April Achievers!

[ThreeDogNight]

April Achievers!

Forgot to say, Lav, that I am so sorry about your brother. Very sad. But you are very tough, and you'll get throiugh it.

[dill]

April Achievers!

Hello AA's!
Rusty I was right there with you on the "enjoying a sssllllllowwww-paced Saturday afternoon". That's exactly what I did today.

Lav, I hope all went well with your party today. I am sorry to hear about your brother. I know exactly how you feel there. My brother didn't take care of himself either and died earlier than necessary of heart failure as a result.

LBH, thanks for hearing me and commenting on the ODAT.:h I think you would like the book Star and I read, but I realize you probably can't read much with your vision problems. The audio version is available on audible.com though, for $7.49 if you're interested.

Pmom, TDN, Cyn, P1, Sooty, Star, everyone, Have a peaceful evening.

[Lavande]

April Achievers!

Hey gang!

Birthday party went well. The guest of honor was happy & stood by the coffee table to open & play with his gifts. He got more 'twains' :H



The train cake turned out pretty nice (my picture is not so great) but it tasted good



His other grandparents came from NJ, so it was nice to see them as well.

I am not sure what's going on with my brother. My SIL called & said he was not transferred today & apparently there is talk of trying to 'improve' his condition. She told me that he is so confused that he doesn't know his name or birthdate. I know from experience, you can't rehab people when they get like this
I am going to sit now & play one of my long meditation recordings......I need some chilling out.

Good night to all!
Lav

[Persephone1]

April Achievers!

ladybirdheart;1487567 wrote: Monday we went to an hilarious and interminable birthday party for a severely disabled seventy-one year old man who fortunately did not die in the middle of it…the darkest humor can be the biggest relief. One of the guests makes the most remarkable "sock monkeys" I have ever seen and gave one as a gift, this one was an aging tulle wrapped drag queen, sweet and brave. Happy to be there, and now here. Love, Ladybird.

That is the funniest and most precious thing I've heard in a long time! :H Thank you Ladybirdheart for the chuckles!! Made my day…

I read up on the happenings for April, glad to meet up with you all again...

I do hope you enjoy your two weeks off Papmom ~ you clearly deserve it! Sending good juju to your furry friend :l.

The pics of the 'twains' and your grandson are adorable Lav! Thanks for sharing them. So sorry to hear about your brother. Hospice was a WONDERFUL support for my mom, they are a magical kind of people, truly.

Hiya BHOG ~ Are you the only gentleman here? Lucky fella

Congrats on the job situation Rusty ~ sounds very gratifying. It's truly amazing how much sweeter (even the simplest things) life is without AL elfin' it all up, no? You sound happy :wd:

Sending XOXO's to you Cyntree and TDN, hope your weekend is swell :h

May you be bathed in warmth and blessed with great company in Mexico Star! I am SO ENVIOUS...

Def lots of drunk folks in 'Nawlins Dill~ still one of my favorite cities! Sounds like you had an amazing trip. Glad you had fam time ~ it's tough having them a plane ride away, huh? Mine too, it sux.

I am sorry for disappearing for a bit. Honestly, I have been dealing with some serious, chronic neck pain and I've been really scared about it ull. I find out on Tuesday the results of some tests, so fingers crossed that it is something I can deal with. I have been pretty depressed and living in constant pain makes me crappy company. Please forgive me.

I noticed that some of you were doing a little book clubby thing. Can you tell me more about this?

Wishing you all a wonderful Sunday…It really needs to start warming up on my slice of the world. Aaargh!

All the best, P.

[Rusty]

April Achievers!

Good Sunday Morning, Friends!

Lav....the twain cakes are beautiful....and little Will is such a cutie. I know he's made progress because of the gentle nudging his Mi Mom has given him.. That was nice of the NJ grandparents to come to the party. I hope you get to relax today. So sorry again to hear about your brother, but what can you do? My brother was the same way....but he denied it. He was AF for 7 years, and then started drinking again. He chain-smoked for 40 years, and he ate like a pig. He was not a part of our lives when he died, but there was a picture of him at his funeral....I estimate he weighed close to 300 lbs. He was 57.

Perse:l....you poor thing. I KNOW what chronic neck pain feels like. I have two herniated discs in my neck. My doctor gave me this simple remedy that really works...4 Advil Gelcaps with food. I also take mine with sparkling water. Works like a charm. This whole experience with my neck has made me MUCH more empathetic and compassionate when it comes to people who suffer from chronic pain. The depression is the pits....it feels so deep and can be all consuming. Wow, Perse, you're really racking up that AF time.....good for you. Please stick with us....we like having you here.

