Worldly Chicks in October - Keepin The Sisterhood Tight
 

I know you suggested a thread title for October and while I generally am happy to accommodate, I just wanted to dedicate this month to Mel - good wishes, good thoughts and a few miracles if by any chance possible. :crossed: :angel:

Shad - when you correspond with Jen please pass along our love and strength to her also. I echo what others have said - she has her own trials as well as keeping it strong for Momma. I wouldn't be telling the people in the building either as the poor girl is not strong enough to fight off the tenants.

Let me go finish setting things up...

Ohhh man, closed the wrong window - the one I had been updating my post in. Don't really have time to re-do it as it's getting late, I will just have to pick up in the morning. Good night ladies. Rest well.

Okay all,
I am about to reply to Jen and let her know I got the email and have told all the people and to pass on your wishes to her Mum. I will alert her that Mel will have mail in the next few days or so - if your posties are not on strike that is or shut down or whatever your rather ridiculous politicians are doing.

I'm back in the training room and we've had a good day today. Only 5 in the class so it was an easy enough time to ensure everyone had a good grasp of what we were doing.

The power bill raises its ugly head again. Back to the drawing board. They have added extra charges to about half the credit amount I am due. Someone will get it in the neck when I get to sort out this latest bill.
Geez they are useless.

Damn I forgot to go back to the other thread to make notes back shortly.

Annie - happy birthday to C. May there be many many more and may he stay your sweetheart for ever. I love it when you two are billing and cooing all over my facebook or in here. It's so nice to have something good happening.

Michelle - congratulations on the weight loss. Doing well. I'm doing the abs challenge from Laura but so far no loss here. Just rock hard abs under a thick layer of splodgy fat.
Jen will let us know as soon as she knows when Mel will move. Soon as I know you will know or if she approves I may get her to add you all to her address list so you can see them straight off. I don't think she is thinking too straight right now. But I will pass on any messages you wish to give either here or through my email or through PM's.

Happy - thanks for starting up the new thread. Good choice for title. Good pictures on facebook today from both you and the dh


Ceejay - the abs challenge is murder the first couple of days. Then it gets easier until you get to about day 14 or 15. I find I can no longer complete it in one go. I need to split it into groups of 20 or sometimes even 10 and get it done over the course of a day.

I'm presuming Laura is still away. Hope she is having a great time with her Mom.

Ruth - thanks for coming on over and checking up on us. I'm so far away I can't offer much support or help, but I will do what I can.

Mary - are you still keeping up with us. I know you said you had heard the news or rather seen the news so I gather you check in once in a while.

Carla - the above applies to you as well. However we do email from time to time.

Time I was off here and completed todays ab challenge. Poor me.

Morning
I like the title of the thread Happy and thanks for starting it. We all need to stay strong for Mel and Jen.

Shad
Ah 5 in a class room will be a breeze for you.

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I forgot to measure last night but will tonight. I'm counting carbs as my plan of eating.
Decided to do 40 reps of crunches last night, which will consist of my ab's challenge this month.

Happy...thank you for the excellent title for the thread.

Shaddie...sounds like this job is a bit easier than the last. Thanks for the update on MELLIE/JEN.

CEEG...good job on exercising.

Hello to all you all. Thanks for the HB to my Curtis. It was a lovely evening.

Not much into posting these days...very upset about out Mellie.

Good morning all,

Today and tomorrow - still lovely days, sunny and warm during the day, cool for sleeping at night. Unfortunately as life goes, cold and rain are moving in late Thursday to ruin the apple and cranberry festivals that are being held this upcoming weekend. DH and I were going to go to the cranberry festival, we'll see how crummy the weather actually will be. Sunday we went for a long (over 4 hour) ATV ride in the forest. Trees are turning - some places (around the lakes) more than others. It was a gorgeous day, we had a good time. I'd like to take a ride up north to check out some of the apple orchards before the weather turns but I have to work this afternoon so not sure if we will make it.

Yesterday was busy. I went through my bin of tomatoes and of course 2/3 of them are ripening just like I DON'T want. I heard if you kept them in the dark they'd stay green longer and then I could let small batches turn as I needed them. Of course you know if I just put green tomatoes all over my window sills hoping they'd turn, they wouldn't. So now I have far more tomatoes than I will ever use sitting in my kitchen. I did make a green tomato bread - a bit on the sweeter tea bread side - think banana bread without the banana flavor. It smelled good baking and you'd never know it has tomatoes in it. Just a subtle sweet flavor and hints of cinnamon and vanilla. Nice but I wouldn't make it again. I also made a batch of dog treats - one of 3 batches to make as they are going to sell them at the cranberry festival this weekend. Stripped the linens, did 4 loads of laundry, cleaned the cat potty room, wrote out some cards and did dishes about 19 times (or so it seemed). Talked to both my Mom and sister yesterday to round out the night. Long day, I crashed into bed. My back is seizing up again, this is getting frustrating. Thinking about seeing a chiropractor although the last one messed me up big time. And that's about it for me.

Sent Mel a card to her apartment - hoping that Jen will deliver the mail to her where ever she may be hanging her hat and calling it home for the time being. I will try to get a letter to her by Thursday.

Annie - I can understand being bummed by Mel's situation but remember that she would give you the old rolling pin :rollpin: if you fretted too much about her. Be strong and send those good thoughts her way. Happy BD to your man - hope you had a nice celebration. Don't understand your cougar comment - aren't you and C close to the same age? Forgive me if I am way off here - have to think hard to remember how old DH is :lol:

I have to be careful going to the last thread to catch up on personals - that's how I lost my post last night.

