tiredofdoctors

Hey Cody -- sorry it's taken me so long to get back with you . . . . the Gluten Guard and Clan Thompson downloads are available through the Celiac.com store, or through Clanthompson.com (I think that's it!)

Either place is fine. What I like about Clan Thompson is that it is a family run business -- their customer service is EXCELLENT! They have encouraged me to contact them with any additional items that I would like listed so that they can include them in their quarterly updates. I was pretty impressed by that . . . .

With regard to your family, you're going through much what all of us have gone through at one time or another . . . my sister wanted SO BADLY to believe that this was "conversion disorder" -- something that starts because of a traumatic event in your life (mine is neurological), and she kept pushing for that. She's an insurance adjuster, I'm a PT, I even diagnosed her BRAIN TUMOR after her doctor missed it, but she just kept telling me that I need to "see someone" to make sure that it wasn't that . . . . then I saw the neurologist she recommended, and he confirmed the diagnosis . . . she didn't have much of a leg to stand on after that. My family was "marginal" at first about my gluten-free status and eating at my mom's house. Birthdays? Forgettaboutit! Didn't get to participate until I told my son that for MY birthday, we were bringing the cake. Then we weren't going to bring anything. When everyone asked where the cake was, we were going to say . . . . "Now you all get to eat what I eat on birthdays." Evidently he told them, because since then . . . . I have the best gluten-free meals there! My food is cooked first, covered and put away to avoid cross contamination. My mom even made a gluten-free apple pie with the crust recipe in the latest issue of "Living Without".

With regard to kissing? My husband will give me a kiss goodnight, and I'll say -- "Excuse me . . . could I possibly get a GOOD kiss?" He'll say -- I'll be back -- then he'll go floss and brush his teeth. He comes back saying, "Sorry, I had gluten." For the most part, though, he's kind of a gluten-free guy. He eats what I eat, the kids are out of the house, so it's just the two of us (and the 2 dogs), so it's pretty easy to do that. He has been VERY supportive, though . . . We bought a different convection oven (about 6 months after we bought the first one) to make sure that it is the designated "gluten-free" oven (especially for fixing hot wings, etc.) We're working on getting a new set of pans (my neurologist wants me to get rid of all Teflon pans because of the potential of having gluten underneath any scratches). We've gotten rid of all our wooden spoons, etc. and he is GREAT about bringing me home a gluten-free surprise when he runs up to the store!

You sound like a GREAT guy . . . . I'm sure you'll attract the kinds of girls that won't even CARE that you are on a celiac diet!!

Take care of you . . . . . . .

Lynne

I agree wtih everyone else . . . don't disclose too much information too early on. You can order gluten-free without anyone knowing (if you're at the right restaurant!!!) Celiac doesn't make you weird . . . it just forces you to eat healthy!

Hey, just trying to help you become a good doctor, and not another bad one. We need more good ones. Please be a good scientist from now on and provide studies to back up your claims.

Take care,

Scott

Scott: Yes, he is a doctor. However, he is not a PHYSICIAN. His degree is a PhD, not an MD. He cannot diagnose as he has done on many occasions -- he is not licensed to do that. Wanting him to become a good doctor is something that would be good. He is, however, a scientist, a researcher, but NOT a practitioner.

Mike 1972:

Funny that you said that IBS is a psychogenic condition and related it to diarrhea. There's a point to this . . . bear with me.

There are a vast number of Perkinje cells in the cerebellum of the brain. They are also located in the retinas of the eyes. Perkinje cells contain a protein which strongly mimics gliadin, as they rely on gliosis. Antigliadin antibodies mistakenly attack these proteins, causing destruction of the Perkinje Cell. Gluten "sensitivity" "intolerance", whichever you choose to call it, is a very REAL condition.

I have anti-gliadin antibodies. I do NOT have anti-transglutaminase, nor anti-endomysial antibodies. My intestinal villi are beautiful -- pink with no rubor, plump with no damage. On the cellular level, they have NO evidence of damage, nor evidence of Celiac. This was confirmed by biopsy and re-confirmed as I had a Celiac specialist review my biopsy slides.

