The snow has stopped, finally. We got a lot but the road crews were on top of it and got the roads cleared quickly. And I did go shopping when my husband came home from work. Picked up a couple of more things and now it's down to stocking stuffers.
Pat, you are so right about snow down south. they get an inch and everything closes! ha! Stairs are great exercise! I can't get any other exercise at work, so I always take the stairs. 7 floors.
Jay, maintaining through Christmas is pretty good. We'll really get started again after the new year!
Meow, We're in the middle of Snowmideggon too.
Laurie, The Wii should be fun. not sure what to get but I saw a demonstration of yoga on TV that looked really interesting. I keep saying i'm going to try it but haven't yet.
tryingitagain, you worked for Amazon! What kind of job did you have there? Where was this located IRL?
I really would like a Wii also--but I'm not sure where exactly it would go. We don't have a lot of floor space in front of the TV. But we do have enough for the odd exercise video now and then--as long as only one of us wants to do it. That would be me mostly...
Freda, yeah, after the New Year... That's what I keep telling myself... but actually, I'm finishing up a big project over this weekend, and once it's done it will take a big burden off my shoulders. I'm accepting no more new work for awhile, either. Enough is enough.
I ordered some new books for the household. I haven't read Obama's two books (Dreams from My Father and Audacity of Hope) and I want to. I hope that after the holidays I'll actually have some TIME to read other than for work. I also bought a few Buddhist books that I've had my eye on for awhile. One is a general book that I've been curious about--called What Makes You Not a Buddhist. Intriguing title!
So I guess this is the last "big push" for Christmas. Laurie, sounds like you're working a lot, but I'm sure you'll be celebrating on the day.
Hey Jude... I see that you chose your own counsel regarding your DD's visit. Well, I hope you cook that turkey and have some good meals from it!
I know you have a lot to work through with your kids, Jude. But, I do want to remind you about the guidelines for this thread... The idea here is to keep the focus on you and what you're doing, positive activities, interests, weight loss, and so on. Of course, that doesn't mean we can't ever discuss kids--just that kids are not the primary focus here.
Sorry you folks are all having such winter weather... but then...
Hi all - a quick post since I have lots to do online and I don't know how long the power will stay on. We lost power at 6 this morning, and it has popped back on twice. Hopefully, for good this time!
We made lemonade out of the whole thing by re-arranging the furniture. Something we were contemplating, and the physical activity kept us warm - LOL.
It didn't get too bad, the sun came out and helped warm the house. We are only down to about 62F in here, so I'm not a Popsicle yet
I'm getting used to the new arrangement -it opens up the living room and gives us lots more room for exercise and the wii games. The room is long and narrow (14x30) and we had the couch across the middle dividing it into two smaller spaces. We backed the couch against the far wall, so now the whole room is available for activity. Should make all my exercise DVDs easier to do and DH has more room for his Tai Chi and Qi Dong workouts
Well gotta fly - gotta get bills paid while I have electricity (and Internet).
I will just have to get back to you when I feel a little more positive I guess.
See where I am at after the holidays. Not easy when the season is all about families.
Hope you are all having a great weekend...We finally finished up all our shopping yesterday We have a wal-mart that is open 24 hours and go really early to avoid all the crowd...I hate crowds..
Well had a pretty good day yesterday, and today if it doesn't snow us in will be good too. Just church and then takin it easy the rest of the day.
Jay we have three Amazon.com warehouses here in Kentucky. One in Cambellsville (where I worked) which has a little bit of everything,,,one in Lexington, which has all the really large items...and one in Louisville, where they make and sell high end jelwrey...It is a very interesting place.
As far as what I did there, started out as just a stocker, then went to ICQA , problem solver, then went to QA, which was inventory control,and quality control. Very hard work though. We worked 12 hr shifts the first 5 years, and finally they woke up and cut it back to 10 hr shifts. You wouldn't think the 2 hours would make a big difference, but the last 2 hours were hard to be productive, you were so tired.
