Hi chicks, I'm in a better frame of mind now. double coffee kicked in, telecon over, and DD called to say she was all checked in and headed for the gate, so barring any unforeseen complications in Cincinnati, I expect she'll be here tonight. Even though I'm tired, I decided to challenge myself with the 3mi WATP before lunch. I am proud that I'm making good progress on the March exercise challenge. those of you that have been around for a while may have noticed that I am a habitual dropout. I think I only tracked an made my goal once last year. Now that my belly is full, I'm feeling sleepy, but no nap is in the cards for me. DH is asleep on the couch, but he's got to make the run to the airport tonight, so I'm glad he's getting a nap. I'll make it early bed for me tonight. So, on to proper hellos:

LoriAnn, poor kitties I had to put one of our old kitties down. It was so sad, I just sat in the car and bawled. Comfort yourself that they've had a good life with you.
cottage, hope the girls have a great time in Disney. I'm sure you're looking forward to your mini-vacation! It's been a few years since I took the kids down there, I guess I should think about doing that again one of these days. DH can't stand theme parks, particularly Disney, so that's a trip I usually take when he's away, just with the kids, or with some friends.
tk, I love your new avatar pic!
Cyndi, congrats on goal! What is freecycle? I don't think anyone comes to the house around here to pick up. Where I used to live, purple hearts and salvation army used to come around and that was very handy. Just before we moved, I completely filled two of their little trucks.
Gonna, glad you had such a nice trip! And BOO!!! again.
Fluff, hope you get your nap.
Ruth, happy birthday to baby bro! And I for one would love to see a picture of Hershey in her robe.
SA, good luck with the job hunt.
Greetings to jandaman, Tracy, and Kay!!! It's great to see new chicks on the beach!
Barb, sounds like Robert is still harboring hopes that you guys can work things out. You'd think he'd have gotten it by now. Hope he can accept soon and let you guys move on.
Kara, go easy on Connor, he's probably very excited that he'll be seeing his Dad soon!
Pam, hope you can resolve the family issues peacefully. Sorry your arthritis is acting up.
Steph, we sure are a bunch of tired chicks today. Hopefully we all will get a good night's sleep tonight!

You know, I was going to go cold turkey with no nap today but Hershey (still in her furry black robe) just headed upstairs so I'm going to join her. Otherwise, she gets on the bed and makes a dog next using ALL of the Irish mohair nap blanket.
My excuse is that I'm still convalescing - so there!

Thanks for all the help with the hiccups - they seem to keep comeing and going

Schmoodle glad to hear all is well with your daughter

Oh my goodness, Chicks...it's been busier than the mall at Christmas around here today!

Sorry that there's no time for personals...hope everyone is doing well, staying warm, and didn't have any bad after effects of the storms over the weekend. Every surface had a thick coating of ice here, come Sunday morning. It was sunny and the ice was so sparkly...it was a beautiful sight, but hardly a safe one--between the ice chunks falling from above and the areas that lost power, there was a lot of damage.

Have a good day, Chickies!

Barb, I just have to take the time to say that "reasonable" people don't hit their spouses either. And, IMHO, reasonable people make every effort to help support their family and help around the house. I'm sorry Robert is making this so hard. I can't believe there is no legal recourse or way out of it with the gas company. Can they put it in his name alone? Since the address is his PO box, can you get a new account with your address?

Laurie - The natural gas bill is in his name alone but with the home address as the service address and the PO box as the mailing address. I would just stop paying it but if I don't pay it then Brian and I don't have hot water or heat which isn't good. I think he will switch it over when the divorce is final and the house gets switched into my name but until then, I'm just going to have to pay online. He won't even tell me how much money I owe for the social study. He has the paper and I don't and he paid his share (which was small because he has no income). I finally got my lawyer on the phone this morning and he says my share is around $900 but he wasn't in the office so I've got to wait for him to call me back this afternoon. Robert has the exact amount but won't give it to me and then tells me it was due last week.

It doesn't make me want to help him any more than I need to but I do want his stuff out of the house so I will cooperate. And I want him to see Brian but I don't want to see him any more than I have to. I've been nice and paying his medical bills (to be deducted for the money I'll owe him at settlement) but I'm going to stop doing extra stuff where I can.

kara-thanks!!!!

shmoodle-thanks to you too!!!!

Stephanie, I hope you get some decent zzzs tonight! Have you tried yoga before bed?

Tracy, make sure you're stretching your calf muscles after a work out. Don't bother before because the muscle is not warm before you work out so stretching can be dangerous at that point. You can do the typical "hold up the wall" stretch and that's very effective (place your hands at about shoulder height on a wall, step back with one straight leg and make sure your toes are pointing forward to the wall, keep your other leg bent in front of the straight leg). Maintain stretches for at least thirty seconds each. You can also bend your back leg in this stretch to get your achilles tendon. To directly stretch your shins, sit on the floor with your feet tucked under you (like you were kneeling and then sat on your haunches). Lean back onto your hands and lift your knees, leaving your pointed feet on the floor. You can play with the position of your feet to stretch the different areas of your shins. Rest and ice will fix the swelling that is there now, and stretching after your work outs should prevent the problem in the future.

Krystal, we're pretty much "stuck" homeschooling because of all the moving we do. I actually really enjoy it, as I'm a teacher by training but left the classroom when Connor was born. Connor is very advanced for his age and it would be hard to find a school that could challenge him.

Pam, I hope your wrist feels better soon!

Kay, I agree...twice a day is NOT enough times to eat! I would've been a disaster! Welcome to the chat!

Hi, Laurie!

Schmoodle, I think Connor gets in funks like the rest of us. I didn't really tackle him. Usually, I just let him work out the grumpies and then go sit with him and figure out what the "real" problem is. Today he feels like he shouldn't have to write in cursive. He's as moody as a teenage girl sometimes! Luckily, he's on math now, so no more cursive for the day.

Kara

TOM JUST CALLED AND HE GOT HIS FLIGHT MOVED TO TOMORROW! They finished packing up all the stuff today so he's leaving tomorrow morning!!! He'll be here around 8:30 at night. OH MY WORD!

Kara

Yay, Kara!!

Congrats Kara!!!

Kara Hooray!
Hope you can sleep tonight!


Chicks I made something yummy for dinner that was quick and easy. DH loved it and the kids ate it really well too. It came out very moist and tender. I posted it in the recipes - Pork Diane. I love finding keepers! I also made mashed rutabagas which I've never made before and they were great too. DH used to make me Steak Diane when we first started dating, ya know, to impress me with his skills lol.

Who's Diane?