Good Morning,

Patti, Happy Belated Birthday!

Well, we go back to the doctor at 2:30 this afternoon. Please say some prayers that the results will be good. We were at the doctors office Friday from 2 to 4:30 then the hospital from 4:30 to 7:00. The fever broke Thursday nite, but she was real tender in the stomach area. They ran a cat scan to see if her appendics had ruptured or was getting ready to. Anyway, they gave us a prescription and sent us home. She did really good Saturday then was down Saturday nite, then was up and down some yesterday. Before she went to bed, she was doing really good, and woke up this morning doing good. I am just praying that her blood counts will be where they should be and we will be on the mend.

THANKS for the prayers. Hopefully we will get good news this afternoon.

Jen

Jen - I will continue sending positive thoughts and prayers to you and Erika. ((((((HUGS))))))

Gotta run, I am behind at work and need to catch up.

Good Evening All and hugs to everyone whether you need them or not!

PATTI, Happy Belated Birthday. It sounds like you had a nice one too. You are loved by this soul and all the other here!

I am back from Virginia and very tired so I will keep it short and sweet and hope to get caught up tomorrow.

Love, NH Suzanne

I'm home, with a great tan and 1 1/2 pounds on my hips, but working on it....working on it! LOL! It was a great time, and I really did my best to stay on target and have a good time. The last few days were hectic, and my eating was off, since we drove back to NJ from Florida. Started out today by packing my 7 points worth of breakfast and lunch, and the weight should be off in no time! I'm confident because I know it works!

Patti, my heartfelt "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to you. I just know you are still celebrating! Hope the dinner was as special as you. Sending my best thoughts out to Dave for a speeding recovery!

Jen, thanks so much for updating us on Erica. I'm so glad she's doing better and recovering nicely.

Also, Joanne, happy to read that your liver tests had good outcomes. I'm sending out postive vibes that you will be feeling 100% shortly.

John, John, John, you chose to check in while I was away. Should I take that to mean that feel more comfortable without me around? LOL! Loved that joke, and I wish you well in your efforts to find more meaningful, and more profitiable ways to earn a living....so that you have more time and $$$ to party!!!

Maddie, you are doing what's best for YOU right now. I think it's about time, don't you?!!! Let us know about those sunglasses; you may be able to sell them to photographers too for the wacky wedding, birthday, etc. shots. You know how DJ's give out the dollar-store sunglasses at parties? Maybe you can sell them designer versions to the guest-of-honor at their events! Just a thought...

OK, I've got another 100 or so e:mails to get through. I've also got at least 2 major projects that need my attention this week.

I'm too laid back today, especially when I see this tanned face next to the milk bottles around here who shoveled snow all last week! Talk about rubbing it in!!! LMAO

Take care, eat healthy, and NEVER NEVER GIVE UP!
DeeMarie

hello, hello, hello

echo, echo, echo

Hellllllooooooooo DeeMarieeeeeeee - Welcome home - it has been quiet here without you - as you can see LOL. Glad you had a good time and I would say 1 1/2 lbs is a success! I will be showing off my tan soon - I leave Saturday for Cancun II.

Have been running around all day and it looks like the next 2 days will be more of the same.

I am here finally! Just back from Virginia and bombarded with work. Of course, I don't have a nicely tanned face to flaunt around the office. I look like the rest of the working stiffs around here!!

Hi goils!

I'm here, but working on tax forms--ugh! And noticing that I need a manicure! LOL!!

Things are still the same--oh, well. All things for a reason, I guess.

Where's Amy? Come out, come out, where ever you are!!

Hope all is well!

Hugs,

Maddie

I'm here Maddie. I've been reading and I thought last week I posted, but I don't see it. I think I forgot to submit. I'm working on some pictures and I feel tired. Sorry that I haven't been posting. I can't really go into everything.

Congratulations to all the weight losers. And Jen, I hope Erica continues to be better, and Patty, I've been meaning to email you, but haven't got it together, so I apologize. Anyway, I'm still here.

Amy

Good Morning All,

Amy, glad to hear from you.

I am having a tough time at work this week. Three days left to sell $14,000!!! I can't help but stress about it because I don't see anyway it can happen. Sigh...........back into the losers circle!!

I sure hope we hear from everyone soon. Discussion about WHEN - French Lick 2005 has seriously dropped off.

I will try to check in later for a sanity break!

French Lick 2005 - my vote is for April 8th.

NH Suzanne - I don't like all that pressure you are under each month. You usually are able to come through at goal, but YIKES. Take a deep breath.....

Amy - I have been missing you too. I love that you are painting - I'm sending some energy your way.

Jen - Update us on Erika - hope she is back to normal by now.

Maddie - I'm with you on the manicure - I go tomorrow afternoon - not that there is much there for them to work with - I have broken nearly every nail - I finally just clipped them all off (and I don't have long nails to begin with LOL).

DeeMarie - have you recovered from "cruise lag" yet?

BJ - you are among the missing again - check in.

Gret - we need an update soon.

Myrna - if you are lurking HELLO and get back here.

