MichelleandCraig

I posted A LOT back then--this is MichelleandCraig--I'm from Wisconsin,married a man from Kent,England in 05. Like everyone,busy life etc so haven't taken time to spend here after our first year or so together....but,though there are still *significant rough patches,there is love as &we just had our 8th anniversary March 26th. I can't believe I remembered user name& password first try--that can only speak to how much time I used to spend here....because 7/8 years later I dont think I would have remembered it for any other site! I keep up with a very few on Facebook (hi Silvy if you're around!)but would like to add some others if you'd like as well.....similar circumstances etc....especially if any of you are still around from "back when" but anyone is welcome.Inbox me if you'd like to connect on FB as well.Plan to start checking in here again occassionally too....so give me a holler if you're out there! Tediously typing on my phone right now,but will break out the laptop later this afternoon so I can view the site properly.

Meantime, HI EVERYONE!! *Big wave*

oh my gosh, R...still too cute for words...what a dollie! M.

WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I only read the first couple of posts here, just checkin in......but told me all I needed to know! WAY TO GO you two! SO happy for ya!!!! BIG congrats!!! Mich

Thanks for the wishes and I hope YOU had a fantabulous day!! Many more to you.... Mich

Thanks *so* much everyone! Very much appreciated! Mich

happy birthday late!!! sorry I missed it..didn't realize ours were so close together! Mich

Thanks so much everyone!~!!

You know, I was away for quite a while and only started stopping back in a while back....I forgot how truly awesome you all are! Eh...even ppl I've had trouble with int he past....long over it. Times were stressful, blah blah blah....but past is past, imo. Think I need to start checking in here more often...you get to know a lot of ppl over a few years...and I MISS YA! (that was very sweet to write, STeven..and what a sweet baby you have now!!!) So much has happened I think it will take a while for me to catch back up on all of it...but I think I'm going to try.

As I posted the other day, back surgery Tuesday and then a few days in the hospital...but then there are a few weeks before I'll be able to go back to work. Look forward to seeing you all again and getting to know some of the newer ppl....

Thanks for starting this thread, Jackie! Mich

Congrats to your wife, Peejay! That's great...... all Craig has left to do is the naturalization part, too, but at least there are no major time constraints now...we can worry about that later. Congrats again! M.

Here I am...missed half the fun it seems! Do have a question though.....sparkofcreation said "I remember Captain Ewok..."etc...What did *I* miss????? WHERE is Captain Ewok now??? M.

...

NO offense, Ness, but it's late and I'm tired...so I read the first several replies here and not the rest. If this has been answered, I'm sorry...and I'm not even sure if this is the right explanation.

It sounds, though, like they are trying to have some sort of "smart" timeclock. In other words, when you clocked out at 3:15 and back in at 4...the system "knew" that wasn't a full hour, so it subtracted 15 minutes from your total time for the day. Is that even possible, or do they have to manually add up your hours somehow??? This would explain, though, how you would end up being 15 minutes short...and, as others have mentioned, 15minutes would show up as about .3 on your timecard.....as .5 is 30 minutes, etc. I dunno. I tried. ;D LOL! M.

PS...obviously like most "smart" stuff nowdays...it isn't smart enough to account for all contingencies...like you worked extra time anyway, blah blah. I don't know. That's my convoluted explanation that makes the most sense (to me!!) anyway.

hope you have the happiest of days and many more! M.

Thank you both Maggie and Ms. Squirrel (Sorry! I know I know your name but it escapes me just now...all I know is that you're El Presidente's "woman" LOL!!)

I appreciate the thoughts and "talk me down" words of comfort! M.

Not for me, either, but I LOVE that show! Why did they ask you to do it?? Did you inquire or something? M.

Happy you found a solution, Tracy! (and don't worry about any "furor" you created....I once (or a few times) created one too...and things worked out just peachy for us... Good luck! M.

LOL...saw that, Charles...

Kathryn, thanks for your kind comments...I have had the pain for over 4 years...and it's been severe from time to time....so it's not something that is going to resolve. It's only the disc in the *midback* that has blown recently...between L2 and L3 ...the L4 and L5I've had for some time. I hope it works, but not looking forward to it! Thanks again, M.

I know I haven't been on here for ages really...much, that is. I mean, I have...popping in to off topic to check in here and there but really not posting much.

Anyway, thought I would give you a little update (on this anyway....Craig, Corey and I are doing great...all the update you really need as far as that goes!) If anyone has any advice or thoughts for me regarding the following, I would be glad to hear them(experience with back surgery, etc.) I am copy/pasting it from where I wrote it elsewhere....just because I don't feel like typing it all out again.

Hope you are all doing great....update me on what's going on with you if there's any big news with you I may have missed! Take care, Mich

Hi, everyone...

I haven't kept up with most of you very well recently, but I thought I would post about this. I, (like lotsssss of people!) have had bad back problems for about 4/ maybe 4 1/2 years now. I've dealt with a local pain clinic for the past 3 years or so, but after a facet joint nerve block, 4 epidurals, chiropractic, physical therapy, and lots of pain meds througout, I'm in too much pain to keep on like this. I was managing it, even though there would still be breakthrough pain, until about 2 weeks ago when a disk also herniated in my midback region. (I have had one in my low back between L4 and L5 for those of you who may know something about all that, for quite some time now)

Now, my latest MRI last Wednesday shows the new herniated disk in the midback and also a couple of other things...I don't feel like looking up the exact name right now but the L4 vertabrae is slightly over the L5 instead of being perfectly aligned like they are supposed to be...and that is compressing nerves as the holes where the nerves come out are a bit smaller (with one vertabrae over the other a bit it "covers" the holes a bit making them smaller....)

Anyway, I went to a back doctor in Green Bay today (Wednesday this week) (parents drove me down there) and I am going to have lumbar fusion surgery on July 29. Ugh.! I am a bit nervous about it, even though lots of people get it and my mom and dad have both had it...Dad many years ago and Mom in the last few years...so they have told me about it. I guess I'm most nervous due to the fact that I haven't had surgery since I was 9 (ruptured appendix at that time...in the hospital for 2 weeks and almost died from it) and this is a 5 to 6 hour surgery...pretty major. I will be in the hospital for 5 days after surgery.

If there is an upside it's that the hospital is fairly new and absolutely gorgeous...it's like a nice hotel almost! The decorations are lovely, every room is a private room, glass elevators going up....just a nice looking place and from all I've seen (and Mom/Dad who have had surgery there have said) great staff, most importantly. Craig and Corey along with Mom and Dad (and my SIs who lives closer down there will come to hang out with them too) should be able to be there, but then Craig will have to come back for work as he will be our only income for about 3 months.

I won't be able to do much of *anything* for at least six weeks after and I might be able to go back to work 2/3 months after...hopefully 2 mo. after, as long as I don't have to lift anything. (I can go on the self checkout lanes...where one cashier mans 4 of those...they stay busy, but at least I don't have to lift, so that should be fine.....I should be able to do that until I am healed up a bit better...for maybe about a month.)

I have applied for leave of absence...personal as I don't qualify for FMLA yet..and am hopeful it will be approved. Silly as it sounds, Walmart is very good to their people, they pay me alright..better than a LOT of jobs around here, adn I really, really like what I do...so I hope I will have a job to go back to. I am hopeful that if they *can't* give me leave for whatever reason,that they will hire me back as soon as I can go back anyway. We'll see...I should have my leave papers back from the doctor by Friday, Saturday or Monday and then can get them turned in..should have an answer by midweek next week.

I haven't been able to work for about a week now..since I blew out the disk some in my midback I have put myself on the self checks...asked to be there (and most ppl dont like to do that all day...nor do I..but whatever, as long as I could work!!!!..so it wasn't a problem to do that) but after even a week of that I just couldn't deal with the pain anymore. I have only been able to sleep in the recliner for over a week, with an ice machine going (like a little cooler with ice/water and a cold pad much like a heating pad attached to it) the whole time. Hurts too much to lie in bed. After over a week of that, I am just now thinking that maybe tomorrow night I can try the bed again...the ice has helped some....and the pain meds too, I'm sure.

Just thought I would let you all know since I have a lot of friends on this board...instead of trying to keep up with some of you would I would PM, individually.

Please keep me in your thoughts as I *know* it's probably really, really silly...but I hate the thought of being "under" for 5 or 6 hours...scaring me a bit! I'm sure they do it all the time, but I've never had it, so it's new to me! Also, I'm a bit nervy in that he said this needs to be done but it's really all he can see to do for me...and if this doesn't work, he wouldn't really know where to go from here and I would probably just have to live with the pain. I'm only going to be 36 at the end of the month...I don't want to "live with" chronic pain at my age, yanno???

Talk to you all later, thanks for listening to me worry and ramble! Michelle

Just happened to check in today and saw this...YAY!!! Happy Birthday, Vickie!! Hope it's a fantastic one. You've had a long road since all of us first "met" here, but hope you're happier than happy now...and many more happy birthdays to come! Mich

"if there's some horrible thing that's prevented you ..." (from calling him back) well then, that's fine. (I mean, no sympathy for this supposed horrid event just.....ok, good excuse then for not calling him back. LOLLLLLLL!)

What a NERVEEEEeee! LOL!!!! Total whizbag, that's for sure!!! M.

yay @ new thread Let's not forget to thank Michelle for starting VJ's most awesome thread

Awwwwwwwwww thanks you guys, you're too sweet (let's have a moment of silence for Michelle...LOL!!!!!!!!!!)

Anyway, just poppin' in to say hi...busy, busy lately (we pretty much all are, I know!) HOpe you all are doing GREATTTTT!!!! See ya later! Love, Mich

Edited to add...so sorry to hear about your office manager, Julie!!!! And GO El Presidente!!!! M.

Yay, Jim! Congrats!

Only just saw this thread. I can't imagine how difficult yesterday was for you; just remember, Kez will always be with you--you know that. We all wish it were in another way, but she won't be forgotten. Not here and certainly never by you or her children--perhaps there can be some comfort in that. You will remain in our thoughts...take good care of yourselves. RIP, Kez. (F)

There really are no words....I just wanted to add my condolences and wishes to Jon and the rest of the family of this wonderful lady.... (F) M.

Thanks again, all of you! What a cuteeeeeeeee piccy as your av, Steven!!!!! M.