Annie
Yum on the apple cider. I love it in the fall.

Michelle
Glad you made it to work this morning. You should be getting off as I type this.

Shad
When I retire I'm moving near my sister Springfield, Missouri and her grown children. 62 sure looks good right now but as time goes on I may have to wait till I'm 65. Depends on how healthy I am and the economy.


The first couple of days I have not been 100% on plan but today my mood is different. I'm loving this fall weather. It was a brisk 44 degrees when I got to work but now the temps are mid 70's Even had to get the chill chaser out this morning.
Class this afternoon at 4 p.m. so my day will not be so long at the plant. Having to get class room hours for my license renewal coming up in June.

Lunch time, munch time.

I have wheat thin flatbread crackers, a schmear of lite cream cheese and a piece of thinly sliced chicken breast deli meat on top of that. Low WW points and the protein in the cheese and meat keep me full. I love the Wheat Thin flatbreads - nice crispy crunch. Eating the parsley garlic today so stay away. :dracula: Rounding that out with a cup of 1 pt garden vegetable soup and some green grapes.

Tonight we're supposed to try a pepper steak soup from a Rachel Ray magazine that DH thought sounded good. I have made several of her recipes and almost always find that they look better than they taste :dunno: But I'm so happy he's starting to cook that I will give him a turn or two to choose the meals.

Annie - I would be of no help to you in the cheese department at Whole Foods. In fact, I would be racing you to the next cheese station :devil: I think Shad is fond of cheese too. Surely one of you kind souls can be the cheese police for us? Ouch on the burn too. That's a pretty good size owwie there. I am not fond of cooking in grease or bacon either for that reason. I work in a complex of buildings around a lake/water retention pond. Some of the buildings are vacant and at lunch time several enterprising individuals drive their cars to that lot to "cat nap". At least I hope they are napping and not being serviced :o :lol: My fear is that I'd get warm and snuggly and if I was tired enough to nap, I wouldn't wake up in 30 minutes :yikes:

I had to laugh at your cider story Annie. Laura I used to love to go to Long Grove to the Apple Haus and get fresh cider and some cider donuts and maybe a pie :devil: . You are making me drool now! Cider was ice cold and always tasted good in the store and I'd buy a gallon, get it home and then after 2 glasses decide it was too sweet for me :lol: So I'd warm it up, put in a cinnamon stick and a shot of Southern Comfort and forget all about the sweetness :cheers: :D I'm sure I can find a recipe for apple cider donuts but then I'd have to fry them and burn myself worse than Annie. I wonder if Dunkin Donuts makes them? This way I buy 2, get my craving over and it's done with.

Michelle - I hope that you made it through the day and can stay awake long enough to get home and sneak a nap!

Gotta run - people came over and tromped over my lunch hour :rolleyes:

Lordy, that was a lot of reading to catch up on!

Shad – I love the acronym idea! I’m thinking up something for myself – see below. You can send some dust masks my way. Between the dust and the dog hair, cleaning can be tough on the lungs. Hope you and Chris get some better (drier) weather for your adventures.

Mel – Still more rain?!?! :faint: Sad about the eviction - not for the son, but the mom. Flipping the mattress is one thing I definitely don’t miss! After our experience with a pillowtop mattress that still developed dips in spite of flipping it (the one we had still called for regular rotations), we bought one of those sleep number beds. We’ve had it quite a while now and are very happy with it.

Happy – Glad to hear you and dh are strategizing on getting out of a town you don’t like. Hopefully in the not-too-distant future you’ll be living a quieter, simpler life not too far from your family. The Apple Haus must have had the booth we saw that had the long lines (cash only) for donuts, pies, etc. I find apple cider very sweet, but I like having it spiced during the season. BF’s mom is having us over for a pork roast dinner next weekend, and I’m going to make spiced cider for that. I’m definitely NOT a good candidate for the cheese police. :cheese:

Michelle –Unless you’ve been up all night doing something fun and are still up having fun at 2:30 am, that’s an absolutely ungodly hour to be awake!! But I’m glad to hear it’s not a regular thing. Good you kept those car windows cracked open to keep yourself awake!! What a long day for you! Yeh, the reunion was nice – a lot of chat and reminiscing and flipping through a couple yearbooks someone brought. One former schoolmate will soon be working across the street from me, so we might be getting together for lunch sometime. Hope that final spine injection does the trick and you can get Zumba-ing once again.

Hi Patty!

Annie – One of my friends calls herself a recovering Catholic, lol. I can relate to that. Yeh, I was like Virginia until I attended non-Catholic college, ha ha. Now why did you have to go and mention football? I’ve been trying to block out that painful Bears-Jets game… :headache: I’m so sorry you hurt your back! Glad to hear it’s mostly better. My own arse is a bit sore from bending in the garden yesterday. Hope a deployment date doesn’t come anytime soon…EVER. Mmmm, fresh cider. I could use someone to follow me around and slap my hand every time I pick up something junky to eat. My hand would probably look worse than your burnt one, LOL.

Ceejay – I’ve borrowed your “Never give up” for my own ON PLAN – that’s a real goody. Even if you wait until 65 for retirement, it’s still rather close for you.

Cinci – My bio: I’m 46 y.o. and I live in a suburb NW of Chicago with my bf of 23 years and our dog Coal, a Labrador retriever mix. Both my bf and I grew up in Chicago and have lived in the area all our lives. At one point, my parents and all my siblings relocated out of state, but my sister has since returned to the Chicago area. I work in downtown Chicago in the risk management group of a leasing/finance company. In my former lives, I worked in public accounting and internal auditing. My audit jobs provided me with the opportunity to travel a bit both domestically and internationally. I (thankfully) don’t travel anymore for work, but I sure would like to do some more leisure travel. I enjoy reading and sewing, and I’d like to do more bicycling. I’ve enjoyed watching tennis from the time Bjorn Borg was a top player. I took a few tennis classes as a kid/young adult, but never played regularly. My bf played a lot of tennis in his youth and I think it would be fun if both of us could get back into it.

I’ve gradually put on quite a bit of excess weight since leaving college and working sedentary desk jobs. I don’t mind exercise, but I sure could be more consistent with it. The eating side of the equation is really the difficult part for me. Up until the past year or so I’ve generally been disgustingly healthy in spite of being overweight... but… I’ve developed some foot problems, and lately my blood pressure readings are high. A healthier diet and weight loss would definitely benefit me. Which leads me to my ON PLAN statements:

Opt for lower sodium foods
No fast food lunches

Plan and eat more home cooked and home prepared meals – including brown bag lunches
Log my eating!
Aerobics 3 times per week, strength training 3 times per week.
Never give up!!

Okay, I’m finally gonna post this (funny how work gets in the way). Tonight I’m doing a BE workout come he!! or high water. Tomorrow I’m leaving work at about 3:00 for a podiatrist appt. My foot that had the shot still feels great, and tomorrow I get my new orthotics. That’s my excuse for not bringing my workout gear tomorrow. Maybe there’ll be time for a workout between the appointment and the movie.

Laura
Like your plan of action.

Happy
You are making me drool now. I've heard that protein is suppose to make you fill full longer.

I'm back to work after a 1.5 hour class that was suppose to last 3 hours. In a way I'm glad but it wasn't fair for L who had to come and work for me. She thought she would get 3 hours of over time. She only got 2. I caught her off guard coming back to work. Sorry to say J. was going through the motions of "being a teacher" don't know what he'll do later on when some one actually has to take a test. I'll laugh tomorrow if the out of towners don't show up. I suppose I shouldn't complain I'm getting "free hours" so to speak.

Hiya,

Had a wonderful visit with Chris. Yesterday we went up Mt Tamborine and went through the nurseries, botanical gardens, fudge shops - oh shoot, didn't mean to say that. And today I had to put her on a plane and send her home. It was sad. She looks so thin and stooped these days. She seems to have lost height as well and if anyone out there thinks that taking steroids is good for you - take another look. Chris tells me she now has osteoporosis because of the steroids and has to take calcium as well to try and save the bones.
But it was a good visit and I will see her again in March when I go over for the nieces wedding.

Laura - Glad to hear that you had a good time at the reunion. They are sometimes worth a late night. The apple fest sounds like fun however I get you with the crowds. It becomes just plain uncomfortable with all those people all trying to do the same things as you want to do at the same time. Chinese food is on plan???? I'm being the police here. Wait till I get to Annie.

Annie - Sorry to heare about the stomach pains. Hope you didn't eat anything real bad and that the whole thing just goes away. Good to hear that the brothers band is doing okay. Interesting name. Give up on the housework and give Bella a pat and then go to bed. You've done enough today.
The children look adorable and are growing up fast.
I thought Tater was an MP??? What's he doing being a gunner? Ummm maybe I shouldn't have asked that question - his duty of course. As you will who stays home and waits.
I will be your policeperson and as far as cheese goes I will stop you from eating it, but only because I have eaten it all myself! :rofl: So put your on plan plan on the fridge and look at it every time you go to the fridge. Or when you are in the grocery shop. Do I really need this??? Ask yourself the question because if you don't buy it, you are saving yourself some much needed money!

Michelle - Isn't it strange how we never seem to sleep well if we are worried that we will miss an early special event.
Coffee sounds real good about now - although with the time being what it is, I may just turn to alcohol to numb the pain.
Have a nice nap and rest up that back. It's time we got out of this cycle of bad things happening to us. Feel better soon.

Mel - No we ended up on Mount Tambourine - and found the cheese factory, the fudge shop and a wine bar. I passed on the wine bar, because I am the driver and Chris rarely drinks. But we indulged on cheese tasting and fudge tasting which is not on plan, but we had a very small dinner - basically ploughmans lunch - cheese, biscuits, pickled onions, avocado slices, tomato slices, stuffed olives (after which we were stuffed) and some tuna in chilli-mango dressing. Very yum. And it got rid of most of the cheese I bought so I won't be tempted again for a while.
I hope the eviction is not too traumatic for everyone.

Happy - your lunch sounded nice. Dinner doesn't sound too back either. Hope you managed to get through most of your lunch break before the trampling began.
DH might end up as a professional nutritionist. We could all come to him for help then.

Ceejay - hope the classes are going okay today. Annoying when you get a teacher who either can't teach or doesn't really know the subject. Hope you get a good pass.

Better go rescue the laundry. It will rain shortly, but at least today has been nearly dry. Don't mind it raining at night when I can go to bed and listen to the rain on the roof. See you all tomorrow.

Wonder whether Cin got the job????? Inquiring minds need to know.

good morning all,

despite going to bed at a reasonable hour, I had a night filled with nightmares and bad dreams and I have an excruciating headache this morning. I'm hoping 10 minutes under a hot shower will help.

Will be back later to post.

GOOD MORNING CHICKS. WOKE UP EARLY, ROLLED OVER AND SLEPT ANOTHER HOUR. BUT THIS TIME I FEEL REFRESHED. YESTERDAY SEEMED TO NEVER END. I WAS GLAD TO GET BACK UP HERE AT 3:30. HAD A NICE QUIET EVENING. NOTHING EXCITING HAPPENING HERE TODAY. STICKING TO MY PLAN AND EATING ALL MY MEALS UP HERE AND IN "QUIETNESS"!! I DO FEEL BETTER THAN I HAVE FOR A WHILE. I JOINED AN EXERCISE CHALLENGE NOW TOO. THIS SHOULD KEEP ME IN TOW FOR THE WINTER...I COULD FEEL MYSELF SLACKING OFF THE EXERCISING L AS THE TEMPS WERE DROPPING AND THE OLD BOD WAS STIFFENING UP. THINKING POSITIVELY!!!:dance:
HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE :moped:
ps: The eviction never happened...it now has to go to the courts as the son refuses to leave, the mom has the alzh. & another son has custody and power of attorney. Could take months to remove him. Sad really. I never saw him yesterday or he...me. But on round 2 of this drama I will be missing from any proceedings. He scares Jen and I cannot have her worrying. I personally think he's full of hot air but desperate people can get wonky. :crazy: She's right.


HAPPY~ I MUST HAVE MISSED THE CIDER STORY OF ANNIE'S BUT NOW I HAVE A HANKERING FOR THE STUFF :cheers: THE LUNCH SOUNDED GREAT AND THE NEXT TIME I GO TO A REGULAR STORE, I NEED TO LOOK FOR THOSE FLATBREADS. I SAW THEM IN A MAGAZINE. YUM!!! MAYBE I COULD USE THE GARLIC ONES ON THE WEEKENDS TO KEEP PEOPLE AWAY!! :rofl: :rofl: HOPE THE DH'S SOUP WAS GOOD...SOUNDED LIKE IT!! :hun:


MICHELLE...HOPE THE EARLY DAY HAS WORN OFF AND YOU FEEL GOOD. OUR SUN IS TRYING BUT NOT SUCCEEDING TO PEEK OUT. MAYBE LATER OR TOMORROW. HOW'S DOPPLER DOING?? GREAT TIME OF YEAR FOR HIM TO BE ABLE TO SEE BETTER.....HE CAN CHASE THE LEAVES!!


ANNIE....YOU HAVE TO KNOW IN YOUR HEART THAT WE WILL KEEP STICKING YOU BACK TOGETHER WITH CRAZY GLUE IF YOUR DS GETS DEPLOYED. HAVE NO FEAR...THE CHICKS ARE HERE!!! WE'LL KEEP YOU SANE...OR AS SANE AS POSSIBLE!!! I AM GLAD YOU'RE ALL GOING ON THE WEEKEND TRIP NEXT MONTH. SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO. WTF....YOUR HAND TOO!?!? GOING TO GET THE UPS MAN TO START SAVING ALL DISCARDED BUBBLE WRAP!!! SEEMS LIKE YOU WILL BE NEEDING FAR MORE THAN I WILL!!! ALTHOUGH A FRIEND OF MINE HAD A DREAM THAT I SLID OUT OF MY WHEELCHAIR AND ENDED UP ON THE FLOOR!! :lol3: :lol3:


CEEJAY....FREE HOURS SOUND GOOD TO ME. SHORT CLASSES TOO?? WHEN IS THE RENEWAL? I HAD NO IDEA YOU WERE AT THAT JOB SO LONG. COLD MORNINGS AND WARMER AFTERNOONS ARE PREDICTED HERE FOR AFTER OUR MONSOON SEASON IS OVER!!! :rain: HAPPY "ON PLAN" DAY TO YOU TODAY!!


SHAD...SORRY MISS CHRIS IS LEAVING. I MUST HAVE HAD IT WRONG...I THOUGHT THE VISIT WOULD BE LONGER. SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT THE STEROIDS STILL AND OF COURSE THEIR SIDE EFFECTS ARE TERRIBLE. SHE'S BEEN THRU SO MUCH...WISH THERE WAS AN END IN SIGHT FOR HER TO HAVE A HAPPY ENDING. :hug: THE TASTE TESTING WOULD HAVE BEEN RIGHT UP MY ALLEY!! CHEESE & FUDGE!! OMG I AM DROOLING OVER HERE :drool: GLAD YOU BOTH HAD A GREAT TIME TOGETHER!! BTW...I AM NOT A FISH EATER BUT THE TUNA0CHILI SAUCE OVER TUNA SOUNDED DELISH!!

CIN....DID WE LOSE YOU???? :mag:

:hug: OHHHH MISS HAPPY....SENDING GOOD THOUGHTS FOR A PAIN FREE DAY!! THIS IS NO WAY TO START OFF A THUESDAY :hug:

Happy
Those nightmares and bad dreams are not a good thing. Hope your headaches ceases.