They settled here because it has such a low economy and because the labor laws here are more for the employer....Like they can get away with mandatory overtime, you don't show up you're terminated...and no falt termination, you don't need a reason to get rid of anyone. The overtime gets up to 70 hour a week during Christmas, starts in October!!! Not an easy place to work...Most people don't make it but a couple of years....Enough about that,,,I miss the people, NOT the warehouse...
Jude - you are in my thoughts and prayers this season as you deal with family issues. I hope that you are able to enjoy the season and stay OP
Pat, that sounds like a very trying job! I don't think I would last long at it either. While the work hours resemble many weeks for me, my job isn't physical at all (one of the reasons I gained all of my weight).
Jay - good for you setting a goal in the new year to get more balance in your life! You deserve it! That being said, I know it must be hard when you are self-employed to turn down work. The uncertainty of future jobs would always weigh on my mind - I applaud your resolve!!!
Freda - hope you are staying warm. Did you get more snow today? The yoga is supposed to be one of the best parts about the wii fit. I'm looking forward to it.
Another storm moved in today, so I will probably need to get up early tomorrow to get some shoveling done. I see a 3 foot drift in front of my porch . The wind has picked up, so it doesn't make any sense to shovel until it stops - it will just drift back in again.
I'm being domestic today. I'm making sweet potato soup and homemade rolls. Trying to get in the mood to to Christmas dinner. Which is a surprise.
We were planning on MIL having Christmas (like always) and since DH is working all day on Christmas, I figured we would just do a normal meal - better for all of us calorie-wise.
But, during his visit yesterday, MIL said that she didn't want to have everyone over - so DH called me and asked if we would have Christmas at our house instead. Of course I had to say yes - so - I'm off to find some recipes for sugar-free sweet potatoes and the like (MIL is diabetic).
My grumble for the day - not one store in town has whole wheat shells, manicotti or lasagna noodles. So - I have to make my own I just can't bring myself to buy white pasta - even for Christmas dinner.
Thankfully, one of the "gadgets" I have tucked away in the kitchen is a pasta maker.
OK, enough grumbling about the extra work. It will probably be a lovely day and I have the space and the resources to do this - I need to just "deal" and get my list together.
After all, I'm certainly capable of pulling this together on short notice - and it isn't like it will be 50 people or anything - just 5-8 of us - LOL.
Hope you all had a good day! I'm off recipe hunting!
We went out for a walk this evening to look at all the Christmas and holiday lights in our community. It was warm enough that I didn't need a jacket--but it began to sprinkle just about the time we were back around to our house! We made it before it rained hard--and now it's stopped.
Laurie--wow, sudden Christmas dinner! I'm sure you'll do fine. If anyone would have a pasta maker, it would be you!
Pat, that's so interesting about how Amazon really works. I bet that a lot of what I order in Fla. comes from Ky. Too bad they don't do better by their employees, though. Did you have good benefits?
By the way, you all know that if you link to Amazon from 3FC, then this site gets some support, right?
Jude, it's possible to be happy even if things aren't perfect. Do you know what I mean? I hope you can stay on plan and find some positive things around you.
I miss Lori! Where are you, Lori?? Buried under holiday plans, I guess.
We got lots of snow over the weekend, but at least the roads are clear now, at least on the main highways. Lots of side streets are still pretty bad, especially at the intersections. I got to work ok yesterday. I was a little scared but it worked out fine. I only have about 3 miles to go anyway.
Jay, Glad to hear that you are giving yourself a little break after this work is finished.
Pat, Amazon doesn't sound like a great place to work. But I know most places in Ky. don't have a lot of work, so they can pretty well do what they like. I'm from Ky. too, originally, and most of my family are still there. I also work in a "no fault termination" company. A hospital.
Laurie, We got lots of snow and wind but we didn't lose power. We have lots of wood for the fire place, just in case. Good luck with the dinner. I know you'll pull it together, no problem! i'm surprised you can't fine the whole wheat past there. All our local stores have it. It took me awhile to get used to it, now it's all I buy.
Jay - send some heat up here please! We are really cold.
Freda - I can find all kinds of WW pasta EXCEPT lasagna or anything big enough to stuff. Hope you got those streets plowed.
