The massage was simply wonderful. Hair is all colored and cut, now no one can tell I am not really a blonde. haha. Went and tanned too. I am so mellowed out.........
Haven't called the old BF yet, thought I would wait till this weekend when the kids aren't home so I can have peace and quiet and no interruptions.
MEL....I have been taking the Miralax of the evening. So far, since the 3 initials poos...nothing. Hoping it won't all "blow" at once. Yikes.
Shad...how funny about the old BFs and the website. We do have that classmates.com site, but he wasn't from my area. He was from northern Indiana.
Ceej...I could spend a week in a bookstore and not come out. I love that place.
Happy...no more talk of govt check. Just found out I am getting a paper check to be mailed out on May 23. Evidently if you have your filing fees taken out of your direct deposit orginal refund, you get a paper check and not a direct deposit amount on your stimulus check. bah humbug
Holly...you seem to always be burning a candle at both ends, you probably made the right move for you as you definitely NEED more YOU time. Goodluck chickie.
Diyana...the lemon chicken sounds delish. We don't have a stitch of food in this house. The kids think I put them on a diet. haha. Don't get paid til the 15th and that is pretty much shot. We will all be on a diet for the next several weeks.
Rennie...tell your neighbor to mind her own backyard and you will mind yours. There is always someone to complain. My ailing 80 year old parents have neighbors next door who pick up all the sticks in their yard and throw them in my parent's yard as they insist the sticks come off of my parent's trees and not their own. HOW FREAKIN REDICULOUS. What it boils down to is I HAVE TO PICK THEM UP to cut the grass. So that makes two times the same sticks have to be picked up. I swear I just wanna take the sticks and shove them right where the sun doesn't shine on the backside of the neighbors.
Morning all,
It's Saturday again and I don't have to work although I probably will put in a couple of hours since there are things that will start to mount up and fester if I don't keep picking away at them. I've been talking to the other guys on the project and interesting little snippets of information pop up which send me scurrying on a mission and sure enough, it will mean more work. My time line gets more crowded. Still the good thing about working at home is that you are never far away from it when you get the urge - if you ever get the urge.
Of to Body Balance class today to see what gives there. Is there more drama in the offing? Who knows, watch this space. I need gym as the scales tell me the weight is continuing to rise even tho all the other measurements are right on track. It's fluid but I can't figure out why.
Mel - you are such a good friend to your Aussie mate. I hope she takes your advice and does look at life differently after this. It can be hard travelling to all those countries and she is going against time all the way (obviously she wants to gain a day in her life ) Maybe she hasn't planned it as well as normal either. From experience, I can say that travelling is all about the planning. If you do everything up front it becomes a hassle free trip - apart from the unexpected which can happen at your own front door. You have to plan the trip, the side trips, the busy times and some downtime, some utility time for laundry etc as well. It doesn't pay to do the complete tourist - remember that classic line from a film - if it's Tuesday, it must be Paris. It can get like that if you don't watch it.
Whatever she gets up to, make sure you have enough time for yourself. Glad you called in sick today. Laughed at the Jen situation. Good for her. Hope its a nice house on a nice street in a nice neighbourhood. She deserves it. The old guy deserves all the sh*t he gets.
Ceejay - happy motoring with the new battery. Good for you having all the pokes and prods and squishes. I've started organising mine as well seeing as this is my Warrant of Fitness year. I've sorted hearing and skin appointments already, just got to sort the squish and prod now. No doubt I should do eyes again as I think they are changing once more. Getting old aint for sissies.
Of course mowing the lawn is exercise. Fortunately ours doesn't grow in the winter so I don't need to do it more than once a month, but the weeds sure do. I need to get out there and sort that lot out again. Maybe this afternoon.
Rennie - I am not sure what that dog is doing. Good idea to leave the lid down I guess. What's the news on the sons condition? I'm okay - I won't get chased by the pea shooter, I'm not a lunges person. I don't think anyone is. I see the trainers talking about them to clients, showing them how to do them, I never see the clients doing them without the trainer. Stupid looking things they are too.