Shad
At least one good thing is coming out of this short lived class. I get hours for my license renewal coming in June, 2011. I agree with the side affects of to much steriod use.

D*mn it, it did it again....I will try one more time...in a few...going to get coffee...

Hi ladies -

I left work yesterday at noon, absolutely exhausted. I had to make a side trip to the vet to get some eye drops for Doppler because I wasn't sure he'd have enough to last until the appointment today. I got home, and DH said needed a ride to the rental car place. Apparently the company he ordered his transmission from sent one for a different truck...so now they have to bring him the correct one and take the bad one back. In the meantime, his truck is in the driveway with the drive shaft out and the transmission nearly completely disconnected. He was livid. :tantrum: So he is making the company that sent the wrong transmission pay for a rental car so he can get to and from work. He and I work far enough apart and different enough hours that it would make carpooling for a week really difficult, especially given Doppler's vet appointment today and my back injection on Thursday.

Last night...I fell asleep by 7 pm and slept straight through until 4:30. It was wonderful. :cloud9:

Today after work, I'm rushing home and getting Doppler to take him to the vet for another follow up. Then once I get home from that, I have to go to the Library to return some books/videos, and I may mow the lawn if I have enough energy and there's enough daylight left.

I'm not doing as well as I'd hoped in terms of being On Plan. My eating has been good, but I've missed several days of exercise due to bronchitis and this lasting weakness. My hope is to gradually get back to an exercise plan starting on Saturday or Sunday, because by then my energy should be have returned, my lungs should be clear AND the pain from the back injection will have subsided. :crossed:

So much to catch up on with all you chicks and so much work to do....decisions, decisions....well, here goes nothing. :lol:

Annie - I LOVE Whole Foods. Whenever I go there...which thankfully isn't often since we don't live anywhere near one...I definitely hit the deli area hard. All the yummy, healthy deli salads. :drool: And double drool :drool: :drool: for the apple cider, especially with Happy's secret "southern" ingredient! :rofl:

Happy - Your lunch sounds super healthy and delish. I'll have to try the Wheat Thins flatbreads. As for the Whole Food cheese samples...I'd be running neck and neck with you and Annie...though Annie has much longer legs, so she'd probably win. :rofl: I think your DH should cook for us all, freeze the portions and mail them to us...like Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating...except it would be Happy's DH's Healthy Eating! I'm sure it would be way healthier and tastier and an outstanding career move for him! So sorry to hear about your restless and nightmarish night. I hope your headache has gone away by now.

Laura - I've wondered how people like those sleep number beds, and how long they last/stay supportive. DH and I are thinking about getting a Tempurpedic bed when we can afford it...and now that we've been enjoying our memory foam mattress topper so much, we'll probably get the entire mattress in a year or two. As for the 2:30 am shift...I may have to pull that again next Monday...depending on whether or not my team lead who is scheduled to do it will "pull rank" on me. I'm so glad the shot in your foot has given you relief! Keeping my fingers crossed :crossed: that the podiatrist appointment goes well and that the orthotics are made correctly and helpful to you!

Ceejay - I hope your classes continue to go well. As for protein, it does help you feel full longer, and if you typically eat only carbs at a meal, if you add a bit of protein, it will keep your blood sugar a bit more stable (helping to avoid the spikes and crashes). As for Laura...getting 2 hours of OT, while not as good as 3, is better than nothing.

Shad - Glad you had a nice visit with Chris! Thanks to your mention of Mt. Tamborine, I now have the song "Mr. Tamborine Man" stuck in my head. :rofl: I know that steroids are not good for me. I know they totally wreck bones and other bodily systems, but they do help me breathe when I get lung infections. And they are giving me a better quality of life (read: less pain) even if it's only short term. I eat lots of dairy and take calcium...and my last bone density scan came out okay. But, yes, to your point, I am aware with each pill or shot that there are consequences. And it sucks. I REALLY wish there was something else that worked as well without the long and short-term side effects. As for cheese, my DMIL is on me ALL THE TIME about how I like cheese on EVERYTHING. She says that's why I'm fat. I said there are a lot worse things I could eat than cheese, and I try and make low fat choices and use a little rather than a lot. But to me...all food is better with cheese...well, maybe not brownies or ice cream...but nearly all food. I am DEFINITELY for breaking the cycle of bad things/ailments/pain!

Mel - Sorry that the eviction has been delayed and if the drama continues. I think you are smart to steer clear of the proceedings. You and Jen don't need that stress. Thanks for asking about Doppler, he seems to be doing GREAT! And he REALLY wants to run. He has had enough of the leash. Every time we tug on the leash to bring him in (after he's done his business), he seems to be swearing under his breath! Schnauzers are stubborn dogs and he just wants to stay outside and roam free. Hopefully, he can get permission from the vet to start running/playing a week early. Stay warm and dry, my friend.

Cin - Are you there? Hope you're having a good day.

Okay...work is tromping on my "chit-chatting" time. :lol:


Love and hugs to all,

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening…wherever you are reading from….

Last night at CVS was busier than heck..I mean it is not even Christmas season and we are being bombarded. I think when people don’t have anything to do, they come and hang out at CVS. For instance last night, many regulars came in cause I know I shouted hello’s to Lorie, Michelle, Eric, Gary and whoever else. Too funny. Just like Cheers..NORM!!

The burn on my hand is not from the stove or fire. It is from the pot I boiled the cabbage in last week. The steam rolled off the hot water onto the top of my hand and sizzled away. The scab came off in the shower and it bleed this morning. Surprisingly enough it does not hurt. I put triple antibiotic cream on it with a bandaid…all is good.

Shaddie…I can’t wait to come visit with you sometime, you do fun, cool stuff. Wine and cheese….yum, you can all my chocolate, yuk. You will see Chris before you know it March will be here. I mean it is only 166 days till spring. I really want to see a Roo baby the most. They are so cute.

MELLIE….glad you didn’t have to deal with the eviction, but it will come to something that will have to be dealt with, not fun I am sure. Stay in your apartment where it is quiet and peaceful, do your exercising, and eating OP. YOU CAN DO THIS… Sliding out of your wheelchair dream,,,hmm, my momma actually did that once. Me and dad caught her before she hit bottom. She actually was laughing the entire time….bad thing but good happy funny memory….

Happy…sorry about the nightmares…Yikes…I hate them and when I wake up scared, I lay there real still to make it all go away, with eyes wide open. No one to hold onto. Freaky. What did you eat before going to bed. I hear mushrooms will make you dream, not necessarily nightmares tho.

Ceejay…hope the class was worth your time…too bad our Shaddie couldn’t have been your teacher. That would have been a hoot all the way around, although, I think she would make you tow the line and learn it. Lol

Laura…hope the new shoes work out better for you and feeties feel better than ever. I think I need to adopt all the ON PLAN acronyms for my plan. They all sound good and can be applied to my life. Yes the desk jobs give us pancake arse. If you sit on a grate, that would be waffle arse. Lol

Cincy….hope your day is going well. Did we scare you off? Hope not.

Annie
Ouch on the burn.

Mel
I love those day's where I can get and extra hours sleep. It may be in the afternoon however. My body has adjusted to getting up early.

Food was good but not as good as it should have been. For some reason I dislike green veggies except for root veggies and beans and peas. All types of Lettuce has always has bothered my stomach. Rode the bike for 20 minutes.
My morning is flying by. I suppose it's because I get an opportunity to get out of the building at 4 p.m.

Cin
did you get lost?

Hey Ceejay....Broccoli is bad for me, not only does it tear my stomach up, give me indigestion but also gives me terrible gas.....It is awful.

Good morning all.

Shad – That visit with Chris went quickly! Sounds like the trip to Mt. Tamborine was fun. Wine, cheese, fudge – yum! Sorry to hear about the effects of the steroids on her. As Michelle wrote – sure wish there was something safer that would help. Nope, Chinese food is not OP, especially the typical Americanized version of it. At least the rice was steamed, not fried… And, hey, I only came out w/ my OP statements yesterday! Excuses, excuses. Must keep trying.

