STARTED TO RAIN CATS AND DOGS. NO FOOD SHOPPING. GOING THE END OF THE WEEK AS IT LOOKS MUCH SUNNIER THE AIR IS SOOOOO STEAMY! ALMOST CHOKES YOU. THAT'S OK CAUSE I AM GOING TO FLYLADY THE BEDROOM INSTEAD. GOING SLOW DON'T WANT ANYMORE BOO BOOS!!

Morning (or evening in JK) ladies -

Did a circuit training class last night that was very challenging. I can't believe how hard I worked in such a short (1/2 hour) time combining cardio and weights.

Shad - Great news that soon you'll be going back home! I'll bet you'll be so happy to get home for a week!

Ceejay - Your boss must have great confidence in your abilities! Good for you!!

Happy - Sounds like you and Mel have got quite the hot and muggy heat waves going! Try and stay cool. I'm glad we're through our muggy period (at least for now). I should actually be able to walk at lunch. A co-worker is trying to improve her health so she has asked me to gently push/encourage her. So I asked her to come walking with me.

Mel - You stay indoors as much as you can. It sounds nasty hot and muggy outside where you are. Hopefully your storms will relieve some of the humidity. Thanks for the rigatoni recipe!

A big to Rennie, Patty, Annie, and everyone!

Love and hugs,

Hidee Ho Girlies....

Michelle....The only boarding place that I have used was out in the sticks where I used to live. It would be too far away from where you are going to be. Sorry, not much help here. A gal I work with, who also lives in my housing addition, lets Hella Bella in and out for me when I am gone. DD housesits for them and takes care of their dogs. If Hella Bella wasn't such a beeeach, I could keep your doggies. Bella tends to eat other dogs. She's rather a wench. The drag races are not far from me, maybe I could come meet up with you all for a bit. Keep me posted.

MEL...the Rigatoni sounds marvelous. GO ahead and make some up and bring it over. I thought the pix of the g'day gourmet was dog food and you were asking Shad if she ever ate any of it. Thought maybe you went off the deep end COMPLETELY...

Ceejay....take a good book to sneak and read in training class.... ;^)

Not much going on here, worked till 7:30 last night. Came in at 7:15 am and went home at 7:30 pm. What a stinking long day that was. I must say at least Hella Bella was happy to see me, mostly just to go out and potty. She is such a saint when it comes to being potty trained. Even if she is the devil dog.

It rained like crazy last night, several homes in the area were struck by lightening. Fire dept couldn't keep up with all the fires. Crazy, crazy.

Hello to all.

Love and Hugs.

Annie - That's just awful that you had to work such a long day! Yuck! I used to do those kind of hours back when I was in IS/IT. But no longer. Yay! That would be great if we could meet up if DH and I go to Indy for the races. The place I'm thinking about maybe boarding the dogs (if we don't board them up here) is in Zionsville Indiana.

It's almost time to go home This has been a busy, busy day.

Mel
We got a shower of rain today. It smelled so good. But what some lightning strikes!

More later. I've been sitting at the computer to long today. But it was a have to case.

Morena,

Michelle, why don't you call or e-mail a local vet at the town where you want to stay. They can usually recommend a place for dog care. I know my vet does. They have a list of recommended places at various prices.

Can't stop right now. But I will be back around lunch time. Secret squirrel business waits for no one.

Hi peeps,

Today was just a positively nasty day. Read Ceejay's post so I guess it must have been National Have a Nasty Day at Work - Southern Style today. They are stuffing more people into our "office", things are getting tense. New people must be privledged souls who do not understand the concept of being a good neighbor to your fellow co-workers. I think I'm also starting to understand the breakdown of society as you get jammed in like overcrowded rats. I'm going to stop before I climb on my mountain of a soap box.

Ceejay - you might have gotten the rain but it drifted south of us. We didn't get any but sure could use some. Hope tomorrow is not as busy for you.

Annie - hate those long days. Send us some rain but you can keep the bad lightning

Holy geez louise - Mel got rain TOO???? So not fair. And here she wanted to go shopping. Thanks for the recipe Mel. I was looking for something for dinner tomorrow and I have all those ingredients on hand, including some yummy italian sweet basil growing in the planter outside. Oh man - poor little grandson What a scary situation for him. Hope he will be ok. Guess you have to do the bird check for the next few nights.

Michelle - that is so sweet of you to help out a co-worker. But if you are doing 3 miles at lunch is she ready to get her booty in gear - your style? Going to the drag races sounds like alot of fun. My sister went to the Nascar races last weekend and she said it was quite an experience. Won't all that exhaust sort of irritate your breathing? I worry about that cuz once you're there, you're committed and that's quite a long drive for you.

Where's Shy lately? Hope Bella is ok.

What if the secret squirrels capture Shad, make her one of them and we never get to see her again Yeah, I figured as much - no way In fact, I think I can hear her booing and pishawing all the way here They are an odd, over protective breed, aren't they. Keepers of the "permananent record" remember that threat in school - if you don't behave young lady, this will go on your (cue loud reverb and echo) PERMANENT RECORD. Somewhere there is an HR file with all my dirty little secrets on it - probably a best seller

I got home kind of late so we had a chef's salad for dinner tonight. Perhaps tho I should call it a Happy Salad since I was the chef and the maker of the salad. But it was good. Filling but not overly so and lots of good veggies. I had some watermelon for dessert and I picked up some wonderful looking peaches yesterday that need a day or two more to ripen and then oh boy! I am easing out of the refined sugars and back into enjoying the sweetness of lovely summer fruits.

I am yawning like crazy so I think I might actually hit the bed early and try and get up early and out of the house tomorrow. Goodnight chicks, sorry if I'm a bit disjointed at the moment...

There is no way the secret squirrels will capture this little black duck. Not only is there secrecy between them and the outside (the THEM and US syndrome) there is secrecy among the colleagues. It is making someone look good and the others (who are nice) look like idiots. I am about to open my mouth. I will stick both feet in at once and let them have it.

I guess that is how you get the really big money - by doing secret things in the system and not divulging anything until you get into the classroom or even better demonstrations with the chiefs. Then you can really look clever and make others look really stupid.

Today is going to end very badly I suspect. It certainly didn't start off too good. And I am the odd one out in this scenario.

Happy - nighty night. Sleep tight. I'd hate for my permanent record to be displayed for all to see. Sounds like there is rain all over in the US. The weather is being very weird all over the world right now. There has been more rain in north Queensland than there was all summer, and we are supposed to be in the dry season. Weather here is the same ol' same ol' no rain, but grey with smog and reasonably warm. It doesn't seem to have hit the humidity target but then again when you behave like a mole and rarely go out, you don't notice anyway.

Okay - better get out of here again. Time to play the honest policeman and simmer down the tempers once more.

Good morning ladies,

I indeed went to bed at a most unreasonable hour of 10:30pm. DH asked if I was ill I was rewarded for my efforts by waking up at 3:47am and drifted in and out of sleep until somewhere around 5:30 when I drifted off again until I got up at 6. I do feel a bit better physically so maybe I should be paying attention to getting more than 6 hours of sleep. You think?

Got to get to work earlier. Parking lot is filling up quickly. I don't mind walking as much as the dragging of my "pack load" as DH refers to it - purse, PC bag, lunch bag, odds and ends tote bag and sometimes a bag of extra papers I meant to work on that don't fit into the PC bag because that's jammed too". Today I am bringing in a cooler also. The refrigerators are jammed, you can't get your lunch in there unless you come in at 7. I was carrying on last night to DH and he said - just get yourself a cooler, resolve in your mind that you need to go into work earlier. Fill your cooler with ice before the other group comes in and empties the ice machines, and then stow your waters and lunch in your own cooler and viola -problem solved. It's just so cut and dry with guys But I decided to take his advice.

Shad I think you have discovered the secret of the new "normal" in the workplace. Instead of mentoring there is a lot of competition to "one up " someone. Kinda sad how things have deteriorated. I am very glad however to see that the "black duck" is safe and secure Hope your training went well.

Time for a quick shower and then out of here or else it wasn't worth getting up early. Will get back on at lunch with personals.

ANNIE...CRACKING UP ABOUT THE B'DAY "DOG FOOD" NOW YOU MENTION IT...IT DOES LOOK LIKE FANCY FEAST!!! GLAD TO HEAR HELLA BELLA HAS SOME REDEEMING QUALITIES SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT MORE FIRES!

MICHELLE...CIRCUIT TRAINING!! YOU'LL BE GOING ON MARATHONS SOON!! WE WON'T BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH YOU...WELL I CAN

SHAD...MY THOUGHTS ARE WITH YOU. I AM SO SORRY THIS JOB IS GOING OFF TRACK LIKE THAT. I ALSO THINK SECRET PEOPLE ARE STRETCHING THINGS NOW WITH THE WAY THE WORLD HAS BECOME. USING IT AS A MEANS TO BE EVEN MORE SECRETIVE. I HOPE THE DAY ENDED BETTER THAN IT BEGAN

CEEJAY...GOOD FOR YOU!! HE MUST TRUST YOU A LOT! HOPE THE DAY WENT WELL...OR GOT BETTER! WE JUST HAD YOUR LIGHTNING!! MUST HAVE TAKEN A NORTHERN TURN

HAPPY....MORE NASTY DAYS? WHAT'S GOING ON DOWN SOUTH? NOW YOU MENTION IT...MAYBE THEY USED OUR PERMANENT RECORDS FOR SOAP OPERA MATERIAL
DON'T GET ON THE SOAP BOX...IT'S TOO FLAMING HOT AND HUMID JUST TRIP THEM AS THEY WALK BY AND THEN SAY YOU'RE SORRY


WE JUST HAD A HELLUVA SLAM, BAM, THANK YOU MAM KIND OF STORM. WOW!! ACTUALLY WE HAD 3 SESSIONS OF THUNDER & LIGHTNING! THE BIRD MUST HAVE LOST SOME SLEEP CAUSE HE IS STILL TUCKED UP INTO HIMSELF. TOLD JEN ABOUT HIS NIGHT FLIGHT. HIS TAIL IS LOOKING A BIT RAGGEDY AND HE HAS BEEN VERY QUIET AND AFFECTIONATE SINCE. POOR LITTLE GUY. SOMETIMES I WISH I COULD GIVE HIM A BIG OL' HUG. NOT GOING ANYWHERE TODAY UNLESS I PUT WATER WINGS ON MY CHAIR. JEN AND THE KIDS VOTED ON STAYING AT THE TRAILER THIS WEEK WHILE RICHIE WORKS HIS 3 DAYS AND SLEEPS DOWN HERE.
I KNOW SHE IS 40 BUT I WORRY ABOUT HER WITH ALL THESE BEARS RUNNING AROUND SHE'S SO SKINNY SHE'D HARDLY MAKE AN APPETIZER. HOPEFULLY THE BEARS WILL THINK THAT ALSO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ON THAT HAPPY NOTE...I MUST GO AND GET BREAKFAST.
HAPPY WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY!

HELLO MISS HAPPY.....I NEED TO THINK LIKE YOUR DH MORE AND MORE EVERYDAY. HE WOULD BE HAPPY TO KNOW ONE OF US IS LISTENING!! HE DOES HAVE GOOD SENSE AND SOME GREAT IDEAS. HAVE A GREAT DAY WITH YOUR PERSONAL COOLER

Happy Wednesday ladies -

It's my Friday and I couldn't be happier! We have a weekend full of fishing, fairs and other fun stuff for DMILs last weekend in Wisconsin (until Christmas). It's also her birthday weekend. Last night, we went to the fair and had a great time looking at all the animals and craft exhibits. I ate fair food. I know...I know. I did get a lot of walking in, plus I walked at lunch. Then we watched a terrific fireworks show! We'll probably go back on Saturday to check out some performances including Styx and Boston!

Ceejay - I hope today it a bit less hectic for you!

Shad - What a great idea to call a vet in Indy! Thanks! I hope your day goes better than you think it will. Hang in there....you'll be home soon and away from the squirrels for a week. It sucks that your project is going off track and that you have to be good cop/bad cop to keep it on track.

Happy - Sorry to hear you're having tense and overcrowded conditions at work. I hate inconsiderate co-workers, and the back-stabbers, and one up-ers. Sheesh, I'm too old for all those silly games. As for my co-worker walking my style of walking...you're right. She's not ready for that yet. But my back was bothering me a twinge yesterday...so I didn't mind taking it slower than usual. I figure slower moving is better than none, and it's supposed to be nice (not too hot or muggy) all week...so might as well take advantage of it. Thanks for your concern about the drag racing exhaust fumes. We've got to the races several times. Actually, one year, I made the mistake of standing right behind a nitro-methane funny car waiting for a driver's autograph when they started the car...DH tried to warn me, but it was too late...the car had started and the fumes were suffocating and triggered a big asthma attack. I moved about 100 feet away to catch my breath for a few minutes. By then, the car was shut off and I was fine, so I went back to get an autograph! Now we sit up high in the stands far from the fumes, and when we're in the pits I know to get away when they start the cars up! Live and learn. Anyway, it's a lot of fun! And it's cool that you can get close to the drivers. I loved your comments about Shad and the secret squirrels! Too funny! Like you, I'm trying to limit refined sugars and enjoy summer fruits - as you know from being a midwesterner, we don't have summer fruits very long...so I enjoy them while I can. Happy, you went to bed before midnight?! I'm shocked! Sorry that you woke up at oh dark early. I always try to get at least 7 hours of sleep...Last night I only got 6, so it'll be more caffeine for me today. The parking lot where I work is insane...if you don't get here by 7 am, you end up parking in the back 40. As you said, the walking isn't bad...it's the pack loads that get you. Part of my pack load is my personal cooler. I bring one every day because there's not enough room in the frig.

Mel - Since I have trouble walking 5 miles....I think I'm aways off from marathons. So you have time to warm up your scooter.

Patty - I hope Dolly doesn't come anywhere near you.

A big to everyone!

Here's to a wonderful Wednesday/Terrific Thursday for all of us!

Love and hugs,

Happy Wednesday...

Michelle...Happy Friday to you. ;^) Zionsville is a very adorable, great town. You will love it there. It is one of those shopping towns. Main street is brick, with lots and lots of shops, antiques, etc. You will want to spend your day there. My MD is in Zionsville. She is wonderful, the practice is called, "The Village Doctors". If you have ever heard of Nancy Noel art, that is where she is from, and has her studio/plant.

Happy...I think it is just plain ole "Nasty Work Week", instead of day. Sounds like your work needs a bigger facility. Bah Humbug.

Today is a bit cooler and the humidity is way down. Like 82 degrees and sunny. Really nice for walking.

I just ate a plate of canteloupe and pineapple that was left over from a breakfast meeting in a conference room. The pineapple was great, the canteloupe was not all that tasty.

Didn't do much last night. Took the trash to the curb, then layed on the bed and finished a book and went to bed. Can you say lazy evening?

Not much going on today. Kind of quiet. Amen.

Hello Everyone

Love and Hugs

Ok, I am SOOO losing it. I looked at your posts and I thought - why are they saying happy Wednesday? It's Thursday, isn't it? Then I went and looked at my calendar - the electronic one that highlights the day and sho' nuff it IS Wednesday. Boy would I have felt stupid throwing the people out of the conference room at 1:30 thinking they were infringing on our meeting. If your brain disintegrates enough, can you get disability?

What a bummer, now I have TWO and a half days to work.

Guess this means Michelle is having a FOUR DAY long weekend I hope you have the very best of times with your DMIL and DH. Give her a birthday hug and happy wishes from the Worldly Chicks. That's good to hear that you can recover from the exhaust fumes. I was thinking along the lines of my sister - once her asthma kicks in, she's pretty done for. But that's great for you to figure out how to work around the fumes so you can enjoy the show. I'll bet it's alot of fun! I had to laugh about your comments with the cooler and the parking lot. Thanks for making me feel better like it's not just here that it's happening. It's kind of nice to reach under the desk and get a nice cold ice water

Annie - lazy evenings are good once in a while. Called "recharging the batteries". I have noticed the cantelope to be very hit or miss this year. All of it has smelled wonderful but taste wise, some has been good, most has not. Doesn't keep me from buying them anyway hoping to find that one that makes it all worthwhile I am very jealous of your 82 and low humidity. We are hot and steamy. I think I saw Tarzan swinging in the parking lot.

Hello Miss Mel. I will tell DH that SOME ONE thinks he has good ideas He will be pleased. Actually one lady in my pod said the cooler was a good idea - as long as no one steals it. If they do, I will hunt them down. Maybe we can get you one too now that you've cleaned your bags out. But then again, maybe not, you might try and stow some Fraps in there and then we'd have to set Carla on you Jen's out with the bears? Well as long as you don't leave food out for them.

Well I guess now that it's really Wednesday and my 1:30 meeting isn't until tomorrow, I'd better go and start my call ticket analysis again.

That is if I can wake up. I got to work early when the cafeteria was open and had a nice veggie omlet this morning as well as a V8 vegetable juice. When lunch rolled around I was not that hungry so I just got a small bowl of potato dill soup. Right now I just feel like I could EXPLODE. I'm not sure if I could feel any more full if I had eaten 4 plates worth of food. Maybe I'll go take a 20 minute walk around the building. Wish I had some of Annie's pineapple to help me out. Ugh.

Broiled Steak Sandwiches with Balsamic Vegetables




1 pound strip steak
Kosher salt and pepper
4 Roma (plum) tomatoes, halved
1 medium red onion, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rings
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 pieces focaccia or French bread, cut in half
3 ounces blue cheese

Heat broiler.

Season the steak with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place the steak on one half of the baking sheet.

Toss the tomatoes and onion in a medium bowl with the oil, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place the onion and tomatoes, cut-side down, on the other half of the baking sheet.

Broil the steak and vegetables, turning everything once, until the steak reaches the desired doneness, 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove the steak and return the vegetables to oven until browned, about 1 minute more.

Slice the steak. Place the bottom halves of the bread cut-side up and top with the steak, onions, tomatoes, and cheese. Sandwich with the remaining bread. Serve warm.

**NOTE: Substitution: If blue cheese is too strong for your taste, try topping this sandwich with a creamy goat cheese. Or play off the tartness of the balsamic vinegar with slivers of salty Parmesan or Manchego.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

CALORIES 588 (60% from fat); FAT 39g (sat 11g); CHOLESTEROL 92mg; CARBOHYDRATE 28g; SODIUM 1035mg; PROTEIN 32g; FIBER 2g; SUGAR 7g