Ceejay - be careful with that fluid in the ears. Seems like once it sets in it's so hard to clear up. I imagine with the cotton pickin' coming it will also add to the runny eyes and tight chest. I think it's a good idea to get the car paid off before you retire - have as few of bills as possible. Have enough saved so that you can be comfortable but "get out of Dodge" while you are still healthy and spry enough to enjoy retirement! ;)

Ruth - good to see you again :D

Michelle - congrats on the weight loss - keep up the good work. Thanks for the compliments on the pictures - I love the autumn season best of all and don't think I'd like living in a place like CA or AZ where you don't get much of a seasonal transition. I know Christmas didn't seem like Christmas with no snow. Come on, you know you'll miss those snow boots, heavy coat and most of all - hat hair :rofl:

Shad - is Jen's last name the same as Mel's? I'm thinking maybe she could use a comfort card too - I'd just send it to Mel's place. I do feel so sorry for the poor girl - wish we were closer to help out a bit - I hope some of the building people - the few who looked out for Mel will help her too - the travelling must be hard on her. Thank you for serving as the communications lead - sometimes too many people can be overwhelming. I'm glad you have a small manageable class this time around - and that you get all your logins working as they should. How frustrating that you have problems with the power company AGAIN. That has to be difficult trying to get through the queues when you have to work for a living.

As to your comment - even though the government is shut down, we will still get the mail as that is handled from a separate self funded group. The post office is actually not part of the government per se. So keep sending those cards and letter. Just don't plan on visiting a national park, museum or federal place of interest for a bit.

Ok, 'bout time for me to grab something quick to eat and get my stuff ready for the shop. The new shades just arrived - guess DH has his task cut out for him this afternoon.

Have a good day ladies. Love to Mel and Jen :grouphug:

Nothing new today. Finished and balanced the monthly report. I've been balancing weekly so it didn't take as long today.
I'm on a 6 day stretch at work, and I've decided that I'm not going to overdo anything at home or work this week. I'm tempted to try a salad tonight but I ate a raw apple today and I'm not sure how that's going to affect things.
I really think that I should try to eat a light dinner instead of counting carbs.

I'm not very talkative today.

Hi everyone -

I could've sworn I posted. But apparently it didn't get posted. I'm busy as ever at work, but that's a good thing. Planning to get to the gym after work for biking and treddie.

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

Happy - Thanks for starting the new thread. I really love the thread title. The autumn photos on Facebook are lovely! I hope it doesn't rain all weekend and totally wash out the festivals. So sorry to hear about your back! I hope you're able to get relief soon. I had to laugh at your comment about missing the snow boots and heavy coat...yeah, right. And I WON'T miss shoveling or digging out my car.

Ceejay - Glad your report balanced. 6 days in a row? And you work long days don't you? If you're not used to eating A LOT of fruits and veggies, it's best to work them in slowly. I hope you have a yummy light dinner. 40 crunches is really good! Well done!

Shad - That's awful about the power company. I hope you don't need to bash too many heads to make them see reason. As Happy said, the Postal Service is still running, despite the partial government shutdown. I wish I had rock hard abs even if they were under splodgy fat. I guess that's the first step, then to just try and shed the splodgy. Thanks for the warning about the abs challenge being tough the first couple days. I can't do full situps, so I'll just add those to my crunches...and of course do the planks. Those long planks at the end will be the killer for me. Thanks for the updates about Mel. Please tell Jen that our thoughts, prayers and love are with her and her mom.

Annie - I understand about being so upset about Mellie. I'm going through all the emotions (anger, denial, sadness). Happy is right, though, she would give us all the :rollpin: if we let ourselves get and stay too upset.

Sending bunches of love and many hugs to all, including our dear Mellie and Jen! :grouphug: :love: :hug: :grouphug:

No word back from Jen, but she is probably busy with visits to Mom and trying to fend off the seniors who have lost their teeth or something. They unfortunately wont care if Mel ain't around as long as Jen is.

Training went okay today. Sometimes I wish I could pick my class. I was practically dealing with two classes - those that had no idea and were therefore dangerous and demented and those who had some idea and were dangerous, demented, and querelous. Spelling doesn't like right there but it hasn't come up with a red line under it. I'm getting rave reviews in the evaluation sheets but that is only because not only are they dangerous, demented, and querelous but they are also confused. Nothing like confusion in the ranks to make me seem sane.

Ceejay - yeah five in a class is great. I see you are dealing with the abs challenge as a one exercise challenge. That is not so bad an idea. Keep it up and do the abs crunches as in the challenge. You may feel at a later point that you might like to add another exercise like the leg lifts or the plank.

Happy - I've mentioned to Jen that there will be mail. Carla sent something to Mel apparently before the diagnosis was in so I put in Jen in the picture about that. I will try to get her a group entry for her email so she puts us all in the picture at the same time. However I don't know how computer savvy she is. If we speak, I might talk her through it. Long distance training you might say.
Sorry to hear the festivals are ruined by rain. Here we should be into the Spring festivals such as the Toowoomba Flower Festival, but lack of rain has slowed down a lot of the gardens - we've had the warmest Spring on record and temps in the western part of the State have been reaching 41C -110F more or less - regularly. Going to be a long hot summer.
Jens surname is Laine.

Ceejay - shifts like yours can be hard work. I've done them as well over 7, 14 and 21 days. End of the shift, this zombie shuffles back to base. Men seem to manage okay, but then they don't have to go home and do housework or cook meals etc. A beer and a burger seems to be their life.

Michelle - with the sit ups, I start with my feet against the wall and my knees bent and I lean back to where it starts to hurt and then forward again. Perhaps we could call mine lie downs??? After a while you find that you can go back further and further - however for me they still remain the worst of the exercises. After day 14 the crunches overtake the sit ups then it is easy. Also once I got past about day 7 or 8 I decided to do the exercise in batches of 10. 10 situps, 10 crunches, 10 leg raise. Repeat. Sometime I do half before work and half after. So you can taylor it to suit. Yesterdays 60 second plank defeated me, but I did it again this morning and it worked. Today was a much needed rest day.