Happy - you'll be hurrying home to get the place in shape for the mother I guess. Have a good weekend in case we don't get to see too much of you. Hope you get all those chores done and have some downtime. Do you remember the 70's when you were doing things like the lab in the picture??? I got told once that if you could remember the '60's you were not really there. I remember them well. Wonder what planet I was on?
Thanks for the recipes ladies. I will try them out I think. However might just leave the rice alone. I have a feeling it is responsible for my current predicament. We had Paella for dinner the other night and I ate the left overs last night. It didn't taste salty and I used salt reduced stock but then it could have been anything I guess.
Right well the time being what it is, I had better go get ready for gym. Then there is cleaning the bathroom, loo and laundry and building myself a new filing cabinet. It's okay, not doing it from scratch, just bought a ready to assemble job and now have to put it together. I guess like most other things, it is made in China, quality checked by Tina and is missing 2 special shaped bolts or nuts and has 50 others that appear to be totally unnecessary. Watch out for the saga of the filing cabinet.
Todays pics are all about sleeping. Everyone knows a good sleep means a good day.
WHEN THE RED, RED ROBIN
COME BOB BOB BOBBING ALONG, ALONG....LA LA LA
WHERE DO THESE SONGS COME FROM?
WHOTF KNOWS. MUST BE MY WARPED BRAIN.
I FEEL LIKE I HAVE MORNING SICKNESS TODAY...MUST BE THINKING OF ELLEN! THE RAINS MIGHT FINALLY END FOR A DAY OR TWO AND I AM HOPING TO SEE THE SUN ONCE AGAIN. JEN WILL BE HERE TOMORROW AND MAIRE WILL COME BACK ON MONDAY. SHE IS SLEEPING AT THE FRIEND'S HOUSE BUT HAS DECIDED TO CONTINUE ON WITH ALL HER PRE-PLANNED HER "VISITS". SHE'S A BIG GIRL AND CAN MAKE UP HER OWN MIND. I TRIED & I SURRENDER.
ALL IS WELL WITH MY LITTLE FAMILY AND THAT IS WHAT COUNTS. JEN HAS A MIND TO NOT BE HERE ON MONDAY AND I CAN'T BLAME HER. RIGHT NOW SHE HAS ENOUGH ON HER TINY-FRAMED PLATE.....AND SHE HAS BEEN DOING SO WELL THESE PAST FEW WEEKS.
I WAS TELLING AN OLD FRIEND THAT WEIRD THINGS ARE HAPPENING TO ME AND SHE SAID MERCURY IS GOING INTO RETROGRADE.....MY LIFE MUST BE AHEAD OF SCHEDULE! I NEED TO FIND SOMETHING TO DO TODAY BUT NOT TOO STRENUOUS....LOL....I FEEL THE NEED FOR MORE QUIETNESS.
HAPPY SATURDAY/SUNDAY
CEEJAY~ THE BOOK SOUNDS INTERESTING. I LIKE THAT THEY HAVE A CARB SENSITIVE PLAN. GOOD LUCK!
MICHELLE~ THE LEMON CHICKEN SOUNDED GOOD. I HAVEN'T MADE ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN A LONG TIME!
HAPPY GYMMING!! I THINK THAT ALL GYMS SHOULD BE CHILD-FREE. I HAVE FRIENDS THAT COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUNGER CHILDREN GETTING IN THE WAY OF THEIR GYM ROUND.
ANNIE~ I WILL TRY THE MIRALAX IN THE PM....MAYBER I NEED IT CLOSER TO BEDTIME?!?! VERY MYSTERIOUS THIOS POOPY PROBLEM I GOT MELLOW JUST READING YOUR POST......Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
SHAD~ GOOD IDEA TO KEEP WORKING AND NOT FALL BEHIND. YOU KNOW THAT SOONER OR LATER SOMEONE WILL SCREW UP AND YOU WILL BE THE ONE TO "FIX" IT WHILE TAKING TIME FROM YOUR OWN DUTIES.
HOPE THE WATER LEAVES YOUR BODY. I DO HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS TOO. HAPPY GYMMING TO YOU AS WELL!!
THE PICS ARE ADORABLE AND NOW I JUST WANT TO GO AND LIE DOWN WITH ALL OF THEM!
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Good morning ladies.
Mel, I too have often wondered how these crazy random thoughts get into our heads, particularly in the way of songs. But heck, you just learn to go with the flow and hum them all day long - I agree that you have done all you can for your friend. I realized a long time ago when I was talking about my dad's drinking with someone and they said each person has to decide for themselves to take control of their life or just let it run amok and that's so true. It's good of you to care, some of us just have problems leaving the addictions/bad habits behind. If you're feeling the need for a little peace and quiet in your life, then hang out the gone fishin' sign on the door and go get lost in the travel channel
Shad, yes I can still recall the feeling of taking one sip too many on a boozy drink and thinking "ohhhhh I shouldn't a done that" - which is why 2 glasses of wine tops is all I do on rare occasion. I think if I tried to go back to the old days of 12 vodka gimlets and 2 packs of cigarettes in one evening, I'd die for sure I think that remark about the 60's was because of all the drugs - I was still in grade school at the time so my memories of the 60's are clear - still think the best music of all time came out of the years 1966 - 68. The late 70's (disco) and the early to mid 80's (working in the financial district) were just one big boozefest for me. And I was skinny too! I loved your description of the file cabinet - checked by Tina why do that do that? When you cabinet is assembled, leans slightly to the left and has one not quite round wheel, will you call up the plant and ask to speak to Tina about her apparent lack of quality control? Will she then tell you that she used to care but management's decision to cut her salary and increase her working hours has affected her attitude? Will she then tell you that the wheel was well rounded when it came into her hands but now that management (in an effort to save even more dollars) has shipped her job to some 3rd world country and as she was forced to train the replacement that was taking her job, in a last act of defiance she instructed the newbie to set the wheel on the ground and roll over it several times with a heavy piece of equipment just to ensure said wheel was hard enough to pass inspection Such are the times we live in... You're DON'T MOVE pic looks like my happy cat!
Annie - you give good reason (neighbors) why my next house is going to have lots of acreage with a good distance between us and the neighbors. The guy on the other side of our fence trims his hedges about once a year and leaves all the schmutz on our side of the fence (over the driveway) for us to pick up. There are also pine trees with 8 inch long pine needles that all year long dry up and fall all over our yard - a total mess to pick up - there are literally about 9, 39 gallon garbage bags full of the stuff just up by the pool area right now. DH wants to cut down the branches that hang over our yard - but we have to ask them first and he will probably say no. People here love trees (so do I) and give you a very hard time about cutting them - now mind you, THEY don't take care of them and it's ok if the tree roots bust up your driveway or the pine needles fall in your pool and you're the one left with all the work from their trees, just don't you even think of cutting "their" trees down. But I agree, the stick thing with your parents is just plain petty. You sound like you're all spiffed up and cute looking and ready for some good times. Go take advantage of it. As for the old BF, hey - go into it to simply catch up, expect nothing and then be pleasantly surprised if things go well.
Michelle - I'm like you with the pizza. Luckily it's one of the things they do really poorly down here so I'm not as tempted as I was when we lived in Chicago. I like the South Beach pizzas - there's one with pepperoni (and I'm not a pepperoni fan but it's good), onions and bell peppers that I have when I get a taste for pizza. There's only one serving so no temptation of left overs. You make a good point about the stress - I am fully convinced it's a major contributing factor to belly fat among other things. And it just seems like stress abounds lately, I am trying to work harder on dealing with it. I am only taking a week off and most of that will be spent travelling up and back with just a few short days in Chicago to see family and friends and go to the Butterfly Garden and the Botanic Gardens. Wish we had time to get together with you and DH but it's actually going to be pretty tight. DH wants to come back to have a few days to himself before it's back to work so I'll have some time with Mom. After that it will be just evenings and weekends. Since her legs aren't that great anymore, most of our time will be spent sitting in the yard and chatting. I really want to take a week off (and I might do it unpaid) just to tackle some major projects around the house here. I'm making headway cleaning out the garage but I really need to tackle the closets and attic and cabinets not to mention painting and maybe a bit of rearranging of the rooms - all those things that are hard to do when you are working and away from home most of the day. Thank you for posting the lemon chicken recipe - I have all the ingredients and I think you've saved me the trouble of planning dinner tonight! And I have enough chicken breasts to make both recipes from you and Mel. Think I'll do the cacciatore today and let it rest overnight. I don't notice a difference but DH swears tomato based sauces get better the next day.
Ceejay - I think that you've got the secret of keeping the house clean - don't let it get messy and spend a few minutes tidying up each day. I too have noticed that although hypothyroid makes the weight loss harder, it does pair itself better with a low carb diet. Good luck to you.
Well I got up pretty early this morning - and for a Saturday to boot and while I have gotten some laundry done, I have dribbled away a good part of the morning once again at the computer again. Gotta stop that So I'd better get off my duff and getting busy.
Have a nice weekend everyone and Happy Mothers Day to you mommies
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
oh and if looking at Rene Russo wasn't bad enough, Cindy McCain is also my age. But then again, I'm not the heiress to a beer fortune either so I imagine she has a few more bucks than me
JUST LOST MY POST....GOT AN OOPS NOTICE THAT SAID THE WEB PAGE COULD NOT BE FOUND. I GET THIS A LOT LATELY.
HAPPY~ WE ARE DOING THE CHICKEN AND LETTING IT SIT IN THE TIMATO SAUCE OVERNIGHT TO "SET A SPELL" .
I LOVE THINGS LIKE THAT THE NEXT DAY AS WELL. THE SAUCE JUST KIND OF SINKS IN BETTER. WE'RE ALSO DOING A ROASTED CHICKEN AND TATERS AS WELL. ALL THE BASES COVERED! I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN ABOUT THE MESS OF NEIGHBOR'S TREES. WE HAD THAT HERE TOO BUT NOW THEY CONSTRUCTION GUYS CUT THEM DOWN WE DON'T HAVE THE PROBLEM
I WILL COME AND CLEAN YOUR POOL AND SIT WITH YOU. WE CAN WATCH FOR LITTLE FROGGIES AND TOSS THEM LITTLE LIFEPRESERVERS WHEN THEY FALL IN.
TAKE THE TIME OFF TO GET THE HOUSE GOING AND SPEND WITH MOM TOO! I AM SURE YOUR "HEAD" COULD USE THE BREAK....PAID OR NOT! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.
BEEN BUSY WITH THE MAINT. MEN ON THE RADIO TODAY. LOTS OF BROKEN THINGS GOING ON THIS WEEKEND. SOMETIMES I THINK THEY WAIT TILL THE WEEKEND TO TELL ANYONE JUST SO THEY CAN GET ME INSTEAD OF JOHN!! GOING OUT FOR A SHORT RIDE SO I CAN BLOW OUT THE COBWEBS.
Mother's Eyes
by Mary D.B.Hull
What are the songs the mother sings?
Of birds and flowers and pretty things;
Baby lies in her arms and spies
All his world in the mother's eyes.
What are the tales the mother tells?
Of gems and jewels and silver bells;
Baby lies in her arms and spies
All his wealth in the mother's eyes.
What are the thoughts in the mother's mind?
Of the gentle Saviour, loving and kind;
Baby lies in her arms and spies
All his heaven in the mother's eyes.
Morning all and happy Mothers Days to all of us. I'm off to have breakfast with DS2 shortly, then it will be back to the cleaning and clearing and hopefully a bit of gardening thrown it for good measure.
Had to laugh at getting the neighbours permission to trim the trees. Here we can cut anything that grows over our boundary, but we have to give the cut bits back since they belong to the owner. Stupid laws. However I do take great pleasure in throwing the palm fronds back over the fence. They are such untidy plants and drop fronds all the time. Then they drop the nuts and flowers and then they drop the entire flower spike when it is done. Take ages to compost down and really don't do a lot for me. Ugghh.
