Ok, I'm private!

Lots has happened since I last wrote..Let's recap, shall we?

Jackie: It took Jackie all of 2 weeks of being home before she started using again. She would up in the hospital on Memorial Day. We allowed her to come home because she was waiting to hear on a rehab. That never came to fruition. Instead of looking into rehabs, she just kept using and laying around my house, doing nothing and leaving a mess after her. We told her that she had til June 23 to either find a rehab or that she's have to leave. The week before the deadline she was all strung out and we said that we were (once again) sending her back to AZ because we knew that the program out there worked. A few days later she told us that she absolutely woud NOT be going back to AZ. We told her again that she would have to move out the following Sunday. Sunday came around and she made no effort of leaving. She forced our hand and we had to tell her to leave. She didn't leave on her own, rather she made us the "bad guys" because we told her to leave. Where did she go? My mother's, of course. My mother, who bought Jackie's return ticket from AZ without consulting us as to whether or not Jackie could come back into our home...THAT mother. Of course, Jackie is over there, bad-mouthing us to my mom and my sister. Again. (See why I HAD to go private?!) Heroin (or any  type of)addiction makes everyone involved suffer...

Gym: I've been averaging 4 times a week. Haven't lost any weight but I have gained some muscle...and respect!! The above pictures were taken awhile ago. I'm beginning to notice that my clothes are fitting much better and...I've gone down 1 size, into a size 10! I ran around the house the other day screaming, "Yay!! My "Daisy Dukes" fit me!!!" Mark is still using reverse psychology on me, saying that I won't last. 7 weeks and counting!

Rachel: Our 18 year old Rachel graduated high school a week ago tonight! (Thursday) We had a party for her on Saturday, amidst (pun intended) all the rain. We had mostly all family so they didn't mind being stuck in the house. We had most of the party catered, so as to make it easier on us.

I guess that's about it..No gym for me til tomorrow night. I had oral surgery yesterday and the doctor said that I shouldn't go back til Friday...and even then, take it easy til next week. I was in major pain yesterday but haven't neededso much as a Tylenol today! (I ABHOR pain and I'm a baby about it.)

Peace!

I'm going private for I've decided to go private

I've decided to go private for now...If you'd like to have access, just shoot me an email cafeteome@aol.com (duh)

I'll add the regulars..you know who you are! (Darlene,Brian, Jason, Lila, Ms. Day, E'beth, Amy, etc..)

I'm just not comfortable posting too much info as my kids read my journal once in awhile..

I'll stay public for at least 2 weeks..

Hey! I've made it to the gym 4x a week for the past month! I am already seeing some results, such as tighter legs, weight loss, strength...I intend on keeping it up.

I'll post pictures soon..

Peace!

Yes! The Tiki Bar WAS open on Monday!

Well, we never did clean the room OR the yard on Monday. Yes, we went to the Tiki Bar in Pt. Pleasant and then to dinner at The Wharfside! LOL! We took a nice ride down the shore. (Note: Yes, I did say "down the shore". It's one of those regional terms of speech thingies..In NJ, we don't "go to the beach/shore"..no, we "go down the shore". Don't ask...I can't explain it.) Anyway, we had a really nice day together.

Tuesday I worked half a day. So, I decided to do some food shopping. I made some meatballs and sausage for dinner. Then Herman and I headed to the gym. Yay! Day 6! Tonight I won't be going because I had an allergic reaction to something...my lip blew up, I got bad hives and my breathing got bad. So I'll stay home tonight :(

Tomorrow night is Prom! Rachel and Becky are both going. Ray is going with her friend Nick, while Becky is going with her friend Jessica. Friday Ray will head down the shore..hahaha...to Wildwood for the weekend. I'll post some pictures of the girls. Maybe a "before" shot of myself. We'll see.

Tonight is the finale of "Top Chef" so that's what I'll be doing tonight. Maybe even catch some of "Ghosthunters". Oh, which reminds me! TSPR is doing an investigation this weekend! I'm so excited! We're training a new person..fresh blood! LOL!

I guess I'm outta here for now...feeling lousy from the allergic reaction..Peace!

 

Day 5....and other stuff

I've made it to the gym 5 out of 7 days! Today I did the treadmill for 30 minutes and I did a leg workout. Herman is training me. I am doing light weights, light reps. (More "gym-ese"!) In any case, I feel a difference already: more energy, motivation and self-confidence! Oh yeah....more pain, too! LOL!

Last night Herman and I went to a dinner/dance cruise on the Hudson River with his sister Maureen and her husband George. We had a great time! I danced all night! (And I looked like a dork doing it!!!) I'm tall (5'10") so when I dance I look like an ostrich on acid! ROFLMAO! The cruise took us down the Hudson, from Tarrytown, beneath the Tappan Zee, under the GWB and down to Chelsea Pier in Manhattan. Very cool trip! We got home around 11:30pm and just collapsed into bed.

