Allison-- other than that she feels good?!? I assume you are being sarcastic! She is going through a lot-- hope she feels better.

Glad you had fun Shannon at the wedding and reunion! Post some pics soon.

OMG I am so tired. I can't even type. This is going to be a long day. It is already a long week. Yesterday was super tiring. I worked both of my jobs so 7-6:30, then had to drive dd and her boyfriend to a concert. She thought it would be over by 9:00 so I hung out at a nearby Starbucks until 9:00 (So I essentially had no dinner except a yogurt parfait there). Then I went back to wait and they weren't done until 10 pm. By then I had to pee, I was hungry, cranky and exhausted and had to drive her boyfriend back and then home. Didn't get home until 11, dogs were spastic because they'd been alone all day (we had gone home quickly to let them out and feed them) so it was super late by the time I got to bed (and no gym of course).

Today I just feel like my brain isn't wired. I have no idea what day it is. I found out that my hours have been increased at job #1 (from 35-40) which is great but I'm trying to figure out how/when to fit the extra hours in while dh is out of the country and I have to drive dd to and from school. Not to mention I have no time to cook, do housework, or work on my class/work for my last class of my masters. Then sister-in-law sends me a snarky email yesterday about Christmas. They are in Hong Kong and are coming for Christmas. They will be in Houston first (where inlaws are) and then are going to Napa for New Year's. They want us to come to Napa but it is only around an hour away so we can drive in for the day easily. They tentatively booked us a hotel for 4 nights at $350 a night! It has 2 double beds-- um... are my 2 teenage girls going to share a double bed and dh and I share the other? That sounds like a blast! Add to that boarding for my dogs ($70 a night) plus a cat sitter. I don't think so!! Now to get dh to agree with me as he always starts off agreeing with me and then gets pressured by his family--- everyone will be there...blah..blah..blah...

I guess I ramble when I'm tired! So sorry! Guess I better get back to work and earn my keep around here!

Allison - I totally missed the post about your mom. I hope she feels better soon!

Michele - wow, busy long day! I bet you are tired! Annoying about the SIL thing - I would totally drive over for a visit instead of spending the four nights in the hotel. I remember family vacations where my brother and I shared one double bed and my folks were in the other. Made for a great time...

I am tired today, too - stayed up too late last night after a poor run at the park. I am still kind of tired from the busy weekend and my toes are a little numb still from twelve hours of high heels on Saturday. So of course I then went to the park last night and tried to do speed drills with the local running club. Completely kicked my tail and I bailed after 1.5 miles. On the upside, my highest speed was 8.4 mph during the run and the 1.5 miles averaged 6.4 mph. On the downside, it almost killed me and my throat is still sore. Blah.

Good day everyone!

Shannon--get some Tabasco Sauce or Cholula Hot Sauce or something along those lines. Rub it on the power cords where the cat is tending to chew on them. Even dry, it packs a punch. Your cat will definitely stop chewing the cords. Not only will you save on power cords, but your cat won't end up electrocuted!

Jay

Jay~it's me with the cord problem. I coated the cords with bitter apple and it didn't work.

Shannon~that cord protector would probably work great with regular cords, but he cord for my MacBook is different--very, very slim and therefore super easy to bite through (obviously!). I think I'll get some of those protectors for other cords, though. EDIT: Oh, there is another one for a micro cord! Yes, that should work!!

Michele~I was kind of being sarcastic, but she really does feel a lot better as the surgery has practically erased all the pain she's had for years. I remember years before she broke her leg, we'd be out shopping and she literally could not walk more than 10-20 feet before having to sit a a few minutes. The pain apparently is due to her tiny veins not getting the blood where it needs to be. I'd think she'd have obvious edema from that, but that was never a problem. She'd just rest a bit and could walk a bit further.

Allison - i saw the micro cord one, wasn't sure how small the MacBook cord was. Like the iPod cord I guess? Hope it works. I have done hot sauce on chewed spots too, also. It was when I had a beagle. She didn't like hot sauce.

Sorry, alinnell! Look, bitter apple obviously isn't enough. I am pretty sure that hot sauce will be. Give it a try. My cat tended to bite cords, too, but he doesn't do it any more...

Jay

My cat bites my headphone cords - but has only managed to destroy one. I often sleep with my headphones on so they're usually in the bed. I try to keep the extra length tucked under the pillow now.

I tried hot sauce with my Golden who had a bad chewing habit. It didn't sway her at all! I think she liked it!

