Sox, I'm glad you're feeling better. Spray your house down with Lysol!!!

Sandy, I agree with Sox.....you are amazing! It's totally normal to be anxious about such a major change. Maybe once your Mom is there and settled into a daily routine with you it will be easier. It's so hard to determine how someone is really doing with scattered phone calls. Her being there with you and interacting with you and your family will give you a chance to see how she truly is functioning.

I've been to the grocery for a few things already today so I'm in for the day. I made a meatloaf for dinner. All I have to do is bake it. It seems to taste better if it sits in the refrigerator for the day before cooking. I guess the flavors have time to bind together.

DS and I went to the oldest DS and GF's apartment for dinner last night. We got to see their new furniture and how they had fixed the place up. It looked so nice. DS even cooked!! We had spaghetti....it was very good. It was good to see him again....I miss having him around.

What's everyone doing for Thanksgiving this year? Oldest DS has to work that day so we'll probably have ours on Saturday. Younger DS has to work on Friday. :rolleyes: I'd love to just be able to go out somewhere but we love the leftovers too much! :o

Everybody have a wonderful Monday. :grouphug: for everyone!

Hi Everyone!

Sandy - Such hard decisions! I know you will make the right one when the time comes. Keeping you all in my prayers.

Sox - Glad to hear you are starting to feel better.

Vonn - Can they put on you the fast track due to all that is going on? Keeping you in my prayers.

Sarah - Hope your hubby had a nice birthday.

Barb - That really stinks!!!! I hope they get things resolved soon.

Hi everyone else! Thinking of you all as well.

Today I am going to put the finishing touches/varnish medium on my nieces painting. It is basically done I just need to touch up a few spots (tremors decided the line should be crooked. LOL). Phew!!! It's done.

Have a great day everyone!:hug::grouphug:

Morning all! :grouphug:

I leave for an Excel exam in ten minutes, pray for me to get a passing grade!! :eek: I've studied and ready as I'll ever be.

Wiz, hope the test goes ok.

Vonn, glad to hear that things might be picking up speed with the lawyer. It's nice to hear he also apologized for the news he previously gave you.

Sox, glad you're feeling better.

Sandy, hope everything works out for your mom. Totally agree with Kelly that she may be doing better than the phone calls are showing. Still praying for you all.