TDN-Great to see you here. :l How is your dog, Harry, holding up without Rusty? He must be sad and looking for him all the time.

Dill-How come sssslllllooowwww Saturdays fly by so fast?:H

I just wanted to say "thank you" to everyone here for all your support regarding this class I gave last week. It meant so much to me. I can't believe that last Friday was 1 YEAR since I flunked that exam. I feel like a much stronger person now that I'm AF.

Ok, a few work things to do before church. Have a fabulous AF Sunday!

xoxo
Rusty
AF4ME4EVR

[dill]

April Achievers!

Good Morning AA's,
Pers, I am sorry to hear you have been dealing with such pain! I hope you and your doc work out a good solution for you. I have degenerative disc disease affecting both my cervical spine and lumbar spine. So far I have been successfully treated through a few courses of physical therapy, but the doctor has said that surgery may be in my future. That thought scares me. My doc said basically to suck it up because it is very likely going to happen and it will be all right. I like my doc, she is so competent and sensible. I trust her, so that helps.

Lav, the pics are precious! Your train cake was awesome! For my gson's 7th birthday I made him a 'money cake'. I wrapped $1 coins in foil and inserted them into the cake. He loved it!! LOL. I had an Aunt do this for me when I was a child and I never forgot it.

Pers, the "book club", and I use the term extremely loosely, is simple that when someone reads a good book the mention it here on the thread and then anyone else interested reads it too and comments about it. You are welcome to join. The book Star mentioned was Pavilion of Women. I read it and loved it. It was an interesting story, very thoughtful and explored the concepts of love, duty, the soul, spirituality and more.

We got our peas planted Friday! The grass is greening up and we have pansies out in a pot on our front porch. Inching our way toward Spring! Oh, I forgot, the daffodils finally bloomed yesterday!:wd::yay::happy: ~ Just like going AF..... Better late than never.~

[papmom3]

April Achievers!

lav! You did so good with the cakes!! Love them! Sorry to hear about your brother and change of plans. Maybe he will surprise everyone????

TDN-can't wait to hear about your exhibit!! Please spill!!

Rusty, Dill-glad you enjoyed your slooooooow Saturdays!! Always nice to have a day like this every once in a while.

I spent my first day off in a month doing my taxes which ended up being UGLY!! For the first time in my life I owe money to the gov't. It wasn't a huge amount but put a dent in the buffer I had built up. Then I realized I had missed a cc payment on Tuesday! I've rectified that by signing up for auto payment. Why I didn't do that sooner when every other bill I have is auto pay...... My dad also reminded me that I owed him for the brake job on my jeep. Crap. totally forgot about that. Have to add that to my budget which I resurrected again after a 4 month hiatus and winging it. Not good. I'm still in the hole by quite a bid despite cancelling cable and getting a slight raise (not the bigger one I'm still waiting on). I can't seem to come out on top no matter what I do and my spending is out of control. No one to blame either. I'm the one who got a second credit card and have almost maxed it out with vet visits and car repairs. I'm not sure I can dig out even with another raise but I will keep trying and fighting until I can't go any further then I will think about the last resort things like chapter whatever.

OK, it is now 11am Sunday morning and I could have sworn I hit submit last nite LOL!!

Good Morning MWO!!

[Lavande]

April Achievers!

Why am I still tired? I even took a granny nap today :H

Pers, chronic pain is a beast!
Learning to deal with it (in a healthy way) is a challenge but doable. I spent years working with the pain management committee at the hospital but their main focus was pharmaceuticals. Since leaving my nursing job my interest in alternative therapies has grown quite a bit. Depression goes hand in hand with chronic pain. I hope you get some relief soon

Hey there Ms Rusty!
It's amazing watching your siblings just screw up their lives. One thing I know for sure is that my two older brothers were never role models for me. I never, ever wanted to be like them
My younger brother is a different animal though. He has always been health conscious & sensible even though he was a pain in the ass when we were growing up :H

Dill, the money cake sounds like a great idea!!! I'll have to remember that for the future.
Nothing planted yet around here but my daffs are looking good too!

papmom, I'm sorry you are left with a tax bill, that sucks!
We have to pay the gov all year long since taxes are not witheld from pensions but we still manage to get a little back. Have you given any thought to using a tax prep service? Some of them are relatively inexpensive to use but they do a thorough job. We pay an accountant a big chunk of change to do our complicated taxes but it worth the piece of mind. The last time YB did our taxes we got into a bit of trouble
I hope you can work something out!

I hope everyone has a comfy night!
Lav

[papmom3]

April Achievers!

almost time to say goodnight!

