Hey guys, good Sunday Morning. I've been enjoying my weekend off after a LONG work week. Spent yesterday with my friend and helped her with some laundry and then watched a DVD. I left after she ran out of steam and was starting to feel some pain. It's odd that being with someone who living under such difficult circumstances can be such a positive experience. She really is amazing.

Ruth~ Have a terrific trip! Getting a new contractor will probably really cut the stress out of the reno.

Happy~ I learned tech writing from doing it, but did actually get a college diploma through night school to legitimize my experience when I was ready to officially switch careers. But I have to admit I didn’t learn much that I didn’t know in college. I know that more universities and colleges are offering courses so there are probably some good ones out there. As most things, it will depend on who is teaching. Tech writing is a lot more about organizing information and presenting it in a logical manner than it is about grammar and spelling. I’m not sure thinking can be taught.

Rennie~ I suspect that our parent’s generation probably said the same thing about us when we were at their age. :lol: And I wasn’t the child of hippies, as both my parents were born in the 20s. They were never my “best friends”, they were my parents. I agree with Happy that raising kids to think the world is a peachy place and everyone is great probably is setting these kids up for some sort of fall when the real world hits.

Ceejay~ I agree with Shad. You should get the degree just for the fun of it - plus it’s probably a good career move. Learning makes life interesting.

Shad~ Do you think threats of physical violence will keep your agent in line? Cool. It sounds as if the organization pulls its procedures out of their hat. Maybe they have one of those big game wheels that they spin each morning to see how they will do business today. You must be counting the days. Have fun on the whirlwind tour of Australia. Thanks for the Mel update.

Holly~ Some one is obviously starting early on the Christmas thing. :lol: I heard the first Christmas carols in the mall this week.

Ok, I have to go and call my Mom (speaking of parenting) and find out what the cats are up to. At some point I have to get a shower in. I was going to go to the gym, but now the morning has slipped away. I have some more cleaning to do. Everyone have a good day.

The family has departed. It was a fabulous day. My meal was perfect. I am a great hostess, LOL! Much joviality ensued. We grazed on dessert and munchies and wine/ beer all afternoon ,after dinner at 1pm. The house is still clean and the dishes are done!! Yippee!!!!! We will have turkey on home made buns before bed.
Kids need baths. I LOVE my husbands family. Particularly DSIL and all my nieces and nephews. My kids are the youngest by many years so completely hero worship the big kids, who are all teenagers now.

I am going to put my jammies on and put my feet up. I have been going full steam ahead for 12 hours. I think there is some wine left too. mmmmmmmm

So we are done with Christmas now until we have a party here Dec 15th and then Christmas day at my sisters.
I have 3 big Avon events in the next 10 days.

Nice to catch up with you all HUGS!!!!!!!!

Mornin' kids,

My favorite work week ahead - a SHORT one :dance: Thanksgiving this week - 4 day weekend. Groceries are purchased. It will be a traditional turkey dinner after all.

Though I did stumble upon something on the weekend called The Abs Diet. Once again the concept of specific power foods like almonds, oatmeal, green vegetables, etc. It's a way of eating more than a specific diet - something I can deal with. Back to the protein smoothies in the morning - I've been skipping breakfast or eating a bad one on the run lately. Cherry Vanilla smoothie this morning. Orange Dreamsicle tomorrow. :T

Shad - thanks for the update on Mel. Poor woman. Both eyes. Oh my. :hug: Sounds like you are going to be a rambling and roving woman in the days ahead. Safe travels and the end of the year (as well as the end of your stint on the project) is soon ahead. Just keep hoping it goes fast. I guess your work environment is indeed much more multicultural than ours. :lol:

Thanks for the info Madcat - it is the organizational and arranging techniques that the boss wants the other person exposed to. I will just have to keep looking. Call your mom to check on the cats????? Did you lend your cats out or did Carla sneak hers off to your mother's? :lol:

Gotta run. I'm supposed to leave the house in 35 minutes to get to work early. Like THAT'S gonna happen :no:

Happy
You are getting to be an early bird. I want the dreamsicle smoothie recipe, please. Sounds good.

Mel--Hugs to you. Feel better soon.

Holly
I'm so happy things went well with your in laws. You deserve to put your feet up for awhile.

Rennie
Have you thought of wearing a pedometer? You'd be suprised at the amount of steps, miles you get in during one day.

I threw my scale away this past week. It had bit the dust. I weighed in this morning on the scale at work and I'm down another pound. 179.4.

More later.

Rennie - regarding the pedometer. Get one. It's cheap - like less than 10 bucks at Walfart. I think you'd be surprised that you aren't walking nearly as much as you think you are. I say this from experience - mine and other people's. Many a time we walked the zoo for 4 or 5 hours and thought for sure we'd covered a bunch of miles but were disappointed it was nowhere near what we thought. And the nice thing about the pedometer is that sometimes you challenge yourself just to do a bit more which is always a good thing.

Unless you have a job walking the plant like Ceejay well then ... job done. :D

:congrats: on being another pound down Ceejay.

The cherry vanilla smoothie was tasty but I put too much ice in so it was more of a slushie/ice cream headache thing. I did one scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 cup LF vanilla yogurt, 1 scoop ground flax seeds, 1 cup room temp water (or you could use LF milk) 1 cup ice cubes and 1/2 cup frozen pitted dark, sweet cherries.

Because I am trying to cut back with my food, of course I am ravenous today. :rolleyes:

I did get a packet of the orange dreamsicle protein powder to try but otherwise to do the dreamsicle I'd do 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 container Yoplait LF Orange Dreamsicle Yogurt, flaxseed, water and ice as above. You can also add 1 tablespoon of frozen orange juice concentrate for extra orange flavor. These make 2 servings, I'm glad I have DH to push the rest off on. Haven't quite figured out how to make just one, 8 oz serving yet.

Morning chicks,

Just checking in. It's getting pretty quiet around here - everyone must have gone out of town :lol:

I'm just trying to get through the next 2 days to get to the long weekend. :dance: As much as I hate to think about it, Christmas will be upon us snap, crackle, pop. I used to love Christmas. Now it seems like just another intrusion. And admittedly, it's hard to feel in the spririt listening to music when the leaves are all colored and gorgeous and it's 70 degrees out. Feels more like the end of September.

Off to work now. Have a good day.

A POST FROM SHAD AND MOM:

SHAD:Morning all,
Well it is still morning and a bloody long morning it has been too. Up at 3.00 this morning to catch the cab to the airport and then some coffee in the club lounge and some muesli and then onto the plane. Put my stuff up in the rack fell into the seat and slept through the entire journey. Only woke up when the hostie announced it was time to fasten seat belts. I have a suitcase packed for Karratha and one for Brisbane and I was going to leave the Brisbane one in the luggage lockers only to find they are not where I thought they would be so I ended up bringing both. Loads of stuff to carry as well, began to resemble a pack mule. Got to Karratha - its nice and warm up here and a swarm of flies attacked. It's like everyone has this affliction - sporadic waving of the arms to chase away the little blighters. It's apparently called the great Australian salute. They are really bad.

Other than that not a lot else to report. Can't get in to read anything - you are still pornographic. I'll be back when and where I can.
Thanks Mel and Jen

MOM: Mom is taking antibiotics this week. The eyes look much better to me. They feel better to her. S Maybe she will be back next week. Mom went food shopping last Tuesday and it wasn't a good idea. One eye got worse in the wind even with wraparound style glasses on. So no more going out just this week. It's almost over now.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving from all of us to all of you.
Mel & Jen

Jen and Mel
Jen thanks for the update on Mel. And for taking care of her.

Happy
I didn't think that we would even have the color of fall but it has been gorgous here also. It seems every tree in town has color. I'm about to be a scrouge at Christmas time and hide from it all. Thanks for the smoothie recipe.

Rennie
There was something I was going to mention but it's slipped my mind.

I'm getting excited. My sister is almost here. She called a few minutes ago from Jonesboro, AR., to ask for more specific directions.

I have litterally enjoyed my day off today. I'll have 160 hours (4 weeks)to play with next year and I'm going to use them.

I've contacted sautech about taking internet classes in 2008 and yes they have them. I'll probably schedule one for February. The first one starts January 1, and I'm just not that excited about starting at that time. I'll be taking a 24 hour class to get all my hours in at one time. I may have to have 12 hours worth of meetings and 12 hours worth of class room hours. I'll double check.

If your are planning a trip out of town, be careful.

Hello Ladies,

I know I have not posted as much as I wanted to, but with work, Holidays and maybe a new guy in my life, time just passes by. I'm still working out in the morning though. I realized if it wasn't for my morning workouts, I would be soo much more stressed than I am.

Wishing those who celebrate Thanksgiving a Happy Thanksgiving.

I'm thankful for all the friendships I have met on this site. Thank you Shad for inviting me to meet all your friends.

:turkey: :turkey: :turkey: :happ3: :turkey: :turkey: :turkey:
To my sisters to the south: Have an excellent and safe holiday!! Think kind thoughts of those of us who are working diligently away.

Evening all,
Yep, it is me. I'm sitting in the Qantas Club lounge with a vodka and tonic and waiting patiently for my long flight to Brisbane. I should get in at 6.00am Friday morning.
Karratha was hot humid and laden with flies. I have never seen anything so bad. It was absolutely horrid. The company dished out hard hats with flyscreen around them to try to help those who were unfortunate enough to work outside. I was nearly beserk with the things. I hate them on my face, I hate them anywhere actually but it is no fun to have your arms full of paperwork and the flies attacking your face and trying to get up your nose, in your ears and eyes and the minute you opened your mouth they wanted in there too. I really can't stress how bad it was.

Darn, pushed the wrong button.

Hope Ruth is having a good time with the DD and the daddy Christmas with the skinny legs! Haven't been to check up on her site yet but I will.

Happy - thanks for the e-mail. It's really a huge pain not being able to go to the site at work. Can't think what they think they are playing at. Hope they sort it out soon but...... don't put money on it.
The smoothies in the mornings sound so good. Nothing like getting the daily calcium in early.

Holly - good to hear you are on the mend again and life is looking up. So glad that Christmas was such a success. It's so good when families get on. Had a text message from the Dniece yesterday - she wants to catch up when I get home. I replied with my standard 3 word answer and before I could shut the phone, she's back with more questions. That girl can text at the speed of light. Anyway, seems she has organised a family breakfast for Sunday morning. Good oh.

Mel/ Jen - thanks so much for looking after my ramblings. I will be home for the weekend so will be able to get in from there okay.
Mel I hope you haven't been over doing it again. Time for your rest - off you go and don't answer back please! Else I might have to go pornographic again.

Rennie, congrats on the 2lbs down. You are on a roll. Hope the knee is feeling better now.

Madcat - sometimes folk like your friend are the most inspirational folk around. They have some much to bear and yet find so much to give. Long may she be the way she is today. If she can't get better, here's to not getting any worse.

Ceejay - sounds like you are going to have a wild time with the family. It's nice to hear. I hope you do decide on the degree. It will do wonderous things for your ego.

Okay, so what else is new? Not a lot. Can't think what might be fun. The accountant rang to say that she has sent my return to the house and I should be getting something like $4000 back this year. Yippee, some more to the travel fund! I've been emailing Chris in Japan who is feeling fine if somewhat cool and if I finish here in good time and don't have to go someplace else immediately, I am going up there we are going to pack her stuff in early February. I don't think the agent was impressed with the parts of his anatomy that I was about to lop! I haven't heard from him since. I've had an argument with the super ego on the Karratha plant and apparently I am deliberately obtuse - nice words - about what he thinks I should do with the training. Unfortunately his brand of charm doesn't do much for me, and I watch with amazement as people succumb to his bullying - there really isn't much else to say about it. All I can say is that the company is in the state it is in because there are too many around like that one. He wants to change all the training material around - could it be done he asks me. No says I. No what he said, no thank you said I (deliberately obtuse - who me!!). No it can't or no you won't, he asks.
My answer is quite simple. We created the documentation as per specification from the BPT team working on the project. The doco has been passed by the project and signed off by the business - why should I want to change it. End of story!!!
My boss rang me to congratulate me on being the one female who stood up to MH. Not hard I said, I'm allergic to egos. I was also congratulated by the business project owner - not that he stands up to the buzzard either.

Okay - to all my American friends - have a wonderful Thanksgiving if I don't get back before the actual day - since I don't know when it actually is. Don't eat too much, or drink too much or do anything silly. We need you back here on deck first thing in the morning - OKAY???

Not only were the flies bad, they simply didn't recognise the insect repellent I poured over myself every morning - eau de Karratha. They thought it was some sort of novelty stuff.
They caused an accident today - I was carrying the above mentioned load of paper work in plastic envelope type files and I had a face full of them. I swiped at them with the envelopes and one caught me on the upper lip and split it. I just made inside the door before dropping the envelopes and mopping up the blood before it dripped all over my tee shirt. Just call me Angelina Jolie - we have the same size upper lip!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to the SHE'S south of the border.
Hello Shad. You should soon be home and scratching Sunday behind the ears.

HUGS!!!!

Morning chicks,

:happ3: to those of us in the states. (It is / was Thursday Shad - you pretty much missed it :lol: ). It's a chilly one here - was 70 degrees yesterday, got some big time storms yesterday evening which brought in a cold front and it will only be a chilly high of 49 today. Brrr. But at least we don't have snow like my family up north. Debating if I want to cook the turkey on the grill or just pop it in the oven inside. I was watching the Biggest Loser show this week and one of the trivia pop ups they did was that a large scoop of canned cranberry sauce had the equivalent sugar of 8 donuts :yikes: Not that I eat a large scoop but I do like the stuff. I will have to go an do a measure of a right sized portion just to see the numbers. We only get fresh cranberries this time of year and I'm the only one who eats them so I don't think I want to fuss with making fresh relish just for me. We had a pot luck Thanksgiving celebration lunch at work last Friday where the company supplied the ham and turkey and everyone else brought a dish from home. One girl made this fabulous pineapple casserole that everyone loved. She gave me the recipe and I'm going to make a small dish of it today. I'm not a big pineapple person but fruit based dishes seem to go so well with poultry. I'm also making my mom's recipe for home made dressing/stuffing. I love her recipe - again something I only eat once or twice a year. Nothing too terrible on the food side - I have an appointment with my general doctor next Thursday and I have gained some weight since I last saw her so I'm going to get the big :nono: So I'm trying to be good. Looking forward to 4 days off to - well 3 and a half now as I've twiddled the morning away. I can't decide if I want to face the horrid crowds and get my Christmas shopping done early, or put up the Christmas decorations (best chance to get them done early enough to make it worthwhile if I do it this weekend). Then again I have been promising myself that I will clean out boxes in the garage this weekend too. So many things to chose from :lol:

Rennie - seems like you've found a reasonable compromise to work with the knee. I found as we hit the colder weather, the joints seem to complain a bit more so you have to jump on the good days and scale back if need be. The important thing is that you are doing something daily as you say.

Hi Holly, what are you up to? I get it now - you have Christmas so early because the in-laws are gone when it really comes around on the calendar.

Shad - OMG - those flies. Ugh. Just like out of a horror movie. So sorry you got a big lip. Take care of that so it doesn't get nasty. Poor thing :hug: I'm glad you stood up to the big guy - wished I was a fly on the wall to observe so I could fall down laughing at someone FINALLY giving him a come uppance :rofl: Enjoy your time at home. That was nice of the niece to put together a little gathering. Are you going to be home for the holidays for a bit? That's nice of you to go an help Chris out. Will it be easier to see her in NZ or no diff as when she was in Japan? A flight is a flight is a flight?

Madcat and Carla - kind thoughts to you who are slaving away at work the next 2 days. We will do some work too - just to be supportive. Carla are you out hiking in the snows? Madcat - although you don't want those circumstances to happen to anyone you care about, what a great inspiration your friend is - not just to you but also when I hear about someone like that I also feel it's time to put the whiney stick down and put on my big girl pants. Hope you Canadians are all doing well. Is Ruth down here again or is she off in the wilds again? I know she's travelling somewhere.

Patty - thanks for stopping by. What's this trying to slip by - a new guy? How exciting!

Ceejay - hope you enjoy your visit with your sister. Gosh - hope she made it through the storms ok - they were pretty nasty yesterday.

Mel and Jen - happy Thanksgiving to you. Stay warm and DON'T ANSWER THE DOOR OR THE PHONE (well unless it's us of course :lol: ) Hope you're on the mend Mel - we sure do miss you.

Well - I have lots of stuff to prep so I'd better get moving. Happy Thanksgiving to some of us and Happy Thursday almost the Weekend to the rest of the chicks!

Morning all,
I made it - flew through the night to Brisbane and got met by the son and then came home. Plenty of work to do here too, but it is physical and not mental or stressfull in any way. I can do this. It's cooler over here and thankfully not too many flies so I can relax somewhat.

Yeah Patty - whats this about a new bloke??? We need to know. Don't let us know about new blokes unless you are prepared to describe and inform. Poor Nae gets the third degree every time she comes in to post.
Glad to hear that you are continuing with the exercise. I'm just starting back on it. Got time now. I'm not working 16 hour days anymore.

Happy - we are getting an American version of the Biggest Loser at the moment. I don't know how current it is. There are three teams, Blue, Red and Black - Jillian Michaels is coaching the Blacks and dear old Bob the Blues. Don't know who the chick with the Reds is but it has consistently lost the weigh ins for the past two weeks. I shall have to watch tonight to see what happens next. Boy there are some big people in there!!! One bloke lost 30lbs in one week and you can't even see where it went!

