Mezedtes (sp?) are like tapas in Spain. Lots of small dishes filled with a couple of pieces. We do not go for snails!!!!! We had zucchine fritters with cucumber aioli, beer battered cod with skordalia, meatballs in some sort of tomato sauce with cheesy bits and prawns in filo. There was enough each for just a taste and I have suspicions about the prawns. Certainly the tail was there, but I have a feeling that the bit wrapped in shredded filo might have been seafood extender. Anyway, it all got washed down with a nice Pinot Gris from Tasmania and we didn't overeat or drink. Pleasant night.

Ruth - Glad to hear that there was no funeral for you this weekend. You must be beginning to feel like a professional mourner. Also sorry that the Italian Job is put off until the spring, but that gives you more time to save up and have an ever better time. Wish I could be there.

Mel - if you want the bag, I will go up and get it for you on my next trip up there - probably next weekend when I will need more fruit and veg. Hope the newsletter is worthwhile. By the way, the deli section is incredile. We should send some snails to Ceejay!!!!!

Patty - can you get those pot carriers on wheels over your way. I have several of them for moving big pots around the yard - they are simply a heavy gauge steel wire flat frame coated with plastic and put on castors. They aren't that expensive. In fact when I googled them I saw these wooden ones - you could probably make these yourself. Pics attached at the bottom of the post.

Okay - the usual weekend funnies have been happening here in the office. I'd better go and sort out these folk. Banging some heads together might be a reasonable option.

JEANETTE~ YOU WILL BE THE TRAVELING GAL THIS YEAR. GRADUATIONS TOO! WHERE DOES THE TIME GO? WHAT A MESS POWER OUTAGES CAN MAKE!! I NEVER KNEW! WAS THAT 4 PAGES OF COMPLAINTS?

SHAD~ I WAS TRYING TO THINK OF THE WORD TAPAS. I WAS JUST KIDDING ABOUT SNAILS IN ALL OF THEM. COULDN'T RESIST WHEN I SAW THAT ONE KIND HAD SNAILS. HOPE YOU GOT THE WEEKEND FUNNIES SORTED OUT. IS ANYONE BLEEDING YET?


A QUICKIE TODAY. NOTHING IS NEW AND I NEED TO GO OVER MY "SPEECH" FOR THE 2ND CALL. LET US PRAY THERE WILL BE NO NEED FOR A 3RD ONE.
SEE YOU MANANA. HAPPY MONDAY

Happy Monday!!!!

I'mmmmmmmmm baaaaaaaaaack!!!!

What a wonderful time I had. Spent two days on the Riverwalk, had lunch and dinnet there. Went shopping and shopping some more. Spent the day at the pool at the Crown Plaza Hotel. Drove to Corpus Christi, stopped a some really cute shops. 3 Sisters Boutique and a fabulous BBQ joint. Yummy! Went to the beach one day near Corpus, went shopping some more, went to a Cowboy bar and was introduce to the Margarita MARTINI. Quite yum, I do not like martinis, but this tasted kinda like a margarita only not as sweet. Tried to learn to two step, but had heels on and was a little intoxicated. Mostly stumbled. haha Didn't want to come back. I think I would like to live in Texas.

MEL...thanks for the great recipes. Sounds like you are taking care of yourself and relaxing a bit more. Good for you.

Shad....day late and a dollar short on the wearing of the green, but what the heck. Sounds like the job you are on has too many chiefs and not enough Indians...hahahhaa

Ruth...hope your knees are getting better.

Happy....ew, goodluck with the cath. My dad went through that, he did alright, ended up getting a stint. I saw Menapause a couple of years ago when it was in Indy. Yes, it is quite funny.

Michelle....goodluck on the job, hope you get just what you want. I will send great vibes your way.

Ceejay...I absolutely hate car trouble. Sorry to hear of your experiences. Dang it anyway.

