Megan-- don't be so hard on yourself. I hope you are in a better frame of mind when you go shopping and you find something FABulous!
Dagmar-- enjoy your trip! I am not a camper-- I like the outdoors but I need my showers, toilets, etc.!
Meg-- have fun elliptical shopping. Hope it fits in your basement! It has been pretty cool here this summer too. I love hot weather so I've been disappointed. Yet another day in the 70s today. It feels like we haven't had summer yet. I will be cranky when it gets cold since I will have missed summer!
Kery-- hope your location will be one that works well for you. So, in France, they assign you to a school? You don't interview for positions yourself and choose?
Add me to the list that can't believe July is over..... tomorrow is dh and my 22nd wedding anniversary but as I stated earlier, we will be going in separate directions to pick up our dd's to leave for our Alaskan cruise EARLY Sunday morning. I doubt I will have internet access on the boat. I know they have an internet cafe but you pay by the minute I think and I expect we'll be busy! We (myself, my dh, and 2 dd's) will be cruising with my elderly aunt and uncle. I spoke to my uncle last night. He said he feels so old (he lives in Rhode Island so I haven't seen him in awhile) and he doesn't want me to be shocked by how he looks, how slow he gets around, etc. Sigh..... he is like my father since my parents are deceased. He is 80. His wife is much younger and in much better shape (she is early 60s). He is so worried he won't be able to keep up with us but I think cruises are perfect for that-- those that are less active can be less active, and those that are more active can be more active. I've been reading cruise reviews and I just hope there are some younger people onboard. The cruise line we are going on (Holland America) is known for their elderly cruisers-- complete with oxygen, wheelchairs and walkers-- I read their average age onboard is 65. I guess I will feel young!
Dh and I are going out for dinner tonight to celebrate our anniversary. I know what I will be getting and it is quite a splurge! My weight is still way (or weigh!) down as I'm just starting to get over my nausea, so I hope I don't blow it all at dinner tonight right before the food fest on the cruise!
Take care everyone! Enjoy the beginning of August and I'll check back in soon.
Michele, happy anniversary tomorrow. Ours was the 28th of this month. He is home now and taking me out to dinner tomorrow night.
Meg, my DH's oil rig is moving to near Pittsburg very soon. Then he'll be working 2 weeks on/2 weeks off. I dread having him gone 2 weeks at a time, but I'm sure we will get adjusted to it.
Allison, yes lots of Aveeno oatmeal baths for Shelbey. At least the vistaril is helping her to get some sleep. The rest of our family has already had them , but no grandkids over here for a couple weeks. Poor thing, I think she's more miserable at age 17 than if she had gotten them when she was younger. I have been warned by the Dr. that with my compromised immune system and being on prednisone that I might possibly get them anyway (or shingles which would be even worse).
DH and I are playing in a golf scramble tonite, plus we're leaving early to play a round of golf before the scramble. My weekend plans are house cleaning and more golf. It rained here yesterday so I'll get lots of exercise walking the course.
We have called a place called "Wood ReNew" to come out and beautifully powerwash, polish, varnish and restore our 2 story deck and gazebo. It is expensive, but I can't wait to have it done. I'm sure this is one remodeling thing that will be best done by professionals. I'll take before and after pic's sometime and post them once it's completed.
Megan~I haven't read the books by Frances Mayes, but I did see the movie based on her first book. My friend with whom I'm traveling is in love with those books and that is the reason she's always wanted to go to Tuscany.
Lily~shingles are WAY worse than chicken pox. My son, when he was 2ish got shingles. He had had chicken pox as a tiny baby (maybe 6 months old) but it was a VERY mild case (maybe 3 spots) when my DD had hers. So when he got the shingles it attacked half his head--it was horrible! He still bears many scars from it, but most are in his hair so you can't see them.
Did I tell you all about the dress I got last weekend? I had gone to Ross and tried on several but didn't like them much and they were mostly long and I wanted shorter--but below my knees. I decided to go to a boutique that I often find cute things at. In their sale room, I found a dress marked $299. It was marked down to $119 and then there was an extra discount. I walked out of there with paying ONLY $29.75 plus tax for it!!! Cute, too.
What a great deal Alllison! You need to post a photo of the dress....
