Healthy Living Thread

[marcy]

Happy Saturday Kids!

Rod, that is a difficult decision for you and Charlie to make. Hopefully Sakai will continue to improve and you won’t have to make that call for a while. I don’t think I’d want to lose my income for 6 months but it’s a thought. I could buy lots of sapphires there for sure. Your weekend sounds fabulous, nice and relaxing.

Marty’s poker night lasted until about 1 am; I was out by midnight though. Shoved some earplugs in and I didn’t hear a thing after that. Marty lost my “loan” so I didn’t get my 20% interest back.

Marty played golf this morning. We met for a drink at the 19th hole and then had lunch at Applebees. I had to do some work this afternoon that took about 90 minutes and decided to change my expiring password after I was done and locked myself out of all my work accounts. I had to call the IT on call guy to unlock it for me. I felt bad about disturbing him on the weekend. My luck if I left it alone I would get a call and not be able to check it or fix it.

I got most of my laundry done and have been reading today.

Tomorrow maybe I’ll have some mimosa for breakfast then get motivated enough to go to the grocery store.

Have a great weekend.
Marcy

 

[Rod]

Marcy, we won't be the one's to make such an awful decision. The vet would have to tell us there is no more they can do. She's actually been pretty good today. She's eaten more today than any other day, which give us hope.

We had a pretty lazy day. The pet sitter came this morning to see Sakai and what she'd need to do. She was a veterinary technician for years, so she's very familiar with the medications and feeding tube routine. We went to Starbucks and had coffee and I listened to music and read a photography magazine. We had pizza for dinner. It was an amazing treat. We don't pizza often. Maybe every 3 or 4 months, so when we get it, it's special.

I'm getting up early to go get live blue crabs tomorrow. We'll visit my dad in the nursing home in the afternoon.

Marcy, if Marty does go to Singapore to work, you have to go for a while. It would be a terrific experience. I know I couldn't let Charlie go to Asia for months without me. I'd have to ask for a sabbatical or something.

Mimosa's sound good in the morning. Grocery shopping, not so much. LOL

 

[marcy]

Happy Sunday!

Rod, I am relieved to hear the vet would make that call for you. I am SOOOO delighted to hear Sakai ate more food today. I am glad the cat sitter is knowledgeable about meds and the feeding tube. Is she staying at your place or will just come by a few times during the day? I am glad you enjoyed your pizza. Pizza is always a treat for me but we don’t have it too often. I don’t think I’d want to afford no income for 6 months but I know I’ll miss Marty. I am doing better with it each day but I’m good at putting things out of my mind until I really have to deal with them. Marty did go grocery shopping with me this morning. It was way too windy for golf.

I made waffles (mmm) for breakfast and meatloaf, baked potatoes and raw veggies for late lunch.

I finished a book today and have one more in this series.

Have a great Monday.
Marcy / Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday kids!

Curby, I know you hate the idea of Marty being gone *anywhere* but if he does have to go somewhere Singapore is as safe as it gets! Seriously, there is NO crime and the city is absolutely pristine.

Zoe, I have never been fond of taking listings, not even when I was a full time agent. I am much more of a buyer advocate. But since I helped these kids buy this unit nine years ago and helped them again buy their new house in December I felt like I had to take this one. Ugh.

Rod, a good pet sitter is worth a mint! We had a lady who knew The Demon form the day we got him, but unfortunately she moved to Louisiana a couple of years ago and we haven’t found another one that we like as much.

This weekend flew by. Yesterday was the CB’s daughter’s birthday so we all went out to dinner and then had cake back at my house afterwards.

So here’s a wacky idea… I was looking for low cal alternatives to prosecco and there is such a thing as alcohol free sparkling wine that has 1/3 the calories – so 200 cal per bottle rather than 600! There is one brand (Ariel) that gets really good reviews too, so I think I am going to try it. I don’t drink it for the alcohol effect anyway, I just like the taste and the fizz. The CB is going to pick me up from the office tonight and we’ll swing by the liquor store to see if they have it. If I could cut my booze cals by 2/3 that would be awesome!