Lav-I usually get a good chunk of change back from the US govt but this year I took a calculated risk and upped my withholdings so I could have more in my paycheck. I guess the change in PT jobs with the increase in salary screwed things up and I lost that gamble. It really wasn't too bad, only around $300 so I got off fairly easy and no penalties either. I use TaxAct as my software and it's pretty good. My deductions are very cut and dried-house mortgage interest and property taxes for the most part so I really don't need a service to help me out yet. For this year I went back to the 1 withholding and should be OK. I probably won't get a ton back next year but I shouldn't owe anything at all. I've already had it withdrawn from my checking account and I've paid the delinquent CC bill as well as paid next month's bill as I had a small cushion from my vacation money and the 5th week of pay last month. I've also reworked my budget and I'm only in the hole $26!! I cut my food budget, the furkid's food budget and their vet budget dramatically. Once I get my new raise I should be able to add some of it back. After working in the yard all day and reworking the budget I feel much better-more in control.

Pers-good to see you again! I'm sorry too you are dealing with chronic pain. I sure hope they can come up with a good treatment plan for you. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts.

Rusty-did I congratulate you on your successful class? If not, :goodjob:!! Do you have anymore planned?

Dill-I've never heard of moneycakes! What a cool idea! My crocuses are up but not the daffs. You are a little south of me tho so it makes sense.

Where did this weekend go????

At least I'm looking forward to going to work tomorrow and don't have the feeling of dread anymore!!

Nite nite!!

[Persephone1]

April Achievers!

I don't have anything interesting going on, but did want to wish everyone a Happy Monday (albeit a tad early!) and hopefully a warm week ahead? A girl can dream...

Please keep me in your thoughts on Tues. am, I am kinda terrified to find out what is wrong with me. It's been getting progressively worse over the months & dunno what is causing it. They sorta ruled out Rheumatoid Arthritis, but not conclusively.

Grateful for yous :l P.

[Lavande]

April Achievers!

Good morning folks,

Drinking coffee & waiting for the sunshine to make an appearance

Pers, we will all be with you in spirit Tues. You're never really quite alone around these parts :l

Papmom, here's hoping your upcoming raise smoothes out the road ahead for you! I am always looking for a way to decrease expenses around here. Just staying alive has become quite expensive :H

I have lots of odds & ends to keep me out of trouble this morning, a trip to Curves included then picking up the grandsons this afternoon.

Wishing everyone a great AF Monday!
Lav

[papmom3]

April Achievers!

Whew! I've been trying to access this site since 6pm with no luck! Go figure the minute I shoot a PM to the webmaster it's up and running again :H.

Pers-we'll keep you in our thoughts and prayers tomorrow. Please let us know what is going on, good or bad so we can support you.

I actually got off my fat arse tonite and took Mickey for a walk after work!! Of course I finished off a bag of Cheetos the minute I got home . I must. not. buy. Cheetos.

Thanks Lav for the good financial wishes. I am determined to get my spending under control finally. You are right-living is very expensive these days!!

time for bed. See you all tomorrow!

[Persephone1]

April Achievers!

THANK YOUS! I am kinda a wreck...will check in tomorrow and let you know the outcome. May end requiring more tests. We'll see. I appreciate your support more than I can express. Hoping all is well with all of you...

Xoxox, P.

[Lavande]

April Achievers!

Good morning Achievers!

Glad to see the website back up & running
MWO has become an important part of my routine - feels weird when I can't check in here!

Pers, hang in there!
I really hope you get your answers & some much needed relief too.

Papmom, I've wondered a few times over the years if this site could possibly be the target of hackers. Not sure anymore who is in charge of keeping things running smoothly around here.
One place where I know I spend way too much money is the supermarket
The produce prices (especially organic) are way too high. I'll be happy as soon as the local farmers get their produce stands up & running. Then there is the cost of filling up the gas tank ~ still way too high. I still hop the state line & get gas in MD where it is a bit cheaper.

OK, I am on kid duty at 8 am so I need to get going!
Wishing everyone a great AF Tuesday.
Lav

[dill]

April Achievers!

Hi Gang, I'm glad the site is up. I tried logging in last night to no avail.

Pers, I am thinking of you and keeping you in my prayers. I hope you get some relief soon.

Papmom, I'm sorry finances are tight at the moment, but it's just a rough patch. You are in such a better position now than you were! You'll get through it.

Lav, I too depend on this site. It makes me nervous that it has been going down and acting "weird" lately.

Took 2 ticks off the dog last week. Yiiikes! Tick season already in spite of the cold weather? I hope this doesn't meant we're in for a really bad tick season. I got Tess some frontline yesterday.

Have a good AF day everyone.