Maria: Slavika is right. Maui is one place to see. Well worth the dollars is you can afford it. BTW I talked to DH about your trip. He says Im off my rocker and says the car is the way to go. Very easy to sell at the end. And the price of gas and all else would be better than a motor home. He did say you could probably lease a motorhome at a lot less $$ Than trying to rent. But thaught the car will still be a better way to go for the time you are spending here.

Slavika: Glad you are having a super time! Trudy is right. Maui is way better than Honolulu. But Honolulu does have alot to offer to. Just to tourisy for me It is a very pretty Island. Dont think I told you, but my grandparents had a church there. It was so weird when we were going down the road and this church appeared. I knew it was that church. Made hubby go back. It was thier church. So spooky to recogize it from pictures.

Karen: We still have new people joining to. I totally agree with you are working for WW. You need to find the time to get out when you need to. Im not ready yet either as I love helping people when I can.
But there are some awful things to.
Yesterday, and please dont take me wrong. Im willing to help people in Will chairs and I still did. But this women came in and smelled soooooooooooooooo bad. I Weighed her in, but Im telling you I couldnt get out of the room fast enough. I know I had this look on my face as the next person came in and said Are you ok? I said lets go to another room I had such a headache. It was Horrible.

Night Night!

Lily that type of thing has happened on more than one occasion to me and my staff. We even had a guy come in that was so dirty and smelly and talked very vulgar and he was kind of threatening in a way. Scary We even had the police on speed dial. We were ever so glad when he quit coming. But that kind of thing happens when you deal with the public
Sorry it had to happen to you

Slavika and Trudy so glad your having a good time. Will you be spending any more time together?

We have had to file an insurance claim over all the damage that was done with the frozen and broken water pipes. I will be letting DH handle the insurance adjuster when he comes. Lucky me i get to gone for the next 3 days. I will be working

Hi everyone:
Karen: Why is it that a man always wants to deal with another man. It is so insulting, and they alwyas try to get away with something with a woman. It is like a woman taking the car to the garage for something.
We even had something like this with our board meetings. I had been making some suggestions about insurance, and check signing. And I was balked at every turn. Then they asked a new resident to become an advisor, and when the questions were posed to him and he said by all means these things should be done. So they were done. I just have to tell me 'That's Life!!!'

Slavika and Trudy: glad to hear you are having such a good time. And February is nearly over. When do you get back to the winter weather?

Maria: I think Lily's DH suggestion about leasing might be a smart one to look into. Glad you had a nice weekend with old friends.

We are expecting our Norwegian family, to come for a visit on Friday. Don't know just how long they will stay. She was an exchange student with my daughter and lived with us for year. We have kept in touch all these years, and visited when we could. It will be good to see the.

See you. Ann

G'day all,

Lily and Karen once upon a time grotty sort of people didn't bother me too much but now , I cannot stand it. I don't think there is any excuse for being smelly or just a plain 'grot'!
Lucky that fellow decided not to come back for many more meetings!

Ann I am with you it is one of my pet hates and I certainly will not shy away from those sort of men. Any bad service or stuff that has to be returned my dh leaves that to me, I am very persistant and will not give up . We sort of work it together, I am the big b---h and then dh 'smooths' it over, it seems they give in because they feel sorry for dh being married to such a woman when he comes across as such a nice, caring man!
My laptop has been playing up and I rang Fujitsu (I have a Fitjitsu Lifebook) to see where in Adelaide I could take it. After waiting in the phone queue and listening umpteenth times how important my call was etc. I finally got onto a human who then informed me I had to ring the technical number , I really went off my head and told him all I wanted to know where in Adelaide I could take it, he finally gave me the address of a place, I then asked for the phone number but he couldn't give me that. Ten more minutes of getting very angry and telling them I will never buy anything Fujitsu again, I got the phone number. I then rang the number to see when it was convenient for me to bring in my laptop, I was told I had to ring Fujitsu to get a reference number before they could look at it!@#$%*#@
They then agreed I could bring it in.
I just do not understand why it so difficult to get an answer to a reasonable request. But what really makes my blood boil that if I DO rant and rave for 30 minutes or so, I do finally get the answer I want. It should not be necessary.
I will now get off my soapbox!! but before I do....I wonder how long before management of all these companies recognise that people will not be repeat buyers of their product with the after sales service supplied.

My new eating plan is coming along very nicely, I feel really well.
I was looking through my ancient WW booklets and it is so similar to what I am doing.

Haircut tomorrow and off to the podiatrist on Thursday.