I had a colonoscopy at that time, as well. Given that the cerebellum controls most aspects of brain coordination, I have developed autonomic dysfunction as a result of the damage to that area of my brain. In addition to a myriad of motor control difficulties, I have multiple areas of autonomic nervous system controlled functions which are impaired, as well. Due to my brain's inability to coordinate intestinal peristalsis I have had chronic, long-term constipation WITHOUT bouts of intermittent diarrhea for over two years. My abdomen is consistently tender to palpation. I do not have "rebound" -- only tenderness throughout course of the large intestine. Stool softeners, laxatives, Zelnorm, dietary changes -- all combined have done nothing to reduce the severity of this condition.

My colonoscopy found that I had polyps (non-cancerous), and inflammation throughout the bowel. Hence, "Irritable Bowel Syndrome". I have difficulty believing, while removing impacted fecal matter, that this is psychogenic. In addition, I have had several psychological evaluations, at my urging, to RULE OUT a psychogenic basis to my conditions.

I appreciate that you have joined the forum to "enlighten" all of us poor, pitiful, uninformed, lacking- intelligence members. You must feel highly superior as you disperse your information here. What I don't appreciate, however, is your highly antagonistic, even arrogant approach as you do so. As I said before, we were doing fine before you got here, and will probably be better off when you leave.

Don't be surprised if, when you begin to take the thyroid medication, you lose MORE hair. When your levels begin to rise, THAT is when you'll lose your hair . . . .

I agree with the temperature thing . . . also heart rate is a very good indicator. My temp (at its lowest) when I was hypothyroid was 96.0. No wonder I was cold! My heart rate was also VERY slow -- 45-50 BPM. And at that point I was NOT aerobically fit.

Another thing you may want to consider is "hyperinsulinemia". It is a reason that a lot of pear-shaped women suddenly begin to develop "belly fat", and have marked difficulty losing weight. Another STRONG indicator of it is polycystic ovary disease (or syndrome -- whichever the MD calls it.) This isn't where you have one or two cysts. It is where, literally, the cysts look like a strand of pearls surrounding your ovaries, often with grape-like clusters hanging from them, as well. The reason for this is, as you consume more carbohydrates, the insulin receptors on your cells start becoming desensitized to the insulin that you're pumping out. Think of it as -- if I were to hit you in the arm once, it would hurt! If I did it a few more times, it would hurt, but you wouldn't feel it quite as much. If I KEPT ON hitting you on the arm, eventually you wouldn't even recognize that you were being hit. Stupid analogy, but you get the picture . . . So, the cells (particularly fat cells) just don't recognize the insulin . . . so your body just pumps out more and more. Your blood vessels, your kidneys and your ovaries DON'T become desensitized to the insulin . . . that's when damage can occur. The kicker is that this is the percursor to Type II Diabetes. The trick is to catch it before it converts.

I know that for me, personally, when I started the gluten-free diet, I increased my carb count tremendously!

Just another two cents to throw in. . . .

Good luck to you. I hope you can get some definitive results.

Hugs,

Lynne

Thanks tracey . . . .

My daughter called me today -- NOT very happy with either me OR my sister!! I think one of her statements was something to the effect of "I can't believe that you two can get something so wrong . . . " Not exactly sure, because I was going to let her blow off some steam before I REALLY started listening!

Her version of the story is this . . . . this friend of hers wanted to try posting to Smugmug and asked her if she would let her do it for "practice". She already has two or three others on there, but I just went along with it. My daughter said that this woman was going to give Ashley the PICTURES, and give all of us (me, my sister, my parents) a celiac disease of the pictures. Of course, Ashley THEN went on to say that this woman didn't get ALL the shots that the photographer got -- when I challenged her and said, "I saw her snapping at about all of them", she then followed with "she had to use a wide-angled lens and she had to take the pictures at awkward angles because she didn't want to get in the photographer's way." My thought was "so DID she or DIDN'T she get the shots? I'm confused" -- kept that to myself, as well.

Then, of course, the statement that got my goat: "I don't even think I'm going to ORDER my pictures from him." I did not handle that part well. I said, "This is the person that we contracted with to photograph your wedding. He spent his ENTIRE morning afternoon and part of his evening at our beckon call." She said, "We paid him $1,000 for the proofs . . . and I STILL haven't gotten them. HE has broken the contract. He said that he would have them to us in 5 weeks. I keep calling him, and he keeps saying he has just been so busy. Such-and-such already has the pictures edited and POSTED." I said, "Well, such-and-such took pictures of ONE wedding, and hasn't posted anything else. This man has been swamped for the entire months of June, July and August." We sort of did the ping-pong thing, she told me that the reason her wedding site was locked was so that only the people she WANTED accessing the site would be able to do so . . . but THEN said that the official photographer has each individual wedding locked on his website as well. Quite the confusing conversation.

