I've gained some weoght over the last year.  It started when I had spinal fusion surgery and wasn't able to do much physical exercise afterwards. I don't like being this big.  I don't weigh myself - I have a lot of lean muscle and it makes me heavier than I look.  For example, when we moved here to Illinois I was wearing a size 4 or 5 pants, but I weighed 130lbs.  I prefer to measure my weight loss in terms of clothing size. Right now I'm wearing a size 12 or 13.  ...

John Mark Karr has been released by the Boulder County DA because his DNA did not match that found at the JonBenet Ramsey murder crime scene.  Apparently his confession was all a big hoax. I'm not surprised.  I had a feeling that I can't explain when I first saw Karr at the press conference in Thailand.  I KNEW he didn't do it, that he was lying.  I don't know how I knew, I just did.  When I saw the news of his release last night I jumped up out of bed yelling "I...

I have an Inspiron 2200, and when I sat down to use it after supper I saw that the H key cover was off.  I don't know how it went down, I wasn't gone for long...anyway, my main priority is to get it back on.   It doesn't seem to be snapped in anyway so I think it's just a question of snapping it back on.....I just don't know how or where to start. Can anyone help?  Thanks!

I have an almost-14-year old daughter who has discovered the joys of blogging and the internet.  As a parent, I feel it's my responsibility to somehow manage to prepare my children for the uneven playing field that is life but at the same time not blow their innocence away too soon.  It's hard, especially when you have a child who thinks they're worldy and society-savvy and wants to stake their claim for a little independence.  I want my daughter to know that I trust her, but ...

This is the first article I've written in over a week.  The migraine that I wrote about in my last article lasted until Monday, and had to be chased away by a shot of some strong meds and a LOT of sleep Monday afternoon.  I just haven't felt like writing since then.  I've taken some down time from blogging - from communicating with anyone, really.  I haven't wanted to talk or email or see anyone, I just wanted to be left alone.  I get that way sometimes.  I dunn...

I've been given a brief reprieve from the migraine that's kept me in a darkened room all day today, so I thought I'd come and tell you about Jake's test results. His glucose levels are in the high end of the normal range.  We have to keep an eye on him and if things change we have to go see the doctor again. In the meantime, I'm going to monitor his sugar intake and see if I can't reduce it somewhat. Thank you all for your good thoughts and best wishes.  It's really been a com...

Our daughter Shea has mononucleosis.  She was diagnosed last week and the pediatrician (who is simply the best pediatrician we've ever had, period) told her she needed to rest and take it easy. She has been, but all week long she's been complaining that she doesn't feel ill and that she's sure she doesn't have mono.  It's been a trying week for me, having to keep her relatively inactive. Today, I was getting ready to take the dogs for a walk and Shea asked if she could come with ...

I've ben reading a lot from news-sources all over the world about the bomb plot that got busted this morning.  There's been a lot of talk about how the terrorists wanted to blow up the planes and which methods they were planning to use. There's an angle to it that not many people seem to be seeing or thinking about: the plan of the would-be-bombers wasn't instant anhialation.  They didn't want to blow the planes to smithereens over the Atlantic. They wanted to cause enough of an ...

I'm having a hard time sleeping again. Ever since dad died I haven't been able to sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time.  I'll wake up at regular intervals during the night and it'll be hellish trying to get back to sleep again.  I'm starting to yearn for that deep REM sleep that everyone around me seems to have no trouble achieving.  I'm jealous that Dave can just drop off to sleep and manage to stay asleep all through the night.  I'm on Elavil at night, but...

I'm frustrated to the point of anger with the military medical system. I called YESTERDAY to see if I could get a blood or urine test ordered for Jake so we could put this 'does he have diabetes' thing to rest. I hadn't recieved a reply 26 hours later, so I called back.  I didn't understand what was so fekkin' difficult to understand about my request that it took over 24 hours. After 30 mins on the phone and three people later, I'm no further forward.  ALL I WANT IS TO BE ...

You're gone again.  Just for a few days this time, but it's given me a taste of what it's going to be like the next time you deploy.  I don't like it when you're gone.  I wander the house listlessly, looking for something to grab and keep my attention so I can take my mind off you for a few seconds.  It never works, I can never find anything that occupies me for long enough.  My attention always wanders and before I know it I'm deep into daydreams and thoughts of you...

I, like a lot of other mothers, am able to instinctively know when there's something not right with my child.  I knew that Jake had ADD before he was diagnosed.  I knew that he had broken his arm despite the triage nurse telling me there wasn't anything wrong with him (I made her apologize to him for making him wait to see the doctor when he was in pain with a fractured radius and ulna).  I just KNOW when there's something not right with any of my kids. My mothering instinct is...