GoTravel, I think maybe I don't need shoes... like Zola Budd. I'm just too darned cheap and lazy to go buy new ones.

Bonnie, my DH also has knee problems and was told to strengthen certain muscles around the kneecap. He decided to take up biking instead. He bikes into Chicago and has many good tales to tell such as occasionally seeing a 70+ man running barefoot in his undies. Could this be the key to good health?

And finally... Cheers, Jor! I did think that for you, but now I'll just come right out and say it. Hope those good checkups keep coming.

RAVE: ((F)) Just bought a white lily that's stinking up my kitchen nicely. Here's to flowers! Now it's off to get a Friday night video.

Rant - fell down my basement steps last night, broke my toe, have huge raspberry on other knee, I look like a mess!!

Rave- I am happy i didn't break my neck and I am going out for cocltails and dinner with my girl freinds this evening.

Rant: sorry for everybody who's sick.

Rave: congratulations to everybody who's healthy/recovering/ getting ready for new travels

Rave: finally found a nice frame for the 09/11/01 Chronicle edition, hubby's putting it on the living room wall

Rant: Allergy test next Friday, try to stay alive for 5 days without allergy meds before the test!

Rave: all Boston reservations completed, working on fine-tuning

Rant: parcel to Belarus got lost, have to get a form to get insurance money, but they are waiting there for meds and baby things

Rave: computer classes at work are over, can spend more time on Fodor's :)

Annesherrod-yikes!!! That sounds pretty darn bad! Hope you recover quickly-I'm sure those cocktails will help!
Faina-I can't take any allergy meds at all...all season :(

Ani, you must be a nursing mommy! Good for you, I did this a little past a year with them all!

Rave: DD's first water polo game today!

Rant: She had a bad leg cramp this week, practices are so hard!

Rave: Off to Carmel to the Tickle Pink Inn, Casanova, Bouchee & Sierra Mar. I can't wait!!!

Rant: Missed my gym workouts last week :(

Rave: The weather is getting cooler, it's been actually pleasant here this week

Rant: Kids too busy with work and school, I never get to see them much any more!

Rave: Condo is free this weekend, I hope to go relax in the gorgeous mountains, if only for a few hours! I also have much more reading material to stock my library for the renters to enjoy!

Rant: Skylights are STILL broke from the new roof

Rave: Did I say I get to go to Carmel, not on work or to help anyone, but to RELAX!!!! How great is that?

Have a nice weekend everyone!!! ***kim*** :)

Ani, I went through not taking any meds for a year twice while breastfeeding. It's worth it! One (adult) child is allergy-free.

Rave: I survived our first full week back at home schooling.

Rave: The kids survived too. ;;)

Rant: The guy on eBay who hasn't sent my oldest daughter a book I ordered for her; classes started Monday.

Rave: Jor got a discount on the glasses!

Rave: Go Bonniebroad, and thanks for the inspiration to exercise! I've lost 25 lbs. over the last year but I don't think more will come off unless I get more active.

Lee Ann

bluestructure, it's supposed to hit 90 in SF today. Must be some kind of record!

bonniebroad, just a thought, but the feeling you describe in your knee could actually be sciatica. At least it sounds very similar to the sensation I had. My knee felt "tight" and when I tried to stretch I felt like there was a brick wall keeping me from going further.

Annesherod, ((f)) to you! Hope you heal quickly, and thank God it wasn't your noggin'! :-)

Marilyn, did your sciatic pain radiate down from your lower back behind your knee, OR did you just have that tightness in your knee, and feel it a little bit up and down your leg at times? Does that make sense? What helped you?

Thanks, Kal, for your suggestion! If it gets bad, I will indeed pull out the frozen peas! :-) If they don't help, I can hurl them at the wall!

