Happy - Glad the mattress monster let you wake up in time so you weren't late for your morning meeting. I hope the meeting and the rest of your day goes well.

Annie - You've had a 10 lb gain, and I gained back 16 of the 36 lbs that I lost last year. I just prefer to look at it as losing a net of 20 lbs for 2008 and not focus on the gaining back because I know that I will lose that temporary gain plus a lot more once I'm able to be fully on program. You can do it too. You know the choices that make you feel your best. It's so great that you have a free gym you can use. I know it's hard to get there when it's cold, snowy and icy out, but even if you can go once or twice a week after work, that's better than not at all. And don't worry about your excess skin....just wear something to cover it up and no one needs to know. I wear baggy t-shirts and yoga pants to work out in so my belly rolls are covered. You can do this, Annie. You know you'll feel much better once you're back on track. Sending : to Tony. We all know how stressful job stuff can be. Good for you for encouraging him to stay positive.

Ceejay - I hope you're having a good day!

Happy
I hate those matress monsters.

Michelle
Well done on those 20 pounds lost in 2008.

Annie
I know that feeling of not wanting to go to the gym. Sometimes we just have to do it. Sending good vibs to Tony.

About me.
This week I knew I was getting a sore throat due to drainage. I thought I could treat this on my own but ended up in the doctor's office this morning. His diagnosis is strep throat. His nurse gave me an injection and he called in an antibotic and a histamine. This morning at the doctor's office I weighed in at 188. At home with out clothes 187.4 so there's not to much difference in my scale and his. I do want to see 178 by the end of January. So Annie I have to stay focused to get her done.

Called my aunt and uncle to not expect me this week end. I need to stay put and get some esxra rest.

Aaaah the Mattress monster rears his ugly head! I was deep in the arms of Morpheus this morning around 3.am when Miss Puss decided she was hungry. We eventually had a full blown spat and she went outside and sulked. Unfortunately I couldn't get back to sleep. Lots of cursing going on here especially since I had a telephone interview today.

Went shopping and had a haircut this morning - lots more fruit and veg. I just love this time of the year for fruit. Yummo. I have a large mango in my fridge that I will make a pig of myself with tomorrow.

Ceejay - Crikey is everyone going down with this nasty bug?? Get better soon and I think you are wise not to go to the family this weekend. There is no point making other people sick as well.

Annie - I would much rather the companies out there cut back hours rather than making people redundant. I realise your Tony probably has issues with money and fears for the future, but if they cut the hours, they are at least keeping on the knowledge that has been built in the company over the years. If they let people go, chances are they will have to take time to bring new people up to speed when finally things get going again. This will only slow down recovery. Never freak out Tony, whatever happens is well beyond your control. Hard and all as that may seem, sometimes really good things can come out of hardship and redundancy. It did for me all those years back. Best wishes to the dear man and I hope he will be able to sort himself out.

Michelle - aaaah the early bird catches the front line car park. Nothing like it!.
Hope you got to leave a bit earlier than normal.

Mel - Enjoy your trip out. Think I will give NY and NJ a bit of a miss this winter. Too much to do out here at the moment. I'm thinking of next Christmas - probably in Canada - I might like to try a white Christmas - however be warned - it never rains while I am on holiday except for one day where there is water everywhere. It will probably not snow either if I decide to come on over.

So I had the interview today. This is for the job which is based in Melbourne and New Zealand. I didn't actually think it went all that well, however the feedback I got was very positive and I should know what gives come next Wednesday. The Singapore job should be a yes or no next Tuesday.
Whatever happens, happens. I'm just going to concentrate on getting the house and garden in order. It's getting there. I may even finish the tiling in the kitchen given a spot of luck and a fair wind blowing. DS2 has some lunches in the freezer for himself. I will put some more in there this weekend. It will certainly save him some money at the snack bar.

I guess that is about it for now. Can't think of much more at the moment. Need to go clean up the kitchen and watch a bit of tv and then bed. TV is pretty bad at the moment.

