Finally

Diane Ball said:

The success stories keep me from quitting. My daughter left for college on
Aug 17th. I've been up there a few times and I've been on my cruise
vacation. Now I am home for awhile (it's just me). I've been very lonely.
I have never in my entire life lived alone. I don't have any family here to
do things with. It is just way too quiet here at night.

Welcome to the world of being alone.

Tell me, what are your interests?

What things have you considered being interested in before, but were
just too busy to get involved?

I had a friend who only loved books. When his wife died, his kids
skedaddled on their own ways.

He only loved books. Guess why his kids skedaddled on their own ways.

I asked him one day what things he thought were beautiful.

He didn't know of any, maybe only books. But not the books aren't a
comfort to him.

I eventually got him started on the "Laughter is the best medicine" cure
(Norman Cousins) and he was getting DVD and Video of comedies.

Sad to say that he lived such a narrow life. Both he and his former wife
lived behind a wall keeping the world out of their home.

So, the questions I asked about interesting thingns weren't trivial.

What is beautiful to you? What is funny to your? What is joyful to you?
What gives you contentment?

Looking for a buddy is helpful. It is great if you can become your own
best buddy and then add more buddies as you find them.

But it can be tough to first be alone.

Jim

"jbuch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Diane Ball said:

The success stories keep me from quitting. My daughter left for college
on Aug 17th. I've been up there a few times and I've been on my cruise
vacation. Now I am home for awhile (it's just me). I've been very
lonely. I have never in my entire life lived alone. I don't have any
family here to do things with. It is just way too quiet here at night.

Welcome to the world of being alone.

Tell me, what are your interests?

What things have you considered being interested in before, but were just
too busy to get involved?

I had a friend who only loved books. When his wife died, his kids
skedaddled on their own ways.

He only loved books. Guess why his kids skedaddled on their own ways.

I asked him one day what things he thought were beautiful.

He didn't know of any, maybe only books. But not the books aren't a
comfort to him.

I eventually got him started on the "Laughter is the best medicine" cure
(Norman Cousins) and he was getting DVD and Video of comedies.

Sad to say that he lived such a narrow life. Both he and his former wife
lived behind a wall keeping the world out of their home.

So, the questions I asked about interesting thingns weren't trivial.

What is beautiful to you? What is funny to your? What is joyful to you?
What gives you contentment?

Looking for a buddy is helpful. It is great if you can become your own
best buddy and then add more buddies as you find them.

But it can be tough to first be alone.

Jim

Being alone will be a huge adjustment. I grew up in a family of five kids
(all about one year apart). I've never had to be alone for a long period of
time. There are a lot of things I can do - but right now I am really
missing having someone to talk to in the house. I think that is the biggest
adjustment. I tried talking to the tv - but it never answered me. Now that
my daughtrer is gone to college - I want to rearrange her room kinda like a
guest room. I have my extra bedroom full of stuff that needs to be gone
through. My garage needs to be cleaned out. All things that my brain says
are work and I didn't feel like starting those yet. Once I do that, I want
to start a couple new hobbies, scrapbooking and geocaching. If you don't
know what geocaching is, you can find it on the net. It is kinda like a
virtual scavenger hunt using a gps device. An acquaintance of mine took me
on a hunt back in July and it was so much fun. I think as time goes on I
will be ok. I think I am still in the "getting used to" phase of a quiet
hose. Empty nest syndrome, hmmmm. At least I have you guys to talk to -
even if I don't hear your voices.
Thanks everyone,
Diane

Quoted message said:

geocaching.

Cool hobby!!

Whyd did you chose that?

How about a cat or dog?

In news:[email hidden],
Diane Ball <[email hidden]> stated
||
| Being alone will be a huge adjustment. I grew up in a family of five
| kids (all about one year apart). I've never had to be alone for a
| long period of time. There are a lot of things I can do - but right
| now I am really missing having someone to talk to in the house. I
| think that is the biggest adjustment. I tried talking to the tv -
| but it never answered me. Now that my daughtrer is gone to college -
| I want to rearrange her room kinda like a guest room. I have my
| extra bedroom full of stuff that needs to be gone through. My garage
| needs to be cleaned out. All things that my brain says are work and
| I didn't feel like starting those yet. Once I do that, I want to
| start a couple new hobbies, scrapbooking and geocaching. If you
| don't know what geocaching is, you can find it on the net. It is
| kinda like a virtual scavenger hunt using a gps device. An
| acquaintance of mine took me on a hunt back in July and it was so
| much fun. I think as time goes on I will be ok. I think I am still
| in the "getting used to" phase of a quiet hose. Empty nest syndrome,
| hmmmm. At least I have you guys to talk to - even if I don't hear
| your voices.
| Thanks everyone,
| Diane

Diane Ball said:

"jbuch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Diane Ball said:

The success stories keep me from quitting. My daughter left for college
on Aug 17th. I've been up there a few times and I've been on my cruise
vacation. Now I am home for awhile (it's just me). I've been very
lonely. I have never in my entire life lived alone. I don't have any
family here to do things with. It is just way too quiet here at night.

