kbois

Well, hubby had his doctor's appt this morning. Still no answers, but... he said this is the first doctor that actually listened to him when he listed all his symptoms and is going to run some tests on something other than his heart and lungs which is what they usually focus on when they find out he's severely asthmatic. And of course everything comes back normal. It's not normal to have swallowing difficulties when you're only 53. I've been worried because he nearly always chokes whenever he eats. He's afraid to eat while he's working so by the time he gets home he's hangry. (Guess who usually bears the brunt of it) So he has labs scheduled as well as a full upper and lower GI series of tests. They also gave him a prescription for his severe acid reflux and something for his depression which runs in his family. I'm hoping it helps.

It's good to hear from you molly. You've been missed. Glad your week has gone well. Hope everyone has a good day!

I've been married 28 years. We dated for 6 before that. It's had so many highs and lows and even after all this time it's still challenging. Communication is the hardest thing to maintain sometimes, especially when you fall into repeating patterns...whether good or bad.

Note to self.... metal tape measures will slice the hell out of your finger if you're not careful. To make matters worse my phone unlocks with my fingerprint...yup, same one that is now encased in a large band-aid. Back to using the pin#. @Fae Briona hang in there. I know how tough it is to deal with aches and pains and distant spouses. Hopefully it gets better soon.

Aww... 4 month old chunky monkey Aiden! My younger son was one of those. We called him BFB..big fat baby. He could usually polish off twice the recommended servings too. I can't really comment without giving anything away so....🤐

Raleigh is definitely much closer. 10 hrs vs. 20. Plus he'd be within 5 hours of his favorite aunt. Close enough for a long weekend holiday. I'm not sure if I'd be able to live somewhere so landlocked. I've never lived anywhere that's been more than 2 hours from the ocean. He's young though...much more adaptable.

True....but one of them is a gateway to Oz.😆

Either North Carolina or Kansas. All depends on if his girlfriend gets a job offer in Kansas. She's had two interviews so far. She finishes her Master's this summer and he'll graduate with a BA degree. Otherwise she's going to get her doctorate at UNC in Raleigh. She's been offered a scholarship and a job to help cover expenses. He's planning on getting a job wherever they land and he still wants to get a pilot's license. I'm happy for them either way.

Why is it that when you have upcoming plans for the weekend.... the week seems to drag on....? We're going up to Tallahassee to see my older son. I miss my boy. He's moving in August and weekend trips won't be possible. It's so bittersweet to see your kids grow up.

I'd really love to go lavender and silver, but.... that would involve bleaching the hell out of my hair first. There's so many layers of color I'm afraid I'd fry it. Maybe when I finally decide to let it go gray... I'll ease into it. Lately I've been hooked on Brad Mondo's videos. He's a stylist that posts all sorts of hair fails/hair success videos. His reactions are priceless. Some of the color combinations are pretty cool.

Well it was time to do the hair again. This time I went with the blue/black. I gotta admit...I really love it. It's like a really, really dark navy blue, but in the sun the blue is more cobalt. I may have to keep this one around for a while. I finally had a good night's sleep last night. Freaking miracle if you ask me. My son is discovering the aches and pains that come in the aftermath of a car accident. He's got a nice bruise on his throat where the seat belt caught him and his left knee is a little sore from smacking the dash. I'm so grateful that both he and his friend are okay. Hope everyone is having a good day!

I think of my stories as sort of one of my kids. This one I consider my favorite nephew 😆. I'm super happy to see it posted!

I feel utterly exhausted, as in ready to crash and burn. I picked up my son from work last night at 11. By the time I got home and into bed it was nearly midnight. Not long after I drifted off my phone rang. Never a good thing in the middle of the night. It was my son. He had gone out with his friend to get food and coming back his friend was going a little too fast and missed the turn onto our street and hit the stop sign. They're both OK thankfully. Son said he'd be home soon. An hour and a half later phone rings again. Son is outside with friend and friend's dad and his friend wants to talk to me. Outside I go at 2am. His friend was so apologetic for screwing up and putting my son in danger. At 18 their judgment and decision making skills suck. I am glad to see though that his friend owned up to going too fast and not paying attention and that he had good manners and apologized. Granted, his dad being there may have influenced him, but the way I see it is his dad is teaching him to do the right thing. I never really did fall totally asleep after that and 5am came way to fast. Add in a massively busy day at work and I'm sliding off the bone done. Still have to walk the dogs and then I can finally relax...maybe.

I'm sorry molly. Bad news is always hard to process. I understand your fear and anxiety. My husband has had a lot of concerning symptoms for a while now which my gut tells me it's something serious. He finally has a doctor's appointment in two weeks. He's skeptical because in the past he's gone through a whole battery of tests and they all come back normal. It's frustrating. Take each day for what it's worth and keep supporting each other. I'll keep thinking positive thoughts for you and Phil.

Did I mention that I was peeling Cuties/Halos? (The little baby ones that practically peel themselves) 🤣. They're still a pain with all the stringy stuff. But I will try your method/sorcery next time I have a regular orange.🍊

Why are oranges so much work?? Bananas are easy to peel. Apples...just bite into them. Berries...eat 'em by the handful. But oranges? Nooooo....you have to peel the orange part off which takes forever. Then you have to painstakingly remove all the yellowy white stuff, because, ewwww. So much work for such a little fruit. Hope everyone is having an easy week.

