NOW is the time! It's MINE & I AM WORTH IT! (friends welcome to tag along!!)

[toystoryduo]

Congratulations to your DD!!!! That is such wonderful news, Julie!!!

 

[goldcupmom]

Mammogram day.....UGH!!! Praying it goes ok & all is well..,,but I won't hear anything for a week or so.

Still scoring, but now from 5 - 10 daily as they didn't hire enough people to complete the project on time. More hours = more money & it has to end by May 7. But, it is making my life REALLY hectic! Run here, run there, drive this one here, this one there & hurry to score. OH well....,. Worst is no sleep as Dh seems to nap while I'm gone & then watch 'family guy' until midnight which keeps me awake & I'm up at 545 every morning.(445 with the time change adjustment). I finally got some sleep last night.

Off to DR. back later...

 

[Amy&Dan]

Julie, sending prayers for the mammogram! I know it will go well but know firsthand how stressful that is.

So awesome about the scholarship! You so deserve that good news and I know your dd will keep those grades up!

And I am so happy that the dress worked out! Some things are just meant to be. We just got a Cheddars here, I may need to go and order the exact same thing you did, it sounds like heaven on earth! You earned that splurge and having that food and fun with dd was worth the calories!

 

[toystoryduo]

Sending prayers for your mammogram.....

Sounds like you are super busy! Be sure and get some Julie time as well!

 

[goldcupmom]

Wow! I am a TERRIBLE WISHER!! Time here just flies right by!

Got good news on the mammogram today! Thanks for the prayers!!

I am still scoring every night from 5 - 10, which is good, but it seems like I wake up in the morning & by the time I sit down for breakfast it is 4:15 & I have to leave soon. Not enough hours in the day. But, we are already 38% complete, so will likely finish the week of the 23rd. Then I start an online at home scoring project on 5/10 which runs to 5/28....and I can score up to FIFTY hours a week. And y'all know I will try to score all the hours I can, so I think the month of may will be a blur between that & DD's graduation.

DS20 still has no car. Yesterday DH got a free lawyer consult thru work & it's a local lawyer who, as it happens, used to rebuild old muscle cars. He says we need to put an entirely new engine in it, then sue for the cost of engines, lack of use, etc. Since, even if we win in small claims, we may never collect, I think DH is leaning towards having this guy deal with it. I'm not happy about the financial outlay of another several thousand dollars, but I'm at a loss for any other way to get it done.

Then, of course, I got the estimate on my leg 'fixes'. They can't 'fix' me til September & can't ask ins. co. for approval until 90 days prior, but their best 'guesstimate' on my out of pocket is almost $3000. I really want it done & went ahead & scheduled, but will have to see if I actually go thru with paying that for a 'non-essential' procedure. I totally get that the bad veins could cause me lots of problems later on, but......

So, with those 2 things, plus graduation & all those expenses, & normal day to day life, I can't foresee a vacation in my future. I am sad. But, life goes on. I checked into getting a 'city pass' from Costco for CA, which is $250 for 4 day hopper at DLand, 1 2 Universal Hollywood, 1 @ seaworld San Diego & 1 @ san diego zoo, but hotel & meals would be a killer for a week in CA, plus a rental car. For the amount that would cost, I could take a cruise. So, I'm still looking & dreaming, but don't think anything will happen.

DS20 also still has not heard about the church job...but they did put in for a budget to employ him as a pastoral student intern. That would definitely take a lot of pressure off him financially, as he is living on $10/month for spending money. I pay his phone & he is driving my car & just paying ins on his non-running car. And, I've been having to cover his tuition & books. This job would likely give him enough to take over his bills again.....praying......

No news yet on DH job possibility. DS23 made over $24000 last year & has not a dime to his name. His only bills are his car ins & phone - total under $200/mo. And presently he is already overdrawn by over $400, gets paid Thurs - about $700 & owes me $300......GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!

Off to get ready to leave to score. Hoping everyone is doing ok & has a wonderfully blessed Easter if I don't get back to say 'hi'.

Tracy, your box is FINALLY enroute. I think estimated delivery is Friday!

to you all!!

Food is NOT GOOD - but I'm managing to make my burn most days...I'm just not losing hardly anything. I've peeked below 170 again, but not by much. I was in the 150s before hives, so still have about 11 lbs to go to get back to where I was. And, the vein Dr told me if I want to have healthy veins @ my almost 5'3' I should weigh 110! IN YOUR DREAMS!!! I think I was BORN weighing almost that much! Made me want to eat & forget it. Those Darned Cadbury mini eggs have been my undoing this week! but I acknowledged them & still had a 500+ cal deficit that day (yes, I ate an entire 13 oz bag in one sitting!) I am awful!!

