Morning all,

Please sir, my brain is full. My brain stem is full too. Having problems with eyes, can't sleep so well and I am even remembering my dreams. They ain't pretty either.

It's okay, just me whinging about life in general and work in particular. I'm dealing with both offshore and onshore consultants whose grasp on English is tenuous and sometimes hilarious. I've been setting up bank accounts for over here as well, my Aussie one is taking a beating with all the fees, charges and commissions by using the card over here. Got an on line bank statement today for my new account - and I haven't put any money into it yet. It had $1000 in it. What????? Anyway it turns out it is my overdraft facility so it really isn't my money. I now need to advise the paymaster of my account number so I can actually get paid. I'm not putting up with this crap for love I can tell you.

Having said all that. I sent a long e-mail to Mel and Jen last night. Hope they get that one okay. Seems Jen has 2 email addresses. I'm putting read notices on my email so I can see which one she uses most. Then I'll send all my email stuff to that address. Wishing peace and serenity for Mel.

Can't do personals right now. I will get back when I can. Maybe over the weekend although I know I will be working tomorrow.

Catch you later - and Happy, have a nice visit with your mother (in case I don't get in before you go) and no kicking the old girl around even if she does get up your nose from time to time.

Ceejay - you want to contact City Services, specifically Code Enforcement for the garbage problem. They investigate complaints of that nature. They would probably speak to the tenants first and remind them of their responsibilities and if they received another complaint, I daresay they would be contacting the landlord also. Brr - 22 degrees is darn cold for your area. Nice for sleeping though, horrid for crawling out of bed and going to work.

Shad - I did not know Jen had 2 email addresses. She gave me one in her last note - I hope that's the one she uses, although she did not respond to prior emails. I don't want to bombard her with emails, just would like to hear on a weekly basis. So you have to set up an account where you are now? Geez - the things you learn - I would think with the commonness of NZ and AU, they would work better together - kinda like the U.S.A. and Canada here. Of course I don't do anything in Canada other than correspond with friends but the few times I was in BC or Toronto, they were very accommodating. Hope you get it all straightened out. Life is really testing you lately.

Laura - it's funny that you mention getting an industrial mixer for the dog treats. I made 26 bags - that's 13 and a half pounds of dog biscuits over the last 4 days. I hate making them now. I was thinking as I was pushing through a second batch yesterday that if I had my own business doing this - I'd QUIT. Working at the popcorn shop, doing this - it really gives one some insight into just what it takes. Just like Shad - not all glamour wheeling your cute little carry on through the airport, relaxing with a nice cocktail at the airport lounge. More like the burden of the world - why couldn't I leave well enough alone? In my old age, I pay closer attention to the bricks God throws at my head. He knows I am stubborn and so he lets me learn the lesson myself. So now you are a full on gym member. Do you like the variety of classes they offer? Is this the place you've been going to lately? Good on yah for heading off to the WW meeting even after a pizza day. And I'm impressed you stopped at one slice, even with it being deep dish. The best thing you can do is congratulate yourself for exercising control and get back on the program again tomorrow. Pointy as that one slice of pizza and one beer I assume? can be, still wouldn't use up your week's worth of extra points or activity points, would it?

Annie - bummer that you forgot to take your iron pills and missed out on the donation. It's such a good thing to do for another person. I will probably be offline until I go over to my sister's on the 23rd. Believe me, I will be suffering without the internet too. You will just have to post twice as frequently to make up for me I will miss all you guys.

Susie - I can imagine how you must have been worrying about losing coverage for your medication. I was mad when they stopped making Actifed - apparently it works very well in meth cooking. But now nothing works for allergies quite like that did. I'm glad your medication is still on the list. Hope you have a good weigh in - you're right, soda is not your friend especially when having one makes you want to have another.

Michelle - hope you breeze through the tests and something good turns up for you on the job front. Will be saying some extra prayers for you.

And with that, I'm thinking I'll be signing off for the duration. I have a couple of things to get done tonight - some appointments in the morning and then it's packing time. Going to have to get up really early Saturday morning because it's a 90 minute drive, plus I want to have a comfortable time to get around an airport I've never been in. Good thing it's small. So I may only get a quick browse in here tomorrow.

