Madcats new avatar looks like Sunday the cat.

Okay - what's with today??/
Too much work, too little time. Sh*t hit the fan on all modules today and there is moles burrowing underground to get away from the noise and heat. I've personally done 10 activity guides today. My fingers are nearly dropping off. I have people in for dinner tonight to help me eat up my left overs before I go home for the weekend. We are having a fish pie with a sweet potato topping and some ww icecream with fresh fruit and mint salad. I have some cracker biscuits to use up as well so they might get a dip or some dukkah and bread. Sound good. Do I have to wait for anyone for dinner??? It will be a United Nations dinner as Marisa is Filipina, Zen is African, Jason is Aus and I am NZ. A Scotsman is coming by later to sort out the left overs!!!

Anyway, I'd like to get a few more QRG's done before home time and I have a pot of steaming coffee in front of me so I guess I'd better go drink one and think the other.

Hello to everyone. Hope you are all in the pink. See you tomorrow.

Shad,

I do hope that you can step away and ensure that the QRGs are actually usable as a Quick Reference Guide. Used one myself last week and hosed up my entire project. I followed it to the letter and :censored: had to spend a half day putting everything back again. I suppose I should have asked for the Dummies version instead of the QRG.

Dinner sounds tasty, save me a sampling tho the fish may go bad by the time I get over there. :lol: What's a mint salad? I like mint. Hoarding the last of my WW chocolate mint snack bars. I've decided they are too frightfully expensive. Somewhere there must be a low point, crisp chocolate mint cookie recipe in cyber space. Enjoy your dinner party with your international friends.

I probably won't get to post until tomorrow night. I have an early doctor's appt with the rheumatologist tomorrow. I feel fine while on the meds but as soon as I go off of them the foot pain and knee pain gets nasty. However who knows what the meds are doing to my liver? We will see what she has to say. Won't have time to post in the morning. Then it's off to work to meetings and developing a test plan for a disaster recovery exercise I'm coordinating. I hate to think of it but the "bunker" where our servers are is located 3 miles from my house. If we lose the bunker to a disaster, that means I've most probably lost my home too so will I be worried about recovering the systems offsite on the east coast? Probably not. But I will write a thorough recovery plan for someone else to follow :D

Cheers to the chicks, I have to hit the sack - I'm already about an hour late. Night all...

SHAD YOU CAN SAVE THE FISH FOR YOUR FRIENDS AND I'LL EAT THE DIP AND BISCUITS! SORRY THE FINGERS ARE BEING WORN DOWN TO THE BONE. DOESN'T ANYONE DO WORK OVER THERE BESIDES YOURSELF?? HAVE A SAFE TRIP!!

HAPPY~ I HEAR YA ON THE PILLS. I TRIED GETTING OFF THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES AND BECAME STIFF AS A BOARD AND LOTS OF PAIN. THE STIFF MIGHT BE GOOD FOR A MAN BUT NOT FOR MELLIE! :rofl: GOOD LUCK IN MORNING! SOMETIMES I THINK THE BUNKER STUFF IS NOT TO BE WORRIED ABOUT. IF WE HAVE A SERIOUS "HIT" WE WILL ALL BE TOAST ANYWAY!! BENDING OVER AND KISSING OUR ASSES GOOD BYE.
BUT JUST IN CASE.....MAKE A PLAN FOR ME :rofl:

NOTHING TO DO TODAY AND THAT'S OK BY ME.
GOING TO BE COLD AND WINDY SO I AM HUNKERING DOWN AND ALREADY STARTED TO WARM THE HOUSE UP.
ONE MINUTE I AM IN LIGHTWEIGHT CLOTHING AND THE NEXT TRYING TO RIDE AROUND WITH AN ELECTRIC BLANKET GOING FROM PLUG TO PLUG:lol3: STRANGE.
HAPPY HUMP DAY AND MAY THE SUN SHINE UPON ALL YOU CHICKS AS WELL :sunny:

The new avatar was from a site that had Japanese art. Thought it was appropriate and keeping with Carla's themed avatar. Sunday is a calico, Shad? How pretty! My cats are black and white. We always joke that is because we couldn't afford colour when we got them.

