Morning all.

Michelle - Wow, a 1 bedroom or a studio (!!) would be difficult to adjust to after living in a house and a 2-bedroom. I sure hope you're able to swing something more spacious, or can really downsize somewhat happily.

Ceejay - Had to smile when you said your friend liked to strike a pose and had you take photos of her trying on clothes. But if that actually helps her when shopping, or makes her feel good about herself, who am I to laugh?? I know I've never enjoyed seeing how I look in photos, even though it's probably the most accurate way of seeing yourself... Re the furnace repair - the quote that this very well-known and highly rated hvac company gave us was just criminal, so we decided to bear with the space heaters another day.

Mellie - Too funny, catching up on years of lost sleep! :lol: Doesn't the quiet in the building seem eery to you? Or are you just enjoying the brief respite without too much concern?

Shad - Nice you have ds to keep an eye on the house while you're gone. I'd be worried about some sort of power surge or something damaging your electric system and everything connected to it when the power does come back on. Does ds2 have power at his place? Hopefully the freezer contents wasn't a complete loss.

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Nothing much to report on my end since my post yesterday. The weather is crazy around here 60 degrees in Chicago, as well as in Indy. Happy's got 33, Chelle & Mel in the 40's. And it's January!! But that'll end very quickly, so enjoy it while you can.

I forgot my umbrella - hope I can miss the rain on my commute home today.

Going to see the movie "The Impossible" tonight - about the Tsunami that hit Thailand a while back. Should be good.

Okay, back to work. :comp:

PS - Here's some before & after home office photos. Still have some paper to deal with, but I'm determined to get it under control. There's no reason what paperwork we really need can't fit into the storage we now have.

Hi ladies,

Woke up to a glaze of ice everywhere. :yikes: Temps are warming just above freezing so hopefully things will get better in a little bit. I have a hair appointment at 1 today - was going to cancel and DH said he will drive me in, everything will be fine. I had planned to walk around some of the shops in town for a bit, that won't happen now. Yesterday we went to see DH's cardiologist. She is a surprisingly young woman but everyone said she is really good. We had a good talk with her. DH will wait to see what the results of his event monitor are and then he will make up his mind what he wants to do as a course of treatment. We stopped for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in a nearby town. Had a nice night.

I picked up a magazine called Fine Cooking which had the make your own stew recipe that I raved about. They have 2 books online called How to Break an Egg and How to Squeeze a Lemon which are a compilation of years of tips featured in the magazine and sent in by readers. I got the How to Break an Egg from the library the other day (still waiting on the Lemon one to come in) and I started reading it while waiting for DH. I LOVED this book. So much I bought a copy from Half dot com. It's just little snippets of things but has a lot of great ideas about cookware and care, tools, food prep ideas, substituting things in a pinch, etc. I just got through the cookware chapter and I was really impressed. They also have a CD archive of their magazine which I was going to purchase and because of a glitch in my credit card, the transaction did not properly go through. I used that time to rethink my purchase but after what I saw in these books, I think I might just invest in this. Cooking is my hobby now that I'm home :D

Mel - glad things are quiet for you - hope they stay that way for a while. Looks like there is another winter storm headed your way. And it looks like Annie might be in it's path too. Hope not. What a cool picture of an owl. Yesterday I saw a picture in the snow - it was a perfect outline/print of an owl that had snatched a squirrel. Just the print in the snow, no gory picture but it was interesting that I saw that right before I went to bed and you chose an owl for your winter pic today.

Ceejay - as much as I'd dearly love to see temps in the 70's I certainly don't miss the tornadoes and crazy storms that come with that mild weather. Hope you don't blow clear through the next county down there :)

Shad - wow that had to be quite a widespread storm to have left so many without power for so long. Pity that you had to pitch the freezer contents. Hopefully you did not have a packed freezer.

