[Kiwonk]

I just got tired of those 40 days and 40 nights. It seemed much longer than that, and it's not even over.

And FALSE to Wabbit's TPBM. I can listen to spring puttering patter endlessly. You see, I actually like this miserable snowy winter, which by the way is in full force today -- big storm out there right now, so I'm not really jealous, but I love hearing about it. Or perhaps I drank too much water today and I'm loopy.

What a gross mess I found in the mud room today when I went to put away some groceries. DH had stopped by Sam's Club last week and one of the things I asked him to get was a case of V-8. It had been sitting on the washer since Friday; DD and I both had pulled cans out, but I hadn't moved the pile of stuff yet. I figured today that I might not be able to put off the laundry any longer, so I put it all away. When I came to the flat of V-8, the cans were dirty on the bottom, and the box looked wet, so I cut it open and discovered that 2 cans had been smashed open by something and there was this bloom of mold growing between them. Yeccccccch! It didn't smell up the room or anything. About a quarter of the cans were dented. Nasty.

Originally Posted by Wabby

I'm such a Dud..... I just polished off a king size box of Milk Duds. Why oh why do I do this????

Well, don't feel too bad; I've been doing the same thing. I keep trying to do that Queen of the Beach challenge, but I keep having to start the week over because I just don't have any willpower.

The recipe I tried was a Chili recipe with steak and sausage. It was really good, although I went easy on the jalepeno and it didn't have any heat to it because of that (I'm the only one in this house who will eat hot stuff). Here's the recipe. Or, "place your mouse here and click" as Cowpern would say.

TPBM is glad she doesn't live in Maine.

Kiwi

[PainterWoman]

Truish- It'd be one heck of a commute! But I'd love a summer place in Maine... the closer to B-town the better so I could go on yarn buying sprees with DD and paint the Marginal Way and visit the Alpacas SW of Kennebunk!!

DD skidded in Boston's white-out... but is OK. She says two SUV drivers sort of tailed her til she got off the hiway. I'm thinking they were wary of her and were keeping their distance. She, however, is an OPTIMIST, and thinks they were protecting her and making sure nothing worse happened. AND she's going to read up on Sno-plow ettiqutte: To pass or not to pass, and when. Those are the questions.

I only ate dinner today. I'd decided not to eat until I was hungry. It was 4:30 pm. Probably because I stayed home and was at the computer. I LOVE writing stuff on the computer. Funny how doing something not-so-fun makes me think I "ought" to have something to eat.

I hope this bit of awareness will last through whatever boring/challenging events march my way tomorrow.

TPBM eats her kids' Easter candy.

[Kiwonk]

Never -- unless of course it is offered. But the rest of the bags of candy that didn't fit in the basket? Oh yeah, that's mine.

Glad your DD didn't hit anything. She is delightfully idealistic about the other drivers, but I have my doubts. Maybe here in TinyTown that might happen, doubtful in Boston. Snowplow etiquette? Always pass if it's safe! Trouble comes in when you have impatient people behind you -- I usually let them go first rather than take any risks.

We got about a foot of snow over the past day -- and it drifted like crazy. I have to include a very cool photo here.

TPBM is shivering after looking at this photo

I forgot to mention that that was taken out my kitchen window toward the lake, and the double line going across? That's my clothesline! At least 6 feet off the ground!

Kiwi

[Wabby]

No, I'm not shivering, but I bet you are. Another balmy day here in paradise. I looked out my window today to see a mama and papa bird building a nest in my birdhouse, our plum tree in full bloom, daffodils and a flowering magnolia bloomed out. I'd take a picture, but you'd send somebody out to hunt me down.

I have heartburn. I never get heartburn. It hurts. Tomorrow I go for an ultrasound of the abdomen to see if they can figure out why Aunt Flo's been visiting for 3 1/2 weeks now. I'm sure it has something to do with menopause. bleeeh.

DH is on my last nerve. I want him to do a simple house project. He keeps saying he'll do it, but he doesn't. If he doesn't want to do it, he should just say so, then I'd hire somebody, but he keeps insisting that he'll get to it soon. I'm thinking of going on strike.

TPBM always uses chopsticks at Chinese restaurants.

[Kiwonk]

Nope, I always forget entirely about chopsticks, unless someone else mentions it. Then I use them. Except with the soup...

Birds building nests! How quaint..and, I don't know, spring-like. I live on another planet.

My Martha Stewart chili gave me heartburn . And my DD is not happy that I changed my chili recipe anyway. She loves my regular recipe, so I guess I should stop experimenting. Today I experimented with my salmon recipe. Once again because of that diabolical Everyday Food. It was less than an unqualified success, I must say. Mine's better.

Wab, you must be making up for my having no visit from Auntie at all since January. This is the second time in 6 months that I've skipped. Got the crampy twinges anyway at the appropriate time, so I'm not especially impressed with the whole idea.

TPBM needs a good stretch.

Kiwi

[PainterWoman]

True. Missed my walk today and my feet are itchy again.
But seeing as how it is almost 1 am, I think I'll go to bed and stretch tomorrow.

Has anybody picked up The Fat Girls Guide to Life?
Lots of attitude... and pretty fine advice about having a life even if we're fat... rather than putting everything off "until" we are thin. She also gives up the idea of "goal"/perfect weight. And pointed out that the government and corporate America are invested in all of us fatties... because it is a billion dollar business (more or less). If Jenny Craig worked in TYPICAL situations, don't you think we'd all be getting thin? I mean, how many of US are all that "atypical"? And how come the USDA preferred to subsidize corn farmers instead of the national well-being when they decided to add high fructose corn syrup to just about everything?

And how stupid is our culture when thin people feel bad about their bodies, too?

I am learning to love my body which is perfect as it is... though it could use a little improvement.

TPBM writes limericks.

[Wabby]

Sometimes, but not today. Today I have on my favorite low heeled sandals that are super comfy.

Peachez, I saw that show. Dr. Phil was way off the mark with that one. I thought both spouses needed to share the blame. Sure, she's always cooking up new projects for him, but he could always say no. I think they both probably watch a little too much HGTV, with all their home improvement shows where entire homes are transformed in a half hour. The actual work involved is always 10x's as much as expected. The thing I want DH to take care of is 10 years ago we remodeled our bedroom. He did a beautiful job. Looks like new except he never put new baseboard molding up. A simple thing --- but it's been 10 flippin' years now and no baseboard in sight. He said "it's not like I haven't been busy lately" I said "for the last ten years???!!!!????? "

TPBM could have written the fat girls guide to life.

[Kiwonk]

Hmm. I guess not; I never thought of myself as a fat girl, just overweight. I suppose that's their point, "fat girl" is a description--just like "wiry guy"--that doesn't have to be weighted ( ) with negative connotations. "Overweight" obviously implies something wrong. But I can't change my perception anyway; I do think this is a problem and I wasn't fat as a girl, so the change is most definitely negative. It needs fixing. I guess I could write the overweight woman's guide to what not to do.

Dr. Phil should blow it out his shorts. He's probably just as bad about ever finishing home projects as they are. Wouldn't it be just hunky-dory if someone would fork over the dough to get all the projects done for us too? I always thought he was against living in a fantasy world

I have nothing to say, which explains why I've only been ranting for a measly 2 paragraphs. It's a beautiful sunny day (which usually means my kitchen ceiling will start leaking) -- I should go out and do some snowshoeing.

TPBM tried to make a snowman with the 1/2" of snow they got one year when she was 5. She got in trouble for getting her clothes all muddy.

Kiwi, who at age 5 was helping her brother make a giant snowfort in the front yard of their Mass. home and the mean boy down the block came over and stomped it

[Kiwonk]

HEY! I hate answering my own posts! Get in here!

Kiwi

[PainterWoman]

I was 7 when we had the 1 snowfall of my childhood, and indeed we had to drive 20 miles for me to even see the white stuff on the ground. I had chickenpox at the time, so playing in the snow was never considered an option.

Wabby, have you read The Fat Girl's Guide to Life? I think I'll go get a drink and read some more. Her attitude is sassy enough that maybe I won't drive to CVS for (more) Cadbury Eggs.

And if I'm honest, I must confess I need to re-do my weight tracker. I'm heading in the wrong direction....


Um... here's a colorful (and no doubt untrue) story regarding Dr. Phil:

Dr. Phil was conducting a session with four young mothers and their
small children.