I sent a link to my DS about the cord protector, he replied that I should look at the reviews. Apparently they have a REALLY bad smell--to the point of nausea for some people, but one review said to take them off the spool and leave them out for a week somewhere (like the garage) before using them. The smell (to people) is much reduced but to pets still lingers. I guess that's one thing that helps keep little teeth from biting (and they are really strong according to the reviews).

Amy, no, I'm not from Jersey (I'm from Los Angeles actually), but both my parents are so I still have family there and in NY.

Allison, I hope your mom feels better. Good luck with stopping the cat from chewing!

Shannon, I'm glad you had a good time at your reunion! I'd love to see photos of you!

Michele, that is pretty crazy of your SIL. If you're only an hour away what on earth would you want to spend $350/night on a hotel for?

All the arrangements are made for me to go out to my grandma's funeral this weekend (leaving Friday night, coming back Saturday afternoon). My mom made sure the service was scheduled for Saturday afternoon instead of morning just in case anyone's flights get delayed or canceled. I'm connecting through Charlotte which I've never been through before, so hopefully there won't be any surprises.

In other news, DH got promoted! Sort of, anyway. Yesterday his boss told him that he was getting promoted, but it doesn't become "official" until the end of the month, so DH doesn't want to announce it to family or anything until it's official just in case they change their minds.

Hi all,

The week is flying by so far. I've kept busy at work, I guess. BF and I are at the point where we're reminding each other of things to do before we leave - "Put you ladder back on the boat." "Clean out car and make sure dive gear is together." Stuff like that. He's leaving Monday or Tuesday ahead of me, so he needs to get his stuff together first.

Michele, um, you need to get your DH on par with you fast to cancel that $350/night hotel room! I totally sympathize about holiday travel planning around family. I love my family, but it can be a pain, esp when travel expense and distance is concerned. I get annoyed that my parents and I always wait for my DS and her DH to decide what their plans are, then plan around them. I feel like his family always takes precedence, and if we make other plans we just won't get to see them. And that was before they had a baby to worry about. My mom just told me a few days ago that we are doing Thanksgiving at my parents house. I found some affordable flights, but won't fly on the big travel days right before or after Thanksgiving b/c of increased cost. Not a big deal. But now everyone is telling me that I need to coordinate w/ my sis, who wants to take the train from DC to NY instead of driving. I'm not going to come in w/ her train for an extra $300! Flights are harder to plan and more price-sensitive - can't she plan around me? Grumble.

Allison, I hope your mom recovers quickly and get her blood pressure leveled out. I'm glad she's feeling less pain.

Shannon, I'm glad you had fun at the reunion. I'll bet you were a hot tamale! Good for you for at least trying to keep up w the running club. Supposedly intervals are the best way to increase your speed, and work your heart differently too. 8.4!!!

Dagmar, way to stay active on your trip and balance your "splurge" meals w lighter choices. Sounds like a good maintenance strategy to me!

Jessica, sorry to hear about your grandmother. I'm sure your mom and aunt will be glad you're there for them.

Hang in there everyone, the week is half over.

Jessica, we posted at the same time. Congrats to DH!

Okay, I'm starting to feel like a bad person. What do you all think? Here's the scenario:

Remember a few weeks back I ordered several hot sauces through Amazon from a seller called Hot Saunces N More? Here's the timeline:
ordered 9/2
shipped 9/3
received 9/7 (order completely wrong)
complained via Amazon 9/7
they responded to the complaint 9/8 with "we will send the correct order"
no further contact for over a week, so I left a bad review about the sale on Amazon on 9/20
received confirmation that they're shipping 9/21
received 9/22--it is finally correct (and they sent a free bottle of Ring of Fire for my inconvenience). And they don't want the 4 bottles that were the wrong brand back.
And now I can't change my review. I feel bad, but really, I waited over a week after they said they'd ship the right order....

Allison-- those things happen. I've had it happen on both sides. They should have sent the right order immediately. I wouldn't worry about it. You left your bad review 12 days after they said they were sending the correct order and they didn't send it until after you posted your negative feedback.

Question for you guys--
I have a wedding to go to and want to buy something :-)

I'm looking to buy a few things online and then return whatever doesn't work/ I don't like. So I'm looking for something amazing, reasonably prized, with good returns. Any ideas? I just have no time to shop..... (or patience). The wedding is in a few weeks.

Shannon-- I know you had bought your dress from Fredericks and I looked there but didn't see anything (most of the dresses looked way too short to me).

Thanks in advance!!

Michele - check out White House Black Market.

Allison - sorry about your hot sauce mixup! I've gotten caught in reviews like that too. They should have just fixed it faster!