Good Morning Ladies of the Worldlie Type..........

Dad came to me in a dream last night. It was so real and happy. He said he felt wonderful and it was just beautiful in heaven. Everything was perfect, no pain and was happy to be with momma. I woke up with happy tears.

Then I dreamed dad and momma and I were going to Kings Island and my BF Tari was going also. The dream was all about making the plans to go, the reservations and where to stay. Now that is a funny dream to me.

Ok girls with knowledge of the Wisconsin Dells....C and I are going the third week in August....need suggestions where to stay, what to do, etc.

RIP James Gondolfi...51 years young. Heart attack.

MELLIE....You do not have to live in the shed. We have two perfectly good EMPTY bedrooms that you can chose from, altho one has about 900 DVDs in a ceiling to floor bookshelf, lol. Your choice.

LAURA...Congrats on the WL. Whew whoo to Ms. Laura, you are one rockin' star sister. Very proud of you. I don't think I have ever tried Thai food but would love to. Isn't it spicey?

CEEG...when the water tank overflows and runs into the street, do the kids play in it? Somehow I just imagine it. lol

Hey to all my sisters.

Have a wonderful Thursday/night all

Hugs.

Morning all.

Michelle - Ah, Tuesday is the only day to be face to face with everyone - what a scheduling nightmare! On days when I have too many meetings I just feel so unproductive. It's hard to dig into a project when you have meetings interspersed. But if it's always Tuesdays, you plan accordingly. Did you do the Zumba dvd last night? If so, how was it? I can see how you'd like to build up the distances you can walk without much pain - those outings with the dog folks sound like a lot of fun!

Ceejay - That sounds like it could be a lot of water depending on how much overflows from the tank! I'd also be too frazzled to be thinking of taking photos when that happens!! Too bad you can't be at the g-nephew's bday party this weekend.

Mel - Why would the drivers laugh at you - it's how they drive that could cause you the pain/problems! Typical SS bureaucracy. When I think of the waste in our federal, state and local governments, it's just a shame what the money could be doing for us.

Annie - What a lovely dream to have!! I'm glad you had that. And what a funny one about the travel to KI. I think the dream picked up on your plans to go to the Dells. I'll have to ask about where we stayed last September, but it was just a chain hotel, not a water park or a resort or anything special, so that might not interest you at all. I do recommend going on a ride on the Ducks. They are amphibious vehicles formerly used by the military that travel on both land and water and you get to be on the water to see the rock formations the area is known for. When I was a kid, we went to the Tommy Bartlett water ski show...the town itself is full of souvenir, t-shirt and fudge shops, totally touristy. We went in September when they have a craft (aka crap) show, flea market, parade, art fair, so that was fun. The attachment is from a short story by Flannery O'Connor and the one line made me think of you. I also thought of you when I read a columnist who mentioned basting her eggs with butter...

Hellos to the rest of the gang!
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The Thai festival was nice yesterday. They had entertainment - dancing, and a description and symbolism in a Thai wedding ceremony, etc. I bought an order of chicken satay and it was larger than I thought, so I brought about half of it home. I also bought bf some Tom Yum popcorn, which is flavored like the soup of the same name that bf likes. It was pretty much just for fun because I'm not sure the flavor of the soup carries over all that well to the popcorn! Thai food can be spicy, but things like chicken satay (chicken usually on skewers, served with peanut sauce) and the popular dish Pad Thai aren't spicy. Same for things like potstickers, spring rolls, etc. Other dishes can be adjusted to your taste at the restaurant, i.e, you just tell them where you sit on a scale of 1-5 in terms of spiciness.


After work, bf and I went out to buy a couple new tires for my train bike, as well as a spoke for one of the wheels. The little air compressor unit we use for filling the tires on our bikes and other household equipment (wheelbarrow, two-wheel dolly, snowblower, etc.) crapped out the other day, so we also shopped for one of those. We ended up at Costco and found exactly what we were looking for. We also had a really cheap dinner there - 1/4 pound hot dog w/ drink, $1.50. Unbelievable. Bf and I always joke about going to Costco for a cheap dinner (because it's certainly not healthy - though I could have chosen a chicken caesar salad, but that was $4, so expensive, hahaha), but never do it - except for yesterday. We saw some teens in there and bf said he didn't think you need a membership to buy the concession stand food there. I'm sure the parents would be happy to know their kids are eating giant hot dogs and pizza...

