Sudokuaholics Anonymous 10

Good flight.one hour later. Good hotel and we are on th 10 floor in executive room. we are not paying although pric not too bad. very slow connection so I have not read anything. does not let me correct my mistakes.

I am back - I don't really have an opportunity to use the computer on the weekends much any more. By Mondays the computer withdrawal symptoms are weighing heavy on me.

June, how nice to know that 2 other people will have better eyesight thanks to Sharon. {{HUGS}} I hope you enjoy your time away. I know what you mean by trying to get everything done in the house before you leave. Even if we are just going for a day I try and get as much as possible done. I hate coming home to dirty dishes, a floor needing vaccuuming, etc.

I have a lot to read and am really only starting on page 244 for now. I hope to get caught up eventually .......

Viv, I have a feeling Ethan's license disqualification will be harder on you than anyone. I hope you can stay strong and refuse to drive him wherever he wants to go. {{HUGS}}

I can't wait for the x-rays on Wednesday and the results. My aches and pains are getting worse - probably because it has been raining on and off for the last week, including today. The spasms in my right shoulder and upper arm are no longer funny - I almost threw a hot cup of coffee in my own face and neck today, unintentionally. I have to be especially careful when I'm home alone, which I usually am. I have tried the heating pad, ice packs, rubs, Tylenol, and nothing helps. Before now I used to lie down if it got too bad, but now lying down only makes it worse. I am runnung on a sleep deficit and I am getting to be a cranky granny.

Oh my.... poor Theresa. That sounds nightmarish. I hope that they not only have answers for you on Wednesday, but a viable solution as well.

And I hope the lurgy has left you, Heidi.

The Lurgy is as bad as ever. At least IH is out of town for 4 days so I can relax.

It's almost time to return the computer. I can't spend much time on it anyway because of my arm and shoulder. Sigh ........

Hello Friends
While I haven't posted because I've had little to say, I have been reading.
Sorry to hear of the illnesses going around....it's no fun feeling badly....hope you all are soon on the mend.
Great to hear that Sharon's wishes of helping others was fufilled. June's heading about loved ones always being with you was so highly appropriate! I have enjoyed the lastest topps a lot.
I can only repeat for you parents out there...you deserve a pat on your back...but be careful not to throw your shoulders out of wack trying...lol. The lack of gratitude is difficult to live with.Like Miz T, I was told that as a child, I was given all that was possible, as an adult, I had to earn/learn for myself....but still was able to count on family in emergencies...loans were available for the asking, but if they weren't repaid as scheduled, no more were given....I learned to pay my debts on time, and to tell the difference in wants and needs very quickly, while enjoying the praise of becoming a responsible adult my parents would brag about to their friends.
Suzie...that 'status quote' was not really an indictment of the school system, just the careless, lazy habits that many have formed and continue to use and often blame on our growing technology. Reading and Language Arts, History and Social Studies have all fallen in favor due to lack of money in the budgets, so I suppose that could be viewed of as a failing of the system, but I guess when I see these challenges, I feel that often the blame falls on the teachers and I don't agree with that assessment. I would imagine that you and most other teachers,active and retired, can agree, that in spite of budgetary cuts, and all of the other minutiae that comes into a teacher's day, we make every attempt to teach, but it just doesn't take on some, for many reasons!...Now if I can pull myself away from my soapbox...lol.....Did I say I didn't have much to say????
Julie, as always I enjoy your summaries, but wondered if I'd missed the pick up of your cello? I thought it was to be picked up last week. I was waiting to hear how you were enjoying becoming aquainted with the instrument and wanted to be sure to read the post... if I didn't miss it, I still have something to keep me looking forward.

Wishing all a wonderful day/night and an even better tomorrow. Peace.♥

Mamacita, our school system/curriculum is loaded up with stuff other than reading, writing and math. My kids came home from year 1 classes with drawings of eyes and some great craft items. The structure of the eye at 6 years old!! How about the structure of a sentence, or even of a word at that age. They can't say cornea, but they can copy it from the blackboard and we can say we taught them science.

June, I hope you are having a wonderful time. The room sounds great - other than the slow internet connection.

Viv, I'm really cranky at the people telling your son that his sentence was unreasonable - there goes any chance that he will learn anything from it!! I hope you stick to your 'not driving him anywhere' plan. I am sick to death of kids getting away with treating their parents like cr@p!! If they treated their friends that way they wouldn't have any, but we're supposed to take it and come back for more! All we really have to do is feed them, the rest is optional...