I hope Mel is comfortable and that things settle down for Shad and the rest of you have a good Thanksgiving holiday with your loved ones. I will post as soon as I can while I'm away. Love to the chicks

Super quick post for now. I've had several calls. I have several agencies submitting me for contract positions, and a couple for permanent positions. One that caught my eye today was for a local well known hospital...which is where I was when I saw the email...and where I'll be tomorrow. It's for a communications position, and I am SOOOO well qualified for it! OMG! It's a perfect fit for my skills! It's not programming at all, but more writing and publishing content to the website, creating a monthly newsletter, etc. And I really enjoyed working for a hospital system in Wisconsin. It's a major reduction in pay $10/hr less...but it's a job I'd enjoy a lot more. It's contract to start but if the candidate is a good fit, there's a good chance it will go permanent. I'm just trying for everything I'm qualified for and thinking positive thoughts.

Today's appointment with the nutritionist went really well. Who knew that all winter squashes, including the butternut squash at last night's dinner, was considered a starchy, carby veggie?! Anyway, I learned a lot more than just that and got some good tips for managing my blood sugar, what to do when it gets low (like when I wait too long to eat, or after I workout). She also gave me suggestions for things to eat before working out and after so my blood sugar doesn't drop so much.

After nutritionist was the mammogram. It was gentler than most. The tech asked first if a med student would observe...fine with me. The hospital system I'm going to is a teaching hospital...and this tech knew her stuff, so the student was learning the right stuff.

Today, I've been on a clear liquid diet, and now I'm drinking the prep solution for tomorrow's fun stuff. I emailed a couple recruiters who wanted to discuss opportunities tomorrow morning...I suggested they call in the afternoon. Hopefully I won't be too groggy.

Happy - Have a wonderful time with your mom! So is your DH going with you? Are you celebrating Thanksgiving apart? Like you, and all of us, I'm praying for Mel. I hope she's comfortable and peaceful. If I told Santa about all the dog biscuits you make, he'd think I'm an awful mom.

Laura - Good for you for going to WW and for stopping at one slice. Not sure I could do that.

I'll try for more personals later tonight or tomorrow.

Much love to all,

Michelle - good luck on all those interviews
Happy - happy trails
Back later with more. Dinner tonight with my very pregnant niece and her husband, my nephew (nieces brother) and his girlfriend. Not sure if my sister will be there. Meantime, I would like to take a scalpel to this guys head. Copping it off around the knees might help. Lucky he doesn't live here.

Happy - Safe travels to you. We'll miss you & look forward to hearing from you if you get the chance while at your sister's place.

TGIF yeah man!! Good Friday also, pay week.

Not much on the agenda for the weekend, cleaning, laundry-altho I got most of it done last night. May cut the grass one more time at least in the back yard for Sassy's sake. Short legged and doesn't like the wet grass touching her belly... We are supposed to be in the 60s this weekend and the weatherman<--laugh...said the rain was not supposed to come in until after 4 pm. I figure I can get out there around noon after the dew dries and get it cut.

Met Sissy at the dentist for her teeth cleaning so I could watch lil man when she was in the chair. Let me tell you he entertained them to no end. Said all the alphabet across the set of encycopedias perfectly and everyone in the office dropped their jaw. I about cracked up. I also paid for the cleaning which wasn't bad as he has very reasonable rates. $75.00. straight up.

HAPPY...I will miss your posts, however I can tell you I will not be posting twice as much to cover your heiny. I would rather send money than do that. lol. Let's see. HAPPY BISCUITS for doggies!!

SHADDIE...geez louise this trip/job sounds like it is costing you more than you are making...apartment, bank fees, new clothes...Yikes woman, is it worth it?

CHELLE...will keep my fingers crossed on the hospital job. It sounds almost too fun to be true. Be glad when all your poking and prodding will be done so you can get back to normal, as far as normal goes. lol

CEEG...hope the smelling neighbors get taken care of. How was your day in Jonesboro and the appt go?

HELLO to LAURA and SUSIE...

Prayers to MELLIE and JEN.

Most love and hugs to all.

Made it to my dermatology appointment and was tortured some more. He removed some more of those things that look like moles. I'd gotten one to bleed. They really itch.
After this my bff and I went to Best Buy. We were going to find out about our cell phone accounts. I still have 6 more months on plan with Verizon.
And also looking for a small computer. I found one, but it's a 10 inch tablet by Microsoft called the Surface. It's really nice. This one was compatible with a key board. My Christmas money for myself was spent yesterday.
Then went to JC Penny's where I bought a couple of tops.
We got home around 8 p.m. I was tired from all the walking we did. She walks fast but I kept up with her.

Annie
I love to see children the age of you gs be interested in learning. I know you are proud of him.

Happy
You must have done some home work on my behalf. Thank you. That's basically what the department head of street and sanitation told me to do. But I'm going to go through the right channels and call the land lord first. I'm making pictures.

Shad
Take deep breaths. And come up for air.

Laura
How did your weigh in go?