Today we decided to take a ride down US Route 1. We wound up in PA..because we didn't want to get off in Trenton! LOL! Anyway...we saw a sign for New Hope (PA) so we headed north. We hung out in New Hope for a couple of hours..had a few appetizers along the way. Then we had to "find" our way home.. I knew that we had to get back across the Delaware and then head east. Eventually we hit a road that we recognized and soon we were home. We really should invest in a portable navigation system...or at the very least keep a map in the car!! Anyway, we had a good time!

Herman's last day off (for awhile, anyway) is tomorrow. We'll be cleaning our room and working on our lawn. ::sniff::  Maybe we'll take another road trip?! We didn't get to Pt. Pleasant this weekend....Hmmm... I wonder if the Tiki Bar is open on Monday...?

Peace!

3 days....and a groin pull

Yes....3 days in the gym and I officially have a "gym injury"!! Apparently I pulled a groin muscle last night whilst doing cardio work on the treadmill. Or, could be that I pulled it while I was doing leg work. YEP..I'm "official" now. I am now able to speak "gym-ese"...LOL!!

I sure hope that $1000 can fix my groin muscle....

::sigh::

Peace!

A $1000 bet!

Yes...that's right. I made a $1000 bet. The bet? That I will go to the gym 3-4 times per week for the next year. I started this Monday. Herman wants me to start slowly: 3 times a week for now. If I want, I can do the treadmill on the 4th day. So far I've made it twice to the gym. Yes, I am sore. But it's a good kind of sore. It's the sore that says "You WILL get into a bathing suit this year!" Ok...I am not fat by any means..but hey! I AM 45 now and I have had 4 children. Things on my body are slipping southwards...and FAST! I may post some pictures to track my progress..we'll see.

Oh, who did I make the bet with? My friend Mark, who claims that I'll quit after a few weeks. My words to Mark: I'll take your $1000 and I'll look good doing it!

In other fronts: Jackie got a job at a local upscale restaurant. She started training today.

Rachel was in the ER on Monday night. She has ovarian cysts on both ovaries. Ugh. Couple that with the fact that she has a lingering stomach virus and she's one miserable kid right now. Took her to gyn yesterday who wants to keep an eye on her for a bit. If the pain doesn't subside from the cysts he may do laproscopic surgery to see what's going on. Poor Ray!

Herman has been on vacation since last Friday so we've been hanging out with each other quite a bit. Did the Tiki Bar last Saturday. ( Note: A seagull "got" me right in the head! So I played the lottery..didn't win.) Took a ride to a beautiful and ridiculously expensive area of NJ on Friday. (Peapack- Gladstone...Jackie O had an estate there at one time.) We saw this 40,000 sq. foot mansion (I could be exaggerating!) on an estate called  Southern Comfort. DAMN! It was gorgeous! Really makes you wish that you had money!

Mother's Day was nice. We did brunch at a local Charlie Brown's. We went with my mom, sister and her family. Then we had my mom, nephew and Herman's family over for Chinese and Italian take out. No one could agree on 1 type of food so we just got both! Nice night altho I was tired.

Well...I should switch out some laundry and head to the store.

Peace!

Only me...

Sorry for lapse in posting!

Went to Gettysburg last weekend with some fellow TSPR members, Ali and Kerri. We stayed in a cabin again. Had campfire at night, traipsed around the battlefields during the day and did a little investigating. Ali and I smelled pipe tobacco (cherry!) up on Little Round Top. After smelling every damn bush and tree (plus running around to see if anyone had a pipe lit!) we could only guess that there was some sort of presence there. I still have to review my recordings. Nothing showed up in photos.

Got new glasses a couple of weeks ago. They have progressive lenses, which mean I can look at a distance from the top portion of the lens, and I can read close up from the bottom of the lens. They're taking some getting used to, though. I won't bore you, but it's taking awhile for my eyes to adapt to the glasses. Oh, I learned that I'm not really a candidate for contacts because I have an angular astigmatism in my right eye, which would allow the contact to freely float about my eye, causing poor vision. Damn. (I used to have contacts years ago but my eyesight has worsened over the years.)

Jackie returns home for good tomorrow. I believe that her flight arrives around 6am on Thursday. Glad I'm not getting her! My mom will be going for her, as she has the day off and we have to work. We'll see how this works out. She hasn't lived home in quite awhile. We've (Herman and I) told her that she must A)Find a 40 hr a week job ASAP! B)Attend meetings C)Help around the house. There's more, but we're hoping that we don't have to go there.

Rachel graduates high school at the end of June...time flies by! I just can't get over the fact that she'll be headed to college this fall. (County college.) Becky will be a Senior and John, a sophomore.

Well...Rachel wants some Carvel ice cream and I've promised her that I would take her, as long as she brought my towels down from her room. I guess I'm outta here for now..

Peace!