Not happy with being unable to lose a few pounds I've gained or with my lack of motivation to get back to exercising more than twice a week. However on a positive note DH, who has a major sweet tooth and always has dessert around, has decided to cut back on this. He's the model for being fit and trim but after having a stroke his doctor wants him to get his LDL lower and he doesn't want to take medication. He exercises a lot and eats very healthy other than the sweets so he's cut that out. I'm amazed how easily he has just eliminated it. The good thing for me is that now we don't have this around to tempt me which will be very, very good for my sugar addiction and in turn my weight loss I think. Now that I've killed off the dark chocolate covered pretzel crisps the house is all clear of this stuff. I don't have a problem avoiding buying it, just avoiding eating it if it's around. I've also decided I need to eat more protein. I'm not a big meat eater though I don't mind meat. I'm just a big fruit, vegetable and whole grain eater which is fine but not great for protein consumption. I'm thinking if I eat same calories but more protein I'll be more satisfied and not wanting to eat as much. Time will tell. My 57th birthday is coming up in ten days. I'm happy to be getting "old" considering I've had cancer three times. Yippee!! Between my situation and DH's stroke last year, we are very focused on enjoying life and doing things we want to do before we croak. You never know how much time you've got. We truly enjoy every day but for special events, we're going to Scotland in September. I've also just made reservations to go to Yellowstone and Grand Teton in the fall of 2015. We joke (kind of) that we hope we're still around by then. Seems like a long way off but it goes by fast.

Hi Grey Parrot, great idea, we will definitely pull this out and take it with us when we move, as in NYC, the cost for the K5 with all pre and post filters, installed, was $2260! There is apparently only 1 distributor for NYC - Westfair Water. I dealt with Frank (the son, not Frank the father) and he was very nice. Actually, the price would have been $2460, but they took off $200 when I waffled on it due to price. I called a distributor in another part of the country and it was about $500 less, but we are used to paying a LOT more for everything here, as taxes and real estate are super high. One of the other tradespeople who did work on our renovation said that they automatically add $200 to jobs in Manhattan (he was located in the Bronx) just to cover a parking ticket (?? about $125 I think he said), tolls, extra time, and aggravation. I appreciated his honesty. I will say, I am happy with with the K5 - there is a big difference in the taste of the water. Also, we are no longer buying bottled water, so I guess there is a slight offset in price there (although we did not spend very much on bottled water - just to go to the gym and stuff, but now we can fill a stainless steel water bottle at home.) If we did not live in an apartment building, I would want a whole house filter - as it is, we just have it at the kitchen sink. Hope this info will be useful to others - I have appreciated the wealth of information on this website!

autumn: That is actually a good idea. I wonder what it would do to the exterior and the upstairs? ...hmmmm. I'd actually prefer my living room closed off from the kitchen and dining entirely (but I know that I'm in the VERY small minority of people who think so) so......it's open. DH said that we could do a cased opening between the living and dining to separate the space a bit. chicagoans: Do you think there would be room for trash under the sink? Thanks for the idea! :) cpartist: Think big picture first and work your way down to the smaller details. That is good advice. Switchback staircase is a really good idea, I'll talk to DH about it. I know everyone thinks it's lame, but I love that sitting area upstairs, I really think we would use it. Vith: That is very good to know! We have a pocket door in our MB that didn't want to replace with another door. Thanks a million. Our draftsman had warned us about pocket doors as well. stephja007: I am laughing so hard right now! I wish there were a "love" button for your post. Setting: my Mom's kitchen table Easter weekend Me: "Tra la la, look at our new house plan isn't, it sooooooooo perfect? except for the ugly exterior??? Mom: "Some sort of snarky remark about how far away the bathroom is from the guest bedroom." My sister: "Well, we've all been doing it at your house for the last 40 years!" My mom's house is over 100 years old: *main entrance through the kitchen *5 kids upstairs *stairs land in the kitchen *bathroom with a shower behind kitchen (see where I'm going.....) lol There is another bathroom upstairs but it only has an enormous old tub. so.....Yes, we've all been "caught" traipsing nude up the stairs in our bathrobes or towels with towel turbans on our head. And! We still continue to do so! LOL. My brothers and sisters and I get together at my Mom's house a few times a year and my own family visit's quite a bit (she is 4 hours away) So, Mark....maybe turnabout is fair play? ;-) I really am kidding. I really do see her point (as well as all of yours). BUT when I say muddy kids....I mean it. This is my DD about 3 years ago in the garden at our old house. She and her brother made this and called it the "boilet toilet" lol.

Is there a womens clinic near you that accepts your insurance? My pregnant DD goes to the womens clinic and I see women of all ages there. They are a full service provider-from OB's to GYN's to family practice, but I like that it's focus on womens health issues. When I retire and we change insurance I'll probably go there, even tho I'm well past menopause and I had a total hysterectomy 10 years ago. I like the idea of specialized care for me. My current provider is under an HMO so I get reminders about annual mammograms, but since I had my hysterectomy no one has ever mentioned a pelvic exam. I was told that since I had no cervix a pap smear was not necessary. But my late MIL had what turned out to be uterine cancer that had metastacized into her abdominal muscles after her hysterectomy. Apparently she had uterine cancer-undiagnosed-when she had her surgery due to fibroids. The cells then turned into a sarcoma that necessitated her having to have her bladder and colon removed! It eventually metasacized and killed her, but I feel like if she'd gone in for annual pelvic exams it would have been caught early one. In any event, I'd probably lean toward a GYN, especially since you have endo and you are not yet in menopause. A decent GYN can handle your other basic health issues.