Well Carla - thank you for posting that for us. I feel better now. Next time my mind races off somewhere and I fight like crazy to control it, I will just throw up my hands and yell Fergin' Kluge!

Our Memphis Tiger basketball team lost the championship to Kansas. It was a good, heart in the mouth, up and down aerobic, went into overtime, great game between 2 well matched teams. Kansas earned the win, even if it would have been nice to see this town celebrate

If you can believe it, the door people were finally packing it up at 9pm tonight. And they STILL aren't done The door is in (precariously glued) with a deadbolt in and they need to finish framing the thing tomorrow. I was getting a bit antsy at 3pm that they were still here. DH was giving me the "take a chill pill" look. But aha. By 7pm HE was getting all freaky. I had the basketball pre-game on and he kept coming into the living room clutching his throat. I was starting to think I had to make up the guest room for these guys

And I really wanted to wash my car too. The inside is all shiny clean but the outside is covered in an array of circular tree pod things, yellow pollen and lots of guano (if you know what I mean ) The guys had their big old truck and trailer taking up most of the driveway so I couldn't clean my car. I refuse to go to work with it looking that way so I will be the crazy woman out with a hose at 6am tomorrow when it's bloody 48 degrees out hosing down my car.

But... I will not complain. In honor of Madcat's friend - who seemed to persevere though all kinds of trying times, I will honor her memory by trying to be like her. I will make tomorrow a good day - not yell at people on the road, give someone a needed hug or a kind word and will attempt to do some good as I walk this earth tomorrow. Because that's what touched me as Madcat spoke of her and couldn't we all do with a little bit more of that kind of behavior in our lives?

Good night ladies, sleep well.

Madcat..so sorry for your loss.

Good morning ladies -

Yesterday was crazy busy all day long...so I wasn't able to post. I really didn't want to go to the gym (TOM blues)...but told myself that I should just try 20 to 30 minutes of cardio. I ended up doing 45 minutes and felt much better afterward.

Ruth - Glad to hear snow is starting to melt for you. Is your lake deep enough to fish in? I hope your knee swelling has gone down and that you feel better today. Good for you for taking care of the neighbor's dog. I did that last summer with a dog that showed up in my yard. I didn't know whose dog it was, but I put a leash on it and walked to every house in the neighborhood until I found its home.

Mel - I sure hope you feel better today. My DH just got over the sinus/ear/dizzy stuff. He took a really strong decongestant and the doc put him on antibiotics too.

Happy - Good for you for getting so much accomplished. I've got progressive bifocals too, and for small print, etc., I can read it better if I hold it up close and don't use my glasses. Wow, you got a gun. I hope you get the necessary training from your DH. I understand that these are the times we live in. I just think I'd be too chicken to have a gun. That's great you're getting your door...but too bad the samples aren't really true samples of how the doors will look. weird. It took them more than a day to install the door?! Sheesh!! Sure hope they finish the job today! What kind of floor are you putting in the foyer? I agree with you...if the new floor will clash with the wallpaper, take down the wallpaper and paint the kitchen and foyer a nice complementary color. You are right...the first grilled food of the spring/summer tasted wonderful. I'd been craving a bratwurst cooked on the grill for days, and it was so good. I had it without the bun and with some honey mustard. :tasty:

Annie - What a great bargain on your "new" bike!! Sounds like you've been able to enjoy the nice weather - it's supposed to rain here today and then they're using the "s" word for this weekend, but I'm staying in denial...I don't want any more of the "white crud" as Ruth calls it.

Ellen - So glad you had a great time at the wedding and got to dance with your DH.

Shad - I really admire your confidence to be able to go into situations and take charge. I know Happy has that kind of confidence too. I'm still working on developing that so that I am able to do it more consistently or at least not wear my lack of self-confidence on my sleeve like I sometimes do. It's good that you'll be working with folks who speak English, and I'm sure you'll do fine in the markets. About 25 years ago, I went to Hong Kong to visit my parents when my dad was working there. And even though the vendors in the markets spoke little English, we were able to communicate enough so I could buy stuff! I hope you're able to visit your friend and spend a few hours of quality time.

Rennie - It's wonderful the first time you can open the windows and give the house a good airing! We did that this weekend too!

Madcat - I'm so sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you and her family. I'm going to join Happy in her decision to make today (and every day - hopefully) a good day to honor your friend's perseverence through difficult times.

Well, gotta get started on the day! Let's all have a terrific Tuesday!

Good morning chicks,

Well I got up at 6am - it wasn't too cold out and washed my SUV. Looks so much better now and I had something accomplished before 6:30am That's a change!

The door guys said they would be here at 7:30 to finish up. I think they mean "here" being that they are somewhere in town and not at my door as I thought. This is how service people work in the south so it doesn't do any good to complain or get fussed up.