MICHELLE~ I DO KNOW THAT THERE IS A WARNING WITH VIT D THAT THERE CAN BE TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING BUT CANNOT RECALL THE WHOLE THING. BECAUSE PEOPLE TAKE OTC MEDS AND EAT FORTIFIED FOODS, A LOT OF DRS I HAVE SPOKEN TO SAID ONE GOOD MULTIVITAMIN LIKE ONE A DAY-TYPES IS SUFFICIENT. VITAMIN OVERDOSE IS ONE OF THE TOP PROBLEM IN THIS COUNTRY. SO DO SOME RESEARCH FRIST. HUGS FOR THOSE POOR LUNGS

ANNIE~ GOOD THOUGHTS FOR TONY. HOPE ALL GOES WELL. LOSE THE 10 LBS AND APPLY FOR A TV WEATHERGIRL!! YOU ARE JUST AS CUTE AS THEY ARE!

HAPPY~ HOPE YOU MADE IT IN TIME!

CEEJAY~ OUCH! STREP THROAT IS NO JOKE HOPE THE MEDS DO THEIR MAGIC AND YOU FEEL BETTER. BE CAREFUL! GOOD LUCK WITH THE WEIGHT GOAL!! YOU CAN DO THIS

SHAD~ HOPE THERE WILL BE GOOD NEWS ON THE JOB FRONT WITH THE INTERVIEWS! HOW ABOUT IF WE ALL SEND OUR SNOW OVER THERE FOR YOUR WINTER YOU COULD HAVE AN AUSSIE WHITE CHRISTMAS...WITH ALL OF US WORK=LDLY CHICKS SINGING
Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say
On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day
That's the island greeting that we send to you
From the land where palm trees sway

Here we know that Xmas will be green and bright
Sun will shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way
To say Merry Christmas to you

WHERE DID THURSDAY GO?? I HAVE NO ICEA. ONE MINUTE I WAS GETTING READY FOR SHOPPING AND THE NEXT GETTING UNDRESSED FOR BED. I DID GO TO TRADER JOE'S AND PUT THE GROCERIES AWAY. AFTER THAT I LOST CONTROL OF THE DAY. LONG STORY BUT THE INDIAN FRIEND LEFT FOR INDIA, THERE IS AN "ATLANTIC CLIPPER". AS NORAD CALLS IT. HEADED THIS WAY FOR SATURDAY AND WE HAVE NO ONE TO SHOVEL!!
THAT TOOK UP MOST OF THE AFTERNOON AND STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN A PRECISE ANSWER. THEN SPENT TIME WITH JEN. IT IS BITTER COLD OUT AND I AM STAYING IN THE APT. THE OFFICES ARE FREEZING
TAKING A 3 DAY WEEKEND!
HAPPY FRIDAY/.SATURDAY EVERYONE

Happy Friday ladies -

TGIF! What a long week! It sure seemed to last forever after two short weeks in a row. But the weekend and much needed R&R is in sight. I was able to leave early yesterday, which was lovely. I went home, got in my sweats and watched some mindless TV (sounds like how I'll be spending the weekend too!). It's a snowy day here in Wisconsin. We're supposed to get between 2" and 5" of snow (2"-4" near my house, and 4"-5" near where I work). It's supposed to snow through tomorrow morning and then we're going to have bitter cold toward the middle and end of next week with temps some days not even getting above zero Fahrenheit. Winter in Wisconsin...gotta love it. I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow and going to check my list twice to make sure I don't forget anything.

Ceejay - So sorry to hear you have strep throat, but at least you went to the doc and got on some medication. Good for you. You're smart to stay home and rest a lot this weekend. I hope you feel better soon, so we can all be feeling fine in '09. 9 or 10 lbs by the end of January is ambitious. Good luck, but do you allow your body to heal before you kick it into overdrive with the exercise.

