@MusicCandy @SadMe70 A place to communicate

good to hear that you had a pretty good day. What I typed before was along the lines of - Good to hear that you had a nice b-day celebration, even with the snafus- sometimes those are the best. i heard good things about the Pie place.I got called in to work last night- 2 Am,so not back in bed till 4:30- that made today tough. My mom went to the hospital for a bd headache and i got updates from her in the Er all day. She in and always been a Drama Queen. They did Ct's MRI's ect and found basically nothing new, and she is 83 and has heart problems and a lot of plaque, so something like this is bound to happen. Me and my sisters will never know when something terrible happens because for her Everything is a tragedy- the worst ever. But the doc said she ck.s out as no change, so home tonight or tomorrow. I had CPR class tonight and all my usual stuff-now i have to get ready for tomorrow AM music classes.

As for reading- I don't read many novels or fiction, except short stories. I like history, documentaries,current events and culture/the arts,philosophy and religion. On one road trip i listened to an audio about the Last days of the Romanovs( the russian family) It was riviting and just like being there. right up those last gunshots that killed them all. I read the New yorker and atlantic magazine articles, but usually something short. I hope you feel better with the heating pad and book and tea.

i've lost my resolve on the wine, so one or 2 glasses. I know if life wasn't so crazy I could do it, but right now I enjoy it and I'm not making it a priority. Good on exercise and mostly eating OK, not perfect. I'll ck in tomorrow, but it will be late.. funeral of my daughter's friend and other stuff. I left off my list of FB blah-blahs that everyone sends to get with you, my buddy friend.

I hope you are OK after your work week with the kids. I have felt jumbled this week- if that makes sense. My hospital work hours changed to another 11-7 shift and off Sundays, but the same number of hours so It will take a while to adjust to that routine. The funeral was sad for such a young girl to lose her Mom- now another church member died and we have a funeral Sunday. And since I'm off, I can help with that. Eating has been OK, exercising was great- every day and just a little gluten, and some resting/meditating but not every day-- and I already told you about the wine. My Mom was also in and out of the ER- nothing serious, but another stressor for me with all her drama. So I feel depleted overall; and no sunshine walks. I hear it will be warm this week-end and if I can get outside, I believe that will help. I can't complain, and I don't really - only to you! Let me know how you are , I'll listen

Hello, I have been out of sorts all week thanks to my crazy cycle. Usually it's 25 or 26 days so I expected a period around last Sun or Mon. I spent the entire week feeling bloated and cranky and weepy but no period. So then of course I started worrying if I was pregnant, or was it pre-menopausal crap, or just because I was sick the previous week. Could be any darn thing. So it started last night with a vengeance, and I'm completely exhausted and don't want to get out of bed. I hope this is not a new pattern it's going to start torturing me with. I had one entire year a few years back when my cycles were 23-24 days so I had 13 periods that year, but they were all really light. My doc said then it might be perimenopause, but then they went back to longer and heavier. I've really had enough!!

Sorry to hear about your mom! That has got to be hard on you on top of everything else. The doctors have kind of given up on my dad so my parents don't really know what to do. Mom has not been able to get to her gym since the fall so she's losing muscle mass and probably more bone density, letting her own health suffer as she takes care of him. I wish I were closer :(

You are having a lot of deaths to deal with. I'm not sure I could be as strong as you are. Hang in there with your new work shifts! You do so much! I really admire you! I'm falling apart just from crazy middle aged hormones.

I did manage to exercise and eat fairly well most of the week. I have been completely neglecting my physical therapy stuff. Last night I did have a big pity party for myself. My mom sent me a box of chocolates for Valentine's Day (a tradition from when we were little) and I ate the whole thing. I only drank one glass of wine, but only because I didn't like the wine!!

O my gosh- I can relate to your cycle issues. I went thru peri-menopause and menopause - hell. Every day for a year I woke up feeling bloated,exhausted, anxious, confused and depressed. I tried every natural remedy out there and finally I went on a bio-identical hormone and it was like the light came on, instantly better. I think it was called cenestin, but I don't remember exactly; years ago now. So if you approach that time when your periods are irregular and you have those other symptoms, don't wait a year like I did, hoping it would get better. I hope you get better over the week-end. My only dealings with periods are with Rachael, she is 32 and right before her period she is moody and I can't even explain it to her. I sometimes give her a little tylenol, but thankfully she is in good health overall.

I am also sorry about your parents- both of them need prayers for sure. Could you get your Mom some DVD's or videos to exercise at home? I still use Leslie Sansone's walking a mile, 2 or 3 DVD's when its late or bad weather. Some light weights and just follow along.

About the chocolates, I understand. I am still feeling out of sorts too, and I usually don't share with others- but - you are my buddy and we are in this together girlfriend. I'm not OK half the time, and that's the way it is. We cope and get by but sometimes its nice to just be real with someone else. I laughed about the wine - I bet I would drink the rest of it for you.. not very picky. Rest with a heating pad or whatever makes you feel better.

Yesterday was better. I started off the day with some cardio at home and then had lots to do. Keeping busy and getting lots accomplished on the weekends always makes me feel good. My mom told me she didn't have trouble with menopause and it was sometime during her 50s. She didn't have to take anything and was glad to be done with it. I would have liked to inherit the easy menopause gene!! I can't imagine how confusing a period would be if you didn't understand it. I'm sure it's hard for you to see Rachael dealing with that. One more thing that shows me how strong you are, my friend.

My mom has a yoga DVD, and she has some 10 pound weights. I know she does a little at home but I'm not sure how regularly. I should tell her about the Leslie Sansone online videos too. I love her 5 min one. I use it some mornings before work when I don't have time for anything else. I think Mom would like those. I can remember when I was little, watching her do aerobics along with an aerobics workout show on TV.

I wanted more chocolates yesterday and they were all gone! There's the downside of eating the whole box in one go! I knew my husband would finish the wine I didn't like, and he did, so last night I opened a different bottle and had 2 glassess! We did something fun last night. At Christmas we bought a cheap digital projector so we could watch a movie on the living room wall with our sons when they were home. (When they were little we had a really good one that my husband's work got rid of but it broke long ago, but we found out how fun it was to have movies on the wall!) We hooked it up last night and watched a movie together while we ate dinner and drank our wine. And don't worry, I did have my standby Hershey dark kisses to eat since the boxed chocolates were gone.

I like this site because it is a good way to share this kind of stuff safely, and share it with somebody who actually understands because they are going through stuff too. I tried a therapist for the first time last fall and it did not help me at all. This site has done more for me and I'm especially glad to have found a buddy who I've clicked with so well!

Today will be a good day because I have lots to do today too! Also, we are going out for lunch to our Indian place up in Maryland. They are having a Valentine's special menu and we've been looking forward to it all week.

I hope your day is going well! Thanks for your support!

Happy Valentine's Day! Our older grades had their parties on Friday, but Kindergarten is doing some special activities this morning, so that will be a fun start to my day. Yoga after work, and dinner is already made, so today should be pretty good! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Good morning! How is your mom doing? I'm trying to help find a better mattress for my dad's new hospital bed, but I don't really know what I'm doing. I asked a doctor friend of mine for advice so maybe she can help me choose!

My week is going pretty well. I did eat more candy on Valentine's Day because a couple of kids at school brought me some. I did manage to put some of it in a communal bowl in a staff workroom so that somebody else will eat the rest of it! My meals have been good, exercise has been lackluster but I'm doing it. An exercise I did last week aggravated my shoulder, sigh. I'm thinking about trying acupuncture if I ever have the time.

I hope you are adjusting well to your new shift, and able to incorporate your meal and exercise plans into it!

Thanks for the messages - I have had a hard last few days with work and stress with my Mom. Back at work tonight and tryine to keep up with eating right- but not as good as I wish. Exercise is good though. I hope your week goes well, and I'll ck back with you soon.

Stress stress stress.. I feel like life just keeps coming at me from all angles these last few days. I spend Valentine's Day with my mom at the Home- they had a nice dinner and dance, which was fun.. but she still finds something to complain about. The criticism has been so ongoing my whole life that every time she starts something, I get nervous, just waiting for the ax to fall, and its always my fault. I don't think at my age that I will ever completely get over that feeling of dread.

Work is always stressful but lately, just more. That does come and go in cycles though, so at least I know that part will get better soon. And Spring - I'm ready for warm sunshiny walk around the neighborhood days. I don't know it your depression is worse in winter but I definitely notice my ability to cope and stay happy is so much better when it gets warm. My meals have been so-so and wine is either one or two glasses a day - but mostly just one so I am not too mad at myself.

I have been thinking about you even when I wasn't available to the internet. My work nights changed and I am not used to it yet.

I hope you have a nice restful week-end. I always want to be a good buddy for you- you make me feel like eveerything will be OK.

Sending some sunshine your way! This is Caledon State Park up here in KG County. It's an old pic, two winters ago, but I liked how the sun was coming through the trees.

So sorry to hear about your mom. My husband's mother was very much like that. There was no escaping a fight. You just waited to see what would set her off. One of her tactics was to pick away at him until he exploded, so then she could tell everyone how horrible he was to her. We did not live close to her and just did not see her very much. He still tried to call her sometimes, but that always ended up with a fight too. The feeling of dread you describe is exactly how he was.

I hope that you can get out a little in the warm sun today. I know that will lift your spirits a bit, even if just for a while. I just came in from the goats a little while ago. I have to go load up the truck and go to the dump, which is never fun, but getting to be out in the nice weather will hopefully get me out there! My depression does tend to be worse on dark yucky days. I have actually not had any major problems since November. I really think this site is helping me. I can feel it lurking though. I was able to fend it off a few times, but I don't know if that is because I'm coping better in general, or it was just a minor bout. I have never had luck fending it off before. Once I start to sink, I have no interest in feeling better or doing anything. I was also doing better about not picking at my fingers, which are usually picked to pieces and bloody up to the first bend of the finger, but the last couple of weeks I am back to picking. I don't know why as I don't feel more anxious than usual or bad in any specific way.

My meals have been good but my snacking has been bad. I was contemplating making a cherry pie on Monday, but we had a big crackers and cheese fest before dinner last night at my son's house, then I ate raw Pillsbury cookie dough shaped like hearts that he had bought to cook for his gf on Val Day but didn't get around to. I also missed 2 days of exercise this week. Wine has been moderate at least.

I hope that your work stress will let up soon, and you get used to your new schedule. I am here to hear you vent! You are a great buddy, a big part of why this site is helping me.

I am off Monday so I hope to get lots done around here plus get some rest.