"You all have obsessions," he observed.


To the first mother, he said, "You are obsessed with eating.

You've even named your daughter Candy."

He turned to the second mom. "Your obsession is with money.

Again, it manifests itself in your child's name, Penny."

He turns to the third mom. "Your obsession is alcohol.

This too, manifests itself in your child's name, Brandy."

At that point, the fourth mother got up, took her little boy by the
hand and whispered,

"Come on Dick, we're leaving".

TPBM has a child name Solomon...
do you think it's about IQ or fish?

[Kiwonk]

I'll bite -- why fish?

Oh, and false. I don't think I've ever even met anyone named Solomon. But the name is starting to grow on me. I have a nephew named Cameron. Not that that's anything like Solomon, although it is also 3 syllables and ends with on.

We just came back from the local hospital's annual variety show. It was long and uneven. Very odd assortment of entertainment. Amidst all the local talent, they had a student string quartet from a town an hour north of here play. They were excellent; I totally enjoyed the first 2 pieces they played. I thought the 3rd, while good, was pushing the attention span of the audience. Then they played a 4th. Then they switched 2 of the musicians and one of them played a flute part for a fifth song. Then they informed us that the next piece had a slight break in the middle while everybody turned their pages. AND STILL THEY WERE NOT DONE! Seven. Seven classical string pieces in the middle of a hospital variety show, otherwise consisting of a questionable but lovable barbershop choir, various ladies of a certain age singing various forgettable songs while wearing various black glittery tops, a few men doing humor, alternately medical and "local" in nature, teenagers dancing, an over the top family of "hillbillies" lip-syncing to "Papa Played Bass", and the finale, numerous participants of both sexes dressed in black pantyhose and garbage bags ("The Prunes") dancing to "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". Now where exactly does the 30 minute string quartet recital fit into all this?

As interestingly eclectic as it all was, I much preferred the high school variety show.

TPBM likes shredding things.

Kiwi

[Kiwonk]

just wanted to put up this url; it has a list of really good motivational tips
Here Clicketh

[Kiwonk]

False. I had coffee.

No, she's going to take it in May, then the SAT IIs in June. How about DS?

I am also a blobbo. Mentally and physically.

TPBM wants a refund.

Kiwi

[SugP]

True. I'm wondering if they'll let me trade in this life for another one? Whatever in the world possessed me back then to give birth to one kid 4 days before dh's birthday and the other 7 days later? (no, not weird twins - three years apart). That's right, the annual Two Weeks of Birthdays from H*ll is officially over. ds9's birthday was Friday and he had his kids' party today. All SpongeBob, all the time. I may post pictures when I can stand up again. That's how tired I am. One of my kids was named after Kiwi's nephew, or vice versa. My parents' dachshund had the same name as Kiwi's half-sister and their husky shared Kiwi's name. Enough weirdness? No? Read on.

Umm...don't laugh, but this morning at 6 a.m. I woke to a violent buzzing in my ear. I swatted at the culprit, a smallish fly,from the sound of it, but I have this weird feeling that instead of flying away, it fly flew INTO my ear. I can't feel anything now but I'm still worried. Will they'll think I'm an idiot if I go to the doctor on Monday and make an appointment for him to look in my ear? If there's a fly in there, will it fall out on its own when it gets all dried up and crusty? Maybe I can develop another mysterious malady by then and use that as an excuse.

TPBM sleeps with earplugs

[Kiwonk]

Frequently true. Although lately, not so much. DH got a new version of his cpap machine and it works better. For me at least. He claims to be waking up a lot, but the really important thing is that I don't have to wear earplugs to sleep.

Oh yeah, if there's a fly in your ear, I would not recommend wearing earplugs to bed. It puts me in mind of when DD goes to sleep with the cat in her room with the door closed. Much scratching in the middle of the night. I've always heard that if something flies into your ear, you should shine a flashlight in your ear, because insects are attractive to light. hee hee, sounds very silly, but it could work. Actually you should try flushing your ear with warm water if you have a bulby thing to do it with.

I needed more coffee this afternoon, so I made a pot of flavored coffee -- vanilla hazelnut -- just because I had some of the stuff. It's blecchy, although not so bad that I'm not drinking it.

TPBM drinks only flavored coffee.

Kiwi