Morning all,
Been a pretty busy and productive couple of days which doesn't explain why I haven't posted but time just gets away from me somedays.

It's supposed to be wet this week, but apart from a good shower yesterday morning, there isn't much sign of the rain and storms predicted. As usual they all went north of us and out to sea. I sometimes wonder if whoever named the Sunshine Coast was having a laugh, since every time I go there it is wet, rainy and flooding. And that is where the rain is at the moment again. I guess ours will come. Just when is the question.

Okay, I admit it, I am a tree hugger. If this was the sight that greeted you every morning when you opened your door, wouldn't you be a tree hugger?

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...pse7fd227f.jpg

Terra - it's sad when we have to have our animals put to sleep. However it sounds like you are making a sensible decision. We never ever want to see them in pain and he has had a long life. And a good one.

Laura - It's hard to keep up the steps when it is cold (or in my case too hot) out there. Maybe the basement steps might come in handy for a couple of ascents and descents and besides which, you can stop off at the dvd player and insert an exercise video. Just sayin'.
No I haven't gotten in touch with Jen yet. I've rung twice but just got the answer machine. I will now think about a snail mail to see if that gets results. But again, if she doesn't want to know me, or if she is very sick then maybe I will never hear from her.

Annie - we always wonder about the 'other half' of our precious children. They do not seem to do what we think they should for our babies. However, from experience, I have figured out that it is better for me to just stay out of the equation. That way I am not accused of interfering or bias. There are time when I would like to just bash their heads together and tell them to use the brain they were born with, but the world is not the same one as we used to know - maybe not for the better as we think, but they don't.
Be careful what you wish for. One of these days you may just answer the phone to find a Kiwi/ Oz accent on the other end giving you grief. Your head may never be the same again. If Mel was around, she would tell you about the lectures she got once in a while about how to fix the world.

Dee - it's fine that you don't go back over the pages to find what we have been up to. We are mostly all busy and I certainly don't go back if I haven't posted in a day or two. What I remember I remark on. What I don't I don't.
Sorry you are having all this cr*p in your world. I sometimes remark that I don't know what the world is coming to and I am glad that I am at this end of my life with just enough resources to cover my expenses and that I wouldn't go back in time for anything. It's a sad reflection on society when one can't treat ones own kids properly. She needs help, not our condemnation. I understand the frustration and anger, but unless you DS makes a stand about the things he has to do around the house, then it is not your place to interfere - see my remarks to Annie above.
My ex loved dancing, but then he was musical and unlike me had a sense of rhythm. I have no musical talents whatsoever. I'm a much more practical physical person and the only rhythm I can keep up is with a shovel, digging soil or stones or whatever.
I have tried growing garlic but wasn't very successful. I didn't realise how long the crop takes to mature - like onions, long growth time, around 26 weeks. I may try again since I have had some success this year with onions. Some research would be necessary.
Here we have a pleasant climate for nine months of the year, cooler nights and warm day time temperatures. During the seemingly endless 3 months of summer we get heat, humidity, spectacular storms, bugs and flies and ants and cockroaches and nasty wormy things that eat the tomatoes and corn and carrots. I would dearly love to be able to have 2 houses so I could live somewhere where summer was pleasant and come back here for winter, spring and autumn. Not that we have 4 seasons in the tropics. It's either wet and hot and humid (and sometimes not wet) or dry and pleasantly warm.

Ceejay - Guess I'm with the others. Work as long as possible to get more money. It will be no fun in retirement if you can't do anything other than pay the rent and put food in your mouth. You have no idea how long your retirement will be and the way things are right now, you have to realise that it will be tough economically, probably for the rest of our days. You are doing well in thinking about what you need to keep and what you need to get rid of, but there are other things that need consideration - like what to do with your time - it won't be all hanging out with the family - whether you should get a part time job to keep the brain active or whether you can volunteer some time to something that interests you and whether you need to move and where to and what costs are coming with that.

Michelle - good luck with the surgery. No doubt the headache is caused by stress and tension. Look forward to you getting back to us.