But, walking is good....I passed 210 miles this morning to date. I'm going to start 30 day shred Thursday & even if my side hurts like last spring from it, i will keep going!

 

[toystoryduo]

Way to go on 210 miles of walking, Julie!!!

So glad to hear that you got good news on the mammogram!

Sending prayers and for DS20's job, DS23, and for your DH's job as well.

Don't forget to schedule some Julie time in!

 

[lovinaz]

Ahh, those Cadbury eggs have caused many a downhill spiral for me too! They are just SO GOOD!!!

Sounds like you have quite the decision to make about your vein surgery. I'm sure you will make the choice that is best for you.

Sending some for DS and DH's jobs! At least you will have steady income until the end of May!

 

[toystoryduo]

Happy Easter to you and your family, Julie!

Thank you so much for the box of goodies that you sent our way!!! The girls are so excited about the Butterfly Pavillion! They can't wait to get the caterpillars and watch them turn into butterflies. Thank you for blessing us all with such a nice gift, my friend.

Have a wonderful day today!

 

[goldcupmom]

Happy Easter, everyone!

Tracy, I'm so glad it arrived.. I am SO SLOW in mailing things!
I used to do a butterfly pavilion with my kids every spring when homeschooling...one year we even hatched ducks (don't worry, I won't be sending you or anyone duck eggs & an incubator!). That was really fun...until a little neighbor girl hugged one to death while we were keeping her when her mommy was having a baby. Then it got really sad, really quick!

Off to get ready for church, then start cooking.

 

[lovinaz]

Awwww, that is quite a story about the ducks!

Have a Happy Easter!

 

[goldcupmom]

Quick post on the beginning of another crazy, busy week.

Here is a link to DDs Senior Video - http://awardwinningvideo.com/page10/page19/page19.html

I have pics, but I don't have them online anywhere yet and can't just paste them in here.

My thought for the week is ''Altoids are EVIL" Last Wed, Thurs, Fri while scoring I ate altoids minis.....and by Saturday morning my mouth was almost blistered from them. And it is still not quite back to normal. I knew it was feeling sore from them, but just kept on eating them....cinnamon. UGH!!

More tomorrow....had to run a gazillion errands today, won't get exercise in, & it is horribly windy & my internet keeps popping off...not sure why.

Hope everyone had a good Easter!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Julie, I am so happy about the mammogram! What a relief.

Cadbury eggs, say no more. Those things and I go way, way, WAY back!

What a sad story about the duck. My friend had that same sort of thing happen with her hamster and a daycare kid.

That altoid thing sounds painful. I can't stand those things, maybe that's a good thing!

I will say prayers for dh's job. I hope he gets good news! I am so sorry you will have so much out of pocket expense for your vein surgery. Does your dh's job offer a cafeteria plan for medical expenses where at least you could have it withdrawn tax free? Medical bills when you are insured is so ridiculous!

 

[goldcupmom]

Yep, Amy, we have a FLEX account, but if I get it done in Sept, I can't add more to my acct., so there MIGHT be $1000 of it left in the account to go towards the veins....such is life. The Dr. can't even ask the Ins. co to authorize til 90 days out, so I won't have definite numbers til then & I won't make my final decision til about 30 days out.

Life here is totally chaos. And to make it worse, I'm having my garage sale 4/30 & 5/1.

DS20 needs to take 9 hours summer, then 18 fall & 15 spring to graduate on time. Hopefully he will make it.....only about 8k in tuition left to cover and then HOPEFULLY he has a real job & can start paying back as well as his own expenses. Time will tell........

DD graduates 5/17. Prom is 4/17 & her finals are 5/6 - 11. Seems summer is almost here.

If I could get some sleep, I'd probably lose some weight, but when I get home at 10:20, DH watches family guy til 11, then futurama. Then he falls asleep in under 5 min & I am awake for at least another hour. This 5 - 6 hours of interrupted sleep is killing me!!!!! And, napping is not possible with all the running of kids I do.

Exercise still ok, but food is still IFY at best. I did manage to run an entire mile last week (well, jog, but anything not walking is running to me). did it in just under 10 min. Unfortunately, it has been too windy, too much pollen & then too cold for me to do it again since & yesterday I stepped on a rock I didn't see & jammed my bad ankle, so no running for at least several days. It hurts most of the time anyway, but now really hurts.

