Alternachick chat August 11+
 

Morning everyone! :)

Well it looks like we are going to have another cloudy/slash sunny/maybe thunderstorms day again today :lol: Do I bring my sunglasses or my umbrella to work today or both? Sandals or rubber boots? :?:

Lidian- to answer your question from the happy and grateful thread....I had a little meltdown yesterday...a combination of stress from work, not liking the way my boss acts (also something he said last week that was completely inappropriate), frustration and trying to find a new job and not having much success, money worries, worrying about DH at his job, DH's upcoming arm surgery in November, my mom has been sick for 2 weeks, feeling put upon by other people (when will I learn to say "No! I'm busy!" ? ) and feeling tired and depressed.

I just have to give myself a shake and get my act together- I have been through worse and I'll get through this too. :strong:

Ellis-hope you had fun in Montreal with your family! :)

Hope you all had a good weekend!

Mauvais- I can relate completely. It seems like the "bad stuff" always comes in streaks and feels overwhelming. Then things ease up for a while. When you have a bad job on top of it all it makes things just about intolerable. BEEN THERE!! I really hope that things ease up for you SOON. You know I battle with depression myself, and sometimes it really DOES feel like the universe is out to get you, but THIS TOO SHALL PASS!!

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed myself this morning. But also feel a bit like we just dodged disaster when DH got that full time position. JUST WISH THE PROBLEMS HAD WAITED FOR THE PAYCHECKS!! Today someone is coming to fix the air. Our dryer has been out for weeks and now the fridge is on the fritz which means throwing out food. GGRR!! The question is: HOW LONG CAN WE WAIT TO DEAL WITH ALL OF IT? But then I think, "This could have been happening with a part time salary and it would have been even worse." We made plans to go to Tobermory for a few nights, and I now feel like we shoud cancel to save money. BUT I'M NOT GOING TO!!! We deserve a break, and with DS16 going in to 11th grade there may not be many vacation opportunities left with him!!!

Hi everyone...

Mauvais, it does really seem like things happen all at once, and stress can really pile up. Like Den, I've been there too and am wishing you all the best (whatever that means! but you know what I mean) and I try to tell myself that as the Buddha said, "it changes" and things will ease up...

Den, you totally deserve a nice vacation and no way should you cancel! I am very glad you are going!:)

Went to our family doc today and got a list of therapists (individual and couples related) to start phoning after our vacation which starts Friday - which will really BE a vacation unlike the in law visit, hahaha!

How's everyone else doing?

Lidian

I hope things get better Mauvais! :goodvibes

Mauvais, you're entitled to feel the way you do. Better to feel it and talk about it than not and go postal some day at work! Hope things get better for you. :grouphug:

Den, go on that vacation! If we waited until we really could afford those things, we'd never go.

Lidian, good luck with the therapists! I hope you find one that works well with you.

Hiya Squeak!

Hi ladies!

I had a wonderful weekend. A big fat weekend of nothing! I spent the day at beach yesterday. It was crowded but we swam out past the boogie boarders and just rode the swells for about an hour. Very nice. Of course, I'm crispy around the edges but that happens.

I needed the rest. Oh god, did I need the rest.

My incompetant boss comes back tomorrow from her vacation. She's already called to get the update. Since our entire database went corrupt while she was gone, I was glad she did so that I wouldn't have to put up with her ranting and raving in person. It's hard to control my rolling eyes.
:rolleyes:

Yeah, they had to take my scissors away at work today :lol: :devil:

HAHAHAHA!!!! DOn'T THEY KNOW THAT LETTER OPENERS DO JUST AS MUCH DAMAGE?!?!

Lidian and Wildfire-Thanks you sweeties!!!

HI SQUEAK!!!!!

HI JESSICA!!!!!

Den- The letter openener is in the bottom drawer of my desk hidden under my supply of herbal tea ;)

So.....they better hope that you DON'T run out of that nice calming tea!!!!

HI Den! :) :goodvibes to you too, but you are very right - it may be a bunch of stuff at once, but it is a full time salary :D And go on vacation. You and the rest of the family deserve it.