Good Morning everyone!

Viv, good on you for taking a stand. One of #2's mates lost his licence (and his job) for 12 months for DUI and running from the police in his WORK car. He survived with the help of a bike and his friends taking him places and picking him up. If you are going his way by all means take him but don't go out of your way for him.
Besides that, you have your own health to consider first (and make sure he knows it!).
Good luck!!

Gail, official schooling has finished here. They are doing their exams now. A lot of stressed 17-18 year olds here right now. And their parents of course who have been dealing with the stress tantrums for a few months now.

I'm loving the weather here at the moment. Cold overnight, bone shivering cold (by my standards) so perfect for sleeping, but lovely during the day. Occasionally hot enough to work up a sweat, but mostly just right.

Hannah just doesn't stress, I think that is hubby and I rubbing off on her. Three of her five subjects this year were 'prac' subjects, hands-on...Art, Food Tech and Textiles (dressmaking), so they are done in folio form (long-term project style) and I don't think the exams are overly taxing on those. Her other two subjects are English and History, history she did because it interests her, so she should be ok with that exam, but if she doesn't pass her English exam, she fails the year!!! Everything crossed for that one!

Hi all. Just stopping in to say goodnight. Have read the posts but too tired to remember what I have read. Have a conference in the morning with Dylan's teacher. Elementary is required to have 2 a year. I expect only good things.

I will see you all in the morning with a big pot of coffee.

Suzy, I wish our children had some of the options available to them that I hear you talking about. Your example however is a good one and the undo stress that many kids undergo due to high workloads is more than a worry. My comments were geared of course to the days when I was teaching and/or active in the public school system. Today, there are more options available,but many of the life enriching subjects such as art, foreign languages and music are the first to be axed. It seems that except for the specialty schools, the curriculum goes lacking. Teachers are told what to teach and usually make a true effort in seeing that the material is really internalized, not just regurgitated. Rote learning is good for some things, but a greater emphasis is needed in my opinion, in developing the thinking skillls of the children. In primary grades, more should be done to have children recognize the difference between reality and fanasty also. My two cents worth

V Vi, I add my voice to those hoping you are able to stick to your guns regarding not driving your son, unless its convienent for you.I too think he has recieved a fair and just sentence based on his actions.
I hope the lesson is learned, for his sake. Its not just the teens who seem not to know or care that for every action there is a reaction, and usually the reaaction reflects the same attitude that the original action demonstrated... negative actions cause negative reactions... they don't seem to get it!!! This type of behavior was part of that shown by my 22 year old grand daughter that made me so angry...No fun dealing with rude, ungrateful, disrespectful folks who think they should be given free range of expression and/or any thing else they may want...but hard lessons are lessons usually well learned! More importantly, at least for me, is a refusal to deal with guilt trips because they have been made unhappy by our reactions!!!! Hang in there, hopefully things will get better sooner rather than later.♥

Gail, I did Art and the exam was hell on earth for me! Mass quantities of information to absorb. And the major work! Even more stress there. Of course you have to take into account my math/science leaning... English was my lowest result.

Speaking of feeding 'em. Dana didn't like what was on offer for dinner last night so called to ask if we had any left overs she could have. To be fair we are not good at eating our left overs so it is actually a good thing when they are eaten. But we didn't have any so hubby invited her over and she cooked up a bunch of spaghetti to take back with her.

Good evening friends. Time for bed here, and one more perfect day forecast for us tomorrow, then WINTER! Daytime temps lower than our overnight lows now, night time nearing frost. Plus windy and rainy, not a good mix for Wednesday. A sudden drop of 30+ degrees, well, we will notice that for sure. I must hunt up my jackets, warm pants, and my raincoat.

Al is loosing weight. He just is not taking enough feedings a day, and last week had a lot of vomiting overnights. Last night we got the nausea taken care of, hope the combination of bedtime meds works again tonight. I do not expect him to gain back the weight he is loosing. This cancer is such a terrible thing!

I started my apple butter today. My house smells so good. It is cooking in the crock pot, and is not yet done. I will leave it on low over night and hope it is ready early in the morning. I still have applesauce left over, but no more jars and lids. Will have to see how many I use jarring this batch.

Today I felt like I had been hit by a truck. No reason that I could think of. If it was Wednesday and the big weather change, might explain it, but no idea for today. Then my meds just did not work. Occasionally that happens, it is as if I had not taken them. So I hurt till time I could repeat the meds, not a fun day. Much better now, thank goodness. Did not get all my chores done today, but there is always tomorrow.