Mel, there is only so much you can do for a person. I have no hesitation in helping those that are trying to help themselves. When they don't want to listen and they don't want to change, I'm outa there. Even the good lord looks after those who look after themselves - says so in the good book.
So just listen and nod and yawn and look after yourself. Thanks for the poem. It's pretty.
Happy - don't know who Tina is, but she sure is busy. She checked the waterbed I used to have, she checked my printer, she checked the last filing cabinet I bought and she checked the TV stand. I think the Chinese think we wont notice or maybe they think that everyone in the west is called Tina so they follow suit. Maybe TINA is Chinese for 'not checked but we are telling the world that we care when we really don't. Just give us the money and be done with it'
That's about it - went to the rugby last night with DB2 and nephew and DS2 plus new friend sat a bit further over. Good game, we looked like loosing there for a while, but class will out and we finally got the edge. Good game. Sat next to a man (SAfrican and therefore heathen and who generally went for the AFL (Australian football league - yes we have one of our own.) who was more or less swinging on the New Zealand team side (maybe because he had Kiwis in front, beside and behind) but had to ask questions about the game and the players. Was fun. A couple of yobos up the back who I had to ask to moderate their language. I personally didn't care but there were a lot of children around, they didn't need to hear that. Apparently I must have got through because they were good fun after that. And a lady from behind me said thank you because it had annoyed her. DB2 was embarrassed and nephew just grinned. The Shadster strikes again. Worst part about it was that they were Kiwi lads and two of them from my home town.
And that's about it. DS2 is in the shower. Guess that means we are moving out shortly. I might just go put a load of towels in the washer while I wait. See ya
The saga of animals goes on:
Sorry Mum, I haven't got the hang of it yet
Good Morning and Happy Mother's Day to all the Worldly Chickies...
Had a great day with DS yesterday, he helped me plant my flower bed. He got his starter on his truck, it is now running...thank God as he has an interview at Caterpillar tomorrow.
Don't know what today holds for me, however I am sure it is all good things for us all.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY
I AM GLAD THE SUN IS SHINING. HOPE WE ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL SUNDAY!
SHAD....THE PICS ARE VERY CUTE. THE LITTLE FALLEN DUCKLING WAS HYSTERICAL. I COULD JUST HEAR HIM "SAY" THAT TOO! I COULD ALSO JUST HEAR YOU AT THE GAME WHAT? NO HOUSE BUILDING ON MOTHER'S DAY? DID YOU ACTUALLY TAKE A DAY OFF? GOODO! GLAD YOU LIKED THE POEM. WANTED TO GET SOMETHING UP THERE BEFORE YOU SOUTHERN MOST GALS WOKE!
NOTHING NEW SINCE LAST NIGHT. LONG MAY PEACE AND QUIET REIGN. JEN CALLED LAST NIGHT AND BOTH RICHIE AND I WERE WATCHING A HARRISON FORD MARATHON. SHE SAID SHE COULD LEAVE THE ROOM AND NEIGHER ONE OF US WOULD NOTICE. POOR JEN. I THOUGHT DAUGHTER'S "MARRIED" MEN SIMILAR TO THEIR DADS. WITH HER DAD NOT BEING A GOOD EXAMPLE GUESS SHE FOUND ONE LIKE HER MUM
SPEAKING OF MUMS....I SENT A CARED TO MY EX-MIL AND TOLD HER SOME NICE THINGS ABOUT OUR PAST RELATIONSHIP. SHE IS NOT FEELING WELL AND I WANTED TO REMIND HER THAT SHE WAS A GOOD MUM TO ME AS WELL AS LARRY BACK THEN.
OFF TO BREAKFAST.
HAVE A HAPPY SUNDAY/MONDAY
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Good morning chicks,
Hope all you mums are basking in the adoration of your little chicks - the cat ignored me as usual
I wish Outback Steakhouse would come back with that classic commercial with the song Nobody Loves Yah Like Yer Mum, Mum, Mum ... then something about slapping you on yer bum, bum, bum... It was great.