Of course, my sister, who is the feistier of the two of us, had to make a parting shot to my daughter: "Tell her when she makes my celiac disease that she can just put the pictures of you, you and Mark and our family on mine. I don't care about having pictures of those other people."

So, I don't know if I really got any answers, but at least I think I planted some additional seeds of what is right and what is ethical in my daughter -- even at age 20! In some ways she wants to be so grown up, but in some ways, she is just so very naive. Sometimes an endearing quality, sometimes a real pain to deal with . . . .

Vincent -- I can't BELIEVE how much he's grown up! My heavens . . . .

Those sit n spin things are fun, aren't they??? Admit it, you've tried it out!!! My kids loved them!!

He's such a cutie -- and turning into such a handsome little boy . . . . . .

METTA!!!!!!!!! I didn't get to talk with you today . . . we were out all day (started early -- actually went to my nephew's flag football game -- not bad, huh?) and then shopped for Mark's birthday. Having some rumblings from the "fam" . . . . . all-inclusive, if you know what I mean. They're all a little shaken up. I have a feeling that my PT called my mother. I have had more offers for rides in the past 24 hours than I've had in the past 6 months. Wish that getting up early(ier?) had made a difference in my insomnia, but I have an appointment to get that taken care of.

You know what the funniest thing is about you saying that I need to talk louder? Prior to being diagnosed with ADHD and being put on Ritalin, I had only one volume -- EXTREMELY LOUD. I had no sense of voice modulation. I was working for a PT company at that time, and a doctor's office was across the hall. They could hear me all the way in the BACK of their office in their STORAGE ROOM!

My friend from Cuba that I told you about, Madeline -- she was a patient there when I first started taking the medication. She walked in and we walked back to a treatment room, and she said in her little cuban accent (although she's been in the states 31 years -- go figure!) "Leeeen, what is wrong? You're not bouncing when you walk?" I just said, "Oh, I didn't notice." Then she said, "Leeeeen, you're not laughing and joking like you usually do." I said , "Oh, well, I haven't gotten wound up yet, I guess." Then she said, "Leeeen, your voice -- it is so QUIET ---- ARE YOU SMOKING DOPE???????!!!!!!!!" Yeah, well that's a great way to keep a job! I said, "No Madeline, but I did find out some interesting information . . . " then went on to tell her. She said, "Well stop taking that Sh**. I want the old Leeen back." When people tell me to please speak up, it just makes me giggle. Beats the heck out of having them tell me to shut up most of my life!!!

Yeah, unfortunately that happens sometimes. Every now and then we get someone (some people have even recognized the same person coming on under a different name) that comes on the forum SOLELY to stir up trouble . . . . MAN -- talk about some bickering.

As a whole, we tend to get along fairly well. I think that even when we don't disagree with someone's opinion or ideas, we try to respect that it's THEIR OPINION, so there's no right or wrong. If the facts are wrong, then we'll cite references or something like that .. . . .

I'm sorry you're having a not-great experience. I hope it gets better. I have found a lot of support from this forum and have made actual friends here -- not just acquaintances. Mouse and her husband decided I needed a break, so they flew me to meet her in Las Vegas!! We had a BALL!

There are also several people upon whom I have come to rely upon for their friendship, cameraderie, to NEVER leave me at a loss for laughs, but also to bounce things off of them, open up my SOUL to them, worry about them -- and it's all reciprocal. I think those are the things of which true friendships are forged, and it's comforting knowing that these people are a phone call or a mouse-click away.

Also, because we've had to fight so long and so hard to be heard by the medical community, had to fight tooth and nail to be taken seriously, it's made us pretty tough. Which, in some contexts is a PLUS, but when you get a bunch of us together, it can get pretty intense!

I hope that your experiences just keep getting better and better. I think we have a pretty great group of people here.

Welcome Cody -- you're certainly in the right place! I think that you will find all the answers you need SOMEWHERE on the board.

Going gluten-free can be pretty daunting at first . . . . I was so used to my "regular" foods (mostly fast foods because of my schedule at the time and my husband's). I was very fortunate that I found a fantastic dietician in our city who specializes in Celiac. In fact, I'm going back to see her in two weeks . . . just for a "brush up" and to address some additional things that have happened.

Don't know what your financial situation is . . . my kids are 20 and 24, and I KNOW theirs . . . . but some of the members have purchased (actually it's more like "leased") either Gluten Guard of Clan Thompson software. Both are available for either PC's or PDA's or BOTH. It appears that the Clan Thompson version is a little more comprehensive with regard to the contact information, the last date of confirmation -- things like that. My husband and I are going to go ahead and purchase it -- it will be easier to take the PDA with us to the grocery and know for SURE than to spend time reading labels -- and we've been at this gluten-free stuff for a year and 1/2.

There are some soy drinks that you need to be aware of . . . they contain gluten. I have a copy of the Delphi list (a list which is compiled from the postings on the board) from two years ago, I believe . . . don't know when the last update was. If you would like to have it, just PM me and give me your e-mail address.

In the meantime, again welcome, and don't be afraid to ask questions here . . . we've all been where you are at one time.

Lynne

I didn't even THINK about that . . . . I do the same thing -- just a quick wash/rinse after handling the fish food. My hands don't touch the aquarium, so I'm not as rigid as if I'm having to deal with the fish. Holy Cow! Maybe THAT's where I'm getting glutened . . . . . .

Yeah, he's really something else . . . . .

A Newfie, huh? I'd have to darken my hair! (well, I'd have to put dark over the bleached out part, and HOPE that it covered the gray!) I could be a Newfie . . . from what I understand, Karen, your family is a tad on the wild side? Hmmmmm.........

Gonna tell you now . . . if you guys got in a room with me, you would DEFINITELY not be telling me to talk slower!!!!! Ask Karen!!

So who is arguing NOW?????

Ummmmmm, LYNNIE my butt! It was Fiddle-Faddle who first mentioned MENopause, MENstruation, etc. . .

I simply Re-itterated it with ONE WORD in my thread, and wouldn't you know it? It gets blamed on me. I think I was born with a target on the middle of my forehead!!!!!

Richard, you are a brave, brave man.

Another Southerner!!!!! So y'all are fisin' to do somethin? That's great! I told my husband that we were discussing accents, and that I really didn't think I had that much of one, that everyone ELSE sounded northern. The man was busting a gut laughing!

Hey Nikki -- I told my husband about the incident when I was a teenager and the English accent. I did it with the same accent. His eyes got a little more wide and he said, "You're GOOD at that . . . . " I thought it was pretty funny! Then I went on to say that you could pick up a southern drawl within 5 minutes after being around someone with a southern accent, and the discussion went on about southerners / Englanders and their ability to pick up dialects. I told him about the reference to Bridget Jones' Diary. He said, "Oh, yeah."

Don't know what your standard "goodbye" is in England, but ours is just usually, "see ya"!!!!!!

Talk to you soon, my friend!

Hi tracey* --

This woman's intentions were made very clear prior to the wedding . . . she was taking pictures as a gift to Ashley and Mark. She does a LOT of scrapbooking, she makes her own cards, and she told Ashley and Mark that they "could guess what their wedding gift was going to be". That was at the rehearsal dinner. If she made any other agreements with Ashley, I was unaware of it. Not ONCE during the entire time that she was doing this did she make mention that her intent was to sell these. That is also the biggest problem I have with what she did.

I was so embarrassed when I had to call the photographer which we had hired to do the wedding -- formally, contractually -- all done in the "traditional" manner in which you hire a photographer. I was concerned that we had broken the contract, and I also wanted him to know that I wouldn't set him up or sabotage him that way. We are talking about this man's living. He spent an entire day doing what he does to support his family. To have someone sabotage that by "slithering" in using the pretense of a gift and of friendship is rude, at minimum, but also HIGHLY unethical. I honestly thought that this woman's intentions were solely to photograph shots for Ashley and Mark as a friend. Really, I'm appalled.

ADDENDUM: For those of you who know me, you also know that I can't keep my mouth shut, particularly when it comes to my daughter and her skewed view of the world. I e-mailed her and first asked her questions with regard to her knowledge of what was going to happen, then other questions which were intended just to get her thinking. I asked her if the contracted photographer knew that Kim was going to be selling these pictures. Then I told her that if she knew that Kim was going to be selling these pictures, and she DIDN'T inform the photographer with whom we contracted, at minimum she owed him a HUGE apology. I told her that I was glad that this woman took beautiful pictures of her, and I felt secure that she was going to give them to her. I told her that I certainly hoped that she didn't PURCHASE any pictures from her, because she was contracted with the original photographer. She'll probably send a nasty e-mail back to me, but heck, I'm used to that!

Still watch out with cosmetics. Hate to be a downer. Even Bare Escentuals has gluten in some of their products. Their lotion, some of their lipsticks, not sure what else contain gluten.

Neutrogena has a list which they list as "wheat free" but I realized that they do NOT say "gluten free" -- I have that list if you would like to have it, though.

Almay has several products which are gluten-free, and some of the other companies have gluten-free lipsticks, etc.

I LOVE Ulta . . . . we have a store here, and when the "gift packages" come out, it's nice to be able to get them! I still watch EVERYTHING, though . . . even Bedhead products, which I used to use almost exclusively, are FULL of gluten! Just make sure you have covered all your bases with regard to gluten-free prior to purchase!

Jen (Jenvan) said that NARS products are gluten-free. Bought a lip gloss from them -- LOVE IT!

Have fun at Ulta!!!

Lynne

I don't have Celiac Disease . . . I have negative antitransglutaminase and negative antiendomysial antibodies, and according to the GI doc and the pathologist, "BEAUTIFUL villi" . He did say that I had irritable bowel syndrome, and that I had developed polyps (which he removed) I DID have "first high, then OUTRAGEOUSLY high antigliadin antibodies" according to my two neurologists. So, I DO have gluten intolerance, or gluten sensitivity.

The difference between my type of gluten intolerance and that of true Celiac Sprue is that I do not have intestinal damage -- and that may have come later, or have been there earlier, as I was always the child with diarrhea! I also was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis -- without biopsy -- when I was 20 and 7 months pregnant with my son. The diarrhea had been going on for two months, and the doctor had been telling me to "take kaopectate". Finally, I was so dehydrated, and called my mother -- told her that everytime I started cramping for the diarrhea, the baby "went into a big ball" . . . . I was beginning to go into premature labor. I was lucky that my doctor's PARTNER was on call that weekend. He sent me immediately to the hospital, couldn't BELIEVE what had been going on (grabbed my chart from the office), and had stool samples taken -- very bloody. That's where he came up with the ulcerative colitis.

My ONLY symptoms now, however, are neurological. The Perkinje cells in the cerebellum of the brain have proteins that resemble gliadin. They rely on gliosis for nutrition. The antigliadin antibodies have mistaken these proteins on my brain for gliadin -- and have subsequently destroyed them. This has also happened to the retinas of my eyes. The rods and cones contain a large amount of Perkinje cells.

My neurologists kept referring to my condition as "Celiac Disease" . . . . I kept telling them that I DIDN'T have Celiac. I kept insisting that the GI doctor absolutely ruled out Celiac. For that reason, I would not go gluten-free. It wasn't until my endocrinologist explained that whether it was called Celiac or Gluten intolerance they are almost one in the same with regard to the dietary restrictions. She was the one who took me by the hand, told me that I HAD to be gluten-free for the rest of my life, and recommended a dietician. It was that day that I stopped eating gluten, and I haven't knowingly ingested gluten since. And won't ever. I will FOREVER be grateful to her for helping me with that.

Hope this helps explain a little, anyway . . . . .

aaahh -- had a "hyster"ectomy during peri-menopause . . . life is grand!!!

Perkinje shift . . . . Rods & Cones in the retina are composed vastly of Perkinje cells . . . . hence, if you have antigliadin antibodies, you have the potential to have them destroyed because of a protein on the cell which mimics gliadin . . . those cells rely on gliosis . . . interesting twist!

Harvest moon . . . the first full moon of October . . . . Starts on the sixth rising, is full at 2 -something AM, I think . . . need to check my calendar!

Oh Karen . . . . OOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!!!!!

Hey Susie -- I agree with the peri-menopause part -- it can start even in your thirties, although that's more rare. Erratic periods, mood swings, those types of things DO happen during peri-menopause. There are SEVERAL good books about it -- I have an entire collection I can look through and "send to lend" from my library!

I also agree with the thyroid testing. Veterinarians are EXTREMELY knowledgeable about human conditions, although they don't normally do the "carry-over" to give advice because of practice act issues. I'm VERY fortunate that my vet gives me advice about MY health as well as our babies'!! The TSH is an indicator that your body is working harder to pump out thyroid hormone. It can give them a good idea of hypothyroid issues and/or autoimmune issues. My endocrinologist doesn't just do a TSH -- she hasn't yet ordered a thyroid test without ordering a "full panel" --including T3, T4, Free T3 and Free T4, I think. . . . .

What I think is bust-a-gut funny is that a "hysterectomy" comes from the root "hyster" . . . as in hysterical. They thought that removing the uterus would make a woman less "hysterical", because that's what caused it. Little did they know that it was MENstruation that caused it!!!!

Found out . . . . it is her site -- I guess she pays for it, because you go to jsphotography.smugmug. . . .

She has the site for their wedding locked . . . if any of you guys want to see it , PM me and I'll give you the password.

Nikki -- so COME ON OVER!!!!!

My in-laws are from Baltimore -- their accent keeps me reeling -- I don't know what they're saying!!

Bel-Air road is "BLAIR" road . . . If they're going to the beach -- it's "Downy ocean" (Down to the ocean), the word "wash" is "warsh" and a sink is a "zink" -- hence, you "warsh the dishes inth zink." Baltimore???

It's "Balmer" . . . . . .

Holy mackerel! For a southern girl, they're killin' me! When we were on our way up to New Hampshire a few years ago, we stopped at a McDonalds in Boston so that I could get a milkshake. The guy looked at me with disbelief when I ordered a "Large Chocolate Milkshake". He repeated it, and I couldn't understand it!! I looked at him and said, "I just want a large chocolate milkshake." He shook his head, took my money, got my shake and started laughing!

She posted these on "smugmug" . . . the bad ones, I believe, you can simply download. The good ones, however, have her logo across the front (more like a foreground watermark), and are noted "available for purchase". I do see that at the top of the smugmug website, I know ONE, but I think TWO of the pictures for their logo are her daughter.

My daughter won't tell this woman anything. She is her "friend" -- spent much of her honeymoon with she and her family. This woman is ACTUALLY the MOTHER of a friend of Brandon's -- she's in her 50's. Ashley will think that she has done nothing wrong . . . .

So, I get this e-mail from my daughter today . . . . I have been talking to her fairly frequently (obviously) about the TB and her liver tests. I had been asking over and over if her friend Kim, whose daughter was Ashley's flower girl, and who was an "honorary bridesmaid"(???) but was a reader during the service, would send me a compact disc of the "raw" photos which she took of Ashley's wedding. She has a fantastic camera outfit, took some really great shots . . . Ashley said she had been asking her, but didn't know anything . . . (still question THAT now)

So, Ashley's e-mail says that I can see the pictures from the wedding . . . just click on this link . . . . so I do -- THIS WOMAN, WHO PRETENDED TO BE DOING THIS IN THE NAME OF FRIENDSHIP, IS SELLING THESE PICTURES ON-LINE!!!!!!!!! So, the photographer we hired for the $1,000 just to show up, and who brings all his lighting fixtures, "umbrella" things, etc. was simply USED by her so that she could get the same shots, fix them up with Photoshop, and SELL THEM. I closed the site, replied to Ashley that she looked beautiful and was glowing, and thanked her for sharing. My sister clicked on the link -- the prices range from $1 to $50 for pictures!!!!!

I phoned the photographer that we hired, and I asked him if he had an exclusivity clause in the contract, and if we had done anything to break the contract. He told me not to worry, he doesn't have an exclusivity clause, and he understood. He told me that he thought she was doing it as a friend . . . I told him that I thought the same -- she NEVER indicated that she was doing this as a money-making venture. I told him that I would NOT have sabotaged his business and that I would NOT have taken advantage of him in the way that happened had I known what she was doing . . . I also told him how embarrassed I was that this had happened . . . that my intent was that HE was the wedding photographer, that SHE was there as a friend, taking some additional shots (like in the dressing room -- where he wouldn't be) and that was IT.

If that wasn't enough, my sister said that there was one picture of me where I was reaching down to give Ash a kiss, but I didn't see it. Otherwise, there are two beautiful pictures of the backs of my sister's and my head . .. and my sister in one background shot and me in one background shot. There are, though, portrait-type pictures of Ashley's stepmother and Mark's mother -- as well as a picture of Ashley and Mark with his grandmother . . . . that's it. There was one picture of my mother -- and NOT the best picture that she's had taken -- that NOTHING was done to touch it up, no "blurring", none of the fancy stuff done to the other pics. This woman's daughter and Ashley's half-sister and half-brother were in a BAJILLION of the pictures, but our family wasn't in ANY. Not one picture of my nephews who were both in the wedding AT ALL.

My sister was going to "address" this with Ashley tonight, I believe . . . . I'm sure that all H*ll is going to break loose, but at this point, I don't care . . . . I just can't believe that woman did that!!

If you meet someone who grew up not so far from here -- maybe even 30-40 miles out -- you will hear ALL kinds of southern "hick" sayings!!! Fix'n is a standard. "I'm fix'n to make dinner" "I'm fix'n to whoop your tail" . . . also, if they're fairly southern, you wouldn't wake up "In the morning." You'd wake up "of a mornin'" So, if you put it together, you would say, "I was fixin' to try to get a hair appointment as soon as I got up of a mornin'"

Yeah, I'm kind of used to my accent . . . . and the rediculous things I say sometimes! When my daughter was a sophomore in high school, she had TOLD me that she entered four poems / articles into a contest in order to be published in a book that the school puts out. It's a pretty "hushy-tushy" thing if you make it into it. The competition -- or at least the way they conduct it -- is brutal. They put up a HUGE poster and list each person who as submitted either an art or written composition, put their numbers up, and as they're eliminated, they just cross first the numbers out, then the person's entire name. Their name STAYS UP there for the duration, just with a big black line through it. Talk about HUMILIATING! My son is an excellent writer, but he said he wouldn't submit anything because he just didn't want to risk the humiliation.

What my daughter DIDN'T tell me was that she actually submitted FIVE compositions . . . and the ONE that got accepted was the one that she didn't let me see. She gave me the book for Mother's Day -- it had just been published, and there was a ribbon bookmark that she had put in it. The title was "I'm not ready to stop believing . . . . " and it listed all the goofy things that I say! I thought it was pretty funny, but some of the things were pretty SOUTHERN . . . . . !!!!

When she was little, I was getting a haircut, and the girl was combing the back of my hair. Ashley kept saying, "Watch her baki's" (long I) "Watch her baki's" Finally the girl cutting my hair said "What in the H*ll are BAKI's?" Ashley just looked at her like she was an idiot . . . she said, "They're the eyes that you get in the back of your head when you become a mother, AND YOU'RE COMBING THEM!!!!!" So, as you can see, I've passed the legacy on . . . . . . when I finally get to have them, my poor grandkids!!!

Nikki -- I do the same thing with accents . . . my kids do the same thing, too! When I was a kid (14 or 15), a friend and I had these two people who worked at the arcade that we were from England . . . luckily, my friend was GREAT at Geography, and she was saying the areas in which we grew up, etc. We walked out chuckling . . . .

My kids are good at mimmicking accents, as well. My son's rendition of the "stereotypical Jewish mother" . . . he would have our friend, Helen, who was Jewish, doubled over laughing!

Hi law student -- welcome! I think that you are right now where a lot of us have been. I admire that you went back to school because of your wish to make SOME change in the practice of law. I did the same as a non-traditional student because of some of the Physical Therapists I had seen.

Please rest assured that eventually you WILL stumble upon doctors who will help you. My endocrinologist is by far my strongest ally. She will refer me to someone, tell me if she either knows them or has just heard of them. She says, "If a physician helps you - great. Keep them in your back pocket. If they don't -- leave and don't go back. There is no sense in going to someone who is not going to help you. Find another. Quickly." She has a really bad taste in her mouth about the medical community, as well. She is, however, fantastic.

I was VERY lucky to find a GI in my area (compliments of my EYE DOCTOR!!) who was fast, thorough, and double-checked EVERYTHING with the Celiac specialist in his office . . . in fact, the Celiac specialist called me several times to discuss my results.

There are so many clueless, apathetic physicians out there . . . unfortunately. I think that's the case in every profession. I'm just hoping that you start stumbling onto the ones who are caring, knowledgeable and thorough. If not, just heed the advice of my endocrinologist -- leave and don't go back!!!

Please take care of you,

Lynne