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Need to get off this thing and get ready to run some errands.

Procedure this morning went well. All clear. Yay! I don't have to do this again for 10 years!

I just ate breakfast, and now I'm going to take a quick nap before I contact the recruiters.

Much love to all and Safe Travels to Happy,

This is the 1st weekend in 6 weeks that we don't have to be somewhere. I'm looking forwad to staying at home and organizing some things..piddling around...I love to do that and I need to..time to clean and toss...makes me feel good!

I stayed the same at TOPS and I'm off the soda starting today. I want a loss next week.

Michelle: Good things are happening for you girl! Keep believing!

Ceejay: I love to shop JC Penny. What sort of tops did you get?

Annie: Enjoy your agenda free weekend. I know I'm looking forward to mine.

Shad: you will have to tell us how dinner went.

Happy: You are so right that soda is not your friend especially when having one makes you want to have another. It does that to me. I'm going to post that on my refriderator door as a reminder.

Laura: Did you make it to the new gym? How did WW go? I hope you enjoyed your vacation day and the massage.

Back again with an update. I was near the landlords office and I pulled the car into the parking lot. Told the girls at the counter. I'm bad about remembering names. Told her about the garbage piled up. Now there's two empty pizza boxes out there.
She said that she would email him today and start sending letters. I told them they were quiet and kept to themselves but this was not acceptable. And asked not to mention my name
Spent part of my day in Blytheville doing errands.

Susie
I like the Alfred Dunner line of clothing. I need to lay off the soda as well, but probably will not. I'm on vacation for two weeks. Not going anywhere in particular. Will go to my uncles tomorrow. This is my week end to eat lunch with my 3 uncles.

Michelle
Good news on the colonoscopy. Fingers crossed on the job opening at the hospital.

Another day - Saturday and I am back at work. Actually I shouldn't be here since we are not supposed to be here on our own and I am here on my own. I'll just wait around a bit and drink my coffee and if no one comes then I will go home. It's quiet and peaceful tho'
Well it was until they all suddenly arrived.

Michelle - glad to hear that all the tests are done and you are A-OK. With all that 'cleansing' you should have lost some weight. Hope the job hunt is going well.

Annie - we don't expect you to post enough to cover for Happy. Just keep posting as your happy self. You may need to prop up the thread while Happy is away and I am snowed under. Not literally as some of you may be. Got some new photos of the grandkid yesterday. Will check them out and maybe post some soon. However I did notice she was sucking on a dummy (pacifier) in them which does not please me one bit. I hate those things.

Laura - Hope you are having a good vacation day at home and not working too hard. So you are all signed up for the b/f gym. Good onya. There are gyms all over the place here. I just avert my eyes and think happy thoughts at the moment. I'm getting plenty of exercise going up and down hills, up and down stairs, and walking everywhere.

Ceejay - Sounds like you did some nice spending. I think my new car will have to suffice as my Christmas and birthday presents to me for the next couple of years.

Happy - I will sort out the two email addys and send them to you when I get myself into that happy place where I have nothing to do but sit on the computer and type happily to my friends. That used to be one of Mels sayings - I love my computer - all my friends live in it.

Mel - I love you. I wish you peace and comfort. I wish I could be there to hold your hand.

Susie - snuck in while I was working and thinking up things to say here. Well done on staying the same - at least it wasn't a gain and it takes some doing at times. Temptation is rife.
Dinner was okay. It was on an old converted tugboat on the harbour. It must be well anchored because there was no movement and the sea was pretty choppy. The food was nice, but in my opinion, overpriced. One of the waitresses was Asian and had a really thick accent and no one at the table really understood her. Another had been called in at the last moment and had no idea much about the dishes and what came with them. The third was French. Nice guy, but got flustered easily. Managed to stuff up the bills and I ended up with my nieces bill which was $20 cheaper than mine. So I paid for their desserts and gave them change. We had desserts at a gelato place. Shhh don't tell the dietary police. Yum, Yum. Mine was a double - Mango and Boysenberry. To die for.

Okay, that's it. Better get back to work. It is after all for what I get paid.

Happy Friday/Saturday everyone.

My day off was nice, but how quickly it went!

Susie - Enjoy your weekend at home! Good job staying the same this week. I was up a horrible 2 pounds, but I already knew I was off track...but I still needed that kick in the butt. Yeh, I got to the gym last night. More on that later.

Michelle - Glad the procedure went well and all's clear. Good luck with the recruiters today! Re the nutritionist - will you have more sessions with her??

Ceejay - Sounds like a busy day for you yesterday! Nice early Christmas gift for yourself. And good day for exercise - nice when you get it in while doing regular activities in the normal course of your day.