I took down the hem on my slacks and did some upper body weights while I watched the rest of the hockey game, and that was about it. (Blackhawks won, TG!! They really needed this one, and now the series is even 2-2.) Oh, and I watered my flowers and plants and found some fabric to use for my car seat cover project. (Michelle - there's not much design to these covers, and I got the start of the idea from something online. Otherwise, it's just rough measuring. )

Having lunch w/ a work buddy today. Tonight will be Jazzercise class.

That's it for me. Everyone have a great day!

Annie - a pic from the Dells Duck tour friends and i took last Sept.

LAURA....haha on the home again, home again, I say that a lot. As much as C and I are into rocks we will most def to the duck tour. I am going on line later to check out sleeping places. Thai food sounds quite yummy, and I have had the chicken satay before, just didn't realize it was Thai, lol Go Blackhawks!!

Good morning ladies -

I haven't been sleeping well for the past couple weeks. I don't fall asleep until 11 pm or later, and then getting up at 5:30...well that's just not enough sleep for this chick. I've tried everything...cutting out caffeine after 3 pm, listening to meditation CDs. I got some Unisom yesterday, and that helped me fall asleep and stay asleep...though I still feel like I could sleep for a week. I didn't do the Zumba DVD last night, I was just too exhausted from lack of sleep.

I had a good meeting with my manager this morning. He's happy with my progress, which makes me happy! Might not meet the deadline of getting this one project done by the end of the month, but he's okay with the slight delay. He expected a bit of a learning curve.

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Ceejay -- Bummer about losing all that water when the tank overflows. That wouldn't be a good thing here in CA where water is in such short supply. I know what you mean about wanting to go see the baby. I want to see my grand-nephew (and my niece and her hubby) soon. They're coming to northern CA in August, so I may have to wait until them to see the lil guy. Enjoy your 3 day weekend...are you going to Paragould? Sending happy birthday wishes to the baby.

Mel - Probably very wise of you to not go to the store. Twinges of pain are your body's warning system. SS is such a PITA to you. Dang! I hate how bureaucratic all the government agencies are. As for my back, I promise I'll be careful dear sister. You be careful too with your arms, legs and back.

Annie - So nice that you had dreams about your mom and dad. As for the Dells, you've got to ride a Duck (see Laura's photo). It's a fun ride and you get to see some of the beautiful scenery. Plus it's cool to be on a vehicle that travels on both land and water. The Dells boat tours are really good too. And if you like water parks, there's tons of them there to choose from. Another cool place that's about an hour's drive from the Dells is House on the Rock. It's a little pricey, but there's so much to see. I really enjoyed going there. (http://www.thehouseontherock.com/)

Laura - Luckily, I only have to attend 2-3 meetings per week, and one of them is a quick 15 minute touchbase with my manager. A lot of the team are in meetings or conference calls nearly all day. Ugh, I would hate that - can never get work done because all your time is taken up with meetings. Maybe because I'm a developer or maybe because I'm a contractor, they feel it's actually important for me to spend most of my time in my cube doing programming and being productive. Glad you had a nice time at the Thai festival. I love the peanut flavored Thai dishes. Costco is a great place to go for cheap lunches/dinners! Hmmm, I always thought you had to have a membership to purchase from the concession stands. Have a nice lunch with your work buddy, and have fun at Jazzercise.

Gotta go. I desperately need more coffee.

Much love,

Annie
When my mom passed away she would come to me in dreams to help me sort out things to do. Then one day I wanted one last visit with her and I came upon the huge crevice in the clouds. A man in a robe with a long white beard and a staff asked what my business was and I told him. He made the crevice come together and said your mom is in the building first booth. And yes there she was all clothed in white. She told me a few other things and said this would be her last meeting and she flew off with her wings spread out like an eagle. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
Last night I heard my name called while I was asleep. So she may be trying to contact me.

Mel
You did the right thing by not going shopping. There's always another time.
Some of our water tanks like the water towers do go to the ground in big pipes. I did make a picture of the tank draining and one of the tanks when the indicator was near the top indicating it was almost empty. I'll try to post those.

Michelle
You do sound a lot more at ease in California.