Right oh, coffee is done. I have work to do in the yard before it gets to hot or *shock horror* it rains. It's cloudy today and storms and showers are predicted. The I need to put some containers up in the roof space. That way I can get on with the 3rd bedroom reno when/ if it rains. I have some errands to run when it gets too hot to work and there is always cleaning and dusting and sweeping to do in this house.

Shad
What a beautiful tree! I would welcome that view each morning. I'm more or less weighing my options for retirement but you have given me some much sound advice. I've also thought about working part time too. Like my doctor said, I don't see you sitting all day long. And I couldn't.

Terra
How sad that you are having to put down Clyde. Glad the blister is healing.
----
Much quieter today at work. Rode the bike last night for another 2 miles and did a load of laundry. Think tonight I'm going to do a Yoga DVD. My thigh muscles are getting tight. This is about it for me today

Terra - I'm so very sorry to hear that you need to put Clyde down. That's such a difficult decision. But if he's in pain and not happy...maybe it would be best for him. Breaks my heart to say that though because I know how much he means to you and your family. He's been a dear member of the family for many years. Sending you hugs. :hug:

Shad - That is a gorgeous tree! I'm a tree hugger too and the trees around here aren't nearly as beautiful! :rofl:

Hi..quick post. We are about to sit down to some chili and cornbread and celery.

We had 5.5 inches of snow yesterday and today it is FREEZING! We were able to get to work without too much trouble yesterday. We just left 20 min early and took our time. I wait until it is light and I leave when it is light and I can get home before it's pitch black. DH and I try to ride share when we can and we do it for sure when it is bad weather. It just makes the commute a little longer.

I have been getting up two times a day at work and walking for 20 min each in the halls so that I can get my steps in. This is my workouts this week as it is a busy week and lunch time is busy with working lunch meetings.

Dee: I am very concerned that you might end up sick again with the bleeding ulcer. Please take care of yourself. You asked me about tips for losing the 12 lbs that I did. You know I am one who fights this battle in my mind first--so I am most certainly a comfort food person. One of the sayings that I heard during the contest is that Comfort Food is a discomfort to the body...and that is so true. So I kept repeating it to myself when I wanted to eat for comfort.

Terra: I'm so sorry to hear about Clyde. Have you taken him to the vet so that they can check him out and maybe give you perspective as to if it is time to put him down yet? We did that with our cat. It helped us and gave us a bit of time to prepare..which we needed.

Ceejay: Good for you for getting that purging of the house done and for keeping up with your bike rides.

Happy: I hope the new crown goes well.

Laura: I always feel better when I get my hair cut and colored..even if I keep it the same..which I usually do..I don't change it much. I always get compliments on it and I like it so I don't make too big of changes with it.

Shad: What a beautiful tree..and with all my snow and cold I am very envious of it!

Annie: Good job at the 4 lbs. Keep going!

Michelle: I think your surgery is today? Saying a prayer for you! You will do just fine..you have worked hard to get to this point and I know you will be very successful.

Ok...got to go..like Happy..my DH is telling me it time!

Hi all,
Early up and off to cover my shift at the thrift shop. Then I bummed a ride to the hairdresser while DH was off getting the car fixed. I decided to keep the blond, it blends the roots well. Shorter now but not too much, I asked for something that would work with (winter) hat hair. Got lots more gossip in the beauty parlor. A favorite pizza place up north is opening a restaurant here - that would be nice. I'm starting to favor veggie pizzas.

Susie - EVERYone is talking about how darn cold it is. Perhaps because this is not early season cold, but the type of cold we get in the January deep freeze. Everyone could us a nice hot tub soak. Good for you for getting to work a bit early and working in a walking workout in the morning. Every little thing counts, what a great way to start the day and gather your thoughts! I'm not so sure I'd agree with comfort food being disagreeable - I'm thinking meatloaf, spaghetti, warm soups and stews. But I definitely agree with FAST FOOD being not so comfortable. DH brought back Burger King and while I just had a hamburger - no fries, it strangely felt like I was still hungry afterwards, not like I had eaten at all. I have noticed that a lot and it has effectively taken away my cravings for such food anymore.

