awwww--thanks y'all! 

Anne Marie, that is WONDERFUL news about your sister!  Please tell her she's got a whole cheerleading squad here rooting for her!

and Chris--has anybody ever told you THE TWO RULES??

1.     NEVER give out all the information

2.

Hello everybody! EVERYONE HERE IS GREAT GREAT GREAT!!! Many OF YOU are even better then that!!! AND there are a FEW of you who are very special to me.... well where does that leave the rest of you?  ON THE OTHER SIDE OF MY HEART!!! So, for those FEW... I wanted to do something for them. I came up with one of the same things I requested from you all for the tournaments... coffee mugs. So, I started sending out coffee mugs! Not too pricey... but NICE mugs... and with the FOB name on them. It was a cool idea... but as soon as I started sending them out I found more friends I wanted to send them too. The mugs are eight dollars... mailing them is eight dollars... sixteen a pop on a good day! Still not bad and definetly not for all that has been done for me and my troops. But my troops are gone... so I am GLADLY paying for them... it WAS my idea!! Everytime I sent one out I thought of someone else I just HAD to send to. I have two to go out tomorrow!! I also bought a bunch for my wife's family... I didn't do for my side (shhhhhh don't tell and they'll never know!!). OK... I have said all that to say this.... I WANT ALL OF YOU TO HAVE A TOKEN OF MY APPRECIATION AAAANNNDDDDDDDD SOMETHING FROM HERE AND WITH MY FOB NAME ON IT!!!!!! (NOT my name of cours....  unfortunately lol  Rustamiyah, the FOB name). So, I came up with an idea... it is NOT a great idea.... it is a BAD idea... and I don't like it!!! But something has to be done and this is the only thing I can think of.

First.... I want anyone who I have sent a mug to.... ASAP (as soon as possible... you all knew that one) to get on here and tell everyone about your mugs please!! Next... anybody who reads this and wants a mug... send twenty dollars. No... I DON'T WANT YOUR MONEY!  IF I DID... you would only be loosing twenty dollars (fourty if you want two) BUT all of you know I am NOT going to keep your money!! Get a card and put it in there just like you do for your kids or grandkids on birthdays and Christmas. Send me the card and I will get you a mug and send it back. There is also (shhhhh shot glasses) for four dollars so eight will get you two... the price of a mug... or a mug and 2 shot glasses for 16.00. Now I am saying twenty because it is easy to send a twenty dollar bill then a wad of bills if there is any money left over... well I will buy a soda while I am there and drink one for you too!!!

Like I said it is NOT a great idea... but this is something you can do for YOU and I can help so I will be doing something for you too... and you will have a memory from here and from me. Won't that make you HAPPY?!!! NO ONE... I REPEAT NO ONE HAS TO DO THIS this is ONLY for YOUR benefit!!! I will NOT feel bad if no one does it at all. But I would hate to run into any of you on the street and we get to chatting... and I mention the mugs and glasses I sent home. The next thing OUT OF ANY OF YOU would be... "I wish I had known about those mugs... heck I would have sent you some money to buy me one". SO here is your chance to keep that from happening. If you want a souveneir, and your willing to take a chance that I am not trying to embezzel ALL your hard earned money, then get a card and send for your mug now! BUY NOW!! WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!!!! I feel like a commercial now!

One last thing.... I would like honest feed back to THIS entry... if you like it let me know... if you don't I want to know too!

God bless you all for all you have done by supporting us and for praying for us!!

all for one and one for all!

Hi Chris,

I sent you a PM

Hey Sharon,

Good to see you on here.  We missed you.   Where the hell have you been? 

Take care and have a marvelous day.

Love and kisses, Mimi

Hey, Chris!

