Thursday's Chick Chat
 

Up and at 'em, daylight's burning! :)

Actually, it's still pitch dark out, but I can see a glimmer off to the east. I love this time of the day the best, when the world is just waking up.

Coffee's fresh and hot, come pour yourself a cup, and let's discuss what today will bring. :coffee:

:cofdate:

We're glimmery here too, Cottage. It's supposed to be back to summer heat today but the house is cold this morning. It's getting tempting to turn on the heat these mornings but I'm holding myself back. I love the "first light" part of the day too, especially the coffee!

No big plans today except to finally finish those blasted plum tomatoes. I suspect there is another army of them lurking out in the garden and am almost afraid to check. I have some Church linens to iron and will do that before the day heats up. A trip to the Library is on the agenda later too.

So sit and sip a bit before you crank up your day. :cofdate:

Morning, Ruth. I'd love to have a basket of those plum tomatoes. Have you ever tried drying them? I borrowed a friend's dehydrator once to try it, but the entire batch developed mold on them. I couldn't figure out just what I did wrong, but it put me off ever trying it again. ;)
It's going to be a hot day again, here, too, but it should be cooler for the weekend.

Good morning all!

The only thing on my mind this morning is, "Is it Friday yet??"

Good Morning Chicks,
The usual here, get kids off to school, work, Girl Scouts tonight. At least lunch is ready and waiting, I made a yummy 7-layer salad last night for DH and me. I may try to get in a run down to the mall. Rumor has it that Kohl's has started their big end-of-season clearance sales. I try to get my kids stuff for next year at the end of the season. I usually score at Penney's, Kohl's and The Children's Place and I save big bucks this way.
DH informed me we are out of coffee filters AND paper towels (our backup) this morning. Arggh! I could really use a cuppa today, we are all getting a slow start here. Up too late last night.
Betty, hang in there one more day!
Ruth, thanks for reminding me, I've got some overdue books.
cottage, drink an extra cup for me please!

just dropping by
 

Good morning everyone...
I'm sitting here at work and also waiting for it to be Friday...:D

Hope you all have a great day

Di

Good Morning all. I've gotten back into the swing of my yoga to start my day with. I love having it on demand through my cable company, so many choices and enough that I don't get bored. Gotta tell ya though that instructor this morning kicked my butt, boy do I feel it in my thighs and abs!

I have got to sit down this weekend and find some new recipes, I am getting a little bored.

Weekend is almost here Betty, sure wish I was coming to Richmond this weekend for the races. I have family there and we just can't seem to find the time or the funds to make the trip.

Schmoodle I luuuuuuuv Khols! I seriously need to get there and check out the sales, my clothes are beyond laughable in the actually fitting department but I am not complaining!

Cottage, Ruth and Di have a great day. Check back later!

Hey, Beautiful Cottage, thanks for starting us up! :yawn: I'm barely 'up' and I've been out of bed for hours. I've almost finished a cup of my favorite tea from France, but I'm still sleepy! This is my first time working two days in a row in several years, so it's a bit tough! :lol: I know... Actually, I love that time in the morning too, but only if I've stayed up all night so I'm awake enough to appreciate it. The best part is when the birds suddenly wake up and start singing! :love:

Ruth, I envy your trip to the library but not your ironing! :p You are on your way to sainthood for doing ironing for the church, girl! ;) BTW, the tomato problem is easily solved with an army of birds, squirrels, and slugs. :rolleyes: We have to pick ours half ripe and then let them ripen in the window if we want them at all...and even then they come 'scarred' from battles with wildlife. :lol:

:rofl: Bauhaus! Good question...thankfully it's coming soon. And for us Yanks, it's coming sooner than usual with the shorter week. Thankfully! ;)

Darn, Schmoodle, you've reminded me that I forgot, again, to bring my overdue CD to work with me...I'll have to drop it by the library today after work... :nono: You can always use old (clean!) pantyhose as a coffee filter...or so I've heard. ;) I haven't been that desperate before! :lol: Great idea to catch the end-of-season sales! Kohl's is a GREAT place. :cloud9: The 7-layer salad sounds divine...what's in it?

Hi, Didi! :wave:

Me:
Well, working today to make up for being gone tomorrow. I'm looking forward to my retreat, but worried about packing everything I'll need. I'll be practically 'camping' in a rustic cabin, sharing a bathroom with 8-12 other people, but it's just a weekend, so I don't want to show up with a HUGE suitcase! :lol3: I'm also having to guess about meals, and since I don't think I'll have tons of access to an ice machine or anything, I'm a bit concerned about bring perishables. This is kind of like Barb's original camping delimma from several years ago! ;) I think I'll be bringing a ton of protein bars and some nuts...and some WW buns in case I can find something to make a sandwich with.

Forgot to pack my gym stuff to take to work today...but I'll either have to suck it up and go home to change, then leave again, or perhaps I'll go for my first solo bike ride! :) We'll see. I don't think I'll have access to much cardio (other than walking) at the retreat, but I am hoping to take a yoga class. :)

Hope everyone has a GREAT day! :sunny:

Hi, Pacergal! We posted at the same time. :lol: about clothes fitting...you have me thinking of that Weight Watchers commercial where the girl's skirt falls down in front of the elevator and they say, "Just remember to make time to buy clothes that fit" ;) I love excuses to go shopping, and the fact that your clothes are loose is a GREAT one! :hat:

Yet another fly by for me. I'm exhauted! Only got about 3 hours of sleep last night - our "pet" skunk in the back yard decided to spray this morning around 3, so that killed any hope of getting back to sleep. I was headachy, nauseus, just icky feeling after about 2 min of 'skunk spray' smell. Odd thing, when I left for work this morning at 6, there was no lingering odor at all...

Oh well, off to deal with whinny, bi@@hy, engineers all pulling me in several directions at once.

Hope every one has an OP day! I know I won't - but I'll try... :)

Morning all -

iammare - I'll trade your engineers for some indecisive architects. I can't get one of our project managers to make a decision. Grr!

I had a NSV this morning. I was shopping yesterday and bought two new dresses. The one I'm wearing today is 2 sizes smaller than I thought. I thought I'd picked up an 18, instead I picked up the 14. And it fits. I haven't been in a 14 in a long time. Strangely enough the other dress was a 16 and it was way to tight. Since the dresses were on a clearance rack I didn't bother to try either of them on.

I'm off to beat up a architect, hope everyone has a great day!

Afternoon chicks a real quickie for me today. MIL went in to surgery this morning as she fell at the local fair last night and did her shoulder in. So DH had to find a replacement driver for his afternoon run and go up to F'ton to be there when his mom comes out of surgery. Other than that tonight is my first dance class I am so excited. Well gotta to dash almost time to go to the bus stop. Have a great day chicks.

Ooh, LC, have a great time at the dance class! So sorry to hear about your MIL. :( Hope she feels much better soon!

Dixie, I kinda feel bad for the architect...when you're through with him, he'll be making decisions right and left! ;)

Mare, skunk spray is devastating stuff...definitely makes you sick. :barf: Hope you get great sleep tonight! Oh, I know just what you mean about engineers...used to be a secretary for an office of about 15 of them, all men. Oy! :rolleyes:

Oooh, I have been so bad, ran out and had lunch with my BFF. She is celebrating because she's had 1 - 3 toddlers attached to her legs for the last 7 years, and is finally getting some baby free time with the youngest in half day school.
We also stopped by Penney's and I picked up cute summer tops for the kids for
$1. 67/ea.
Hi Dixie, Di and Pacer! :wave:
littlechick, hope MIL does well and be sure and dance like nobody's watching!
All right gals, easy on the engineers, you've got one in your midst! :rofl: I'm representing here!

Schmoodle, I'm an engineer as well. So PLEASE can't I complain about my fellow engineers?!?! PLEASE LOL

Okay, mare, complain away, you've earned the right! We can be an odd bunch sometimes, can't we? I can't get DH to go to company functions anymore, he can't deal LOL.

LOL - I know the feeling - Both DH and I are software engineers. Neither of us go out in public too often because we tend to embarrass ourselves! LOL

Not to mention, after working a 10 hour day, we come home and biatch and complain to each other about fellow engineers... this can go on sometimes for hours!

We're bad! :)

I do software support - used to do development and maintenance but now it's mostly production support. The job can be a pain sometimes. I really like the guys I work with but they are all spread out throughout the country.

beachgal - I like to bring whole wheat tortillas or wraps when travelling. They pack flat so they don't take much room and don't crush as easy as bread or rolls. Good luck!

Yeesh, two in a house, I can't imagine! It's bad enough we've got 3 in the family. At family get-togethers, if Dad, brother, and I start talking shop, everyone else's eyes glaze over and they go in another room. Can't say as I blame them...

No software for me mare, I'm chemical.
Sorry we hijacked the thread!

BTW, beachgal, the salad was really good. I invited my friend to stay and share it with us. It's really hot here today so it hit the spot. If you google it there's lots of different variations, but here's what I did:
In a glass bowl:
A layer of lettuce
A layer of sliced radishes
A layer of chopped green peppers
A layer of sliced celery
A layer of peas (mine were frozen)
A layer of chopped hardboiled eggs
Another layer of lettuce
A layer of shredded lowfat cheddar cheese
Mayonnaise spread over the top to the sides of the bowl to "seal" the salad.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.
Toss to combine and sprinkle with chopped turkey bacon.
To be honest, I'm not sure why you need to seal it with the mayo or refrigerate overnight, but that's what the recipe said. Very pretty in the bowl and yummy. I added a sprinkle of red wine vinegar also. According to Fitday, my portion was 400 calories, very filling, but more than I usually spend on lunch. But I used regular mayo, and I think I could have gotten away with about a third less than I used.
And yes, that is more than seven layers.

Have a great camping trip! I'd bring some packets of sf hot chocolate in case somebody pulls out the s'mores.

:rofl: I know what you mean Schmoodle. When I go over to my sister's place, her bil and fil are both software engineers, then you add both DH and I in the mix... everyone else just looks at us like the 4 of us are from another world. Maybe that's why the 4 of us haven't been invited over to her house at the same time in close to 1 year! LOL

Barb - I used to do software support, then I got into testing and engineering. I don't envy you at all. I too did software maintenance - again, I don't envy you. It wasn't for me. Also put in my time doing cable pulls, punching down cable, as well as user support on a few help desks... :yikes:

I did get my MCSE, MCSA, and LPI-1 certs, but they really don't help me in the job I have now. That's OK, I was out of work when I decided to study for them. After 9 long months, and about 10 tests later, I got all 3 certs in 1 year. I must've been insane!!!!! :dizzy:

Schmoodle - an engineer is an engineer - we're all a little out there! LOL

Dh is also into computers too. He's an unemployed Unix system administrator. My major was mathematical programming and my job code is senior infrastructure specialist. I've been doing this since 1985 and just hope I don't ever have to get another job. I've never had time to get the certifications.

Gotta love those UNIX people. LOL DH is IBM AIX certified, and I'm RedHat LPI - I can't afford the several thousand to be an RHCE. I've looked into getting some Cisco certs - even went as far as buying a pair of routers, but nothing ever came of it.

I started down the MCSE path back in the NT4.0 days - but as soon as I got 1 or 2 tests done, they announced they were retiring the series. So I just waited for the W2K tests to come out. I know I should get re certified, but I don't have the time right now... and lets face it, nothing I learned from the books is how it's actually done "real world". Billy has his own way of doing things, and while they work, everyday people find better more efficient ways to get it done!

Sorry Billy - Windows is OK, but *NIX is becoming better :)

Eyes.....glazing.....over......

Suddenly decides it's time to go cook dinner...

........
 

REALLY confused. Think I'll just swing by tomorrow and hope that there's no more big words and such. At least... not as many. I have a headache from reading everyone's posts. Hope you all have a good night!