Michelle - DH and I had to go through training and take a test to get our licenses to carry concealed weapons. I wouldn't have it any other way - a gun is far too dangerous to take lightly. So everyone within a 500 mile radius can rest easy that I'm not going to Annie Oakley up the place I'm glad you got to go to the gym - getting up and getting there is half the battle. Lots of people - myself included - will be like don't want to do it. Well ok, just do 10 minutes. And then once we get into it, we complete the job. Even as adults sometimes we have to treat ourselves like kids

I saw an article on the Internet that if you get married, you gain on average 7 hours of extra work just having a husband. And it's more if you have children. Guys drop an hour of work by having a wife which I find hard to fathom - if the wife picks up the cooking and laundry that's more than an hour right there.

Time to head off to work. Go off and do some good in the world today and if you see my door guys on the road, tell them to get a move on over here - much obliged

Happy - Good for you for getting your car washed before going to work! YGG! I know I wouldn't have the ambition to wash my car before work (unless it's to drive through the car wash!) I'm glad you got the appropriate training and that you aren't gonna go all Annie Oakley and that you and your DH aren't gonna Bonnie and Clyde all over town! I definitely have to treat myself as a kid sometimes to get me to do what I'd rather not. I saw your door guys on my way to work. They said they took a wrong turn at Albuquerque (a la Bugs Bunny). How they found themselves in Wisconsin and what they were doing in New Mexico when they were supposed to be in Memphis, I'll never know! I told them they'd better get a new GPS so they don't get lost again and they'd better get a frassin' move on over to your house.

madcat
so sorry to hear the news of your friend. she most diffinately was a fighter.
((hugs))

Carla
Now I know what's wrong with my brain.

Happy
I'm impressed with you at getting the suv cleaned before 6.30 a.m.

Hello to Michelle, Ellen, Mel, Shad and Ruth and Holly. Hope I haven't left any one out.

We've just had a little shower but the worst is yet to come. I really need to get some things done whenI go home tonight.

Good news is that I don't have to train L anymore. I'm so excited. I told my boss that I have to keep reminding her to do things and that I have to keep checking her work. It's like she doesn't really want to do the job. But she wants the day shift. I also told him I didn't trust her and until she can do the work without trying to cover up the mistakes I can't trust her. Enough is enough. He still wants her to do the paper work. I told him that this paper work has to balance not force it to balance.

Kind of quiet in here today...

Thanks for the reminder about the rain Ceejay - looks like it might track south of here and we'll both miss out. The lawn is still a soggy mess from last week's deluge. I'm glad you don't have to train your co-worker any more but sounds like she's not out of your hair completely.

Thanks for sending the door guys back my way Michelle. They took all day to finish up what should have been done in a few hours. DH was watching them and said he isn't at all happy with the job they did. Tried to put the door frame up crooked which didn't sit well with him at all. That's cool that you've been to Hong Kong - I didn't know that. Have you done other travelling outside of the U.S.?

I'd better get off the computer and go fire up the grill before the clouds come in and rain on my parade and my dinner

to the rest of the chicks

And I am holding to my promise to be a good person today and it SURE AIN'T EASY

SORRY GALS....I AM PRESSED FOR TIME. THE ELECTION IS THE 15TH AND THE SENIORS NEED HELP WITH FILING FOR THEIR IRS STIMULUS REBATE CHECK BEFORE THEY MISS THE DEADLINE. ALL **** IS BREAKING LOSE OVER HERE. ONE GOOD THING....I FORGOT MY OWN PROBLEMS WILL TRY AND CATCH UP THURSDAY OR FRIDAY. TOMORROW I AM GOING OUT TO BUY THEM A DVD PLAYER. THEN I WILL WORRY ABOUT GETTING MY MONEY BACK! LOL THEIR VCR IS EATING THEIR OLD TAPES UP!!! ONE GOOD THING....I WENT GROCERY SHOPPING AND GOT THAT DONE. WILLY CAME IN AND HELPED ME CHECKOUT AND PUSH THE CART. AT LEAST HE CAN SEE WHEN SOMEONE REALLY NEEDS HELP TOO. SOMETIMES I GET LONELY BEING THE ONLY ONE AROUND HERE!! TRYING TO GET IT ALL DONE BEFORE MY VISITORS ARRIVE!
LOVE TO ALL. STAY WELL AND I SHALL RETURN!

Good morning everyone,

Well for what is left of it anyway. Woke up with a very bad headache this morning, grabbed a cup of tea and 3 panadol, came here to read the posts but felt very wierd so went back to bed and 3 hours later I came back. So todays plans are a bit of a washout and I think I will just swap today with tomorrow and go on from there.