Just wanted you to know I REALLY LOVED the tour of your home!  You did an awesome job!  I felt like I was really with you...  But, as I am currently hobbling around on a healing broken knee, you spared me the hiking!  Thanks for being so thoughtful!  My cousin just moved from Columbia after retiring from nursing at the VA.  She now lives in Lexington.  I once got to cross a corner of SC while driving between the mountains of NC and Elberton, GA.  I made a wrong turn while in transit and almost ended up in TN...LOL.  Guess you can tell I'm a Damn Yankee!  LOL  My people, though, are from the mountains of NC (so I can "pass") and with all of my relatives scattered throughout the Southeast, they are sweet enough to tell me that I'm not really a "Yankee" so am forgiven for being a Californian...LOL 

Do you do much hunting when at home?  Some of my cousins there in SC are big hunters, or at least they like to think they are...LOL  My Daddy is really a good hunter although slowing down a bit at nearly 88!  He has always done the old fashioned tracking and hunting...none of that "lazy, sitting in a tree" stuff...  He says that's not really hunting.  As a young boy during The Depression in the Smokies he would track the mountains overnight hunting to get racoon skins and such to sell and a buck for food.  His Daddy was a crack shot inWWI.

One of my mother's brothers was an MP in WWII in Europe (I gleaned this info from old photos), but I was never able to find much out about his service as he died in 1953 and all I have, besides his name, are a few photos of him and SS#.  I was surprised to find that the Army didn't keep record of SS#'s.  But then anything I've learned about the military for the most part I've learned here with AS.  I am still really ignorant but learning rapidly...lol.

I'm sorry I wasn't with you from the beginning but at least I can go back and read the posts and poems.  Thank you for sharing your life with us.  It is really special.  That you and your wife are still so much in love is awesome!  ...in my dreams....sigh!  I can't imagine how awesome your homecoming will be.  I love also that you have written on the Forum, but hopefully you have received enough real letters and care packages to take care of your own unit.

Well, just wanted to say "Hi".  Need to close down and head to bed as tomorrow is still Friday and sill a work day...sigh.

Hope God is keeping you and those you love and those who love you safe and well.  Take care.

Debbie

Chris,

 Okay, you asked for it! My husband and I were one of the "FEW" Chris mentioned. I told Chris he didn't have to do that but he insisted! LOL Only, I think we were spoiled too much!  LOL Chris knows what I mean....LOL

We loved our mugs! And we can't wait to show them to our friends. We have not used them yet but we do plan too! Love the message on it too! We showed them off on our way home from the post office but have not had a chance to show them to anyone else.

 I will try to get a picture of them posted soon! Thanks again Chris!! We love them!!

Robyn and Dave

Hi Mimi,

Sorry I've been gone so long.  Where have I been?  In the office of one doctor or another.  Nothing serious, I'm just falling apart and these docs can't seem to find the right type of glue.    First thought it was tennis elbow (no I don't play tennis, but type all day), then said it's radial tunnel syndrome.  Similar to carpal tunnel syndrome only it's a different nerve.  So now I'm supposed to sleep with what they call a splint on.  It's more like a plastic cast...the longest I've been able to sleep with that contraption on is 4 hours.  It's causing my neck (which is already in bad shape) to hurt more.  So now I'm not only in pain, I'm sleep deprived and broke from medical bills.  Aren't you glad you asked?  LOL

I'll be okay.  Compared to many, my problems are very small and insignificant.

Hugs,

Irish,

The older you get, the more you find that one part of your body is connected to the others....so if one part hurts you can set your watch that another will soon...LOL  Not to belittle your pain and discomfort, but my mother was right when she said..."Just wait until you get old.  You will understand..."  Right, Chris?  How could I ever have thought she'd lie??  LOL  Our mothers were so right about a lot of things, no?    So what "Momisms" was your Mom famous for saying?

Deb

Geez Sharon,

Doctor's offices........I try to stay away from them all.....It takes them a lonnnggggggggg time to figure out what the hell is wrong with you....I have the same thing in my left arm as I am a typist, and currently a cashier at The Home Depot.......and let me tell you, we don't just ring up peas and carrots, we ring up wood, doors, windows etc. and some time the people will drop the wood or door on us. lol

I know how it gets to your neck and down your arm, and in your elbow, and wrist and it happens to my left arm, which gets you thinking about your heart........because that is one of the signs of your heart-----your left arm and shoulder bothering you.

Me thinks maybe you should check out a chiropractor, as they do a great job adjusting you and cracking your neck.  I, personally, would get rid of the contraption on your arm as you will do more harm to your neck, as everything is connected.  My CRS keeps on setting in, so what is that song they sing about everything being connected?