I am trying to pack. I am a terrible packer. I always pack too little or too much or the wrong season's clothes and end up freezing or hot. Add to that the fact that most of my clothes are too big and I have to hide my tattoo from my uncle and I'm fairly limited!! We bought some makeup to hide dd's tattoo. It should work as hers is behind her ear. Mine is on my shoulderblade though so if I cover it the makeup will get over my clothes (and mine is much bigger). So, I'm trying to make sure my clothes cover it. I'm hoping his eyesight won't be great if it happens to "peek" out a bit.
I am feeling very, very tired. I am having some coffee and trying to wake up and get motivated to go to the gym....
Lily, I had chicken pox when my seven year old son did. Remind Shelby not to scratch, that is the hardest thing about chicken pox, but I am sure she doesn't want to have scars.
Allison, loved your shopping story, that's my kind of shopping.
Michele - you'll be lucky to see temps in the 70's in Alaska! And yes, the internet is quite expensive, but go up to the cafe the first day - they have a drawing for a good sized chunk of minutes! There is also a library there with a decent selection, and you can get DVD's for use in your room for $3/night. Also, don't use your cell phone on the ship or anywhere near it when docked. You hit their satellite connection which is super expensive (like $16/minute). I only used mine in port far away from the ship.
My DH had shingles two years ago, and like Alison's son, it was all over one side of his head/neck/face and shoulders. He was miserable for several weeks. He still has residual pain in the back of his neck. Lily, have you asked your doctor about the shingles vaccine? I know they recommend it for people in your situation (and my DH's, but it's too late for him).
Our excitement last night was that our well pump quit yesterday afternoon. After my DH and our neighbor couldn't diagnose/fix it, DH called a well guy that the neighbor knows (he knows someone to fix almost anything - got the recommendation for our lawn mower repair from him too). The guy showed up by 6, and by 9 we had a new well pump! The problem was actually in the buried wires between the house and the well which had shorted out the control box (we have a new one of those too). We went ahead and got a new pump since the one they pulled has been there since we started building the house - in 1976! We have a temporary hookup now, and DH will get new wire and dig a trench to bury it. Our water is now really stirred up and has lots of iron in, but it's clearing pretty fast, and we're just using some we got from the neighbors for drinking/cooking. As soon as we run a lot - like watering the garden - it'll clear up.
I'll post pics of the dress when I wear it--which will probably be in Italy. I hope to be able to post quite a few pics (mostly on FB, though).
Pat~we all used our cell phones continually while on and off the ship and never got any kind of satellite charges. Of course, we could only use them when we had bars showing--so I'm sure that meant we were connected to our Verizon network. I don't think our ship ever said anything otherwise.
Glad you got the pump replaced Pat, it would horrible to be without water!
Holland America has a warning about it in the introductory materials. I did see some people using them all the time, so it may be which company you're with. I only used mine a couple of times anyway. I did use it in Seattle on either end as I was a time zone closer to my family.
We were on Holland America. It's the only cruise line I've ever been on (although seriously considering a Seabourne). Hmmm, I wonder why we didn't get charged?
I'm back home from my Aunt's funeral -2.5 hours to get there with rain and road construction, but an easy drive back. She was 84, would have been 85 next month. Her husband is 86, and their 60th wedding anniversary would have also been next month. She had a long, happy life. I was reminded today that we are a family of long lived women! My great great aunt (great grandmother's sister - is that right?) was there, and moving around great by herself at almost 90! There was a large age difference between her and my great grandmother, she was the baby. My great grandmother lived until almost 90 & my grandmother is 76 and going strong after heart & knee surgery. If I play my cards right I could have a long time left. It was nice to see. And, it was also nice that no one recognized me and they all told me how fabulous I looked! The service was neat - she was cremated, so they had a longer memorial service (led by one of my cousins) and then the ladies at the church fixed lunch so we socialized over lunch before everyone got back on the road. I had fried chicken, 1 spoon apiece of several vegetables & a piece of peach pie. Not traditional peach pie - this one wasn't baked, she said it was like the Shoney's strawberry pie whatever that means. I'm supposed to look up the recipe. Fresh peaches, some filling with water, cornstarch and gelatin, topped with lite cool whip. It was wicked good and she claimed not too bad for you.
Meg - I bought a ceiling fan for the room where my elliptical was first located without even thinking about the fact that it would hang too low to be over the machine... Measuring is important!
Megan - sorry you are out of sorts. Don't let the clothes shopping get you down, or the misunderstanding with dear boyfriend get you down. I know it is hard to shop when you aren't happy with yourself, but Clinton and Stacey are right - find something, even if it is shoes or jewelry, that looks great on you and it will make you feel better!