GoTravel, talked with my brother. Says he replaces his shoes about every three months, with all his walking! Honestly didn't realize he bought THAT many shoes! :-)

Thanks to everybody for your support!

bonnie, I felt it in my knee, maybe radiating up a little bit. I know it's more typical to feel it going down your buttocks from your back, but that wasn't true for me. When you described that "tightness" I immediately thought of my experience.

The bad news is that there isn't much to do about it! Stretching your back, like doing the cobra yoga stretch? Lie on your stomach and use your arms to push the upper part of your body up like a snake, so your back is arched. And take ibuprofen. And wait for it to go away. My did, and has never come back.

The good news is that if that's what it is you can stop fretting about shoes et al.

Anne, so sorry to hear about your tumble! Trust you'll be ok by the time I get to St. Louis in October.

Rave: I sold my house today!
Rant: I still haven't found a new house to buy...
Rave: The Fisher Price Toy Fest in East Aurora, NY is this weekend - big discounts on potential Xmas gifts!

Hello bruised and battered darlins!
I hope you all are over your aches and pains quickly. Broken bones!! What is going on? I think it is time for a Vacation! :D

Rave:
Sort of cooler today. Took Pup for a long walk. He was exhausted , poor out of shape pup.
Saw the film...HERO. If you liked Crouching Tiger, you will LOVE this!
Daughter is at Yale for the weekend:)
Son is as usual in Tokyo, ho hum :)

Rant:
A Hurricane named Francis :O

Rave: We are celebrating our 5 year anniversary this weekend with dinner at La Folie and an overnight at the Ritz Carlton S.F.! I surprised by 24 long stem red roses waiting for me at home today!@};- Fun weekend ahead!:S-

Rave: I start teaching again on Monday and I am really anxious to start the school year. It was by far the best summer vacation I have ever had. I am energized and ready to go!

kcapuani, If you are in the market for buying a house you should check out the TV show called Double Agents on A&E. Its all about real life stories of buying homes and has fantastic advice. Its on at 9 AM every weekday.

Jocelyn--Oh I know what you are up against!!! I broke my hand (the right one no less!) on Christmas Eve and had to deal with my hand in a cast for our move into our new house. Tough...but doable. My kids had to tie my shoes for a long time, lol!

Rave--Took a quick camping trip this week and found a GREAT place that we will return to! Was able to get a hike in too before we had to leave.

Rant--Had to return home today due to sons football...but thats ok:)

Rant: Poor dog still waiting for ACL surgery...found out she had kidney stones and some other kidney problem that forced delay in sugery.
Rave: Booked all my hotels and airfare for upcoming Hawaii trip...thanks to all of you who gave me advice and posted trip reports! 21 DAYS!!!!

jor - Thank you - I will definitely check it out! It is such a seller's market (as evidenced by the fact that my house sold without listing it) that I need all of the buying advice I can get. Plus, I love any genre of home improvement show.

I normally don't post on Friday rants and raves, but Bonnie, I couldn't skip congratulating you on the 15 pounds. You go girl!!!
I can't give you knee advice, but I can agree that the track at the Y would be better. My trainer said that for fat burning I need a level walking surface with no hills. It had something to do with the best fat burning involving slow-twitch muscles and something about maintaining your ideal heart rate without major fluctuations. I don't remember exactly. But when I get in my car to drive down the hill to walk at the track and my husband asks, "Why don't you just walk around the block a few times?" I call over my shoulder, "Because Mike says the track will make me skinnier." I can also go a lot farther and longer if there are no hills.

Okay, on the rants and raves:
Rant: Teachers don't get paid over the summer. The first can't get here soon enough.
Rave: only 20 days and counting till I'm Oahu bound!!

Rant-Allergies perhaps?Dry cough, fatique, and running eyes...what is one allergic to this time of year in the South?
Rave-Got a great pair of Borns today...great comfy shoes..for Fall..yay!
Rave-Its football time in the South..college game day..even girls love football down here!

Love all of your cute smiley faces. How do you do it? Sorry to be so "challenged"
Thanks!