Tony came over yesterday afternoon, we got reacquainted (he he) then had baked porkchops, taters and mixed veggies, the went to Sam's Wholesale club. Beautiful day in Indiana yesterday. Today is a bit cloudy but 60 degrees. I will take it. It is not the 82 and sunny like Texas tho.

Gotta get busy, 1st day back for me and the President. She keeps me hopping.

Hello to all.

Love and Hugs...

Mornin' chicks,

Mel, I hope your call goes well and does not involve any screaming, yelling, begging, crying or anything wild other than a THANK you for your prompt attention to this matter for you And I'm not eating no snails either Although I would like to try the tappas some day.

Shad - you can bang the heads together - just remember not to leave marks Sounded like you had a nice weekend. I would have been in heaven at that market with you!

Ceejay - thought you were with the water dept. Why so many calls if the power went out?

Patty - I agree with the caster roller things. We have some very large pots and used those too on the patio. I found them to be quite useful because sometimes you plant something new and it gets too much / not enough light or shade. Very easy to move the pots around with those things. Also easy to clean the leaves and schmutz that gather around and behind them. You can get them in the garden center of any home improvement store.

Hi Ruth, how did the cooking class go?

Well I bought a mango and ingredients and was about to make that mango walnut bread that Mel posted. Next most important rule for WW after you bite it, you write it - is to check the points values BEFORE you eat it. So I plugged her recipe into the online WW recipe builder and it comes out to 16 points per slice figuring an 8 slice yield. That's almost 2 meals worth of points for one slice and who wants to bet you'd stop at one slice? So... sadly I won't be making that. I do have a nice black bean and mango salsa I can make or dig up a recipe for mango salsa to go with fish or chicken.

I only eat beef about once a week but have really overdone it the last few days. DH and I got some incrediblely wonderful bacon wrapped filet mignon at a local butcher shop on Saturday. And cheap too! Yesterday I got home from grocery shopping really late (ran some errands beforehand) and needed something quick for supper so we had steak fajitas. We have another steak we were going to cook tonight but DH forgot he signed us up for a financial seminar and it's not tomorrow night (he listened too quickly to the telephone reminder message) but instead it's TONIGHT. We were planning on doing some yard work tonight and that will mess us up for both grilling and yard work as tomorrow is supposed to be a rainy day. I will have to talk to that boy.

Other than that nothing much going on... talk to y'all later.

Morning all,
Tapas are really good. However they are not all calorie conscious so you need to pick and choose. There are some good vegetarian ones as well so you can get the veges in too.
Also for those who don't want to eat too much, they are small samples and bite sized so a couple of plates and you have probably had enough. R and I ordered two each to share so we had a fairly wide variety.

Happy - Mango, red salad onion (spanish onion) avocado and cherry or grape tomato cut in half and marinated with a bit of oil and lemon or lime juice are great as a salsa. I do that often. Goes well with fish, chicken and pork. Haven't really tried it with beef so don't know. Might need a bit more kick to compliment the beef.
That's a heavy bread that you were about to make. Wonder if you could change some of the ingredients around to lighten it up a bit. But I agree, you need to stick to the points and good for you for doing it.

Annie - so glad you are back and have enjoyed your break. So nice to just get away from it all for a while.

Mel - you little kidder you!!! I knew what you were doing trying to stir up the population!!! Hope all goes well for the phone call. I'll be keeping the fingers, toes, legs and eyes crossed for you.

Yesterdays training was just awful. It wasn't the trainers fault, but the course she presented originally started as a five day course. 3 or 4 would have been more appropriate. Then it got squeezed into a 3 day course and then to a 2 day course. Don't take anything out, just talk faster. Yesterday we were expected to do it in one day, and a short day at that 10.00 to 5.00. Poor girl, she talked for nearly 6 straight hours and we did our best to absorb the info. It was cruel. Since we were a bright bunch, we could have done it properly in 2 days, but 1!!!!! No wonder this company is in the state that it is in!!!

So today - I'd better mosey on to the work I missed out on yesterday and see if I can come up with some answers to the riddles of the gearboxes and their associated main shafts. So far there are two turbines which don't have either according to the system. I wonder if the turbines actually exist??

IF IT WOULDN'T HURT MY EYES I WOULD JUST SIT DOWN AND CRY. THE CALL KEPT GETTING POSTPONED EVERY 20 MINUTES TILL 3:30 THEN THE GIRL WHO HAS IT DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT WAS ABOUT. THANK GOD SHE IS SWEET AND BRIGHT!! SHE PULLED IT ALL TOGETHER AND TRIED TO SOLVE IT IN ONE CALL. SHE EVEN HAD LAST WEEKS WOMAN AND TOGETHER THEY DECIDED WHT TO DO. BUT NO DICE. I HAVE TO SUBMIT 3 YEARS WORTH OF PAYSTUBS IN AND SIGN MY LIFE AWAY WHEN THE PAPERS GET HERE. THEN WE SHALL SEE WHAT RETIREMENT DEPARTMENT SAYS. I ASKED CAN WE JUST STOP ONE INVESTIGATION AND DEAL WIUTH THEM ONE AT A TIME CAUSE THEY ARE CONFLICTING. NO DICE. I ALREADY HAD MY BIRTHDAY. SO FAR THEY HAVE TAKEN $1000 OFF THE MONEY THEY SAY I OWE. LEAVING A $600 BALANCE. I THINK ONCE ALL THE PAPERS ARE IN, THAT THIS SUM SHOULD BE REMOVED ALSO. THEY ARE ACCUSING ME OF HAVING GOTTEN A RAISE EACH YEAR BUT THE TOWN HAD A WAGE FREEZE ON FOR 2 YEARS. I CAN PROVE IT WITH MY STUBS. YOU WANT TO LAUGH??? WE ARE TALING ABOUT A $5 RAISE PER WEEK THAT COVERED 3 YEARS! WTF!! YOU WOULD THINK BY THE WAY THEY SPOKE TODAY IT WAS MILLIONS AND I WAS THE PRESENT CEO OF AIG HERE IN THE USA!! THEN SHE TELLS ME WE HAVE TO WIND THIS UP BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH OR I WILL HAVE GONE PAST MY 60 DAYS!!! WTF!!! WHOSE FAULT IS THAT??? THEY NEVER RETURN CALLS. I BEGAN TO LOSE IT AND SHE BACKED OFF. NOW I WAIT FOR HER PAPERS AND MAIL THE WHOLE BLOODY MESS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I WONM'T EVEN TELL YOU THE STORY OF MY HEATING HELP...THEY CLAIM I DON'T PAY FOR ANY HEAT!!!!!!!! MY FRIEND SENT A NASTY LETTER TO THEM TO STRAIGHTEN THAT OUT. WE'LL SEE.
OK...TOMORROW IS FOOD SHOPPING AND I NEED SOME VERY PLAIN FOOD TO COOK. TUMMY IS HAVEING FITS AND STARTS STILL. GEE MEL...I WONDER WHY!!!!!!!!!!

ANNIE~ WELCOME HOME AND GLAD YOU HAD A GOOD TIME.

HAPPY~ WOW!! MANGO BREAD IS FATTENING!!! I NEVER LOOKED AT THE STATS!! SORRY ABOUT THAT!!
KEEP US POSTED ON YOUR MED APPTS PLEASE!

SHAD~ I AM SO SORRY THINGS ARE GETTING SO RUSHED WITH THE TRAINING. WOW!!! WHAT ARE THEY THINKING??? HOPE THIS BIG RUSH DOESN'T MAKE A MESS OF THE OUTCOME! SENDING YOU GOOD THOUGHTS!! YOU CAN UNCROSS EVERYTHING NOW TILL THE NEXT CALL IS DUE!!

PS TO SHAD....NO DON'T GET THE BAG! IT WOULD COST MORE THAN ITS WORTH TO MAIL IT! IT JUST STRUCK ME FUNNY THAT THEY ASK FOR YOUR ADDRESS AND COUNTRY AND SEND THE E-MAIL COUPON.