Yes, I am still glad I asked where have you been and I am glad you let us know.

Love and kisses, and let's dance girlfriend,  we are family........I got all my sisters and me..................

Mimi

Hey Deb,

I never saw your post, my eyes are going, going gone.  Hell, everything in my body hurts, but I ignore it.

Geez, my Mom, she had 5 of us in her 30's, we made her nuts.............she would lock us out, to go play, so she could, I guess now, get a break from us.  She also kept telling me, Mary, you should really have kids, as who will take care of you when you get older.  So I told her, Mom, I'm not having kids, and there is no guarantee that they will take care of you as you get older.  I, as the only one out of 5 of us, wound up to be the "caretaking" daughter.

She would also get me nuts, as she never drove, and would send us to the store with a list, and if you came home, with everything on the list.......she would say "did you happen to get aluminum foil".........Yikes, I lived with my Mom all my life until she passed away in 1996, even my husband and I lived with her, and let me tell you.......2 grown women, cannot live in the same house together, without fighting with one another.  But I really miss her now.

Oh, and she always said "In your travels, will you pick up...............made me crazy. 

Mimi

Hey Sharon,

Have you accidently whacked yourself in the head with your splint while rolling over ?  Maybe you could hit yourself hard enough to knock yourself out and get some real sleep!  LOL

 I have heel problems, but they only hurt when I walk.  I have to wear splints at night and they do help the pain, but it's taking what seems like forever for them the heal.  The Dr told me I was too impatient.  I asked him if HE ever tried the night splints.  He can talk to me after he tries them out!  Between those stupid (and yet strangely effective) contraptions and hot flashes every 29 seconds, it seems like I never sleep.  I still waiting for the wisdom part of aging to kick in to make getting older worthwhile.

 Gee, Chris, aren't you glad you got us all started!

 Take care all.  Supposedly, what doesn't kill us will make us stronger.  Either that or will turn us all into mass murderers!

Kim

Mimi Z:

Yikes, I lived with my Mom all my life until she passed away in 1996, even my husband and I lived with her, and let me tell you.......2 grown women, cannot live in the same house together, without fighting with one another.  But I really miss her now.

My husband and I lived with his mother for almost two years while she battled lung cancer. She was 83 when she lost her battle and what a woman she was! I worried about two grown women in the house too but we got along beautifully! I simply stayed out of her way! LOL Seriously! I may have seemed lazy to others but I knew that she wanted to remain independent as long as possible so I just cleaned up after myself as did my husband. I knew she would ask me for help if she needed it and I was always happy to help her. I suppose it helped that we had only been married a very short time ( just one year) so I had not gotten used to being the "woman of the house" in my marriage yet.

She was also one of those who would say "When you are out and about, if you happen to come across ......" LOL Of course we never minded getting things for her! We miss her....she was my best support system when I was trying to watch what I ate....I actually lost weight with her around!

Robyn

Hey Robyn,

First, I know how hard it is to lose weight.  My sister, gave me a book for Christmas "YOU ON A DIET" by  Mehmet  C. Oz, M.D. and I think, Michael F. Roizen, M.D.  I can't remember as I just gave it to my boss, Cheryl, who is always on some kind of diet or whatever, and, as life happens, she just started having some stress, & she started gaining again.  So I passed the book on to her.

A little background.  My sister, takes care of herself, runs every day, and eats healthy foods.  She has two boys, now 16 and 18.  I was invited for Thanksgiving dinner, and Christmas Eve.  When I got over there on Christmas Eve, I noticed she was thinner than Thanksgiving.  So I said, what are you doing different.  So she said, I lost 6 pounds.  I bought this book "You on a Diet" and Dr. Oz gives and explains, with a lot of humor and funny illustrations, how your body works and how you need to check out the ingredients in all the foods you eat, and cut out HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (HFCS) and SUGAR.  So if any of these ingredients are in breads, even whole wheat breads, and listed as one of the top 4 ingredients, throw it out.  Well, this is jellies, salad dressings, especially FAT FREE ones or LIGHT.  Even mayo.  To cut out "fat" they put in more HFCS.  So now when I shop, I look for salad dressings with no HFCS, and they are in the refrigerator section.  A little more expensive, but well worth it, as you will start to lose weight.  I don't cook, and I, cheat constantly, and am slowly losing weight as I can tell in the way my clothes fit.