Michelle - sending good vibes your way for a fast and easy surgery and a quick recovery. Keep us posted as you can. Best wishes to you :hug:

Ceejay - I agree not to jump retirement before you are ready and have saved enough but then again, when it gets so stressful and takes a toll on your health, that is something to also consider. Try to put together some financials - even if guesstimates before you make the commitment. Also good advice to consider some place that has the shopping and social aspects - be it volunteering, church, family - you might want a break from people and phones for a while, but it doesn't last forever and nice to know you have options available to you. I think people don't anticipate this and instead focus on getting off the clown merry-go-round that is the workplace today.

Shad - oh my oh my - that is one stunningly beautiful tree. Is that in your front yard? Is that flowering now? Just breathtaking. I would appreciate the view also. I hope you get some rain, trying to blow some to you but it's awfully dry here and certainly so by the time it makes it around the world across the pond over to you. I agree with you wholeheartedly that I am glad to be at the age I am, at this last bend in my life, rather than just starting up the hill. I don't know what the world will bring to 20 year olds. But then again, I feel differently, I was raised differently, I don't understand much of what they believe as truth in their current bubble. I suppose somehow mankind will continue on, much like we did when our grandparents thought the same of their sexed up, wild and crazy grandkids! :lol: I hope you hear back from Jen eventually. Hope all is well with her too. It has to be tough to be alone.

Terra - so very sorry to hear about Clyde :hug: I agree with getting a vets opinion but it sounds as if Clyde had a long life and is in very poor health now. Saying goodbye to an old friend is the hardest part of pet ownership.

Laura - I laughed at your comment about the frozen pizzas and lack of space. Side by side refrigerator / freezers do not have room for turkeys or pizzas :lol: Not that I would EVER have a frozen pizza if I lived in your town. Ever. Never. :no: :lol: Glad you remembered your lunch.

Annie - how is your brother doing? Holding his own? Nice of you to help out Sissy with the refrigerator - I'm sure they will appreciate it. I had to laugh thinking your entire spare refrigerator is filled with salsa! :rofl: I know how you love spices and tomatoes so what better to fill up on? :D My coworker volunteer had ankle surgery recently - just a scrape. They offered him the fusion - said it's eventually going to happen. He was afraid of loss of mobility. Is that your driving foot that is so sore? What would happen if you got a fusion? Yes, it was most grand to pick up the phone and realize it was Shad, not some telemarketer. She is getting better at hiding her accent I can tell you - must be from hanging around with us "yanks" all these many years. :rofl: I would like to imagine that Mel's rolled up next to your couch and is totally enjoying all those holiday movies with you. Nice of you to accommodate her.

Dee - my heart goes out to you reading your post right now :hug: You sure could use some pampering. And understanding. And maybe someone who might not be overcommitting an already over committed person. Sounds like you are juggling far too much. You have to ignore the slacker remarks. Ask DH what is his part in these tasks he has volunteered you for. I am sad for you because that sort of overload is exactly why one can't enjoy the holidays. I am sort of glad my DH is anti-social. :rofl: Actually he is ok with just us, but also enjoys an occasional night out with friends. But I cannot imagine the rush, rush life of yours. Please PLEASE cut back, learn to say no (as in I'd like to help but it's just not YOUR TURN this year *bats pretty eyelashes*) I cut my hair too when it thinned out, sometimes it doesn't come back again. And it's hard to rock the monk look so please take care of yourself. Annie and Shad are very good with the cattle prod if any of the chicks need someone with persuasive powers ;) And on top of that all, what a sad situation with your son and the DIL from hades. How very sad. Good of you to help out where you can - how heartbreaking. I hope the kids are not affected too badly. :(

Dee, would love to meet for dinner but I am 5 hours north of Milwaukee. If you drive fast. ;) I'm 3 hours east of Minneapolis, about an hour and a half south of Duluth, MN. 20 inches of snow for our first storm of the season is unusual. It's the crazy weather patterns and global warming (that yes, does bring cold despite what people think) that I think is giving us such odd weather. I just stay inside as much as I can. And I have heated seats in the car and warm clothes when I do go out. I just get a fright if I have my short wool coat on and I sit in the leather car seat after it's been in the garage overnight and my bare skin hits the cold leather :yikes: I am trying to remember to tuck my shirt into my jeans before I put my coat on! As for garlic, my cousin grows it. You have to get garlic starter bulbs - they look a bit different than regular bulb garlic - dirtier I think :lol: They have to be planted in October - cold enough to set and mature over the winter but not too soon as you don't want them sprouting prematurely. He said it's not hard, the most difficult part is remembering to go to the garden (when you are not thinking about gardening) when it's time to plant them - must be in by first frost I think. And then you can harvest the baby tops (rapes I believe they are called) in the spring and then you have to pull the bulbs and dry them out. I can't say this was one of those things that was better garden fresh than store bought but he thinks so. I did buy some fresh garlic from a farmer's market stall. It was heirloom garlic and had a spicy bite to it - Annie might have liked it. It was far more potent that store bought stuff.

Well I have talked a book again. Sorry if I blabber too much. I should go downstairs and make sure I have pjs set out, I'm sure the cats are taking up my bed for the moment. Cats rule our lives. Anyway, have a good night, will check in tomorrow.

Good morning ladies,

Just popping on to say hi before I leave for the hospital. I'm not nervous....just a bit sleepy. LOL

I appreciate all your support! I'll text Laura this afternoon after surgery.

Much Love and Big Hugs,

Hump Day!

CHELLE...saw you got my text with good vibes, wishes, prayers and love...keep me posted.

HAPPY...let's see on the questions...yes it is my driving foot. Fusion is my next option as I have little to no mobility in that ankle to begin with since the bones are sitting on top of each other with no space to jam between them which is causing the pain. The scrape thing would be a waste of time and major deductible $$$ for me and usually leads to fusion anyway. I just want to be able to walk, at this point with little or no pain. The shot and brace are working nicely at the moment. My brother is holding his own. His PSA level is 5.8, norm is 3-5. As long as we can keep the testorone level down, it keeps the cancer from growing and spreading. So far it has not spread any where else. November is the one year mark on the discovery, so that is remarkable in itself. He goes back in 2 months for another MRI and PSA level check and shot, if all is the same, the routine continues. If not, the next step is level 2 shot. Remembering there are 3 levels of shots, if he gets to the 3rd level, then death is imminent. I am still praying for a miracle. Rest assured HAPPY, ONLY my freezer is filled with salsa, the fridge part is full of bottled water. lol. TELL me how are you body parts holding up? Are you still enjoying the Thrift Store? How is DH feeling these days?

SUSIE...we didn't get much snow here, maybe 2", but we are with you and LAURA, colder than H*LL. I am not a fan of cold weather. Cold air hurts my face, why do I live where cold air hurts my face? lol Great job on the 20 min walks at work. Walking is the best. Keep our eyes on the prize...Kings Island and fitting into the ride seats. Yes...btw..you all are invited to join us at KIs this spring/early summer. Laura? Happy? Ceeg? Terra? Dee? Shaddie?

CEEG...good on ya for riding the bike 2 miles. Quieter days at work are very welcome in my books. Laundry = bleh.

SHADDIE...what a lovely tree, please say that it is in your yard for constant viewing. How beautiful. Your weather people are about as good as predicting rain as our's are at predicting snow. Ha! Yes I am with you on DIL, just keep my mouth shut, at least they don't have children to keep from me YET. Mostly DIL is worried about what other's think of her and get's p*ssed if something doesn't set well with her that we might say. I love her, but she is very trying to be around. I feel like walking on pins and needles sometimes for fear of upsetting her with normal every day conversation. SHeesh.

Got my boob squish done last evening. Not too bad actually. The little girl that did it was very good for being so young. C and I stopped of at Alibi's Bar & Grill for dinner afterward. I had grilled blackened tuna steak, which was very yummy and a cup of french onion soup. Not too awful caloric.

Ainsley had her tonsils taken out this morning and is in recovery now. Everything went very well and she goes home once she wakes up. Sissy, the boys and I are going up there this evening to visit her at her physco mother's house. Oh boy!

Bout it for me, have to get on a cc in about 15, must prepare.

Have a super hump day.

Hellos to the rest of ya's! Hugs

Morning all.