Shad - I'm envious of your yummy fruits and veg. This is not a great time to get produce in Wisconsin. We don't get a great variety and it's always more expensive since it has to travel from warmer climates. Luckily, there's frozen and canned - not nearly as good as fresh though of course. Best of luck with your job opportunities. I'm sure you'll land the job you want and soon. At least you don't have to wait too long to find out. Would you prefer to stay in Australia and New Zealand? Or is the Singapore job a better opportunity. Have you been to Singapore? Is it a nice place to work/visit? My parents have a friend who is from Singapore, and she says it's nice...as did my parents when they went there in the 80s. My dad's company transferred him to Hong Kong in 1979, and he and my step-mom lived there for 7 years and were able to travel a lot in the Far East and go to Australia and NZ.

Mel - Thanks for the hugs. I'm feeling a little better each day, and I know that this weekend of resting will be just the ticket to get my energy back. I am going to dig out a nice warm scarf for next week to wrap around my face on the bitter cold days. Hopefully I won't look like too much of a bandit! Great idea to send Shad our snow so she can have a white Christmas. Maybe she can send us her December/January weather! That would be a pleasant change from cold and snow. Glad to hear you're staying inside where it's warm and cozy. No need to go out in the bitter cold. Just rest and relax and have a great 3 day weekend!

Happy - I hope your meeting went well yesterday and that you have a great day today!

A big to Annie and everyone else!

Here's to a great Friday for all of us!

Love and big hugs,

Morning everyone

Mel
I was wondering the same thing--where did Thursday! Now Friday is half gone. But I've got a lot done. I want to go to the grocery store in a bit to get some fresh fruit and milk for next week. It's suppose to rain tonight and part of the day tomorrow. I just hopeit's not freezing rain. I am sure the meds are doing their thing. I still don't feel 100%. I'm up and moving around then having to take breaks.

Shad
Poor Sunday. Good luck on the interviews.

Im feeling somewhat better this morning. Didn't get enough sleep due to coughing but I should have read the instructions on the label a little closer. I could have taken another histamine before I went to bed.

I'm waitng for the doctor to call me about the lab results. Those should come in about 4 p.m. today unless he has a break to check on it before that. I'm going to go get a copy of the lab work.

I woke up at 5.45 a.m. this morning with a coughing spell. I decided I'd get up and clean up the kitchen and bathroom and get all the garbage to the curb. After this I started cleaning my bedroom. I'm resting when I get this done.

It's lunch time and I'm hungry for a change. Think I'm going to go get a chicken quesidilla.

Hi ladies,

I wanted to get to sleep earlier last night. As I was getting ready to go to bed, stupid cat was making a racket about going outside. She was pawing on the door and everything. Didn't want her taking a whiz in the house so DH is insistent about letting her go out if she wants to. Of course he is fast asleep. Says that I should just leave her out all night if she doesn't want to come back in quickly. Well it is near freezing outside and she won't settle into a blanket on the porch because of Mr. Feral so she would just sit cold and huddled on the outside mat all night and I'm not comfortable with that. So I let her out. I almost got her back in 30 minutes later but as I was calling her, she had been stalking something and jumped into the azaleas to chase it. When she's on the hunt, nothing distracts her. Fast forward to 12:30 - I am tired, irritable and ready to leave her on her own outside, cold or not. She must have sensed it because as I stage whispered her name to get in the house RIGHT NOW - she popped up near the back wall. Then she wanted to snuggle up to me because she was cold. She is not liking DH at the moment because at supper he accidentally stepped on the edge of her tail. She squeeked and ran off and he went to go comfort her. He sat down at the table again and she came looking for some nibble and HE STEPPED ON HER AGAIN! This time there was no comforting her and I had to chase her around and around in order to grab her and reassure her. DH got the cowering stink eye all the rest of the night. All I can say is fortunately he just had socks on and he clipped her on the edge because it was more of a squeek than a real OMG you big clumsy OAF kinda kitty yell. Anyway - I guess I had to pay the price waiting up for her. So I'm tired today. Glad the weekend is just around the corner.

DH said we need to cut our spending and see if we can manage on one check - practice now because who knows what's around the corner. We would also like to take a vacation together since we haven't really had any real us time outside of the long weekend to the Smokies since we've moved down here. We like having company but everyone wants to come at different times and they all expect that since they are on vacation, we will be too and shuffle them around. Outside of my holiday time to go home, I don't have many extra days left so people are welcome to visit but may have to amuse themselves because DH and I are getting a little time for us. We are also looking for less expensive alternatives. There is a diamond mine in Arkansas about 4 hours from here. It's an active mine and there are lots of diamonds around - someone found a 3 carat raw diamond in September. DH said that sounds like fun and I was up for it too until I thought about it. Mine. IUs that like cave but worse? Underground. Claustrophobia. I will have to investigage this a bit more. But I said there are plenty of state parks around here for an overnight trip or long weekend. I know he hates to put Boo in the pet hotel.

Ugh rant here.... There are some smart@ss contractors here. State law says you can't smoke in front of the entrances. There is a designated smoking area in the back of the building. One jerk refuses to go there and stands out front with a couple of his buddies. Last week I told them very nicely that they could not smoke by the entrance because of state laws and would have to go into the designated area. One of the guys got lippy and said "well I'm not smoking". Today they were out there while I was moving my car and one of the guys said loud enough for me to hear - I'm not smoking. Now I'm mad. We have all these cut backs at work, budgets are slashed, people are getting laid off for cost cutting yet we are paying contractor dollars for GROUPS of people to stand outside and b.s. several times a day. Seems our contractors are a very social group. Maybe only one or two smoke but they assemble a group of their friends and go out for regular breaks. I've seen as many as 10 standing outside chatting away several times a day. The one guy who got lippy - his buddy must chain smoke as they seem to be outside at least once an hour. You can't miss them because the windows are right by the shared printer we all use so not that hard to notice. We have people gathered in clumps talking all the time - in the cafeteria, in the coffee areas, outside smoking. Always the same groups, always contractors (their access badges are a different color than employees). I probably won't get a raise this year but I do resent it when I see them blowing all sorts of cash wasting time. Obviously none of their managers have any clue what they are doing or not doing either. Ok, end of rant.

Ceejay - hope you are feeling better. Don't mess around with strep. Get your rest. And some extra both for healing and because you need it. The kitchen will wait to be cleaned up. You can only clean house with breaks if you have just a regular cold.

Michelle - more snow. Poor thing although maybe it's good because then you don't feel guilty for sitting around and getting the rest you need. This cold/sinus/illness thing is all throughout the country and it sure doesn't want to leave on it's own. I hope it's not going to be one of those cold seasons where you keep recycling the same germs over and over. Anyway rest up and have a good snuggle with DH and the pups. How does he like his new job?

Mel - that's bad news about the shoveling. I'm sort of glad you can't do it because I just know you would be trying if you could and we would have to hop the next plane out there (which is a long trip for me because of connections so I'd be hopping mad when I got there ) and just toss that shovel of yours into the Hudson River. I guess it's SOMEONE else's problem to get someone to clean - right lady? I hope the weather doesn't get too bad for you though everyone, including us are supposed to get some of the cold snap next week. Enjoy your TJ's meals and some movies. Don't be letting Jen near a shovel, broom or scoop either

Shad - the mattress monster has a name - thanks! Well Shaddie is in a good mood if it's affordable mango season again. I have a mango salsa that got me interested in mangos again. Very good with fish or crackers. Hope the job you want comes through for you Was hoping maybe to do Butchart with you again sometime but I'm not sure now. We still would like to take that Rocky Mountaineer trip too. Will have to wait until the financials improve though. Trying to catch a white Christmas can be tricky - even if you go as far north as Ruth, but if you have the power to make rain, then it's just a matter of finding somewhere cold enough

Annie - how nice that they are making you feel welcome and part of the team. How was the cook off? I understand your concern about the weight gain but didn't you go past / under your goal and the doc was staying to STOP loosing at one point? This was when you were stressed earlier in the year.

Ok... someone came over to talk to me about work and now my lunch is over so I have to get off here. Later chicks...

Ceejay - I hope you feel better soon. Rest as much as you can.

