[Laura705]

Morning all. Still morning, but late- it got away from me at work. Gonna have to catch up on your posts and get to personals later or tomorrow. Hope you all are having a great day.

The movie "Seven Psychopaths" was very entertaining. Great cast - Christopher Walken, Colin Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell. I recommend it, but be warned there was a lot of shooting and death. But there's humor as well.

Okay, time for lunch. I brought a can of soup and the cute stoneware bowl I bought from the resale shop the other day (large enough to hold the whole can of progresso). But I'm just not sure I want that today. I might go out for lunch instead and save the soup for tomorrow.

TTFN!

[annie175]

Wow Happy...I love that picture. My dad is fascinated with Wood Peckers. I am sending the photo to him also. Very nice. Even if it is cold at your commune...at least we cold stay in and keep warm, rather than venture out to WORK! Blah.

LAURA...I may skip that movie...don't like a bunch of bloody scenes. Makes me physically nausaus. Blah on soup. I ate a leftover baked potato with chicken cheddar cream sauce on it. Reall fattening and good. lol

CEEG...amazing what we seen with a little light. And when I put my glasses on, omg the things I see. Scary. lol

Later chickies.

[Laura705]

Not sure I'm all caught up, but here we go...

Michelle – It must be tough to have to tackle the icky divorce paperwork after a long busy day at work. I hope you can crank through it with the ex and get that off your plate and have some relaxing nights to spend with Santa. Re the resale shop – I only go to one that’s near the house, and it’s not one that gets a lot of treasures, but every once in a while they have things that I want. And lately I’ve popped in a bit more regularly, so I think that helps in snagging something good before someone else does! Re the deer – after it was all over in the blink of an eye, it was funny, but for a split second, I did worry what would happen if the deer didn’t leave the yard right away!! Hope you get to spend some time with DMIL… without it being weird.

Ceejay – I don’t watch many of those wildlife show because they always get too “realistic” for me, so seeing that deer leap over the fence from a rather short distance was something! Only 2.5 years and counting! I’m so far away from retirement it feels like I’ll be working forever. I received a call at work from an investment company inviting me to a retirement seminar and I just said “no”.

Shad – So did you get to see the eclipse? The book club book I’m reading, “Delores Claiborne” features a solar eclipse rather prominently in its plot. I’m sorry work is so crummy for you right now. I’m feeling a bit burnt out myself. Does the fact that your assignments have an eventual end to them help any on the bad days??

Mel – Did you get your new phone yet? I enjoy going through my ornaments when I pull them out for the holidays. So many have great memories attached to them – places I’ve been, people who’ve given them to me. Have you got all the insurance stuff taken care of? What a mess.

Annie – Sorry work is still “wretched”. Yeh, we need to be grateful for our jobs. How was the lunch w/ your co-worker? (You’d think you’d have pretty good insurance at your job…) Anyway – yummm, love Mexican food. Tonight we’re having soft tacos made with shredded chicken/black beans/rotel tomatoes w/ chiles. Re jeans – yeh, not fond of the ones cut too low, but a wee bit below the waist is good. Just a PITA trying them on to find the right ones. As bad as bra-shopping?? Hmmm, not sure. Ouch, can’t STAND paper cuts, and cardboard is even worse. Whenever I start to rip into an envelope, I think twice and grab the thingy that’ll slice it open for me. And if I do get a paper cut, we have this liquid bandage that we paint it with. It stings like the dickens when you put it on, but once it dries, the cut is sealed and it feels better.

Happy – Aww, snow globe snow sounds nice. Can’t wait to get my snow globe out, it’s a really nice one from Eddie Bauer I think. Like I told Michelle, my resale shop is pretty run of the mill. I’m looking to expand to a couple others – bf’s mother seems to have a few good ones in her area… It seems like the e-mail hacking never ends. That stinks.

Oy, lost track of time. Let me get this posted and get out of here! I have a train to catch!!

[Shad]

Morning all,
Back at work and feeling pretty depressed about it all. There is little work around at the moment so I guess I'd better suck it up. It's just that there is little harmony in the project, little harmony about the team, little harmony between the workers and the project and always someone running someone else down. I hate working in this atmosphere.

