Good morning chicks,

I made it into work yesterday and surprisingly I had quite a few customers. Left with the shelves rather barren. Now I am off for 5 whole days - whoopee! I did a little work on their website yesterday in between waiting on people. It's tedious and a bit nerve wracking as I have to learn new software on my own and I really don't want to mess anything up. Of course I don't have to do this either but it's something to pass the time. The temperatures dropped drastically here and it's really cold. Was cold in the store too. The upstairs tenant controls the heat and I think they were away for the weekend and turned the thermostat down because the air that was coming through the vents - when it did - was barely warm. We are in for a deep freeze over the next 2 weeks. Glad I'm home, will have to search the pantry and freezer for some soup fixings.

What odd weather everyone is having. Mel and perhaps Ceejay are getting washed out. Shad is sweating in the intense heat and we are freezing. We need to fast forward a few months to more temperate climates!

Annie - you are not a fat bloated mess. Just a soggy, tired one. Sit down with C when he gets home and make a list of what you need to do. Delegate to others if you can and you just go and concentrate on your part and yours alone. I'm sure there are others who are willing to help you - even if you have to prod them with a stick - but realize you will do nothing but spin circles in the sand if you are overwhelmed. You are organized and efficient, there is just too much going on in your life right now so you need to cut back. One thing or no more than 2 at a time. Okay? :hug:

Mel - you can probably leave the house in May. :D I was thinking yesterday, the next few months are the worst of winter but it will be over soon. We just have to skip past the day to day stuff. If you get tired of rain, you can come out here. The turkeys were "skating" across the icy patches in the yard yesterday and the poor deer with their spindly legs were walking carefully too. Just pick up a bottle of hooch on your way in to warm us up ;)

Shad - it's not so much that people come out in the dead of winter for popcorn although there are some locals who stop in town for a bag when there's a big footy game on the telly like yesterday. Alot of our winter business has to do with people who have seasonal / 2nd homes in the area. They come up for a few days and like the popcorn and come in for their "fix" or take some back home to rellies and friends. Much like I stock up on Italian beef and sausage when I hit Chicago. That's about 2/3's of our sales and they tend to buy more when they come in. Bummer on your financial papers getting lost. I hope you made a copy of the set before you sent it off. I imagine with your line of work, that's a might big pile of reciepts. I imagine with all this heat and you being away, your garden is nothing to speak of. Even tomatoes can only take so much warmth.

Ceejay - I looked at the radar last night - seems there were some strong storms passing your way. Hope you don't have issues with flooding again. Maybe you need to take a break from all that driving. It does have it's moments when it can be tiring. Just do what you have to with appointments and beg off the relatives for a weekend for yourself for a change.

Karen - glad you sailed through your procedure and are doing well. Sounds like you had a cardiac aversion and DH is looking at an ablation which is a lot more invasive. I hope this does the trick for you and your heart stays in rhythm.

Laura - we have a weekend of free movie channels on cable. I taped War Horse since that looked interesting on the trailers when it came out. Did you see it? If so, what did you think? Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Hi Ellen, Michelle and Java. :wave:

Think I'll go find me some lunch and then do a little housework and make a grocery list. Have a good Sunday chicks.

Mel
So glad that the alarms were quiet during the night. Hope the day is quiet also. We had a bumpy ride last night with the weather. We got plenty of rain and I'm thinking we are probably out of the drought situation. Re-my bossy aunt. This uncle deserves a gold medal.

Annie
Hugs and good vibes are being sent your way. One thing at a time.

Shad
Today I'm wishing for some of that "warm" air. It went from almost 70 degree's to 38 degree's over night. My body was enjoying the warm.

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I did manage to rearrange some things in the spare bedroom /office closet this past week end and threw away one garbage bag of unwanted stuff. Also did the cabinet under the kitchen sink. It's progress.

Happy
I thought I had posted but saw your post when I came back. We did have some much needed rain and if we hadn't been in drought situations then we would have probably flooded. I'm fussing at 38 degree weather. Wow, 3 above is the lowest I ever want to see our temperatures. We've had them in the past and not looking forward to them in the future.
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Mission organization is continuing. Wish I had a week off from work to do some more of this while I'm in the mood.

