My brother's family moved to the Rochester, NY area in Aug. Xerox's headquarters are there and since he's still climbing the corporate ladder that's where he needed to be. With Patricia in Boston at MIT it was a good move for them. She's settled in well with a wonderful Christian roommate. Greg wrestled in high school and taught her some moves so Patricia won the jello wrestling competition at the beginning of the school year! (Sounds like something MIT would do, doesn't it?)
My sister purchased her first home, a townhome, and moved in the end of September. It's very nice with a pond and ducks just outside her back door. She was only about 5 minutes from work at her apartment and is not enjoying the 30 - 45 min. commute she has now. She periodically calls Richard for advice on fixing things that didn't get done before she moved in so she's learning all about being a homeowner.
Our niece Marie has announced her engagement. She and Adam will be getting married Oct. 4, 2008 in Dana Point. Adam is a surfer so they wanted something near the beach. They've picked a beautiful site and I know it will be a gorgeous wedding. In order to serve food at weddings in southern California you have to purchase all kinds of permits making the cost so much greater than it needs to be. Leave it to So. Cal. to get so ridiculous about it. She will have her RN by the end of May and he will have his PT license. They love the area so will live in Orange County someplace.
Our granddaughter Christine has also announced her engagement. She and Nathan have been together for about five years and will be getting married Aug. 16, 2008. She has her CNA and after working for a year at a nursing home will further her education. She wants to be a surgical nurse. Nathan has been working with his dad in a family business but wants to continue his education as well. They are planning their wedding at a chapel in Pigeon Forge, TN. It's a beautiful tourist area in the Smoky Mountains. It's also home to Dollywood.
My dad needs further surgery for his skin cancers. He has three spots on his face, two of which have already had radiation so that is no longer an option. One spot is deeply embedded which makes it a difficult surgery. We're having a hard time getting him to see the right people due to his HMO. The radiology oncologist wanted him to go to UCLA but that request was just denied. We're still exploring alternatives so are not exactly sure what or when or where.
Mom has a cyst on her foot that will need to be removed. She missed her appt. so will have to wait about two months for a new one! Don't we just love HMOs?
Dayna received a small promotion at work. She had applied for three others but management decided to go outside the company for those. She was really disappointed but she likes her boss and is settling in to her new position.
Chris was hired as a permanent employee of Raytheon. He pretty much named his own terms as they found out he was looking elsewhere! It's not that he didn't want to stay but they took such a long time making him a permanent offer that he wasn't sure of his future with them.
Deidra is now a high schooler! Math is definitely not her strong suit so she started going to Sylvan for tutoring this week. She has both algebra and chemistry this semester so really needs the added help. After only her second visit she was so excited that she understood it! They also found out how they can help her at home and school with her study habits. She studies and learns in a way that requires her to be more active than just passively sitting and studying. So the evaluation helped in more ways than one.
The past three years my cholesterol numbers have been steadily climbing. They were so high this year I was told I needed to see my PCP for further treatment. Richard and I got to talking about it, trying to figure out why they should be so high. I eat low fat, walk for exercise and take Omega III. It just doesn't make sense.
We started evaluating the medications I take. Other than vitamins all I take is glucosamine chondroitin. I did some research on the internet and found many who have reported a rise of 50 - 100 pts. in their cholesterol as a result of taking the supplement. There are no studies in the US but doctors in Denmark and Sweden have just begun some as so many of their patients have complained about this phenomenon. Several here have contacted the FDA with their results asking them to take a proactive look into.
Bottom line, I immediately took myself off of it and will go back in about a month for another lipid test. I'm sincerely praying this is the answer so I don't have to take medication for it. I ache without the glucosamine but it will be a small price to pay for better health.
That was very newsy. Apparently, you needed to update with all that information waiting to be told.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the brides to be, and good luck to the students. (Megan went to a place similar to Sylvan and it REALLY helped her studies, too. She was behind her Boise class when they moved from Alaska, but has more than caught up with them.)
That's good news about Chris' and Dayna's jobs. Hope your mom and dad do well with their surgeries.
I wonder if it is the glucosamine or the chondroitin that is suspected in the cholesterol problem; do you know? There are other formulations of glucosamine that might work as well.
ReplyDeleteDaryl
I think it's the glucosamine as that is the ingredient people spoke of in their comments about the correlation with their high cholesterol.
ReplyDeleteIf you make a link to your summer trip, your Christmas letter is ready to send! Thanks for the good information.
ReplyDeleteIt looks as though there will be two Nathans when Christine is married. This family has grown so large that we are not only having birthdays with others, but also have duplicate names. That's fine with me--I'm having enough trouble remembering everyone's name anyway.