Ha.
had half a post written and then went to have a look at Annies wee new grandchild. Lost the lot.

Can't think of much of what I wrote.

I know I was sorry about Happy's cousin. That is a terrible thing to happen to a man going about his job. What a rotten world we live in at times. Wouldn't it be nice to get rid of the humans and just live with the animals - of the 4 legged kind (mostly).

I know I couldn't see what Annie was describing. I'd make a useless ultrasoundist. Is there a word for that.

Good onya Laura for volunteering. It would be interesting to be with the kids.

Ceejay - never heard of stretching the skin. Most of us are trying to tighten it up.

Okay - that's it. Now it is posting itself. I only have to press Enter and away it goes and posts. Done!

SHADDIE...the arrow is pointing to his winkie dink. It is as if he is sitting down on a copy machine, copying his bottom, winkie dink and the back of his legs.

Annie
I was hoping for a girl for some reason but another boy will be nice. A brother for the lil man. I know you are excited.

Laura
I guess it was nice to get out of the office even if it was for a little while.

Happy
When are you making plans to visit with your mom? I've forgotten.

Shad
If I can't tighten my skin with exercise then it will just be loose. I'm not that excited about going under a knife. I do hope things work out for her.

----------------
I thought it was yesterday that my friend was going to have her procedure but it's today. I told her to keep me informed. She's coming to my house on Wednesday.
Found a good exercise video on you tube for senior strength for 45 minutes. I could keep up with this too. And got a good work out. The seniors looked to be in their 70's - 80's. Yep did it in from if the camera too here at work.
I'm disappointed in the t.v. monitor. Going to take it back Thursday. And buy a new lap top which is what I wanted.
Every one have a good day.

Morning all,

I went to physical therapy yesterday. The muscles on my outer thighs are tight as bow strings. Come to find it's that super tightness (bad) which is contributing greatly to the bursa getting inflamed and causing the hip pain. They were going to work on my neck (which hurts really badly as well as my shoulder and arm) but decided instead to work on the lower half which might be the source of all problems. They rolled a foam roller on the outside of my legs and it was sooooo painful. I HATE deep tissue massages - I think they hurt like the dickens but they said that would help things. Did some recumbent stepper work as well as some exercises. I walked out of there feeling much worse than when I walked in. And I'm not feeling that great this morning either but I do understand the need to stretch things out so I will continue with that. I go to therapy tomorrow and twice next week and will see how I feel when I get back and if more is needed. They suggested that water therapy / pool work would be good and apparently you can use the pools at some local hotels for 5 dollars or so a shot so I will look into that. My neck is really bad and I'm going to insist they do something about it tomorrow. They did give me some stretches but the doctor talked about some heat / ultrasound therapy too. After that I stopped for my mamagram. They now have a heated plate on the machine. Oh happy day! The tech said they had been asking for years and when they got a new health director recently he said Sure. I asked if the director had breasts and she said "no but I'm sure his wife had an opinion on the subject" The hospital is right across from my doctor's office so I stopped in there to see if I could get another cortisone shot. Soonest appointment I could get was next week Friday which is when I was to see the doctor next. I explained that I needed another shot so she talked to the nurse who talked to the p/a who said he could do it so I'll see him later this morning. I swear the doctor's get on their horses and ride from town to town. You really are stuck using the hospital emergency room for more than you should have to but I guess that's how it goes in a small town like this. Then I went and got my hair re-colored. She put a lot of blond highlights in it so it's got a "frosted" look. It lightened it up considerably and I really like it. I made a chicken tortilla soup in the crockpot and it came out delicious. A few more spices and Annie would love it too. So easy and it made the house smell wonderfully. Mom called and we chatted for a bit. Watched some tv and flipped back to the big rivalry football game. I was very pleased at the outcome Time's a ticking away and it's time to dig in and get busy as I will be leaving a week from Saturday. Mom is happy I am coming. I was talking to DH afterwards as she was making me crazy and I said that I have come to the conclusion that I am no longer going to offer her any suggestions whatsoever when she complains about something (like the high cost of her medications at the local pharmacy across the street. I offered that it would be much cheaper to get her maintenance drugs through a mail order option but she disagrees vehemently. Apparently a woman who has never done mail order knows more about it than her daughter who has been using mail order services for the last 25 years ) Said I am just beating my head against the wall for nothing as she wants no part of any suggestion other than what she's fixed that she's going to do. So... I will just say nothing other than empathizing her situation. Even my sister told her last week (and my sister often choses to say nothing as she hates conflict) that she was also getting tired of constantly fighting with my Mom about everything. She told her that when I come to visit we will bang heads so bad that by the end of the week we won't be talking to each other. So I'm trying to prepare myself... mostly I'm terrified that I'm headed down the same road one day I guess I will know when DH either runs screaming down the road, moves into the mancave or goes to live with the wild turkeys in the trees

Ceejay - sounds like you found a great workout video. Very nice!