Michele -have a great anniversary dinner, and a great trip!
Lily - I had chicken pox when I was 16, so I remember being miserable too. I think it is easier when you are younger... I took a lot of oatmeal baths, too...
Pat - well pump now! This has not been a good month for you with the home repair! Glad it was a fairly easy fix - never fun to be without water!
Allison - definitely post Italy pics and pics of the dress! That really was a great deal!
Dagmar - enjoy Beastfest!
I totally blew my calories yesterday... on granola bars of all things. I ended up having two different ones at work yesterday afternoon. So that, plus today's church social lunch mean I have to be more careful this weekend! I did get up and exercise this morning before driving down to the service, though. Yay!
Shannon, I have a strawberry pie recipe like that - it makes a delicious fresh pie. Basically you cut up fresh berries and put them in a prebaked crust. Then you make the sauce (for lack of a better word) from more strawberries, sugar and cornstarch. You pour it over the fresh berries and refrigerate it. To serve, top with whipped cream! It's very good and fresh tasting. Haven't made it for awhile, though without the pie shell and easy on the whipped cream and it wouldn't be too bad calorie wise. Depends on how much sugar as well.....
Allison, here's what Holland America publishes on their website.....
Mobile Phones
Through an agreement with Wireless Maritime Services (WMS), a leading provider of maritime cellular service at sea, Holland America Line lets you take advantage of your wireless devices while at sea. Using your own mobile phone and telephone number, you can make and receive calls to and from fellow travelers who are on the ship, as well as friends, family or business associates back home. If you currently have the service through your home provider, you can also send and receive text messages. Other available wireless services include use of PDAs, such as your Blackberry.®
All charges for calls, text and data usage made while on the WMS network are billed at rates similar to international roaming by your home carrier on your regular monthly phone bill.
The use of the service requires compatible wireless/mobile phones or devices and qualified wireless service with a home mobile service provider that has a roaming agreement with Wireless Maritime Services. Please contact your carrier prior to sailing to make sure your plan qualifies and you will have service while at sea. For a complete listing of carriers worldwide go to www.cellularatsea.com.
Availability of service is not guaranteed; it depends on the participation of your home mobile service provider and service permissions. Please also note that some prepaid phone plans are not supported.
Thanks for the info Pat on the cellphones. I had been researching it actually because I just got an iphone. I found that I need to be very careful to turn off any data connection on my phone (need to figure out how to do it) or my phone could be connected the whole time without me realizing it. I wasn't thinking that I needed to be away from the ports too but I will keep that in mind. The last thing I want is a big cell phone bill. I will check out the drawing for the internet cafe too! Both myself and dd will need to use it to work on classes we are taking so I may have to see about a package deal.
Pat - that is the same recipe that she used for the peach pie. She said that she used 1/3 of the called for sugar, no sugar added jello & lite cool whip. Don't know if that is true or not, but I do know it was yummy, so I'm not going to think too hard about how bad it was or wasn't for me. It does sound easy to make though, so I might add it to my list of things to take to family gatherings, or the strawberry version which I have had in the past.
Thanks Pat. Perhaps I should go back to our bill last year and check it more closely. But I don't remember it being any higher than usual. But when you're looking at over $1000 a month (company cells--we have over a dozen phones), a little more here and there doesn't pop out.
Allison, that sounds like a great buy you got on the dress.
Shelbey is feeling better and her pox look like many are starting to dry up. Hope she's over this soon so I can take her and Lacy shopping for school clothes.
DH and his buddies are playing golf today (no girls allowed because one of the guys is a jerk). I feel left out!
Pat, glad you got the well pump fixed. We're currently on a boil order due to a broken pipe somewhere here in town. I didn't learn about the boil order til after I had already been drinking iced tea that I made here at home.
I have a boring day planned, laundry all day long.
Shannon, that pie sounds great. Was it made with fresh peaches or canned ones? I might could make it for our golf luncheon.
The service was neat - she was cremated, so they had a longer memorial service (led by one of my cousins) and then the ladies at the church fixed lunch so we socialized over lunch before everyone got back on the road. I had fried chicken, 1 spoon apiece of several vegetables & a piece of peach pie. Not traditional peach pie - this one wasn't baked, she said it was like the Shoney's strawberry pie whatever that means. I'm supposed to look up the recipe. Fresh peaches, some filling with water, cornstarch and gelatin, topped with lite cool whip. It was wicked good and she claimed not too bad for you.