Cheers
Maria

Maria you certainly shouldn't have to rant and rave to get service. Don't understand why they couldn't tell you what you wanted to know the first time. I hate waiting while they are telling me my call is important-if it's important then have enough reps there to answer it when it rings. Customer service is lacking in this day and age of technology. It's so frustrating.

Slavika good to hear from you in aloha land. Take a walk on the beach for me.

Lily that had to be interesting to see the church. Sort of choked when I read about the smelly person. I have encountered a few people like that. You would think someone they are close to would tell them to take a shower and help out by washing their clothes. No excuse for it.

Ann enjoy catching up with your company.

Going to help out in my sons old grade school cafeteria today and tomorrow. They are short on mothers coming in and helping. Haven't been there in a long, long time. My friend works there and asked if I could help out occasionally. They do have a wonderful salad bar. Tonight we are going to my niece's and celebrating Fat Tuesday with homemade ravioli. Can't wait for that. Yesterday I met 2 old high school friends for lunch. Almost didn't make it. I stopped for gas and when I got back in my car it wouldn't start. Good thing the Toyota place I have service it is right down the street. They came right away and fiddled with it and then I took it for a new battery cable. Works great now.

Hi all

Ugh, Lily, phew!!! So hard to be amiable to people like that.

Maria, I think the whole service industry is going to pot! : Why, why, why? You'd think the "higher ups" would want their service impeccable. That's what keeps people coming back - the same is true for restaurants, etc. BTW, glad your food program is working out for you. Are you doing WW?

Karen, I missed the part about your pipes bursting. Ick! I bet Florida is looking better and better. When you move, will you continue to work for WW?

Hawaii is so beautiful. Sounds like Slavika and Trudy have had a great time.

Glenda, how's that BP? Are you following a particular diet? WW?

Peggy, I think you asked me if I worked full-time. No, just part-time, but not far from home. I bus it. The knitting is going okay - my sister found a few "errors" here and there. But isn't that how we learn. I recently bought fabric for a new quilt: Martha Washington Star. I'm anxious to get going on that.

Ann, is the family coming from Norway? Minnesota is a big Scandinavian state. There are lots of connotations in our vernacular that imitate their language. Uff Da is one of them.

Tonight DH, DS & I are going to a local restaurant to celebrate Shrove Tuesday. I will try to be prudent and choose healthily. I know they have a good walleye fillet.

See ya later.

Marnie

Karen: That does sound spooky Hope you get some money from the damage on the water pipes.

Maria: I dont understand either whay you cant get an answer when you call. We use alot of Fuji at work and I have the same problem trying to send in a card for a repair Grrrrrr. Glad you new eating plan is working well for you. Have you lost more?

Peggy: Yum homemade Ravoli. Sounds wonderful! Have fun working in the cafeteria! Did your Nephews school win with the voting? And how did it go?

Marnie: what is Shrove Tuesday? Never heard of it. Must be like Peggys Fat Tuesday? Im confused


For those that do curves. How exactly is it? Looks like my gym put in something like it over the weekend. How many sets to you do on each machine? Thinking of giving it a try at the gym. Was awful busy this morning tho.

Shrove Tuesday, the eve of Lent — also known as Mardi Gras (literally "fat Tuesday" in French), Carnival (from the Latin for "farewell to the flesh"), and Fasnacht (the Germanic "night of the fast") — is celebrated across the world with riotous merrymaking and feasting.

While Brazilians samba in the streets of Rio, and New Orleans throws its most famous party of the year, the English celebrate with Pancake Tuesday. It may seem an unlikely last indulgence, but pancakes use up rich ingredients like butter and eggs from the larder before the pious Lenten fast. Families gather for sweet and savory pancake suppers, and housewives still compete in the peculiar tradition of donning their aprons and racing each other holding pancake-filled skillets. Strict rules require that each contestant successfully toss and flip her pancakes into the air at least three times before crossing the finish line.


— David Jefferys

G'day all,

A magnificent day here today.

Peggy glad you got your car started again. I am not fussed what sort of car I drive as long as it GOES when I want it to

Marnie Yes service is certainly 'dead' everywhere in the world
My 'new' eating plan is really very similar to WW, I am basically eating much more protein and I am trying to eliminate all the 'bad' or 'white' carbs out of my diet.
I did post the website where I got my information and the eating plans, you may have missed it so here it is.......

http://www.csiro.au/index.asp?type=d...an%20Nutrition

It is called the 'Total Well Being Diet' and since following it very strictly, I do feel extremely well. Maybe because I have cut out the bad carbs, I don't seem to have that compelling urge that I MUST have a biscuit and cannot let go of that thought unti I do
I feel very positive that I will succeed this time.
You described 'Shrove Tuesday' very well. It brings back many childhood memories of Shrove Tuesday when we always had pancakes 'as many as you can eat' but then the big test of Lent!
Amazing only 40 days to Easter.