I find it funny that though we are half way around the world from each other so many of us are working on the same sorts of projects. I've been having long rambling arguments over the Disaster Recovery Plan with our tech support people. They wouldn't let the project write the document and now they won't agree with me when I point out that some of their information is, umm, somewhat incorrect. But then what do I know? I'm just a contractor. And a writer. As for QRG's, I was tooling around on my employers site and I found a QRG I wrote for the last project I worked on for them. It's funny, because when I wrote it it was based on what the developers told me the system was going to do. I left the project before the product launched (delayed), so gosh, I hope someone actually tested that the system ended up doing what I said it would. This is the problem with new products is that users clamor for things like Quick ref guides and training material long before the product is even finished (and rightly so, since they do need time to train). I cannot tell you the number of times I am essentially writing fiction. Of course, lots of people think they can write so it could be the material really does just suck :lol:

Happy~ Good luck at the doctor's. I know what you mean about the medication issue. Hope they can suggest something. My Dr. has me on these uber-anti-inflammatories and, though it is nice to be able to walk without pain, I worry about the side affects.

Shad~ Hopefully having a nice dinner with people will help you detox from the silliness of the project. Soon at least you will be home in your own bed, away from it all. If it has hit the fan, maybe we should all pitch in and send you a raincoat? BTW I'll take Mel's share of your fish.

Mel~ the image of you zooming from plug to plug makes me laugh! Maybe just one really long extension cord? Or a portable generator for your blankie? Stay warm my little friend. It's getting chilly here too.

Ok, I don't have time to go back more than this page if I hope to post anything today. My love to all the other worldly chickies. I hope all those in cold climates stay warm and all those in the tropics stay cool.

Thanks for the laughs today.

My third day of no binges is drawing to a close. Tomorrow is weigh in at the gym.

I have no idea what an ORG is.

Shad--:wave: your egglight is on.

Difficult to stay cool when the rain is lashing down, the temp is 34C and the humidity is sky high (oh no dreadful pun), however one copes, one just doesn't necessarily ever feel dry. Everything that is paper feels damp. Clothes never seem to dry properly in the dryer, one puts them back and bakes them until they are crisp. But it is January and it is the tropics and as the natives would say, if ya don like it, go bark to ware you cum from! Heat ru - ules! :rain:
Here we write the QRG, test it, give it to the gods to approve, the User Acceptance Testing team use it, they pass it. It goes into the workbook and THEN they change the rules. I (am I always going to be this stupid) thought that once the blueprint was signed off that was it as far as changes and innovations goes - silly me :frypan: :dizzy: :rofl:

Mel, hope you enjoyed the dip and bick (aussie slang for biscuits) - you had sun dried tomato pesto, normal pesto and olive tapenade. :hun:

I gave the last of the fish pie to Zen and Marissa for their lunch today, they were happy. It wasn't too bad if I say so myself and apart from the extravagance of butter in the mash and sauce it was fairly low fat as well. So not too much damage was done. Oh and the :cheese: of course. The fresh fruit and yoghurt went down well and the last of that I gave to our receptionist for her breakfast because she was moaning about going out in the rain to get a :cbg: !!!! Why is she so skinny???

Happy, I am not getting in a tizz anymore about the amount left to do. I think we will just do as much as we can, correct it, look at the courses and do as the company asks - Delta courses. We will take the brunt of the general working population on the chin when we find that they can not do what is expected of them now because of lack of training. I can't hold the world of Mining SAP on my shoulders all the time. :fr:

The tfg has earned the ire of the financial accountant on the project. :dizzy: They are no longer getting along. He wants to come and sit with us in the training team room. We are resisting, even the guys with whom he sees socially! Oh dear. And he is not well again. Poor soul (give me a break, I've never met anyone who is so happy being unwell)! :?: What he needs is a good.......... :devil: well never mind what he needs, I could do it myself with a blunt knife. Oh and the funny of the week. tfg was out with one of my roosters having a meal (don't ask me who paid!) and they met up with this girl. Well both tfg and the rooster took more than a passing fancy to the lady. The rooster won out. (She may have more than half a brain) Last night the wee rooster wined and dined her in his apartment. He borrowed candles from me and a few flowers and bits and pieces that I and the others had around the place - and here's the crux of the matter. He is not yet come to work. :mag: Maybe the vichysoisse (sp) worked!!!! He is also the one whose apartment leaks and the rain falls in the middle of his bed! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: We wonder what he is up to!!!! :yikes:

Anyway with that, I'd better go. I'll be back with tales of the rooster later.

I may not be able to catch up until Sunday!!!

HI!!! So tired right now but too wound to sleep quite yet.. I have gotten an upset tummy two nights in a row, dont know if it is nerves, the new meds or a bug.Queasy. Yuck.
Just home from a Avon sales meeting in a town a 1/2 hour from here. Flurries while driving.Just in time to kiss my babies good night. Hubby just went up to bed.

The new job is stellar. Love it. Love J. She told me today I was totally cool. I was like, no, you are. We laughed. Did 7 cuts.Great for a first day. All walk ins. She is steady/busy. Great too. I have my networking meeting in the morning at 8:15. K comes at 8 to put the kids on the bus.After school they go to the sitter. I will be home between 10-11:30am. Gonna put a roast in the slow cooker with potatoes and carrots.Go to work from 12pm-7/8pm.
I have so many calls and emails to follow up on for Avon I cant possibly do it in only 1.5 hours. I need to come up with definite “office” time. Probably Mon and Tues.Need to be better organized for next week.
All in all tho it is pretty darn cool. Loved being at the shop and cutting hair, chatting with folks.
And we have a shop mascot ;a 12 week old Yorkie-Poo puppy named Harley. So when I am not working I can snuggle a sweet little puppy. Haven’t told DD yet. She will be way jealous.

Must go get horizontal and watch some Idol.

Hi all,

Going to be another quick late night post for me. Very busy day tomorrow starting early and ending late. Early start in the morning around 6:30 or 7 to get some documentation wrapped up. Have to take 2 online classes to prep for my fun afternoon of system testing. I'm supposed to go out with a friend to dinner and a movie - right now all I want to do is crash so dinner and a movie doesn't sound all that great, but I did promise. And we're going to see a chick flick which I don't get to see too often.

I did manage to make some inroads around the house tonight - cleaned up 2 big hot spot areas, dusted 2 rooms, did 2 loads of laundry, made dinner, got the dishes done, had a huge long, long conversation with DH on many various things - who said married couples don't talk any more? :lol: It's a good feeling to get things in order. And I owe most of it to making a list and not spending so much time in front of the computer!

DH vacumned and took the trash out. Teamwork helps. I did want to try and get to bed an hour ago, but that was before DH started talking. Just wanted to pop in and say hi - I might not be back until Friday. Enjoy... and stay out of trouble :devil:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ca/balloon.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ple-waving.gif

Had left over chocolate pudding that the kids weren't eating so I made it into a chocolate cake. Pink icing and heart sprinkles ;) Saw a program on tv where they were fattening up a lady to be married, an arranged marriage and the groom's family insisted she be plump or they weren't going for it. The dowry included cows, a double bed, suitcase, clock and some milk urns of some sort. The poor woman had to eat every hour and lay down on the bed so as not to burn any calories. Funny old world isn't it?

I'm going to start counting Thursdays as my free day.

Holly--Thought about you today while I got my hair cut.

Called my aunt and uncle to check on them. They've both have been sick.
I'll be going to Paragould tomorrow.

Had to call my ISP to get on line today. Luckily he did it over the phone.

Didn't go to the gym today but exercise at home. 20 minutes on the stamina bike and 20 minutes doing upper body. I will weigh in tomorrow at home.
I took measurements last week but can't find them so I've done that again today. I'm going to make an early start in the morning for lower body work out at the gym.

Happy-- Have fun tomorrow night. We all need a night out on the town.

**** to Madcat, Shad and Mel Everyone stay healthy.

Hi Meadow--Your chocolate cake sounds good.