I read, and thought about you, but right now, my brain is a sieve, and all the thoughts ran right out before I could type them.

Good night friends, hope you have a great remainder of your day or evening. Hugs to each of you, with extras.

Can't stop and chat as I have to run and meet hubby at the specialist this afternoon. It's his 8 week check up to see how his shoulder is progressing. We both feel he has a long way to go so he is hoping to have more time away from work.
Have a good evening everyone!
Hugs MizT... It must be so hard watching Al get sicker. Cancer is a bugger!

Mamacita, for kids who want to take the quickest route to their chosen (degree based) career, these HSC exams can be critical to them meeting their goals. The stress associated with them is unbelievable!! 5 or 6 exams which boil down to one number which tells you whether you can study the course you want to study at the Uni you want to go to. Things have improved though and if you manage to mess them up there are now other ways to get to where you want to be. Most of them take a little longer, but you can get there just the same. And now they have increased the availability of career based schooling in the final years more kids are finding them useful. Instead of doing their HSC, kids who don't want to go to Uni can choose to study all career/trade based courses and finish school with a head start on getting the kind of job they want.

MizT, I hope you get a good nights sleep and feel better tomorrow...

Hi, Everyone! Just popping in for a bit.

Thinking of Rolanda and her Mum. I hope all is well!

Victoria, how interesting to hear the difference between your two boys! Isn't S#1 the one with the girl friend, and doesn't she stay with you at least part of the time?

Viv, it sounds like Ethan's punishment fits the crime. You've done what you must do. Heidi's right about a bicycle or public transportation. If he doesn't respect you, it's no wonder that he has no respect for other drivers. Good luck holding firm!

Brenda, I'm shocked that you have already had a frost! But then, I've heard that we may be looking at the possibility of snow during the coming weekend.

Suzy, I'm sorry you lost a long post! Don't you hate when that happens? I'll let you know if I find it.

Tami, what marvelous news to hear that your hubby's baseball teammate was able to leave the hospital and go home!

June, what a perfect TOPP! We're so glad to hear that you have arrived safely! Enjoy your executive room! Have fun and relax!

Theresa, remember that it's not necessary to read every single entry and comment on it! Read when you can and comment occasionally. There's no need to apologize; we understand you'll be taking on extra responsibilities as your D recuperates!

I hope you get some answers and a treatment plan when you see the doctor on Wednesday! Please be very careful

Heidi, I hope you are now feeling much better! Pamper yourself while IH is away!

Mama, as always, a fantastic post! I, too, am glad to have survived the teen years of my children. Today's young people seem to have a sense of entitlement and many of them show little respect for others. To be fair, they also show little respect for themselves. Unfortunately, I have no answers.

I thought I had talked about acquiring the cello, but perhaps I haven't yet. It will need to wait until tomorrow, as I am rapidly losing energy.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, prayers, and positive thoughts for all! Good Night and take care of yourselves!

Hi everyone.
Heidi, enjoy your time alone.
I cannot wait for my short visit to Sydney without my DH. This does not stand for Dear Husband either. lol
Thank you all for your comments re Ethans court verdict.
I will be standing firm on this, I will not be driving him anywhere.
He does have a pushbike but at this stage he has organised someone to pick him up and drop him home after work for $5 a day.
He has a mate doing the same traineeship with him.
Of course we are still waiting to hear if he can keep his job.
I am battling uphill here with Ethan as I have no back up from DH.
But the time has come, I have had enough.

Theresa, wishing you all the best with the result of your tests.
MizT, hugs coming your way, what a time you are having.
June, enjoy your trip away.

I have walked my feet off today. First to the markets and got 2 'Ralph Lauren' business shirts for Neil at $7 each. A hat for4 me at $2.50 and an emboirered small bag for $6. Then literally got taken for a ride by a rickshaw bike rider. I wanted to go to the Palace and was looking at my map. This guy would take me for what I thought was $2.50. He tolod me Palace was now open but would close later. it ended up with an arguement by me as he left me around the corner from the entrance and it cost $15 to9 get rid of him and I arrived at the palace as it closed for two hours. I sat in the park for a while and got to talk to some students who were learning English. They had a written list of questions to ask. The boy was finding it hard but a girl aged 19 and I hqad a good chat. I then got directed a long way back to the hotel.

Morning all. Coffee is ready, help yourself.

June sorry about the rickshaw ride but it sounds like a nice way to spend an afternoon. I am sure the students appreciated the talk and I am sure you got a lot out of it. Enjoy the rest of your trip. Can't wait to see the pictures.