Cheers
Maria

I surely got fat last night for Fat Tuesday. My niece had the homemade ravioli-even made the pasta. Then she made cannoli and tiramisu. I didn't miss eating anything and didn't want her to have leftover cannoli. Today it's back to plan.

Lily my nephew's school did win and he told me one of their players was featured as player of the week. Thanks to everyone who helped vote. Try the curves routine. It wears you out.

Got to get ready for another cafeteria day. This is wearing me out. Yesterday they had their choice of a complete turkey dinner, or chicken nuggets or the salad bar with ravioli and chili. The salad bar is better than most restaurants and a lot of kids get it. Even had blueberries on it.

Hi everybody,
We arrived home yesterday in the afternoon, safe and sound, but very tired. It is such a long plane ride from here. I have never experienced jet lag before. We loved Maui and liked Oahu. The week we spent to Slavika and her DH were so much fun. On Oahu we stayed in Waikiki. We went on so many bus tours as there is so much to see there. We went to The Polynesian Cultural Center, Pearl Harbor Tour, Circle Island Tour (it took around the island), Whale Watching, and to a Luau on a private beach. The weather was beautiful, in the 80's every day.
Our DD and picked us up at the airport, it was so good to see them again. Today it is +1C (is that 32F?) anyway, the snow is melting and it should be getting warmer now.
I usually avoid the sun, but it was impossible there so I got quite a tan. I really look strange today in jeans and a sweater... I don't look right, I should have on a T-shirt and shorts.
I am going to go back and read what you all have been up to.
It's nice to be home... bye

Welcome back Trudy!!
Good to hear you had a great holiday.

Cheers
Maria

Welcome back Trudy. Sounds like you had a great time.

Lily: At Curves you work yourself up with reps. You work on each machine about 30sec. then to a step /aerobic routine and on to the next machine. When I first started I could do about 6 reps on each machine, but now I have built up to close to 15. It all depends on the machine, too. The full workout takes 30 minutes and then there are stretches to finish up with. I really like it and it gets me to exercise, even on a day like today which is cool and very rainy.

Maria: I am with you on the problem with service. When i was having the problem with the computer, I went to online service and after we have finished the messaging, I asked the tech where in this world was she sending me advice. And the reply was India. And after 3 tries my problem still wasn't fixed.Had to go back to our service tech once again, even tho' they has ssent me in the other direction. GRRR!!!

Marnie: I know there are many Norwegians and Swedes in Minnesota. This family is Norwegian, and they have little love for the Swedes. Don't know just when they will get here, as Papa flies as Captain for SAS Airlines, so they fly standby, and that means whatever Airline they can make connections. So we just wait until they arrive.

Peggy: YOur meal sounds wonderful. Especially the tiramisu.

Karen: I haven't had much chance to look for stuff for you but will do it as soon as things calm down.

Hi everyone. Hope to get back tomorrow, but we are going to an AARP 55 Alive driving class. Two mornings. But when completed we get a certificate that will give us a discount on our Auto insurance premiums. It never hurts to review the laws and get some reminders about safe driving.

TATA - Ann

Sounds like you had a great time I can imagine the drastic change in the weather!

Ann, I'm curious about those AARP sessions, but hey, if it lowers your car insurance, I'm all for it.

The "Passion" opened here yesterday; I guess everyone is stunned when they leave the theater. DH wants to see it; I want to see "Twisted" with Ashley Judd, Andy Garcia and Samuel L. Jackson.

Peggy, I was drooling when I read your "Fat Tuesday" menu.

I'll check back later.

Marnie

Trudy: Welcome Back! Sounds like you had a great time on Oahu. We didnt get the chance to see Pearl Harbor. we were only there for 2 days and one day was spent with DH's Sister as she lives on the Island. The other day was Diamond Head. So didnt have alot of time to see what you did.

Ann: Thanks for the info. Will try it. Looks like fun. If I can ever get to the machines tho. Seems to be a big hit at the gym.

Marnie: I want to see the Passion. Sure is alot of hype about it. So wont be going until it slows down a bit. Im sure its crowded.

Oh I forgot. "Bat Bird" is appartenly living in this space that is in the roof. It doesnt go any where. Its just a small space that is between the roof and the overhang. We usually get pigeons up there all the time. The other night I was outside and I heard this sound like a Hawk. Looked up and sure enough it fly right above me and into that space. And sure enough it is diffenetly a Hawk.

Later!