I talked to Mom last night as she decided to rewrite the United States holiday calendar and declared SATURDAY Mother's Day because Sunday just interferred with her busy plans God love her. Next week at this time we'll be hugging and chatting and making each other nuts. Can't wait.
Mel - I don't think I married someone like my daddy but I'm sure ole DH would be grossly insulted if I told him I married someone like my Mom That was nice of you to send a card to the ex-MIL. Sometimes people are just too good to let go, even if they did spawn some goofiness. Hope things stay quiet for you, I'm sure the boys downstairs are cooking up a few Monday morning crisises for you. Are you still pedalling?
And a Happy Mothers Day to you too Ruth. Gorgeous avatar and 15,000+ posts? Surprised your fingers aren't stubs
Annie - hope you have a nice day. Sending good karma up your way for the DS interview.
Shad - as far as getting permission to cut the trees - you must remember I live in the United States of Greed, where frivolous lawsuits run rampant. Doesn't matter if someone's tree is endangering my life or property - it's their stuff and if you cut it, you run the risk that they can sue you for damages. Back in Chicago there were tall bushes between our house and the hillbilly lowlifes next door. They never did a thing to their yard, in fact every year they would hire a lawn service and then must not have paid them because mid way through the summer their lawn would stop getting mowed. And it would sit that way - longest was 9 weeks between mowings. If they didn't mow the lawn, they certainly didn't cut the bushes. DH had to do all that. The only reason we liked them was that they were about 10 feet tall and hid the fact that the pigs were accumulating bags of rotting grass clippings (over 2 years old) and various pieces of broken and ramshackle junk all over the side of their house. One season the hedges developed a serious blight as well as choking vines all through them. DH got tired of dealing with it. We checked our plat of survey and the bushes were in an undeveloped alley way along the utility pole right of way so they belonged to neither us or the neighbors. We paid over $300 to get the bushes and stumps removed. DH also bought a load of dirt, covered in the holes and uneven spots and also planted grass seed over the area. At first we were sorry we did it because looking out our kitchen patio we could clearly see all the garbage they accumulated on their side of the house. But not having to deal with the bushes was worth it. About 6 months later we get a bill for $1300 from our insurance company. Turns out the filed a claim with the insurance company for illegal removal of HIS BUSHES. The ones he never once trimmed, watered or took care of in any way. He never said a word to us, just filed a claim AND THEY PAID IT. Since we had the same insurance company, they came after us to reimburse them for their payment to the slob. DH gave them the riot act on the phone and asked what sort of claims person they had checking this out. They admitted that all the person did was drive to the property and seeing the fresh grass and dirt, said yes, the bushes are gone. When we showed the agent the property survey, they admited they did a faulty job on the claim. We asked if they were going to go and get the money from these people. The agent said they weren't allowed to say but yes, they would try and most likely the people won't return the money in which case the insurance will drop them as a client. So these pigs got away with a pocket full of money. In another case I had a friend who had a cabin on the lake. It was a heavily forested area. One of the large trees that was just inside the property line of the neighbor broke off a large branch which came crashing into their cabin. It took out the deck completely and did major damage to the roof as well as destroying a storage shed, a wooden swing and several yard tools that were stored under the deck. It was most fortunate that no one was staying at the cabin that weekend because someone could have been killed if the cabin was occupied. Have the tree was left standing and it turned out to be badly diseased and weakened. There was still a substantial part of the tree left that could yet fall on the house again. This was according to the cut my friend hired to cut up the tree that fell on her house. He strongly recommended the rest of the tree be taken out. The neighbor never offered to pay for the cost of the tree removal - said she should file a claim with her insurance company and he streadfastly refused to remove the rest of the damaged tree. He was actually so much of a jerk as to tell her that he didn't think the tree was a danger and if it fell again, well then she could try and sue him. Seeing the damage the first part of the tree did, she was reluctant to let anyone go use the cabin the rest of the summer - said she'd feel horrid if anyone was hurt or killed. She fought for an entire year with this jerk - even the police said she could not force him to remove the diseased tree - she'd indeed have to wait until someone/something was hurt and if she hired someone to go and cut the tree down, he said he'd sue her for trespassing and destruction of property. I think it took 2 years and he finally let HER pay to have the tree removed. So how do you like that?
