FEEL BETTER MELLIE...will catch you in the loo as that is where I have been most of the morning also. I will bring some reading material altho the stay in there is not long enough to read an article. Hugs sista soul.

HAPPY....Your evening sounded like so much fun. Sometimes it is good just to be shy and quiet, sit back and observe when you are the newbie. Helps you get a feel on everything.

SHADDIE...there you go blowin' past....I cannot tell if you are coming or going half the time.

CHELLE...do good at your new/old job. Everything happens for a reason. Darned if I know what they are, but they do! Hugs

ELLEN....gotcha checked in and hope you day is going grand!

CEEG...how are you feeling my friend?

LAURA...you have been one busy chick lately...partying, shopping, eating out, glad you are having a great time.

Been too pooped to get anything done in the evening other than the regular stuff, dinner, dishes, laundry, gave Sassy a bath and took out the trash last night. I need to get started on dad's room. This weekend for sure.

Cs day off today. No extra working today as he is in bed with a cold, AGAIN. I told him to use more hand sanitizer and take his vitamins regularly. I did give him one on my B12 shots last night in hopes of getting him some pumped up energy.

I brought 3 trash bags of papers from dad's to work for our shred it bin. I went through it as I slid it in the slot, glad I did as I found a picture of his mom and dad (my grandparents). She was about 16 and he 20 or more. I really don't know how much older he was than she, but it was several years.

Better get back at packin. Hi to everyone...

Annie
I like older pictures of family members. As for my health I'm feeling good. Just a bit run down. I need a b12. Even though I take b12 on a daily basis it seems the shot makes me feel better for a couple of days.

Happy
I have made up my mind that I'll keep the doctor in Jonesboro simply because he knows more about my ailments than the one here. It's a bit icy today but not bad in this area. They did close school as some of the side road still have ice on them. I had no trouble getting to work.

Mel
Feel better soon.

Shad
We understand. Sometimes life gets in the way of things.

-------
I was greatly relieved that the roads didn't get as bad as was predicted here. Jonesboro-Paragould got hit a bit harder. Memphis got hit pretty hard the last go round.
More later

Good morning ladies,

We got a bit of snow overnight. Maybe just an inch. DH is shovelling and plowing. Plowing???? I guess he misses it. Hasn't had much of a chance to shovel this year. Come to think of it, I think what snow we did get so far he broom swept away.

Nothing much planned for today except odds and ends around the house and I should pack up and put away the Christmas stuff in the basement.

I think you ladies need to de-stress a bit. Sorry to hear that so many of you are having the hurky jerky tummies. I guess we have to assemble a yoga class with an after class wine meet and greet at the commune ;) I will reiterate the advice we give one another - breathe deep and take things one step at a time.

Annie with the full time job, I do advocate just planning 3 small things when you get home each night. Could be doing dishes, washing the bedding for dad's room and maybe 1 box of papers. Do not overwhelm yourself :nono: It's good you went through the papers before you shredded them. I'm sure a few gems will be hidden amongst the recyling stuff.

Ceejay - glad you didn't get alot of ice.

Mel - hope the morning brought some calm to you so you can catch up on rest. Don't forget the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door.

Guess I'd best get on with the day. Have a good one chicks.

Went to see Django last night (good) and as soon as I got home I was hit w/ chills & aches. NyQuil & to bed. Feeling horrible today, chills, fever, aches, sore throat. Stayed home of course & don't see myself back at work tomorrow. Blech.

Laura - hope you don't have that dreadful flu that is floating around. That's how my BIL felt - one day like something "might" be coming on, the next day - blammmm - on the floor and sick, sick, sick. You were wise to stay home - no need to infect the office and that's exactly what I'd say when I called work. Hope you feel better. Hot liquids and lots of rest.

Hi Ladies -

I think all the stress I was under at my ex-job has gotten the best of me. All I want to do is rest and relax. So that's exactly how I'm spending my few days off. Resting, relaxing and reading. I had a doctor appointment today. She's increasing one of my diabetes meds...she said I'm making great progress, she just wants my numbers to be a bit better. The only thing on my agenda for tomorrow is go to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions that my doctor sent over there.

Unfortunately it's still too icey everywhere to take Santa for a walk around my block, and the dog park is even icier! :yikes: So I've been walking him around the library in town. The sidewalks in town have been well salted and are very safe.

I'm so sorry to hear that so many of you are ill. Sending lots of :getwell: wishes to those who need them.