Everyone, :grouphug::grouphug:

~~~~~~

Got a pleasant surprise this afternoon. The fundraising program that sells art on tshirts got a mention in my NMSS chapter's newsletter. The artist they linked to was me. :) I feel totally flabbergasted and honored that they would take the extra time to do that.

Now off to do more mundane things like fending of the laundry monster, LOL. :D

Take care everyone!

Wiz....good luck today on the exam!!!!!:hug::hug:

Here lies the problem. Today she is mad about coming here. She is mad at me because my cousin offered to bring her here. She is showing no empathy for Jim which she used to do and said we are supposed to come and get her. I explained how much easier it would be on Jim if she let her cousin bring her and she didn't get that and is thinking only of herself. The same thing happened when her 3 year old granddaughter ran a 101 fever the other day and my sister couldn't come and see her. She didn't care that Olivia was sick and said my sister should have came anyway. She would never have said that before. This is a part of the brain damage and something we are just noticing. I have a call into the admissions/social worker to get some answers. The last time we asked if she could come to Illinois her old doctor said no so they may not even let her travel. We need to know this. If she has lost all empathy for others and cannot socialize this is damage we didn't see earlier when she was out of it. :-(

PS: Good luck on the test Wiz!

UPDATE: Just talked to the social worker and she's going to have therapy call me. She said since we don't see mom hours on hours like they do it may just be mom is wanting to go home and taking it out on us. They will look into what our concerns are and try to work on that with her. I told them I just want her to get the therapy she needs and not take her here too soon. They understood completely. Oh, and when I mentioned the nursing supervisor telling me I'd need a security system, Naomi said she didn't think that would necessary and probably shouldn't have been said to us in that way. Something tells me that nurse is going to be talked to.

Thanks Fin, Sox and Sandy...
 

:paperbag: I ran out of time again. There's a 50 minute limit and 19 extremely complex problems. I don't know if my slow MS brain is going to let me get this certification done. I know how to use it but I'm not fast, I always worked for accuracy.

I got a call from my friend who's on the town board last night. He gave me the head's up that they should be hiring soon. I called the mayor and left a message. He called back and left me a message saying they were meeting with the employment agency on Wednesday and he'd let me know the details of what I should do to get my resume included because they'd really prefer somebody who lives in town. Keeping my fingers crossed. :)

Sandy,

Still praying for your Mom and the whole situation. It's so tough to go through. :hug: :hug: :hug:

Sandy -- Hope it all works out for you and your mom. I know it is so hard to not be there, and mom's seem to be really good at making us feel guilty.

Wiz -- :hug:

Union is stating that faculty can not be furloughed as we are covered under a contract. However, there are lots of civil servants, administrative assistants, etc., and administrators that are not unionized or covered under a contract. This is a contract negotiation year for the faculty so many think they are going to try to make this part of negotiations. I am going to try to just not stress too much about this and hope I can still retire in 2012.

Good morning everyone!

Wiz - Sorry about the test. Is it supposed to be a basic test? Once you get the hang of Excel and all the formulas and things you can do with it, it is an awesome program with so many possibilities.

Sandy - :hug: I am glad you were able to talk to the social worker. They are fantastic at supporting the family and working out solutions that are best for the patient as well as the family. Keeping you all in my prayers.:hug:

Hi everyone else.:hug::grouphug:

Not sure what I am going to do today. Took a 2 1/2 hour nap yesterday and for the 1st time in 1 1/2 - 2 weeks woke up feeling almost normal and it lasted until dinner time. AND I was a good girl and didn't start doing too much when I felt better. Don't want to over do it - like usual. :D

Oh my big news for the week. I cut my hair!!! Actually, my 14-year old niece did it. I saw she was having trouble with the angle so I told her to just cut it straight across. She cut like 3 to 4 inches.:eek: It used to be down to the bottom of the bra line. It is now a little below the shoulders. I don't like it that short but it is nice to have all those dead ends gone. I didn't freak out or anything I just took it in stride. It grows back. LOL

Have a good day everyone!

Good Morning! :) My day started off with good news. I had been to my GP on Friday, 11/6 and had some blood work done. They called me this morning to let me know all was normal. Even my cholesterol! I was surprised.

I'm trying to nail down Thanksgiving plans with the boys. DS26 has to work on Thanksgiving Day, DS22 has to work the day after. :rolleyes: So I guess our Thanksgiving will be on either Saturday or Sunday. DS26 has to also consider his GF's family now so there's another factor.

I'm still looking at apartments and trying to decide what to do. DS22 stepped up and started giving me more money each month to try and help make things easier for me. He's such a sweetie.

The thing I'm finding hardest to understand is the pet deposit most apartments want. The highest I've seen is $1,000. The lowest is $600. And it's non-refundable! :eek: And....it's in addition to the regular apartment deposit! Some places even insist that the cats be declawed! :eek: No way!! Seems like such a waste of money. My landlord here is great. He loves cats and didn't charge me a deposit for them at all. Makes me rethink this whole moving thing.

It's cloudy here today and we're supposed to get rain for the next two days. And cooler temps! :) Finally. I hate it when it's close to 80 degrees the week before Thanksgiving! :mad:

Okay, gotta get moving and get something accomplished today. Ya'll have a great day! :grouphug:

I stayed home from school today and took a sick day. I was awake much of the night and I am exhausted. Although I have been grading exams off and on all morning, so it is not much of a break:rolleyes:. I have been dealing with floaters in one eye for over a week now and they are driving me crazy. They also make it more difficult to read.

Weather is chilly and rainy here. We had a beautiful weekend so I guess we are paying for it now. I think it is supposed to rain all week.

I am going to go play one computer game and then grade some more exams. And I am planning a long nap this afternoon.

Have a good day!

Morning all! I need to get my panels cut for my new sew blankets. It's so hard because fleece isn't forgiving! LOL Then I need to go through the pile of mail on the table. Exciting huh?

Oh, I found a nice dresser for mom's room. I only paid 56 bucks for it. It's an Ethan Allen with a mirror and built in the 40's or 50's. Chris and I have to go pick it up in Wheaton on Friday. I looked at the seller's other auctions and he sells books on murder. I told Chris he has to go to help and run if something happens so he can get help. Hey, you never know these days.

:hug: to all.

Sandy, cool deal on the dresser. Still hoping all works out. :hug::hug:

Kelly, totally familiar with the pet deposit, all but one of the places we rented was the same amount as a full month's rent. Of course, we never bothered telling them that one of our cats was never declawed. ;)

Barb, rest up today. :hug::hug:

~~~~~

Slow cooking some stuffed cabbage for dinner. They had a sale at the meat counter in the store for preprepared versions, and I'm all up with not stinking my house up with the process of softening the cabbage. :)

Using my old data entry skills to help out with some accounting the guild needed to do. The other guy set up the program, and just plugging in numbers. I'm slower than I used to be, but I don't have to worry about speed. :)

Take care everyone. :grouphug::grouphug:

Way to go on the haircut Trish, I bet the price was right too. :) For years I cut my own hair, even permed and colored it, when I was a SAHM.

That's just it, I know how to use it! It's supposed to be a basic test, but nobody has passed it yet at our local office. :confused:

I know how to use pivot tables, data conversion, charts, export to Microsoft exchange server, you name it! They ask the hardest of the hard questions, multi-part and you have 50 minutes for 19 of those types of questions! I've written my own Excel programs with formulas for tax computation, etc... But I'm slow, lol.

Yea! DS26 has gotten Thanksgiving Day off! So we'll have Thanksgiving Dinner on Thanksgiving Day! I think they're going to GF's parents for lunch and then my house for supper. Makes it a little easier on me since I know they won't be starved before they get here! :o

I'm just a little irritated right now. My neighbor behind me and to my right just finished cutting his grass and using his leaf blower to blow all the leaves from his trees into my yard (which has no trees). :mad: What would you do? I haven't done anything. It seems petty (and it is) but it still irritates me that someone is so inconsiderate. What possesses people to behave like this? :rolleyes:

Kitty, I would go over and ask if he would blow them out of your yard. That is just downright rude. He doesn't want them in his yard but has no problem shoving them in yours? Have your son go over if you have to.

Hi all sorry not been round much having laptop problems at the moment. Can I ask what is thanks giving? Is it sort of like our harvest festival? I hope you are all winning and feeling ok. Big big :hug::hug::grouphug::grouphug: all round xxxxxxxxxxxxx

:hug:Kel...unbelievable:mad:...you have the right to give him the "what for"!!! yeesh, ya blow them into the woods, not yer neighbors yard. good luck!:hug::hug:

Here's a good explanation of Thanksgiving:

http://www.thanksmuch.com/thanksgivi...nksgiving.html

We also call it "Turkey Day"!! :)

Morning all :) Crossing fingers I can get a project under my belt today.

Sipping my morning cup of coffee and trying to get started for the day.

Hoping everyone has a good day today. :grouphug::grouphug:

I'm up early today. Guess I'll need a nap by early afternoon.....I can already feel it! :o

I've done as much as I can for my garage sale for now. Once I get the tables I can start placing things but I can't get them until the day before the sale. I'm so hoping that most of this stuff sells. I really just want to get rid of it.

DS26 is off work for the next few days. Seems a man who didn't want to go to jail took out his frustration on DS and he hurt his left hand. He was alone.....waiting for backup to arrive.....but the "perp" took advantage of the situation and tried to run. DS won in the end but not before badly injuring his hand. :mad: :mad: :mad: Just let me have a moment with the guy (alone).....I guarantee he'll never do that again! I'm beginning to sound like the lady in 'Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot"! :o

Well, one good thing.....my neighbor's lawn is covered with leaves again!! http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/k...es/hypnoss.gif The one who blew all his leaves into my yard the other day! :cool: Things have a way of evening themselves out! I'm really a nice person.........really.......http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/k...s/angel777.gif

I am back at school today. I came in early at 7:30 to get some things done. So I am ready for my 10:00 class and only have four exams left to grade. Each one takes me about 15 minutes.

There are more articles in the paper today about possible furloughs. I hate to sound so self interested, but I am worried that this is really going to cause alot of problems for me regarding retirement in 2012. But then I feel selfish, what effect will this have on people who are making 11.00 an hour?(secretaries, custodians, etc). How can they survive with a six week cut in pay?

Morning, all...cloudy, but no meatballs:p
Barb, I hope this issue gets resolved...it's really scary...
Kelly, glad the leaves are back where they belong! Hope your son's hand heals quickly...:hug:

All of you out there...hope you're doing well. I'm not nearly as sore as I was yesterday...trying to rest more, since I overdid it yesterday.

Hope everyone has a good Wednesday!

Morning all! We're having coffee and then I have to get up and go see the ENT. I am scheduled for a hearing test and exam on my ears. I've been having some issues with background noises. I can't hear a darn thing in a crowd or with any noise in the background. I'll let you know how that goes. I then made an appointment with my regular doctor to have some bumps on my nose checked. I think they are clogged pores but they have been here awhile. Since I am fair skinned I've been told I need to have them looked at.

Mom is coming around. No one has called to let us know anything yet. I'll give them a call later on when I get home or tomorrow. I was told to talk to the therapy leader.

Have a good day everyone. :hug:

Barb - Saying some prayers they get things worked out and SOON! :hug:

Kelly - How scary!!!! I hope your DS's hand heals soon. AND, I am so glad all those leaves ended up where they belong; in your neighbors yard. LOL Karma!

Fin - Pace yourself. (Like I'm one to talk. LOL) The project will get done in due time.

Wiz - Not way to go on the hair cut! LOL I don't like it much. DBF really likes it so I guess there is a benefit to it. DD19 and I figured it out yesterday. I had 5 inches cut off!:eek: As for the Excel test, that is not right to have a basic test with advanced questions. Praying that next time you do better.:hug:

Supermoo - Hope you get the computer stuff fixed. It is so frustrating when that happens.

Hi everyone else. Hope you all are having a good day!

I am downloading work right now and will start that soon. It's a good thing both financially and to slow me down. I was feeling pretty good this morning and am at DBF's so I washed the kitchen floor, dusted the walls in the living (it gets so dusty in the desert:rolleyes:), and am getting ready to vacuum the couch and floor. Good thing I have some work to do so I "rest" a bit. LOL

Sandy - Good luck on the test and the "nose" check. Us fair skinned people have to be careful. I wear sunscreen all the time as we pretty much have sun blaring all year long. Let us know how it goes.:hug:

Sandy - hope you have good results from your test!! I'm going in for my hearing test tomorrow ... unless I'm talking one on one ... I'm good .. but, when other people are talking - especially the loud ones .. and THEN they add tunes to the mix ... I barely can hear or comprehend what my friend is saying - and have to almost be in their face, turn my head to hear better .. I have it down to a knack!

sometimes - I just can't hear .. get all stressed from the sounds ... and leave .. and then the RINGING is so intense, that I crank the radio in the car!! or the TV gets a bit loud!

and, then I'm going to ask about my sinuses too (it's the same doctor that did my lip biopsy) .. ear/nose/throat doc!!

sent out a few more surprises this week ... working on dresses for my friend's twin girls .. size 7 ... BUT different cordouroy fabrics!! I can't stand it when people dress their kids in the SAME colors/clothes ... will post pix when I'm done ..

Kelly - wish I was close by to help you out .. the rules for 'Clean House' ... is if it doesn't sell - it gets donated .. and not back inside the house .. ;)

Barb - sorry to hear about all the politics with the job .. try not to get stressed, it's hard not to do - but, it will keep you feeling better .. hope it all works out for you!!

have a great day!!