Annie - left you to last because................ Take a moment to reflect on your being upset about Mel. Yes you can be upset, but it doesn't do her or you any good. Send her a funny card, remind her of jokes that you have shared. Enjoy her for what she is, will be and has been. It's hard. Keep it together. Say your prayers for her. Love your man. It's times like this that we should hug those we care about. Can't mourn her yet. There's life in the old girl yet.

So I wrote to Jen, passing on all the wishes, prayers, hopes, and friendship that I saw on both facebook and on 3fc. I said we would like to help them out and how could we best go about it. I wait her reply. We need to target where it will fit best. So just hang in there.

One thing I thought might be nice to do- I have one of those digital photo frames. You load a memory stick (usb) with photos of flowers or the family and it plays the photos for you. Just scrolls through the usb. I wonder if we could put one together for Mel. Annie could put in photos of her wedding and the taters wedding, ceejay pictures of herself and her workplace and car and nephews, nieces whatever. I thought that if we all send a stick complete with photos to Happy or Michelle or anyone who wants to load the photos onto one memory stick usb thingy, we can arrange for the frame to be sent to her and she can see us all in all our glory. What does anyone else think of this idea - as a starter anyway. I'm happy to spring for the frame and we can probably find one on Amazon or somewhere with American electrics. If I sent mine I would have to send a special plug as well - I well remember the fun Happy, her DH and I had in Chicago trying to find an adapter for my phone charger. D'oh.

Right well I am off. I've blethered enough. I still have work to do before I go home. And tomorrow I am going to have to beg a lady to do some printing for me. I might have to get down on my knees.

Cejjay should feel special I've given her two personals.

Shad I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of the frame. Remember how when Mel was sick before she would amuse herself with travel videos and such? And she always seemed to enjoy it when some of us would send her pictures. I was planning on sending her a letter with some pictures of the wildlife around here - including me and DH before we've combed our hair (northwoods wildlife ;) ) just to make her smile. And you are sooooo right. I do remember being in one of the biggest shopping malls in the country and not being able to find a bloody adaptor. Maybe it would be better if I shopped for the frame ;) But I think that would be such a nice idea. If only we could get a pic or two of Igor - I know you said you have some lookers out your way Shad - who cares if they don't have brains or teeth????

I am doing my homework on apple knowledge - the fruit not the PC. Seeing that some of the best apples had their origins in NZ and Australia. Funny I don't think of those places for apple orchards. My next adventure - make some fresh apple sauce. It just seems right.

And now I need to get to sleep. Good night all. Thanks for keeping the thinking cap on Shad - you have made me laugh tonight with the dangerous, demented students as well as the toothless seniors hounding Jen in Mel's absence - sometimes you just have to smile even though you might be sad. Mel - you are making me appreciate things again - even if you don't know it. :hug:

Don't think of us as apple country. Tasmania is known as the Apple Isle although these days they are better known for grapes. New Zealand has some of the tastiest apples. Last time I was there, there were a couple of new varieties that were superb. Yummy.

Glad you like the idea. I'll go out and pick up a usb stick and start putting some pictures on. Might have to caption the Igor photos.

Morning girls,

What a night. Lately I am dead tired but as soon as my head hits the pillow, I toss and turn for at least an hour. Melatonin didn't do anything for me and I hate to take the Benadryl if I don't really need it. I think I fell asleep close to 3am and then woke up at 5 for a potty run. Could not fall back to sleep. At 6 I went into the guest bedroom where I was followed by cats but lay awake until 7 when I decided this was getting no where. So I won't be firing on all pistons today. Pity because it's going to be another gorgeous day and the rain, winds and cold yucky weather move back in tonight.

Shad - say hello to Carla from me - she popped me an email a long, long time ago but have not heard anything since. Sorry to hear that it's been warm already and little rain - hope you are not in for a drought season again. The world's weather is all topsy turvy no matter where you sit. Good luck with those classes - perhaps you need to snap a candid pic of the demented and deranged titled "my coworkers" ;) :lol: Finally I'm stealing the phrase splodgy fat - so appropriate.

Michelle - you're welcome about the new thread. I don't mind doing it, just mostly I don't pay attention to the date and don't notice the changing of the calendar much any more. How's your back been holding up? And how's the new job going for you? Longer commute?

Ceejay - ugh - 6 long days of work. Poor kid! Good luck counting carbs - I find that when I do I dearly miss every one I have to give up :lol: Yay on getting the monthly report done - much easier if you can do it a week at a time as you've done.

Annie - come out, come out - don't be hiding. Bad enough we're down one without Mel. Don't make us come look for you :mag:

Laura - back to reality eh? Hope you had a nice time with your Mom and got to celebrate her big birthday properly.

Geez I've had a big cup of coffee, DH is about to get up and of course now I'm sleepy. :rolleyes: Maybe if I take a shower I'll wake up - too pretty of a day to waste it. Have a good one chicks.

Shad
Love the picture idea And do find one of Igor.
It's going to be Friday before I can participate in any of this. I need to go to the Post Office and mail some things to my nephew's family also.
And you are correct, Mel still has life and we shouldn't be mourning her. She'd sure be using the rolling pin on us.

Happy
I love festivals. I know Mel would enjoy seeing pictures of the wild life.

Michelle
Yes work does keep one busy. I like work to be busy but I dislike the phone with irate customers on the other end. Had to deal with one of those yesterday after 5 p.m.

Annie
I remember you telling that you were a cougar and that's okay. You got a good man.

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Did my 40 crunches, day 2, last night and I measured my waist only which is 45 inches. UGH. This is the area where my doctor is concerned with the most since my mom had heart disease. I also ate an individual container of Greek Activia after I got home from work last night. Was completely satisfied.
So far the apple hasn't reared an ugly head. So tonight I'm going to try a small salad tonight.
Was in a mood to clean up the kitchen. Tonight I'll do a load of laundry. Believe it or not I was in the bed by 9.30 p.m. However, this morning I woke up with a huge headache. I've taken Bayer Migraine and it's easing.
Have a good day.