And to those who said I work hard and do a great job for this company that hired me back...that is ABSOLUTELY the plan. I will work hard and make them very pleased that they re-hired me. :)

Much love and many hugs to all,

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TEWHLvMaEX...obbes+snow.gif

GOOD MORNING CHICKS
IT SNOWED HERE BUT ONLY A DUSTING.
LOOKED OUTSIDE NOW AND THINK IT'S ALL GONE.
FEELING BETTER BUT NOT 100% YET.
KEEPING TO MYSELF AND THE KIDS.
QUIET NIGHT AND A GOOD SLEEP.
HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY.




CEEJAY......TAIWAN?? GUESS HIS PATIENTS WILL MISS HIM.
i HAD A DR LEAVE FOR POLAND ONCE.
RIGHT AFTER MY SURGERY :faint:
IT SEEMS LIKE VERY WEIRD WINTER WEATHER EVERYWHERE.
WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE A BLIZZARD DROP 4 FEET OF SNOW ALL AT ONCE!
BE CAREFUL OUT ON THOSE ICY ROADS!





MICHELLE....CONGRATS ON THE NEW JOB.
YOU WERE VERY LUCKY!!!!! NOW STAY THERE!!




LAURA....HOPE YOU AND THE BF ARE FEELING BETTER.
STAY HOME AND BABY YOURSELF:hug:
THIS IS SUCH A NASTY BUG. BE CAREFUL!!





HAPPY....I DO NOT ENVY THE DECISION DH HAS TO MAKE.
PRAYING HE FINDS SOME INFO AS HE SEARCHES.
WISH THERE WAS SOMETHING WE ALL COULD DO TO HELP:hug:
MORE SNOW?? I THINK YOU & ANNIE ARE GETTING OURS AND YOURS!!
THIS IS THE CALMEST WINTER I HAVE EVER SEEN HERE. STAY WELL!!!





ANNIE....I FEEL YOUR PAIN:hug:
WE ARE WITH YOU IN SPIRIT & SENDING HUGS.
ONE PROBLEM AT A TIME WOULD HAVE BEEN NICER.
SENDING HUGS AND HOPE THEY WORK :hug: :hug:
ALSO HOPE C FEELS BETTER SOON TOO.
WE CAN BE THE LOO LOO SISTERS!!
SISTERS THAT FLUSH TOGETHERE STAY TOGETHER!!http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/toilet/t9703.gif




SHADDIE....WAVING G'DAY:wave:

Hi ladies,

Light snow falling outside. I'm glad we're getting something to cover the ground as the really frigid weather approaches. People who've been here a while are saying that they can't remember a January so barren of snow.

I made a stew yesterday. It was tasting really good until I dumped in DH's salsa left over from the night before's chicken fajitas. He tried sorrento peppers for the first time and ai chihuahua were they speecy spicy. Since the stew was for him and there was only about a quarter cup of salsa left, I thought it might add a little bite which he likes. It did. He did (like it). But a bit too spicy for me. I made it from a magazine called Fine Cooking. Instead of a recipe it showed the basics of making a stew and you got to pick the ingredients each step of the way as you layer flavors. I used bacon as my browning fat. Cooked that up, removed bacon and used the drippings to brown the beef. Then added aromatics - celery, onion and carrot, the salsa with chilies but they give you about 10 other choices. You pick a deglazing liquid - I picked beer. Then a stewing liquid - I picked beef stock. Let that cook in a slow oven, then added vegetables - bigger chunks of carrot, small new red potatoes chopped and a can of stewed tomatoes. Let that go a while and right at the end I added some frozen green peas as well as a "finishing flavor" which was stone ground dijon mustard. Served it with some crusty bread rolls and it was yummy. I wished I had not put in the salsa because otherwise it would have been perfect for me. DH ate 2 bowls worth. I loved the pick and choose method of cooking rather than a regular recipe. You can vary this and make it with fish, chicken, pork or beef and adjust the ingredients to suit your palate. Only thing is that as DH pointed out, it was time consuming. I started at 1:15 in the afternoon and it wasn't ready until 6pm. I really liked this magazine because it showed in detail "how to" techniques. I know how to cook, but I'm looking to get better by learning new tips. I liked the magazine so much I went online and ordered their CD archive of all issues from 1994 to 2012. I decided that's what I'm going to use the gift card that I received from the popcorn shop at Christmas. Also ordered a couple of back issues of one of their gardening magazines. At least with a CD I won't have a ton of paper magazines laying all over the house :lol:

I think the weather is going to take a turn for the worse besides getting terribly cold. Woke up today with my bones hurting something fierce. Not arthritis per se, but just a deep pain. I'm starting to believe that I feel that way before a big storm so look out Nellie. :yikes:

Mel - I love the Calvin and Hobbes cartoons with him and snow / snowmen. Some classics there. Made me smile to see it. Glad you are on the mend, just take it easy and be the shadow in the halls :lol:

Michelle - I hope you can find some place for Santa to stretch his legs - one of the bummers of apartment living. I can see why the dog parks would really be nice in the city. They have a great one at the Humane Society by us too. You can almost see the dogs smiling as they romp around. Hope you get some relaxing time in for yourself.