Ahh....nice bit of intrigue....Will channels JP and Stef remarkably well. I worked in travel for over 20 years and I NEVER. EVER. had anyone refer to Uluru as "looking like it was a big erect nipple sticking up out of the earth." BEST laugh I've had in a while!🤣. I may or may not have snorflepeed (snorted, laughed and peed just a little) Thanks Mark!

Good to hear from you rick. I've missed your daily check ins. I'm so glad things are looking better for you. One day at a time my friend, you'll get there.

I'm glad I made you think. Looking back and recognizing how much you've changed is fascinating. There are so many things about my younger self that makes me cringe, but I'm proud of how far I've come and how I'm a better person than who I was. (At least I hope I am) I'd love to get some input from the rest of the gang. It's fun to get some other perspectives.

It's been an introspective kind of day today. This is a little long, but it's where my thoughts went. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Mostly about where I am in my life. Like so many people who've reached the 50+ milestone I look back at my younger self and recognize I'm no longer the person I was back then. Which is a good thing. In my teens I was so insecure, trying so hard to fit in to what was 'normal'. It worked for the most part. I wasn't part of the popular clique, but I wasn't a social pariah either. I sorta floated along somewhere in the middle. Early 20s I was figuring out how to be independent from my parents and how to make a relationship work. It wasn't easy. I got married at 24 and nearly threw in the towel several times. My career changed direction for a while before drifting back to what I went to college for. My 30 something self was hell bent on not totally fucking up the two creatures my body created and forced out into the world. The jury's still out on that one. Parenting is the toughest job one will ever have. My 40s saw me change a lot. Probably the most. At least I think so. I finally gained a sense of maturity that can only come with 4 decades of life being thrown at you. As I approached my 50s I was able to find a small sense of confidence I never had before. Things that really bothered me I was able to either let go of, or move on from. I came to an understanding with myself about religion and I'm totally at peace now with letting go of everything that had been ingrained in me since birth. Hitting 50 makes you realize that in all likelihood you have more years behind you than ahead. Two years in and I have no clue about where I'm headed in many ways. But....I now have a job where I'm challenged on a daily basis, I'm trying to work on improving my physical health and I've made peace with cutting certain people out of my life completely and pulling away to a safe distance from others. I know how to say no. So many things have happened, I've changed jobs and career paths several times. I've quit, I've been fired. I've moved more times than I can remember, and can drive a 26ft box truck towing a car 1500 miles without batting an eyelash. Financially I've struggled, but am now at the point where the bills get paid on time (mostly) and there's enough left over to enjoy some little luxuries like getting a pedicure. Do I still have insecurities and moments of 'what the hell am I doing?' Of course. Are there things I still need to work on? Yup. Plenty of them. I still get angry quickly, usually vomiting out a bucketful of profanities as a knee jerk reaction. It's getting better though. My marriage is another uncertainty for me. I've changed and so has he. We're still trying to figure it out. No matter what happens we'll deal with it as the people we are now. Is my 13 year old self still there? Yes. She comes out once in a while, mostly when alcohol is involved. I truly believe that you need to hold onto a piece of your youth. It's a reminder of simpler times and it's a measure of how far you've come. My roots tell the truth. There's much more gray than brown, a sure sign of middle age. But I'll keep the gray at bay with some hair color and I'll keep my mind young not be dwelling on the past but by learning from it. Aging is a fact. Don't fight it. Embrace it. Grow from it.

Yeah...that was nice of him. I appreciated it and told him so. Started Friday out on the right note. Have a good day everyone!

Whoops...either butterfingers or my good friend autocorrect. Probably butterfingers. I had another crackpot this week. Guy comes in and right off the bat had an attitude. Blasted me for the 'no guest' policy at the pool which I have no control over...it's per upper management. This guy won't listen and keeps interrupting. After a couple of minutes I couldn't be bothered anymore and just kept repeating (nicely) that I wasn't going to debate or argue with him anymore. I must have repeated it 4 or 5 times. He got mad because I wouldn't engage with him anymore and as he left I heard him mutter 'fuck you bitch'. The guy comes in the next morning and apologizes for his behavior. Said he should have never treated me so horribly (his words). He was embarrassed that he had been such an asshole (my words). Just another day in my wonderful world of crackpots!

That's so cool! I have my grandma's china cabinet that she got as a wedding gift. It's almost 100 years old, sturdy as hell. Lost the original skeleton key during one of our moves, but found a replacement at a flea market. It had a matching buffet table that my parents ended up leaving behind when they moved to FL and last year the house I grew up in had a fire which destroyed the enclosed porch where we had kept it so I'm not sure if it survived or not. There's been a couple of owners since they moved and I have no idea who had it last. It's awesome to read about everyone's favorite heirlooms. It's rainy here today so I hope everyone else has a good day!

I inherited my dad's kitchen knife. It's over 65 years old. The blade is about 6 inches long and so thin I'm afraid it's going to snap one day, but it's sharp as hell and can halve a chicken breast in about 2 seconds. Instapot and crackpot are mighty handy too. I do miss my old hand mixer though...

Today.....is frustrating.