Anything that doesn't sell is going to be picked up by the local charity in our town. I donate to them all the time.....they have a food bank and a clothing bank. So, I know it's going to a good cause. I wish I could just afford to give them everything but I need the money so they will have to take what's left after the sale. I can't wait to get this over and done with!

Sorry I haven't checked in the past few days. I've been a little under the weather with sinus/allergy carp and barely feel like sitting in the front of the computer.

I had a neuro appt on Monday and it was a strange one. First time ever this guy has spent less than 30 minutes with me. He was in and out in 15. He through a couple of scripts at me, looked at blood work results I brought with me and ordered an MRI. Either money is getting tight and he's rushing folks through like crazy, or I get the strange feeling he might be dumping his Medicare/Tricare patients....or sticking to a tight time schedule for those patients. I drive an hour to see this guy, so I hope he was just having a heavy patient load day. :rolleyes:

Remember those commercials with the guy flipping a switch and couldn't figure out what it operated and it turned out to be the neighbors garage door? We have a ceiling fan that kept coming on, speeding up, lights turning off and on. DH thought maybe the control switch had a short or something. For some strange reason I asked a neighbor who I don't see that often, if she had put in a new ceiling fan recently. Turns out she had!! Yes you guessed it, both fans are remote-controlled and what are the odds they were set on the same frequency!! For 3 months she thought she had bought a piece of junk because her fan was doing what ours was. We were turning each others fans on and off!! DH reset our controller and now everything is working great :D. Youngest son was about convinced he had a ghost in his room:p.

I'm gonna read posts and catch up on everyone's news. :hug:

I can hear!!!!! Got the all clear at the ENT! He said he believes it's TMJ. The nerve that is connected to the jaw is also connected to the ear. He grabbed my jaw on both sides and had me open and close and man did that hurt!! But he was a cutey so I hung in there. lol That explains the numbness and pain I have from time to time.

So now to see the primary doc for the bumps on Friday. Hope that is good news too!

Pam - LOL That is too funny. Your poor DS. My DDs would never, ever sleep in their room again if that happened.:D Heck, I'm not too sure I would either.

I here is a quick picture (not Photoshopped yet - wall needs to be cropped out) of the painting I did for my niece. That thing was a thorn in my side from the start. Phew! I am so glad to be done with it all. It's 30" X 30".

EDIT: Sandy - I am glad you can hear!!! TMJ can be painful!!! I hope they can do something for you. Let us know how it goes with the nose.

I really love that painting Tricia, I really do!:):hug:

Hugsss all!!

Just did yoga, now eating oatmeal and having my coffee. Then on to take Maddie to her school. she goes once a week to early on with me. Later I have a massage scheduled. I woke with usual terrible back ache... yoga and moving around seems to help.. just tired of it!! really tired of the pain!:(

Sandy, good luck with the info on your mom, hoping it would work out to bring her to your place. And good luck on the nose;)

hugss to all, sarah

(((Sarah))) - Sorry you woke up in pain again. Have you tried Valium? During this recent flare, I tried it again but only at bed time and either 1/2 (2.5 mg) or 1/4 (1.25 mg) of a pill. I have to admit, it did help a lot. Better than my baclofen trial. I was groggy for the couple of days I took it but it helped a lot.

Sox - Thanks! Hope you are starting to feel better.:hug:

Kelly - Hoping everything sells as I know that money is tight.:hug:

Hi everyone else.:hug::grouphug:

Have errands to run this morning and then home for a nap. LOL

Have a good day everyone.

Morning all :) Woke up early this morn and got the stuff done for the art guild. Two reciepts from the sale weren't added up correctly and caused the issue that needed a second look. Ah well.

Hoping to get a couple of things done. Tired from yesterdays project of moving stuff around. Think I'll take it easy today and attack the next half tomorrow.

Take care all! :grouphug::grouphug:

Good girl, Fin! Take it easy today and finish tomorrow. It is so hard to learn to pace. I am not very good at it - hey, I'm a sllllowwww learner.:D