The rest of you are in hiding or sick. Come out, come out. I'll whip up some soup and hot tea. Found a bottle of bourbon in the basement yesterday - that'll fix what ails yah :coffee: Feel better ladies and try not to be too stressed.

See yahs.

Afternoon all. Sunny & bright here.:sunny:

Ceejay - I take it you don't care for whoever covers for your doc when he leaves the country? Hope you like the doc in J'boro enough, otherwise, just keep looking.

Happy - Your girl's night out sounded fun - will you be joining them for more of them?? Your stew sounded tasty to me, but then I like spicy stuff. Brrr, yeh we're gonna get arctic air down here too. I'm almost positive I have a flu bug of some sort. And I got a shot!!:tantrum: no fair. :(. Still have a sporadic fever, but yesterday was worse.

Mel - how are you feeling today? Bf isn't sick, thank goodness.

Annie - hope C is feeling a bit better, and that you don't catch his cold!! Did you get the sticky stuff off your hands yet? Don't overdo it - you definitely don't want to be at risk to catch whatever nasty bug(s) is/ are going around.

Michelle - I'm glad you have a bit of a breather before you head back to work - relax & enjoy!

I posted because I thought I might lose my post.

Nothing much to report. Next week will be TOM, so I skipped a dose of DayQuil caps to take the migraine meds. Great, the flu & a migraine together. Prolly should stay home again tomorrow, but I will try to do what work I can with just email access.

D'jango Unchained was very entertaining. Some reasons you may not want to see it: quite long (but it didn't drag or quite feel like its 2:45 length); a lot of the "n" word (though I suppose it was mostly appropriate to the period & setting); violent - tons of shooting. That said, it was a good movie , and I wish I'd seen some of the westerns and other movies it is said to pay homage to. Good cast also - Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio.

Okay, gonna post before I get back to whining. Adieu.

Shadlett - where are yah woman, not caught behind a haboob are you?

http://castletv.net/wp-content/forum...py-dance-1.gif




http://smileys.on-my-web.com/reposit...espect-059.GIF Doing the happy dance today.
I lost 3 lbs since last week.
I was totally shocked just now to see 187 again on the scale.
I recently weighed in at 190 and got nervous.
The scale was creeping up and weight packing back on.
Too many Holiday "nibbles":rofl:
YES THERE IS A DIET GOD!!!

I am thankful for a 3 day weekend.
I cannot wait till 4pm for it to begin.
I must admit that this week I was very scarce & did nothing for the office.
I could get used to this:beach:
Jen went to the store yesterday and got our weekend stuff.
No one has to leave the house or cook.
Richie made sauce, I made chicken & Jen steamed rice & veggies last night.
All we need to do is the pasta. :drool:

Happy Friday/Saturday everyone & have a great weekend:encore:



Happy.....I am positively drooling over here.
That stew & the prep sounded wonderful.
Good for you finding something for the gift card. :gift:
Hope you don't get snowed in over the weekend!!
I think I can smell that stew now that I think of it:hun:
BTW....I am glad the girls got you to join in.
Hope you find a niche where you feel comfortable.
It must have been good to get out for a laugh too:hug:





Laura...How are you feeling??
I am fine. Think it was a change in my diet. Too much protein.
That and govt phone aggravation!! ROFL
Are you still home??? :getwell:
The flu, migraine & tom coming?? :cry: God bl;ess you:angel:
Enjoy a long weekend & rest.