Happy - Sorry to hear that kitty had such a rough evening and kept you up late too. My pups had to go out at midnight, 2, 2:30 and 5, so I didn't get much sleep either. I totally understand your frustration about contractors who are on perpetual breaks and who feel like they are "above" the rules. That would be wonderful if you and DH can live off of one check....think of the money you'll be able to put aside for a rainy day. I wish DH and I could do that, but we have to pay down some bills first. DH and I are always on the lookout for places to go looking for gems and fossils. I hope you find somewhere interesting and fun for vacations.

Back to work for me....2 hours to go and then hopefully the roads will be fairly clear and not too slick.

It's an absolutely beautiful morning here. The temps are down to a balmy 24 (6.45am). The sky is blue and relatively cloudless. No breeze. Miss Puss is contentedly (?) sitting prettily on the patio and staring out into space - what does go on in the cat's head I wonder. Anyway it is a perfect morning for coffee on the patio or enjoying the weeds out there. Even the bugs have given up biting for the time being. There are some roses blooming but you can't see them for weeds!

Mel - so the Indian lover has gone home!! Shame. And the snow is likely to come and there is no one to shovel the paths and driveways. Well, all I can say is - " Lady I hope you don't have any emergencies around the place while that snow is there!" Maybe a couple of deaths or broken bones around the place (nasty as that might sound) will bring some people to their senses.

Michelle - Don't care where the next job goes to - both of them mean work and therefore money in the bank. The Singapore job pays better but the other one will break new territory for me. I've not done much in Business Analysis before and a lot of the Aus/NZ job would be mentoring as well. Engineers no less - they can never agree on anything.
I have been to Singapore and it is a great jump off place for visiting parts of Asia. I like the place but it is expensive. I have friends working up there too. So you can see that I don't really mind where I go or what I do as long as I do something.
The fruit really is good this year. I'm loving the peaches with the dark red skins - they are firm, ripe, juicy and tasty. Apricots are not bad either, but I will be a lot happier later in the season when the NZ ones come in. They are to die for. The mango is beckoning - won't be long before I succumb to that.

Ceejay - what's poor about Sunday??? She lives in comparative luxury. Doesn't have to lift a finger to do anything except wash. Leaves cat hair absolutely everywhere and never cleans up behind her. Gets fed good expensive stuff and has absolutely NO gratitude for what comes her way!!! WHAT's poor about that????
Hope you are feeling much better today.

Happy - glad I am not the only one having problems with the cat!!! Read above. Anyway we seem to have gotten back on a footing today. She was reasonably pleasant about getting up this morning although she will be back on the bed shortly - after she has done thinking out there. I'm with DH - one night out there might just change her mind for a short while. Nothing like a cat for making one feel inferior.
I'm with you on the smokers out there. Mind you I am not with the management about keeping on this particular bunch - from what you have said they are messing around with your system and milking the company. Someone needs to put some controls on that project!!!!! Never heard of one taking so long for just 3 separate companies in all my days. Over here the trend is now to take only 4 months, put in vanilla SAP, bend the company business processes to fit and then improve from there. So your project should have taken less than 15 months start to finish - going by that criteria.
Like I said once before - I'll put a team together, put you in as the business manager advisor and we will have you up and running in no time. It's not that hard and there are precedents for timber and board and paper manufacturers. Enough
As for the gem fossicking - doesn't necessarily need to be underground but even so it could be FUN. So gather up your defences again and go. If you pick up any good looking diamonds, I want one! We could make a date for the Butchart gardens some time in the future and put a few dollars away for it each week. It would be a grand trip. We could lose the DH in the butterfly house down the road!!! Wonder who else on the thread would or could join us there!!

Okay - time is a moving on - the sun is getting higher in the sky and I should be 1: outside pulling the weeds and 2: putting another load of washing on. I'll be back.

RUTH....I CAME BACK TO WISH YOU AN EARLY HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR TOMORROW!! HOPE YOUR DAY IS A SPECIAL ONE AND SQUEEZE ALL THE GOODNESS OUT OF IT!!!


*we're getting some blinking lights and i wanted to post this tonite. winds are pretty heavy here right now and i just called jen also. charged my chairs, cell phone and took my shower and got in warm jammies. me and the grandson are ready for anything now!!!
have a great night

Happy Saturday Morning...