 

[Rod]

DeeJay, people don't realize how many calories are in alcohol. If you like the taste and fiz, I hope the alcohol free version works for you. I've never really enjoyed drinking very much. I still have a beer with Sushi, but just one. And that's pretty much it. So 1 beer a week can't be too bad, right? Yes, a good pet sitter is worth more than their weight in gold.

Marcy, yummm to waffles!

Sakai doesn't seem to be feeling too well tonight. We have an appointment at the vet tomorrow afternoon. We are preparing ourselves..........

It is putting a cloud around our wedding this Friday. Charlie will be worried sick about her.

 

[marcy]

Happy Monday!

Dee Jay, I know Singapore will a very safe place for Marty. I’ll be fine and console myself with new sapphires and diamonds. I hope you like the alcohol free sparkling wine. It sounds like you are busy as usual.

Rod, I’ll be thinking of you, Charlie and Sakai tomorrow. I was thinking the same thing worrying about Sakai this week will put a cloud on your excitement for your wedding. Hugs to all of you.

We had grilled steak and corn on the cob for supper. Marty was excited to eat real corn on the cob now that his braces are off. It was surprisingly good corn for the first of the season. I also liked no dishes (other than plates, glasses and silverware).

Marty is at the driving range tonight. I made up a handout for the astronomy program Friday. I dug out my notes from chapter 33 when I was teaching, redid a handout on galaxies and I’m ready to go.

Have a great day tomorrow.
Marcy / Curby

 

[Rod]

Thanks Marcy.........Please keep Sakai in your prayers more than us, OK?

 

[marcy]

Rod, I certainly will.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Rod, I am thinking of you and Charlie and Sakai. And yes, there are so many useless calories in alcohol! I keep trying other things to see if I can come up with a nice substitute (diet ginger ale, sparkling water with crystal lite in it, etc.) but nothing has really struck me so far.

Curby, corn on the grille sound marvelous! I have this idea in my head that corn (and most fruits and veggies) tasted better when I was a kid so now when I have things like that I am judging them against some (probably) imaginary memory, LOL.

Last night I went by the store and got a bottle of the “alcohol removed” sparkling wine. It wasn’t the brand I was looking for, but it was the only one they had, and the guy there said it wasn’t too bad. I didn’t get to try it though because I ran into some new neighbors and we ended up drinking red wine instead, but maybe I’ll uncork it tonight. I also need to clean up a little because a location consultant wants to come over tomorrow to see about doing a cable company commercial in my space. How ironic – I don’t even own a TV! And the last commercial my place was being considered for probably won’t pan out because they want to do at least one shot in the kitchen and my kitchen is too high end for the image they are portraying. Oh well.

I have to mail my tax check off to the State of Illinois today. Maybe I can just keep the money and fix the giant potholes in front of my house and we’ll call it even…!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Forgot to say, I walked to work this morning! It's only 1.4 miles, but it's better than NO miles! I just got new arch supports the other day, and they the same thing as my old ones, but I can really tell the difference. The old ones must have been pretty beaten down. Now my heel hurts a little (which is what I got the supports to correct in the first place...???) but I might try walking home anyway if it's not too uncomfortable by then.

I also weighed myself this morning for the first time in ages... woah... !!!

 

[Rod]

Sakai had her vet appointment this afternoon. She has lost more weight, but the vet was actually encouraged. She thought Sakai was pretty alert and doing as well as could be hoped for. I honestly thought the vet might tell us it was "time." But she doesn't think so.

It was a pretty discouraging day at work. The first offer I got from a client for a candidate was rejected. We renegotiated and got the offer higher. Still rejected by the candidate. It's tough to put this much effort into making things right for a client and candidate and things still don't work out. Now I have to start the search all over again. AAggghhhhhhhhhhhh. I'll work on it all day tomorrow, then go off to get married and try not to let it filter into my mind.