Afternoon all,
Guess what honey's?? I'mmmmmmm hooooooome
It's sticky and steamy down here too and the sky is getting blacker by the minute. Seems like we might get a bit of a storm maybe. They have had a fair amount of rain here over the past week, not enough to break the drought and none of it has fallen in the catchment areas but the gardens are definitely lovin' it.

Holly - job sounds good. Don't try to be perfect in the house. None of the others are and if they want something bad enough they can get it for themselves. Glad you are enjoying the work tho'

Meadow - that chocolate cake sounds like food porn to me. Glad I am not fussy about chocolate. On the flight home last night there was a little choc bar on the meal tray. I ate the dinner (actually wasn't too bad for a change - at least I knew it was chicken. Anyway I left the bar and the bread and butter (yes real butter - that was another first) and the hostie asked if I wanted to keep it for later and was astounded when I said I don't eat chocolate (at least very rarely) So she has it in her pocket for supper. The man next door didn't eat his either. The bloke over the back just wanted to drink beer and got grumpy when they refused to serve him anymore! All in all an interesting flight. Mayb I should sit down the back more often!!
Fancy being fattemed up like a goose for foie gras. Yuk.

Better go do some filing, and some cleaning in the kitchen. Dinner calls soon. Steak, wok veg and salad. Should be alright.

Mel - if you are reading this, I'll ring Sunday am my time to see how you are.

SHAD~ I WILL BE HERE SAT AFTERNOON WITH COMPUTER OFF!! RRFN

:wave: to the rest. i cannot really read or scroll without feeling nauseous. vertigo started again with the mall shopping spree. be back over the weekend. maybe sunday/monday. went food shopping with jen and had to leave, come home and get into bed. thank god for willy. ttfn

Good morning ladies,

Sorry to hear that you are feeling all wonky as Holly would call it Mel. Take it easy and I hope you will be chipper again soon. I'm glad that Willy is keeping an eye on you - always good to have a friend around :hug:

Welcome home Shad. Good to hear you're getting a little rain. Isn't it funny how the poor garden can hold it's own in the drought and even just a smidge of rain can perk things up tremendously? I look at the torrential rains we get here and marvel at how things can be so different from one place to the next. Enjoy your weekend home.

Ceejay - must have been something in the air yesterday with the internet - our cable internet connection went out too. I missed having my coffee and catching up with everyone. Safe trip to Paragould this weekend.

Meadow, hard to believe that there is still a country on this earth that equates weight with wealth. Did her dowry depend on how much she weighed? ie. they put her on a scale and the groom's family has to give the bride's family her weight in goats or something? :dizzy:

Madcat, I hear you about the concern for the anti-inflamatories. I tried to wean off of them and the intense pain flared within 3 days. Don't like being on anything for the rest of my life. Doc doesn't seem too concerned. Run blood tests and monitor they say. The docs are very caring down here but sometimes I wonder if they are a bit country doctor. Of course compare that to Chicago where they are very clinical but sometimes a bit cold in the bedside manner.

I had a nice dinner with my friend last night - chicken "Oscar" - tender chicken breast topped with baby asparagus and crab meat chunks with a light but delicious sprinkle of lemon butter. Add some fresh brocolli, a bit of mashed potatos and a nice salad from the salad bar. :T I ate half and the rest will be my lunch today.

We also had a good talk. I didn't realize I needed to get a lot off my chest. She said she sees me go in cycles. Mostly I'm happy but then I hit a skid and the dark mood and frustration builds. Said I should journal my feelings so that I could see "it" coming and avoid the big blow up. Sometimes I wonder if I've gone bonkers. Doesn't ANYONE follow the rules, have manners or do the right thing any more? As a society I think we are rapidly deteriorating. DH says you just have to shrug it off but cripes, it's everywhere I turn, always in my face - when you're constantly bombarded it's hard to ignore it. She did assure me that I'm NOT turning into a crabby old goat (YET but there IS possibility :lol: ) I think you're right Ceejay - every one needs a night out occasionally.

Busy is going to be the keyword for the next week and a half. So much to do at work and I have many things on the homefront to tackle. Have to stay focused. The more I have to do, the more the 2 year old in my brain looks for distractions to sway me from my intended course :rofl:

Have a good weekend everyone. Hi to Holly and Carla the rest of the gang.