Welcome to the world of being alone.

Tell me, what are your interests?

What things have you considered being interested in before, but were just
too busy to get involved?

I had a friend who only loved books. When his wife died, his kids
skedaddled on their own ways.

He only loved books. Guess why his kids skedaddled on their own ways.

I asked him one day what things he thought were beautiful.

He didn't know of any, maybe only books. But not the books aren't a
comfort to him.

I eventually got him started on the "Laughter is the best medicine" cure
(Norman Cousins) and he was getting DVD and Video of comedies.

Sad to say that he lived such a narrow life. Both he and his former wife
lived behind a wall keeping the world out of their home.

So, the questions I asked about interesting thingns weren't trivial.

What is beautiful to you? What is funny to your? What is joyful to you?
What gives you contentment?

Looking for a buddy is helpful. It is great if you can become your own
best buddy and then add more buddies as you find them.

But it can be tough to first be alone.

Jim

Being alone will be a huge adjustment. I grew up in a family of five kids
(all about one year apart). I've never had to be alone for a long period of
time. There are a lot of things I can do - but right now I am really
missing having someone to talk to in the house. I think that is the biggest
adjustment. I tried talking to the tv - but it never answered me. Now that
my daughtrer is gone to college - I want to rearrange her room kinda like a
guest room. I have my extra bedroom full of stuff that needs to be gone
through. My garage needs to be cleaned out. All things that my brain says
are work and I didn't feel like starting those yet. Once I do that, I want
to start a couple new hobbies, scrapbooking and geocaching. If you don't
know what geocaching is, you can find it on the net. It is kinda like a
virtual scavenger hunt using a gps device. An acquaintance of mine took me
on a hunt back in July and it was so much fun. I think as time goes on I
will be ok. I think I am still in the "getting used to" phase of a quiet
hose. Empty nest syndrome, hmmmm. At least I have you guys to talk to -
even if I don't hear your voices.
Thanks everyone,
Diane

Scrapbookig might be real good as a short term goal for focus.

One thing you probably want to do is to find a scrapbooking network or
group and just go to a meeting doing "research"..... before actually
doing any hard work of organizing.

Maybe you can find someone who will show you how they organized a room
or garage for the activity....

Trading interesting bits of decorative paper and knowledge are a part of
the craft..... and you can buy all kinds of interesting little gadgets
to do interesting things.

You could end up deciding that scrapbooking isn't really your thing
without having invested too much, or you could go the other way and
plunge into both a hobby and a social group.

You are in a far, far better position than my "book" friend was.

I'll bury something for you in Iowa......

Jim

--
................................

Keepsake gift for young girls.
Unique and personal one-of-a-kind.
Builds strong minds 12 ways.
Guaranteed satisfaction
- courteous money back
- keep bonus gifts

http://www.alicebook.com

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

geocaching.

Cool hobby!!

Whyd did you chose that?

I went to a training conference in July at Ft Knox and one of the girls
there had gotten into geocaching and invited me to go along with her. We
hiked for about 2 hours through a park - some of the terrain was not as flat
as other parts. It was right after a huge storm and we did have to climb
over some fairly big branches that had fallen. I did see one snake - the
only downfall to the whole trip. At the end was a beautiful waterfall where
the "cache" was supposed to be. It can be as little as a film canister with
a pencil and a log - just to see how many people find it. We didn't find
it. I think the recent onslaught of rain may have moved it from its hiding
place. It's kind of like a computerized (virtual) scavenger hunt. You go
online and you can pull up thousands of cache sites. It gives you the gps
location and the type of terrain and sometimes the best time of day to look.
Some of them are near businesses and it may be better on those after hours
with a flashlight or it could be in a park or something like that where you
want the daylight hours or it's only open until a certain time. A GPS unit
starts around $100. I had so much fun that I want to take up this hobby.
Diane

Already got 2 cats - anyone want them? I do travel for work and now with my
daughter gone - it's harder to take care of them - they are her cats - and
now I guess they are mine - one is 13 and the other is 6 or something like
that.
Diane
"FOB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

How about a cat or dog?

In news:[email hidden],
Diane Ball <[email hidden]> stated
||
| Being alone will be a huge adjustment. I grew up in a family of five
| kids (all about one year apart). I've never had to be alone for a
| long period of time. There are a lot of things I can do - but right
| now I am really missing having someone to talk to in the house. I
| think that is the biggest adjustment. I tried talking to the tv -
| but it never answered me. Now that my daughtrer is gone to college -
| I want to rearrange her room kinda like a guest room. I have my
| extra bedroom full of stuff that needs to be gone through. My garage
| needs to be cleaned out. All things that my brain says are work and
| I didn't feel like starting those yet. Once I do that, I want to
| start a couple new hobbies, scrapbooking and geocaching. If you
| don't know what geocaching is, you can find it on the net. It is
| kinda like a virtual scavenger hunt using a gps device. An
| acquaintance of mine took me on a hunt back in July and it was so
| much fun. I think as time goes on I will be ok. I think I am still
| in the "getting used to" phase of a quiet hose. Empty nest syndrome,
| hmmmm. At least I have you guys to talk to - even if I don't hear
| your voices.
| Thanks everyone,
| Diane

"jbuch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Diane Ball said:

"jbuch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Diane Ball wrote:

>The success stories keep me from quitting. My daughter left for college
>on Aug 17th. I've been up there a few times and I've been on my cruise
>vacation. Now I am home for awhile (it's just me). I've been very
>lonely. I have never in my entire life lived alone. I don't have any
>family here to do things with. It is just way too quiet here at night.

Welcome to the world of being alone.

Tell me, what are your interests?

What things have you considered being interested in before, but were just
too busy to get involved?

I had a friend who only loved books. When his wife died, his kids
skedaddled on their own ways.

He only loved books. Guess why his kids skedaddled on their own ways.

I asked him one day what things he thought were beautiful.

He didn't know of any, maybe only books. But not the books aren't a
comfort to him.

I eventually got him started on the "Laughter is the best medicine" cure
(Norman Cousins) and he was getting DVD and Video of comedies.

Sad to say that he lived such a narrow life. Both he and his former wife
lived behind a wall keeping the world out of their home.

So, the questions I asked about interesting thingns weren't trivial.

What is beautiful to you? What is funny to your? What is joyful to you?
What gives you contentment?

Looking for a buddy is helpful. It is great if you can become your own
best buddy and then add more buddies as you find them.

But it can be tough to first be alone.

Jim

Being alone will be a huge adjustment. I grew up in a family of five
kids (all about one year apart). I've never had to be alone for a long
period of time. There are a lot of things I can do - but right now I am
really missing having someone to talk to in the house. I think that is
the biggest adjustment. I tried talking to the tv - but it never
answered me. Now that my daughtrer is gone to college - I want to
rearrange her room kinda like a guest room. I have my extra bedroom full
of stuff that needs to be gone through. My garage needs to be cleaned
out. All things that my brain says are work and I didn't feel like
starting those yet. Once I do that, I want to start a couple new
hobbies, scrapbooking and geocaching. If you don't know what geocaching
is, you can find it on the net. It is kinda like a virtual scavenger
hunt using a gps device. An acquaintance of mine took me on a hunt back
in July and it was so much fun. I think as time goes on I will be ok. I
think I am still in the "getting used to" phase of a quiet hose. Empty
nest syndrome, hmmmm. At least I have you guys to talk to - even if I
don't hear your voices.
Thanks everyone,
Diane

Scrapbookig might be real good as a short term goal for focus.

One thing you probably want to do is to find a scrapbooking network or
group and just go to a meeting doing "research"..... before actually doing
any hard work of organizing.

Maybe you can find someone who will show you how they organized a room or
garage for the activity....

Trading interesting bits of decorative paper and knowledge are a part of
the craft..... and you can buy all kinds of interesting little gadgets to
do interesting things.

You could end up deciding that scrapbooking isn't really your thing
without having invested too much, or you could go the other way and plunge
into both a hobby and a social group.

You are in a far, far better position than my "book" friend was.

I'll bury something for you in Iowa......

Jim

Thanks - but I'm not sure when I will get to Iowa to find it. I do work
for army recruiting here in San Antonio and occassionally a couple of us
have gone on business to Des Moines. I went once - I don't foresee having
to go soon though.
Diane

Quoted message said:

--
...............................

Keepsake gift for young girls.
Unique and personal one-of-a-kind.
Builds strong minds 12 ways.
Guaranteed satisfaction
- courteous money back
- keep bonus gifts

http://www.alicebook.com

Within this newsgroup you are not alone!
Jennifer S.
I live in Kansas a little ways from San Antonio.
206/155/135
20 more to go!