I am here, was a long night. Curtis cut the top of his foot taking out the trash. Something in the bag swung across the top of his foot and layed it open like a filet of fish. Was in ER at St. Frances. Took xray, whatever cut it was not in there. Gave him a tetnus shot, cleaned the wound and gave him eight stitches to boot. Guess I won't have to gripe about meeting the deductible as I am sure this will get us pretty close to the 4800. mark. Along with my 1000. already reached from meds I take. Good thing Wednesday is his day off as he is in pain, in bed, taking ibuprofen. Sassy is playing nurse.

SHAD...I love the idea of the picture frame. My mom and dad had one but barely used it as they thought it used too much electricity. haha. I know I am just an emotional child and things make my heart hurt to easily. Better know as a big baby. lol

HAPPY...I really am not hiding, just dealing with work and home at the moment. I am in pretty good spirits really as my ankle/foot arthritis is barely bothering me with the regimen the doc gave me and the new arch support sketchers with memory foam. Yeah!! Pix of your foliage would be great for MELLIE. Good idea.

CEEG...may the force be with you on your 6 day stretch. Are those days 10 hour days?

CHELLE...good job on the exercise.

LAURA...hope your visit with momma is going well.

Chat at cha later girlies...hugs to all,,feel betters to MELLIE and strength to JEN.

Super quick post for me as things have been crazy busy at work since I walked in. The website is having issues and it's because half of our website is on one technology and the other half on the other (two different vendors/hosts) and normally this works seamlessly, but today the two halves aren't talking to each other, and this morning we have online webcast classes that our customers can't access...hence major crisis! I'm in the middle because there's nothing I can do in the code to fix it, so I've opened support tickets with both our vendors to get them to figure it out! But tempers and the stress level are both running high with the folks around here. I'm so looking forward to my workout tonight.

My back was bothering me last night, but I got myself to the gym and did 20 min. on the bike hoping it would loosen up...it didn't. I did my ab challenge right before bed.

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Shad - I love the idea of a digital photo frame!

Happy - I'm having similar sleeping issues...I'm tired and can barely keep my eyes open, but as soon as I lay down...I toss and turn.

Annie - So sorry to hear about C's foot! That sounds so painful! I hope he's resting, keeping it elevated and using ice to help the pain and swelling.

Ceejay - Good for you on the Abs challenge! I hope your headache goes away.

Gotta run....I'll try and get back later.

Much love,

Annie
Ouch on Curtis' foot. But I know he has 2 excellent nurses, you and Sassy.

Nothing much is happening except for the bad thunderstorm that moved through yesterday. Sounded like the clap of thunder/lightening strike was right above me. And put out the power. It tripped a breaker at one of the sub stations. I'd been watching the radar and had the tanks full and plant shut down.
Did day 3 of ab crunches last night. Also washed and dried one load of clothes and vacuum up some stuff on the living room floor. If I wasn't such a messy eater I would have to do that. My coffee table has become my eating table. Bad choice. I did eat my chef salad. So far no major consequences except for constipation. tmi I'm sure.

Not much going on around here. Gray, rainy day. Thank God Sam and Jacob are coming up and meeting me for lunch. Will check back later. Hugs

Morning everyone. Sorry I've been scarce around here. I really didn't want to post much while I was at my mom's. Her computer isn't set up, likely never will be, much less internet service. And I don't like typing on my phone much and didn't want to bother with the voice feature. And finally, I don't have an unlimited data plan/package for my cell phone, and I hit 65% of my allotted amount at my Mom's - and I still have 13 days left in this billing cycle.

My visit with my mother was pleasant enough. Or should I just come out and say she. drives. me. crazy. ?? :D Anyway, she's 80. Her knee was bothering her while I was there, but she insists on trying not to take anything for the pain. And then she might forget to take something when she decides she will. But she generally got around okay. However, the house is way too big for her, and she needs to move to a small apartment. I think she doesn't feel secure being alone, so being in a complex with other people would be better for her. She's been thinking about it, but in a "someday" kind of mindset, not "it's time". Have to move her along the timeline somehow.

Shad - Thanks so much for passing along our well-wishes for Mel to Jen. I'm still so sad over her diagnosis. But you're right, we need to buck up and act with all the spirit and strength Mel herself faces in her everyday life. I really like the digital photo frame idea. Safe travels home. Your work schedule doesn't sound quite as stressful, but it sure doesn't mean those training sessions weren't challenging! Sounds like you've got your ab challenge under control. Honestly, the situps are the worst because they take the longest. I have been doing the situps with my feet under a chair or sofa. Once the reps got larger, I limited the traditional situp reps I do to about 75% of the total and then substitute the remainder with another ab exercise, such as one that targets the obliques. It's all good.

Ceejay - Is the power back on now? Good luck in your ab challenge. :)

Michelle - I hope things have gotten fixed at work - bad to have the site not fully operational. Good luck on your ab challenge. I hope your back's feeling better today.

Annie - I'm so sorry to hear about C's foot injury!!! Ouch! And that's a good amount of stitches. I hope it's feeling better, healing well, and doesn't keep him from doing what he needs to do with work, etc. I'm happy to hear your foot/ankle are feeling better in new supportive sneakers and with the doc's regimen.

