Any Louie Anderson fans out there??? - Page 2 - ThinnerTimes

Dave T in SD · 08-25-2008, 03:12 PM

Love Louie...
Saw him in Vegas a few years ago...(the only reason I wanted to go!)
He was fantastic. Almost pissed myself...

(He saw that and started to make fun of it!)
Fun times!

JimM · 08-25-2008, 05:11 PM

Hey LuLu, it's cool to see that you were a patient of Dr. Que, too!

I haven't spoken to her since my surgery... I've been thinking lately of getting in contact with her to let her know how well the surgery has gone for me.

BTW, congrats on your weight loss so far!

sdgrrl · 08-25-2008, 11:25 PM

Louie Anderson is one of the reasons I can proudly proclaim I lived in the Twins for 28 years. If only the annual ambient temperature was 72.....

......can't do the cold, and can't do the ice. I'm not so into the passive aggressive attitudes of the culture, either, but it truly is the weather. I cry when I think of the incredible garden I left on Longfellow Ave....75' of everbearing raspberries, everything it takes to make my own salsa, my precious iris (BEARDED IRIS, not the wimpy ones here) garden, my mayan made hammock that hung in the shade of my maple tree and hostas, lilies of the valley, ferns, and astilbes....(and my $635 mortgage!). It's good to remember that stuff every once in a while instead of just the ice and cold.....I only lived 10 minutes from the MOA. That and the lovely Minnehaha/Hiawatha parks.....

Lu Lu · 08-26-2008, 06:45 AM

Dave... I had to go to the bathroom so badly during the show... but did not want to miss anything... so I almost had the same thing happen. I have not laughed that hard in a long time!!

Tom that is hilarious about butterbean. I think it is funny that there is a boxer with that name. I have to google him and see what he looks like

Oh my gosh Jim... you had Dr. Que as well... she is AMAZING. Saved my life! I am sad that you only see her once post-op... I can understand you wanting to touch base with her again. Wow you look really good in your avatar. How far out are you?

Donna... I never knew you were a Minnesota girl... and for a long time at that!! I can understand you wanting to move... I on the other hand think I will be staying here forever. I really enjoy the change of seasons and am excited to try cross country skiing and snowshoeing this winter

I haven't seen you posting in a while... glad you are back

sdgrrl · 08-26-2008, 08:53 AM

Hey LuLu,
I was actually born and raised in the Chicago/Northwest suburbs and after a 3 year stint in Iowa City for DH to finish up college, moved up to Minnesota. We lived up there from 10-77 to 7-00. My son still lives up there and we go see him once a year or so--I can't believe all the changes they've made. It's a great city, I just can't live there, physically or emotionally. One good slip on the ice and I'm riding a chair the rest of my life, and one bad winter and I wouldn't need the chair, if you get my drift. But it is a lovely city, very liberal, very logically laid out, and lots and lots of wonderful trees and lakes. I have some very bittersweet memories of living there, as that was where my (by then) ex-husband died, playing pickup hockey with my son and friends.

Jay had played hockey from the age of 5 on up through high school, and then Steve started playing with an adult league as well. Steve was always trying to get Jay to play with him and the guys, but he was always busy, working, studying, partying, etc. Finally after 5 years, Jay got out all his gear (goalie!), cleaned it up and went with Steve to play...it was 4-11-02. Steve was so excited to finally play with the son he had driven to practice for 15 years....as they sat on the bench lacing up their skates together, Steve turned to Jay and said, "I never thought this day would come!" He was so excited. With that, he stood up, skated out onto the ice, and fell to the ice dead of a massive heart attack at the age of 49. Jay watched his dad die and watched the medics try to shock his heart back to life. It is still heart wrenching to think about. While we were divorced, we had been best friends from the age of 14 up, and our divorce was reasonably amicable, something we worked hard at. But we were each other's first love, and I was his only love. We had been divorced over 10 years, but we were still heart friends, and his death has affected me to my marrow. I miss his presence on this planet--this earth has a hole in it with him gone.

But, I do NOT miss sunset, when the hueys, I mean mosquitoes, came out to steal away the children and small pets. I can still hear the drone and the black clouds descending upon campsites state-wide. For the longest time I thought smores were supposed to have mosquitoes in them for the protein component!

So where do you Minnesotans all live? I imagine all over the state--it's so much bigger than people give it credit for. I have some beloved friends that live up by the North Shore/border that I would love to visit, but who has the time! Perhaps the next time we venture up there we should make plans to meet up, the Minne-snow-ta TTers.....Uff Da!

JimM · 08-26-2008, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lu Lu

Oh my gosh Jim... you had Dr. Que as well... she is AMAZING. Saved my life! I am sad that you only see her once post-op... I can understand you wanting to touch base with her again. Wow you look really good in your avatar. How far out are you?

Thank you! My third anniversary is coming up Sept. 13th. I've gone waaaay below my original pre-surgery target goal of 230 lbs. but I'm not complaining!

I'm happy with where I've landed!

I'd actually like to go below 200 lbs. to maybe 195 lbs. (I'm hovering around 202-203 lbs. right now) but I'm far enough out now that it's much, much harder to lose any more weight without really monitoring the calories and how much exercise I get. But, like I said earlier, I'm not complaining... I've far exceeded my expectations and my health has improved dramatically (like you, I agree that the surgery saved my life) so I'm extremely grateful for where I'm at.

JimM · 08-26-2008, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdgrrl

So where do you Minnesotans all live? I imagine all over the state--it's so much bigger than people give it credit for. I have some beloved friends that live up by the North Shore/border that I would love to visit, but who has the time! Perhaps the next time we venture up there we should make plans to meet up, the Minne-snow-ta TTers.....Uff Da!

I live about 20 miles north-east of Fairmont (I'm about a 2 hour drive from Minneapolis, Rochester, or Sioux Falls). Nothing but miles and miles of corn and soybeans surround me...

I haven't been to Duluth or the North Shore in years... I really miss the area and have always had the dream of living there (cabin in the woods and field-stone fireplace type of thing). Doubt that will ever happen, though.

JimM · 08-26-2008, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdgrrl

... I have some very bittersweet memories of living there, as that was where my (by then) ex-husband died, playing pickup hockey with my son and friends.

Jay had played hockey from the age of 5 on up through high school, and then Steve started playing with an adult league as well. Steve was always trying to get Jay to play with him and the guys, but he was always busy, working, studying, partying, etc. Finally after 5 years, Jay got out all his gear (goalie!), cleaned it up and went with Steve to play...it was 4-11-02. Steve was so excited to finally play with the son he had driven to practice for 15 years....as they sat on the bench lacing up their skates together, Steve turned to Jay and said, "I never thought this day would come!" He was so excited. With that, he stood up, skated out onto the ice, and fell to the ice dead of a massive heart attack at the age of 49. Jay watched his dad die and watched the medics try to shock his heart back to life. It is still heart wrenching to think about. While we were divorced, we had been best friends from the age of 14 up, and our divorce was reasonably amicable, something we worked hard at. But we were each other's first love, and I was his only love. We had been divorced over 10 years, but we were still heart friends, and his death has affected me to my marrow. I miss his presence on this planet--this earth has a hole in it with him gone.

Wow, I didn't mean to completely ignore this part of your post, Donna. What an awful experience for you and your son. I'm sorry for your loss.

Lu Lu · 08-29-2008, 08:55 PM

Donna... I am just reading what you wrote about your ex-husband. Oh my gosh... I am sure a person would never get over that. I am so sorry for your loss.

I am still shocked that you lived here for that long. I have to laugh about what you wrote about mosquito covered s'mores... YUMMY

I live about a half hour south of Rochester MN. YES... when you come back to Minnesota you be sure and let me know!!

LeaAnn

sdgrrl · 08-30-2008, 09:40 PM

As sad as I feel about Steve's premature death, as a mother, I am sadder for my children, even though they are grown. My daughter was a 'Daddy's Girl', and they had a fiercely tight bond, so tight that I was really shocked when she decided to move out here with me 10 days before I was set to leave. I know she feels guilt over that, as if her being there might have saved him. We both know that isn't the case, but grief isn't always logical. I also feel a certain resentment from her that she chose to come out here with me and missed the last years of his life. I understand, but again, there is nothing I can do to heal that for her.

My son was 22 1/2 when this happened, and as he and his dad were living together and Sarah and I were out here, the after-effects of Steve's death fell to Jay. It forced him to be a man in a hot minute, and I feel horrible that I wasn't there to help him through that awful time. That's no way to transition from a young person to an adult. Jay is blessed, however, with the best support network I have ever seen. No fewer than 6 dads of friends stepped up and volunteered to be a dad figure to him. His friends, who number in the hundreds (just the close ones!) hold him close, acting as brothers to him. That horrible night alone, some 50 friends stayed at the house all night, sleeping in shifts, to hold him while he cried (I taught my son that crying was a good thing to do when you felt like crying) and making him food, pots of coffee, driving him to the airport to meet Sarah and I the next morning, catering food for the reception....you name it, his friends were and still are there. So while I yearn for him to move out here with his sister and I, I understand that the 2 of us, while we are his blood kin, are not able to be as strong a support system as he has.

It helps me feel better when he tells me every Thanksgiving how he makes anywhere from 6-12 pies to deliver to his foster families. He also comes away with more 'leftovers' than most people make for the whole family dinner.

So even though I can no longer live in Minnesota, my memories are bittersweet, and I know my son is in the hands of good people who love him like he is one of their own. I thank you all (even those of you who don't get his awesome pies

) for being loving people. And if you WANT a pie next year, (he is a chef....) I can give you his addy and you can drop him a line....especially if you are a young woman of marrying age who wants an absolute gem of a husband who cooks like nobody's business!