I managed to get a flight to Townsville for Friday - morning flight up and and last flight home. So I will spend the day with my friend, well as much as she wants to spend anyway. She is now carrying oxygen around with her and is confined to a wheelchair. She tells me it is not a permanent feature, her carer says the outlook is not good. I'll know more on Friday no doubt.

Happy - sad that the door fitters are so slack and also slaphappy. Makes one wonder if there are tradesman out there who give 100% to their work and who actually care. I can understand the DH's frustration as things that are not level and true will always cause problems in later life.
I'm afraid it was probably my fault that the guys ended up in New Mexico as I found them in Moorooka and pointed out their mistake. However due to accent failure and cultural misunderstanding they ended up in NM instead and Michelle chivvied them up from there. Good thing you have us chicks looking out for you. However if I had known what they were going to do, I would have lit a fuse under their unloving butts while I was at it!
Another 7 hours of work just being married?? No wonder I felt tired all the time! And you really do know my friend that guys don't cook (or at least don't often clean up after themselves) and the laundry consists of one load of towels, sox, work gear, designer undies etc all in one load and then left in the basket to dry - one hour would be more than it takes.

Michelle - I don't always have the confidence or cool that I convey to the rest of the world. Often I am a mass of indecision, fear of failure, lack of confidence. A lot of people seem to think I can do more than I have done. I hide a lot of it really well and I am prepared to work very long hours to prove myself wrong to myself. Don't know if that makes sense. Taking charge as you call it is often a matter of bluff. I know I can do it, but I don't always have the confidence to do it. When I began to do this job, I made some awful, awful mistakes. The lady who was mentoring me was a very patient and very knowledgeable lady. I learned so much from her. I've used her principles and apply them to myself and try to treat my mentees as she did me. It seems to work most of the time. You need to work on hiding the lacks but not lying about it. I found that if I gathered the courage and realised that I did not know everything there is to know and went and asked the questions, life became much easier for me.
People in markets the world over know what they are selling and for how much. It is really amazing that in that situation, you can communicate with sign language and laughter. Works everytime. They want to sell, you want to buy, where there is a want there is a way. But I always find it nice to be able to mutter a couple of words to people in their own language. Most seem to appreciate the effort even if the accent is excrutiating. Others who might not be so nice, are not sure how much you understand and therefore are sometimes more scrupulous when dealing with you.

Carla - I will not hand you another - get up out of the chair and get it yourself. The exercise will do you good. Do I have to come over to emphasise the lesson???

On a funny note: I heard on the news today that John Cleese - British comedian and now living in California, thinks he should support Barrack Obama because he has a sense of humour but it needs bringing out somewhat. Lord help us!!! A comedy candidate for Pres. John Cleese for those who may not have heard of him, was in Monty Python, A Fish called Wanda and is Basil from Fawlty Towers. He was also reputed to have written the letter to the United States following the somewhat dodgy election of George W Bush and the muck ups in Florida with the voting. It was hilarious. He actually denies writing the thing however.

Having said all that and sadly now feeling sick again, better take myself off to mope around and do something else. See ya!

A beautiful day today, high 50's. Although I did work, we finished early. I actually came home, bundled up well, and took the dratted cat out to the patio for an hour. (I was sorry I dodn't have a camera - there's still some ice and snow on the patio, and the back lawn is mostly white. A very photogenic backdrop for my handsome boy with his red harness and leash.) He was absolutely beside himself he was so happy. Poor baby - I'm still undecided about sending him off to a new outdoor home.

Mel, have you considered getting the old dears a DVD/VCR combo? I have a Samsung combo and I love it. They cost about $100 max, and up here they're still pretty available at most of the big box stores. One less piece of equipment to dust, and besides, I have a feeling one of these days VCR's will disappear, and you did say theirs was eating tapes...

Happy, your story about the door installation gives me yet another excuse to put off having renos done... Thanks! As for the gun... maybe it's just because I'm Canadian, but having handguns around just gives me the willies. When I went to see my brother in New Orleans he had a probably illegal loaded gun in a drawer in his living room, scared me s***less. The night he died I made his best friend take it away immediately, just didn't feel comfortable having it in the house. (It didn't help that he lived above a dive bar in the Quarter, and there was always the chance word had gotten out that there was morphine in the house...) It's kind of funny in a way, since my dad was involved in competitive target shooting when I was a kid and there were long guns around the house - unloaded and properly stored, of course, like yours.

Shad, sorry you're under the weather. The Jakarta contract sounds like a nice change after Perth! And you can talk about bluffing all you want, but if you didn't get the job done you wouldn't be at the top of everybody's list. I do, however, know what you mean about confidence being a big part of success. When I'm working I always sound like I know what I'm talking about - the biggest bluff of them all...

Gotta go - I feel a wave of kluge influence washing over me.

Carla
We let the cat outside with us sometimes. He isn't at all sure he likes grass over carpet lol.

