Todays Mel Message:

I FEEL A LOT BETTER TODAY AND BREATHING IS MUCH EASIER. NEXT LONG WEEKEND YOU HAVE I AM SURE WE CAN TALK. LUCKY YOU!!! HA!!

I CALLED THE NURSE AND SHE SAID EVERYONE WAS HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS SO FAR....BUT SHE IS UNSURE IF THAT INCLUDED THE LAST SET OF PICTURES. WRF!!

I AM PRETENDING EVERYTHING IS OK AND JUST GOING ON MY MERRY WAY ON THE ROAD TO WELLNESS. I AM A BIT SHORT WINDED AND COUGH BUT NOTHING LIKE IT WAS BEFORE. MOVING ABOUT TIRES ME BUT THAT WILL PASS IN TIME. FUNNY HOW THE ARMS ARE SO INVOLVED IN MY SITUATION. TYPING CAUSES TIREDNESS & COUGING. WTF IS THAT?!?!

ANYWAY....HOPE THE JOB IS GOING OK AND GLAD YOU ARE WELL TOO. THE FLOWERS ARE GORGEOUS!!! EVERYONE HERE LOVED THEM. I SHOWED THE KIDS LAST NIGHT. THE OFFICE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO GIVE ME. I TOLD MY BOSS A RAISE WOULD BE NICE!! HA HA

HOPE YOUR AREA SEES SOME DRYING OUT AND YOUR HOME STAYS DRY!!!
THESE PAST YEARS IS ALWASY FILLED WITH EXTREMES OF WEATHER. SOMEONE UP THERE IS MIGHTY PISSED OFF!!!

THINGS ARE GOING RATHER WELL OVER HERE CONSIDERING EVERYTHING. I AM ALMOST AFRAID TO BRAG. SINCE JEN TOOK OVER MY JOB OF ALARMS....IT ONLY RANG ONCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE KEEP LAUGHING AT THAT.

MY APPETITE IS STILL TERRIBLE. ONLY LOST 10 LBS THIS GO ROUND. BUT I NEED TO FIND SOMETHING FOR BREAKFAST. BEEN STALLING FOR THE PAST HOUR!

HAVE A SUPER WEEK GRANDMA!!!
LOVE, MEL


Can't stop. Dinner is coming up and I am starving. Could eat a horse and chase its rider.

Still lurking and glad to hear some GOOD news from Melly Mel. And I just mailed her card on my way home, before reading this, too. Timing, timing, timing. I'm starting to emerge from my sickness as well. My coughing has lessened (I guess the steroids were JUST what the doctor ordered...uh yeah, he prescribed them) and I managed to force myself back to work after a week off. I've heard some neighbors talking about their crocuses being up, but it's too early to start dreaming of spring. I'm just looking for the silver lining here. Think positive Turtle. Think positive.

Good morning ladies -

Despite going to bed a little later than usual, I actually feel rested this morning. DH and I enjoyed watching the Super Bowl, the halftime show (Madonna) and the commercials. Granted not all of the commercials were gems, but there were a few memorable ones.

I've got to hunker down with more online training today, and for the rest of the week, until I'm contacted by my new Project Manager and officially assigned tasks for the project.

BTW, I saw this link and thought I'd share it with you. It's the 10 Worst Processed Foods for People with Diabetes...but I'm sure these are foods that should be limited/avoided by everyone...even those who don't have diabetes.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/diabet....aspx#/slide-1

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Shad - I hope work goes well for you this week. Are you going to go home for weekends? Thanks for sharing the message from Mel. I can totally remember how even typing or holding a book would cause tiredness when I had bad pneumonia. I'm glad to hear she is resting. Too funny when the office didn't know what to give her as a get well gift...she said "a raise". I hope that even without much of an appetite, she's eating enough to get better.

Java - Glad to hear you're feeling better. I hate taking steroids, but they really do help make breathing easier when you've got a cold. With all the warm-ish weather we've been having (considering it's early February in Wisconsin), I've been looking to see if the bulbs are coming up. Honestly, I hope they don't as I don't want them to start sprouting, and then die if we get a big frost or snow.


A big to all! I'll try and check back later.

Much love and many hugs,

Morning
It's a nice brisk day.

Shad
Sounds like Mel is getting to her usual self. Thanks for sharing.

Turtle
Glad you are feeling better also. Always good to hear from you.

Michelle
I'm not one for football. I don't understand the game. But glad you enjoyed it. Ugh more training.

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The latest news from the supervisor is that their shouldn't be any lay offs but we're having a to take 5% cut in pay. I can manage this. Some departments like ours is on a skeletal crew anyway.

Morning all. Feeling the effects of a Nyquil hangover - grogginess. Hopefully my tea will counteract it.

Michelle - Glad you were able to make the Pet Expo on Saturday! The foods mentioned in the link didn't surprise me, and yup, they are foods that most people - diabetic or not - should steer clear of. Yes, we went to Malnatis - yum. Love it. Speaking of love - they have the heart-shaped pizzas in their freezer. where they sell the ones you bake at home. Re the "bubble" - bf has a polyp of some sort in one nostril and it fills up when he has a cold, just making everything worse. Over a year ago he did a steroid regimen that helped it go down, and then by faithfully using the rx nasal spray for allergies, it kept the "bubble" down - up until a few weeks ago.

Shad - Safe travels for you, including no flooded roads! Hope the horse and rider steered clear of your place, lol. Thanks for passing along another message from Mel.

Mary - Glad to hear you're feeling better. My bf is calling his doc for a steroid rx today since it helped his sinus issue in the past. Can't wait - I'm tired of him complaining. You'd think he would take some over the counter decongestent in the meantime, but nooooo.

Mel - Glad to hear you're on the mend. Keep up the positive thinking!

Hellos to Annie, Happy & Ceejay.
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Nothing much to report. Did a couple hours work last night while bf was off watching the SB with friends. Then I watched the dvd "The Lovely Bones". Didn't much care for it - they glossed over a lot of details in favor of enhancing the "afterlife" scenes. Pretty, but...I'd rather have more meat to the story.

Okay, better get this posted and back to work. Have a good Monday/Tuesday everyone.

Hi Ceejay - you snuck in on me. Well...very good news re no layoffs, but too bad about the paycut. In 2009 we had no raises, no bonuses and no 401k match, but now we're back to all of those since our company pulled out of its slump. A former co-worker's employer cut their pay substantially for quite a period and put them on a 2 week furlough, but that was reversed as well. I hope the cut won't be permanent for you.

Ceejay - Bummer about the 5% pay cut, but if it means everyone gets to keep their jobs, I guess it's better than the alternatives. I'm not minding the training, and I love football - pretty much always have.

Laura - I hate Nyquil hangovers. I hope the tea helps. I hope your bf gets some relief for his cold/sinuses/nasal passages soon. Any fun plans this week? My Zumba Wii game is due back at the library on Wednesday, so I will definitely use it tonight.

Happy - I nearly forgot to mention HAPPY BIRTHDAY to your DH!!! I hope he (and you) have a great day!

Good Giggly Wiggly...it has been forever since I posted..well not really but since last Thursday or so....

Just seems like things get so busy and not time for what I love to do which is chat with you gals.

Babysat Friday nite with lil monkey man...he was so sweet. Sis and Chris went downtown to the superbowl happenings....as sis called home and said...it was *ssholes to elbows people...over 300,000 people on about 3 streets 3 blocks long...she almost had a panic attack until 6 ft.6 in Chris picked her up over the crown do calm her down...Needless to say, I babysat till about 2 in the a.m. Tis okay, the babe was perfect and so sweet...he loves his nanna.

Yesterday, Curtis and I took dad to lunch and then to the half priced bookstore...he didn't buy anything, however C and I made up for that. We bought about 15 dvds at 2 bucks a piece....older movies we both love and then some we have not seen yet. Then went back to dad's and sat and looked at photo's of momma when she was 13, 14 years old...Dad and momma met when she was 13 and he was 15. Too cute. Came home and watched the superbowl...went to bed a halftime....glad that the Giants won tho. Yep, there is a manning in the house. Slept in till 6:30, then was at work at 8:15, was the first one to work...everyone was partyied out from the superbowl.

Getting dinner on the table here in a minute...fried chicken, mashed potatos and peas...BORING.....but dinner.

Hope everyone has a wonderful evening/morning....

Loves and hugs.

Morning

The rumors I mentioned yesterday are not true. But I asked another boss this morning about the lay offs. He said none in the water plant.

Annie
So nice of you to baby sit with the little one. I would difinately understand about sis having a panic attack in that huge crowd.

Laura
Are you feeling better?

Hello's to Happy, Michelle, Shad and Java.

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Looks like my left sinus is infected again. I really don't understand why this is happening. Took some cipro last night and hope this helps. Probably the changing weather.
Not much else is going on.

Good morning ladies,

Yesterday was DH's birthday (thanks Michelle for the wishes which I passed along!) We had an impromtu girls day at the casino while the boys went and shopped the new Farm and Fleet type store that opened up down the road. DH then joined us at the casino. I came home and made fried chicken for the first time in about 25 years, mashed potatoes, corn and home made coleslaw - DH's request for his birthday meal. The fried chicken was ok, a bit too salty for me but DH liked it. We talked about how to tweak it up. It was very moist and he said it was better than the store bought stuff which was good because we don't have any of the fried chicken chains up this way. That's why I haven't made my own fried chicken in so long - once Kentucky Fried Chicken and those others opened shop, I put my frying pan away. The other thing about frying is the smell of the oil hangs in the air forever. I opened the window in the bedroom a crack last night and burned a nice candle in the kitchen to get rid of the smell. We went looking for my cast iron fry pan yesterday - didn't find it but did find my good non stick cookware set. Yay - I finally have pot lids for my big stockpots again! Now I need to rearrange one of my cabinets because I have all my good keeper pans to figure out how to store while pitching the older second set I had brought up here temporarilly. Looks like after a small break in the weather we are back to cold winter again. It will be sunny but much colder. Today DH was pulling back the trash and recycle bins - it's sunny but there are snow flurries in the air. We are supposed to have a big ski race here the end of the month. Don't know what they are going to do, we don't have much snow here at all - less with what melted over the last 4 days. I know they can make artificial stuff and often do but they better jack up those snow machines now if they will have to make a 10K ski run by the end of the month. I'm sure the lack of snow is hurting the recreational businesses that depend on skiers and snowmobilers too.

and now to personals...

Annie - I know what you mean about losing track of time. We must be living in a parallel universe this week - I was looking at old home movies of the family and we had fried chicken yesterday too - although while for you it was routine, for us it was special Now I'm hungry. I also can relate totally to what Sissy was feeling. There is a lakefront summer festival in Chicago called Taste of Chicago. The end of the summerfest used to be the lakefront fireworks on July 4th. DH and I went one year and stayed at a hotel downtown. I will never forget being stuck in that sea of humanity and being scared for my life as some drunken idiots started throwing firecrackers in the crowd. When you are pressed body to body and literally can't move on your own, it's very frightening. I have been to outdoor concerts, parades, walked the crowded streets of downtown and participated in the daily lemming race that is the commute to the trainstation morning and afternoon - but nothing beat that crowd of a million people. I'm glad she was ok and Chris is big enough to be able to protect her. It's good that they can get out on their own for a day, I'm sure the baby is in the 2nd best hands of his little life with Nanna - as long as you didn't kiss his little face too much and give him a chapped forehead

Ceejay - sorry to hear the sinus is bothering you again. I have found that this time of year is the hardest to beat an infection. Just seems to keep coming back again. Perhaps try the neti pot - but make sure you boil the water first and let it cool down - reports of dumb people too lazy to boil the water getting a brain infection and blaming the pot My sister was telling me that one needs to be very careful with facial infections like sinus and teeth - get them addressed quickly because it can lead to dangerous brain infections because it's so close to that tissue. Never considered that... I'm sorry about the pay cut - probably a good thing they aren't laying people off since you seem to be running with as few people as you already can at your office.

Michelle - any news on DH from the doctor? I hope you get some work soon - taking those courses has to get boring after a while - especially when you have been used to running from morning until end of day. That was a good idea to rent some new exercises from the library. One of the things I have been doing is checking things from the library and then if I like it (as was the case with a vegetable gardening book and some tapes), I will then look them up on half.com and see if I can purchase them used. They have alot of videos as well as books and in most (but not all) cases you can get them for substantially less than if you'd have purchased new. Some of the bigger vendors also buy new in bulk so if you are looking for something that came out 2 years ago, you might be able to get it new in the package for less than half price. I always compare the prices on half.com again the used section on Amazon.com to get the best price. Good luck with the diet shakes - I'm not against them as long as people are sensible and use it as a single meal replacement - or in my case a more substantial breakfast or just prepping your tummy to accept smaller portions. I'm glad you were able to get some good nutrional advice on them and find them on sale too

Java - sounds like you caught the January flu yourself. Just take it easy - after a whole week of being sick, you might feel better when you wake up but are still fighting off the cold and getting weak. Last thing you need is another round of it. Join us in some tea

Laura - your BF's nose bubble sounds most annoying - that would make me crazy - like not being able to blow your nose completely What is it about guys not wanting to take something to alleviate their symptoms? Instead they make us nuts and whine, whine, complain until we knock em out with a pot or DH was reading a series of books - David Rosenfelt I think was the guys name - he writes mysteries with a dog as a central character who helps him. He said they are very engrossing so if you get them - don't read them on the train or you'll miss your stop So you've got heart shaped pizzas out there? Interesting. Not that hard to make I guess. I bought a frozen lump of pizza dough I found at Walmarts. I have 2 jars of the good pizza sauce I brought from Tennessee - will have to try a make our own soon but I'm thinking we stick with the regular round one. I'm trying not to be jealous that you have the good pizza

Shad - thank you for including Mel's note. I got a slightly different one. She was resting quietly - kind of got quickly overwhelmed when she tried to jump back into the fray so I'm trying not to more supportive than overwhelming. Sounds like you are in the thick of the heat and moisture up your way - just waiting on autumn to arrive and give a bit of relief the same way we are hanging on waiting for spring to get here. Your last flower post looked like it had sturdy, almost waxy still flowers. Have you had your training session yet? Seems like the word is out and they are RUNNING as fast as they can out to the mines rather than sit and be educated - poor you! I'll bet you get a sassy bloke or two.

Well I'm hungry - we found the real toaster yesterday - have been using the toaster oven to this point which is passable but not as good as the real thing. Think I might do with an egg, piece of toast and some of the fruit I bought but am not eating. Later girls...

Good Tuesday to all,

DH stayed home ill today...just too tired and run down from lack of oxygen to drive into work. The rest of the tests came back all clear...so we don't have any answers. The doc told him to keep taking the antibiotics 'till they run out (3 more days) and then if he's still coughing and feverish to come back and they'll do more tests (either a biopsy of his lungs or test what he's coughing up - sorry, I know it's gross).

More training for me today. It's already shaping up to be a busy weekend. I'm meeting with a website client for 4 hours on Saturday to work on her websites with her. Plus, I've got to work on 2 or 3 other websites this week. With DH ill, we're not doing much anyway, and it's nice when the extra income comes in.

****************

Annie - Sounds like a fun time for Sam and Chris on Friday night. That would be a bit too crowded for me, but sometimes it's a lot of fun to be a part of the party atmosphere. Kind of like when they had the Harley Davidson 100th Anniversary parties here. I'll bet you just loved babysitting you lil monkey. What a great deal you got on the DVDs. I love looking at old photos. I got a chuckle that you and Happy fixed the same dinner last night. What a coincidence!

