Patrick, Congratulations to you and Lee.
Rant; 65,000 to the US treasury this morning.
Rave; its 20,000 less than last year.

Rant 1: Even though we're getting a refund, amt we pay in taxes (US, State, prolperty and sales) exceeds my income!!! Thank you New York State. Can't say I'm raving over getting something back.
Rant 2: Still miss our beloved dog who died recently.
Rant 3. Work is too busy already and i'm just headed into busy season.
Rant 4. Hubby thinks a convertible (depreciates) is a better investment than jewelry (gold is up,up,up).
Rant 5. My oven broke. NOt good near Passover with 25 dinner guests coming over.
Rave 1. The convertible is really cute, and wont mess up hubby's hair, since there's not much left.
Rave 2. The new puppy is wonderful!
Rave 3. Went out for dinner last night since the oven was broke...will probably go out alot more until it gets fixed! Lobster in Canada tonight!
Rave 4. The sun is shining, my daffodils are out, and puppy and I can go for walks in the park over the weekend. The guys can golf til their hearts delight
Rave 5. It's payday!

Rave: posters I always agree with (jor & Ryan!), posters I always disagree with (Mikemo!) I love the political discussions, as long as they're civil.

Rave: ALL the wonderful regular posters with such great travel advice & opinions!

Rant: had shutters installed in my upstairs bedrooms, spent a fortune, could've used it for a nice vacation, only to realize I don't like shutters after all and cant' return them...doh!

TGIF Fodorites! Happy B-day Eeva & Statia & Jocelyn's babes. Good luck Jor & Mikemo. Congrats to Lee. Thinking of you mms & cigale as loved ones go through health issues.

Rave: DH comes home Monday from S.A.!! I will spend Sunday in Chicago shopping and playing.

Rave: Went to a Cubs game last week and the Cubbies won! Two DS, my dad, and I had a great time. Had lunch at Ditka's.

Rant & Rave: BIL living with brain tumor. He is truly a pillar of strenth. SIL is unwavering of her dedication to him. We'll be going to Kansas City for a visit soon.

Best wishes to all suffering from illness, sadness, and personal strain. May there be a better tomorrow.

~sunbabe

MMS,
My best wishes that your news is positive regarding your son. I've been through a similar process the last several weeks and in some respects knowing what you're facing is less of a fear than the uncertainty. Hopefully though, the news will be good and it isn't anything serious.

In my situation, once I found out what I was facing I immediately contacted the two organizations that related to my illness. The people there were incredibly helpful when it came to addressing questions we had. Fortunately, my original doctor realized he was out of his element and suggested I seek out a sub-specialist. I'd been warned beforehand that not every physician will admit to that. Hopefully this won't be needed, but you can usually find out from a foundation who the leading practioners in that field are either nationwide or in your area. If there is a time to get the best person for the job, it's in this type of situation.

I pray that everything works at well for you and my unsolicited advice will merely be seen as rambling.

Hey thanks for the birthday wishes everyone and good thoughts to everyone dealing with issues more significant than the lack of cream in morning cup of Joe.

Thank you to all for the thoughts. Part of what makes it rough is dh will be gone for when some of the results come back. Thankfully I have family here that will be with me though.

Ryan--Thank you vey much. We are dealing with the specialist already, and thats part of what makes me worry more. We have some great childrens medical facilites here though so depending on results, I will be going to the other two places for more opinions. It is just so hard to even think of anything like this for your child. Thankfully DS is clueless as to what all this might mean.

Will go visit my brother tomorrow and see their new litter of 10 golden puppies

Rave: My oldest son just called with his GMAT scores -- he is SO pleased! We are too! He graduates in 5 weeks and he's off to graduate school in November.

Rave: My youngest son's Concert Choir performance was outstanding. My favorite is Verdi's Nabucco -- as someone once said, Italian is the "language of the angels"...

Rave: My youngest DS also has his orchestra performance on Sunday night -- I am so proud of him. Music gives me such a peaceful heart.

Rave: I'm going on a date with my tax accountant tonight (okay, so he's really my husband!)

Rave: Marathon weekend in Boston!

Rave: The weather! Dry, sunny, and rumors of temperatures near 80 next week

Rave: Happy Birthday to all of the April babies...hope your day is a happy one

Rant: Posters with multiple identities.

Rant: Illness...hang in there Jor, Mike, Ryan, and MMS...I'm thinking of your son. A rough week for many of my senior friends who are ill or in the hospital - Wishing those in need the strength and love to see them through.

My thoughts are with all of you facing health or other stressful issues for either yourself or loved ones. Keep the faith.

Rave 1 WE BOUGHT A GORGEOUS HOUSE IN NC
Rave 2 The National's won their home opener
Rant 1 We have to deal with our house going on the market next week
Rave 3 It should sell in a week's time
Rant 2 Pollen is coating my pretty car and clogging my breathing passages
Rave 4 ZICAM!
Rave 5 I lost 3 pounds!
Rave 6 Mortgages rates dropped
Rave 7 I AM SO FORTUNATE that all my rants are piffle compared to by raves this week...Happy Spring time to EVERYONE!!!!

Patrick: Congratulations to Lee!

mms,

Having been in similar circumstances, let me just say that I hope you can feel good vibes coming your way from Tigard, and add me to the list of those praying for a good outcome.

RAVE: Thank you Ryan

I appreciate your explanation very, very much.

RAVE: Anyone who disagrees is entitled, that is what is special about America, that we can disagree and have different opinions...more crackdown will mean we have less right to have those opinions and express ourselves without fear, consequence, or edit. Sorry, but it's just really important to me.

Rant: An infestation of trolls this week. Perhaps I should say "troll" instead of "trolls" since we all know it's the same person.

Rant: Hotel fire in Paris in the same neighborhood where I stayed in January. Very sad.


To Ryan:

Rave (sort of): Ryan, still wishing you the best. Last week I told the following story, but you probably didn't see it before the R&R thread got deleted. About 10 years ago I was told I had a brian tumor but they didn't know what kind. It was a few more days before they could get me in for testing to determine exactly what it was. Those days of waiting and wondering were a living hell, and I do not wish that on anyone, and you are correct that knowing is better than not knowing. It turned out to be benign and operable. It was a long and painful recovery from that surgery, but I made it back. I will hope and pray for the same for you.

On last week's R&R's, you raved about the support of family, friends, and colleagues. In addition to that, you have the support of your Fodor's family, as you well know. Best of luck to you.

Thanks Beachbum. Sorry to hear though that you have been through similar. The first round of testing is this afternoon. Of course we wont get any answers today though.

uhoh_busted... your house will sell in two days!! my prediction.

and what will your new name be when you move, you cannot be busted anymore?

no rants, all raves. got a humungo raise, $-) it's Friday, it's sunny out, I'll be flying both days this wkd, (what, no plane icon?) and I'm planning two trips currently, almost back to back. <bliss>

sorry to hear about our friends with medical conditions to worry about.

cassidy2002:

Here is more info on the proposed legislation:

http://bernie.house.gov/

Rant- best friend diagnosed with breast cancer 2 weeks ago - surgery,chemo etc coming up end of month and I am 250 miles away

Rave- going to Bend Oregon for the weekend with group of 20 or so- staying at the St. Francis School - complete with Turkish baths -

JJ5--your last sentence made me laugh so hard. Believe, after seeing the bills I know I'm definitely in the wrong business!

oops--that should be Believe me,...