Hi Wildfire! HI Jessica! Hi Lidian!! HI Mauvais! :wave:

Things here are ok, I guess. But oh my did I get a huge kick in the butt, motivator, etc. for losing weight. Try seeing a few back-end, side shots of you in shorts & a tank top, about 15 feet tall on a projector screen in a department wide (a few hundred people) meeting. It was pictures from our recent picnic. Did I ever look f:censored: huge!

Well Squeak- that must have been awful for you- my sympathies <hug> but you are right - what a motivator! Sometimes it takes something like that to make you get your butt in gear- you go girl! :cb:

Oh Squeak...yes, that is like the dreaded video cam for me! I hate when people are filming and then you have to see it afterwards - **** for me would be watching myself on a big screen shot from some awful angle, with 6 chins, eating. (I speak from experience!) I don't even like bank/dept store cameras, I inevitably look like I never comb my hair, generally dishevelled and enormous (& no neck, I might add!).

Don't like photos either, but at least there's a time gap between the taking of them and the dreaded seeing of them.

Lidian

Oh, squeak...my sympathies. :no:

Thanks, Mauvais... we had a wonderful time in Montreal. It's such a fun, beautiful city.
You're having a crappy time! I'm so sorry, sweetie! Is your Mom okay? I hope it's nothing serious. And DH is having surgery? Is HE okay? And you... we've just GOT to get you a new job. And you need to start practicing small with the "NO's!!" It does get easier. You'll actually feel rather selfish initially, but get over it. It beats having everyone dump on you and having a nervous breakdown. Anyhow, you KNOW you're not going to say NO to the people who count. It's all those other dweebs...
Hugs, hon... :grouphug:

Den, you're having "The Breakdown Blues". :cry: I'm so sorry, hon. You need to write a poem about it... you're SO good at that!! :D All of this crap will pass. Hey, you didn't expect to get TOO far ahead with that new salary, did you? sigh. THAT'S when things go wrong... when you think you've got a little extra. But all that really matters is that you and your sweet DH and DS1 and 2 are well and safe. :grouphug:

Lidian, I'm so glad to hear that you'll soon be shopping around for a therapist. Don't put it off when you get back, okay? Better to do it when you're feeling relatively good than to leave it until you're on the verge of ripping off limbs. :grouphug:

Jessica, so glad to hear that you had a good weekend. :) I hope the computers are back in order at work...

Squeak, so sorry about the screen shots. :mad: I feel for you... I accidentally saw my bum in the bathroom mirror at the hotel this weekend, and I almost passed out.

Wildfire, what's YOUR problem!? :lol: Everyone else here is in some sort of pain, poor darlings. How about you? ;)

I hope everyone is recovering... love and hugs to all... :grouphug:

Thank you Mauvais, Wildfire, Lidian & Ellis. It is one thing to KNOW you are big, it is another thing to really SEE it. I will get moving and really try. I have gained 10 lbs in the last few months. NO MORE!!!!! I have also set a bunch of non-food rewards for meeting my goals.

Ellis is right, we all need to recover. :grouphug:

Got a ton to do at work, so no more posting for me until I get home again. :)

ellis, um...I um....broke a nail this week! :yes: And I have a dentist appointment this afternoon. Just a cleaning, but I'll tell her to be brutal!

Actually, life is pretty calm here now that DD is gone. Wait until I go back to work next week...then I'll be miserable again. Actually, I got called in for tomorrow at noon to attend a teleconference. Of course I'm thinking all kinds of horrible things....it's not really what they told me...they're going to fire me...etc,etc...except they have no reason for such a thing, and really need me there. Guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Glad you had fun in Montreal!

Squeak, I gained 7 pounds in one night last week. True! Now I know it was because I ate pizza loaded with salty meat and olives, but what a shock on the scale! :yikes: It's been a few days and I'm JUST getting back to where I started. The important thing is that you know when enough is enough and it's time to get serious again. We've all been, or are in the same boat, so you know we feel your pain. :grouphug:

Yeah :rolleyes: Try sitting on the toilet in a bathroom stall made of highly polished stainless steel and looking behind you - Yarg! :yikes: nice view of one's butt! Damn those hoity toity restaurants with their fancy reflective surfaces! :p

HEY ALL!!!! The air conditioner apparently DOESN'T have any leaks, so I guess we DO have something in the house that eats freon. At least he didn't charge us!!! The fridge was cheaper to fix than I feared. Just that thing has BAD VIBES. We bought it the night before Montgomery Wards declared bankruptcy. It was EXPENSIVE, and was supposed to be my "dream" fridge. It came NOT WORKING. Montgomery Wards said deal with Amana and Amana said deal with the store. EVENTUALLY they "fixed" it, but they SHOULD HAVE replaced it. 3 years later it has a problem again. Talk about standing behind your merchandise!!! TWO loads of food have now gone bad in that thing. (Took us a while to realize it wasn't working at first.....we kept turning the dial cooler.) WILL NEVER BUY THEIR PRODUCTS AGAIN. Next chore.....find a dryer (once the checks start, I think!!!)

Wildfire-DAMN!! A NAIL!?!?!?! (mine won't even GROW!!! I used to actually be able to bend them backwards they were so thin!!! Since having kids they are actually a bit thicker.)

Squeak-YUCK!! I've had the experience of seeing myself in video tapes (which add 100 pounds by the way!!) But to have to see yourself on a big screen in front of co-workers....CRUEL and UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT!!! I think you should report them to labor relations!!!

Ellis-You are absolutely right of course. I just can't believe it is happening BEFORE the money starts!!! But like I said before, at least I know EVENTUALLY I'll be able to pay the bills. If this had all happened a year ago we would have been in BIG trouble. Listen sweetie.....I wanted to let you know that I'm working overtime to produce good vibes for you and the rest of your family (Dad in particular.) Don't worry, my bad vibes only relate to mechanical things!!!!!

Lidian-Hope you have a wonderful vacation!!!!!

Mauvais-YUP!! You need a NEW job. No doubt about it. Why does DH need surgery? Mine has had a few health issues himself. VERY worrying, but luckily now mostly in the past.

Jessica-Did you get that worm thingy? That sounds really strange. Hope everything is calming down for you too!!!


FUN THING TO CHECK OUT:
http://www.stupid.com

It is now my favorite website!!! I found a BUNCH of stuff I want to buy as gifts.....(MEAT scented air fresheners?!?!?!?!)

I think we ALL need to go to a nice spa and get the works - massages, facials, woodsy walks, someone else bringing the healthy meals on a tray, good conversation...wish we could all go together!

I will not put off the hunt for therapist(s) when I get back. DH and I decided we are going to do couples stuff to start with and then I will be evaluating therapists to see on my own - a lot of my stress has to do with how DH and I interact so I am going to feel a lot better with him in the loop right away.

Tomorrow I will be packing with lots of, um HELP from the girls (how many stuffed animals can we fit in the car? how many Nancy Drew books?)- it will be relaxing to get away for a week though and I am looking forward to it.

Will try and post tomorrow but if I don't, take care and I'll be back in 10 days --

Lidian

Den, my nails have gotten much stronger, due to a couple of things: I take a calcium supplement every day, and I treat them with a nail conditioner called Avoplex. The Avoplex is basically avocado oil, and it's outrageously expensive...$16.99 for a teensy tiny bottle that only has 15ml in it! But it lasts a long time. No, I'm not insane enough to buy it...my sister the hairdresser buys it for me at cost! I get it in my Christmas package every year. Plain old almond oil that is about $3.00 for 250ml works wonders, too.

That just sucks about your fridge. You know, we agonize over those big bucks items, finally decide on one and expect a warranty to protect us.....you don't count on the store going bankrupt!

Lidian, have a fabulous vacation! :cool:

mauvais, not to mention that those surfaces tend to warp and enlarge what is reflected in them!

An Alternaspa sounds like a wonderful idea! No white terrycloth for us, though...:nono: Leopard print all the way, baby!!! :D

Hi all!

This morning, I had NO HOT WATER. The Cute Boyfriend comes sailing into the room as bright as sunshine! "The shower's free! But there is no hot water. None at all, hot water heater must be out!" I had to laugh because this is the man that is prone to falling asleep in the shower. Obviously the cold water did him some good. I jumped in and it was freezing! Needless to say, I didn't even wash my hair.

So I had my last sailing class and I'm very happy that it's over. Not that I hated it but I much rather sail when I want, not when the class meets. Especially since the class meets when there is no wind!!!

I'm a bit upset because when I was back in Cincinnati, I mailed 7 huge boxes of books from my storage place to my house out here. Only 4 boxes have arrived. There are 3 boxes in limbo. Of course, the Post Office told us not to insure them because they would require receipts for the books and we didn't think to certify them. Arg. I'm sure you can all relate how losing 70+ books can make one sad. And no, I couldn't even tell you what books were in there. But they were all like little landmarks of my life. Bah!

My computer system is up and running for the time being. They say it may crash in 3 years or 3 days. Gee thanks.

Mauv - Man, I'm just imagining my butt in a reflective toilet stall and it makes me laugh. Why would you make a reflective toilet stall? That's a darn stupid idea.

Den - Woo hoo! I love it when stuff doesn't cost as much as you think it should. Our fridge has a huge crack on the inside of the freezer but the landlord won't replace it. Oh well!

Lidian, have a wonderful holiday! (I'm guessing that England with the in-laws DOESN'T classify as a "holiday"? ;) )
You're fortunate that your DH is willing to see a therapist. So many men won't do it. They don't want to be seen as being "a failure". :rolleyes:
Safe trip! We'll miss you! :grouphug:

Jessica, condolences on the books. That would DEVASATATE me!
:(

Wildfire, did your conference go alright? What a nightmare for you... I HATE that sort of suspense! :grouphug:

Den, we're just going to have to rob an appliance store. That's all there is to it. :yes: The truck rental will be relatively cheap. We'll get a big one, and load up with two of each. I'm pretty sure that warrantees are useless on stolen merchandise.
Hey, that web site is HILARIOUS!! I want one of those egg separators. :D

Hi Squeak, Mauvais, and everyone!! :wave:

I hope you chicks have power! It is spotty around here. Half my section of the city is out, but I'm ok. But here is something silly - they are giving people advice on what to do without power ON TV!!! :rolleyes:

How are you Ellis? How is your dad? :grouphug:

Have a wonderful trip Lidian!

Jessica - I am sorry about your books. I would be lost without some of mine.

Wildfire - I will have to try some of the nail stuff. Mine rip so easily.

Den - Good to hear things aren't quite as bad as they could have been. I have one of the candy's on that website. I have edible bubbles. Pez makes them. I collect Pez dispensers and panda stuff (it is a panda dispenser).

Mauvais - that would be very scary. Though I have never seen my butt quite, like that before.

I love all of the stories about seeing yourself in windows, mirrors, stainless steel bathrooms, etc. They made me laugh and feel a tad better about the pictures. I still hate the fact they were shown, but nice to know others feel the same way. :)

Ok, one more thing about the power outage - WHO CARES why or where it started. It is good to know to see if it could be prevented, but I hate all the finger pointing that is going on.

I agree Sqeaker! No offence to our American friends but your government seems be holding a grudge against us since the war with Iraq started and our government seems to have a beef with your government since the incident of Mr. Bush forgetting to thank us for our support following September 11th during his big speech thanking everone on the planet but us.

I wish both governments would get over themselves already and move on! Sheesh! With all the things going on in the world right now that are more important you would think that the politicians of two of the more well off countries in the world would be able to work together especially since we are next door neighbours and have never had problems like this before :p

At least we, the people, can get along :) love all you chicks! :grouphug:

We got our power back around 8:30 last night, but the Internet was toast. Glad it's back this morning!

Personally I don't think it matters who or where the outage started. We share the same grid! Yes, they need to find out to prevent it from happening again, but all this laying blame is ridiculous.

ellis, I was thinking of you and your dad and hoping the hospital was looking after him properly with the power outage. All the conference did was waste my time...there was NO need for me to have to be there, other than to drop me in the middle of that traffic nightmare after the power went out. Took me over 2 hours to get back home!

Oh...wait a sec....this whole thing was masterminded by ellis and Den...:s: Den, you wouldn't happen to have any brand new major appliances sitting in your kitchen, would you? :D

Squeak, glad you have your power back!

Yup - Den and Ellis did it. They are the reason I did not get home until 4AM. Driving through a pitch black Ottawa on the bus was so strange! I picked up my car near the airport and found I had very little gas and the stations were closed! Managed to convince a Sunoco guy who had been given an hour of power to update his stuff that it would not do for me to be stranded on the way home. He sold me enough gas to get home. Apparently gas was being doled out only to cops and cabbies and there were only two places in the whole city.

I don't know if Ottawa has power back yet but ours is on - for now. Rolling blackouts are going to be the norm for a bit. I hope Mauvais and Ellis can get back online soon. Thanks God the hospitals have emergency generators! I was thinking of Ellis's Dad in the ICU after his operation!

I flew over the forest fires in British Columbia. What a scary sight! i won't whine about losing power after seeing what those folks need to contend with!

I'm off to take a bath and stockpile some water in case we are rolled off again. I sure am glad to be home!

I get got my power back on at 2:00 pm and man is it hot. I did not go to work cause I didn't think that would be conserving engery and I got a phone call just after my power came back on and it was my boss. She absolutlly needed something done (that only takes 15 minutes) and wondered why I did not come in today. Never mind that it took me 2 1/2 hours to get home and my daughter was up all night cause she was afraid. But F@#$ I work in a immigration law office and if thats what is considered an essential worker I need a new job! I came in to the office just alittle while ago and more than half of us were not here including the lawyer (apparently he's not essential to a law office!) and now since I have arrived everyone including my boss has left! there is no A/C which I would have been pissed at them if there was because we are suppose to be conserving. Anyway I think this is just stupid. One good thing though I didn't use last night as an excuse to cheat on my diet. I stuck to warm soda water all night and had fish for breakfast (had to either cook it or throw it out) so I have been good all day. But I would love a cold beer at this moment and feel confident that I will be giving in that urge shortly.

Hi All!!! We got our power back about an hour ago and finally worked up the courage to try out the computer. I'm keeping this short because they say if we turn too many things on we may lose power again.

Ellis got power last night, but her computer crashed and died. She asked me to come on and let you all know that her Dad is doing fine. (THANK GOODNESS!) and I know she was VERY grateful for all the prayers and good wishes That all of you were sending his way. She will be back once she gets another computer (BUMMER!!) and I'll be back with the dirt on the blackout here once I'm confident the power is on permanently. (We still have to boil water here, but my parents don't even HAVE any!!!)

Ouch! Boiling water. I stocked up on bottled this afternoon when we got power back - for a hefty 90 minutes!

Thanks for letting me know about Ellis and her Dad. I was worrying but know how she feels about phone calls. (Den, was it really her or a stand-in?)

I sure as heck hope things soon get back to normal for all of us. Our power is off and on and our water is not around when the power scoots off so we are having to plan really well. Dammit! We had corn tonight!

Den, thanks for letting us know that ellis and her dad are doing okay. What a relief that his surgery went well! Send her my love if you're in touch with her, and tell her we need her to get that computer and get her behind back here! :yes: Glad you have your power back and hope it stays on for you!

Ruth, corn...:lol: ;) Keep the bathtub filled up with water for filling the toilet tank for flushing!

HI ALL!! We still have power, but i have just heard they may have rolling blackouts this afternoon. (FUN!!)

We are still supposed to conserve water and boil any that we may want to drink or cook with. My parents totally lost their water during the blackout, which was a real bummer. Luckily one of the local grocery store chains stayed open with generators, so we were able to go out and buy charcoal and water yesterday. It was BIZZARE!! Dim lighting, chaos, huge lines.....and water at 75 cents a bottle (for 20 ounces!!) We bought Canada Dry sparkling water instead, at 99 cents for 2 liters. We also had an emergency gallon of water in the basement. ALSO luckily our car had gas in it for once, because most of the local gas stations were not functioning. DH and I were back in our own bed last night which was WONDERFUL. The night before we slept on the couch because it was too hot to go upstairs.

Trixi-YUP!! My 13 year old was kinda scared too. We tried to keep it an adventure, but he is an anxious kid, so it didn't entirely work.

Wildfire-NOPE!! But I did go grocery shopping the night before.....Luckily our frozen items were still over at MIL's house in her BIG freezer with her stuff. So that all survived.

Ellis-(You'll see this eventually) I LOVE those egg separators!!! They are too disgusting NOT to own!!!

Squeak-Glad you didn't lose power! We actually own a few things on that site too, and I WANT TO OWN MORE!!! DH wants the sarcastic "8 ball" type thing.

Mauvais-Now they are saying it started in Michigan, so Wildfire and Ruth may be right....It MAY have been my fault if not Ellis'!!!

Today is our 22nd anniversary!!! We were going to have a nice meal out, but with the water situation here I think I trust my own cooking more!! (Also, some areas still are out or browning out.) DH and I decided to stay home and grill something nice with the kids. Not the most romantic celebration we've ever had, but perfect considering the last few days!!! We are leaving for vacation on Tuesday and our dryer is still non-functional, so I'll be doind LOTS of laundry and hanging it to dry!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DEN & DH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :balloons: Have a wonderful day. :)


:wave: Hi to all! Sorry this is so short but I have a ton to do, and need to be gone for more or less the whole weekend in an hour & a half :fr:

Happy Anniversary Den and DH! :balloons: Hope you have good one depite the power problems - you could always have bbq by candlelight ;)

Our power is on right now :crossed: but we have been advised that there will be rolling blackouts for the next two days.

We are lucky that we live and work downtown so we could walk home and did not get stuck in the traffic. We have a small bbq and we had just bought a couple of cases of bottled water last week :lucky: and we have cold running water. The emergency lights in our buildings hallways and stairwells were only working up to the 6th floor (we live on the 3rd) and only lasted a few hours on Thursday so we ended up helping people get up to their apartments as a lot of people did not have flashlights and we ended up walking some elderly ladies right to their door to make sure they got in okay - my calves are killing me today :lol:

We also ended up sharing candles with a new couple who just moved in on Thursday morning who had nothing - boy nice moving day for them! :rolleyes: One great thing about our building is that everyone has always been very nice and friendly and we all were helping each other out with water, candles, flashlights and escorting and also the offers of the use of campstoves and bbqs to those who were without.

I hope all of you are okay this weekend as we do not know yet how long this will last -goodvibes :goodvibes to everyone to stay well and safe!

Still keeping Ellis' dad in my prayers!

Den-Happy Anniversary!!!

Happy Anniversary, Den & DH!! :cheers: :bubbles:

Thanks for all the good wishes chiquitas!!!! We had a VERY low key day which is just what we both needed after the last week. Had to boil water to do dishes(!!) and we are still being told to conserve water until Wednesday. NO SHOWERS!!! I don't think I'll be able to wait that long!!!!

It is great the way people pulled together during all of this, isn't it? Friday morning our neighbor came over with ground coffee. Ours was in bean form (electric grinder) and he doesn't have a gas stove, so between all of us we managed to have coffee!!! (Boiled the water first of course!!:lol: ) We also went over to check on our ex-neighbor. He is not doing well (still in hospital) SHE was sitting there in a panic because her phone is cordless so it wouldn't work. We found an old phone in the basement and hooked it up for her. She couldn't go to the hospital because he is on the 7th floor and she can't exert herself that much, so she was really upset. Some other ex- neighbors took her dinner. I know there were some people taking advantage of the situation too, but there really are a lot of good people out there!!!

Den, you and DH will always remember this anniversary. A belated Happy Happy to you both.

After this crap and with the thought of rolling blackouts to come, I am seriously considering getting a generator. I don't think my poor decrepit DH could cope with no power if it was winter. Here in Delta there is no gouging - just shortages of milk and bread - but I don't need them anyhow.

NO KIDDING!!

My parents are thinking of getting a generator too. My Dad has asthma and did NOT do well in the heat. I wish they had just driven to Chicago to a motel actually, because he drove my Mom nuts as well as just feeling miserable!!!