Annie - Enjoy your weekend. Bf also said he needed to get out and give the lawn a final mowing. I dunno, maybe it'll grow some more with the mild temps and rain we're forecast to get this weekend... Sissy's giving the li'l guy a head start with his alphabet, huh? Love it!!

Shad - Hope you enjoyed your family time. Which guy are you ready to take a scalpel to? The one who did the doco previous to you?? Wow, didn't think about the long-term banking needs you might have in NZ. What a lot of work you've done for this assignment outside the project itself!!

Happy - You're probably trying to finish up your packing now - hope everything goes smoothly with your trip. Yeh, I like the types of classes they have at this new gym. There's a decent variety, and challenging enough for sure! I like that I can switch up my routine with different classes, as well as use the machines and equipment. I do hope the instructor substitutions and class changes are not too frequent...

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Last night I went to the new gym w/ bf. The class I intended to go to was the cardio kickboxing class, but there was a substitute instructor. She apparently doesn't teach that class, so she changed it to a boot camp class. It is described as: "Achieve your fitness goals with this military inspired circuit workout. Calisthenics and training drills develop strength, stamina and agility." I'd never done a boot camp class, so I was up for at least trying it. Well, it's full of strenuous moves like burpees, donkey kicks, mountain climbers. Ugh! A lot of jumping moves, including jumping jacks and worse. It was structured as 1 min. of strength moves alternated with 1 min of cardio. Let's just say, it was a lot harder than I wanted to work, LOL. And I was not alone in that. When the instructor demonstrated a very strenuous move, many of us just laughed. Most of the time I tried a few reps, but there were a couple where I went straight to a modified move. But I got a good workout even doing a ton of modified moves.

Today I had my massage in the morning. Very nice and relaxing. Alas, I'm feeling sore now from the boot camp class, but maybe the massage will have lessened my soreness. The therapist is a woman used by my Jazzercise instructor, and she handed out her cards and flyers at a class during the summer. She works out of her home. I'd definitely go back to her again, and if bf and I both wanted massages, she would even come to the house. That would cost extra, but her rates are already very reasonable, so that's something to seriously consider.

After the massage I went to the thrift shop on the way home and bought a couple pairs of pants, some books, a cute Christmas tchotchke for the mantel and a brand new in-the-package dark wood "ledge" on which little knick-knackie things can be placed. I have a good amount of framed art on the walls, but nothing on shelves - or any shelves for that matter. Total for all items - less than $14. They had all kinds of cute Christmas decorations & other holiday items on display. Made me think of Mel, of course. And it kind of got me into the holiday spirit a little bit early. I don't like hearing that more and more stores are going to be open on Thanksgiving, or about all the commercial hoopla and materialism that's now part of the holidays, but I do enjoy pretty decorations.

After that, went to lunch and did some errands with bf. Just brewed a mug of tea, ready to relax.

Tomorrow will be a gym session - either a class or using the equipment. We also want to get the garage wall storage system set up this weekend while the temps are mild.

Nothing much else, just some housework and puttering.

Okay, ready to kick back in the recliner. Have a great weekend everyone.

Hi Ladies -

Quick post as I am exhausted. I've been up since 4. I woke up extra early due to bodily functions and I couldn't fall back asleep. I didn't sleep after my procedure...kept trying to call unemployment to file my claim but couldn't get through. Then I started talking with recruiters...from 11:30 am until 6:30 pm, with pretty much no break. I've been submitted for another 8 jobs (probably close to 30 total so far). Now I'm so exhausted...It's been a LONG day. Time for me and Santa to go to bed.

Sorry for not getting to personals.

Much love,

Just a quickie for me - about to head out into the wild blue yonder. Have a nice Thanksgiving Holiday those who are stateside. Will miss you all and will check in as soon as I can. Take care.

Happy
Have a safe trip. And enjoy your visit.

Laura
You always find the neatest things in those Thrift Stores. Good job on going to the exercise class. I find that doing the strength segments do me more good.

Shad
Sounds like you have a tense job this time. But I know you will get things straightened out for them.
The place where you went for dinner sound like a fun place. I like restaurants built like that.

Hi Susie

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I've been sequestered to my room. but at least I have something to do now.
I had a good visit with my cousin from Little Rock today at lunch. One of my uncles had most of his children and grandchildren there so it was almost like Thanksgiving. This same uncle had a badly bruised eye and forehead. He said that his knee gave way on him and he fell. He really has a black eye.
My aunt is going to have one of her cataract's taken off Monday morning. Hope she does as well as my uncle did.
Have a good night.