Annie - I too had trouble seeing the picture but I guess when you are used to looking at inkblots like the techs do, things really "pop" into focus

Shad - sorry you lost your post.

Laura - it's good that your friend gave some thought to things before she made such a life changing decision. Sometimes we get caught in the moment, some times we don't quite know what we are getting into. Life is certainly different out of the big city - one of which is less opportunities all the way around be it work, health care of just shopping. Hope you can find someone to help with the drywall patching - it is more than just slapping a coat of paint on.

Michelle - it's your FB page and you are certainly entitled to put whatever you want on it. I know other people who post nothing but religious things or others who just post recipes of tempting calorie bombs I was just commenting that I noticed as time goes on, people tend to communicate less. I know what you mean about bemoaning the writing time. When you sit down to work on it, it does take a fair chunk of time - not just a 30 minute thing. I totally understand about being inspired. It's hard to just sit right down and write on demand. Hope you can keep up with it, even if it's just a personal journal.

To all - thank you for the prayers and kind words for my cousins. I hope to get to see them when I'm out there.

Gotta run and got get ready for my doctor's appointment. Have a good day everyone. No word from Jen yet.

Morning all - yes still morning here! Just a quick pop in to say hi, then I'm off to my WW meeting. I already weighed and came in at +0.4 pounds. That's what I get for skipping the kickboxing class last night. But it's actually better for me to skip the movies tonight and go to the step plus abs class tonight since I haven't tried that one yet. So that's what I'll do.

Off now, but I'll try to get back in a bit.

Shad – Hope your bag and contents enoyed its time in Melbourne, LOL. Glad you found yourself an apartment spacious enough to last you five months. So is the different flora and fauna causing the sinus congestion or is it just typical for you this time of year? I find being outdoors doing yardwork in the fall gets my allergies going, and to a smaller extent, my asthma. Guess it’s the leaf mold, and people using their fire pits. Need to remember to use the inhaler when I’m going out to shovel and rake. Nice you and your sister will at least peacefully coexist at your niece’s shower this weekend…

Happy – Tragic story re your cousin. Dangerous line of work he was in, and so young! My bunion issue is at the ball of my foot/big toe. Sounds like yours was near your pinky toe? Yeh, the surgery is bad enough, the hassle of recovery doesn't sound like a party either. But like Ceejay said, I’ll know when/if the pain gets to be too much then it’s time to get it dealt with. Re my hair – I get it touched up every 4 weeks, and every 8 weeks I get it cut. Ha ha, too funny that you couldn’t figure out how to turn on the cell phone. But why be interrupted during a shopping trip with phone calls???!!! And your cousin probably had a cell phone with her, LOL. That’s a long to-do list you have - good luck!! I’d have a long one if I really got serious about drawing one up. Instead I’ve been doing the minimum, and had no clean workout pants to show for it yesterday. Eww regarding the mouse getting into the pantry goods. Get those kitties earning their keep I say!! Ouch re the PT, but I hope it ultimately helps you. The foam roller seems to be universally reviled.

Michelle – When will you know if you’ve been selected for the med trial? My fingers are that you are – those $$S could come in handy. It’ll be nice to have the time off at the holidays. Not being paid is not a pleasant thing, but you have a few weeks to prepare for that, and if you do it might not be so painful. Glad you enjoyed Gravity – bf and I still need to get out to see it. Unfortunately, we didn’t want to go on a weekend night (because of the crowds). Maybe this coming weekend we can get to a matinee showing. Hey, how about that Bears-Packers game? Better matchup for the Bears with both teams having to use their backup QB, LOL. The defense is not good, but our backup qb is doing a pretty decent job. Hope Rodger's injury is nothing serious - that would be a shame.

Susie – Good luck to your dh with the conversion. I hope it does the trick. Good for you to get help with your usual duties while you work on the big project!! Hope you get the brief done today and get moving on this project.