Back at the airport again. Seems like only yesterday I was here already. Next time home is a long weekend. Australia Day. So I will be home for 3 days.

Apart from the rose garden there is very little in the garden anywhere. I pulled out the veg patch last time I was home and then fertilised and mulched so that it will be ready for the next lot of plants when I am home to tend them. So much to do, but too hot for much. Temps yesterday soared to 38.5 at one point. But I will take that over Thargominda with temps in the high 40's over the weekend.

Ceejay - glad to hear you have decided not to drive so much. Must be a strain to that distance most weekends.

Annie - time to get your dancing shoes on and get out there. It always seems that when one thing happens, several more come to join in the fun. Hope you can get some downtime soon or I may have to come over there and use the rolling pin.

Happy - so you eat popcorn all year round over there. Seems to have gone out of fashion here. Don't see it much at all.
Oh yes I have copies of the financials. They are on my computer. Just have to find them and resend them again.

Mel - Frassin' rain, frassin' sun, frassin' weather.

Oh poop. They are calling the flight and I still need to go to the loo. I'll be back as I can. See ya.

Good Evening everyone.

Shad - I'm just about to get up and crank the thermostat up a couple degrees because it's chilly in here, but maybe your description of the weather in your hemisphere can hold me a few more minutes. Yes, I imagine everything is going into stop-mode due to lack of rain and all that heat. Interesting that popcorn doesn't seem to be a year-round thing there. Just something you get at an outdoor festival?? What about popcorn at the movie theaters? And microwave popcorn - is that popular there? I'm not a fan of that at all, with the fake butter. And I can almost resist the movie theater stuff too, given that I've finally learned it doesn't taste at all as good as it smells. Safe travels, and stay cool, my friend.

Ceejay - Brrr, quite a drop in temps for you, and rain to boot. At least it gave you an excuse to not be on the road this weekend. Bravo to you for your "mission organization" progress. :) I should be working on organizing our home office right now, but I've slothed away the day doing nothing productive.

Happy - Yay for 5 days off! Sounds very unpleasant if the shop was cold during your shifts. Hope you were bundled up and kept a mug of hot tea close at hand! War Horse...I had mixed thoughts on that one. Hard to see the depiction of how the horses were used during the war, and the brutality of WWI. Story was alright, and I recall it being a bit too long. I think I liked it better back when I saw it than I do now. But I wouldn't say you should skip it.

Annie - Sorry the weather and all the projects ahead of you led to a sleepless night. I hope you and Curtis got a good list/lists drawn up and that the very process of doing it brought a feeling of accomplishment and calmness to you. Oh, and you're not selfish, you're just overwhelmed at the moment.

Mel - Glad you had a quiet night. Bleh, we're back into the winter weather all this week. Oh well, that period of 50's we had here was nice while it lasted. Love the kitties!! My busy day on Saturday brought on a day of slothfulness today!! :p

Karen - Glad the procedure was a success and you're breathing and bp are improved!! :)

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Weekend almost over, boo. Friday afternoon I was checking in on craigslist on a couple things I'm looking for and found a great deal on some used office furniture from an office furniture dealer.

Friday night bf and I watched part of the movie "Bernie" and it was entertaining, but about an hour into it, I got really sleepy ( it was probably 10 or 10:30 by then), so we stopped the dvd.

Saturday morning we got out early to go look at the office furniture. Looks like a go for us. The dealer bought about 50 setups of the same thing - it's "real" office furniture, not the stuff you buy for the home, and there's a lot of storage pieces included. We'll arrange a truck/mover to do the pickup and delivery. I'm happy to have found a setup that pretty much includes all we need because I don't think bf and I would have ever agreed to anything if we'd had to have started "from scratch".

After that we stopped at McD's to wait for Tuesday Morning to open. I had oatmeal - not too bad, tasty with the fresh apples in it. I"m going to make a batch of steel cut oats after I post this.

At Tuesday Morning we bought a scarf for bf's aunt's birthday. We learned this store, close to home, is closing in six weeks. Too bad, but I suppose we'll keep checking back in the meantime for deals on clearance items.

