I hate cottage cheese, but it actually makes a wonderful base for a smoothie. It adds some protein too. Yum!

Bumping! Would love to hear how you’re doing.

It opens today??? Hmmm....we may just be planning an outing for this evening! Updated - well, never mind going today. Dh is out of town for work so I texted him to see if he wanted to see it (he doesn’t love kid movies and in particular, isn’t a fan of Disney). Of course, he wants to see it, so we will wait until he’s home (may not be another week and a half!!!). Please come back and let us know how it is.

I think I will look into the Zak George videos and just start from there. I need one person to tell me what to do and just do it. I will probably venture off Into other methods or ideas as we go along, but I think I really need a plan as I get started. How do I handle the kids? They are 14 and almost 11, and they help out quite a bit with teddy. I assume I need to get them on board so they don’t undo my training sessions with teddy? I guess I will need to retrain the entire household!

Teddy loves fetch, but she won’t bring the ball, stick, toy, whatever back to us! She fetches and brings it over, then she runs away without dropping the object. She knows what “drop it” means, because she likes to take her toys to the backyard when she goes outside, but we don’t allow it. Sh knows she has to “drop it” before we will let her take her stuffed toys outside.

We live in a more rural area, so it may be a bit more difficult to find a good trainer. When she was a puppy, we did classes at Petco, but she got so car sick back then that we had to give her something for the car ride, which meant that she wasn’t as alert for class. So those classes didn’t do much. I realized that they were really to train me, but she was such a tiring puppy and at the time, I did good to just house train her (she did that pretty well) and keep her exercised. I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t really like her much during her first two years. I got her without giving it much thought (we had a senior dog and I really wanted another dog before he left us). My dh works out of town and my kiddos were 10 and 7 at the time. I had completely forgotten how much work a puppy was and I was completely overwhelmed. Thankfully, Teddy grew into a fabulous dog and we all love her so much now. Having her at the beach with us has been a blast.

We have an almost 4 year old dog (female named Teddy). She is a wonderful pup, super cuddly and very smart, but not very well trained. She was a difficult puppy and I tried training her then, but didn’t get very far. Right now we have her at the beach with us and she’s done well, but I keep thinking how much more we would all enjoy her if she were better trained. Plus I think that she would enjoy the training exercises as well. So my question is, where do we start at this point? Back when she was a pup, I kept looking at different methods and getting overwhelmed. I need to find on method and stick with it. Is there anything different that we should do due to her age? Any other suggestions? Attempting to add a pic so you can see Teddy.

I also think that what Roseanne tweeted was horrible and that she definitely gets what she deserves (to make it clear, I’m not defending her at all), but... I read that yesterday was supposed to be the first day back for the writers on the Roseanne show to start working on next season. Because all of the tv shows are at a similar point, all of these writers lost their jobs on Roseanne and really don’t have many other options for next season (those writers of other shows have already been hired). Also, some of these writers turned down other job offers to work on Roseanne. I just think it is awful for all involved. So, Roseanne has always been devisive and has been pretty nasty on Twitter (from what I’ve heard...I don’t actually use twitter). I guess I don’t understand why ABC got involved with her to begin with. Wouldn’t they have seen something like this coming?

Credit card companies aren’t concerned with the date on your check or the date it was postmarked. If they don’t receive payment on the actual due date, they can add late fees and interest. If you look closely at the fine print, you may even see that they have to receive it by noon (or some other time) in the due date, otherwise they consider it a late payment. If you paid the bill online (using the credit card’s online pay system), you could pay it in the due date and it would not be considered late.

I’m so sorry. Many prayers for you and your family today.

I’m so very sorry. (((hugs)))

Keep is posted!!!

Yes, that’s so true! I think the reason my primary doc was so concerned was because I didn’t seem to be fighting off any type of illness. I am glad he took my concerns seriously, rather than taking the wait and see approach. Even today, it is 3.5 weeks since finding the knot on my neck and it is still there. It is a bit smaller, but it hasn’t gon away yet. So if we’d taken the wait and see approach, by this point they would have still put me through the tests and I would have dealt with even more anxiety and fear.

Like your girls, I grew up asking for a dog as a pet. My mom grew up on a farm and firmly believed that animals needed to live outside, so when I was finally able to get a dog, it was an outside dog. I was a typical kid who spent a lot of time outdoors and at first, I played with my dog all the time. But of course, I wanted to ride bikes and hang out in other friends’ yards too, so eventually I stopped spending as much of my free time with my dog. And then, as I got older, I became more involved in outside activities, so I wasn’t even home to spend much time with my dog. Luckily, my dad was the type of guy who spent much of his free time outside, working on the yard or tinkering in the garage. My dog really became his dog. Because of the time that my dad spent with her, she had a really good and long life. I enjoyed her and have great memories of her, butbif her happiness and quality of life had been left up to me as a kid/teen, I would have failed. My current family has had two indoor dogs (one just passed at the age of 16) and I have enjoyed them both so much. Even when watching tv or reading a book, I can interact with my dog. Our current dog loves to cuddle and as soon as anyone sits on the couch, she hops up and wants to cuddle. We would miss out on so much with her if she were only an outside dog. So, unless you plan to spend A LOT of time outside over the next 10+ years, I don’t think that having an outside-only dog is really fair.

I was just coming here to try to find this thread to update...so glad that I didn’t have to search for it!! I had a second CT scan and the results were much better. This CT Scan was just of my chest and it only showed one (barely) swollen lymph (they are concerned when they are over 1cm and my swollen node was only 1.1cm). The radiologist report suggested a follow up in 3-6 months. Then yesterday I received my biopsy results and they were benign!! So so thankful for that. Finally today I saw a different ENT in Columbus, OH (I already had the appointment scheduled and decided to follow through with it). After looking at my CT Scans and examining me, he feels strongly that my body is just fighting off some type of infection. He suggested that I see my local ENT to discuss my biopsy results and then he thinks that I should have a follow-up CT scan in about 6 weeks. Luckily, I was able to get in with a different local ENT who I feel may be better than the one that I saw originally and I’m seeing him Friday. I feel kind of crazy seeing so many ENTs, but the original one just made me feel so uncomfortable. Today’s ENT did say that if the swelling doesn’t go down soon, they could have to do surgery to remove the lymph node in my neck (that is the only definite way to make sure that it is benign). I can already tell that it is somewhat smaller, but it is still there. I am praying that it goes away on it’s own and that no surgery is required. I asked him if there is a chance that the benign result of the needle biopsy could be incorrect and he said yes, but it would be a very low chance So I’m feeling good today. Well, other than the fact that the ENT put a scope up my nose!!! That was so crazy uncomfortable!!! I’d never had anything like that done before and hope I never have to again Thanks for checking up on me and for the prayers @Penguin any updates from you?

I’ll join! Love my Fitbit ?

Thank you all so much! I had a fine needle biopsy of my lymph node today and will get results in about a week. Unfortunately, they can’t always get a good amount of cells this way and they could have to do an incision and remove the lymph node for testing. The bad thing about that is that my swollen node is toward the back of my neck and there are a lot of nerves there. The procedure is complicated and could result in a loss of motor function in my arm!!! So of course I am praying that the biopsy was perfect and they get what they need. To add to it...I live in a more rural area and the doctor that I am seeing is part of a hospital system that I don’t like at all (very small, behind the times, etc.). There are some better hospitals here, but when I called ENTs associated with those hospitals, the wait was going to be over a month. So if I have to have this surgical procedure, I am very stressed about having it at this hospital. I’m trying to decide if I could just call other ENTs (we are 3 hours from both Columbus and Cincinnati, OH) to see if I could find someone to see me. Thoughts?? I just keep praying that this is just some crazy infection that clears up on it’s own. Thanks for your prayers and thoughts.

Very good words. Thank you. And I will be praying that your scan comes back normal. (((Hugs)))

Thank you so much. I really need to lean into any and all hope right now, as I keep allowing myself to go to the “worst place imaginable” in my head.

Yes, my blood work was all normal. I think the cluster in my neck and then the enlarged nodes in my chest are worriesome. Also I have a week of antibiotics to see if that made any changes and it didn’t. I do keep praying for some other alternative.

UPDATE: I had a CT Scan yesterday and then saw my doctor today to get the results. Unfortunately they aren’t good. The scan showed a cluster of swollen lymph nodes at my neck. Also, they scanned just the top of my chest and they saw swollen lymph nodes there as well. The doctor has ordered another CT Scan (actually he’s like to do a PET scan, but have to see if my insurance will approve it) and he scheduled me to see an ENT on Monday. He said it is likely that the ENT will remove the lymph node in my neck to test. So I’m beside myself. My dh works out of town (he is home now) and we haven’t said a word to our kids yet (ages 10 and 14). Dd has a dance recital this weekend and is really like to get through that first. But dh has to leave for work on Saturday evening, so time is short. I just can’t believe this is happening. If anyone has any super positive experiences to share, it would be great. I would also greatly appreciate prayers, as I’m feeling pretty scared right now.

Praying for you!! edited to add that I sent you a pm.

I just noticed yesterday that I l left the lawnmower sitting out beside the house for several days! I remember that when I finished mowing, I needed to use the restroom, so I just pushed the mower up to the side of the house and planned to put it away (behind our house) after I was finished. I have no memory of what I did instead, but I completely forgot about it. Just yesterday, I noticed it and asked dh why he left the lawnmower out. Before he could answer, I realized that I had done It.

Thank you so much! The pain on the back of my head is getting worse...I just wish it would go away. But I’m not sick. Just praying that my body is fighting something off.

How long did it take to go away? Was it painful at all (tender)?