Have read the posts and don't remember much else. See you all later.

Morning all.

Does anyone here have any personal experience dealing with autism? I have some questions if you would be willing to share. A friend is going through this and I would like to learn how to help.

GOOD morning everybody. The Lurgy is almost gone!! Now I can go out and run some much-needed errands.

No true experience with autism, Theresa, but I remember when I was 5, and my mother and step-aunt (from h*ll) were talking about me (in front of me). They were saying that I was autistic (step-aunt definitely and mother probably). Step-aunt was trying to convince mother that I needed to be committed to an institution. I wasn't autistic, and knew it (yes, at 5 I had a vague idea what autism was) but I was physically and emotionally abused. The symptoms are similar.

Almost time to return the computer.

Back from running a whole bunch of errands. As a reward to myself for escaping the Lurgy, I bought myself 2 more budgies (colors I didn't have) , a Zebra finch and 3 Spice finches (no smilie of those yet).

Gekko my friends.
Not much time to catch up so love and hugs to you all.
Last visit to the dentist this morning, have my cousin turning up of Friday on her way to NZ, the bride and bridesmaids are now getting ready at my place Sunday so I see gninaelc in my future.
Hope to catch you later.

These are Spice finches.

Theresa, I have minor experience with Autism. One of the teachers I work with has an autistic son. He was at our school. If you email me questions, I can get the answers from her.

Heidi, glad you are feeling better.

Theresa - the daughter of a friend of mine had a son with autism. They found it so hard to get information and help that they started their own organisation (hubby was a doctor, that helped) here in Qld to assist parents of children with Autism. There are probably such groups near you.
Here is a link to the one she and her hubby started. There might be some info in it to help you.
http://aeiou.org.au

Froze the computer with a second post last night so see if I can remember.
Mizt, my heart goes out to you as I understand how you feel. Sharon did not lose weight, but the last months she retained fluid and could not breathe.
Viv, from what you told me about Ethan's misdemenia I was surprised at him losing his licence for so long. Keep to your guns about not driving him. It is unfortunate that sons seem to learn from their fathers!
Hope all goes well for you in Sydney. Sorry I am not their to give you some support.

Got a text from Rolanda earlier to say that she hopes by this evening to have internet - woo hoo!
Off to the hairdressers for me - I'll be bootiful next time I post! Hehe!
MizT & Al - in my thoughts!
June - enjoy your trip despite rip-off rickshaw men.
Viv - I support your stand.

Hubby left at 6am to fly to Hanoi for the day. Be back about 7.30pm. What a way so spend our 48 Wedding anniversary.
You always look bootiful Cynthia!
Shopping in a different direction today. Will get some DVDs. saw Water for Elephants on the plane and Rio so will try and get them and see what else they have. ome do not work when you get them home but for the price it does not matter. i got one that had the wrong sound track for the movie. a big laugh for the first 5 minutes.
I ill also go to a favourite 'cafe' if it is still there. So far we have had abig breakfast at the hotel (have mine by myself today as only 7.30am now) and the Executive floor has it's own cafe and in the evening they have pre dinner time with small snack food. That has been our dinner for the last two nights. I love proper Vietnamese food, but other than buying at the markets (when you saw it it was not really an option) I have not had a chance. Really the food is best when you get away from the city. The hotels seem to think tourists only want to eat western food.
Enough of my rambles. Must shower and go to breakfast, then more shopping!
Here you become an instant Millionaire.If you change $100 you get about 2,200,00 dong.
Gets very confusing when they quote you prices. A bit what happened with my push bike transport yesterday.

Good Morning everyone!
Julie, you are right. My two boys are like chalk and cheese. They've spent more time together in the last month than in the previous year because #2 was home with his injured arm.
Aki flies home to Japan on the 27th. We wont see her again until sometime next year when her visa is approved and she can come back to Australia to work. #1 will visit her while she is there.
June it sounds like you are enjoying your visit. I hope you get to rest and relax.
I have a great nephew who is monitored for autism but his manifests in his eating habits. As a 5 year old he is only now eating solid food (sometimes). Prior to this his mother would blend all his food into a lumpy mush. He does attend a "special" kindy but will join main stream schooling.

Hubby's shoulder is progressing slowly but he has been given a further 8 weeks off work. The specialist says he needs at least 4 months post surgery for the tendon to knit to the bone.
Next visit on 16th December. Happy hubby is in no hurry to return to work.