Happy
You'll have plenty to do before your relatives come for a visit. Think I'll call both my sister's tonight and talk to them. Maybe that will ease some of the anxiety I'm having.

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I've had a boil type thing on my upper leg this past week which was really sore. It drained by itself Wednesday. But I let the doctor here take a look see this morning and he gave me some antibiotics to take for it. I asked him about his retirement. He's at retirement age but going to work one more year then his daughter is going to take over his practice. I'm pleased. She has one more year of residence to do.
When I weighed in at the doctor's office the scaled showed a 6 pound loss from the last visit. So I'm happy.
Need to go to Blytheville to run some errand.
Then when the back yard is shaded this afternoon I'm going to mow. I have really weird neighbors. I heard a lawnmower last night at 11.15 p.m. At first I thought it was a helicopter. But when I got up to look out the door I saw the neighbor across the street on his riding mower with the head lights on. I thought how ridiculous is that but I guess it beats the heat of the day.

Michelle - Sorry you're not getting enough sleep!! I hope that ends soon, you definitely need your sleep or everything else starts to go to heck. Glad your boss is happy w/ your performance and that you don't have to attend many meetings!!! I agree - The House on the Rock is a fascinating place to visit! Annie might have to dig up some fishing spots for C.

Ceejay - After my parents passed away, I dreamt about them from time to time too. I still do occasionally. The dream you had about your mom sounds very nice, as was Annie's about her dad. Sorry to hear about your leg. Glad you got some medicine. Congrats on the 6 lb weight loss!! That's fantastic!! I used to have neighbors that would mow at all hours too. Weird. LOL

Laura - You're right about the fishing spots. The Wisconsin River (which runs through the Dells) has EXCELLENT fishing!! C and Annie just might have to try that out.

Ceejay - Congrats on the weight loss!!! Mowing at 11 pm??!! That really is weird. And not very neighborly, I might add!!

I forgot to tell y'all about a bit of excitement I had yesterday. When I got home, I was so exhausted. My step-mom was out, so I just sat in the backyard and chatted with my step-brother. We left the screen door open so Santa could come in and out as he wanted. After awhile I realized he wasn't in the backyard, so I looked through the house calling him. He wasn't anywhere indoors. My step-brother checked the gates to the backyard...one was left open by my step-mother. I ALWAYS check the gates when I let Santa outside, except for yesterday afternoon. I don't care how tired I am...I have to be more careful. Anyway, Santa had gotten out and we didn't know how long he'd been gone. So my step-brother started off around the block in one direction and I went in the other. He eventually found Santa (thank God). Santa had gone to the end of the street and was playing with another dog. I was so relieved that Santa was found! It would've broken my heart if anything had happened to him. I have to be more careful about the gates from now on.

Morning all,
Having a fun time trying to cybertrack my DB2 who should have landed in Wellington NZ last night. Wellington has been having some atrocious weather and the flight got cancelled. We hadn't heard from him, but I just managed to find him or rather he found me on facebook a few minutes back.
I'll be back with personals when I get him sorted.

We have 2 new fur babies in our lives.


This is Meadow. Meadow is somewhere between 5 to 7 years old - probably closer to 7. She has been living at the shelter for almost 3 years. No one wanted her because she is older I guess. She lived in a room with the younger cats and barely tolerated all this roughhousing. She prefers to be alone but tolerates Nina - mostly.


This is Nina. Nina is a 5 month old rambunctious kitten. She's a Siamese Lynx Point they say. She likes to talk and fart a lot. She's stinky right now - we must check into her diet. She is very loving and affectionate and is total high energy. I hope she calms down in a few months. Nina is DH's cat so he can tire her out

DH brought them home today - 5 minutes before I had to run to the Thrift Store. They are getting acclimated now, we have them in the lower level until our company leaves next week. Neither of them is fond of the big thunderstorms we are having right now. Meadow is hiding under the sofa, Nina is looking for someone to cuddle with.

I'm going to go play with them a bit - will be back shortly for personals.