Shad
What a beautiful tree that is! And the color is so tropical. Does it bloom like that all year round? Lucky you. Re outdoor exercise – I’m don’t usually shy away from getting out during the cold weather for a short walk at lunchtime, and my commutes between home-train-office somewhat force me to be out and walking for at least part of it. However, with this asthma bugging me, I’m not thrilled to be exposing myself to any stuff in the air that makes the symptoms worse, so I’m being cautious right now. But that’s no excuse for not getting down in the basement to do a workout video!

Terra
I’m sorry to hear about Clyde. It’s a tough decision to put down a pet, but a humane one if Clyde is in pain and suffering. I think Susie had a good idea to perhaps take Clyde to the vet and get his/her opinion as well.

Ceejay
Good job on the bike! :bike2:

Susie
That’s a lot of snow! Glad it didn’t affect your commute too badly. I’m happy our area didn’t get it, though our neighbors in NW Indiana did. They always get a lot of lake effect snow. Good for you getting the walking in at work. If I don’t intentionally plan to leave my desk to get a little movement in, I find I rarely leave my desk!

Happy
You’re right, side-by-side fridges cannot accommodate wide items. I think the only reason we settled on the side-by-side fridge was that a lot of the other models back then didn’t have water/ice dispensers if the freezer was on the bottom, and many others were too large to fit into our space. I have a feeling that by now we’d be able to get a French door fridge with bottom freezer and ice maker/dispenser in the door – and it would fit in our space. But having a perfectly good fridge with many years left in its life, switching it out is very VERY low priority at the moment. As for pizza – I love it all, and though there’s nothing like a freshly baked pie from one of the many great choices around town, frozen pizza can be very convenient. And IMO the good brands definitely rank above the crummy pizza chain offerings, and that’s without ever having wanted to even try those places. I can only imagine how awful a pizza buffet for $5.99 must be, LOL! When I used to travel for work and often ate dinner in my hotel room while working, I learned to just say no to the idea of ordering in pizza. I preferred to wait until I got back home to Chicago so I could eat “real” pizza, LOL. As for veggie pizza – we’ve often ordered half veggie-only, but I always have to eat a piece from the meat side… By the way, if you have pizza up there in the north woods, do they serve it sliced in squares or in wedges? And just to get everyone’s thoughts away from pizza now, lol…it sounds absolutely horrible when you say someone had their ankle “scraped”. What exactly is being scraped??

Annie
Glad to hear your brother is holding his own right now vs. the cancer. Re KI – never been there. Might be a fun thing to do… I like blackened fish, but sometimes there’s too much salt in the spice blend being used.

Michelle – I’m keeping the good vibes going for you!! :goodvibes

Hi Dee! :wave:
--
Yesterday’s steps were 8,202 – pretty good considering I didn’t walk at lunch and got a ride home from the train after work. Must have been doing the stairs and doing some grocery shopping last night that boosted the step count.

I did two sessions of stairs yesterday at work – 3 flights up and down each time.

Bf is finally done with the work on his piano. He tuned it, then did a very involved procedure called “regulating”. He’s pleased with the results in the way the piano plays/sounds. I’m just glad to not have pieces of piano laying around all over the house anymore, LOL. He will need to tune it once again after doing the regulation bit, but he'll do that in another month or so, and it'll be minor.

I might go see the movie Whiplash tonight. It’s about a music student’s relationship with one of his teachers. The teacher is played by JK Simmons, the guy from the State Farm commercials.

That’s it for me. Time to post. I’ll be back when I hear from Michelle.

LAURA...Scraped is just as it sounds. Surgeon goes in and scrapes all the bunk and junk out that is causing the pain. The only thing is it all comes back in a very short time. To me a waste of money and time. I love pizza also so does C however about once every couple of weeks is all I can tolerate. Just doesn't sound good to me more often than that. I love a good veggie pizza, I am not a much of a meat eater. Chicken and fish are about all I eat, and neither sound good on a pizza to me. I am hoping maybe a group of us will go. So far, me, Sissy, Susie and her DH. If you wanna stay at the house to break up the trip, you are more than welcome to. More details when it gets closer to planning time.

