Morning all. This week is dragging. Bleh.
Michelle - Interesting article. Sadly, not surprising the govt wants to go after this, but I guess this is some sort of loophole they are trying to close when it's part of a planned strategy to not show another means of financial support that could deem SS benefits unnecessary. Yes, sooo hard to see our pets feeling unwell. I'm glad Santa is feeling better and I hope he can return to doggy daycare soon.
So nice of you to put captions in the photos. I will try to put some more photos/pics out there for Mellie.
Annie - Glad you got the referral appointment. I sure hope they can do something about it. Be forceful - you shouldn't have to live with this pain interfering with your life!! Don't know much about Manning, so it's nice to hear he's doing good things like that.
Happy - Too bad about the water heater leaking! I hope there wasn't too much damage in the shop. Nice if you'll be able to get down here to visit your mom & sis. Busy week for you. I hope the doc can help you with your back/neck probs. Anything that interferes with my sleep is a major issue in my book!! I can probably recall a lot of the pilates moves, but I do find it amazing that when I go to my classes, the classes are always different, and the instructors are always just moving from one move to the next in such a flow. I find myself wondering if they plan it, or if it just comes naturally. They must plan at least some of it in advance, because some classes we use hand weights for a few moves, Monday's we used the "corebar" for some...We always use the mini-ball - a squishy inflated ball the size of a soccer ball, so I know those moves can be determined on the fly.
Hi Susie! Hope you're having a good week.
I'm wondering how many people the govt. actually gets to report their gift cards received as income. You'd think the government has bigger fish to fry. I think gift cards are a less traceable way for folks to help loved ones (versus writing out a check). I'm not worried. I can't see the employees in that medical facility taking note of any extras patients have becoming informants.
Ceejay - I was out in the yard with the dog this morning freezing my buns off and noted the frost on the grass. Grass that is long and that bf will have to mow. I can hear his complaints already. I hope the bees are gone now! I should think the cold will eventually kill them off or send them into hibernation - whatever it is that they do when it gets cold. That's the only thing good about these frosts - killing off the bugs, and at some point the skunks will hibernate and we can relax a bit. But not yet - I've smelled skunk in our area at least a few times over the past week. These devices can get to be expensive, especially if you need to buy a data package for them. We bought a used iPad that bf mainly uses. He puts e-books on it, and accesses the internet on it via our house wi-fi connection. We don't buy a separate data package for it - if we need internet outside the house, we have our smart phones.
Shad - Hope you get all the garden and house work done before you have to leave for your next assignment. Re the burglar proofing - if they really want to get in, they will. It just depends on if they have the opportunity to go about their work unnoticed. I always hope our dog is a good enough deterrent.
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I really enjoyed the movie "Captain Phillips" last night. I didn't know much at all about the actual story upon which it's based, but knowing the final outcome didn't lessen my enjoyment of it. The villains in the story were humanized and I thought the lead villain was very good. And I heard somewhere that he didn't even have an acting background! My only complaint is not enough views of hunky shirtless SEALS, lol.
Tonight's my last Barre class of the session. I've enjoyed it, but I do think going up on my "toes" doesn't agree with me. It's really going up on the balls of the feet, and this bothers my bunion. But I feel like class this really worked out my feet, ankles, and calves a lot.
I ordered a 4 month supply of daily contacts yesterday. Hope it doesn't bring my flex spending acount into deficit. That would mean I have to reimburse it. Sometimes I wonder if the hassle of the FSA is worth it....I have to complete my benefits enrollment this week, which includes a new estimate for my FSA. Bleh.
Tonight I have to start a 12-hour fast for my health evaluation tomorrow morning. This time, not only will they draw blood, but they also measure your height, waist circumference, and weight.
Today I'm supposed to meet a HS friend for lunch who has made one of her quick pops into town (she lives in the Twin Cities MN). Of course she hasn't confirmed that the time I threw out a couple days ago is okay because she might not have internet access while she's here. I'll leave her a message on her cell phone. I always feels funny doing that because she has a pay-as-you-go phone and I don't want to use up her minutes.
Eeek, meeting now. TTFN!!