Hey, where's Melissa?

Mooseless Curtis - almost rhymes doesn't it? :):) I agree w/you Sandra that all that outdoors and nature and fresh air will do him a world of good! ...and I for one do NOT want to know what happens to a moose after it's been shot!

Vickie - this is not the same staff member thank goodness....I just can't imagine doing such a thing. Finding out info for a meeting, scheduling the meeting and not letting those who will be at the meeting know what needs to be discussed! I need to ensure this does not happen again. I did find the file on her desk - tracked down our manager and tried to get her to "remember" what decisions/discussions took place. I think I have it all now - and the irony of this all is - the meeting has now been rescheduled to next week - ha ha ha. So this all for nought.

Now dh is all ticked off cuz dd is in our room using the computer (from 4-5pm) to do her homework prior to dance classes this evening. Ds using den computer and then leaving for school at 6 pm so she needed somewhere to work cuz it was not a good idea to leave the homework until 9:30 when we get home from dancing.

Dh is in a snit cuz I did not call him to consult him about the use of our "room". Seems he is tired and the poor darling did not get to nap today - so he of course came home after picking up little ds and wanted to sleep but couldn't cuz dd is in there.

He barely sleeps at night so I do understand his need for rest - but honestly he is a sleepaholic (depression?) and wonders how he will ever work full time again cuz he will fall asleep on the job every day. Being unemployed he has the luxury of taking a nap during the day when he is basically alone and the house is quiet. Today he was out getting stuff in the am - had a lunch date w/someone, not home til 3 then had to pick up ds so he missed his nap. He is angry cuz I did not consult him, but I pointed out he usually does not nap at 4 or 5 pm??? This is very atypical! Feels I should have told him (I did call him on his cell to tell him exactly this but then office phone rang and I had to get off and call him back). Ya - so he needs to get a life cuz he is really sweating the small stuff as far as I'm concerned. I cannot sit here at work and take his calls and get harassed about not letting him know dd was in our room for one hour!

I am so looking forward to going home now!

Frouf, your DH will probably feel a whole lot better once he gets a job. I think any job at this point would help. He really does sound depressed. I think you are a Saint.

Cry me a river. I have no sympathy if he's ticked at DD. She needs to do homework, DS needs to do homework. Maybe DH could go get a job and buy all kids computers for their rooms so that *he* doesn't have to be bothered with their homework issues? If he had a job again, he would remember what tired really is. It is NOT missing your daily nap because you had errands and lunch out. GRRR ... I am ticked at him.

Vickie is so right. You, my friend, are a saint and I absolutely don't know how you do it. You have my undying admiration for your perseverence.

I made a command decision and got my hair cut today. It's about the same length but layered all over and curled up on the ends, in around my face, with long bangs. I looked at it and said "OMG, I'm the 1990 Jennifer Anniston!" :lol: It's fine though, and I'm sure I will love it.

I just cut up red, green, and orange bell peppers in preparation for dinner. Judd is at work for another hour so I have time to relax. And hey, guess what? We got into the 60s today! Yay!!!!

So, should we gas up the bus and go looking for Melissa? This isn't like her to stay gone for a day!

:lol: You guys are so funny! I'm feeling very loved. :) I took the day off to stay with my friend who just had her baby. I wasn't neglecting you on purpose. ;)
DH is waiting to watch a movie with me so I have to run though! I'll catch up with you all later or maybe tomorrow!

Well, thank goodness you surfaced! We were worried! You know you have to get prior approval before leaving, don't you? We won't write you up this time, but be warned ...

Have fun tonight. What's the movie?

vickie, moose is like extra lean and tender beef. i have never had a roast any better than moose. we also use venison like beef. we hardly ever buy any meat except for chicken and a few pork chops.

melissa, i was running all kinds of scenarios in my head. melissa with mcconald's. melissa with ice cream. etc......... i'm glad you're doing all right. i was worried, girl.

curtis is planning to go back out in the morning. he came in today, had lunch, then took a long long nap. tomorrow will probably be the same. i heard him tell someone, "i don't need to get a moose. what i need is to hunt a moose." this mind cleansing is doing him a world of good.

frouf, curtis says (and he's talking about himself, too.) that depression is a leisure time activity. maybe when your dh starts back working, his mood and sleeping habits will improve. probably a lot of what's helping curtis' depression is he's busy now with the hunting. well, that and, of course, nature.

kathy, i would love to look like the 1990's jennifer aniston. congratulations on your new do.

we're staying home this afternoon. curtis has a bud he's going to call and i'm going to watch survivor and the apprentice. tomorrow morning he's going out again. (i think i already typed this. sorry. must be oldtimers' disease.)

have a good evening, chickies.

Just wanted to say good night to everyone. Jim is showering and we are going to watch TV. I'm still very tired but I can tell that the medicine is starting to work. I won't be around tomorrow until late. Jim has a court date at 10:30 so we'll be out of the house early since it's at least a 45 minute drive. Then we'll go out for lunch. He got a ticket for not having the proof of insurance in the car so it should get thrown out as soon as he shows that we had insurance. He got stopped for speeding and the Cop let him off the hook with the insurance ticket. So, good thing we are retired and have time to go to court!

Talk with you all tomorrow. I still don't feel like exercising. I'm not optimistic for my next weigh in. Oh well, at least I'm still eating right.

Hey Chickies,

Still warm and balmy out, but rain expected tomorrow -ugh!

Well dh was asleep in ds's bedroom when I got home and stayed there as far as I know. I ate 1/2 LO sandwich, fed ds and then we took dd to her dance classes (6-9 pm) and went off to see a movie together - Just Like Heaven - very cute and funny. We shared some popcorn and yes I had a peanut butter cup - both very yummy.

After movie went to pick up dd who hands me a piece of paper from the dance studio (I am in the "waiting room" area) - I jokingly say I hope it's not another invoice! Well I spoke to soon - ANOTHER @#$#@@@#$$ INVOICE FOR AN ADDITIONAL $100 with the notation "XL stage"? and no further explanation except half due Nov 1 and half due Nov 15 - no problem! I am now kinda freaking out in the waiting room - cuz I can't believe this! So another parent of dd's friend is there and he sees me frothing at the mouth - and you know he is in agreement - so I take this interest and encourage him to send off an email (and point out the address to him on the invoice:) ).

He also feels he was misled - as he had asked when writing out the pdc cheques if that was it - and obviously it was not. He agrees we should be told up front - and to make things easier they should just roll it into the monthly fees - so you pay maybe an extra $25 or 30 per month and not have to deal with these little nasty surprises.

The worst thing is dd is of course upset now that has learned that I have "complained" about this - and furthermore wants to be in more dances (like a solo or duet) which of course costs extra as you need to pay for guess what - the choreography! So I told her I can't afford this extra $$ - so instead of being grateful for what she has (I know wishful thinking) she stormed up to her room pouting with some mild door slamming going on. She is now saying dh should get a job so we would have more $$ - but even so I told her that money would not be directed to dance classes!!! I guess I can't expect too much compassion from a 13 yr old female?

So I will see how they respond to the original email - or maybe an "addendum" to the email is in order - how timely that I have yet another invoice to complain about!

Vickie - glad you're feeling better and try and enjoy your day tomorrow - at least your lunch out!

Kathy - I'm sure you look fabulous with your new "do". Hope the dinner was yummy!

Melissa - glad you turned up - how is the baby? and how is your gf enjoying mommyhood?

When we got home Sleeping Beauty was up from his nap - and doing much better! I am now making him clean up the desk - cuz it's a mess (well I piled up all his stuff on the side) and I can't stand it anymore. That and the dishwasher repairs and running network cable for ds's new laptop (which arrived today but we sure ain't telling him that!) in his bedroom.

Saint Froufie - gee I kinda like the sound of that? (never heard of a jewish saint before tho!) ha ha ha:)

Frouf

Good morning, everyone!

Frouf, my mouth dropped open when I saw that you had gotten ANOTHER invoice! I am just aghast at the thought of it! This time I would certainly be making them aware of my feelings, and wouldn't care at all what DD says. And the part about DH getting a job so she can do more dancing? :lol: Kids! I've heard that too ... them saying they wished we had more money. I'm thinking, yea well if we DID, it sure wouldn't be going to YOU! Too bad she's only 13 and can't go get a job. Does she babysit? Or hey, here's a thought! Maybe she'd be willing to clean the house top to bottom and you could skip paying the regular house cleaner for a few weeks?

Everyone loves my hair except for me. I might go back and see if she'll cut more length off of it. It seems a little out of balance to me, but I'll probably wait a few days to see if I get used to it, and also to wait until I fix it myself and see how that goes.

We woke up to rain this morning and about 50º. It was certainly a nice change, but it's supposed to be back up to the 90s by the first of next week.

I guess I should do a little work now. BBL!

Hey Kathy - not a bad idea - she generally babysits for us as required - and in return I do provide "pocket money" and money for concert tickets, etc. I love the house cleaning idea as I am really thinking that my cleaning lady days are numbered now given our financial circumstances. Of course she is quite a lazy little thing so I wonder what the "quality" of the cleaning would be - so there would need to be a proviso added that I am satisfied with the work - I have seen her "clean" her room - and what she calls cleaning and what I call cleaning are two entirely different things! She is quite a messy child!

We are also having very yucky weather today which I find extremely depressing - woke up to much cooler temps and POURING RAIN - dark and gloomy out, the kind of day you want to spend in bed or by the fireplace with a blankie (if Vickie is finished using it that is :) ). Yes I turned off the AC this morning and I think that's it for now as we will need to turn on the heat sometime this week. I hate winter!

So I sold some of my energy stocks yesterday and made some $$ (they were starting to fall). The point of the extra funds were supposed to be for me to have FUN - these investments were planned so that I could travel at least twice a year - using the profits and not having to use "other" money. Alas, due to our financial situation this money can no longer be designated as Froufie's Travelling Fund - which is very very sad (found a great 10 day cruise out of New York on Dec 1 - and I sure would like to be on it!).

Vickie - how are you doing today? Hope you are feeling very much better.

Melissa - what are you up to?

Sandra - any moose hanging around your place yet? ha ha ha

Cher - how's your dad? How are you doing?

Patti - are you back yet? Did you have fun?

Lisa - come in Lisa!

Terry - hope your cutie pie is keeping you busy!

So what's everyone doing this weekend? We will probably end up at the movies w/little ds as the new Wallace & Gromit movie starts today. Big ds is just salivating as he knows his laptop has arrived and is desperately cleaning his basement & bedroom so he can have it - quite desperate he is! ha ha ha

IT'S A LONG WEEKEND HERE BY THE WAY - THANKSGIVING ON MONDAY - YIPPEE - going to niece's place (the pregnant one w/the heart condition!) for dinner - I'm supposed to bring a dessert but don't feel like baking so will probably buy something.

Almost lunchtime!

Frouf

Hey everyone! I miss one day and I'm so behind! :dizzy:
Things are going okay with me. I had a terrible eating day yesterday. I didn't eat that much, but what I ate was bad. So that was yesterday. You know I just realized that I didn't weigh myself this morning? I'm such a nut. :lol: But I'm sure it would have been bad because of yesterday anyway. I'll do it in the morning when I get up.
I probably shouldn't tell you all this, but I am eating the most delightful little Kudos bar. I bought them for DH. ;) They make them with chunks of snickers and m&m's, and I think they taste like a candy bar!! They are very small and 2 pts, but if you need a candy bar fix, I highly recommend them. :D
I hope that everyone is doing well. I'll catch back up with you all later!

Hi Chicks! I'm ok but not great. I got up and got ready to go with Jim to court. He's ok and has his license back and is quite calm now. No fine. So we went out and had a big lunch and we are home to wait for the White Sox game to start at 3:09. Lordy this is stressful but fun at the same time.

I'm going to lay down on the couch and maybe have a nap. I have no energy. I start to feel better and then when I try to do stuff I realize that I'm quite wiped out.

Frouf, I'd be in their faces after getting another invoice. No more calm emails! That's just plain old bait and switch. If I were you, I'd make DD contribute. I like the idea of the cleaning (to your satisfaction). Kids today think they are so entitled to everything without having to work for it.

Kath, how are you and Judd doing? Let's see a picture of that hair. Have your hair ever been as short as you are proposing to cut it?

Sandra, Moose sounds good AND Core!

Melissa, how come you had a bad eating day? Something bad happen?

We have a full day planned tomorrow that is very fun for me. We are going to a place about 60 miles away that sells the best pre-lit Christmas trees. Every year, I put up my 7 1/2 foot Christmas tree and put about 1500 lights on it. I'm a perfectionist and wrap the cords around so you can't see anything but the lights. My tree looks beautiful but takes me days to put up. I even have a revolving tree stand. Well, I'm done with putting lights on and am going to buy a pre-lit tree. It'll only have 1200 lights but I can live with that. The tree comes in 3 sections and should be all up (minus the ornaments) in about an hour. So I'm dragging my Sister and BIL with us. First lunch at an old favorite restaurant and then to the tree store. When I first married Jim, we lived in Morton Grove (up North probably nearer to Terry). So we'll be eating in a place near our old house. It's not real Core friendly but that's where everyone else wants to go. So I'll do the best I can. I have points but haven't exercised this week. If I feel better, I'll exercise on Sunday but that will be my only exercise day this week. That's my weekend. Sunday, we'll be watching baseball but only if necessary!

Hoo boy, you guys, this is some pretty short hair I have! Another 2-3 inches came off and now it's hanging above my shoulders. And no, I don't think it's been this short since I was 5 years old! Judd is going to crap a wooly worm when he sees it! I think I should probably go into hiding for a few weeks.

Vickie, a few years ago we broke down and bought a big prelit tree. It's tall too, maybe 8-9 feet? and just HUGE. It's very easy to put up and take down, but takes two people. This year I think we'll be putting another tree at the top of the stairs where the first upstairs living room overlooks the entry. Judd's mom buys 3-4 Christopher Radko ornaments for us each year, plus the Waterford 12 Days of Christmas, plus all the big fancy glass ornaments that Neimans puts on clearance after Christmas. All of those alone, plus the Gorham and Lenox that we have, will fill up the big tree. I'd like to have another with the kids' childhood ornaments, Hallmarks, etc. I love putting the tree up but hate hate hate taking it down. A few years back, it stayed up until the first part of April because Judd had spent the first few months of the year at Whiteman AFB and I couldn't take it down by myself. Fortunately it's in the front living room and we never go in there so it wasn't in the way.

Melissa, I know those Kudo bars well and LOVE them! You'll get back on track, don't worry. Good luck with tomorrow's w/i.

Can't wait for baseball today! The only ones I'm interested in are Sox/Sox and Yankees/Angels and since they were off yesterday, I had to look hard to find something to watch.

It must have been last year with the tree because I remember you talking about it. It was one of the funniest stories I've ever heard! I'm hoping that the pre-lit tree will work in my revolving stand. It's a heavy duty stand for trees with alot of lights. Have the lights on your pre-lit tree stood the test of time?

I'm off to the couch now!