Happy – Sorry you slept poorly, had nightmares and woke with a headache – that’s the worst! Hope you’re feeling better soon. :hug:

Mel – Good for you for getting on an exercise challenge! Too bad the eviction didn’t happen, but I’m not surprised it’s getting held up. Hope you and Jen can just steer clear of this guy until he’s finally out of the building.

Ceejay – Nice to get 3 hours of license credit for only 1.5 hours of class time! There aren’t many veggies I like either. My mother doesn’t like many veggies and so I didn’t grow up eating a wide variety of them. But that’s no excuse now!

Michelle – Glad you had a nice long sleep. Arrrgh, how frustrating for DH to discover he’d been shipped the wrong transmission!! I hope Doppler gets the all clear today and can run around and enjoy his restored vision to its fullest. :) I think we’ve had our sleep number bed around 7-8 years and it’s still going strong. It hasn’t lost any supportiveness. I’m pretty much on the same number I’ve been on since the beginning. We haven’t had any issues with leaks or the pumps. We know several people who have them, and for longer than bf & I, so I’ll have to ask them how their beds are doing.

Annie – But doesn’t being busy make the shift faster? I used to wish for work days with nothing to do, but then I realized how boring and long they can be. And these days it’s better to be busy. Doesn’t assure job security (no one has that anymore, do they?), but still… Anyway, now I just look forward to days when the boss is out – not for slacking opportunities, just for the peace. The past year or so I’ve really noticed her hearing is not what it used to be, and sometimes I can hear her conversations from her office clear over to my cube! Yep, she’s talking louder. Maybe that has nothing to do with hearing loss but more to do with being on speakerphone – I know I talk louder on them. I think that goes back to the days when speakerphones had crummy sound quality. I digress… The boss and one other dept member are leaving town Thurs. afternoon, so a little peace is coming later this week.

Hi Cincy!

Yesterday was so-so for food. Took doggy for a walk w/ bf and did one BE workout. No workout today since I’m leaving at about 3 for my foot doc appt. The movie tonight is “The Town”, and I’ll be going to that. Tomorrow will also be no workout at the bldg. FC since we just received an e-mail strongly urging us to participate in a volunteer project tomorrow afternoon. (CEO: “Managers: if your people want to attend, please let them go unless there is something urgent that has to get done.” Boss’s boss: “If your schedule permits, please lend a hand.”) I wouldn’t be writing this post right now if I had something urgent on my plate, so I guess I’ll run it by the boss for her okay. Tomorrow night I’ll do a BE workout. Okay, gotta get this posted. TTFN.

Update On My $$ Drama: The Bank Hit Me With Some Heavy Charges...over $100 For This Whole Business. I Called That Lawyer Jen Found And Asked Advice....he Said They Are Within Their Rights To Do So But He Was Disappointed To Hear That A Bank As Large As Wells Fargo Would Do Such A Thing Under The Circumstances.
No More Disappointed Than I Was. When The Bank Was Wachovia, They Returned Every Cent. Guess Wachovia Had A Heart!! I Had Already Been Turned Down By Phone So He Said To Shoot A Letter Off To Customer Services. It Can't Hurt But Not To Count On It......at Least We Got The Bulk Of The Money Back. :D

MICHELLE...SORRY ABOUT THE DH'S CAR AND YOUR WEAK FEELING. JUST TAKE IT SLOW TILL YOU FEEL THE STRENGTH COME BACK. YOU HAVE BEEN THRU A LOT THIS YEAR ALSO LIKE ANNIE. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO LEARN TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION! MODERATION IS NEVER EASY SO I'M SENDING A HUG!!:hug: SO GLAD TO HEAR ABOUT DOPPLER AND HOPE HE GETS HIS FREEDOM VERY SOON.


CEEJAY... I WOULD SEE HOW THE LETTUCE ETC WOULD BOTHER YOUR TUMMY AND ALSO THE IBS. TOUGH TO DIGEST!! AFTERNOON NAPS ARE GREAT WHEN YOU HAVE A COZY BLANKET!!


HAPPY...HOPE YOUR HEAD FEELS A BIT BETTER NOW.


ANNIE...HOPE THE BOO BOO HEALS VERY SOON! I HATE BURNS OF ANY KIND!! HAD A LAUGH AT YOUR MEMORY OF MOM. MY FRIEND DOENS'T KNOW WHY SHE WOULD HAVE A DREAM LIKE THAT. LOL I USED TO HANG OUT AT CVS WITH THE SENIORS AT ALL THE MALLS. BOUGHT A ,.OT OF GIFTS THERE TOO AND ALL MY OTC DRUGS. JEN & I HAVE LOTS OF DECORATIONS FROM THEM TOO AND SOME ADORABLE STOCKINGS! GOTTA LOVE CVS!! :love:



LAURA....HOPE THE VOLUNTEERING GOES WELL. HAVE FUN IF YOU CAN. GIVE US THE REVIEW ON "THE TOWN" TOMORROW!! LOL THEN WE WILL HAVE TO GET THE WHIP OUT AND GENTLY URGE YOU TO THE BLDG FC!! :rofl: :rofl:


:cloud9: SWEET DREAMS CHICKS...ESPECIALLY MISS HAPPY!! POSTING THIS NOW AS I WILL BE MIA TOMORROW.
I HAVE STUFF TO SET UP FOR THE FLU SHOTS IN THE MORNING AND THEN HANDING THE REINS OVER TO SOMEONE ELSE. I GAVE UP THIS JOB LAST YEAR AND STUCK TO MY GUNS THIS YEAR AS WELL. IT'S TAKING 3 PEOPLE TO REPLACE ME :hohoho: I LOVE THAT SOOO MUCH!! IS THAT MEAN???

TOMORROW AFTERNOON, THE KIDS AND I ARE HAVING AN EARLY DINNER TOGETHER. SOME KIND OF TAKE OUT. WE NEVER FEEL GOOD AFTER THESE SHOTS SO IT'S BECOME A TRADITION OF SORTS. LOL THEN IT WILL BE AN EARLY NIGHT AND SHOPPING THURSDAY MORNING.
TRY AND STAY OUT OF TROUBLE TILL I RETURN!

SEND OUT THE MOUNTIES FOR CIN. I THINK SHE GOT LOST!

Morning all,
Here I sit again in the office. I do have a couple of things I can mull over and that should take me all of a couple of hours I guess. But there you go. You win some, you lose some.

On plan is more or less working for me, since I have been watching the portions and doing some walking on our travels. I seem to have shed nearly a kilo. So it can be done. Having said that, I need to keep it up.

Chucked Chris out at the airport yesterday afternoon. It was sad to see her go. Tonight I get to do it all over again as DS2 is off to Perth for about 10 days to catch up with friends. DS1 arrives on the 12th of October for 3 weeks. All these comings and goings. But it will be good to have the family together again for a while.

DS2 found out that the company to which he has applied for an apprenticeship is checking his references. That is a positive sign for him. We continue to wait for that one answer. I may have to pick up the pieces if they don't employ him. Still we all have our crosses in life to bear.

Annie - do you have an Aloe Vera plant in your yard. Those things are miraculous with burns, scalds, sunburn, rashes etc. Lovely, lovely stuff. No scarring, no scabbing. Everyone needs an Aloe.
The fudge wasn't just chocolate. I'm not a chocolate lover myself. There were umpteen varieties of ginger fudge, maple fudge, strawberry fudge, citrus fudge, honey fudge, Baileys Irish Cream fudge, Cointreau fudge, etc. I bought some triple ginger fudge for the DS2 since he is addicted to ginger. Chris got some dark chocolate coated glace ginger which wasn't too bad. She is a chocoholic. The cheese factory was small but had some nice varieties. I got a Tamenbert. Camenbert made in Tambourine = Tamenbert. It was very nice too. Didn't have that sometimes musty flavour of the shop bought ones. I've also got some olive tapenade which contains goats cheese and garlic as well as olives. Either eat it with friends or stay alone.
Just for you I have attached a picture of a joey in the pouch. Enjoy

Ceejay - I am with you on green veges. I will eat cauliflower and broccoli. But I don't really like the green leafy stuff unless it is raw. I am happy to eat raw cabbage and spinach etc. Good to hear that you get credit for classes at year end.

Happy - sorry to hear about the headache. Horrible things. Hope it went away soon after it arrived.

Laura - Like the On Plan thingy. Now we have to live up to our ideas. Happy BE Workout

Mel - Banks are a law unto themselves - rotten b*stards. Just keep breathing and relaxing. Sounds like there is a lot of tension building up there. We do not want you going down with the latest version of lurgy or anything. Why are they trying to evict the son? Okay so he is not the one looking after Mum, which probably means that he is not reliable enough. And why is he staying there in the first place. Ring the alarms and get the place swarming with cops. If he is hiding out, they will find him then. How does he upset Jen??

Michelle - sounds like Doppler is raring to go again. He probably is swearing at you for bringing him back inside again.

Patty - good to have you back. Now you just have to post regularly and the naughty police on the thread will keep you on track - or on the naughty spot.

Better go think about some work I guess. It seems a long time until 4 o'clock.

Umm what happened to the attachment??????

Try again.

Success. There you go

Awwww Shaddie, just love the Roo. Hims is so cute. I could kiss him all up, if he would hold still and not bonk me in the nose....

Madeline Christine
 

My GRAND niece. My brother's grandbaby....Born 8*9*10

That's cute Annie.
Come on over, I'll take you to the sanctuary up the road and you can sit with the darlings for the day. Pat them all you like. Feed em too. And you can cuddle a koala.

Can you tell I am as bored as bat****?

Hi ladies - you haven't lost me :D. Just got super busy the last couple days. Was in Frankfurt for a second interview on Monday (messed up the presentation, but did okay with the rest) and just had lots of errands to do yesterday. It's taking me so long to reply b/c I have to go back and re-read stuff b/c I can't ever remember who said what :lol: .
Thanks everyone for sharing a bit of info about yourself. Very envious of the ladies living in Chicago - one of my favorite cities in the US!

Anyway - annie, your grand niece is adorable!
Well done everyone who is staying on plan and :hug: to those who aren't feeling 100%. Sticking to the plan so far. Went to the gym again today and did 5k on the elliptical plus weights. I might head out for a walk later today if the weather clears up a bit. It's been so foggy here - fall is really here now! I think I'll grab my camera and head out for some pictures.
I actually find it not too difficult to stick with the plan food either - at least as long as the temptations are removed. I currently live with my parents and while that's tough for a whole bunch of reasons (:lol:), my dad and his terrible eating habits (and refusal to be supportive on this) are making it so difficult. He constantly needs chocolate or sweets in the house and I have a hard time staying away from them when the craving sets in. I've not done it so far, but I know those times will come, so I asked him to please hide his chocolate somewhere. I hope he will - out of sight, out of mind works really well for me!

Anyway, am off to do a bit of work, but since you're all cat lovers, I thought I'd share a pic of my two favorite men I took a couple days ago: One is Dylan, the cat, the other Paul, the Mini :lol: . Seems they get along great, huh? :D

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/1618/oct2010.th.jpg

Good morning girls,

I guess I'm going to have to do this in bits. My apologies in advance if I don't get to you all at once. Hang tight. I will. I'm trying to get into work earlier and I certainly don't want to get up much more early than I already am - especially with it being dark and chilly in the mornings. So that means barely enough time to read posts with my coffee much less respond. And darn if I don't settle down at lunch and people keep coming by to talk or ask about things. :mad: Right now DH is sitting across from me engrossed in his computer game so maybe I can knock a few postings out.

Love the picture of the cat Cinci - and look forward to some other pics of your surroundings. We live vicariously through other folks - mostly Shad who travels the most of the lot. Hope you get the job :crossed: That is hard having to live in a house where you are confronted with a weakness. Perhaps Dad can like a chocolate brand that is not your favorite or is it all good to you?

Annie - another cutie in the family I see. :D Too funny that CVS is the new "place to be" at night. Soon they will set up a bar :rofl:

Shad - I take it DS2 has been out of work for a while? :crossed: that all goes well. Those of us who have jobs should be grateful for them although I do hate it when employers lord it over your head that "you SHOULD be grateful that you have a job and therefore if I want to flog you I can" :rofl: I didn't realize Chris was still working although if I think back I'm sure you mentioned it. Queue me up for the walkabout and the animal tour.

Mel - good luck with the flu shot set up - and I do hope you make your escape quickly after that. Sounds like you're getting one yourself. Rest up afterwards - hope you have a nice dinner with Jen afterwards. I'm thinking I will skip the shot this year - I usually alternate to build up some resistance but I know you have to be extra careful yourself and in a building with all those sniffling people too. So annoying about the bank grabbing away your cash - this is why I hate big banks. All of them. I stick with credit unions as much as possible.

Laura - how was the movie? We are also urged to participate in the United Way Day of Caring. As we are also urged to donate school supplies to inner city schools, clothing to the coat drive, our blood to the blood bank and of course money to the UW. And then after that they sock it to us with insurance premiums rising for the upcoming year. The ins companies are already whining that Obama-care will cost them soooo much more so I can't wait to see how hard they will squeeze us. I am thinking we should liquidate everything, stuff it in a mattress and go on the dole -much easier :lol:

DH keeps talking to me again while I am trying to post here ...

Ceejay - did you get out early?

Oh yeah, we have a sleep number bed too. Had it for at least 10 years, probably more. DH likes a firm mattress because of his back, I don't. It's the only way we can sleep in the same bed although we have a king which is 2 twins with different settings. We like it. As Laura said, all these years and we haven't noticed any difference in losing it's firmness since you occasionally pump more air into the thing as it naturally loses a bit of firmness. And you don't need a box spring with it as it comes on a platform. I think they come with a pillow top version now, would not be getting the plushy one for aforementioned reasons.

Michelle - I'm sorry that DH is having so much trouble with his truck. Good to see he pushed them for the rental car after their screw up. I saw that you wanted to do a Zumba marathon and I admit I cringed a bit. I know you are a get up and go kinda gal but between the back and the lungs, I hope you don't overstep (no pun intended ;) ) and suffer a set back. I'm sure you are eager to get back dancing again so I understand. Just take care. :hug:

:wave: Patty

Ok, this has taken longer than it should have - I'm about 15 minutes behind, guess I won't be walking into work with bouncing and behaving hair today :lol:

Catch up with you later. Have a good one.

Shad...holding you to the sanctuary and Koala nuggling sounds awesome, I love to snuggle....

Cincy...goodluck on the job, hope it is what you want and you get it!!

Happy...if I had the $$ I would get a sleep number bed, you all have me talked into it. lol

Heys to all, gotta get busy...

Morning every one.

Cin
Can't wait for the pcitures. I would love to go to Germany one day as that is where my ancestors orignated. Keeping fingers lost on the job.

Happy
My hair hasn't bounced since I was a little girl. The shorter the better. It's time for an appointment to get it cut again. Yes we got out early yesterday also. And then came back to work. That last hour flew by.

Annie
What an adorable baby! can't wait to see my grand niece at the end of this month.

Binged on some Little Debbie's yesterday. I think I'll set my goals in clothing sizes instead of pounds. I wear two different brands so it should be easy.
I'm looking forward to my day off's this week end.

Hi everyone -

Just wanted to let y'all know I'm here and reading...just no time to post this morning. I've got lots to crank out today because the software I work in was giving me yesterday. Plus, I'm leaving early because Doppler's post-op follow up was rescheduled until this afternoon. Then I'm leaving early tomorrow for my back injection.

I'll check back in as soon as I can.

Good morning all. I'll try and be brief. The bus to the volunteer thing leaves at 12:30.

Shad - Yay on the kilo lost. Fingers crossed for DS2's job prospects. Very cute little joey pic. Brings back memories of my visit to Sydney in '94 and visiting not 1, but 2 animal preserves. Got to hold a koala, and I recall thinking the wombats were very cute!

Cincy - Love that photo!! More, more! I'm a chocoholic too, so I understand the struggle. Fingers crossed about the job! :crossed:

Mel - That stinks about the bank fees. There's always something. My mortgage co won't return the escrow funds yet because it's within 30 days of a scheduled property tax payment. Even though I know that the tax bills are always late and payment won't happen within 30 days of their notice (let alone within 30 days of when I authorized the cancellation of the escrow another month ago), I'll let them go on that one. BUT... they're not smart enough to stop the funding of the escrow even though there's currently enough in there for the tax payment? I guess they're just greedy b*stards who want to hold onto our money as long as they can. But I still think I'll phone and b*tch at them about this. Enjoy your post-flu shot dinner.

Annie - Awww, cutie grand niece. :bb: And 8-9-10 is an easy b-day to remember!!

Ceejay - Sizes even within the same brand can vary, but if it works for you, that's all that matters. The fluctuations on the scale can be annoying, that's for sure.

Happy - After the big-shot e-mail yesterday, there's now a waiting list of volunteers for today's project. But I'm on the main list, and I'm still going, just to do the project I prefer. Another volunteer option later this month is cleaning up a beach. Ugh - the weather's too unreliable that late in October to do an outdoor project like that. Anyway - a "reminder" came this morning about the time the bus leaves. First I learned of it. Not well-communicated at all. And no word at all on wearing jeans. I brought a pair to work today to change into. Re the sleep number bed - I find when the tempurature changes drastically, I'll need to adjust the mattress - hot air expands, cold contracts. But otherwise, it's been good.

Hi Michelle!

Metra has become "effing Metra" to me, but I guess that's not fair. My train to the doc appt was held up at a stop in the city due to a pedestrian accident up ahead. A 17 yr old kid was struck - in critical condition. So not really metra's fault. Anyway, the stop let us off a block from the CTA blue line, so I took that to a stop in the vicinity of the doc's office, bf met me, and I was only 15 min. late. But I still had to wait about 30 min to see the doc. :rolleyes: Not a surprise.

I have my new orthotics, but I can already tell they aren't much different than the old, and on the right foot, I can tell it's even less supportive. I don't think the changes I requested and expected are there. I will inspect them more closely tonight and compare them to my old pair, but how they look doesn't really matter if they don't feel right. Sigh.

I enjoyed the movie "The Town". I'm not a fan of Ben Affleck, but he did a good job as actor and director in this. I suppose sticking with his native Boston may have helped him, lol. Good amount of action, and I liked Jon Hamm - he played an FBI guy. If you like bank robber movies, you might enjoy this one.

Okay, just got interrupted by a fire drill. A sure sign I need to finally get this thing posted. Tonight will be a dog walk, I'm sure, and a BE workout.

THE DAY HAS BEEN HORRIBLE. EVERYONE IS AT EACH OTHER'S THROARS. IS THERE A FULL MOON?!? D A M N THERE WERE ABOUT 100 "FIRES" THAT NEEDED PUTTING OUT. WHY DO PEOPLE RILE UP THE SENIORS...IS IT FUN TO WATCH THEM SIT AND CRY?? CHIT! ONE MAN SAID "SEE...I TOLD YOU MAMA MEL WOULD FIX EVERYTHING." I HAD TO LAUGH..NOW THEY'RE ALL HAPPY AGAIN. POOR OLD THINGS.
JEN JUST LEFT TO DO THE BANKING AND GET ME SOME MAKEUP. I'LL NEED IT TO HIDE THE ROSACEA THAT'S GING TO BLOOM FROM THE STRESS! :rofl: :rofl:
WAITING TILL AFTER 3:30 FOR THE SHOT. IT'S STILL PACKED DOWN THERE. FEELS FUNNY NOT TO BE WORKING.
HOPE EVERYONE IS HAVING A GREAT WEDNESDAY.

SHAD...JEN JUST FEELS THAT THIS GUY IS UNPREDICTABLE, DOESN'T WANT ME INVOLVED CAUSE HE LIVES ON THIS FLOOR. I SEE HIM A HUNDRED TIMES A DAY. HIS FAMILY BROUGHT HIM IN TO TAKE CARE OF THE MOM CAUSE NO ONE WANTED TO BE BOTHERED. NOW THEY WANT HIM OUT. WTF!! ANYWAY...HAVE YOU BROUGHT A GOOD BOOK TO READ WHILE YOU SIT THERE AND WONDER WHAT YOU''RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING? OR FOR THE TIMES YOU'RE WAITING FOR THE NEXT COMMAND?? :lol3: :lol3: I BET IT WAS SAD LETTING CHRIS GO...AS YOU KNOW....I HATE GOODBYES :cry: GLAD YOU AND THE KIDS WILL HAVE SOME TIME TOGETHER. GONNA CELEBRATE XMAS EARLY ????:hohoho: I LOVED THE PIC TOO. HE'S THE SWEETEST THING. I LOVE LOOKING AT THEM ON TV...CAN'T IMAGINE HOW MUCH FUN THEY WOULD BE IN PERSON!


ANNIE....THIS PICTURE IS ADORABLE!! OMG THESE KIDS ARE ALL SO CUTE. HOW IS LIFE GOING?? I DON'T SEE A POST?? WAIT...LET ME LOOK AGAIN....OK I SAW IT..."HEY ALL" BACK TO YOU TOO :wave:


CIN....LOVED THE PIC. TOO CUTE THEY ARE AND HAD A LAUGH AT THE DAD AND THE SWEETS. REMEMBER THAT MISERY LOVES COMPANY...HE'LL BE HARD PUT TO HIDE THE STUFF AND LET YOU "OFF THE HOOK" SO TO SPEAK!! STAY STRONG WITH US. I HAVE A TERRIBLE SWEET TOOTH. KEEPING FINGERS CROSSED FOR YOUR NEXT INTERVIEW:crossed:


HAPPY...JUST SO YOU KNOW.,..THE SAHOTS THIS YEAR CONTAIN H1N1 AND THAT FLU WAS VERY PROMINENT IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. NOT TELLING YOU TO RUN OUT AND GET ONE...JUST SAYING! LOL I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING TO GET ON WITH EARLY TO WORK SO DON'T WORRY IF YOU MISS ME...I'LL FORGIVE YOU! :rofl: :rofl:


CEEJAY...CLOTHING SIZE IS A GOOD IDEA TOO. SORRY ABOUT THE BINGE AND I HOPE YOU FID THE REST OF THE WEEK NICER :hug: GOT PLANS FOR THE WEEKEND??


MICHELLE...A BOX ARRIVED HERE???? WANNA TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT IT???? :lol3: :lol3: I AM IN 7TH HEAVEN AND WILL WRITE MORE WHEN I HEAR FROM YOU :hug: HOPE DOPPLER PASSES WITH FLYING COLORS AND YOUR INJECTIONS WORK OVER THE WEEKEND!!!!!!


LAURA...WAS TALKING WITH THE LKEVY GUY AND ONE OF HIS COMMENTS WHILE YAKKING HIS HEAD OFF WAS THAT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND THE GOVT LIKE TO HANG ON TO MONEY TILL THE LAST MINUTE SO THEY GET EVERY CENT OF INTEREST THEY CAN. MAYBE THAT'S WHY??? I DON'T KNOW...ALL I DO KNOW IS THAT THEY SCREWED ME BETTER THAN MY EX HUSBAND :rofl: HOPE THE PROJECT GOES WEll. glad it's not later on and you are right...oct weather can be damp & downright cold!! you almost made me choke on the effing metra. i don't know what it is but your reply was priceless!!! (OOPS LOST MY CAPS) NOW WHERE WAS I...OH YES BEN AFFLECK...THEY JUST SAID LAST NIGHT THAT HIS RETURN TO BEING DIRECTOR AND ACING WAS A GOOD THING. GUESS THE GUY LIKED HIS MOVIE!! LOL WHERE WAS BEN ANYWAY?? HE HAD DISAPPEARED??

Quick check in as I'm about to leave to go get Doppler and take him to the vet.

Mel - A box from me? Ooops, I ordered something from Kohl's and it got shipped to you. You keep it, my friend, and enjoy!! And as it keeps you warm this winter, you can think of me. I'd better order myself one and have it shipped to me now. :dizzy:

DH's tranny isn't gonna be here 'till next week at the earliest, and he has to return the rental car on Monday. So we'll be a 1 car household and unfortunately, Milwaukee and the surrounding area doesn't have a good public transport system like Chicago. :(

Afternoon all ya'll.

Just heard we have 1 year to turn the speality business into a major profit or they are shutting down the Indiana office. Gezuz, guess I best get job searching.

Baby boy is coming in for a visit tonight, but just called and was halfway home and his truck overheated. He was in some parking lot putting a new fan on, whatever the heck that meant. Poor babe, he will be in a little late.

MELLIE...see you know how to fix everything that is why the dang office keeps calling you to do stuff. Don't answer the door or phone. But truly I think you like be the go to queen...it keeps you in the loop at to what is happening in the office and around the apts. with the seniors.

Chelle...keep us posted on Dops check, is he free to run. Hope the shot goes well and all is "fixed" after this round.

Laura...sounds like the train was just a big FN mess. Seems like no one can get "special" shoes to fit well. Even when they take measurements, it is still wrong wrong wrong. I had heard the Ben Afleck movie was supposed to be pretty good, thanks for the update.

Cincy...what a cute kitty. Looks more the the Cat of Sheiba...QUEEN of Sheiba. We had outside kitties when we lived in the country. Momma kitty had Socks, Snakes, Fluffy, and two others I cannot remember that we gave away. The people that bought our house kept them cause we moved to the city and could not have indoor cats...allergies. We had them all fixed after Momma kitty had the first litter.

Ceejay...it is high time you kick Lil Debbie out of the house, obviously she is trying to corrupt you. Stay strong.

Have a positive OP night everyone.

Loves and Hugs.

Hey Laura....we had a fire drill today also. They had it at noon today. While most were at lunch. How dumb is that. Felt sorry for the folks on the 17th floor walking all those steps out. I was at Arni's feeding my face a Junior Arni Salad and missed the entire thing. My heart is not broken.

:cofdate: THE HEAD NURSE PULLED ME ASIDE.... TOLD ME TO GO BACK TO WORK CAUSE SHE HATES THE WAY IT'S BEING RUN NOW. POOR GIRL. SHE WANTED AN INTRO TO JENNIFER AND SHE TRIED TO TALK JEN INTO DOING IT NEXT YEAR :rofl: SORRY HONEY!! OMG IT WAS TOO FUNNY.


MICHELLE....OMG!!! FOR REAL IT WAS AN ACCIDENT??? :rofl: IN THE MEANTIME I AM ALREADY IN LOVE AND ROASTY TOASTY!! WILL BE THINKING OF YOU WHEN I ROLL OVER AND CUDDLE UP IN THE SOFTNESS OF THAT COMFORTER:hug: JEN AND I SAT HERE WITH IT OVER OUR LAPS WHILE I TOLD HER ABOUT YOU, YOUR PENGUINS, DH & DOPPLER AND EVEN THE DMIL!! MANY THANKS MY FRIEND:love: YOU ARE TOO KIND. :dancer:


ANNIE....YES I LOVE BEING "NEEDED" AND STAYING IN THE LOOP. I'M A CONTROL FREAK!!! GOTTA BE THE BOSS AT ALL TIMES. BUT YA KNOW HOW SOME PEOPLE TREAT THE BLUE HAIRS JUST ISN'T RIGHT. I AM SO SORRY TO READ ABOUT THE JOB'S TIMETABLE!! YIKES! :yikes: PRAYING THEY MEET THEIR QUOTA OR WHATEVER IT TAKES TO STAY THERE. THINGS ARE JUST SO UNCERTAIN THAT IT'S SCARY NOW. NEVER FEAR...YOU CAN COME LIVE WITH ME!!! :rofl: HOPE THE DBB GETS THERE SOON.

Annie
Yep it's time to kick lil Debbie to the curb. The reason I had them in the first place is that I raided my co-worker's stash. Shame on me but he has been repaid. This is what restriction does to me.

Mel
You are very good with the seniors and they trust you to do the right thing. It's like here at work. Don't give us something new to upset the apple cart.

Michelle
Hope things go well for both Doppler and yourself.

It's a beautiful day and has warmed upto the low 80's so I'm thinking we may be having Indian summer. It was 46 this morning on the way to work.

Mellie....if I come live with you, can I have a garden somewhere? I just harvested the remainder of my garden...16 banana peppers, 23 jalapenos, and get this a GALLON BUCKET of green tomatos that I will put some in brown paper bags to turn red...yes this works. Also 6 green peppers. I was excited about my harvest but sad that the next season is coming....that I won't mention. However only about 164 days till Spring!!!! Yep!!!

Ceejay...how did you pay your coworker back? We are to have sunny and 80 this weekend, I am thinking it will be Indian summer. It usually falls around my late Grandpa's BD October 24.

Morning all,
Well I spent yesterday twiddling my thumbs and reading a book. I was supposed to have a conference call meeting at 9.30 but they couldn't even get that right and someone else had the session and were talking about stuff I have never heard of. And it wasn't interesting. So today I am prepared a little better. I have a book! and I have some work that Mick needs doing. Nothing to do with this place but I don't actually want to fry what little is left of my brain. I have another conference call at 1.00 - 2.00pm so hopefully things will clarify somewhat there. Does anyone see me lasting until December here??

Cin - nice pic. I used to own one of the original mini's many years ago. Down under they got called pregnant roller skates. Very popular then. The new ones do not seem to be quite so good somehow. Mind you if I ever got to drive one of the old ones again, I might be changing my mind. We once got 11 people into my mini! Such memories of misspent youth.
:lol3: on Dad and the chocolate. Maybe you should spend a day force feeding him the sweetest and mostly sickly ones. Once he has had a surfeit of chocolate and a chuck then maybe he will hide them from you (just so you won't feed him again). It's hard to ignore the things that others have and many of us live with people who have no need to diet or lose weight and that makes it harder. In NZ, there are sweets called Sheeps pellets. They are chocolate coated raisins or nuts or something and look like p**p. Can you imagine those sweets of your Fathers as something unsavoury like that (not I might add that it stops the Kiwis from eating them. The tourists are a bit slower to respond) just to convince yourself not to touch.
Sorry if I step on sensitivities here, but one fact I find that works is to imagine the offending object as something nasty. Humans are easy. Think of the person who really, really offends you and imagine them without clothes. Imagine the lumps, bumps, saggy bits, warts, moles, cellulite, danglies etc. Usually at that point I start to laugh, and I can't get mad when I laugh.

Annie - if you come and live with me, you can have the whole back garden, 2 bbqs, and we can organise some further space to grow more if you wish. And we grow the best veg in the spring, autumn and winter. In the summer we just keep the weeds down and mow the lawn. Oh, there won't be a lawn, we just turned it into garden. That's good, I'll sell DS2's lawn mower.

Michelle - sending care packages now?? Nice of you. Hope Doppler is allowed off the lead and into the playground now.

Happy - DS2 chucked in the job (praise the lord and hallelujah) about 4 or 5 months back. He applied for an apprenticeship with an energy company as did 1400 others for 50 positions. There were apparently more applications but they cut it off at 1400. Anyway, he got an interview (down to the final 250), then call to go for a medical which meant he was down to the last ??? probably 100 and then last week they went out to the referees so that suggests he is on the short list. We have our fingers crossed for him. Then follows three years of school, training, on job training and finally indenture as an Electro/ Fitter/ Mech whatever. After which he can set himself up in business or go and work for a new master if he wishes. During the time he has been home, he has been doing temp work for building sites and concrete pile makers etc. And has built fences and gates and block walls. He doesn't sit still for too long that one.

Mel - So Jen is worried about the mother now! Well that figures since you only have each other. Enjoy the warmth and comfort windfall.

Ceejay - restriction is what breaks most of us in the quest to attain our goals. I'm all for moderation, portion control and never say never. What's the first thing that happens when you say something like - okay that's breakfast - now I am not allowed to eat until lunch? Right. Immediately you want something to eat. Speak to the co-worker. Give him/ her a $1 and tell them that you want to share in the sweets. It's amazing how little you then want them again.

Laura - shame on the foot problems (STILL). It seems that no-one takes much pride in the job these days. Hope you can get it sorted. Did you take the old ones in and show the people where they hurt, pinched or didn't fit? Yes of course you did.
The wombats are cute, but they can pack a nasty bite. They look so cute and fat and wobbly and lazy. Here's a wombat pic. Think this is a common wombat and yes, there are different varieties.

Okay - I'd better go and check out the day's happenings. I'll be back - probably often.

Hi ladies,

Doppler is doing great. Healing very nicely. The doc wants Doppler to stay on leash until Saturday, which will be a full 30 days post surgery. Doppler goes back for another checkup in a month. We are so relieved to have the doc confirm that he is doing well.

I'll be back in the morning.

Love,

Hi all,

I have a dentist appointment first thing in the morning - better get some extra sleep - don't want to be yawning when they have sharp objects in my mouth. Hygentist better be careful as I have 2 bad teeth and no money in the insurance pile to pay them until next year. I almost thought about cancelling it altogether (the cleaning) but I know those things are important.

Shad - now I will go to sleep with dreams of wombats. Somewhat cute, a bit creepy. Like Chucky the killer doll :rofl: Sounds like you are bored crazy at work. Anything in the near term coming up? I hope things go well for the DS - sounds like he has a good foot in becoming a tradesman - always a good move - better than depending on a corporate job - you think?

Mel - sorry you had a bad day - wise of you to escape. I'm very happy to hear you got something nice and snuggly to share from a most kind and generous friend :hug: Hope you and Jen enjoy. I know they had issues with H1N1 down here. A neighbor who moved in not quite a year ago contracted it and died. Very sad. Guess they had alot of cases here. I am on the fence with that one. A person at work got the vaccine and had the Guillian Barre (sp?) reaction to it. But thanks for your concern :hug:

Annie - why does it seem like the tomato plants push out an extra big batch of green tomatoes before the frost? Hope they all ripen up for you. Good luck on the job hunt - I'm so sorry to hear about the latest challenge. I think you are very wise to look now. Sending you good vibes :hug: We have to go back to the Gulf Shores together - there is a small but very nice zoo there (featured on Animal Planet). For $5 you can get your picture taken with a baby 'roo. I am sorry I didn't do that. So we'll do it together :high:

Michelle - I'm so glad that Doppler is doing well in his recovery. How much fun will it be when he can roam free on his own? Hope DH gets his truck fixed soon. You are right - I miss not having a good public transportation system like in Chicago. The only other place with a good one is Washington DC that I have seen. How is your back doing?

Laura - meant to ask - when you lived in the city - North or South sider? Good for you for figuring out how to use the other non Metra transportation - has come in handy for you. Towards the end of my daily downtown commute (after 22 years) I was getting very tired of people running in front of, next to and yes if you can believe it - crawling UNDERNEATH a train car sitting what - 3 minutes in a station? So don't blame Metra for the delays of stupid people. Yes, I know you were kidding. I never got a whole lot of relief from either set of orthotics I had. What helped me the most was the MBT type shoes. My feet have been the bane of my existence for at least 15 years. Very unhappy campers. How did your volunteer stint go?

Ceejay - I have heard Little Debbies are dangerous so I have never tried one out of fear that I will like it too much :lol: But you are right with the restrictions. Somewhere there is a happy balance. I have found that figs - while good - are not as good as a coconut Mounds bar :devil: I have decided I am not giving out Halloween candy this year because I don't like it that they bus kids in from other neighborhoods and I can't be trusted to have candy in the house. DH is glad I am not spending $40 on candy for the little buggers.

Hi Cinci and Patty. How are you guys?

My head is saying it's time to go to sleep and my eyes are tearing which backs up the head so off I go. Might not get back until later tomorrow so have a good one.

Oh and we are getting a shot at 90 degrees the next few days. I am done with that. Would prefer 72 like last weekend - especially because we have lots of yard work.

So I am the last one in, first one in today? Don't feel any sneaker inners around me either.

I am tired today. Been going to bed to get 7 hours of sleep but since we have returned from vacation I find that I am waking up 4 to 5 times during the night. And I lay there for 10 minutes or so before I fall back to sleep again. I am used to my head hitting the pillow and except for a quick potty run (in a dead sleep) I sleep in a coma until the alarm goes off. I wonder if the cat is waking me as she was kneeding the bed and purring loudly around 5:30 trying to wake us up. Usually she hits DH repeatedly in the face with her paw and sits on his chest if he's on his back. Today she just crawled next to my back and purred in my ear - did nothing for me :lol: In the summer she does this around 4am because she wants to go out but now that the mornings are dark and much cooler I think she's doing it to annoy us as she eventually curls back up and goes to sleep. Stupid cat!

I have a dental appointment first thing in the morning. The only thing that would drum up less enthusiasm is a presentation in front of the senior management team :rolleyes: :lol: And this afternoon I have to attend a mandatory training session on diversity in the work place where it will no doubt be reinforced that I need to continue to make a pot of coffee for the fellows who gather in the break room, chat and expect the womenfolk to make the coffee. I cannot tell ethnic jokes or make slur comments yet it is completely ok for groups of people to gather and speak in their native tongue excluding most of the general population in the room. And since the time they first put microwaves in the break room for our use it's been a long standing rule DON'T COOK YOUR STINKY FISH in here and stink up the oven as well as the general area. And people understood that. Now not only do I get to smell all sorts of pungent spices, I get to wipe them out of the microwave because some people have not learned to cover their food and feel that cleaning is beneath them (see first coffee pot remark :p ). I liked diversity in the workplace of long ago - this was particularly true in I.T. - it allowed us to have pot luck lunches in which everyone brought a specialty dish or something of their background which we all enjoyed. We might celebrate different holidays or customs and my favorite of all - we found lots of entertainment value in people's accents or the way they'd get words twisted about as they learned English. And it was all in good fun with mutual respect. I was amazed to learn that one of my teammates learned English from renting movies at Blockbuster video. I helped him with English, he helped me refine my Spanish and we both enjoyed each other's company. The workplace sure has changed.

I think I left my good mood under the covers. Better go shower up and retrieve it. Have a good one peeps.

QUICK NOTE. WHAT A REACTION TO THE SHOT.
CAN BARELY MOVE MY WHOLE BACK. JEN IS WORSE.
WE CANCELLED TRADERS AND THE LOCAL ER TOLD US TO TAKE LOTS OF BED REST, ROOM TEMP FLUIDS AND ALEVE-TYPE DRUGS. JUST TALKED TO JOHN AND HE'S GOING TO KEEP THE "BAD GUYS" AWAY FROM ME. LOL
I ALSO PUT THE SIGN ON THE DOOR.
NOW I AM GING TO WRAP MYSELF UP IN MY NEW FAVORITE BLANKIE AND GO BACK TO BED. (thanks Michelle again ) THIS TOO SHALL PASS.