DeeJay, I hope the walk home wasn't painful. Sorry about having to pay taxes, but welcome to the club. I owed about $6K this year. Yuk. I hope your place is selected for the cable company commercial, but it is funny you aren't a customer or have a TV. I don't think I've seen a cable commercial down here where a wall mounted flat screen wasn't prominently featured.

Thanks all for keeping Sakai in your thoughts and prayers..........

 

[marcy]

Happy Tuesday!

Dee Jay, I hope you like your non-alcoholic drink. I am a total Coke addict. I usually only have an 8 oz. bottle or mini can so at least that is about 100 calories. That makes sense that our memories of delicious food can never be met by current reality. I think popcorn is the best example for me; not only does it never taste as good as I think it will it doesn’t even taste as good as it smells. I’ve been craving it too. That’s too bad the first commercial probably won’t be used; I still think that is so cool they shot a commercial there. You should put a sticky note on your check to the state and suggest that is where you’d like your money to go. Yay for walking to work today. I’d scream if I weighed myself.

Rod, that’s great the vet was encouraged with Sakai’s progress. Sorry the offers to your client weren’t accepted. Hopefully things will go better tomorrow. Definitely don’t worry about it until you get back from your wedding. Ouch for your tax bill. I changed my withholdings because we were getting back a decent return and I’d rather break even or owe a little. Friday and your wedding day is almost here.

My day was long and busy. OMG I hate this time of year. I worked on updates until about 1 pm and then finally started my work. I came home pretty cranky and pretty much bit Marty’s head off without intending too. Then I made it worse by saying something along the line of I’m sorry you perceived I was … Oh well, I apologized again and it’s all good now. We rarely have silly little fights. I felt bad.

Marty and I met for lunch that was a nice break to my day. We had to install a new Hopper tonight because the other one had the hard drive break. Yay I can DVR programs again.

Take care and have a great Wednesday!
Marcy / Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tax Day kids!

Rod, the worst part is I can’t even plan for this because my accountant does something different with how he handles my corporate income every year (I have a corporate entity that I pass my real estate commission and some other things through). Depending on what’s more advantageous sometimes he has the corporation pay the taxes or sometimes he distributes more of the income to me as a salary and I pay the taxes personally.

Curby, Bill and I had one *almost* fight in 12 years, and it was a purely philosophical disagreement over the estate tax. But that was it. The CB and I have disagreement every now and then, but I usually say something along the lines of, “Well, you’re wrong, so feel free to continue to be wrong. I’m getting on with my life now.” Ha!

I did try the non-alcoholic sparkling wine last night and it was surprisingly sweet…??? Really much sweeter than anything I would normally choose to drink. I’m going to try to track down the brand that got the better reviews and see if that’s any more palatable.

I walked to work again this morning, but I didn’t walk home last night because the CB picked me up. I did his daughter’s taxes and for the second year in a row they rejected. There is some issue with her birthdate not matching her SS#. The CB suspects it relates back to an error that H&R Block made at one point and now it perpetuates every year so the forms have to be printed and physically mailed rather than filed electronically. I’m sure the problem is fixable, but who wants to spend some indeterminate amount of time on the phone with the IRS…?!?

 

[marcy]

Happy Wednesday!

Dee Jay, it’s a good thing you are a CPA so you can help keep track of your taxes – they sound complicated. I get confused by selling stock and how to figure the cost basis. I guess it’s more I worry I’ll fill out something wrong and trigger an audit. We rarely fight too; it was pretty silly. I think my emotions are all out of whack these days and work certainly makes me irritable. I hope the other brand of your non-alcoholic drink tastes better. How awful H&R block messed up the CB daughter’s birthdate. I imagine that will be impossible a major pain to fix. I hope our snow doesn’t move your way; it will be too nasty to walk to work. I think once we slow down at work I am going to wander the buildings during a break.

Rod, 2 more days! Sweet.

Hi Deegee and Zoe!

We had Thundersnow today. Fun! I had about 2” of very wet snow on my car when I left work. We could have 5” by Friday.