Ceejay - Glad there won't be any layoffs at your plant. So sorry to hear that the sinus infection is back.

Happy - And I guess we've got to send wishes your way too. I'm glad DH had a nice birthday. Yes, I can imagine that he and your cousin like Farm and Fleet. We get stuff there every now and then too. I hope you have enough snow for the ski race. Is the lack of snow hurting tourism? I would think that since the southern part of the state has almost no snow, that it would mean more people going "up north" to go skiing and snowmobiling. Luckily it doesn't take much snow to go snowmobiling. The people down here get out their snow machines when there's only a couple inches on the ground. Thanks for the tip about Half.com. I always compare prices between Amazon.com, ebay and Overstock.com. I'm waiting for my diet shakes to arrive. And I picked up some slim fast shakes at the grocery store on sale. Thanks for the tip (to Laura) about David Rosenfelt's books. They sound really good, and I just placed the first two in the series on hold at the library. Congrats on finding the real toaster!!

Big to Shad, Laura and Java!

And of course to Mellie, Ceejay, Java and Happy (and anyone else).


Well, lunchtime is over...back to the training!

Much love and hugs to all,

Sorry, haven't been ignoring you. Just flat out and dodging the mud and slush. Doosey storm last night which at least cooled things down somewhat. 36 is somewhat warm (102).

Training started yesterday. Good bunch of blokes but they forgot to take their rubbish with them. Next time I catch up with them I will remind them I am not their mother.

I'm feeling very tired and haven't done the exercise I should. Keep going to sleep and sleeping very heavily for a couple of hours and then wide awake for a while and then another heavy sleep. Pattern is very annoying. Hoping for better tonight as always. Meantime I'd better go get organised and get into the day. Back later if I am still awake.

Greetings everyone. Just a quick pop-in. Past couple days have been slightly nutty. This software conversion/implementation is getting intense - did I happen to mention that the woman working on the conversion piece is expecting a baby and her due date is the 19th of this month??!! Yes, she'll have to hand off to another what's left pretty soon, but there's a race for her to finish what she can.

I had my performance review today. The boss is happy enough with me, so I guess I'm happy too. Raise was somewhat underwhelming, but it tends to be that way unless you're up there in the "commendable" category. The good news is that there's a decent bonus to be paid this year.

Not going to the movies tonight. For one movie the time & theater didn't work, and for the other, I just didn't care to see it ("Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"). It just doesn't appeal to me, so I'm skipping it.
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Annie - I don't envy your dd and her S.O. being out in the SB crowd - I hate huge crowds like that. As Happy mentioned, Chicago always held their biggest event - Taste of Chicago - over the 4th of July holiday and so everyone - millions? - converged to the same spot for the fest and the fireworks. I went to that once, many many years ago, and I never did it again. Now the're separating the two events, so maybe someday I'll actually go see the fireworks... Sounds like you had a fab time babysitting and a nice time with your dad book/movie shopping.

Ceejay - I'm feeling better today than the past few days, thanks for asking. No meds yesterday and no nyquil last night, and no meds today either. Sorry to hear you've got a sinus infection. I hope you feel better soon. Glad to hear there won't be layoffs in the water plant.

Happy - LOL - both you and Annie had fried chicken for dinner! I'm not a huge fan of it, but when we do eat it, we get it from Popeye's. Otherwise, bf loves broasted chicken and Greek-style chicken, and we go out for that as well. At home, we tend to marinate boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Thanks for the David Rosenfelt book series tip. I like mysteries, and BF is always looking for new authors to read also. Re the guys not taking meds, but NOT suffering in silence - you forgot them driving us to this:

Michelle - Sorry your dh is still not feeling well. Must be very frustrating to not know how to treat what ails him!! I'm sure by now he's thoroughly sick of being sick! You're certainly keeping busy aren't you? Nice you were able to find good exercise videos at the library. The selection at my library is so-so. Not very extensive.

Shad - Hope you catch up on your sleep tonight!!

Hellos to Mel and Mary.

Okay, back to work. Spent longer on this than I planned.