Well I think I should go and give Sunday that scratch. We are following the leader here. I've got an appointment at the Doc's at 11.00 - well that is when they think it will be! He won't be happy with me. I know the BP is up, I know that I am not as trim as I was although the weight hasn't changed that much. Just redistributed. Aaah well.

So I'll be back later to see whats going on!

Good morning chicks,

Sure is cold here this morning - just a few degrees off of freezing. Glad I was not one of those crazies up at 3:30am waiting in line in front of the stores. I'm sure many of them get in line to buy the stuff and then sell it on e-bay for a tidy profit. No way would I be outside waiting in front of a store at 4am - even WITH my gun :rolleyes: I think it's getting a little ridiculous with the day after Thanksgiving shopping day - I'm sure the store employees don't appreciate it much either.

Had a nice turkey day. Didn't stuff my plate - a bit of this and a bit of that. We ate at 3pm too - I didn't have breakfast and we were still full at supper time so only ate once yesterday and I never did get around to making dessert so those calories weren't wasted. I figure I spent at least 6 hours in the kitchen yesterday between prepping, cooking, eating and for some reason I had a huge load of dishes and pans - took me over an hour to clean up and DH helped! And there were just 2 of us !!! I spoke with my sister on the phone - her family is all sick so they did not attend the family dinner. She said this year she was making some of HER favorites. I had to laugh because I was too. Made my mom's dressing that I love, a green bean casserole that I hardly ever get to have as well as this delicious pineapple dish I had last week at our luncheon at work. The casserole has crushed pineapple, a sugar and flour mixture, cheddar cheese, crushed Ritz crackers (butter bisquits Shad) and some melted butter poured on top then baked in the oven for 30 minutes. It's soooo good :T DH said this is good but the kind of stuff that goes right to your waist. I said yes, it's not diet friendly BUT it's an accompaniment - you don't eat a whopping cup full - just a spoonful to compliment the turkey every few bites or so. Ohhhh he says.

Then last night at 9pm he said - let's go for a walk. It's dark, it's cold. My first instinct was NOW? NOW? :yikes: But then it was like what dah heck, I can do this. We started walking down the street and there was this lady who has a small moose of a dog who was walking down the street. She walks the dog when it's dark and lets the dog sniff and do his business all over the yards. We have found Godzilla sized turds on our lawn that we suspect are from this dog as DH has seen the dog squat and do his business on lawns across the street from us. We walked behind her for a while and when she would stop, we would stop. We were trying to find out where she lived because we can send a letter to the town and they will send her a warning letter reminding her that we have leash laws (although the dog is on a leash) AND you are REQUIRED to pick up any solid waste your pup makes (which she isn't doing). I certainly don't mind anyone walking around the area but I am tired of these lazy people who walk their dogs at night and let them go on other people's property because they are too lazy to pick up after their own animal or clean their own yard. We did by the way find out where the culprit lives - clear across the subdivision. When we got home I was thinking we should make this walk a habit - tho maybe not so late at night.

Still have 3 days ahead of me to get things done. Doing laundry now. Going to have a second coffee and peek at the sale flyers in the papers tho I don't think I want to really go out to the stores. Guess I'll make a list, close my eyes and point at something and that's what I'll do :lol:

Shad - the Biggest Loser show you have on is the begginning of the current season's show we have on right now. For once you guys are in sync with us. Lot of drama in that season. Too much for me. I think they have gotten away from the inspirational part of the show and gotten too cheesy. The shows have been 2 hours lately - they tend to go to commercial and then come back and replay the same scenes they showed just before the commercial break as well as blatant product endorsement (isn't that what the commercials were for???). I may skip the next few episodes and just watch the finale to see what people look like. They certainly don't seem to be having as dramatic a weight loss as in prior seasons. Well the boys do, the girls don't. Except for one Korean girl who lost 88 pounds and is tiny now. But she was the most inspirational, driven, focused girl they have EVER had on the show. It was just wrong that she got booted off as a threat but then again, that's why it's not worth watching reality shows. Except for the Amazing Race where the nature of the show is such that you can't manipulate how things go very much. It's skill and luck in that show.

Anyway I have rambled too much and my coffee cup is empty. I'd better go look at that newspaper I made DH go out specifically for and buy before I hear about it :coach:

Have a good weekend ladies...

I agree Rennie - best thing about all those long hours in the kitchen is that for the next few days, at least all we have to do to cook is warm it up!

I hate Christmas shopping. Don't know what to get anyone. I'd rather clean the house and so I will... :mad:

Clean house - Christmas shopping! Clean house - Christmas shopping? Don't worry about me, just trying to make up my mind here. Think I will stick to packing the house up and leave both of the others for later. Glad to hear that you had a good Thanksgiving and that you didn't overdue it.

Happy that pineapple recipe sounded like pineapple crumble until you got to the cheese! I'm not a pineapple fan (crikey don't let them up the road a bit hear me say that. I live in pineapple growing territory). So I'll pass on the pineapple and go for the cranberry - which I love with any kind of poultry. Why were the crazies up and shopping at 3.00am? Aaah I guess it is like the January sales here! One thing on the real bargain list and all the others you could have bought elsewhere for around the same price.

Rennie - did you get the family around and did you solve the dilemma with the sleeping arrangements? At least you have the food for the week sorted - that has to be a bonus. Hows the knee.

Went to the doctor yesterday - how are you he said. All puffy I said, need some more fluid tablets. Well that's all you ever come to see me for he said so I knew why you were here. Lets have a look at the puffy.
I explained aeroplanes and the like and that I had had a couple of colds recently and he told me that anyone flying around the world like I did deserved a couple of colds and puffy ankles. Apparently we are only meant to fly when the good lord gives us our wings!!! Actually he isn't that bad and normally he is only trying to get me to do something I don't want to do when he says things like that - and all that aside, he doesn't like to leave the State of Queensland. He is not what one calls a traveller.
I told him that I was willing to bet the BP was up, the weight was up and the ankles were up. Only one of the above was true. The BP is perfect, the weight is static and the ankles are definitely puffy. However, isn't there always a but or however???? I do need to do blood tests for sugar, cholesterol etc. Which I will do when I come back in January but he expects them to be as perfect as usual as well. Jeez when did I ever get so damn good?? He must have had some bad news guys in before me.

I watched part of the biggest loser last night - actually I slept through most of it and then watched the weigh in and elimination - they voted the older guy off the blue team which I thought was fairly silly - but hey, not my decision - he was a bit of a pain in *** type. Anyway he has gone on to lose 88lbs and looks good on it! Just goes to show. They are not losing much at the moment - 2 to 3lb a time. Which is probably quite sensible, just not usual BL style.

Okay, so the plan for the day is to clear, clean and pack some more boxes for the DS2 to take to the shed. Get shot of a lot of junk we don't need. Find the missing tax files I sent to the Accountant and re fax them. The accountant can't find them although the receptionist told me last May they were there, get some more kittycat biscuits for Sundays who is complaining loud and long that I am starving her! and generally do a whirlwind tour of the relatives and friends. So with the coffee finished and the toast eaten, there isn't much more of an excuse not to start is there?

Catch you all later.

Shad - yes, I remember you are not a pineapple fan. First time you visited, DH was all set to show off his mega amazing, isn't it the best thing you EVER tasted, pineapple rings on the grill - and you said politely, no thanks - I don't like pineapple :rofl: The only time I would eat pineapple was with cottage cheese and that's because that's how my mom introduced me to it. Like turkey, green peppers, spinach and other assorted foods, I have learned to start eating the things that are healthy options. And since they came out with the sweeter, gold pineapple - I don't mind a bit of it here and there. I always have cranberry sauce so I'm glad you told me. I do prefer the cranberry orange relish they have this time of year. I was horrified to see on the Biggest Loser show that 1 large scoop of the canned stuff (tho I only eat a slice of it) has as much sugar as 8 doughnuts. :yikes: Just when you think you're doing something good, they pull the rug out from under you. And at our age, you have to expect that they will be running tests on this, that and the next thing. Maybe it's because they can't beleive the first round of your tests came out so good that they will do it again just to make sure it's not a fluke :rofl:

I got a short email from Mel. She is being a good girl and sitting quietly while the body gets back in rhythm again. She hopes to be back here soon and says hello :grouphug:

Well Rennie - you should know that those of us who gnash our teeth and ring our hands at the idea of holiday shopping just HATE to hear you cheerful lot that gleefully announce that you're finished all your Christmas shopping by the end of September :p :lol: There's several reasons I don't shop early - 1) I don't know what to get people, 2) if I do see something before November I forget that I can get this for them for Christmas, 3) If I find something I'm really excited about giving someone - I want to give it to them IMMEDIATELY and not wait 2 to 3 months, 4) If I shop too early I forget where I stashed the stuff/forget I bought it in the first place - and I've done this before. 5) Last but not least I usually can get things at some sort of sale or discount taking advantage of the holiday sales. This year the retailers expect their slowest season in 5 years running so that means we should see some decent sales.

Shad asked - why were the crazies up at 3am? The day after our Thanksgiving holiday is traditionally the start of the Christmas season. And for as long as I can remember, that Friday - now known as Black Friday - is the busiest shopping day of the year. It's known as Black Friday because the shoppers come out in droves and it's the one day each year the retailers can plan on making enough sales that day so they are actually "in the black" for revenues. Many of the retailers here make more than half of their annual revenues during the 4 week period from Thanksgiving through Christmas. Over the years it's become sort of traditional that the stores have huge sales the day after Thanksgiving. In an effort to bring in the customers, some started opening an hour or two earlier. As the years rolled by 8am start became 7am opening the following year, last year it was 6am and this year the stores were opening at 4am. Some places like the electronics stores will offer 10 laptops computers for $399 dollars -first come, first gets. So people will actually line up and literally camp out at the doorstop for more than 24 hours to be the first in line to get these items. In some cases it might be a hot item that a store only has a few of, some people say they can only afford to get their kids this item at the deeply discounted price and I'm sure there are more than a few entreprenural spirits who camp out, get the item at 1/3 of the retail price and immediately sell it on E-bay for a handsome profit. If spending the night in freezing cold on the cement wasn't bad enough, it's when they open the doors with the shoving, pushing crowds of maniacs. One lady got trampled when she got knocked down and people just ran over her in California. Not for me. No one needs anything from me that bad that I'm going to do that. We have January after Christmas sales too Shad but this day after Thanksgiving is sort of special.

I did some cleaning yesterday - not as much as I should have but I did get all the laundry done. Got distracted as usual. It's supposed to be a cold rain tomorrow so I want to plan out my meals today and hit the grocery store while it's still dry. I have lots of vegetables - just need a few meats. I'm thinking I'll work in the garage tomorrow. DH filled 10 bags with leaves and this morning it doesn't look like he even touched anything at all :( - well actually the front yard is looking ok - it's the back yard that's ankle deep.

Better get a move on here. Rennie - hope you know I'm teasin' you. :D

We're a very quiet lot here at the moment aren't we? Just Happy, Rennie and me. Poor Mel, she really is having a hard time at the moment. Wonder what the next Chinese lunar year is - the rooster doesn't seem to have done much good for our little group.

Hapy - thanks for the explanation on the shopping phenonomen (sp????????) Just like our January sales where people get trampled underfoot, shops make revenue as you said and women fight over underwear etc. I feel no inclination to go at all. If the retail stores were prepared to forgo 5 or 10% of their profit over a longer period of time putting out good things instead of some of the cr*p that they sell during their SALES, then they might tempt me into going. Isn't it lucky that neither the medical profession nor the retail outlets rely on me for their profits?

Sunday the cat has been yelling at me to get up for a long time now. Now that I have she is sound asleep on the pillow and hasn't realised I'm not there yet. I went and got her biscuits yesterday and gave her a handful - she gave me a very reproachful look, but apparently I am forgiven as she snuggled up to me last night. Pity I won't be here tonight for her isn't it!!!

I have now packed up all the small stuff from the kitchen, lounge, dining room and spare bedroom. Today we will take it down to the shed. There are still a pile of books to pack from the other bedrooms and the linen cupboard. After that it will be furniture from the DS2's house to go in there. Then we can get started on ripping out the old cupboards, cleaning, painting, lighting etc. etc. etc. Does it ever end.

Shortly we are off to breakfast with the family and then it will be another busy day and I have to mow the lawn at some stage since the rainy season has officially kicked in. You can sit and watch the grass grow. We are not getting a lot of rain. Not enough to break the water restrictions but enough to keep the grass green and the weeds 10 foot tall. Gotta love the tropics.

Pineapple seems to have a strange effect on my family. DS1 is allergic to fresh stuff and I have this funny tingling effect from the canned. I tried the new so called less acidic, sweeter best ever pineapple in the world (remember it comes from up the road) and I started to swell up - so I guess the allergy to whatever enzyme is still there. Juice seems to be okay.

With that I had better shower and get out of here for brekky. Wake up the DS2 who last night complained becuase breakfast was going to be at 9.00am and not earlier. I'll be back as time permits. Have a great Saturday or Sunday - wherever you are.

Morning ladies,

It certainly is quite empty around here. But I suppose everyone is off being busy. It's a cold and rainy day here. I should probably have gotten myself outside yesterday like I was thinking of doing but the day just drifted off. Now I'll have to go out in the rain to get the groceries.

Nothing much to say. DH made bacon and eggs for breakfast which was a nice surprise. I have a few things to get done today. Thought about decorating for Christmas but I'm just not in the mood. I did put out the Christmas placemats at the table and may put out the runner in the dining room :lol: Little by little ;)

Have a good one...

Good Afternoon Ladies,

I think I have finally recouped from Thanksgiving Dinner and all my company. I had 18 over for dinner and then another 4 dropped by that evening. I also had 5 guest for 4 nights, 2 adults and 3 children. It wore me out. It was alot of fun and yes I would do it over again. It's nice to be with family. I actually weighted this morning and didn't gain a pound. Of course I was so tired from prepareing everything (we'll not everything) I really didn't eat that much.

Going to catch up on things around the house today, get laundry done, maybe go to the grocery store. I didn't make any of the sales, but with three kids in tow, NO Thanks... :)

As for the new bloak... i think that's right. I actually haven't met him. I met him on personals and we've been talking on line and now on the phone. With me having company for several days, & he went to visit his family, it was just better to wait until they leave. We're planning on meeting this tuesday... Monday is my b-day and I already had plans to celebrate with my girlsfriends...

I'm somewhat dreading tomorrow's workout... it's been several days since i have worked out... but got to get back on track.

Sorry I've been missing in action so to speak. Tuesday afternoon my sister and her hubby arrived. We had a nice visit. They left early Thanksgiving morning to drive to his mother's in Searcy, AR, near Little Rock, AR. I drove to Paragould for the family get together. I returned home this afternoon. It was raining and foggy too. UGH.

Happy
Christmas shopping is a total chore for me. For one thing the crowds make me chlostraphobic(sp)Then finding that special something is getting harder each year. Gift cards are the best choice in my opinion. I give my both siblings money to buy their Christmas dinner. This way I can include their children and grand children. I may do this for my uncle's family also.

How nice of your dh to make breakfast!

My aunt decorated their house Saturday afternoon and evening while my uncle and I hung the outside lights. My decorations consists of poinsetta's and candles.

Shad
Give the cat another snuggle.

Patty
You did have a house full of people. Hope you had some help in the kitchen.

Reenie
Congratulations on having your Christmas shopping done.

Hey you lot are not pornographic anymore. Hey, Hey!!!
Not that I have much time to chat because all **** has broken loose here in the office. Officially I am not going to Karachi any more. Not sure that I didn't blot my copy book but I really don't care anyway.

So I'll toddle off and do some more panicking in another corner and come back later to comment. Stay safe, stay well.

Reenie
Congratulations on two more pounds lost. That's great. You are an inspiration.

Quick check in here.

Sounds like you stirred up quite the flies nest Shad. Probably just as well since it didn't sound like Karachi was a very pleasant place anyway. If only they would just work with you, right? :yes: Hope things get better and you get out soon.

Congrats on the steady weight loss Rennie.

Glad to hear you had a good trip with your families Ceejay and Patty.

And seeing as how it's Monday

:yay: :yay: Happy Birthday Patty! :celebrate: :hb:

:bday2you:


The thing about a having a few days off is that you want more of 'em. - just like chocolate :lol: but it don't pay the bills so off to work I go... first thing to do is stare at the computer screen and wonder what the heck it was that I was doing when I logged off last Wednesday :chin: Forgot to leave myself a note on what to pick up working on today. Oh well, guess it will come to me :rofl:

:hug: to those missing and lurking.

Morning All, It was a great holiday 4 day weekend.....so fun to family that you don't usually have to be around. We had dinner at my cousin Lynny in the Montana woods with deer and birds and wildlife right outside to watch. Great food and drinks and lots of laughs.
I then travelled to my new guys place on friday and had a lazy weekend with him. Things are good but he is probably not the best long term mate for this girl. So we shall see how it all goes from here. I went to a new quilt shop and found a product for my new craft and possilby my business to start. I will keep you posted if it takes off.
There was snow up North so I did a few rounds with my crosscountry skiis. No snow here at all and warmer here.....I really want snow outside my door soon. I spent an early Thanksgiving with Jesse and his girlfriend on the previous weekend and got to see him play hockey again. My oldest went out to the coast and spent it with his grandma so that was great.
Hope all of you are well and looking forward to the upcoming holidays...just keep it simple and enjoy.... not worth the stress for the pursuit of stuff and more stuff.
Blessings all,
Peace,
Nae

:bday2you: :celebrate: :bday2you: :bday2::hb: :woo: :gift: :balloons: :carrot:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATTY!!!
AND ENJOY YOUR SPECIAL DAY!! MAKE A WISH AND BLOW OUT THE CANCLES!!:hb:

GOOD THING I DECIDED TO CHECK BACK INTO THE 3FC WORLDLY SANATORIUM TODAY!! :lol3: I ALMOST MISSED PATTY'S BIRTHDAY!! I SEE RENNIE AND NAE ON THIS PAGE AND SENDING OUT HUGS AND WAVES TO YOU ALL.
I WON'T DRAG EVERYONE DOWN WITH THE DETAILS BUT LET'S JUST SAY IT WAS THE WORST TIME WITH THE EYES THAT I HAVE HAD SO FAR. HOPEFULLY I HAVE LEARNED A LESSON FROM ALL THIS AND IT WILL BE THE LAST TIME.
I FELT LIKE I WAS FALLING APART PIECE BY PIECE FOR A FEW DAYS THERE BUT THE GENE POOL WON OUT IN THE END. THANK GOD I AM A STUBBORN PERSON! :rofl:
FEELING PRETTY GOOD TODAY AND ALL IS WELL IN MY SMALL CORNER OF THE WORLD. JEN HAS BEEN AWAY ON AND OFF SO I HAVE NOT KEPT UP WITH THE THREAD AT ALL. HOPE YOU ARE ALL WELL AND HAPPY :hug:

RENNIE~ GOOD THING I SAW YOUR HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PATTY OR I SHOULD HAVE MISSED IT!

NAE~ GOOD LUCK WITH THE NEW BUSINESS IDEA. KEEP YS POSTED AND I WILL SEND GOOD VIBES YOUR WAY. WHETHER OR NOT THE NEW GUY WORKS OUT, AT LEAST YOU ARE OUT THERE MAKING CONTACT WITH THE HUMAN WORLD!! :love:

OK GALS OF THE WORLD, I AM OFF TO BEGIN A NEW WEEK. MAYBE EVEN GO FOOD SHOPPING TOMORROW! :D THAT WILL BE THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER FOR ME :rofl:
TTFN AND HAVE A GREAT WEEK! :moped:

I HAVE BEEN CLEANING AND READING IN BETWEEN. FINALLY FINISHED. SENT A NOTE TO MOOZ. I AM GLAD IT ALL WORKED OUT WELL WITH THE MAMMO IN THE END. :cb:
THIS NEW YEAR SHOULD BE THE YEAR OF THE RAT I THINK JEN TOLD ME. THE ROOSTER USUALLY MEANS THINGS LIKE WARS AND GOD KNOWS WE HAD ENOUGH OF THAT!! :nono:

HAPPY CAUGHT THE NON-POOPY SCOOPER. MADCAT IS IN LURKER MODE.
RENNIE IS DETERMINED TO SCREW UP THAT KNEE OF HERS FOR XMAS!!
CEEJAY IS GOING FOR ANOTHER DIPLOMA!
RUTHIE TURNED THAT CUTE DOGGIE DOWN. CAN'T SAY AS I BLAME HER!
HOLLY IS FINALLY GERM FREE....AT LEAST FOR THE MOMENT.
CARLA NEEDS A GOOD BOOT IN THE PANTS!! WHAT KIND OF FOOD CHOICES ARE THESE??? SHE TORTURES ME TO GET RID OF THE CAFFEINE AND THEN GOES OUT AND CELEBRATES! :tantrum:
PATTY WAS RUNNING A HOTEL FOR THE HOLIDAY. LET'S ALL GO AND VISIT HER...SOUNDS LIKE SHE HAS LOTS OF PATIENCE!! :rofl: A NEW BEAU PERHAPS??? GOOD LUCK!
NAE IS THINKING OF BECOMING OUR NEXT ENTREPRENEUR! COMPETITION FOR THE DONALD!!

I THINK WE MISSED OUT ON SHAD BEING HOME. FOR SOME REASON JEN AND I WROTE IT FOR NEXT WEEKEND!! I THINK BECAUSE I HAD DECEMBER 3RD WRITTEN THERE ALREADY! :hohoho: MAYBE IT'S A GOOD THING THEY WON'T LET SHAD PLAY IN THAT DAMN
FLY-INFESTED FLY-POOPY SANDBOX!!!! :yikes: :faint: WITH YOUR COMPUTER SKILLS SHADDIE YOU CAN CHANGE THE COPY!!! :rofl:
I AM GLAD WE'RE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN...SNIFF, SNIFF. :hug: SEE YOU GALS LATER :scooter:
BTW.....WHERE ARE WE SPENDING THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS? DENMARK? DALLAS? THE DAKOTAS?

Mel--
So good to see you back. :hugs: I'm not sure if I want to under take this degree right now, but who knows.

Nae--Sounds like you have had a good time this past week end. I love to se the wild life.

Patty Happy birthday :balloon:

I'm at work. Last week spoiled me.sigh! All the key punching I did last week was not saved. I've been key punching all morning. I can blame no one but myself. I have pass words on every thing.
It's cold outside and the clouds look a bit like snow.
Weighed in this morning at 177 pounds. Yipee.

Ceejay - if there's snow in dem dere clouds - keep it up your way, ok? ;) ;) ;)

MELLLLLLLLL :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: So glad to see you back again

:trampo: :trampo: :trampo:

Ok, let me get down before I hurt myself. Good to see you buddy :hug:

Happy Birthday!!!!!

...and many more.

Morning all,
Carla - what does that pink statement say????? I'm worried about you. I think you and I should get together to try and stop the rot, both yours and mine. Although I'm hoping my gain is still fluid and not fat. Come back to us and tell us what you are doing.

Patty - Happy Birthday. May you have lots more of them. :balloons: :hat: :encore: :cheers: :hb: :dance:

Nae - nice to have you pop in. Sounds like life is interesting for you these days.

Ceejay - gotta save that work otherwise you aint going nowhere.

Happy - Back to work with a vengeance hey? :( gotta wonder where we went wrong - should be able to relax and live life the way it should be by now. But we can't and don't.

Mel - great to see you back, now get off the computer and go and bathe and rest those eyes. Enough is enough.

And with that and hoping I haven't missed anyone - I gotta go. I thought we were coming to the cushy bit, but hello, it's worse now than it was before and I can see more big hours coming up. So today is a bit of training, some repair work on a couple of courses, developing a finance course, ensuring the troops have enough to do and kickin' *** with the printer. It's all go around here.

Morning chicks,

I have 2 minutes to post.

Carla - hey woman - I noticed that tiny pink siggy too. Get yer butt back in here :rollpin: I'm the queen of "ok, let's start this back up again" - and don't you think you can take that away from me. You need to start posting again. I need something to smile about and that's your job ;)

Rennie - I really like your new avatar

Patty - hope you had a nice birthday and survived your post holiday workout :D

Shad - get out yer stick and russle up the troops. Is this the home stretch for you or will you have to go back there after Christmas?

Congrats on a good weigh in Ceejay - look at it this way, you lost your work but are improving your typing skills :comp:

Mel - so glad you are back with us again. I like your avatar too. Will Igor come shovel Ceejay's walk too. I won't need him because there's no snow down here! Won't be either ;) I hope you will be on your best behavior for December because you don't want you to be taking a powder on us again.

I came up with Nowhere in November. Someone else choose December's home.

6 minutes over my limit. Guess I must type R-E-A-L-L-Y slow or I just think slow :lol:

Make it a good one today. Put a little oomph in your day. :dancer:

YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS BUT I WAS IN THE LOO LAST NIGHT AND THIS MORNING. THOSE ANTIBIOTICS JUST WON'T GIVE ME A BREAK HERE EVEN THOUGH I STOPPED TAKING THEM RIGHT AWAY. WTF!!! :tantrum: I HAVE BEGUN THE NECESSARY TREATMENTS AND GOING BACK TO BED. OTHER THAN THIS...ALL IS WELL :rofl: :rofl:
IT WAS SUNNY WHEN I WOKE UP AND NOW IT'S BLACK AS NIGHT. TOO WARM FOR SNOW SO MUST BE RAIN! :rain: HAPPY TUESDAY :moped:

CEEJAY~ DID YOU GET THOSE WHITE FLUFFY FLAKES???? I WILL SEND IGOR TO SHOVEL YOU OUT OF YOUR HOUSE!!!

HAPPY~ NOW YOU WENT AND SAID IT!!!! IT WILL PROBABLY SNOW A FOOT RIGHT ON TOP OF YOUR HOUSE!!! :yikes: LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO ME...YESTERDAY I WAS BRAGGING ALL OVER TOWN ABOUT HOW GOOD I FELT AND LAST NIGHT WAS SPENT ON THE PORCELAIN GODDESS!!! :faint:

RENNIE~ GOOD TO SEE YOU TOO AND HOPE YOU ARE NOT OVER DOING IT!!

SHAD~ HAS ANYONE GOTTEN A BLOODY NOSE FROM YOU YET? NO? THEN THINGS MUST BE GOING OK FOR THE TIME BEING!! HAVE PATIENCE. YOU ARE ALMOST AT THE FINISH LINE! :hug:

:wave: TO ALL THE CHICKS!!

Mel
No snow for us.Just rain and lots of it.

Carla
I'm with Happy with you needing to be back in with us. I don't have any goals for December. I think I'm burned out. I'm keeping up with the high fiber which is what is working for me right now.

Happy
If you are the queen of starting over I'm your princess. I've started so many times it's not funny. From now on it's a life style that I have to continue because of the newest diagnosis at the doc's office.

Reenie
How are things going with you?

Shad
I should have looked on my back up disk. I had it saved there. Something weird is going on with this computer. I'm changing my password just in case someone has figured it out.

Hi to the rest.

We don't have a grovelling smilie Rennie, but you are forgiven anyway!!!!! Sorry, but life is not good at the moment and I am upsetting more than a few folk around here. (I really didn't mean to upset anyone there as well.) It's not doing any good, but I am persistent, I do not like to lose (and that seems to go for weight as well). It really is the corner store/ multi national business mentality around here.

Okay - time to go muster my forces. I will be back to comment. Meantime it is back to 12+ hour days. Wonder what I did to deserve this?
I don't get out of here until the 27th January. Then they can eat my dust. I can't see that the company will get any value out of its 40 odd million dollar investment, but I try. I think age and work ethics are working against me here and it won't matter too much how I work or how hard I work, it will be a wasted effort. Anyway enough negativity, I have a meeting with the whingers and the witches this afternoon. We are going to thrash out some of the problems with the training courses and the doco and then they can take the responsibility if it is not right. Seems that whatever I do to fix things - it is not enough - it is too much or it doesn't flow.
Enough of the whinge. What will be will be.

So it seems that between Shad and I we are managing to work around the clock. :lol: I'm butt deep in test cases and other crap I know almost nothing about. Yay us! At this rate I'm putting a vote in for Demented in December. :lol:

Can't promise I'll be back soon but I will be back! Oh no, I just realized how late it has gotten and I do have to get sme sleep. Take it easy chickies. I'll be back once the dust clears (or sooner).

Shy ... it would seem that you've been away from the corporate world for quite a while. An 8 hour day is as passee as disco. They never have enough people to do the job - you're just expected to pick up the slack. I'll stop at that lest I get on my soap box.

Sorry to hear that they are running Shad and Madcat ragged... I'm going to go sleep on it - nighty night.