Back again. Been a long and busy day. I spent a good hour and a half watering everything. It looked like it wanted to rain but sometimes all we get is dark clouds that pass us over. Things were dry and I had to work today and knew I wouldn't feel like watering when I got home. It looked like it wanted to rain all day long and then just as I was about to close the shop, the skies opened up as some really really dark clouds moved in. I got soaked going to the bank and was about to wait out the storm at the shop but then the rain let up a bit only to start up again 5 minutes later. Everything got plenty of water for a while. I'm sure my lettuces are beaten down. We'll see come morning. The popcorn shop opened up again. Stopped in on my way home. It's good - they are using the same recipes - but it will be an occasional treat for me - too much salt and kind of pricey. Came home and sat with the cats for a while. The older one has bonded to DH of course. The young one, she's up for a good time with anyone. Boy though does she stink. Gassy Lassy. She loves to cuddle and thinks my breasts are a perfect warm water bed. I was holding her and I could feel the rumbling in her tummy. Constantly. I tried to do some research on the Internet but it's quite conflicting and confusing. Many things point to a change in diet but she was that way at the shelter. The thing that makes the most sense is that she is a young kitten and like humans, their digestive system is still maturing. I hope this doesn't last too long - it's really awful. I'm getting a little concerned with guests about to arrive...

Shad - glad you found DB2 and he didn't get swallowed up in a typhoon or flung to the far parts of the Fiji Islands or something like that! Bummer that you have to wait on the new car. Guess that gives you time to make a proper goodbye to your current buggy.

Michelle - that sure was a close one with Santa. Perhaps being in daycare and the bark park, he is used to having playmates and just took it upon himself to go find an adventure! Glad no harm came, guess as you say, you must be extra vigilant. I hope you find an answer to your sleeplessness. That certainly is no fun when you have to be alert in the morning. We use Nyquil or ZZzQuil occasionally - but sometimes that interferes with other medications.

Ceejay - congrats on the weight loss. As for mowing at 11:15pm, I'd be soooo angry. Might be cooler but certainly it's dangerous if not outright rude to be keeping other people up. Oh well... takes all kinds right? Did you get to have a nice chat with your sisters?

Annie - glad you got a kick out of the birthday card. I'm also glad you had a peaceful dream about Dad. See, he doesn't want you to cry for him. I hope that left peace in your heart. My experience with Wisconsin Dells consists of the casino we went to a couple of times, the Mobil gas station we always gassed up at between here and Memphis - the huge one with the Dunkin Donuts attached to it. I can't remember ever staying there so I am at a loss for recommendations - sorry 2 things though you can depend on in Wisconsin - cold beer and hot fishing

Laura - ok, now I can add Pad Thai to the dishes I am missing up here! Actually, that one - hold the spice please - I think I could actually wrangle up here myself if I tried. Wow - I agree that's mighty ambitious to take on making car seat covers. You must really like to sew! You'll have to take pictures so we can see the finished result.

Mel - you'd better rest up and get better. TJ's is about to report a sudden drop in sales Seriously - you know yourself best and I'm sure you would not pass up a shopping trip arbitrarily. Can someone else pick up what you need? Darn this red tape with the SS people I hear that some doctors are starting to drop medicare patients also because it's just become too much of a hassle. Crazy, crazy, crazy!!

Sorry I did not get into more depth but I am sooooo tired right now. And I have a long 2 days ahead of me getting things ready around the house. Not panicking yet, but I will be busy. Be good everyone...

Goodnight to all.

Mel - just sent you an e-mail, but in case you don't see it I'll repeat it here.

DB2s flight is re scheduled for 7.00am tomorrow. I will have to pick him up at 4.30am. I should be home by 6.00am which is our normal speak time, but if I don't answer leave a message and I will get back to you.

Need an early night.

SHAD....I WILL TRY TO CALL AROUND THEN BUT THE KIDS ARE ALSO LEAVING FOR THE TRAILER AT THE SAME TIME.
IF YOU WANT TO WAIT ONE MORE DAY THAT IS OK WITH ME.
LET ME KNOW.


AFTERNOON UPDATE
ONLY ZABRINA IS LEAVING THIS AFTERNOON.
SO I AM FREE & WILL TRY & GIVE YOU A CALL.
IF YOU ARE HOME OK ......IF NOT OK TOO. LOLOL
SAFE TRAVELS.

I WILL BE BACK LATER ON OR OVER THE WEEKEND.
SO MUCH TO DO AND SO LITTLE TIME
I DID SEE PICS WHILE SCROLLING DOWN....DUCK TOUR AND CATS!!
BE BACK LATER
HAPPY FRIDAY!