Happy - I saw the pics on FB - lovely fall color up there. I hope you get to enjoy it for a lot longer and that rain doesn't spoil the festivals going on up there. There really wasn't any color change in my mom's area, but back here at home, things are definitely changing, and the past two day's weather has been just gorgeous. Sorry you've been having trouble sleeping. I usually don't have issues, but did have some early wake-ups while at my mom's place. I think you asked - my mom wasn't keen on any shows in Branson, so we didn't do anything special while I was there. Meals out, a visit to the botanic garden (another gorgeous day), and we went to a dog festival at a local park where they featured dachshund races - very cute. Did you make any applesauce yet? Bf's mom just makes it in the microwave I believe, but doesn't season it at all. Rather bland. What's really peculiar about this woman is that she doesn't own a cookbook or follow a recipe for anything. Even people who can't or don't cook a lick might clip a recipe from a newspaper or magazine if it looks really tasty to them...odd. Anyway, good luck with your applesauce. I heard someone mention a recipea while back with ginger in it - yum.
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Yesterday morning I went to a WW meeting in my area. Of course I'd taken my WW record card out of my purse before my trip & had forgotten it, but the woman still let me weigh in and gave me a sticker to paste on my record - I don't want to miss any meetings and not get reimbursed by my employer for my fees. I was up .2 pounds. Not bad,given I wasn't doing any of my usual walking/cycling. I probably should have visited the restroom before stepping on the scale, lol.

Went out to lunch with bf - Thai food, yum. After that, stopped at Bath & Body for some liquid hand soaps. Then to Mariano's, the fancy grocery by our house that we rarely go to. Bought some salmon & green beans for dinner & a couple other things. We finally used the new carpet shampooer to do our living room area rug. Wow, it sure needed it!!

Late afternoon I took doggy for his walk, did my ab challenge and went to my barre class. I tell ya, that ab challenge has become quite time-consuming now that I'm at the bitter end - I've been doing it all in one go, but alternating sets of the situps and crunches. My abs are pretty strong now - I have to take advantage of that and get going on a push-up regimen. I swapped out day 27 (which was Tuesday, the day I flew home) with day 28, which is a rest day, which is fine because I was down to only three days after that. Now I'm on day 29 and so looking forward to finishing up tomorrow!!! :)

This morning I'm relaxing, reading a book. I prolly should go out and pick some tomatoes. Bf didn't water at all while I was gone, but claimed it had rained on Monday. I did see water in the saucers of my potted flowers, so I guess I believe him, LOL.

BF and I might go to a plumbing supply/showroom today to check out what we need for our half bathroom update. It's overcast and gloomy with rain in the forecast, so good day for that. And maybe just watching a movie at home. I have a taste for some hot buttered popcorn...oops, sorry for the food porn. ;)

I also promised a letter of encouragement to the daughter of my neighbor - she's finally getting some help with her problems. I wrote up some notes over the weekend but need to put it together as a letter.

Okay, I'm off to make a mug of tea. I bought a tin of pumpkin spice rooibos tea bags yesterday at Trader Joe's. I hope I like it! TTFN!

Not much new here...just plugging along at work....I've been going to the gym after work despite not feeling like it. I force myself to do 1/2 hour on the bike and then go home. I'm just tired.

It doesn't help that my stepbrother somehow got a virus on his computer and then got a warning to call "Microsoft' to have them repair it. Well the company that claimed to be Microsoft is actually located in Mauritius...somewhere off the coast of Madagascar. After my stepbrother paid them $100 and allowed them to "fix" his computer, they downloaded all kinds of spyware, malware, etc. on the computer, including a program that would AUTOMATICALLY connect to this effin' company EVERY time he turned on his computer. I spent over an hour trying to remove all that crap and then kicked off a major virus scan of the entire system. That ran overnight and thankfully came up clean. This morning, I kicked off a spyware scan and it had already found over 25 instances of spyware in less than 5 minutes. I told my stepbrother and stepmother not to touch the computer until I get home as I have to see what the scan says so I can fix it. If I can't fix it, then I'll have to wipe his computer and start with a fresh install...which wouldn't be so bad except my stepbrother got this computer used and he doesn't have the Windows or Office disks. What a nightmare.

I told him he should call his credit card company and dispute the charges as fraudulent. I also told him NEVER to click on any link that says your computer has been infected or give anyone remote access to his computer without talking to me first. So I'll be tending to his computer when I get home...then it'll be off to the gym and then pick up Santa.

Much love to all,

Going home day.
All packed and ready for the last session this morning. Oh joy. Not that it has been a hard slog, but it's always somewhat stressful. Today's session probably won't make much sense to them until they actually get to do it for real. It's mostly setting up reports, planning and scheduling work and getting parts. Then we get to finish at lunchtime. I have to pack the training room and get to the airport before 2.00pm. It will be a running exercise.

Happy - you are welcome to the words 'splodgy fat'. In fact you are welcome to the splodgy fat if you haven't got enough of your own. Hope the applesaucing goes well. Since it freezes well you can have some well into the winter. Yum.
In the sleep department, I'm a bit like you, but for some reason, I have been falling asleep straight off and going to a deep sleep. Then about 3 hours later I am awake and I mean wide awake, not just potty run awake. So what can you do in a motel room at 1.00 or 2.00 or 3.00am when you gotta get up shortly after 4.00am anyway.

Annie - hope C's foot is healing well and he is able to work again. We don't realise how much we rely on arms and legs, hands and feet. Have a great lunch.

Laura - welcome back. Glad you had a good time with Mum even if she did drive you crazy from time to time. It's her time to p*ss people off. It's called eccentricity when you get old. It's just rude when the young ones do it. I've been sticking with the sit ups, and yes they take the longest and bring the most pain. But as I said, I do over half in the morning and the rest after work or before bed. The 70 second plank today was somewhat of a pain. Good luck with the letter of encouragement.

Michelle - hope you fixed the glitch between the clients. Nothing like a computer to stuff things right up. I'm surprised that people are falling for that computer scam still. People here lose their savings on things like that. Your stepbrother is lucky they didn't hack his bank account.

Ceejay - okay, back to the dining table for you. I was like that too. Always dropping food on the floor or over myself. Thought it was just me. Now I sit at the dining table and eat my food slowly to minimise the clothes washing and the floor wash. Just need to wipe down the table.

And that's about it from me. No word from Jen, but I will get that memory stick tonight and load on some pictures. Is someone volunteering to merge the sticks into one? And is someone volunteering to get the digital frame - Happy - was that you and what is the best way to send you some money. I'm out of here - got to get one the road.

Hi everyone -

I'd be happy to merge the photos off the USB flash drive onto one. That's what we're talking about right? Not memory cards? If we're talking memory cards...I don't know if I have anything that would read one or transfer from one to another. My digital camera is a cheapie. But if we all send the files on USB (thumb/flash) drives...I will gladly compile all the photos.

Since I live in Silicon Valley, I can pretty easily find a nice digital frame for around $45-$50.

Let me know.

Hugs,

Morning. I'm praying that L doesn't call and want me to finish out her work week. I'm exhausted.
Did day 4 of my ab crunches. My abs are a bit tender, sore but not as bad as I thought. Today is my rest day.
Don't think I'll be going to Paragould this week end. We're supposed to have a cold front move in Saturday with heavy rain fall and turn cool. I need to rest.
You know I just thought of something. I may go over to the fire dept and make a couple of pictures of a fire truck. We sure don't have any hunky guys, more short and chunky guys. and I'll try to get a uniformed police officer. We do have some good looking officers.

Laura
Know you are glad to be back home.

Michelle
Did you get your step brother's computer up and running? I don't even like to have the company such as Dell to go into my computer. Most of the time the techy is from another country and very hard to understand.

I got my step-brother's computer up and running. We'll see how long it lasts. He called the company that remotely installed the software...and he's convinced now that they are legitimate and wants them to put the software I removed back on his computer. I'm not convinced as to their legitimacy or whether this is a good idea. But if worse comes to worse, I can always reformat the hard drive and start from scratch...or he could use it as a paperweight. :rofl:

Ceejay - I hope you don't have to work for your co-worker. You need to rest. Just take the weekend and relax.

Morning all,

Sorry I didn't get in here yesterday. I needed to bake up a bunch of dog treats for the Humane Society to sell at the festival this weekend and they had to be delivered before 3pm yesterday. Since each batch is over 4 hours of work, it's really time consuming. Been baking for 2 days. I was able to make 23 bags and was just 2 ounces short of a 24th bag - but they can use that for samples to visiting pups. I noticed a lot of people bring their dogs to the festivals and outings here. I wanted to make some cookies or something for the people bake sale for them but my oven was quite occupied and I just didn't have enough time. When we dropped off the treats we got to see the new cat room expansion area. It was really nice and big and bright - hard to believe they had all those cats in 2 small rooms. It's really nice now. And we got some tips from the cat manager on trying to groom Meadow who is acting more and more like she'd rather be a feral cat.

We are in for some cold and rainy weather which will put a real damper on the apple and cranberry festivals this weekend so on Wednesday when it was still sunny, warm and gorgeous we decided to take a ride north to Lake Superior and check out the apple orchards. 2 really cute quaint towns up that way - we stopped for lunch in an old restaurant that must be 100 years old. And we checked out 4 orchards. Got a bunch of apples as well as some baked goods, local honey, granola and some apple flavored mustard which sounds weird but actually would be good with sausage. It was really a nice outing - the weather was perfect, the trees are almost peaking their colors here and the area is quite pretty. I've been up that way before blueberry picking but DH has never been there.

Today I have laundry and more cooking to do - apple sauce, some Polish soup my cousin is jonesing for, a citrus tomato jam, salsa, a pork roast and maybe some cookies. House will sure smell good. We have really bad weather moving in from a snow storm out west - no snow for us thank goodness but plenty of rain. That will ruin the festivals tomorrow as well as an ATV outing DH was hoping to attend. Got our new shades yesterday - DH put up the first set - he was worried he'd have to grind the edges off to fit the window but don't know why he was thinking that because he checked again just as he was about to take them outside to grind them and they just snapped into place. We did have to take off the fancy wood trim we have on the top of the windows and it was an all day job for him - 1 set down, 2 sets to go!

Ceejay - I sure hope you don't have to work any more days than you already put in either. 6 days straight is a long enough time. No wonder you are tired. I think it would be cute to get pictures of the firetrucks and the hunky police guys.

Michelle - that would be great if you want to pick out a photo frame and merge things. I hate to sound like a dork but the more I looked at those frames and comments, the more I got confused about them :dizzy: I will send you money and pictures. The only things is... will you have enough time to do this??? You are quite the busy lady lately. Bummer on your step-brother's computer mess. Even though they give a bunch of warnings about hackers, I guess there are enough people who trust enough to get themselves into trouble and make things lucrative for the hackers. :mad: Glad you are still pushing to get to the gym even though you'd rather not, every little bit helps ;)

Shad - I agree with you about waking up at the wrong time in a hotel room. Nothing to do and it always seems about 3 hours before you have to get up anyway. No coffee to be had and if you turn on the tv, it seems about 45 minutes before you need to get ready, the sleepies come back again. Hope you were able to get everything wrapped up and get yourself to the airport on time. I always thought that was the worst part of the vendors and trainers that I worked with. Business dictates that you have to serve the customers even in the back of your head you are hurrying off to catch your flight and run through the airport. Worse when you have to deal with unpredictable traffic too. Seems like they were always on the run. As for transferring money for the photo frame - can we send money to each other via PayPal accounts??? Again, I am showing my ignorance.

Annie - I am sorry to hear about C's foot. When I was making sauce and my Mom was here, she was hollering at me to put the can lids back into the bottom of the can and stuff a napkin in them so you wouldn't cut your hand digging through the garbage. I obliged to avoid a fight but since I'm not in the habit of digging through the garbage bin I thought that was overkill. However, her advise also makes sense considering what innocently happened to C. Ok, so Mom is right again (but shhhhh don't tell her because she gloats). Did you have a nice lunch with the kids? What did your doc have you do for your foot besides the new, supportive cushy shoes?