Ceejay – Sorry you’ve been suffering a respiratory infection. I was on a conference call this morning and two people on it sounded just awful. It’s that time of year – people are indoors more and the germs are everywhere. Bah. You’ve definitely been busy with the computer-related tasks. Makes me feel guilty. We’ve been talking FOREVER about getting an external hard drive on which to save photos. I know if our machine crashed I’d feel horrible losing our photos. Nice you’re scheduling vacation time. I don’t have any scheduled this month, but am taking some days next month. I still have a few days left after that, but maybe I should just carry them over to 2014. Or take a day later this month. When the weeks drag like they have been for me lately, it’s a sign for me to take a day off!!! Good job on the exercise!!!

Annie – So you were right about the next baby being a boy. Such a cute photo of the li’l guy as Batman! That sounded so cute - him thanking everyone for his treats. Great deal on the photo package!! What a good grammy!!
+++
Nothing much to report. Didn’t do the kickboxing class last night because I discovered I had no clean workout pants to wear, and realized it would be even better to do tonight’s class (step) to see if I liked it. So I’m skipping the movie tonight to go to the exercise class. I did a couple loads of laundry last night - clean workout gear ready to go tonight! Might have to shop for some more so I have some buffer stock...

The fundraiser finale is today – as usual, it ends with a live auction and yet more raffles. I usually enjoy going to these events, but this year I just haven’t been that engaged in it. I might just skip it and enjoy the quiet of our floor while everyone is gone. The boss has yet another dentist appointment…

Okay, enough of the interruptions. Posting NOW and then back to it! TTFN!

Hi ladies -

I just found out that I didn't qualify for the research study. And while I could use the cash, it's probably for the best as it would mean taking a couple half days off work for the appointments, and I already have some doctors appointments on the calendar (follow up regarding blood tests this Friday, Mammo a week from Thursday, and colonscopy on Dec. 2).

My step-brother is moving to Belize. He has been planning this move, and talking about it for nearly a year. He wants a fresh start somewhere that the economy is better and where he can make a living wage relative to the cost of living. He's got a friend who lives there and loves it, and he's been researching it. He will be only be taking clothes and a few personal items, and he will be starting his drive down there on Dec. 27 or 28. He has asked if I'd like to go with him to help him on the long drive (roughly 3,300 miles). Upside: it would be a great adventure and I'd be able to see parts of Mexico and Belize, and I'm off work from Dec. 21-Jan. 1 anyway. Downside, it is a long drive; it's driving through Mexico which isn't always safe; there's the cost of the airfare back (my step-brother can't afford to pay for it, not sure if my step-mother would be willing to); and I'd have to board Santa for a minimum of 5 nights ($250). There's no way I'd take Santa with me...to many unknowns involved in traveling with a pet in less developed parts of foreign countries. I told my step-brother I'd think about it, and I am.

Tomorrow, my boss and the desktop/network admin will be providing support to an off-site Board of Directors meeting, so I'll be the only IT person here, and I don't have access to do much...but they said they'll be logged in remotely and should be able to reset passwords, etc. from there.

I think of Mel so often, especially this morning when I heard on the news that New Jersey is having major elections today. I wonder who is handling all the election craziness in Mel's absence.

I'm going back to the gym tonight for the first time in a couple weeks. I've got to get back into a healthier routine.

===================
Happy - Bummer that the stretching and deep tissue massage hurt you, but it is necessary and helpful in the long run. The massages I used to get would sometimes make me cry...but they truly stretched and unknotted the muscles and helped. I have a similar problem with tight calves and hamstrings contributing to my back problems. This Friday when I see my doc, I'm going to request a referral to physical therapy and to a nutritionist. I'm glad you were able to get in sooner for your cortisone shot. I really hope you get some relief soon. Back and neck pain can be so debilitating. Sorry that your mom drives you crazy. I think some people don't listen to suggestions because they like things to complain about. Not sure if that's your mom or not. At some point, I gave up suggesting things to my mom and my DMIL because it seemed like they had the attitude..."don't confuse me with facts. I know what I know." At least my step-mom hasn't gotten there yet. I'd love to get your chicken tortilla soup recipe. I just purchased an inexpensive crock pot because my stepmom doesn't have one and mine is somewhere in my storage. I'd love to see pictures of your new hairdo/color. Post them to dropbox if you'd rather not share them on FB or here.