Getting ready to hit the shower, get dressed and go shopping with my friend, Kristin and her daughter. We are celebrating her daughter's 7th birthday. This will be fun!

Have a great day, I will get back later.

Love and Hugs

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN MISS RITHIE!! SENT AN E-CARD!!! HOPE THE LIL' CRITTER BRINGS A LAUGH TO YOUR LIPS!!

MICHELLE~ I WAS THINKING OF A SCARF FOR YOU BUT DIDN'T WANT TO BE A NAG ALL THE TIME I GOT ALL MINE BACK OUT AND HUNG THEM UP NOW TOO SO THEY ARE READY TO GRAB. WE WILL BOTH HAVE A RESTFUL WEEKEND AND JUST VEGETATE IN FRONT OF THE TV!! WE CAN THINK GOOD WARM SUMMERY THOUGHTS!!

CEEJAY~ TAKE GOOD CARE OF THAT THROAT. HOPE YOU WILL BE FEELING BETTER SOON NOW WE NEED TO PRAY THE WEEKEND DOESN'T FLY BY LIKE THE WEEK DID!!! WISHING YOU GET GOOD LAB RESULTS!!!
STAY WARM AND WITH YOUR FEET UP...JOIN MICHELLE AND I FOR A LAZY TV WEEKEND!!

HAPPY~ I AM THINKING THAT YOU AND I NEED DEAF EARS AND BLINDERS ON IN ORDER TO MAKE IT THRU THE YEAR WITHOUT KILLING SOMEONE!! I HATE THAT SMOKING STUFF NOW AND HERE I WAS A CHAIN SMOKER. EVERYONE SMOKES RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR FRONT DOORS AND NO ONE ENFORCES THE LAW HERE EITHER. SIGH. GLAD YOU GOT THE DANG CAT BACK IN BUT SORRY YOU LOST SLEEP!!! LIVING ON ONE CHECK. NOW THERE IS A SCARY THOUGHT

SHAD~ YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON TO UNDERSTAND HAVING BEEN HERE...YOU COULD TELL THESE MEN A FEW THINGS AND SET THEM ON THEIR BUTTS AS WELL AT THE SAME TIME!!! I AM MOVING TO THE LAND OF OZ AND WHEN I GET THERE I AM NOT MAKING ANY NEW FRIENDS. JUST YOU....OH AND MAYBE SIMON. I WILL LOUNGE AROUND ON MY PORCH AND PRETEND I AM DROOLING AND VERY ILL. THIS WAY NO ONE CAN ASK ME FOR A FAVOR!!! IF I EVER DO LEAVE HERE...REMIND ME OF THIS!!! ENJOY THE GREAT WEATHER AND REST UP...YOU MIGHT NEED IT FOR THE NEXT JOB :veach:

HAPPY WEEKEND CHICKLETTES!
IT'S BLOODY FREEZING OUTSIDE AND ALL MY RADIATORS ARE ON!! I AM NOT USED TO THESE TEMPERATURES IN THE TEENS WITH HIGHS OF 24 & 25!! STARTING TO FEEL LIKE A BLOCK OF ICE EVERY TIME I GO DOWN TO THE LOBBY!!
I HAVE A PROMISE FOR SHOVELING AND WE WILL SEE IF THEY ACTUALLY COME AND KEEP THE DRIVE AND FRONT WALK CLEAR FOR THE AMBULANCES. THANK GOD FOR PROGRAMMABLE CEL PHONES!!! BUT THE MEN IN TOWN ARE SORRY THE OFFICE EVER GAVE ME ONE!!
OUR STORM DOESN'T START UNTIL LATER TODAY AND THRU THE NIGHT. THIS COMING WEEK LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF ICE!! I AM SOOO GLAD I WENT SHOPPING TWICE THIS WEEK. JEN AND RICHIE HAVE ALREADY LEFT FOR HIS DAD'S AGAIN. JEN HAD TO GO BACK TO THE DRS. HER OVARIES ARE GIVING HER PAIN AND GOD KNOWS WHAT ELSE. 2 DRS EXAMINED HER AND SAID THEY WOULD LIKE HER TO HOLD OUT FOR MENOPAUSE IF SHE CAN GET THRU THE "TOM TIMES" WITH MEDS. WE SHALL SEE. SO SHE IS THERE WITH THE FIL'S GF TAKING CARE OF HER WHILE RICHIE GETS READY TO SHOVEL!!