Another stop at the Hallmark store to find a surprisingly large selection of 80th bday cards, LOL. We told the owner we were impressed and he said "People are living longer these days." :lol:

We popped home, where I showered and got dressed for the party and bf wrapped the bday gift. Then it was off to Popeye's for the chicken and sides for the bday party, which was at bf's sister's place. Bf's aunt was surprised and happy about her little party (14 people total), and it was a nice casual afternoon.

Back home I took doggy for a walk. A bit of a breather and off we went to dinner at TGIF's with 4 other people, and then bowling. We only played one game. I've never been much of a bowler and can't say when I did it last. My score was 90 and I was 4th out of us 6, so I wasn't the only poor bowler there, lol. :lol:

Afterwards we went to the bowling alley's bar for a drink and watched some karaoke (the guy who runs it is a friend of one of our group) and then it was home before the icy rain got too bad...though we were a bit late for that - ice had already started building up on the windshield while we were in the bowling alley. But everyone got home safely.

It was at home that I was unsafe...don't ask why I didn't put on a light when I went back to the living room for my book so I could read before I fell asleep, but I didn't. I guess the answer to why would be that I'm an idiot!! Anyway, in the dark, I misjudged where the opening into the living room was and banged right into the wall right at the opening. Ouch! Today I have a puffy left eye and minor broken skin under my eyebrow where my glasses must have crunched into my face. Part of the eyelid is now red, soon to turn purple I'm afraid. Lovely. Thank goodness I can pile on some makeup...hopefully the swelling goes down some more.

So that was my busy Saturday. Today was a do-nothing Sunday. Bf went off to watch more football playoff games this afternoon after speeding through two games this morning that he'd dvr'd yesterday. I watched the end of a Hallmark movie and a library dvd "Take this Waltz". Critics seemed to like it, but it wasn't my cup of tea. Good thing bf didn't watch it with me, would have been a disappointment to both of us. We had to return the half-viewed "Bernie" because it was due yesterday, but we're back on the list for it because we liked it and want to see the second half.

I suppose this week we'll need to get our office packed up and moved elsewhere in the house so we can move in the new furniture when we arrange delivery of that. I'm thinking we'll need to get some boxes or spring for some plastic bins because there's stuff all over the place. Ugh, what a chore. But the end result will be worth it. Okay, I'm gonna get this posted, put my oatmeal on the stove and watch some more tv. Nighty night all!~

http://www.free-clipart-pictures.net...room_shawl.gif

MORNING CHICKS

ANOTHER SILENT DAY.
JUST A FEW DOORBELLS AND NO ALARMS.
THE KIDS DID THE SHOPPING FOR THE WEEK.
NOW I AM FREE TO REALLY DO NOTHING:beach:

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK.




HAPPY~ I AM GLAD YOU HAVE OFF NOW.
THIS WEATHER IS NUTS. WE'RE GONNA FREEZE THIS WEEK.
BUT NOT YOUR KIND OF FREEZING:brr:
I'LL BRING A CASE OF HOOCH IF I COME OUT THERE!!!
NO SENSE IN GOING BACK OUT FOR REFILLS WHILE I'M THERE:rofl:
THE POOR ANIMALS NEED SKATES. I CAN JUST SEE THEM.
HOPE DH HAD A BETTER NIGHT/DAY :hug:




CEEJAY~ I CRACKED UP ABOUT THE UNCLE DESERVING A GOLD MEDAL!!
GOD BLESS THE POOR MAN THEN.
YOU'RE ON AN EARLY SPRING CLEANING MARATHON???
I POKED MY HEAD INTO ONE CLOSET AND THEN BACKED OUT:rofl:




SHAD.....YOU REMIND ME OF TOM HANKS IN THAT AIRPORT MOVIE.
HAVE YOU LEARNED WHERE EVERYTHING IS?
BET YOU'RE WONDERING IF YOU'LL EVER GET OUT OF THERE!!!!:cry:
A NICE 3 DAY WEEKEND WILL COME IN HANDY.
MAYBE A HAMMOCK AND A BOOK!!




LAURA...OMG!! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU DID THAT.
SOMETHING JEN & I WERE FAMOUS FOR DOING.
NOW WE LEAD WITH OUR HANDS LIKE WE'RE BLIND.
I STILL DO THAT IN MY CHAIR. HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER:hug:
PUT WARM TEA BAGS ON THE BRUISE.
IT HASTENS IT'S DEPARTURE. I USE IT ON THE SENIORS ALL THE TIME.
GOOD THING YOU HAD A QUIETER DAY AFTER THE FAST TRACK SATURDAY!!
BUT EVERYTHING SOUNDED NICE.