Laura - I hope the WW meeting was good. Don't fret the +0.4 lb gain. Good for you for going to the gym tonight for step and abs. I love step class. It was difficult for Packer fans to see their leader Aaron Rodgers go down with an injury. I heard on the news this morning that he has a small fracture in his collarbone, and he's getting an MRI this morning. As of now, the estimate is that he'll be out 3 weeks. Rumors are that the Packers GM called the former backup Matt Flynn who was just released by another team. Hopefully they get a good backup soon. I think that the backup QB did a fairly good job, especially since he hadn't any pre-season practice time with the Packers. Even though both teams had to use their backup QBs, I think it was obvious the Bears had the edge maybe because their backup had actually played with the team before. LOL

Ceejay - Good on ya for doing the workout! There's a chair workout with Dolvett Quince (from The Biggest Loser). I just love Dolvett's smile, not to mention his sculpted physique! So handsome! From what I've heard it's pretty intense...you don't sit in the chair, but rather you use it as a high step up, and for tricep dips, etc. I hope you get over the respiratory infection soon.

Susie - Hope you're doing well.

Shad - Don't work so hard on this new gig that you burn yourself out in the first couple weeks!

Speaking of work...I'd better get back to it!

Much love to all,

It's so quiet at work you could hear a pin drop. Two bosses are out and the others workers are hiding. The plant is down and I've turned the t.v. down too, so it will be quiet for a change. But I did have a bit of scare earlier today. Earlier in the day the guys told me that they were going to change out the empty chlorine cylinders. It hasn't happened in a long time but the chlorine gas leak alarm went on the control panel. I called the guy who is in charge for today and he didn't answer his cell phone. I dropped everything and flew downstairs to the chlorine room. They were both outside so they were okay. But they hadn't turned the alarm off downstairs.
The video I did yesterday was upper body and my bicep's are feeling it today.

Happy
Sounds like you had a busy day. Bet your hair is pretty. Been thinking about high lighting my gray areas. I can only imagine how those deep tissue messages can be. At least the doctor's office's are open on Friday. They close here at noon on Friday. The chicken tortilla soup sounds delicious.

Back later.

Quick question...who is posting photos on Dropbox right about now? The file names start with "Mel-", and I'd rather they start with the name of the person posting them so that I can include that in the caption. No worries for this batch, I can change the file names...just need to know whose name to use? Who is the mystery dropbox-er?

Worldlies - Just a note to say that a couple weeks ago I went through some of the month's threads and pulled out some of the cute graphics Mel posted for us. Thought she might like those - she liked them enough to post them in the first place. I finally got around to uploading them to Dropbox - I named them with Mel's name in case you want to take a look.

Michelle - Hope there's room on the thumb drive to load those. Sorry you didn't qualify for the research study, but it would have made your schedule a bit crazier. Wow - Belize!! I have to admit, I'd be wary of driving through Mexico and beyond - I've heard traffic violations/incidents can be more serious in the legal sense. Many factors to consider, but what an exciting move for your stepbrother. Good luck handling the IT stuff nearly solo tomorrow!

Take it easy at the gym tonight!!

Michelle - It's me, and I put Mel's name because she was the one who'd posted them on our thread originally.

Laura - Thanks for posting Mel's photos. The file names make total sense. There should be room on the thumb drive. I just have to get the captions added. My step-brother and I decided it's just too costly for me to join him on the road trip...and I should save my money and take a proper vacation to see him once he's settled.

When I was at the store I was picking up some Swanson Chicken and Beef broth which I use a lot. I noticed they also had a Mexican Tortilla Broth. That's what I used in the soup and it was delicious. If they don't have it at your store you can use chicken broth but you will have to add more cumin, and chili powder.

You can use chicken breasts or chicken thighs. A lot of people recommended the chicken thighs as they are less dry. I had a package on hand so that's what I used. I was going to brown them as I usually do that even for crock pot cooking - the caramelizing adds a nice extra dash of flavor. But I was running behind so I just washed and trimmed the thighs.

Ingredients:
1 or 2 cans of Rotel brand diced tomatoes - use the ones with chilies in them - mild or hot to your liking. I used a can I had in the pantry that was a Mexican Tortilla flavor with lime and ciliantro in it. I have to admit I was disappointed when I opened this can - it was only about 2/3 full compared to their regular diced tomatoes. So I chopped up a couple of fresh Roma tomatoes and tossed them in too.