More weather woes here, I'm aftraid.
Because of the storm, school was canceled again today. I started the day at the JH so that I could get the computers/servers that needed restarting (after the power outage) back online.
I was surprised to find that we had no heat - then found out that The Junior High (where one of my offices is) sprung a heating system leak which dumped several gallons of water through the ceiling into 7 classrooms.
I am thankful that my other office had heat, so I spent the rest of the day over there.
And - another storm is moving in starting tomorrow. I'm glad we are staying put for Christmas. And I'm glad DS2 took the Rendezvous instead of his little car!
Hope everyone is all set for their celebrations this week! And that you are safe and warm and dry!
Well hope this thing stays up...having problems, but at least today I can get here...I guess maybe yesterday it was just froze,,,We're not having all the snow (thank heavens) just very cold..Started to say extreme, but in comparison to some of you it's nothing...got down to 5 degrees here yesterday...that's really bad for here.
Anyway things are going pretty well here, we're ready for Christmas, got the groceries yesterday. Guess we're going to have a little company after all, DH has one stepson who has no family and he is coming for dinner. His step grandson may also show up...So much for just the three of us...
We have one more Christmas gathering with the company he worked for, they wanted us to come, and he agreed. He still does some consiltation for them, when they can't figure it out they still call him. He has tried to teach them , but they call him anyway.
Hope you are all ready for the holiday, and hope it is going to be a wonderful one for everyone!!! Don't have much time as this thing is starting to slow way down again, so before I get booted off I'll gfo for now...
May God Bless you and yours on this special holiday!!
I hope you folks are able to dig out! I hope you like white Christmases.
Laurie, the pipes leaking at the jr. high... yow!
I got an Amazon gift card from my brother who resents me for numerous reasons. I'm not sure how to take it or what to do with it. He sends some token thing every year--guess he just didn't want to break the habit, even though we had such uproar earlier in the year. I'm sending nothing--I dislike mixed messages.
We've got some chicken to roast for tomorrow, and some other food goodies. None of them are sugary items--no cookies, cake, pie, etc. This is a good solution to being unable to resist!
Jay - I'm with you. DH left all of the sweet "gifts" at work - including wonderful desserts from his boss who's sister owns a divine catering business. I gave up Christmas baking last year. It felt very strange not to make hundreds of cookies to give away, but I hated more being a hypocrite - giving things to others that I knew weren't healthy - and that I was trying to eliminate from my life. This year, it doesn't feel quite so weird. Funny how certain traditions become that albatross - yet we still hang on way longer than we should.
I hope each of you has a blessed and fun Christmas - and for our non-Christian chickies - I hope you have a fun day off from work and with family.
I count all of you among my blessings this year - you have enriched my life and helped me in ways big and small!
Jay, the Amazon gift card is really easy to use...You simply go to amazon.com, shop and find something you want, then at check-out it will have a space for coupons, promotions or gift card numbers...put you number from the card there and it will take that amount off your total purchase price...you can't miss the spot it asks for it....With Amazon if there is more after the gift card you can pay with credit card or check whichever you'd like.
They weren't a great place to work, but they are a great place to buy from...I still order things from them, especially books, with them in the next town, I usually get them the next day.
Anyway hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday!!! a lot of you have had snow up to your @#$%^$#@ we've had rain the same way..even got in our basement from so much of the stuff. It finally stopped this morning...
Well there is life above me so gotta get going.......Pat
That would be me mostly...
Of course, that doesn't mean we can't ever discuss kids--just that kids are not the primary focus here. 
Jude 
Merry Christmas to all of you and yours!!
We have a wal-mart that is open 24 hours and go really early to avoid all the crowd...I hate crowds..
. The wind has picked up, so it doesn't make any sense to shovel until it stops - it will just drift back in again.
I just can't bring myself to buy white pasta - even for Christmas dinner.
I'm sure you'll do fine. If anyone would have a pasta maker, it would be you! 
He sends some token thing every year--guess he just didn't want to break the habit, even though we had such uproar earlier in the year. I'm sending nothing--I dislike mixed messages.
May all your good dreams come true today . . . 