Laura - I never realized how cute weenie dog races are until we saw them at the festival here 2 weeks ago. Glad you had a good time with your Mom. Sounds like you and I could swap a lot of stories with Moms - good luck with that :lol: It will only get WORSE I tell you. :^: I can't believe you guys are still getting hot weather - heard it was going to be in the 80's a few days over the weekend. You guys will never get tree color if this keeps up - things will just dry up and fall off! As for the applesauce I am going to try one small batch using just a mix of a couple of varieties of apples and see how that comes out. Then I have a nice looking recipe with some cinnamon, sugar, cloves and orange zest. If the first batch is too bland, I figure I can add some seasonings and cook it a bit to add more flavor. Everyone - including Shad says it's simple, fast and easy.

I do want to see that new movie Gravity. It's in town but only for 1 week so we'll have to make plans. I think DH really wants to go on this ATV run tomorrow but with a 70 percent chance of rain and only a high in the mid 50's - that's not really my thing. Can't imagine driving in the rain, we do have a windshield but no wipers and the UTV is open like a jeep would be so the body parts facing the outside of the vehicle would get quite wet. No fun going by yourself either, especially when you don't know anyone else on the run. Basically it goes from 10am to 6pm so it's a long day of riding (from bar to bar) in really junky conditions. We'll see.

Anyway I need to get cracking here. Have a good weekend everyone.

Just a quick check in to assure Happy and everyone that yes, I can make time to do this. I'll pick up the frame over the weekend, and people can send me the photos on a USB flash drive (aka "thumb" drive and sometimes called "memory sticks"). Please do not send SD cards, because then I'd have to purchase an SD card reader. The key here is to send me the photos on something that's USB or to upload the photos to a DropBox account that I created, and I sent you an invite to upload to a shared DropBox folder called "MelsPhotos". You will be getting the link to the shared DropBox folder via a Facebook message.

As for transferring money...yes, you can transfer money to my PayPal Account. I'll PM you all my email address that's linked to the PayPal Account.

So far so good. L came to get something out of her locker today and no mention of me working. Fingers are crossed that she doesn't wake me up at 6 a.m. in the morning.

Happy
Our temperatures are supposed to drop down in the 40's Saturday. We must be getting that same cold front.
I also want to see the movie Gravity.
You could always bake an apple pie. Mom used to bake an apple cake that was divine.
You mentioned that your mom was reminding you to put the lids in the can's then throw them away. Evidently my mom taught me to do that.

Michelle
I wish I had part of your knowledge on computers. I hope that your step brother doesn't screw up his computer again.

Shad
Hope you have had a safe flight home.

Annie
How is C doing?

Laura :wave:

Ladies -

I'm getting notifications that Shad is already posting photos in the DropBox, which is perfect because I created the DropBox account for her photos especially because I had no idea how long it would take a USB drive sent through the mail to arrive in California, and quite frankly patience has never been my strong suit and I'd like to get the digital frame shipped off to Mel by the end of next week if possible.

With the DropBox folder, I can get her photos (and yours once you upload them) instantaneously. :D

Also, I really like that Shad included some photos of herself. And I'm sure Mel will appreciate that too. We are her Worldly sisters after all. So even if we don't like how we look in photos (and I surely don't), please include at least one photo of yourself if you don't mind.

I'm so excited!

Some there of the family Michelle and a few of the garden. I have some wonderful NZ photos which I will send over in the next day or so.
Just be careful - those of you using the dropbox - that if you drag and drop, you lose the photos out of your own albums. Try copy and paste instead. Can't lose those precious photos.
Back later. Shower and dressing necessary to go get some food. Nothing in the fridge.

Good evening/morning everyone!

I purchased the digital picture frame on my way home from work. Including tax, it was a few pennies shy of $50.

Do you think y'all will be able to get the photos to me by a week from today? Either put them on a USB flash/thumb drive and mail that to me...or copy them to the DropBox folder as Shad has done. (You should've received a Facebook message with the Drop Box Info).

Shad, can you please share all the pertinent info with Ruth, Carla, Mary (Java Turtle) and whoever else knows Mel that might want to share some photos?

I did not want to go to the gym tonight...but I forced myself to and did 30 minutes on the recumbent bike followed by 10 minutes on the treadmill at a 6% incline. I'm practicing for when I can finally hike up some of the hills around here...of course I'd be happier if I could walk for more than 10 minutes. There aren't many hikes that only take 10 minutes round trip. LOL

I'm gonna relax with a good DVD or book.

Love to all,

I know a few addies for the above people, but can I actually share your dropbox with them?

Thank you Michelle for getting the photo frame. I have sent you money via PayPal - not sure how fast it shoots through but I hope it's immediate. And thank you Shad for the tip on potentially losing your files in the Dropbox. I made copies - a bit tedious but at least I was able to get captions on them too. And after much head scratching (but I did persist!!!) I finally got my photos uploaded to Mel's folder.

I have to say Shad that your scenery pictures are downright stunning!

And if some of the other ladies were unable to get pictures to you perhaps we could swipe a few from their Facebook pages. Might not be fantastic pixel quality but hey - some of mine are less intense too just to save on space.

I think this is just a fantastic idea and I'm sure she will really enjoy it. I hope the jpg titles show on the picture frame so that she knows what some of the stuff is - otherwise we'll just have to compile a "Hitchhikers Guide to Mel's Pics" :lol:

Thanks a million for pulling this together Michelle and for the idea Shad. I do agree that we should get this put together and off to Mel as soon as possible and even quicker than yesterday. ;)

Michelle - I know what you mean about 10 minute walks. I am still having back / spine / leg issues occasionally and I sure would love to be able to walk more than a block without looking like Quasimodo. But we just keep pushing along as best we can. And thank you for mentioning about including pictures of ourselves - I really hate how I look right now, good motivation to change. But I did include pictures :D

Shad - hope you got some nice groceries. Sophia is such a cutie!!!!