Laura - I can assure you that the Humane Society Thrift store in town is NOT a high end deal :rofl: although I can see where some suburban ones could be. Last Christmas I went in there to browse and see what they had. There was a set of Nativity figurines and I picked up one of the shepards. It looked somewhat "off" to me and I couldn't figure out what it was. Then I looked at the neckline and saw it was cracked. Apparently the original head snapped off and someone took another head off of what clearly looked like a figure on a music box and had carefully glued it in place. Except that the head did not match the body style :rofl: I really wanted to buy it for the entertainment value as my sister would have laughed as hard as I did but DH would not let me get it. :( They have ALOT of old stuff in there - so much so that if I volunteered there I'd have to tell them I need to try it first because I am very allergic to dust and mold (and cat hair from long haired cats). If I got all wheezy, I would not be able to stay there. I hope all goes well with the furnace repair. We have found that you get what you pay for in general. We had some cheaper guys who did not do a thorough job - especially in TN. We had a guy in AH who installed our Trane furnace and a/c - he was really good but I don't remember his name after all these years. I guess being as how it's winter too they might jack up the prices because you can't put off repairs. You are just fortunate that the weather is so mild today. Hopefully it gets fixed tonight before the temps drop again.

Michelle - I can really relate to your story about how you drifted apart from the ex :hug: I too hated moving out of Chicago and worried what would happen if my Mom got sick. I can only imagine how badly you must have felt with your parents and friend being so far away and not being able to be there as much as you wanted to. Things were very stressful for us in TN too and we too pulled apart as we were both entrenched in our own private miseries. I was miserable and I tried to explain it to DH but he really didn't know how to deal with me and I didn't think his situation was nearly as bad as mine so I wasn't very simpathetic either. I really feared for the future of us. So I can totally see how things played out for you - just sorry they had to end the way that they did. I am also like you in that I liked "my stuff" and had way more than I ever really needed. I can tell you that eventually - like now - you will come to a point where you just don't have/want/need as much as you did before and you will pare things down. Is there any way / anywhere you can maybe ship a box or two out west ahead of time to store until you get there? As you go through stuff remember it will cost money to move things out and you'll have to figure out a way to get them there whether you drive a truck or a U-haul. In any regard, I don't envy you - I hope I don't ever have to deal with that again!

I think I'm going to find something to fix for a light lunch and make a small grocery list for when DH picks me up. I have some broccoli I need to use up - was thinking a broccoli-cheese-ham type of soup. Will go well as it's supposed to dip back to below zero again later this week. Have a good day chicks. Keep your head above the boxes Annie - good thing you are tall :lol:

Laura - Wow! I love the home office remodel! It's gorgeous! And so functional with so much storage! It will be a challenge for me to downsize to even a 1 BR, so I'm hoping for a 2 BR, but that will depend on whether I get a job in Northern CA (much more expensive) versus the San Diego area. Bummer that the furnace repair quote was so high. Do you have a subscription to Angie's List? I would definitely recommend it. You can find fair and reputable service providers near you, and read the reviews/grades that others give them. My ex and I have subscribed to Angie's list for years, and gotten very good recommendations from their database. Good luck and stay warm.

:lol: Laura was typing over my head. Love the new office!!!! How nice and tidy. I really like that flower print you have over one of the desks and we are painting the downstairs a very close shade of green like your walls. I'm sure you will really enjoy the new space. Nice floors too!

Please give us a review of the movie - I wanted to see that too. Our theater here never did get that Barbra Steisand movie Guilt Trip so I guess we might not have as big of a choice of movies as I hoped we would.

Just a comment about Angies List - only as good as the people in the area. DH subscribed to it both here and in TN and we had hit and miss both there and here. Some good, some with good reviews that turned out to be not so good :( Just sayin... We also had an issue with one person who did a less than satisfactory job and pressured DH to remove his honest but not flattering review.

Happy - I had no idea that you and your DH went through the same sort of pulling apart that my ex and I did. So sad. Thanks so much for sharing that. But ultimately, for us anyway...it's working out I guess. He doesn't ever want to live in CA again, and I don't think I can happily live anywhere else. It's just sad though. As for going through my stuff, most of the boxes were packed early on when I was thinking more about me versus him, rather than what do I REALLY want to move to CA. That's the attitude I've been using for the last couple months....will I have room for this, and do I want to pay to move and store this? I think you mentioned a show that used to be on HGTV...maybe it still is...called Clean Sweep. Where they people have to make Keep/Toss/Donate piles. And then once they get through that step, they have to pare their Keep pile down to roughly 1/3 to 1/2 it's size. That's my plan. For every 3 boxes I have now, I get to keep 1 (or less). I'll be a lot more....can't think of the word....ruthless about what is actually worth moving and cramming into a potentially one BR cottage/house.

I have been so busy at home and work, I have just been in the mood to post. I will try to be better about it tomorrow.

Have a great evening/morning all..

Loves

My message to the world, my family and others....if you don't like how I live my life...then lump it. I am not living for you....I am sick of others telling me what I should and shouldn't do or how I need to lead my life. Really...I am a grown woman, let me make my own decisions and my own mistakes to learn from. Not everyone can be as perfect as you want others to believe you are. ok rant over.

Sorry Annie. Not sure what was said, but I have to agree with you. You can and do make your own decisions.

Advice, given is always welcome, however it does not always need to be acted on. Feel better soon

Good Morning.
Taking The Day Off The Computer.
I Am So Congested I Can't Think.
Been Up Half The Night.
Love The Higher Temps But Not This Part Of It.
See You Tomorrow.
Have A Good Day

Mel
Feel better soon.

Annie
I agree with you 100%.

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We had a thunder boomer last night. Thanks goodness with very little damage. The rain was welcomed.
I sneezed two or three deep sneezes last night and think I've pulled something in my right side. It sure is sore. But this too will pass.
Nothing new to report.

Laura
I like your new home office.

Annie - Sending hugs. :hug: You are a grown woman and can and do live your life how you want. As Shad said, advice given is welcomed, but that doesn't mean you have to take it.

Mel - I hope you feel better. :getwell:

Ceejay - I hope the pain subsides quickly. :getwell:

Love and hugs to all,

Howdy snowy morning chickees,

Annie - I'm very sorry that someone / something has got you feeling so badly. :hug: I guess people can't help giving advice and some are pushier about it than others. As long as you are not doing harm to yourself, you are entitled to live your life as you wish. It's one thing when as a parent, you don't want to see your kids make a mistake and so you try and guide them, but once you get to a certain age, it's up to you. And as you say, you are willing to deal with the consequences of your decisions. You have enough stress in your life right now, don't need any more. Hope you will be ok. :hug:

Ceejay - I see you got some storms down your way. Hope it didn't create problems at the plant. I always said it sure does know how to rain hard down that way :lol:

Sorry you aren't feeling well Mel. I think the colder weather is on it's way to you. People complain about the winter, but I think there's less sickness when it's below freezing. Rest up and feel better. Can you sniff some Vicks for your stuff nose?

Shad - your great nieces are adorable. I agree they get the beauty from the aunts ;)

Michelle - it's interesting that you say the ex will never go back to California. It shows you how different the segments of this country are. I realized how different we were when we were in the south. It's a cultural thing and hard to adapt which is why we went running back north. After that experience I wonder if I would have been happy living anywhere else but the midwest area. Not sure I could live in California either which we were actually seriously considering a move to the San Francisco area in the late 80's. I have heard San Diego is very pretty - I almost got there once but we had to cancel the conference we were going to attend :( I don't blame you at all for going back to your support net. I'd do the same if I was in your shoes. Don't know if you have to be ruthless (which always reminds me of Ruthie) when going through your stuff but you certainly have to unlatch the emotional attachment. Maybe a friend can help you sort things out ;)

Missed Laura this morning unless she's posting over my head again :^: How was the movie?

It's softly snowing outside. Big flakes. Looks just like a snow globe out my big windows. Yesterday we had an ice glaze Almost went sailing across the driveway because it looked wet but was really intensely slippery. Got my hair done. Decided on a short bob, bangs again because letting them grow out was just not working. I went with a warm dark brown color with caramel highlights - way darker than the color I walked in with but it does go good with my new red framed eye glasses. Then for some fun we put a few purple / berry colored highlights in the front. You can't really see them indoors but they really pop in the outside light. I like it. Something fun.

DH and I are about to head out to the Humane Society and do a little kitty socializing. I picked up a few things - cat food and treats, garbage bags and bleach - things they said they needed and we'll take them over and go visit with the cats for a while. Then I guess I will stop by the popcorn store and drop off my t-shirts and key and officially resign. DH is asking when I'll be ready to go and I have to get dressed yet so I guess I'll get ready before he rescinds the offer :lol:

Have a good Hump Day ladies. :wave: