So your affiliation with Trojans started REALLY early, eh girlfriend? ;)

I went to Kelly High School - home of the .... yep, you guessed it TROJANS. See, we travel in separate but similar circles :lol:

That's a funny story Michelle. I remember being a little kid and my aunt sent me to the store for Kotex pads. Of course they put them on the 3rd shelf - far above my reach. I tried my best but finally had to accept a hand from the much older, cutest stock boy ever. I wanted to die because back then, we were embarassed about everything. :o :o :o Actually I'm surprised they didn't just ask for rubbers. I'm also glad to hear that you don't walk down the street and pee on your neighbors mailboxes :rofl: It was quite cute the way you phrased that - gave me a good giggle. Have you considered a snow blower - we got my mom a Toro small sort of like electric shovel kind of thing. It sounds like neither you nor DH are in a position to shovel. I think you need to set some quicker payment terms with the one website client. I know you don't want to antagonize anyone but they expect the content updated quickly so they should hold up their part of the deal too.

Laura, depending on the shoes you wear, there is a full orthotic that fits in sneakers or the loafer type of shoe - that's what I have. I guess they also make a 2/3 style that works in pumps. It must be that many people have orthotics now because they are making more shoes with removeable footbeds to accomodate that. Or the cushy pads for our sore feet! We don't have a bat house in our yard tho DH was thinking of putting one up in the trees. There's only 2 or 3 bats that we see so I'm wondering if someone has a bat house nearby. Bats do eat bugs but there's way more bugs than a bat can eat. Spiders eat bugs too - when they aren't chewing on your leg which is why I generally would leave them alone :D Your sandwich sounds delicious - I will have to try that.

We had a free pass to see an early screening of the Ugly Truth but had a conflict for that night. Glad to hear it was good. Is it a chick flick or just a fun comedy?

Mel - I heard that cilantro was difficult to grow. I planted some and within 2 weeks it was starting to turn to seed. WTH???? The dill has a short growing season too. Why do you keep waking me up so early????? :lol: Hope you don't have to hang around the office too long today.

Annie - I will have to post a link to DH's webshots site. He's got tons of butterfly pictures. I guess you are quite a ways from Chicago but they have a nature museum on the lakefront by Lincoln Park zoo that has a room with live butterflies in it - The Judy Istock Butterfly Haven at the Peggy Noteabart
Nature museum. It's just the coolest place - well actually it's quite warm and humid in there but you know what I mean. A scavenger hunt at the store - that sounds like fun. I'd get distracted thinking - I need this and THAT and ooh look at that :lol: Have fun with register training. My first job ever was at Sears Roebuck downtown. I am so old that it was before they invented electronic cash registers. We literally had to hit a bunch of keys to ring up the sale which meant we had to be able to figure out which keys to ring up $1.39 and had to know how to make correct change. And those damn registers were set up very high on the counter! Just before Christmas in 1971 they switched over to the first electronic registers which delighted us kids but scared the old timers. Had to smile at your zuchinni growing so fast. She will come home from work Sunday and it will be peeking into the house from the kitchen window :rofl:

Shad - chocolate mint BASIL??? That's interesting. I was just thinking it was mint.

I just finished lunch. They have this great apple "salad" in the cafeteria. Near as I can tell it's a couple of kinds of chopped apples (sweet and tart), mixed with a liberal dousing of yogurt, cinnamon and some finely chopped peanuts. It's so good I consider it dessert. Yum. I could probably make it myself for about 23 cents but no, I have to go pay $1.49 for a small cup. Yes, feel free to call me a dummy. It's more the matter of REMEMBERING to make it the night before so I can bring it.

Hello Ceejay, Patty :wave: back to work for me.

Happy - We do have a snow blower, but there is always a little shoveling involved. And even with the snow blower, if the snow is the wet heavy stuff, it puts a strain on the blower, which puts a strain on the back. No fun. We'll both just have to get good and strong before the snow flies. Thanks for the tip about the Nature Museum. I hadn't heard of it before, but we do enjoy the butterfly exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo. As for the website client, she's so tempermental, I'm afraid she would just say "shove it" to me if I asked her to pay in a more timely fashion. And right now, the income I get from her isn't worth the risk of ticking her off...maybe after I get a couple more clients. :)

Those are funny stories ladies!

Michelle - good idea about continuing the walk w/o the dog(s). Another option could be to allow stopping and sniffing for the first part of the walk and pick up the pace on the 2nd part. I've never deliberately tried that, so I'll see how that goes. I know our dog would enjoy running, but I don't run... It's so nice, I'm thinking I'll probably skip the gym and do a dog walk instead, so maybe we'll be sharing a dog walk instead of a gym session. (I know what you meant.)

Happy - I have a full orthotic. I'll have to look for shoes that have removable footbeds. Outside of the athletic shoes category, I wonder what's available. The ones at the podiatrist office look so big and clunky. :(

Thankfully, The Ugly Truth wasn't raunchy like Knocked Up, but I think a guy would find the humor entertaining. And I'm sure they wouldn't mind watching Kathryn Heigl. Just like I didn't mind watching Gerard Butler or the other male character. :D

I'll tell my funny story about "trojans". Our computer at work had been getting viruses. When the boss came in I told him that the computer kept getting 'trojans" and that it was time to install a new virus protector. He asked me who the "blank" was buying "trojans' on line. I laughed out loud. Then after I calmed down I told him that a trojan was a virus. His face turned as red as a beet.

I'm so glad that you all understand about me hiding from the neighbors. I get nervous when I do this. When they come down again I'm going to tell them one more time that I will not be accepting visitors except on my day's off. I'm almost tempted to put a do not disturb sign on the door. Even my aunt has told me not to let them in.

I'll b back later. I'ma getting ready to go home.

Morning all,
Just a quick note for the moment, I have to go out to see if I can fix the DS2's computer. They seem to have lost the internet. Probably because they haven't paid the bill????

As far as condoms go, when I was young and stupid, they were called French Letters. Why, I don't know. Anyway, I remember my French tutor going on about writing letters in french and sending the french letters through the post. :rofl: We used to get the giggles in that class I can tell you. I presume he knew why, although he was an born in Italy of German parents and was teaching French and didn't have a huge sense of humour that we could see.

Gotta go or the day will be wasted.

Shad - I'd make sure the bill was paid before I put alot of effort into diagnosing DS2's problem :lol:

Buddy at work said they got a high priority support call 2 weeks ago near to midnight. Plant could not access the computer system. Plant was also in the midst of a total power black out at the time. Think they were related? :chin:

Ceejay - I almost fell off my chair laughing at your story. That is hysterical. :lol3:

Laura - you might want to check out Zappos.com just to see some shoe styles that might appeal to you and then go check them out at the store - that's what I do when I see a new brand and I'm not sure how it fits. That's what I did with the MBTs I bought. I know that the Naturalizer brand has removeable foot pads. I actually had to get my orthotic trimmed by the podiatrist as it was too tight of a fit in the shoe. Once he did that, I was good to go in dress shoes. Well pants shoes actually as I have not worn a dress since the 90's. :lol:

Ok, I gotta get to sleep. Night all.

I'm so happy it's Thursday!

I didn't get to the gym last night or walk the dogs. Sorry, Laura. I had to stop at the bank on my way home. My ATM/Debit Card expired and I never received a new one. I've called and called to get a replacement, but didn't get one. So I went in to get the card they sent me cancelled and a temporary card issued that I can use until I get my replacement card. The banker asked me some questions and said that she could switch our checking account to one with a lot more perks (like free online bill payment, etc.) and it wouldn't change our checking account number or anything. She also talked to me about a consolidation loan for our credit cards. All good stuff! But by the time I got home, I was really tired and had lots to get done so I didn't get to the gym. Definitely going tonight for at least 30-45 minutes of cardio, 30 min. of strength training and a coaching session with my trainer. :)

Laura - I hope you and your doggie enjoyed the walk.

Ceejay - Your story was really funny!! :lol: Thanks for sharing it. I'll have to tell my DH, who is a computer network guy and deals with viruses and Trojan (horses) all the time! :lol:

Shad - French Letters, huh? I've never heard them called that. Yes, make sure the bill is paid before spending much time on DS2's computer.

Happy - The high priority support call story is TOOO funny! :lol3: I hope you got a good night's sleep and have a great day today!

A big :wave: to Annie and Mel, who I'm sure will be checking in soon. I need another cup of coffee or toothpicks to hold my eyes open! :lol: I don't know why I'm so tired.

TTYL my friends!

Love and hugs,

Funny story ceejay! I like the idea of a do not disturb sign. Reminds me, I think I want to buy a "No Solicitors" sign. I'd rather not deal with them.

Shad - never heard condoms called French Letters. Your poor instructor! But that's all part of what teachers have to deal with.

Happy - good idea about checking out zappos for suitable shoes. Let my fingers do the walking first!

Michelle - I'm NOT glad it's Thursday - I wish it were Friday! Sorry you didn't get your walk last night. Doggy and I had a wonderful walk. Well, I did anyways. We did almost 30 min. at a quick pace and it was good for me but tiring for him. At just shy of the 30 min. mark, he decided to lay down on someone's lawn. I'd brought water with and he drank it a couple times during our walk. I think he was just a bit warm and the lawn felt good to him.

Waves to all and have a good day. :)

I need to run some errands today. The main thing is to get drivers license and car tags, and gym. I'm leaving when the girls come down to mow the lawn.
Get this they came down to get the money before they mow, to buy lawn mower gas. They show off their new expensive cell phones that supposedly her son bought her. Then she was bragging that her and amanda's food stamps would start the 11th. And that there electric bill would be paid for this month. They asked me if I could take them to get the gas, I told them no. All this other stuff was making me furious. Next summer I'll have someone else mow or I'll do it one. I'm not letting them. Excuse the rant.

Happy
I'm wondering if that call came from my city. Sounds like something our customers try to pull when they haven't paid their bill.

Shad
Hope that you get the computer back on line. When I had that problem, Verizon was merging with Alltel.

Michelle
I love my online banking and my debit card. The debit card is like a credit card but I don't have to pay it back. And a quick check online to see the balance means no time spent on reconsiling bank statements. I really hated this task.

I've been to the grocery store this morning and bought some veggies. Yesterday I was on some twinkie binge. I tried the little debbie brownie but they were just too sweet. I've finally pin pointed that these binges come from nerves. I have xanax to take but just didn't want to take it mainly for the fact that it will show up in your blood stream. We are randomly tested for drugs. Starting tonight I'm taking them.

Laura
The dog will get used to walking as times goes around. How old is your dog?
I like Thursday's. It's the first day of my week end.

Annie
Did you work to hard at CVS?

Mel
You must be working with the rug installer today.

Have a oood day.

Yay! Great weigh in for me today! I've lost 2.4 lbs, which means I lost the 2.2 I gained last week, plus a little bit extra! :woohoo: I'm sooo happy!! :dance:

Laura - Good for you for walking your dog. Did you tell us what type of dog you have? If you have, and I forgot, I apologize. I have 3 Miniature Schnauzers. They're my wonderful "kids".

Ceejay - No need to apologize for the rant. Sorry about the nerves. I'm sure you've already tried chamomile tea and other things that don't show up in your bloodstream right? Hang in there, Ceejay. :hug: Enjoy your weekend!

Morning all,

Just eating breakfast following my walk/ jog this morning. I have a lot to do today. Life's just getting faster and faster.

Ceejay - sorry to hear of the problems with neighbours and mowing staff. I'm with you about the cheek of some people who seem to be able to get welfare at the drop of a hat when people like Mel and Jen have to fight for what should be rightfully theirs. Here we are encouraged to 'dob people in' which means that if we find welfare people living the high life, we tell the authorities who will investigate. However many people won't for fear of reprisals. Great world we live in hey?? What's the betting they are not declaring their mowing income either.

Michelle - way to go on that weight loss. I haven't jumped on a scale for yonks but don't think much is happening there as my clothes still fit the same - all of them! Damn it all.

Laura - Don't you just love it when the dog dictates the walk and rest theory.
There are some shoes out there that have orthotics. Kumfs is just one of them and they have orthotics made to fit as far as I can remember. Or they have their own to put inside. I've never really checked into that side. I have very wide flat feet (known as paddles) and I need to have a shoe that is wide and padded in the arches. There seem to be 3 types that suit me. Sandler, Kumfs and Homy peds that we talked about earlier. I just can no longer shop at Payless Shoes as they are strictly fashion and no comfort. Apart from which I find they fall apart really easily.

Happy - It's chocolate mint and not basil. I'll have to go back and look at what I wrote. Chocolate mint is great with strawberries and it's good for you. Cilantro - known here as coriander isn't hard to grow. Damn stuff goes everywhere. The problem I had was to stop it from going to seed and not getting enough of the leaves to eat. Seeds are still growing in the grass and gravel paths. I wish it wouldn't grow so damn fast. I tend not to grow it anymore. It's one of the few herbs I buy. Mind you the DS2 hates it - so maybe I should grow lots more of it.

Annie - guess we won't be seeing so much of you for a while - you are so busy working all hours. Don't wear yourself out reaching for the rubbers now will you. I wonder how the blokes ask for the ribbed and perfumed variety??

I went to have a look at nephews computer yesterday. It is not the bill because the laptop is still working. I think it is because the computer is old and has little space left on the disk. It won't ever do a defrag anymore, there is not enough space. I've deleted all the cookies and emptied the recycle bin and left it doing a partial defrag. I'm having a problem getting in touch with my tame guru at the moment, but I'm fairly sure it is age and space that is causing the problems. Games and music take up so much space today.

Anyway, now I am off to shower, prepare a shopping list for next week, clean up in the kitchen, empty the dishwasher, check out the garden, look for work and fertilise the orchids and nodding violets, and finally find out why my vacuum cleaner is not working so well. Bah humbug.

Spring is on the way!

I HAD A VERY LONG BUT GOOD DAY. I PROMISE TO TRY AND CATCH UP WITH ALL THE POSTS SOMETIME TOMORROW OR SATURDAY MORNING. I JUST ATE SOME OF MY TURKEY CHILI AND TANDOORI NAAN BREAD. YUM! :hun: NOW FOR THE SHOWER AND PJS. I AM REALLY BEAT. THE TRIP TO TRADER JOE'S WAS GREAT. WILLY HELPED A LOT LIKE ALWAYS. HE'S GETTING BETTER AT JUST TAKING OVER :rofl: AND HE KEEPS POINTING OUT STUFF HE THINKS I CANNOT SEE OR READ. GOTTA LOVE THIS GUY. GOD KNOWS I AM BLINDED IN THAT STORE WITH THE CATARACTS. INSTEAD OF THE OLDAGE DISEASE CRS I HAVE CSS!! :lol3: :lol3: I BOUGHT HIM A BABY RACK OF LAMB AND BABY GARLIC BREADS FOR THEIR DINNER. :hun: I HAVE MINE TOO :hun:
SENDING HUGS TO ALL YOU CHICKS AND SPECIAL HUGS TO ANNIE'S MOM TOO. :hug:
HAPPY FRIDAY/SATURDAY TOMORROW :moped:

OK I LIED AGAIN...I TOOK THE SHOWER, GOT INTO THE PJS AND TOO TIRED TO EXERCISE SO HERE I AM. :cb:

JEANETTE~ THOSE GIRLS SOUND LIKE SHYSTERS MILKING THE SYSTEM. BE CAREFUL THEY DON'T MILK YOU AS WELL. GET THE SIGN AND STICK IT ON THE DOOR! TIME IS PRECIOUS WHEN YOU COME HOME AND THEY NEED TO BE TOLD THAT. GOOD LUCK. WEHN STUFF LIKE THAT HAPPENS...I LIKE JUNK FOOD TOO. YOU MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD WITH THE TROJAN AND THE BOSS STORY! :rofl: TOO FUNNY!!!!

MICHELLE~ SNOW STORIES ALREADY? :hohoho: YOUR TROJAN STORY WAS TOO FUNNY ALSO! CRACKED ME UP! STOPPING, SNIFFING AND PEEING??? SOUNDS LIKE MY SENIORS! :lol3: :lol3: HOPE THE CLIENT AND PAYMENTS WORK OUT. A BIG CONGRATULATIONS ON THE NWEIGHTLOSS THIS WEEK AGAIN !! :cheer3: GOOD GOING LADY!!

HAPPY~ IT MUST BE NICE TO SEE THAT SWALLOWTAIL CATEBILLAR UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL AND WAIT FOR THE OUTCOME! I AM STILL LAUGHING ABOUT MT & MRS PIGG!! OMG!! I WOULD HAVE CRACKED UP!!!! I WILL LET YOU SLEEP IN ON YOUR VACATION...HOWS THAT??? :cloud9: THE SALAD SOUNDED GREAT AND TODAY I BOUGHT 2-8 OUNCE TUBS OF FAGE YOGURT..ONE WITH MANGO AND ONE WITH HONEY. THEY WERE $1.49 EACH TOO! :rofl: I AM WAITING TO GO TO A MALL AND TREAT MYSELF SOON. MAYBE NEXCT MONTH :dance:

ANNIE~ YOU ARE NOT RUDE. I NEVER EVEN NOTICED :rofl: :rofl: YOU'RE WELCOME ABOUT MOM. I THOUGHT OF HER TODAY AND REALLY MADE AN EFFORT TO MAKE BETTER FOOD CHOICES FOR MYSELF. IT GAVE ME A WAKE-UP CALL TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR MOM. AFTER ALL I AM 26 AND COULD USE HEALTHIER EATING!! LOL HOW WERE THE FEET AND LEGS WITH THE NEW JOB???

LAURA~ MAKE ME A SAMMIE WITH THAT CRUSTY FRENCH BREAD AND I WILL BRING MY ORGANIC TOMATOES WITH ME....AND MY BASIL :hun: I AM DROOLING JUST THINKING OF IT. GLAD YOU HAD SOME TIME OUT FOR THE MOVIE. HOW DID THE XRAY GO??INQUIRINBG MINDS NEED TO KNOW THESE THINGS :rofl:

SHAD~ FRENCH LETTERS??? I REMEMBER THE BOYS TALKING ABOUT ONE WITH A NUBBY THING ON THE END AND CALLING IT A FRENCH TICKLER! :lol3: :lol3: TOO BAD ABOUT THE DS COMPUTER. GAMES AND MUSIC IS THE BANE OF ALL OLDER PCS AND CHEAP ONES LIKE MINE! :rofl: SO FAR TOMORROW IS STILL LOOKING GOOD FOR ME. IS IT STILL GOOD FOR YOU? IT HAS BEEN VERY HECTIC HERE AND LOTS OF FUSS AND BOTHER. CHECK YOUR E-MAIL BEFORE THE CCALL. AND I WILL LEAVE THE PC ON SO YOU GET A BUSY SIGNAL IN CASE YOU DON'T LOOK FIRST.

OK KIDDIES....I AM OFF TO WATCH SOME MINDLESS TV AND MAYBE BREATHE A LITTLE!

Hi all,

DH needed my car this morning to get more mulch so I had to leave early - no time to post.

Swallowtail caterpillar is missing. DH and I searched all over, can't find him. Supposedly they taste awful and emit a smell so birds are not interested in them. I hope that he crossed the parsley into the azalea or the red tip and is busy spinning his cocoon. DH is very bummed out.

DH learned a song today on the guitar. Day Tripper by the Beatles. He found some new program online that has the tablature for lots of songs. I was getting tired of scales. :lol:

Last day of work until vacation. :dance: can't wait. Now I need to plan carefully as we are spending 3 and a half days in the yurt then travelling to a nice cabin I found for 2 more nights. We have to bring our own food - hence the planning. I'm thinking we will have a full car and DH will be rolling his eyes at do we NEED this much stuff. Problem is, the answer is :yes:

Mel - how do you like that yogurt? So much sugar in the Yoplait. I love it with blueberries and chopped almonds. I'm so glad that you can depend on Wily the way lots of others depend on you. :hug: Did you find anything to watch on TV? Seems kind of dry out there. Maybe you should just go to bed and think lovely thoughts of us :cloud9: :lol: Count us jumping over the hurdles - oh what a sight that would be!

Shad - seems like there's always a bunch of wiggly things demanding attention - you are always the busy bee of the team. I think something got mixed up in a post about the mint. DH and I went to a garden somewhere and they had several varieties of mint - lemon mint comes to mind. Might have had the chocolate one too. I don't remember where that was tho. That would be interesting with strawberries.

Ceejay - something sounds funky with those girls - of course there are people in this world who are takers - get what they can, don't have the ethics like you to earn the money and learn the job. I would never pay someone ahead of the work - unless it was my Mom of course :lol:

Michelle - hey you with the great weight loss again!!!! :yay: Good for you! Was was your success reason this week? It sounds like you are back on track again. I'm glad you got a good deal at the bank, almost makes it worth stopping in. I forgot those dumb ATM cards expire!

That was a cute story about your dog laying down Laura. Slow down already lady :rofl:

Annie my friend, I am tired for you just thinking about trying to handle 2 jobs. Even if you will gather some funny customer stories. Don't wear yourself too thin!

I got to bed a little earlier last night only to be woken up at 5am with the most wretched Charlie horse in my left leg. I tried to relax it but had to hobble out of bed to stretch it out and it tried to come back when I got back into bed. I just dozed on and off until the alarm went off. Tired now so I'm going to try again.

Good night all.