1 carton (32 oz) Swanson Mexican Tortilla flavored broth or Chicken Stock

1 can rinsed and drained Black Beans

1 package (10 oz) frozen sweet corn

1 seeded and chopped green bell pepper

1 seeded and chopped red bell pepper

3 cloves garlic finely diced

1 medium onion diced to your liking

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper - start with one teaspoon each and add more when you are about to serve the soup if needed

cilantro - 2 tablespoons dried / or a good handful of fresh finely chopped / or I used the frozen cubes in the freezer case (2 of them)

8 chicken thighs or 4 chicken breasts - cleaned and trimmed

cumin and chili powder - see instructions

optional additional red chilies, chopped jalapenos, or Sriracha sauce to your liking to add heat

Garnishes for serving:
- Fresh Mexican Cheese Blend
- Chopped Avocado
- Sour Cream
- Tortilla Strips - lightly fry a regular tortilla and cut it into strips or use some crumbled tortilla chips
- Fresh lime wedges

Instructions:
Lay the chicken on the bottom of the crockpot. Add the Mexican Tortilla Broth. If using regular chicken broth add 1 teaspoon chili powder and 1 tablespoon cumin to add to the flavor of the broth. Add the chopped bell peppers, onion, garlic, bay leaf, frozen corn, cilantro and rinsed black beans. Add the can(s) of Rotel tomatoes - don't drain - add them with their juices. I also added a couple of diced fresh Roma tomatoes because I didn't think there was enough tomatoes in the can I used. Add the salt and pepper and any additional chili/heat seasonings you wish to add. Give it a good stir. I thought there wasn't quite enough liquid in the soup so I added a can of water. Apparently as the soup cooks it makes more liquid - DH said we could have skipped the extra can of water.

Cook on low setting for 8 hours or high for 6 hours. Soup is done when the chicken is fully cooked. When ready to serve remove the chicken and shred it with a fork and add it back to the soup. Taste the soup and add any additional salt and pepper or hot sauce to your liking.

If you want to use tortilla strips you can use regular tortillas and crisp them up in a bit of oil in a frying pan and then cut them into strips. We skipped to the strips to save calories and only missed them a little bit. Serve the soup with garnishes of your choice. They recommend that you do not add the lime juice as the soup is cooking - add it when serving to get more of the lime flavor. It's a nice hearty soup for winter and if you don't get too crazy on the garnishes - it's also quite healthy. Enjoy. This makes at least 6 good sized soup bowls. I see no reason you can't freeze this in portioned containers either - just skip the tortilla strips.

Going to post personals now as I have an early morning physical therapy appointment and won't have time for much coffee drinking or browsing. We got some snow tonight. A couple of inches of heavy wet stuff but I don't think it will hang around long.

Thank you Michelle and Laura for your comments on the foam roller - they were very helpful. I didn't realize it was supposed to hurt so much but that hurt serves a purpose. I guess I won't beat the therapist with the roller when he approaches me again :lo: I got the extra shot today - right now my hip is very sore at the injection site even though they said they put a numbing agent in it. I think my neck is a tiny bit better but hard to tell if that's just from moving around. We'll see when I try to go to sleep shortly.

Michelle - I'm very sorry you didn't make the clinical trials. However if you would have needed to take time off for them and you don't get paid if you don't work - then in the long run you probably would not have gotten a lot of reimbursement I guess it's everyone's turn for the mammograms, isn't it? Hope your machine has heated plates too - if not - suggest it to the technician. Bummer about not going with the step brother but as you say, there were a lot of factors to consider. I'd be very interesting in hearing how he is doing. Not that I'd be courageous enough to do it myself but I am very fascinated in how people who opt to leave the country fare with their new lives. I hope he is very successful. I'd be scared! I wish you a very quiet day manning (or womaning) the phones tomorrow. Hopefully everyone will be able to figure out their own problems and you'll have a very manageable call load with easy, quick fixes Thanks for the empathy on Mom - I am trying to remember that there are lots of folks who would love to have their moms back with them again - even if they drove them bonkers. She just fixates on things. I think the best thing to do is just give her the pat on the back because she probably doesn't want anything fixed. It is true that older folks don't like change at all.

Laura - sorry about the gain - temporary tiny set back. Renewed commitment now. How did you like the exercise class? Thanks for picking out some graphics - I'm sure Mel will enjoy them. Now if we could only get a video of us singing too as she loved to sing songs

Ceejay - hope you are feeling better. Did you do your video again?

Susie - hoping all goes well with DH's procedure on Friday.

Shad - have you gotten a chance to rest up yet?

Annie - I hope you are sleeping soundly as I type this. Sorry to hear that you are having insomnia again. How frustrating!

Speaking of sleep guess I'd better set the alarm and get to bed myself. Catch up later...