TERRA...so sorry to hear about Clyde. I agree with the other's on the opinion fromt he Vet before making the final decision. Goodluck.

Later chicklets.

A group of us will go to KI that is...kind of left that out of the post to LAURA...lol

Hello. I have 10 min left at lunch time and so I thought I would post as I know I need to do some work tonight when I get home because I will be gone from 1:30 until 5 working with our core Admin team setting up for a big offsite meeting for all the Admin's who work at my site (about 120 of us). We have a speaker coming in tomorrow and it's going to be a nice event. I am on the Core team that handle this stuff for our site.

I hope I will have time to maybe come back tonight and do personals. If not, I'll do them the next day.

I would LOVE for anyone who thinks they could make it to Ohio one weekend in May to go to KI with Annie and I to join us. I don't know anyone at the hotels in Cincinnati but I know someone who works for the Hampton in my hometown (about 40 min from KI) that I might be able to get a deal on hotel rooms. Think about!

Ok..got to run.....

Alright ladies, here's a text from Michelle:

Hi. Surgery is over. I'm tired and sore. Can you please let 3 fat chicks know?

So there we go.

I'm on my kindle I keep in my purse, waiting @ Kroger for my flu shot & I hoped to hear GOOD news about Michelle :)

We got 2" of snow last night, about 5" total now. I had enough to sweep off my front porch & sidewalk to leave today. Dh had a work seminar w 4 of his company dept. supervisors yesterday, 2 hours southwest of us. He left home early @ 4:30am because of the town being on Lake MI & he got home @ 7pm. Dh said the traffic was 40mph, roundtrip instead of 70mph :o because of heavy snow blowing.

Annie, TY for the acorn squash info! I'm sure your mamo will b normal, u r stilll young for the bad C to happen. It's wonderful news to hear that your brother is stable w his C & DB had his 1 year anniversary of 'survial'; God is w DB & your family...U have soo much going on in your family :hug: I'm sorry to read about your ankle probs. Is Ainsley your grandbabe? Have u ever gotten a pizza w chicken & pineapple & veggies :p

Laura, like always I feel very lazy after reading your posts about walking, :carrot: I want u to mail me a bottle of whatever it is that gives u soo much energy. So it's hard to think about u having asthma & the ppl I know w it say the only 'good season' is winter for them w nothing growing outside, using their inhaler occasionally. I'm jealous that your BF is soo musical & romance u w his piano, ;) U going to see a 'big ppl movie' :D sounds soo Adult, me & dh only go to the movies w our 4 grandbabes so u know what our experiences r [popcorn-candy-soda & potty-time for 1 1/2 hrs. I can't remember the last movie dh & I went to w/o kiddo's.

Terra, it's soo sad to read about Clyde. My heart goes out to u while u make your heart-breaking decision on what is best for him & your family :hug:

Shad, I want your tree's in MY Yard :) I also picture more beautiful Birdies in your trees. Ok, I'll settle for anything u can give me from Austraila. I get u about my DIL advice u gave me. DIL & I r actually friendly & I take her shopping 1-2 times monthly w/o the kids, so she can b herself w/o the family & we have a nice visit. I 'do Not' interfer or tell DIL what to do, because she is over 16 yrs. & I love her & I know she will regret her hurtful/neglectful actions to their kids & change her attitude/actions & b a responsible person. My son & I r the only 2 ppl/family left that have not given-up on her yet. Her parents r welfare ppl by choice, DIL chooses to live their life & will soon see that Her 4 kids will dislike mommy for her behavior. My ex-dh & his wife shun DIL because she has a habit of using ppl/back-stabbing & did it to them; so now they only take home 1 grandbabe @ a time for a visit :?: TY for the garlic info.

My shot is ready, I'll b back to finish personals soon...

Laura
Thanks for the update on Michelle. I'm anxious to see the results.

Happy
More good advice. I'm trying to live off one pay check, and keep a close eye on my extra spending.


More later. It's tome for me to take over for all departments and I hope that it is quiet but the shut off list came out today. Ugh.

And here's another text from Michelle :

Surgeon came by he said everything went great and looked great. :D

That's great news & I'm happy to hear it!