Have a great evening and day tomorrow.
Marcy / Curby

 

[Rod]

2" of Thunder Snow?? Doesn't the calendar in Wyoming know it's Springtime? Huh???

DeeJay, come to Tampa in um, say, early April next year, OK? It costs too much to have our taxes done each year and I owed $6,000 - Yikes. I'm glad you're doing more walking. I don't like sweet wines. I don't like sweet beverages at all anymore. I used to be a Coke-aholic, years ago. I haven't touched a soft drink in more than 10 years now.

Yes, TWO DAYS!!! It's almost surreal to think that two days from now, we'll be married - Legally. I'm off work now until Tuesday too!

 

[marcy]

Happy Thursday!

Rod, one more day! You and Charlie must be very excited and anxious today. Have a wonderful wedding and a beautiful wedding day!

We had several more inches of very wet snow today and freezing fog. They had an awful wreck about 20 miles west of town with about 60 vehicles. By the time I came home it was just wet but the morning will be icy again. If it’s too bad I’ll have Marty drive me to work.

Have a great evening.
Marcy

 

[Rod]

Thanks Marcy! Yes, TOMORROW'S the DAY! I simply can't believe we get to do this after all these years. I hope it's a great day all around. My brother and his fiancee are so excited as well!!

What's with all that snow you're all having out there. It's already summer here in Tampa. We somehow missed spring completely and went directly from winter to summer. We could certainly use some cooler air! But cold enough to snow? No way Jose!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Thursday kids!

Rod, wishing you and Charlie the most marvelous day ever tomorrow!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to see pics and hear ALL about it!

Curby... *thundersnow*... Dee puts her hands over her ears and goes "lalalalalalalala"!

Too tired to write more tonight but just wanted to check in!

 

[zoebartlett]

Rod, today's the big day, right? Congratulations and best wishes to you and Charlie! I'm glad Sakai's vet was encouraged, and I hope she continues to improve.

Dee*Jay, I can't imagine trying to tackle taxes on my own. Ours have been pretty complicated because of our former rental property and tenant issues. It took two appointments with our tax person to sort through it all this year. It's all behind us now though, so taxes should be pretty straightforward from now on.

Marcy, my husband practically lives on diet coke, sometimes caffeine free, sometimes not. I like it and I usually have one or two cans per day, but sometimes it tastes too sweet to enjoy. I can't imagine drinking regular soda.

Hi Deegee!

My uncle died on Sunday after a short battle with cancer. He had been living with my parents while under hospice care, and that wasn't easy for all involved. My parents now have his dog, but since they don't want a pet full time (although they love this little guy), they're not sure what to do. Ultimately, they'd like to find a family they know who will adopt him, but if not, I think he'll stay put and D. and I will take him when my parents travel. They've gone away for a few days to decompress -- they've been through a lot. We have a family friend who entered hospice the same day my uncle passed away, and that's been hard on everyone, too.

On a more positive note, I get photos and videos of my niece all the time, and that's been GREAT. My contract at school was renewed for next year, so I'm staying where I am. It's such a relief.

 

[Rod]

Hey.......this will be my last check-in for a while. We're heading to the resort this morning, will spend the afternoon with my brother and fiancee, then be dressed and ready to meet with the minister and photographer at 6 PM.

Thanks for all the good wishes. We'll be back home Sunday night and I'll definitely check in and tell you about the wedding!

 

[deegee]

Rod-yay! Congratulations to you and Charlie! I'm so excited for you!! I hope everything goes well and you have a wonderful story to tell us when you get back. Congrats to your brother and SIL as well.

Zoe-I'm so glad to hear your contract was renewed. Congrats to you too! Sorry to hear your family is going through a tough time. Hugs to all of you.

Marcy-I love your sapphire ring. It's beautiful! I tried taking some new pics of mine to show the color, but then I realized I can't get a good pic of all 4 stones a the same time because they're set at angles. I don't regret thinning my band at all. It's still a very solid ring. Did I read something about Singapore? I need to go back and get caught up.

Dee*Jay-my sister is an IRS agent and she does not love her job! I am so happy we don't owe this year. We're actually getting a...wait for it...5 dollar refund. Woo-hoo! I'm going shopping!

The last couple of weeks have been absolutely nuts at work. I worked such long days, I was incapable of forming a complete sentence when I got home. My brain wouldn't shut off either, so I couldn't sleep. Finally this week I caved and took sleeping pills a few nights. I'm officially off until April 28. I can't tell you how happy that makes me! We're heading to the beach on Sunday, so tonight and tomorrow will be busy with laundry and packing. Have a wonderful weekend!

 

[marcy]

Happy Wedding Day Rod and Charlie!

Rod, we are still getting snow. This stuff is really wet too. I will be very anxious to hear all about your wedding day! Congratulations to you and Charlie! Also congratulations to your brother and SIL!

Dee Jay, lalalalalalalalalalala is what I say when I have to drive in the snow.

Zoe, did you sell your other property? I remember all the hassles you with repairs. I don’t usually like sweet drinks but I do like my coke. I have some OJ in the morning and other than alcohol here and there I mostly drink ice water. I am so sorry to hear about your uncle. I think it’s good for your parents to get away for a while after going through everything will your uncle. I hate to hear you have a friend in hospice too. I am delighted to hear your contract was renewed for next year.

Deegee, sapphires are hard to photograph. I keep thinking of buying another band to switch out with my ering but 3 bands seems silly. Marty might be working on a long-term project in Singapore. Right now it would be 2 months a time at the beginning, middle and end of a 2-year project. It would probably start in October. Of course there is a chance they may change their mind. I think a $5 refund is about right. I like breaking even with the IRS. Enjoy your vacation!

Work was another insanely busy day but I too am going on vacation so it won’t be my problem until the 27th.

Marty took me to work and picked me up. We continue to have wet snow or rain so it’s either slushy or icy. I cancelled our astronomy meeting tonight since I didn’t want to go back out in that mess. It was funny he had 3 killer rabbits in the trucklet when he picked me up. They “wanted” to see where I work.

Have a great weekend!
Marcy

 

[deegee]

Marcy- glad you're on vacation too! Enjoy!! I left my laptop on my desk and i swear I'm not thinking about work until the 28th. Are you doing okay with the thoughts of Singapore? I'm sure it's an exciting opportunity for him, but wow. That's tough. Here' are the best pics I can get. I promise there isn't a black one. When I move my hand, it turns bright blue and sparkly. Those are tricky little suckers!

 

[deegee]

Happy glorious Saturday! We're having a beautiful day here at sunny and 75 degrees. We leave for the beach in 17 hours, and I haven't packed the first thing. My parents have decided to go with us and I'm really glad. My dad got very bad news this week. His cancer is back and it has spread to other organs. The doctor encouraged him to go on the trip anyway and spend time with family. Once we get back, he'll have to go for more tests and he's been referred to a cancer center in Lexington KY. The doctor said all of that could wait a week. I'm hoping we can help him live a little bit of normal for the week, and help him keep a positive attitude. My sister is bringing them to a mall about half way to our house, so we will leave in a few hours to pick them up. I've got to get some things done before we hit the road. Have a great Saturday!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Deegee, your ring pictures look great. Those are such pretty sapphires and a beautiful ring that absolutely glows. I am also looking forward to not thinking about work for over a week. I can use the break and I know you can as well. You put in many more hours a week then I do. I guess I’m okay with Singapore now. I will survive. The remote will be all mine.

I am so sorry to hear about your dad. I am glad they are going with you to the beach this week.

Enjoy the beach for me.

We got up about 7. I brewed up pancakes and bacon. We had homemade soup for lunch. The snow is melting like crazy so there are rivers everywhere around town. We just go finished packing. I don’t really have a lot of warm weather clothes because I live in Wyoming and I’m always cold. Marty says we may be out buying me new clothes. Darn.

Happy first day anniversary Rod and Charlie!!! (And Brother and SIL too). I am so anxious to hear about your wedding and dinner.

Hi Dee Jay and Zoe.

Marcy

 

[zoebartlett]

Rod, I can't wait to hear about your wedding.

Thank you, Deegee. I'm sorry to hear about your dad's news. I hope you're enjoying your time away on vacation. It's good to recharge. I love your ring, by the way. I love the color!

Hi Dee*Jay!

Marcy, how long will Marty be in SIngapore? I'm sure it will be hard if he's away for months at a time. The good thing is that because he travels so much now, you're already somewhat used it. Plus, like you said, the remote will be yours. Yes, we sold the condo we owned last spring. It had been such a rough year or two -- major renovation projects and a legal issue with our tenant. We are SO HAPPY to have that behind us now. I'm not sure how long we need to keep all our condo and court documents, but I can't wait to get rid of them. Is it 7 years? We're renting now. It would be nice to own property again but I'm not in a real hurry. People say that you get more out of owning rather than renting, and financially, it's a good move. We pretty much had the exact opposite experience though.

D. and I met my parents for lunch yesterday, and we gave my uncle's dog back to them. We had taken him overnight while my parents were away. I think if the owners of our condo (we're renting) agree to it, we're going to share custody of the dog with my parents. They'll be the primary care takers, but we'll take him when they go away and when we want our "puppy" fix. Our cats survived. There was a bit of hissing, but they recovered. I don't want to stress them out, but my parents think I'm worrying for nothing. I should mention that while they like our cats, they're not cat people, so I'm not sure they really get it. D. really bonded with the dog and he said that if we had our own place, he'd adopt him in a second.

 

[Rod]

Well hello from your very happily married friend. The wedding was MAGICAL, FUN, EMOTIONAL, SWEET, TOUCHING, FANTASTIC and just about any other wonderful word you could think of. The weather was beautiful. The sunset spectacular. And the service just fantastic. I had written my vows 3 months ago. I got through the first sentence, and all this emotion bubbled up and I started crying and had a very difficult time getting through them. This set Charlie off, so he was crying through is vows as well. But the minister, photographer and my brother and SIL said it made our vows so much more powerful and touching. It certainly will be highlight for me. After all photographs were taken (our photographer was fantastic, but we won't have the photos for a while), we opened and drank a couple bottles of Chamgagne! Then we headed to a fantastic, romantic, restaurant and we had a fabulous meal.

Yesterday, we walked the beach, swam in the clear, warm Gulf of Mexico, the pool, etc., then we went out for a fantastic dinner at a really cool Italian restaurant. We came home and walked the beach at sunset. It just couldn't have been a nicer couple days for us, that's for sure.

Thanks for the good wishes on our wedding day! Here's a picture of the two of us taken with a cell phone.........

 

[marcy]

Waiting for our luggage at the airport. Glad I checked in. Rod I am delighted to hear everything went well and you had a beautiful wedding. Love the picture of you and Charlie. I am so happy for both of you.

BTW it's warm here.

 

[deegee]

Rod-congratulations!!! Your day sounds so very special. I'm glad everything went well. You'll have such wonderful memories! I love the picture. Thanks for posting it!

Marcy-safe travels to you. We have reached our destination and I'm listening to the ocean. So relaxing. Tell Marty if he goes to Singapore, you're taking over the man room.

Zoe-I have 2 cats and a dog, and everybody gets along famously! Lily (my dog) has always been around cats, and my cats were already used to dogs when we got them. Lily and one of the cats, Milo, actually play. It's cute.

We're at the beach house. We just got back from grocery shopping and now we're resting up from the long drive. We're trying to keep mom and dad upbeat and positive this week. Dad seems to be handling it better than mom...she's a nervous wreck, which is understandable. He said he was thrilled to get away for a week of no doctors appointments, nobody taking blood, no shots. Well, I'm off to do absolutely nothing. Have a wonderful Monday!

 

[Rod]

Thanks Deegee. I'm so very sorry to hear about your dad. I hope this vacation with your parents is wonderful. It will be something I hope you'll look back on years from now as a blessing.