Shad
Hope you start feeling better and hope you have a great time with your friends.

Happy
The more we hear about your house being redone. The more I am glad we are doing this all on our own lol. Sure hope things get done for you.

di
Not only does exercise make us feel better. We feel better when we know we are doing something good for us. Hope you have a nicer day tomorrow.

cee
Good for you. You have to stop letting people make you crazy. You did the right thing by speaking up about the woman.

Happy Hump Day Ladies.........

Dismal morning supposed to be sunny by this afternoon.

Shad...hope you are feeling better by now, and have a safe trip on Friday.

Carla...our weather stinks. It was 72 yesterday, today 60, and 42 and snow flurries by this Saturday. No wonder people are sick so much in Indiana.

Diyana...you keep inspiring me to exercise, hopefully it will kick in and I will actually do some. ;^)

MEL...goodluck with the seniors.

Ceejay...good for you for speaking up about L. People like that make me crazy. I tell them, for crying out loud....TAKE NOTES and refer to them. That is my pet peeve.

Happy..anyone that can get up and have their SUV washed by 6:30 am is my hero. Rock on sista!!

UPS..Glad you had fun at the wedding.

Things are peaceful on the home front for now. Going to lunch with a buddy from my previous place of employment.

Hello to everyone..........

Have a marvy day.

Love and Hugs

Where the heck have I been? I'm sooo behind again and will probably miss folks.

Madcat, I was so sorry to hear of your friend's death. I am glad you and her other friends were there for her. I've been through that several times and was always glad I did what I could to be supportive.

Happy, the darned door thing sounds like a real hassle. Good thing the DH was there to supervise those jerks.

Shad, you never get sick! I hope this thing passes quickly. Tea and reading always works for me.

Ceejay, glad you seem to have resolved the L. situation. What a loser!

Carla, our Marigold was an indoor cat for most of her life. She really got into country life when we moved here and even stated hunting chipmunks. She still insisted on using the indoor kitty litter, however. City girl!

My neighbour has just arrived to finish cutting up a tree for me so I need to dash. Waves to all, especially Mel who needs to ask for help more often.

Good morning ladies --

We're halfway to the weekend! Yay! I didn't get to the gym last night. I had a really bad day at work and was just too exhausted, so I relaxed with DH and the DPs (Dear Puppies). I plan to go tonight to do some cardio.

CeeJay - I hope the situation with your co-worker improves and she starts doing her work correctly so you don't have to worry about her anymore.

Happy - That's a bummer that the door guys took two days to get the door done, and then didn't even do a good job. Other than Hong Kong and Canada, I've only traveled in the U.S. DH and I want to go back to Canada next year to go fishing. How about you? Where have your travels taken you?

Mel - That's great that you're helping the seniors file for their IRS stimulus rebate. My DH is helping his mom. I know you're really busy, but I hope you're taking some "Mel Time" too.

Shad - I hope you are feeling better. That's wonderful that you will be able to go see your friend on Friday! Thanks for all your wisdom about conveying confidence to the world. I have a feeling that the confidence you convey is not a bluff at all. As for me, I'm not a great bluffer. I definitely do ask questions and learn from mistakes. I just sometimes wear my frustration on my sleeve. More things for me to work on improving. You definitely are correct, if you can say a couple words in a native language people do appreciate it. Of course, when I went to Montreal and said "Bonjour" to someone, they proceeded to ramble off in French at lightning speed. And I had to fess up and admit that the only French word I know is "Bonjour" and how to count to 10. Spanish is the language I learned in High School and College and although I'm not fluent anymore, I'm fairly conversational. Funny you mention John Cleese! I love John Cleese! He's really funny! In fact, in a few weeks, DH and I are going to see SPAMALOT a broadway show (in Milwaukee) that's based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. DH and I are big Python fans! I also like watching the Michael Palin travel shows...informative, interesting, but with a bit of humor!

Carla - When do we get to see photos of the kitty? Good idea for Mel about getting a DVD/VCR combo. We love ours too! Handguns give me the willies too. But if people are responsible gun owners like Happy, then that's cool with me.

Rennie - Great to hear from you! You are right about exercise making us feel better physically, emotionally and mentally. I'll get back on the cardio machine tonight.

Annie - We're having a rainy week and maybe the white crap this weekend. I'm so OVER sn**, I can't even say the word. Enjoy your lunch with your friend!

Ruth - That's terrific that a neighbor is helping you with your tree. It's wonderful to have nice neighbors. I'm really lucky - my neighbors are great, as yours are it seems.

A big to anyone I may have missed.

Wonderful Wednesday Wishes Everyone!

Di
I don't generally workout on the weekends but this Saturday we are going to the zoo. We will walk 6 to 8 hours so I think I will have enough workout for the whole weekend lol.