Morning all. Nothing much to report after my late post yesterday. Last month (or was it in November?) I'd dvr'd the PBS documentary by Ken Burns "The Dust Bowl". I watched part one last night. Boy was that depressing! After plowing up the central plains for farming, drought hit and on came all the dust storms. It's still one of the worst environmental disasters to occur in the US. I went on to watch part two of it. While the description of what we dvr'd looked like part 2, it was part one again. And of course, it's not scheduled to be televised anytime in the near future. Bah. I really wanted to see the rest of that.
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Mel, I'm glad you had a nice quiet day yesterday. And no shopping to do either - sounds like you can just relax for a bit! And stay warm and cozy inside. :)

This week is going to be the coldest yet of the season. :brr: I bundled up as usual for my commute this morning, but I hate seeing other people on the street underdressed for the weather. Such idiots! And while I know that the cold itself doesn't cause illness, I know that being too cold and your body trying to keep itself warm wears it down, weakens its immunity, and probably makes it more susceptible to illness. And we certainly have heard about all the illness is going around these days!! So on top of all the advice we've been hearing in the media to wash our hands, we should also be staying healthy by getting enough sleep and dressing warmly! Enough about that.

Pretty quiet here. The boss had a death in the family and is out of the office. No meetings for me today. I will push on with mostly low priority work.

Tonight I need to return a library dvd. Speaking of the library, I could swear I'd gone up to position 6 or maybe even 5 on the hold list for season 2 of Downton Abbey, but now I see I'm back/still at 7. What gives?!! Some slacker has probably kept a copy out beyond the due date. Or maybe one of the dvds has been damaged. Who knows. :shrug:

Not that I'll have time for tv this week... The more I look at the state of our home office, the more work I think it'll be to just get it emptied out for the new furniture to come in. Have to get working on that ASAP.

My eyelid is still puffy and red, but hasn't turned purple (yet). Wearing my glasses today because the frame will hide some of the puffiness. Mel, you're right, if I stumble around in the dark, I need to keep my hands out in front of me and feel my way around with them and not my face, LOL!!

Okay, I'll get this posted and check back later. Ciao!

Hi ladies -

I just got let go from my job. I'll try and post more later...right now, I have to apply for unemployment and reactivate my job search network.

Much love,
Michelle

I am so sorry CHELLE...hugs...

Oh no, Michelle, I'm so sorry!! :hug: :hug:

Okay, ladies, I need all the prayers, positive energy and good vibes you can muster.

Before I started my most recent job, I worked for about a month with a company that didn't want me to leave and emailed me a couple times asking if I would consider coming back. I'm meeting with my manager and the HR person tomorrow at 8 am. They haven't said anything, but I'm REALLY hoping that I will just go from that meeting to the downtown offices and start working right away.

The commute is farther, and the insurance isn't as good as it was at the hospital system....but the pay is better. And I did really like it there...they were a great group of people to work with.

Please say a prayer, send positive energy, good thoughts or whatever, so that I get that job.

Much love and many hugs,
Michelle

Michelle - I am very,very sorry to hear about the job. :hug: That's way more stress than anyone can reasonably handle. Bear in mind that there is a reciprocal agreement amongst the states regarding unemployment which means if you qualify in WI and move to CA - you can continue to recieve checks from WI as long as you initiate a job search at your new home state.

I just don't know what to say. You have not only been punched in the stomach, but kicked in the teeth also. If there's anything we can do...

Thanks, Happy. With all the stress and negativity at my job, I can't help but think this is a good thing in the long run. Please send me good vibes for tomorrow...I'd really like to go back to the position I had there. :) Thanks for the tip about the unemployment. An earlier move to CA is also an option, but not until after the divorce is final (in a month), and I'm soooo hoping to have a good job by then. Hopefully by tomorrow. :crossed:

why do you have to wait until the divorce is final? Do you have to appear in court or something?

You know you have my prayers Chelle, as you are always in them...just working at it harder today....hugs.