"Diane Ball" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The success stories keep me from quitting. My daughter left for college

on

Quoted message said:

Aug 17th. I've been up there a few times and I've been on my cruise
vacation. Now I am home for awhile (it's just me). I've been very

lonely.

Quoted message said:

I have never in my entire life lived alone. I don't have any family here

to

Quoted message said:

do things with. It is just way too quiet here at night. Because of

that -

Quoted message said:

I find myself eating and sometimes things I shouldn't eat - not that they
are bad things - it's just I think I might be eating more than I should -
out of boredom and loneliness. I have had a glass of wine a couple nights
with dinner. I thought when my daughter left - it would be so easy to

cook

Quoted message said:

for myself and eat much healthier. I'm finding it harder than I thought.

I

Quoted message said:

gained a few pounds last week when TOM visited and I'm finding it harder
than normal to lose it this month. I haven't had the craving or thirst

for

Quoted message said:

water that I've had the last six months. I guess I will have to force
myself to drink more water.
Is there anyone in the San Antonio area that is single and needs company?
Are there others here who have gone through situations that have changed

the

Quoted message said:

way you were eating for one reason or another? How did you cope?
Diane

"John E" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jennifer 😉 Congratulations . People like you will keep this group

strong

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and encourage others to keep at it. Everyone's goal is reachable with
this
system.

"Jennifer S." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

FINALLY!! This morning I weighed and I have finally hit the 50 lbs.

mark.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I

Quoted message said:

have been low-carbing since April 15th 2004. My weightloss has slowed a

lot

Quoted message said:

in the last 2 months yet I have been able to keep plugging along. I

have

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

21

Quoted message said:

pounds left to reach my goal.
Just wanted sound off about my progress! Stats posted below.
Jennifer S.
206/156/135
5'4" 38 years old.
"Still preoccupied with 1985"

That is why we are here to support each other. I'm sure as time goes on -
it will get easier. My daughter called me today from the bus she was on
while stopping in Waco. She is in the UT Longhorn band. They are headed to
the Texas state fair today and then will stay the night in Dallas and
tomoeeow at the cotton bowl is the Red River Shootout - one of the biggest
collegfe games of the week - between Texas and OU. Ou has won the last 4
years - but the media is all hyping UT this year saying it may be their year
to win. Tomorrow will tell. So my daughter is having a blast at college.
I did meet a couple people from work last night and some of one of their
friends from church. We went to a mexican restaurant and also they had
Karaoke there. That was interesting and fun.
I WILL SURVIVE!
Diane
"Jennifer S." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Within this newsgroup you are not alone!
Jennifer S.
I live in Kansas a little ways from San Antonio.
206/155/135
20 more to go!

"Diane Ball" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The success stories keep me from quitting. My daughter left for college

on

Quoted message said:

Aug 17th. I've been up there a few times and I've been on my cruise
vacation. Now I am home for awhile (it's just me). I've been very

lonely.

Quoted message said:

I have never in my entire life lived alone. I don't have any family here

to

Quoted message said:

do things with. It is just way too quiet here at night. Because of

that -

Quoted message said:

I find myself eating and sometimes things I shouldn't eat - not that they
are bad things - it's just I think I might be eating more than I should -
out of boredom and loneliness. I have had a glass of wine a couple
nights
with dinner. I thought when my daughter left - it would be so easy to

cook

Quoted message said:

for myself and eat much healthier. I'm finding it harder than I thought.

I

Quoted message said:

gained a few pounds last week when TOM visited and I'm finding it harder
than normal to lose it this month. I haven't had the craving or thirst

for

Quoted message said:

water that I've had the last six months. I guess I will have to force
myself to drink more water.
Is there anyone in the San Antonio area that is single and needs company?
Are there others here who have gone through situations that have changed

the

Quoted message said:

way you were eating for one reason or another? How did you cope?
Diane

"John E" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jennifer 😉 Congratulations . People like you will keep this group

strong

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and encourage others to keep at it. Everyone's goal is reachable with
this
system.

"Jennifer S." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> FINALLY!! This morning I weighed and I have finally hit the 50 lbs.

mark.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I
> have been low-carbing since April 15th 2004. My weightloss has slowed
> a
lot
> in the last 2 months yet I have been able to keep plugging along. I

have

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

21
> pounds left to reach my goal.
> Just wanted sound off about my progress! Stats posted below.
> Jennifer S.
> 206/156/135
> 5'4" 38 years old.
> "Still preoccupied with 1985"
>
>