OUR STATE INSPECTORS ARE ARRIVING WEDNESDAY TO CHECK ON 20 RANDOM APARTMENTS.....HOPING ONE WON'T BE EITHER MINE OR JEN'S!!! BUT I AM OFF TO CLEAN ANYWAY AND EAT BREAKFAST.
HAPPY SATURDAY/SUNDAY AND STAY WARM AND SAFE!

Hi ladies,

Happy Birthday Ruth - hope you have a good one tho it doesn't seem to be starting off so far according to the journals. I would have commented there but apparently I have been DELETED OFF THE FACE OF THE SITE. Never did like the blogs that replaced the journals.

Mel - why are people standing outside and smoking? Is it the office crew? Would think if it was the tenants that they would just go to their apartments to smoke. I too am finally starting to be bothered by a faceful of smoke when I try to go in the front door. So glad that part of my life is done with tho I saw the other day a gadget which is a smokeless cigarette. You still get a hit of nicotine but no actual smoke. If you move poolside to the land of Oz, I'm going with you. This way DH and I can wheel you away at top speed if we suspect you are about to offer your services to anyone. Even hot pool boys Poor Jen - geez - you know menopause can last for 10 years. I thought it was over in a year or so but It's a pity they can't do anything surgically - she will risk being anemic on top of everything else. And the pain... my Mom went through that - even though I was a kid, I remember how she suffered so badly. Good luck with the apartment inspection - cripes, what the heck are they looking for? Too many chairs plugged into an outlet? Too many boxes of oatmeal? Or the fact that you have 3 pairs of pjs? Dear Government G-men: Please go after the REAL cheaters and slackers and leave good folk alone. I hope it doesn't get too icy by you. Everyone is getting a wave of cold next week. Make some nice soup to keep you warm inside and wear the fuzzy warm stuff.

Shad - most of us feel the rollout is one big fiasco and drain of finances yet it's the old "no one will tell the emperor he's nekkid" kind of career suicide thing. Even an indirect implication of criticism is deal with swiftly and harshly. I just keeps me head in me own area Would love to do Butchart with you again - we have to decide on the season. That's the trouble with the Rocky Mountaineer trip - one would want to go in the winter I would think, but you want to visit the gardens in the summer or late spring so they don't seem to tie in together. I'll keep my eye out for a diamond for you

Happy shopping Annie!

Hope you feel better Ceejay and Michelle

A bit rainy today as the cooler winds come down. I have housecleaning to do, the Christmas stuff is down but piled by the stairs and it's up to the third floor to sort it and put it away. I need to file the health care reimbursement claim I've been saying I will do for the last 2 months. Lots of little things to take care of this weekend. And I think I will start with lunch.

Hugs to all the worldlies have a good weekend.

Believe it or not I've been under the covers most of the day asleep. I'm feeling a lot better too. I'm still coughing a bit. My throat is not as raw as it was on Thursday.

I was very tempted today to call my boss and take a sick day tomorrow.

Have a good day.

Hello Ladies,

Happy Birthday Ruth - Hope you had a wonderful day.

Mitchellez - If you take any vitamins, be sure and let your doctor know. Some Meds/vitamins don't mix.

Shad - You travel to such exciting places with your job.

Mel - good luck with inspections.

Hello to everyone else, hope you having a good weekend.

Not sure who asked where we all lived, but here's some info on me.
I live in Rowlett, that 20 miles east of Dallas, TX. I work indowntown Dalllas. Commute on the Dallas Rapid Railway system. Takes about 27 min once i get on the train. I'm single, have a house, and have 1 furbaby dog (Blackie) who is 12 years old. Parents, sisters live about 20 minutes away.