Of course, when my sister gave it to me as my Christmas present, I said to her "what are you trying to tell me now", so she replied, this is the healthier way to eat, as this is written by a cardiologist.....heart doctor.  And she said, read the whole book and don't skip.  Well, she is younger than me and I didn't listen to her, and skipped to the tips, which are valuable.  Anyway, I was doggie sitting for her beginning of July, and when she came home from vacation (last time I saw her was in April) and, Robyn, she has "no fat", and, I mean not an ounce of fat on her body whatsoever and she is 50.  She is a mean, lean, fighting machine.  No fat on her thighs her legs, anywhere.  This new way of eating the right ingredients works.  Of course, she doesn't follow it religiously and eats everything, but in small portions, and she keeps her "mini snicker bars" in a bowl, for her stress busters.  Every woman needs chocolate.  lol

I have been on nutri-system, which really works, but is expensive.  The trick with Nutri-System, when I went to the meetings, is they take a picture of you, and you go "Holy Smokes".  They also tell you to put on your bathing suit, the beginning of every month.  One of the great tips about Nuri-System and why it does work, is that you have to drink "skim" milk.  So I, when I crave my chocolate, drink my "skim" milk with Hershey's syrup, it has HFCS in it, but, hey, I need something.  I also remember when I was in my 20's, although I didn't need to lose weight at all, one of the models in the magazines, Glamour, or Cosmopolitan, said, when you are craving that pizza, cookie, or candy bar, EAT IT.  Because, if you don't eat it then and there, you will eat everything else in sight, and then eat the food you craved anyway.  The whole thing is don't beat yourself up over it.  I don't diet anymore, because when I diet,I constantly think of "FOOD", "FOOD", "FOOD", and more "FOOD".  And I don't get myself nuts about it, because, HELL, you have to be good to yourself and treat yourself at times, or you just might as well give up.  And, I hang out in the AC, as I get some "wicked" hot flashes, and would just drop dead if I exercise in this heat.  I don't know how the soldiers do it in Iraq or Afghanistan.

My Mom I lived with (except for two years when I was in my 20's) since she had me.  I was then the caretaking daughter, but in between, when you both live in the same split level house, and your bedrooms are next to one another and there is only one kitchen, you do get on one another's nerves, as she was my mother.  We would fight over the color of kitchen curtains.  I took her shopping for them, we painted kitchen white, and she wanted "white" curtains with a little color on the bottom.  This, in my mind, I couldn't understand.  But my mom, was the type of person who would give you the shirt off her back, and she took care of me when I was young, and I took care of her when she got older, and sick, because that is what you do for you mother.

Check out that book in the library, or it may be in paperback now.  But one of the things they say to munch on to get rid of the hunger is V8 juice, Nuts.....Almonds, Pistachios, Walnuts, and peanuts as these are "heart healthy"....keep veggies and fruit on hand. 

Mimi

Hey Chris,

Did you feel the earth rock....never fear, it was only me doing a happy dance.  I had begun to think my metabolism was permanently frozen...I'd been at a plateau for what seemed like an eternity.  Got weighed at the cancer center a couple days ago and I have lost some.....wooohoooooooooo.....not a huge amount but at least less than I weighed last month.  I'm up to 8,000 steps on my 10,000 step challenge.  Life is good!

 Hope all is well with you and that you are keeping yourself safe.

Rosemary

way to go Rosemary!! 

I know how frustrating plateaus can be--I think I've been stuck for almost a month.  GRRRRRR! 

My "first place" class finished session a couple of weeks ago, and all together I lost 22 pounds, just not any lately!  Session two started last week though, and although I stayed the same this week, AGAIN, I'm sticking with the plan.  I'm hoping that once I start losing again, it'll all just FALL off at once!!  LOL

 Getting up to 8,000 steps a day is a HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT!!  Congratulations!!  We are all so very proud of you!!