It's probably and automatic return mail. Every man and his dog gets one if they want one.
So sorry you had to go through all that crap. It's getting to the totally ridiculous stage. Maybe you need to talk to Barack. Certainly seems to need to go hirer in the ranks.

Mel
HUGS to you my friend. The four pages were addresses, but it all stemed for the sub station. I was so happy that one of the electric crew's bosses was on call yesterday. I gave him the first four address and said that is probably the sub station. he was right on. He had to replace a breaker.

Happy
Yes i work in the water department but on week ends and after 5 p.m. the water plant gets to answer the phone. I wish they would change it but they probably will not.

Annie
Welcome back. Sounds like you had a fun time. Did you ride the "boat" that goes down the river.

Hi shad i see you are above me. How is work going?

Good morning all,

In a hurry this morning so not much time to post.

So sorry to hear of all the hassle Mel. Really makes me mad that you are expected to jump through such hoops. Bah! And others just take, take, take and it is handed to them. Don't stress yourself over it though it is hard not to.

Crikey on the accellerated class Shad. 5 days shrunk to one?????? These companies never learn

Gotta run, talk to you later. Love to all

Good Morning All....

MEL...so sorry to hear of the trouble with the govt. You might know the good news you had a couple of weeks ago would bring diaster. D*mn them anyway.

SHAD...good thing you are so intelligent, getting 5 days of training into 1. Yikes!

Not much going on today. Am thinking about joining Curves. I belonged before, at least it gets me moving.

I left my pedometer in the ladies restroom yesterday before I left for home. Sadly it has not been found. I could cry. To think I made it all the way to Texas and back without losing it.

Hidee Ho...Ceejay, Happy, Michelle, and anyone I might of missed.

Much love and many hugs,

Happy Tuesday ladies -

Sorry I've been so quiet. Yesterday was insanely busy at work...but that's a good thing. And I had quite a busy weekend getting the doggies here and there and running other errands. Then my back starting being really painful...I'm hoping it's due to that TOM and nothing more serious. I see the sports med doc on Thursday to hopefully get new xrays just in case it is something structural, in addition to my arthritic SI joint (well hopefully he can confirm whether or not the SI joint is the issue).

The doggies got clean bills of health at the vet. They love going to the vet because they get to see other dogs and the vet (and the techs) have pockets full of treats. The dogs just LOVE everyone there. And they love going to the groomers too for the chance to see and converse (bark) with other dogs and catch up on the latest doggie gossip...just like at any beauty salon.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. I'm going to a party at a former co-worker's house on Friday night and on Saturday night, DH and I are going to a hockey game and Styx will be playing in concert after the game!

Happy - I'm so glad you enjoyed Menopause - The Musical! I've heard lots of good things about it. The heart catherization doesn't sound like any fun, but if it can help determine the cause of your pain, it's probably worth it. My DMIL has had it done a couple times and says it's not that bad. She ended up getting a couple stints put in and feels better than she has in decades! I'm with the other chicks though that if you can start with a chest xray or even an MRI to provide some images of what might be going on, that would be much better. Have you done asthma breathing tests - you take a deep breath and exhale into a device that measures your lung capacity. Do everything you can noninvasively first. On another subject...so you're already experiencing budding and blooming flowers? I'm so jealous! My pussy willow has buds, but that's about it. Of course, I saw my first robin of the year over the weekend. It made me so happy to see the little harbinger of Spring! Stores that are closed on weekends or only open a few hours??? As one who works in the retail industry....that's CRAZY! Especially in this economy, stores should be open during hours when it's most convenient for consumers to spend money. I make lists as well because I have "CRS" (Can't Remember ), and then just hope I don't forget where I put my lists! And I totally agree, the rhythmic sound of the surf is so relaxing. Your description of your visit to Monterey brought back fond memories of when we used to go there when we lived in CA. We love Cannery Row and the Aquarium. Such a lovely city by the ocean.

Ceejay - It was nice to chat with you on FB. Good for you for sticking with your points so well!

Mel - How great that you had such a restful sleep on Friday! We woke up to a dusting of snow on Saturday morning too, but thankfully it melted by 9 am. Sorry you had such a frustrating phone call and that the gov't is being such a pain in the arse.

Rose - I can't wait to hear your news! You've really got me curious. We don't have tulips or daffodils or anything yet...but hopefully soon.

Shad - QVM sounds wonderful! I wish we had somewhere like that here. Sounds like you had a fabulous weekend with the party and dinner with your friend! When do you get to go "home" next? Good for you for getting so much exercise in! So frustrating when a two day training is crammed into 1 day! Not good for the trainer or the trainees.

Ruth - I'm glad you had a nice weekend and hope that your week is going well.

Patty - I hope your Hydra Scan procedure goes well today. Good luck. I'm starting my veggies indoors this week. Especially the ones that take awhile (pumpkins, gourds, etc.). When I plant them directly in the garden or in pots after the last frost, they never get fruits. Very frustrating. I wonder how farmers do it here. They grow pumpkins and other stuff that takes a long time to mature. If you still have questions regarding growing cukes, squash, etc. in pots, just let me know. Speaking of frost...if a frost is expected after I've set my plants out, because my pots are SO heavy, I just leave them outside and cover them with a tarp or old bed sheet or something and that works well.

Annie - I'm so glad you had such a great vacation and a nice (he he) reunion with Tony! I hope Hella Bella didn't bite him while you were away. Sorry to hear about your pedometer. I hope it turns up.

Well, ladies, I really have to get some work done!

Love and hugs to all of you,

SHAD~I DID TELL THE GIRL YESTERDAY THAT IF SHE HEARS FROM BARACK TO TELL HIM NOT TO GIVE ME ANY MORE STIMULUS MONEY AS THE OTHER BRANCHES WILL ONLY TAKE IT ALL AWAY ANY WAY!!


JEANETTE~ GLAD IT WAS ADDRESSES...INSTEAD OF COMPLAINTS!!

HAPPY WAVING BACK TO YOU YOU BUSY CHICK!!

ANNIE~ SOMEONE WALKED OFF WITH THE PEDOMETER?!?! MAYBE THEY WILL TRIP ON IT AND FALL!! SERVE THEM RIGHT

MICHELLE~ SO SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR BACK. HOPING THAT THEY CAN FIND A WAY TO EASE THE PAIN. THE WEEKEND COMING UP SOUNDS NICE THOUGH SO DON'T GO NUTS AND JUST REST UP FOR THE FUN!!! YOU GAVE ME A GOOD LAUGH ABOUT THE DOGGIES! DOGGIE GOSSIP!! WE CALL IT READING THE DOGGIE NEWSPAPER WHEN THEY SNIFF THE TREES AND CURBS HERE!!

I WAS HAVING A PITY PARTY YESTERDAY.,...COULD YOU ALL TELL?
BUT I AM OVER IT NOW AND READY FOR WHATEVER THEY HIT ME WITH. I WENT TO SHOPRITE AND GOT FRUITS, VEGGIES AND CHICKEN BREASTS. ALSO SOME SLICED TURKEY, EGGS AND OF COURSE WATER! I EVEN BOUGHT BRITTA FILTERS FOR MY PITCHER. I SHOULD BE ALL SET NOW. IT WAS FREEZING OUTSIDE THIS MORNING....AT ONLY 26 WHEN I LEFT HERE. WE JUST GOT OUR WATER TURNED BACK ON...THEY FOUND A BIG LEAK IN ONE OF THE UNUSED OFFICES. !!
HOPE EVERYONE IS HAVING A GREAT DAY.

Hi Mel - Good for you for getting such healthy food at the store, as well as the Brita filters. 26 degrees?? Brrrrr. I got a good laugh from "reading the doggie newspaper"...my DH and I say that dogs are checking their "pee-mail" (as opposed to e-mail).