Gosh, I didn't mean to get on the soapbox here
Good on yah for saying something to the rowdies at the game! And being nice enough about getting your point across yet they still stayed friendly enough to talk.
It appears I have used all my time chatting away here. We're going to go work with the kitties this afternoon, see if my new glasses have come in and maybe do a little shopping at the mall. Going to have a rather large load of trash this week. I must admit, once I started to purge it felt rather good. I wish I had time to go through the attic and pick out some stuff to donate to the Humane Society Yard Sale but there might not be enough time.
) Maybe she hasn't planned it as well as normal either. From experience, I can say that travelling is all about the planning. If you do everything up front it becomes a hassle free trip - apart from the unexpected which can happen at your own front door. You have to plan the trip, the side trips, the busy times and some downtime, some utility time for laundry etc as well. It doesn't pay to do the complete tourist - remember that classic line from a film - if it's Tuesday, it must be Paris. It can get like that if you don't watch it. 
WHERE DO THESE SONGS COME FROM? 
SHE'S A BIG GIRL AND CAN MAKE UP HER OWN MIND. I TRIED & I SURRENDER. 
I agree that you have done all you can for your friend. I realized a long time ago when I was talking about my dad's drinking with someone and they said each person has to decide for themselves to take control of their life or just let it run amok and that's so true. It's good of you to care, some of us just have problems leaving the addictions/bad habits behind. If you're feeling the need for a little peace and quiet in your life, then hang out the gone fishin' sign on the door and go get lost in the travel channel 
But I agree, the stick thing with your parents is just plain petty. You sound like you're all spiffed up and cute looking and ready for some good times. Go take advantage of it. As for the old BF, hey - go into it to simply catch up, expect nothing and then be pleasantly surprised if things go well. 
So I'd better get off my duff and getting busy. 
Are you still pedalling? 
filed a claim with the insurance company for illegal removal of HIS BUSHES. The ones he never once trimmed, watered or took care of in any way. He never said a word to us, just filed a claim AND THEY PAID IT. Since we had the same insurance company, they came after us to reimburse them for their payment to the slob. DH gave them the riot act on the phone and asked what sort of claims person they had checking this out. They admitted that all the person did was drive to the property and seeing the fresh grass and dirt, said yes, the bushes are gone. When we showed the agent the property survey, they admited they did a faulty job on the claim. We asked if they were going to go and get the money from these people. The agent said they weren't allowed to say but yes, they would try and most likely the people won't return the money in which case the insurance will drop them as a client. So these pigs got away with a pocket full of money. In another case I had a friend who had a cabin on the lake. It was a heavily forested area. One of the large trees that was just inside the property line of the neighbor broke off a large branch which came crashing into their cabin. It took out the deck completely and did major damage to the roof as well as destroying a storage shed, a wooden swing and several yard tools that were stored under the deck. It was most fortunate that no one was staying at the cabin that weekend because someone could have been killed if the cabin was occupied. Have the tree was left standing and it turned out to be badly diseased and weakened. There was still a substantial part of the tree left that could yet fall on the house again. This was according to the cut my friend hired to cut up the tree that fell on her house. He strongly recommended the rest of the tree be taken out. The neighbor never offered to pay for the cost of the tree removal - said she should file a claim with her insurance company and he streadfastly refused to remove the rest of the damaged tree. He was actually so much of a jerk as to tell her that he didn't think the tree was a danger and if it fell again, well then she could try and sue him. Seeing the damage the first part of the tree did, she was reluctant to let anyone go use the cabin the rest of the summer - said she'd feel horrid if anyone was hurt or killed. She fought for an entire year with this jerk - even the police said she could not force him to remove the diseased tree - she'd indeed have to wait until someone/something was hurt and if she hired someone to go and cut the tree down, he said he'd sue her for trespassing and destruction of property. I think it took 2 years and he finally let HER pay to have the tree removed. So how do you like that? 