Marci - you have been at it again with those pretty gifs, thanks for brightening things up around here.

John - that was some interview - I have to applaud you for not losing your cool - WOW.

Besh - hope all is okay with you. I can't remember exactly what your brother was having done (bone marrow), how did he make out?

Patti - check in and tell us about your birthday celebration.

Susie Q - Did you ever work out your summer vacation plans?

JoAnne - always thinking of you and sending you love.

KY Susie - I miss your stories, try to get back to us.

Is NJ Karen ever coming back? Does anyone hear from her? I think of Pam, from NC, whenever I pass a road crew - I loved her stories.

I know I left someone out, but it is early for me, so I apologize in advance and say Hello.

Gotta run, I have an endless pile of work in front of me and I don't even know where to begin.

April 8, 2005 sounds good to me! How'd you come up with that one, Raeanne? LOL

Amy, thanks for posting. Hope all is well.

Gotta run, as I just got out of a meeting and have a ton of new stuff to do (on top of the pile leftover from yesterday)! Job security, job security, job security....

Raeanne, you are right. I need to give myself a break and breath! I am too hard on myself and I feel like I am going to break right now.

HELP HELP!!!

There are fresh Krispy Kremes in the breakroom. Glazed ones. Creme filled ones. Choccie covered ones. A cheesecke one. (Don't even want to think about *that* one!) And they are all calling my name.

Honestly, I could eat a whole dozen.

Or, I could just go and sit in them, and avoid the middleman--

Ok ok...

So here is the latest news in my life! Last week my boss asks to speak with me in one of our training rooms. I am thinking...oh this is raise time..she is giving me my raise. So...she looks at me and says " I am done. I just don't want to work this hard anymore. This business is bigger than I thought it would be." Talk about total shock...BUT WAIT...it gets better. She then says..."I am going to sell my company" I say..."To Who?" Her response: " You if you want it." Now before you all think that I am one wealthy woman...think again...you have heard my struggles of daily life!!!! We are a very small company with a big presence in Chicago. I am her only full time employee and not to toot my own horn...I basically run the company other than paying the bills and doing the marketing. She said she would stay on as one of our software trainers. She just doesn't want to work as hard as she has been. She is 34, two small kids and a husband who does quite well himself. She really doesn't need to work but uses the business to enable her to travel and write off the trip. So I am in the process of figuring out how to accomplish this. I had actually thought about starting my own company similar to the one I work for. I do all the work and I thought...hmmmm shouldn't I be making more money than I do now..... I am consumed with figuring it all out. I feel like I kind of won the lottery...I have struggled so much of my life and I just always felt like I was going uphill all the time...now I can see the top of the mountain...and I am wondering what the view is like from up there.

I was also in San Francisco at the beginning of March for a Photoshop Convention. Took the SO with me and we had a good get away time...My mom came and took care of DD. When I lived in CA my Mom lived in TN and could never get out to spend time with my kids. This was a very special week for my DD and Mom. I came out of San Fran not liking it as much as I used to. The bums are all over and really bad. Loved the food though.

Speaking of food....I CAN'T CONTROL MYSELF!!!!!!! WHAT IS UP WITH THAT??? HELP?

Oh yes...the SO gave me the nicest thing anyone has ever given me for my 49 going on 50 birthday. He bought me a diamond ring from Movado. Has anyone seen their jewelry? They have several boutiques around the country. One just opened up in our mall and we stopped by there one day just to look. I fell in love with this ring. Very simple yet something you won't see everywhere. Solid band and boy does it sparkle. Very unusual and different. It is an 18kt white gold ring with three diamonds spaced out and oval shaped.

The DEX is at it again...enough said.

Ok..I am off to see how I can become a business owner!

Gretchen

Oh Gretchen!!! That's such exciting news for you!! I can certainly picture you owning that business, but it's a choice you must make. Good luck...I know that you will do what's right for you at this time in your life. ((((hugs)))) That ring sounds gorgeous! DH bought me an eternity ring in St. Thomas, and I'm not much for diamonds, but this thing sparkles and looks very pretty.

NH Suzanne, take a deep breath.....now another deep breath....and another. Oxygen helps, doesn't it? I'm sorry it can't sell your ads, but I hope you feel better.

Hey, guess what? I decided to go to my WW meeting and ask the leader if I could get on the scale while her back was turned. If I didn't like the number, I would hand her my " No Weigh-In Pass" card. She agreed. Well, I'm the self-doubter because I actually LOST 1/2 of pound!! That makes me 13 pounds thinner than I was on February 4, and I am doing a happy dance. I'm off to the fitness center in about an hour to do my circuit. Guess I wasn't as bad as I thought I'd been, so I need to work extra hard this week to avoid having my sins catch up with me.

Maddie, according to my guide, KK original glazed donuts are 4 points each...that means you can eat about 5 or 6 and stay in a target range (however, you can eat nothing else for the entire day!) LOL! Good Luck sweetie. Do like BJ does, throw them away and sprinkle dish detergent over them!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Take care, eat healthy, and NEVER NEVER GIVE UP!
DeeMarie

Gret - I am so excited for you - you WILL make it work. I had a Movado watch knock off and it was the most beautiful thing - I can only imagine what the ring is like, especially since it's the real thing!