Michelle - with my ex, we just took the insurance value of the furniture and fittings devalued it by 20% and took half each. Since I was the one to buy him out it seemed huge at the time, but we got there. Since he was going back to NZ, he couldn't take much anyway, so although I paid for it, I got to keep most of it as well. Just simplify everything as much as you can. It really does make things easier.

Annie - well hallelujah, another who doesn't like their job. It's a rotten world as far as work goes. But then just think if you land your 'dream' job, it is vacant because someone else thought it was crap.

Better go find some work to do. Someone to annoy. Someone to annoy me. Anything to make me realise I am still alive.

[annie175]

Awww Shaddie....I know how you feel...look at the bright side...yes there is one...your job is not a permanent job that goes on and on till you get the nerve to move on and find another permanent job....at least there is an end to your misery.

LAURA....hope you didn't miss your train....I always miss the boat....lol

Baking a turkey for the pitch in on Friday. It will be done at 9:30, going to let it sit and "settle" till 10:30, then put it in the fridge until tomorrow nite when I cut it up, place it in my crockpot, pour the turkey gravey over it, fridge until Friday morning for our pitch in. Hopefully it won't be too awful dry. I only bake it in a oven bag with an apple cut up, brown sugar, and a stick of butter up it's b*tt.

Going to watch my shows, wait on the turkey then hit the hay....Sass is in my chair, once again.....

love and hugs

[happy2bme]

Ok, guys - my sister called this afternoon with today's Mom Story. Here goes:

Cousin #1 was talking to Mom on the phone. Mom says "I have a horrible pain on one side of my head..." phone makes noise and goes dead. Cousin cannot reach my Mom, panics and calls my sister. Sister tries to call Mom - phone rings and rings and rings - no answer. Sister calls my aunt (Mom's sister) who lives about 8 houses down the street from Mom. Aunt is crabby as usual - sister listens for 2 minutes then breaks in and asks if she will go down the street to check on Mom. In the meantime Sis hustles into her car and tries to break the sound barrier in an attempt to get to Mom's house (22 miles through city traffic) as fast as possible. She tells her son to call her cell phone the minute anyone calls the house.

Cousin #2 gets over to Mom's house. Calls back and says Mom is fine, he finds her outside yelling at some stranger who has the umitigated GALL to put his trash in her garbage can in the alley. (I guess if he just threw it against her garage that would have been ok. And while you're at it buddy, don't forget to kick over her tomato plant like your buddy has been doing all summer). Sister by this time is about 1/3 of the way to Mom's. Decides to pull over, let the adreneline rush subside so that she can think clearly and heads back home. Gets home and the phone rings. It's my Mom's neighbor's number. Answers phone to a barage of Mom swearing about the @#)(*%$#*(#&*($# cable company that is working in the alley and once again took out her phone service with no warning. Not like they EVER knocked on the door and told anyone they were taking out the service as they frequently do. This explains why the phone suddenly went dead. Sister asks Mom - thought you had a severe pain in your head suddenly??? Mom says - yes I did, I took a Tylenol and it kinda went away. Mom is completely clueless as to how many family members had to yank their hearts back out of their throat this afternoon.

I do admit there is a tiny piece of me that is reluctant to take this sport away from my poor sister...

I am glad you liked the picture of the woodpecker - we have 4 kinds of them out here. I did make DH go and buy another bird feeder after the squirrel destroyed our last one. I went to give the birds some fresh water today and if you stand very still they will fly all around you. It's kind of like being Cinderella You just have to stand away from the feeder and suet so that you don't get any birdie "fly bys" :yuck: I love to watch them. They are so small and cute. I'll bet if I made a coat out of seed they would fly all over me. Yes I have thought about this but something in the back of my head tells me this is not as good of an idea as it sounds ...

I got some things done today but not everything on the list. Did make a version of Famous Dave's Northwoods Chicken and Wildrice soup. I did a cheat version - used canned Cream of Potato, Cream of Chicken and Cheddar Cheese soups with milk in place of the roux and cream the original recipe called for. I think I just substituted salt for fat It came out pretty good except I had to leave the mushrooms in big chunks so that DH did not get any in his bowl. I have some time critical things I need to make sure I do after work tomorrow and Friday - at least I have the weekend off. We are supposed to get one of the best meteor showers of the year Saturday night and of course the forecast is for cloudy weather. We have yet to have a good show out here.

Annie - bringing a whole turkey to the luncheon - you are VERY GENEROUS! I like the idea of roasting it with an apple and brown sugar. I hope it comes out good. Years ago my sister told me about cooking it in a bed of "the holy trinity" - chopped celery, onions and carrots. And it's always come out tender and moist since then. I'm going to mess with the apple and brown sugar tho - sounds delish. I wonder if you could cook it in some apple cider?

Shad - I am sorry this is such a lousy assignment for you. It sounds like your office environment is the same as back here in the States. And that's really sad because you have to put alot more into your job due to the nature of your work. When you can't find anyone to rely on or even provide the most basic of information or tools - argh!!! And I'm sorry to hear you can't even get away this weekend. Hopefully there will be something interesting to allow you a bit of down time. How long will you be at this stint?

Laura - if I may suggest - you may think that retirement is very far away from you but you should be thinking about it and acting on it. Chances are very good that you won't have the things that retirees count on - health insurance or social security - so the more you can put away, the better it will be for you. We saved since we were 35 years old and twice we had our investments wiped out due to stock market failings - so my point is that there are setbacks you don't plan on that can affect you. My sister said she is taking some lessons from what we went through and adopting a strategy. Just my 2 cents. Trust me - it's going to get to the point where you can't stand another day and you'll be looking for any means possible to get out. And sometimes life pulls the rug out under you and you have to find a new path like Miss Michelle.

And to you Michelle I say that sometimes things have to happen in order to pave the way for other things. So such a big setback might just be the impetus to write that book you've always talked about. (I'm still playing around with ideas for mine ) You are smart and even keeled - you will get though this dark moment in your life. I am glad that you are adjusting to it. Just wish your back wasn't giving you so much trouble It's sort of funny that you are moving back to CA one day and exDMIL is coming here - is that nature's way of keeping everything in balance?

Laura - I'm with Annie on the shoot 'em up movies - but we'll both go when there's a comedy in town.

Ceejay - good job on walking with Leslie! And keyboards at work are GRRROSS! I used to clean my own regularly with alchohol swabs.

Ok, while I'm up here I need to find a sympathy card for a former co-worker and get that in the mail on the way in. Not sure if I'll have enough time for a post in the morning - if not - happy Thursday ladies - weekend's almost here.

And only 3 more paychecks until you know what

[Shad]

You can mention the word now. Frickin' decorations have been in the shops since beginning of October. Yuck.

[MELODY525]

GOOD MORNING CHICKS.
HAPPY THURSDAY/FRIDAY TO YOU ALL.

TOMORROW IS FOOD SHOPPING AT A LOCAL STORE.
JEN IS GOING TOO.
THEY SAY THE STORE GOT A LOT OF DELIVERIES.
WE CALLED TO MAKE SURE IT WASN'T ANOTHER WASTED TRIP.
THE INS. PAPERS ARE DONE.
THE LADY WITH THE CAR HAS HER OWN CAR INS.
I DIDN'T WITNESS ANY OF THESE ACCIDENTS BUT WAS THE ONE PEOPLE CAME TO REPORT IT TO.
SO ERGO THE PAPERWORK.

TIME FOR BREKKIE....HAVE A GREAT DAY.

***PS: VERIZON SENT ME BACK MY OLD PHONE.
SAID IT NEEDED CLEANING AND A NEW BATTERY.
BUT THEY SAID THE CAUSE OF THE BREAKDOWN WAS PROBABLY A STATIC SHOCK.
NEXT TIME JUST REMOVE THE BATTERY WAIT A FEW SECONDS AND REPLACE.
I SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT.
I GET THEM ALL THE TIME GOING THRU THE METAL DOORJAMBS.






HAPPY.....OMG!! LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT BIRD!!
HE WAS THE FIRST THING THAT CAME UP ON THE SCREEN!!
I WAS CRACKING UP AND SAID THAT MUST BE ONE OF HAPPY'S NEW FRIENDS
DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE E-MAIL THING.
IOT HAPPENS TO EVERYONE. I ONCE CALLED AOL AND THEY SAID THE SAME THING.
THERE IS JUST NO WAY TO STOP IT.
SPAMMERS EVEN DO IT TO DEPT. STORES.