Man it's late and I was supposed to shower but I got caught up with the pictures - I really wanted to finish them tonight. So maybe just a fast "rinse me off" as DH would say.

I did make some Polish soup for my cousin. Funny I made a recipe that I haven't had in over 35 years and I'm not even sure what it's supposed to taste like! I also made a pot of apple sauce and got a bonus container of "cider" from the drippings as one of the apple varieties was quite watery. Both came out delicious. I have more to do and my kitchen is a DISASTER. I think I washed every dish, pot and spoon at least 3 times today. Dishpan hands - I've got 'em. :yikes:

Anyway - good night ladies - sleep well. Enjoy your weekend at home Shad.

Donna, I really like that pic with the slightly longer hair. Might have to pinch that before the drop box goes off to Mel.
As for the copy and paste, I just made both files a bit smaller (maximise/minimise button) so I could see both the dropbox and my photo folder on the same screen. I then selected a photo from my file and right moused on the one I wanted to copy. Copied it, then pasted it onto the dropbox file. Had to change the odd name or two, but it worked well for me. If you have several to upload at the same time, you can select all of them, then right mouse, copy and paste. They will all come across.
Sorry if I am preaching to the choir here.

Okay, so I have spent a lot of time today on the drop box and my photos. I even uploaded one of Jen. That should give Mel a smile or two. Bet she didn't know I had that. I have a couple of photos (not digital) of Mel herself so maybe I should look for those and see if they will scan.

So I have done the shopping and the laundry and sort of cleaned the kitchen and emptied the dishwasher. Tomorrow I better go see if my mining gear still fits - geez I hope so. No pants might be a bit much for the poor old planners.

Ceejay - hope you didn't have to go to work

Happy - I liked the Autumn photos you posted and the one you put on (or was it Michelle) of Annie, Laura and Michelle. That's a really good photo. They look pretty happy with each other.
The apple cooking sounds so nice - and some cider to boot. Yummy. Some apples really aren't good for cooking, but apples are so good for you. What was it that Bob Harper said in his thinking think articles. Apples and berries - Every. Single. Day.

Okay, better go look like I want to do something. Always the same first day home. If I go shopping, then I don't want to do anything else for the rest of the day. Naughty Shad.

I am stupid

Me too Annie when it comes to all this digital stuff.

Didn't go to Paragould this morning. I slept till 11.30 this morning. I was exhausted. Told my aunt not to look for me. I know they are all talking about me today but that's okay.

Happy
Your soup sounds good. May make some this week end since the weather is turning cooler. The rain is on it's way.

Just a quick post before I get ready for the day. I did my laundry. Did the vacuuming. And have to get a quick shower before my stepbrother and I leave for San Francisco. My stepbrother's b'day is tomorrow and I purchased a "Wildlife and Eco Cruise" of the SF Bay. It's 90 minutes and we should see seals, sea otters, sea lions, birds and maybe some dolphin and whale. Should be a great time as it's sunny and gorgeous out and should be in the mid-70s to nearly 80 by the Bay.

Happy - I did get the money last night. Thank you. I haven't checked DropBox yet to see everyone's photos.

Some of the photos I take today may get up to DropBox as I think my phone syncs with it automatically.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Much love,

Annie - you are not stupid, nor is Ceejay. And I won't have either of you saying so. So you are not digitally inclined. That is why we are here to help. Geez I often wish I could cook as well as you. I can cook, but I am the Klutz cook coming from a family of superb cooks. Ceejay knows far more about electricity and water than I do. So where's the stupid????

If you have a problem with the drop box or putting pics on a memory stick - flash drive or whatever you call them over there, let me know because if you send the pictures to me then I can put them on the dropbox for you. Just ensure that you only email a couple of pics at a time and I will do the rest.

Poor dog next door has been barking all night. I think they may have gone away for the long weekend and left him to do his own thing. I'm about to swing over the fence later to see if he has water and food. If not, then I won't hesitate to phone the pound or the RSPCA and get them on the job.

I'm up to day 19 of the 30 day abs challenge. It now takes up a fair bit of my time so it is done at intervals. Sometimes I find however when I am off to bed that I still have the last bit to do. Damn. I hate exercising at night.

Ceejay - not surprised you slept in. Rest should be on your menu for today as well. As we age, it takes a lot more out of us with the overtime, long days etc. I know I feel it as well.

Michelle - hope the cruise does well. I went on a harbour cruise in SF. It was good but didn't really go far apart from around Alcatraz.

Okay - lots to do today. And I need to go talk to the dog again, so I will go and do the next 20 sit ups and crunches and leg lifts. The plank comes in the next session of exercises

Michelle
the cruise sounds like a lot of fun. Make pictures. And I'm going to mail you a check via snail mail. I've used paypal to purchase but never to send money.

Shad
Thanks for the offer to help. Maybe I can figure out something to send to Mel. Not sure about getting pix of the fire truck. I am resting today and tomorrow also.

--------
This will be day five. of the ab challenge. Went to the grocery store today and go some things for next couple of days. I want to make some soup.

Hey guys - I have been in I.T. all my life and I had a bit of a dickens trying to figure out how to get the pictures set up. I felt like I should have had to turn in my I.T. card. :o I did contact Java and OneDayAtATime via FB and they both identified some of their FB pictures which I uploaded to the picture album. I will be happy to do that for anyone else who needs help. I can also send you a link so you can see all the pictures if you send me your email address - just bear in mind that I can only receive about 4 more private messages on 3FC before my account fills up.