Wow Gretchen how exciting and scary at the same time!! Is this woman offering you any buy out terms or offer to help with financing? I know you can pull this off and we will be routing for you every step of the way.

I am a little over half way to goal...........2 more days to sell 11,000!!
I wish I could stop stressing.

Breathe in.........breathe out............breath in............

Hi! Just to let you know, the dinner cruise was very nice but the food left something to be desired. We met the nicest couple from Cleveland, Ohio. They had been married 62 years. They were down for spring training for the Indians & the dinner cruise was in the same town so we had someone else to celebrate with. (We didn't tell anyone that it was my birthday!)

Maddie~I have a friend whose mother's birthday was on the 21st too. She passed away when my friend was 8. In fact, she lost both of her parents in a car wreck. She was badly injured & underwent many surgeries & still is dealing with the psychiatric part of it at 42 y.o.

DeeMarie~WTG on losing 13 pounds. You rock!

Amy~I was so glad that you posted.

Jen~So glad to hear that Erica is doing better.

Gretchen~Oy! I'm sointenly hoping that you find the way to pull this off. What a wonderful surprise & how nice to have it dropped in your lap for the taking.

John~One of these days, your SS sisters are coming to let those people know that they don't know who they are messing with. I mean, duh, aren't there other male managers in the hospital? I loved your thoughts on the whole thing & had to share them with Dave.

NH Suzanne~Take a breath for each one of us & remember that this is just a job. It isn't worth getting so worked up over, is it? The only way that you could ever be considered a "loser" to us is if you lost weight! So, please don't be too hard on yourself.

Raeanne~I wonder about Karen too. She lives so close & I don't know how to contact her. I was thinking that it was her that did road construction so I'm glad that you got that straight in my mind.

BJ~We are sending out the hunting "dawgs" if you don't pop in. LOL

Besh~Please let us know if things are all right if you have the opportunity.

Myrna~We miss you!

Susie_que~What is going on with you?

Joanne~I'm still overwhelmed by your friendship & generosity! Thanks again.

KY Susie~We'd love to hear from you too.

Marci~How is school going? Are you reading anything good right now. The first day of the book club is on Friday. It is an organizational meeting so I don't know that we will pick a book b/c most everyone is going home already.

If I missed anyone, it wasn't on purpose. Kathy~I love it when you pop in to say something.

Anyway, the birthday was a wonderful one & it was so good to get on here today & catch up with everyone! Patti :)

NH Suzanne: She proposed a down payment and the rest over 5 years. BUT her price was a number that I think she pulled out of the air. The assets are: the computers, furniture, the customer database and the employee ( me) . Al of our trainers are contract trainers. Like I said before...I am the only full time employee. So if you take me out of the mix......what is the value of that? We share space with another company and they cannot stand the woman I work for. I brought them both into my office today to give them the "news" . They thought I was leaving...LOLOLOL..I said NOPE but get this...They were very excited. One came back into talk to me and said he wanted to know if I would sit down and have a chat with him tomorrow because he has some "creative ideas" that might be of interest. So stay tuned...and THANKS EVERYONE for your encouragement!

Good Afternoon,

Gret, GOOD LUCK! How exciting.

Patti, I am glad you enjoyed the evening and had a great birthday. How is Dave?

THANK you for the prayers for Erica. It really means a lot to me. While we were at the doctors Monday, her doctor told us he really thought it could have been something really serious. Thank goodness for answered prayers. I would still appreciate the prayers until Erica is totally well. The doctor told us her white counts were back to normal and her platelets were still elevated a little, but that was because she was still fighting the viral infection. Talk about RELIEF!

Maddie, Would you believe that I still have not tried a Krispy Kreme donut. Even since they have opened one in Evansville, I have stayed away.

NH Suzanne, Best wishes on reaching your goal.

DeeMarie, Congrats on the 1/2 pound. You are doing wonderful. I ordered the new calculator off e-bay. Can't wait to get it. I went to Subway today thinking I would have a turkey & ham on a wrap (4pts). Unstead, they had the grilled chicken and spinach salad. Well thinking 5 carbos was points I got it. I had them leave off the bacon bits and dressing, but it was still like 7 or 8 points. It really takes some getting used to. So..now I am having to rethink what I am going to eat tonite.

Well, better run. Tara got her 6 month shots today. Hopefully she wont be to fussy. I am really lacking in the sleep department after the last two weeks.

Have a great evening.

Jen

Gret - I was just going to post, what you wrote - about your self-worth to the company. It sounds like you are only purchasing equipment and a name - I am sure that most of your clients would follow you - since they already have a relationship with you. This is going to happen - I can feel it and it is all good!

I can't believe it but I got tickets to go see Rachael Ray again!!! and her class is going to be a LOW CARB - I can't wait. I think I am more excited about this than my vacation LOL.