HAPPY Part 2: OMG!! THE MOM STORY IS TOO UNREAL!!
SENIORS HAVE NO CLUE AS TO WHAT THEY CAUSE OTHERS.
I SAY ALL THE TIME THEY ARE CLUELESS LIKE THE MOVIE!!!
IT'S LIKE A MACABRE COMEDY!!
I CAN UNDERSTAND YOUR RELUCTANCE TO TAKE THIS ON!!



CEEJAY....YOU ARE THE NEW QUEEN OF EXERCISE
I AM SURPRISED YOU CAN STILL STAND AFTER ALL THAT.
WAY TO GO.
HOPE YOUR BODY IS FEELING OK WITH IT TODAY


LAURA.......THANKS FOR THE WARNING ON THE MOVIE.
I'LL TAKE A PASS BUT I BET MY BLOODTHIRSTY KIDS WILL LOVE IT!
HOPE THE DAY SLOWED DOWN A BIT.



ANNIE......I HATE PAPER CUTS OF ANY KIND!!
THEY HURT MORE THAN BROKEN BONES
I BET CURTIS IS GLAD FOR THE HELP TOO.
HOW WAS THE LUUNCH WITH THE FRIEND WHO IS LEAVING.
BET SHE IS HAPPY NOW?
I KNEW I SMELLED TURKEY ROASTING LAST NIGHT




MICHELLE.....BETTER TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND LET IT HEAL.
THAT WAS A LOT OF WORK AND STRESS FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
JUST KEEP SNUGGLING WITH THE DOGGIE.
RICHIE & JEN ARE DOING FINE THIS WEEK.....LOL





SHAD..... LOVE THE DECORATIONS IN THE STORES!!
YIPPEE NOW WE NEED TO GET YOU A MRS SANTA SUIT TO WEAR AT WORK ON BOXING DAY
I AM SO SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT WORK.
THE SAME PROB IS DOWNSTAIRS. IT'S PITIFUL AND DEPRESSING.
WE NEED TO GIVE EACH OTHER HAPPY THOUGHTS.
JUST REMEMBER WHEN IT IS ALL DONE YOU CAN LEAVE!!

GO OUT AND BUY SOME CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS...IT WILL CHEER YOU RIGHT UP

[annie175]

Good Morning All...one more day this week..and that will be pitch-in day. One lady is bringing her wonderful breakfast casserole. She only brings it in twice a year and it is gobbled<--pun-- up within minutes.

Got the turkey all ready. Making the gravy tonight to pour over the turkey. I did save out enough turkey to make turkey manhattens tonight for our dinner.

HAPPY...Your mom story reminds me of my momma and dad's stories. I call him every day. When he doesn't answer, I keep calling back until he does. If too much time elapses that he doesn't answer, I make my way over there. Sometimes he just says, I didn't feel like talking so I didn't answer the phone. REALLY? The senior group just seems to think they can do whatever they like because they are older. I don't know but I may do that also later in life. haha Don't forget along with the apple and brown sugar also a stick of butter goes in the turkey. I might try the 'holy trinty' thing as I have a turkey breast in the freezer.

SHADDIE...Merry Christmas!

MELLIE...my silly phone will not turn back on once it is turned off unless I take the battery out and put it back in. Kind of like Shaddie's hokey pokey game she plays at work. lol. I am Verizon also, I love Verizon. Been with them since 1992. Actually that is the only carrier that I have been with ever, from all the horror stories I hear about other carriers, I will not be trying any others. Are you getting mail regularly yet? or UPS shipments? Just curious.

Hello to all the wonderful worldlies out there.

Loves and hugs

[happy2bme]

Good morning ladies,


Hah hah Annie - about gobbling up the breakfast casserole Actually I've had some of these - they are worth crowing about And it's a given that there will ALWAYS be some butter in a roasted turkey

So question 1 - what is a turkey manhattan?

Question 2 - what is "pitch in" day? A day of giving where you help out at some community service work or just another name for a pot luck / everyone bring something to work? We used to have a big fancy spread at work for Thanksgiving - management would pop for Honey Baked Hams and Turkeys and we'd bring the rest. A veritable feast.

Mel - when I figure out how to come up with something to eliminate the static electricity, I will share it with you. I constantly get zapped at home. Big zaps too. Must be the same with you if you took out your phone

Passed through town last night on the way home from the casino and they have many of the store fronts all decorated with lights. They were testing them for next week's parade and holiday light show. Seems like they put up the decorations earlier and earlier. Doesn't motivate me to do any more shopping

Time to hop in the shower and get rolling along... Have a good one ladies.

[diyana]

Hi Ladies -

I worked late yesterday because my boss requested that my brief proposal for a new website contain more detail and it should be roughly 10 pages long, rather than the 1 page summary. So I stayed to finish it, and got it up to roughly 8 pages, and then sent it off to him for review. Hopefully he likes it because it needs to go to the commmittee this afternoon in advance of our morning meeting.

Also on today's list, I've got several website changes to make using an antiquated content management system that keeps crashing my computer. And I've got to address some issues with the search functionality we use on our website, and type up notes from two meetings. And after I get done with that, I have to fix some pages on another site and add some programming and content by end of day Monday. So...crazy busy....but that's a good thing. I am definitely NOT complaining.

Tonight I have an eye doctor appointment. Tomorrow night, I have a code push (implementation) to do, so I'll be here until 8 or 9 pm. I dropped Santa off with the ex this morning, and because of my appointment tonight and working late tomorrow, I'll pick him up on Saturday when I go over there to bring more stuff over. I would really like to have EVERYTHING out by the end of the month....and have all the paperwork done.

Five weeks from today, I go to CA. I can't wait! I'm so excited!!

===============================

Laura - Glad to hear the movie was entertaining. As for the deer, like you, I would've worried what might've happened if the deer hadn't gotten out of the yard...deer vs dog probably wouldn't be good for either. Thankfully, that didn't happen. I'm very far away from retirement...financially speaking at least. I hate most clothes shopping, but bra shopping is the worst! Ugh. Trying to find something that holds that gals up without digging in.

Annie - Yesterday was baked potato day in the cafeteria...but I opted for a turkey wrap instead. I'm trying to be aware of (and avoid) foods that can spike blood sugar, and I know potatoes spike it big time. Your potato with chicken/cheddar sauce did sound yummy though. The turkey sounds delish! I'm sure in the crock pot with gravy it won't be dry. does it matter what kind of apple you put in the turkey (red delicious? macintosh? granny smith?)

Shad - Thanks for the tip on how you valued the furniture, etc. Sorry you have to deal with so much negativity at work. That can be so emotionally, mentally and physically draining. Hang in there.

Happy - Parents just don't understand how much we worry. I don't envy your sister this "sport". I usually cook my turkey in an oven bag with celery and onions, and rub it down liberally with LOTS of butter/margarine. I understand what you mean about preparing for retirement. I certainly haven't prepared well enough. And I don't have much in my 401Ks. So I'll be working for as long as I'm physically able. I want to get to writing my book. I have some ideas now that have been inspired by what's going on in my life. But I know that once I start working on the book, I'll want to focus on the book, rather than the divorce paperwork or anything else. So, first things first.

Mel - I'm glad the insurance paperwork is done. Bummer that Verizon didn't give you a new phone, but at least you got a new battery out of it.

A big to Ceejay and Ellen.

Time for me to get some work done.

Much love and many hugs,

[diyana]

Happy - I was wondering what a turkey manhatten is too. Glad you asked. I'm not motivated to do any Christmas shopping or decorating this year. I hate to be all bah humbug...but I won't be at my place for Christmas anyway.

[annie175]

HAPPY..Q1. a turkey manhatten is a turkey sandwich, cut in half, placed on a plate with space between the halves then a scoop of mashed potatos in the middle, cover the entire thing with gravey...not fattening at all...hahaha. Q2. Yes a pitch in is another meaning for pot luck day. And I got my turkey at Kroger for 75 cents a pound with a 25 dollar purchase. That wasn't hard at all to do. 3. HAPPY & MELLIE...if you keep hand lotion on at all times it cuts down on the shocking.

CHELLE...I don't decorate much either and I have Christmas eve at my house. hahah. I put up my little 2 foot tree and stockings, that's it. It doesn't matter what type of apple you put in the turkey....

Later ladies

[annie175]

[annie175]

The explosion, cause still undetermined.