Off to pick up the DBF at school, he will come here, eat & nap before he goes to work at 5. DD gets off at 5 & I leave at 4:25. Never a dull moment.

Hope all is well with everyone. Have a great weekend!

 

[lovinaz]

I know what you mean about being so busy! I thought the weekends were supposed to be for relaxing. Haven't had one of those for a while!!! Hang in there!

 

[toystoryduo]

Sounds like you've got a lot going on right now...Don't forget to take some time just for you, my friend!

I forgot to answer your question in my journal....I didn't qualify to score the one test that they wanted me to score. They wanted an almost perfect score during the qualification tests and I was just a couple of points off. I'll give it a try again next year.

Thanks again for the butterfly pavilion. Last week we had several packages delivered by both Fed Ex and UPS and each time we got a box, the girls kept asking, "Are those our caterpillars? " They are so excited!

Hope you have a blessed week, Julie!!!

 

[goldcupmom]

Quick update: Today I realized that in 106 days I will turn 50 and my weight is still hovering over the same 4 pound range since a month ago. So, as much as I don't have time, I MUST start recording here EVERY DAY & writing EVERYTHING down using both points & body bugg. I NEED ACCOUNTABILITY!!!! It is too easy for me to just grab a bit of this & a bit of that & let my stress take over. So, I need to lose 30 lbs in 106 days....so I need a deficit of 1000 calories/day. Realistically, 30 won't happen, but I'll be thrilled with 20.

106 days to go - weight 169.4

luna protein bar - 4
light bread - 1
spinach, tomato, pickle, avocado - 1
ff cheese - .5
turkey bacon - 1
corn - 2
cauliflower - 0
chicken - 6
banana - 1
runts - 1
light bread - .5
egg white - 0
avocado - 1

so, 19 pts, 1113 calories in, 2841 cal burned, 1728 deficit.

3.64 miles walk/run - 1.05 walk, then 2 x .12 sprint
160 crunches

I will likely update in the morning as I will be too brain dead after scoring for 5 hours to do it tonight.

Thanks for being here to help me hold to this!!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Julie, you are so busy it makes me tired to read about your life! But I really admire you and all you do.

Recording what I eat always makes me more successful. I know this will help you achieve your goal by your birthday!

I am saying a prayer that your insurance okay's that surgery. Completely dispicable they can even have that much power over your health and well being.

 

[goldcupmom]

Off to walk soon before the wind kicks up. Yesterday I got a horrid cramp all the way down the outside of my left thigh & calf when I ran, so will just walk today.

Scoring is at the 'brain dead' stage where it seems like every 5 min is an hour. But only about 10 days left to score...I hope!

This weekend is Prom, so DBF is here for the duration. He works til close tonight which means he gets off 3 - 330am & then would have a 45 min drive back to Grandma's. So he sleeps on the daybed/sofa in my office room. Then tomorrow night Prom is 8 - 1230a, & they are all changing & going to IHOP after.

I really need to get busy on my Garage Sale stuff this weekend as it is 4/30 - 5/1. UGH!!!!

DH announced he is at a new all time high weight and that it is 'impossible' for anyone to lose weight after 40. Wow! His old high was 254 & he had his heart attack at 248. Frustrating.

105 days til 50 ..... off to walk....

luna protein bar 4
ww pasta meal 4
fiber 1 bar 2
chicken 3
oatmeal 3
banana 1
runts 1
avocado 1
spinach, cauliflower 0
corn 2
tortilla 1

walked 4.79m , 200 crunches
pts - 22, 1423 calories in, 3044 calories burned, 1621 deficit.

 

[toystoryduo]

You CAN definitely make your goal, Julie! Using the BUGG and writing down your points sounds like a great way to stay on track! By the way, AMAZING job on your walks!!!!

Sending some for your DD's prom this weekend. I hope she and her BF have a wonderful time! Will you be posting any pictures?

Hope you have a nice weekend!

 

[goldcupmom]

104 days til 50 -

lg lt tortilla - 1
egg beaters - 1
turkey bacon - 1
ff cheese - 1
Chickfil a grilled - 5
2 fries - 1
ww dinner - 5
pizza (2 bites) - 2
ww icecream - 2
banana coffee cake - 6 - OUCH!! I baked 4 of them this morning & succumbed @ 2 a.m. UGH!!

25 points - 2352 calories burned, 1185 in, 1167 deficit.

100 crunches,Tonight is Prom & DD has turned into 'Promzilla' so I likely won't be back on until maybe late tonight.

Hoping everyone is having a good weekend!