Happy Friday kids,

I hope I can get this post out. I keep getting stuck on a page with one of those ads that interfers with typing. I can tell because the carrot smilie will all of a sudden stop dancing and then start back up again. I have refreshed and gone out and in a couple of times which is generally good enough to change the advertisements but not this time. I sure do wish we could go back to a paid subscription / no ad site. :(

Like Mel I have been away from the "office" for probably a week now and it was GREAT. Today is the only day I have to work this week but next week I am working 3 days of the 4 the store is open. I tried to go to sleep at a decent time last night - have been hitting the sack closer to 3am while I was off :^: but last night DH's snoring was particularly loud and noisy so after 45 minutes of laying there and getting woken up by a very loud snort just as I was falling asleep, I got up and moved to another bed. All this week DH has been getting up ahead of me so the house is nice and warm when I crawl out of bed. And the coffee is hot and fresh. Today I had to brave the cold house and make my own. Don't you feel sorry for me? :rofl:

We got some snow overnight. About an inch which covers things nicely. I guess we'll get a bit more in the next few days before the cold blast hits Sunday night. I need some basic supplies from the grocery store - milk and coffee creamer and such. Might just pick that up after work tonight so we can hunker in the house all weekend. Not looking for this latest blast of cold - the house will be quite chilly. These big windows are nice for the natural light but they also let in alot of chill too.

Mel :cp::cb::congrat::woohoo::broc: on the weight loss. That's huge! I guess sometimes we have to work at it but not think about it too much and just let it sneak up on us. I'm sure you worked hard at staying on plan though. Keep up the good work! Glad you enjoyed some quiet time avoiding the office folks. Maybe we both need to retire :cheers: I would be glad to post the outline for the stew recipe if people want it. Very easy to pick and choose items and cook it up. I guess if you add more stewing liquid you could probably even do this as a slow roasted soup in the oven, now that I think about it. But right now, perhaps alot of the chicks here are too sick to cook right now.

Hoping you all feel better. Weekend is here - rest up and get rid of those nasty germs.

Shoot - look at the clock, I gotta hop in the shower and get out of here. See yahs :wave:

Good morning ladies -

this week off went by quickly. But I'm still very much looking forward to starting my new job on Monday. Even though it will be bitter cold next week. :brr:

Today, I'm dropping Santa off at my ex's house to spend the day with DMIL and the other dogs. Then I'm going to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions before my insurance runs out, and then meet some former co-workers from Kohl's for lunch. After lunch, I'll do my grocery shopping and stock up on the necessities because with the longer commute starting next week, not to mention the dang cold temps starting Sunday, I won't feel much like running errands.

==================
Happy - has your DH been tested for sleep apnea? I think I've asked before but can't remember the answer. Has he tried the mouth guards, etc. that are supposed to help with snoring? I hope you get to the grocery store after work so you can stay snug and cozy all weekend. I would definitely like the outline for the stew recipe, please.

Mel - Congrats on the weight loss! You go, girlfriend! :bravo: :cp: :cp: So proud of you!! I hope you have a good weekend. Well done on getting stocked up on food and cooking it in advance so that you can have some easy meals. :)

Sending :getwell: wishes to all who can use them. I'll try and post this afternoon/evening.

Much love and many hugs,
Michelle

http://stickfamilyfiguresdecals.com/...lchairgirl.gif

HELLO FRIENDS. GOOD AFTERNOON!

I WAS GOING TO GO DOWNSTAIRS TO SET UP THE WEEKEND.
SOMETHING STOPPED ME AND I CALLED INSTEAD.
THANK GOD I DIDN'T!! THE BOSS IS OUT SICK NOW WITH THE FLU.
HER HUBBY HAD IT AND SHE WAS HERE. NOW SHE'S SICK.
THANK GOD AGAIN JEN STAYED OUT OF THE FRASSING OFFICE TOO!!
I TOLD THE MAINT. MAN ON THE PHONE IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS...
USE THE PHONE OR RADIO. I WANT NONE OF THEM UP HERE.
NOT LEAVING MY APARTMENT TILL FREAKING JUNE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I JUST CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS GETTING WORSE HERE.
JUST WHEN I THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO THRU MY DOOR:rofl: :rofl:





HAPPY....HOPE YOU REMEMBERED TO PUT CLOTHES ON AFTER THE SHOWER.
NO FLYING THRU YOUR DOORS NEKKID!!!
I HAVE TO LAUGH ABOUT COOKING.
RICHIE IS STILL IN HEAVEN WITH THE NEW POTS & COOKBOOK.
JEN SAYS IT'S THE BEST GIFT I EVER GAVE THEM!! :lol3:
TELL DH TO COME AND TURN MY HEAT UP IN THE MORNING.
YOU WILL LAUGH...FELICE NAVIDAD IS PLAYING ON THE TV RIGHT NOW!!
:hohoho: :hohoho: :hohoho: :hohoho:





MICHELLE....HOPE YOU AND SANTA FIND A PLACE NOT TOO ICY FOR GETTING EXERCISE.
WHATEVER YOU DO....DON'T FALL!!!:nono:
STAY INDOORS WITH THIS FREEZING WEATHER.:brr: