Not going to make it back for personals. Just dropped in to say see you tomorrow. This place is a mad house. Word is out the boss is leaving this Friday. :(

Good morning chicks,

I am healthy, happy and blessed! Darn it, I guess I should be grateful also.

I made some cheese queso and chips and some cold shrimp with cocktail sauce for snacking yesterday. Watched the last 4 minutes of the game and then watched it go to overtime. That's all the football I need for a year.

Had a meltdown yesterday regarding the thrift shop. Sooooooo tired of all the drama. I have had my fill. I will cashier for a while but am dropping all my other duties. If a couple of people want to call all the shots on their own and not work as a team - well let them do ALL THE WORK THEN. Didn't stop them from calling me today because they could not get the credit card machine to work. :rolleyes:

I still can't figure out why my knees hurt so much. I skipped Tai Chi on Friday so gave them effectively a week to rest. They still hurt. I haven't gone in the hot tub for 3 days - they still hurt so it's not the hot water that is making them sore and inflamed. Weather is not so awful as to really bother them that much. I am at a loss. I guess I just have to accept that I will never feel good again. :shrug: But I am still alive and have all my limbs so grateful for mobility on my own I suppose.

Tried to skip Tai Chi class again but DH woke up at 7 and woke me up. I was dreaming I was climbing a rock wall to escape someone who was trying to murder me. I guess they won't let me quit the Thrift Shop. :rofl: I was quite groggy as I did not sleep well - pain the legs woke me up several times and interfered with going to sleep. Got some coffee in me and headed out. I'm glad I did as this was the other teacher filling in for our morning teacher who was out of town. I liked her better. She goes really slow - almost halting and it was much easier to follow her moves. Several of the ladies said so. The one frustrating part is that they have DVDs for sale and I went to get one. The receptionist did not have them, you need to buy them from the lady who organized the class. S is no where to be found. Came back later - still gone. S is a VERY busy lady. Why can't they just leave the DVDs with the receptionist? No you have to come back again and again to see if you can catch when S is in. Dumb, dumb, dumb. The office is very disorganized. I told DH that logical thinking has flown the coop and I do not belong in today's world.

Today is DH's birthday. I am going to try a new recipe for honey baked chicken he picked out and make some chocolate chip cookies for the cookie monster to gobble down. I also have to do some cleaning up as the washer repair man is coming Wednesday and we are getting a consult on landscaping the new deck area on Thursday. Not sure how she will do this with all the snow around the deck, but we'll see what she thinks. The week should fly by.

Ceejay - it's good to try new things. Good for you for getting out and doing them.

Anne - I am sad for you also to lose your boss. :hug: :rofl: :drill: making everyone drink water at the restaurant. Good for you. I guess. :^: I would drink water if they had Pepsi products. :p Funny how chicken wings with the least amount of meat on them cost more than other chicken products. Supply and demand, I guess. Your spread sounded yummy. I will join in on the question of what is sweet pickle dip????

Hellos to the rest who at this moment have not posted personals to respond to yet. I'm on the hunt for lunch while DH naps. I wish I had taken him up on his offer to lay down and nap with him as now I am really sleepy...

Originally Posted by annie175:
Not going to make it back for personals. Just dropped in to say see you tomorrow. This place is a mad house. Word is out the boss is leaving this Friday. :(

I hope they aren't pushing him out. :cry: :cry: :cry:

Ok so there's Laura... maybe it's time to consider a new doggie when you get back from vacation. Or maybe get a new puppy for your neighbor so you can be the visiting grandma and love it and then you have someone to watch it when you go travelling :lol: We like to say at the shelter that your next pet will find you. And they do - many people said no more until they came across that fur face they could not resist. It sounds like you have the February blahs like me. Maybe it's lack of sun. You certainly are having more mild weather than us. I had a problem keeping my toes warm with the boot too. Although it was summer but it was still chilly with the a/c on. I hope you find something to keep them warm because when your feet get cold, it seems to chill up everything.

I added some chemicals and ran the hot tub open with some windows open for about 2 hours yesterday. It seemed to "air out" but I kept thinking - what's it costing to keep this water churning and heating to 102 degrees in a chilly room for 2 hours? Most people here have a hot tub outside because of the romance of sitting in it and gazing at the night skies. Which is nice until you realize we only have 2 months of warm weather and 5 months of full on winter. I can't imagine running outside in the snow (which quickly turns to matted down ice) and having to clear snow and ice off the hot tub cover every time you want to open it up. And then there's the routine maintenance of chemicals and weekly refill of lost / evaporated water. And the winter is when you most want to use it to have a warm soak. Nope, :no: an outside uncovered hot tub would not work for me. And is probably why most people who have them outside don't use them much after the first year. And yes, the pool chemicals do soak into your skin. They remind me oddly of shell fish for some reason. Not the best smell.

Good luck with your performance meeting - as you say I hope it's just "Hi Laura. You are fabulous. Here's a big pile of money. Have fun" :lol3:

Ok, DH just woke up which means I should find something for lunch for us. Later chicks.

Hi Everyone. I have beeb reading and lurking. Work got a bit crazy as I am putting my Director on a plane to Asia this morning for 2 weeks!!

I had to put his agenda together in a week as those in China just came back last Wednesday from Chinese new year. We had some of it done before they went on holiday but not concrete. Then my old AD decided she was going to and her new Admin had not done this for her before so I worked with her and trained her on what was needed and working with the difference in time zones.

My workouts and eating are going well but the weight isnt budging this week like it has been. I havent gained so I will just relax with it, breathe, keep doing my due diligence and know my body will catch up.

I am posting from my phone so I will try to remember what I have read and do personals.

Ceejay, I had no idea you played piano. I think when you are ready it would be very nice for you to plY something at church.

It sounds like the backsplash and tile ended up being ok.

Anne, I am so sorry that your wonderful boss will be leaving you. I know how it is to have new bosses to get used to. In 5 years I have had 3 new Directors.

What a blessing it has been that you had such a wonderful boss. He literally saved your life. Remember sister, you know The One who will always take care of you. He is constant...that you can count on.

How is Samantha doing? She is in my prayers.

Shad: it sounds like you are healing and hopefully getting your strength back. It does take awhile. Do you know when you will start the chemo?

Happy: I hope your knees settle down soon. How was DH's birthday?

Laura: you need to find some warm fun socks to wear with your boot. Remember toe socks? Those would be fun!

My heart was heavy when I read how you miss walking your dog and feel lost without him. Maybe once you get out of the boot it is time to find that dog who is looking for you too?

Have a good day everyone. DH is now at work so now my turn to drive to my work place. It is 61 degrees already this morning!

Happy, Healthy, Grateful and Blessed. Plus the Lord's prayer this morning. A little late as it has not been such a great start.

Forgot earrings and my rings. Can get over that, just feel naked without. Bright side for all, not naked.
Bathroom issues - slight mishap...let's just say comando - Bright side, I have pants on
Once a week treat Starbucks coffee...dropped in hallway..had to clean that up - bright side God is helping me with diet
Dropped empty cup in office...last few drops on carpet..bright side easily cleaned up
Sitting at my desk typing this...bright side a job

Ok on with the day. Last night was left overs. I had shepard's pie, C had chicken and sweet pickle dip with chips, Sam had mac n cheese as did the boys. Tonight might be more of the same as I need to do some laundry. Since Sam has been down, I am doing everything, yikes....wearing me out.

HAPPY...mmmmm, honey baked chicken. Was it good? Happy Birthday to DH, I wished a great one on FB. Did his new camera arrive yet? No, WF is not pushing out my boss. He has made this decision on his own and I have never seen him so happy since making this decision. My mom and dad had a hot tub for about 10 years. Finally gave it to my brother after they couldn't really get in it anymore due to their weight and mobility. Plus they couldn't/didn't want to take care of it anymore. Momma said it did help with her arthritis. Poor soul. Yes it is time to give up the thrift shop. It has cause you more headaches than pleasure. Let someone else carry the burden that think they know it all. Good luck to them. Sorry your knees are bothering you. This just s*cks. Maybe cortisone in that knee would help? I know not the mechanicals but maybe the "real" part of the knee. I will post the sweet pickle dip recipe in a separate post.

Aww LAURA...my heart hurts for you and your doggie whoa's. It does get easier. Sassy helped me get over Bella the dog from hella. I was about 7 months without a doggie. I have a hair cut appt this Friday evening. We are still on similar schedules. On the boot cast. I wore a thick sock with mine to keep my toes warm. Helps a lot.

SHADDIE...everyone likes gift cards whether they admit it or not. Just tell the neighbor to shut up and like it. lol. Sounds like you are getting better by the day and doing more and more to get mobile. Good on you.

CEEG...how was your nephew visit? Nice to be around more and more family. Well at least most of the time. haha.

Bout it for me. Hi to all. Hugs

Hi SUSIE....You were posting over my head. I felt your great presence. Seems you are always putting someone's fires out. Cheers to an in-house vacation. Hope the new admin took great notes on what to do for China. Otherwise you will training her again. Yes, stay the course on eating and exercising...just like the old Heinz commercial, good things come to those who wait. We are having the same 60 degree weather today, tomorrow 30s and 1" of snow expected then 50s this weekend. Crazy! I am really trying to give EVERYTHING to God. I am doing better at it as it only takes a few seconds of self pity and worry to realize give it up. Beats the usual weeks of stressing over things. The hardest thing at the moment is finances. Sam is healing well. She goes for her 2 week check up next week. Hugs my sweet sister.

Now I know what is wrong with me.....

America’s 10 Most Miserable States according to 24/7 Wall St.

West Virginia
Oklahoma
Kentucky
Indiana
Arkansas
Ohio
Louisiana
Alabama
Rhode Island
Mississippi
America’s 10 Happiest states according to 24/7 Wall St.

Hawaii
Alaska
South Dakota
Maine
Colorado
Vermont
Arizona
Minnesota
Montana
Florida

Morning all - happy, healthy and blessed today.

You guys are KILLING me with your posts of 50 and 60 degree weather. It's kinda that dreamy feel when you smell something wonderful like fresh baked bread or something delicious and you close your eyes and want to follow it. Ahhhh. It's in the 20's here - just started to lightly snow. We are supposed to get 4 to 6 inches of the frozen stuff by tomorrow and the temperatures are going to drop to the single digits for a few days, then warm up a bit for the weekend. I would love to take a week's vacation to a warm place but that's just not going to happen. DH suggested a 2 day overnight get away to St. Paul for our anniversary but I'm not comfortable leaving the cats for 2 whole days. They don't mind if I leave, but they do get stressed out being alone. This is the only downside of having them, otherwise they bring alot of smiles and love to our lives.

I am comfortable with my decision to let go of the thrift shop duties. It's the only way I can deal with the frustrations. We'll see how it goes when I cashier. I will have to train myself to walk away from problems "not my monkey" to deal with. I do desperately need a social outlet so staying at home completely and focusing on art and writing just won't cut it after a while.

Annie - I can understand both sides from your list of states. The bottom 10 have lots of financial woes - either the people are struggling to make a living or in the case of Rhode Island (DH's home state and a place we briefly considered retiring to) - it's a pretty area but so plagued by financial problems at the state level. Kind of like Illinois where they are getting taxed to death to make up the short falls. Too expensive to live there happily. I think it's interesting that Minnesota is in the top 10 because they drive like demons possessed which generally means they are aggresive. But I have seen several articles that say MN people are happy folks even though they get the worst of the winter weather. I think MN is the perfect example of midwest living. Looks like you are kind of land locked there - you would have to north to Michigan (just turn away from Detroit) or north up by me (if you do that just let me know it's time to open up the commune) or you can head south by Ceejay if you want better weather. When I asked if they were pushing your boss out, I meant did they move up his end date? I thought he was leaving a week early but it's just the time flying I suppose. DH's camera is supposed to come tomorrow as well as my other box of oranges they were trying to hold shipment on until the weather got a bit more mild. Ha ha - "everybody likes gift cards" - was talking to my Sister yesterday and she said my dear old Mum is complaining "Everyone gave me gift cards for Christmas - what the h**l am I supposed to do with those????". This is from the woman who doesn't like anything anyone buys her. My sister said she needed to watch out that she was complaining too much and she needed to stop and take a breath and appreciate all the good things in her life like people who cared enough to send her gifts and her neighbor who comes in and helps take care of her as well as the deacon from the church who comes and brings her Holy Communion. :^: Lord please take me before age 80. :angel: I'm glad Sam is healing, maybe she can use the recovery time to regroup and think about the future. Sometimes we need an event to make us stop and think for a bit. Sorry you have all the extra burden of the household things on your shoulders. Who is getting the kids off to school and activities?

Susie - I hope the new admins can remember all the overseas protocols and not have to keep relying on you because I'm sure you have enough to deal with. Don't let a plateau get in your head. You have done so well with the weight loss and exercise so far. Minor blips will happen. In fact I'm a firm believe that even the weather plays a part. I think we weigh a bit more when it's excessively rainy outside - just our water based bodies absorbing a bit more humidity :lol: The weight loss comes at a good time - now you have a great excuse to go looking for some new spring clothes in smaller sizes!!! Yay for shopping!!!!

DH had a nice birthday. We went to dinner at the steakhouse yesterday. He got a free piece of cheesecake - it was Turtle - I took one bite - too much "stuff" in it for me. I like plain cheesecake, plain vanilla ice cream, etc. But he enjoyed it. We had a nice dinner. I bought him some lottery tickets - he won a bit of money, maybe he can roll it into more. A man knocked on our door in the afternoon. He was riding around and got stuck in the snow and wanted to know what street we lived on so he could give directions to the tow truck. DH went out about 10 minutes later to see if he could help and it's a good thing he did. The man just moved up here from Berwyn IL (Berrrr-win, home of Svengoulie for those of us from Chicago with campy horror movies in the early 70's :rofl: ) Anyway he was new to the area, was taking a drive around and got lost (my fear on these roads that all look the same). He saw a road sign that had our town's name on it and decided to follow it. The roads are snow covered and what he didn't realize is that it wasn't a road, but was a dirt and gravel ATV trail. At the end of my street is a mini farm, the official road ends at the farm and to the right is this rustic ATV trail and that's where the man got stuck. Good thing he walked back to our house instead of going to the farm as the goats or shetland pony would not have been much help. So the tow truck arrives shortly after DH. The guy says because of insurance and liability he is not allowed to tow out of "off roads" situations mostly because of unsafe conditions. The man is fretful, he doesn't want to leave his car there. So this is where DH comes in. Up the road is an excavation business DH has done work for. He hops on his ATV and drives up there and talks to the owner. They send out this HUMONGOUS monster bucket loader. One of those where the cab is 15 feet high in the air. They wrap a strap around the car axle and with DH's help maneuvering the car, they manage to tow it to the road. The guy was super grateful. He gave the bucket loader guy $100 in cash - nice bonus for that guy!!! He tried to give DH money too but he would not take it. So he did his good deed for the day. Otherwise this guy would have been hosed because no tow service would have gotten him out of that road. He'd have to wait 3 months for the snow to thaw :eek:

And that's all the babelling I need to do for one day. Will catch up with the rest of you later. Have a great day.

Morning all. I’ve hit a wall on the current task, so I’m taking a break.

Annie – I’m glad to hear Sam is healing well. I liked your “bright side” comments. :D Good reminder to us that there’s almost always a bright side even when things don’t seem to be going so great. == I happy to hear that your boss is leaving on a voluntary basis. You’re losing a great boss, but I hope there’s a bright side in this for you!! == Gosh, I wonder what the criteria were for states to be categorized as miserable and happy. I sure thought Illinois would be in the most miserable list, LOL.

Susie – Will things calm down once your Director is out of the country? Or will you still be busy catching up? == Keep the faith and keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll get movement on the scale soon enough.

Happy – Happy birthday to your DH. I hope he enjoyed his honey baked chicken. How did it turn out? BTW - the football snacks sounded good, especially the queso dip & chips. == I agree that if the thrift shop drama is bringing you down and intolerable, it will be best for you to drop it. You don’t need that stress in your life! == I’m sorry your knees are hurting so much. :( I hope your nustep will be the kind of movement that helps your knees feel better. == So you liked the substitute tai chi teacher better? Where does she usually teach her classes? I hope the dvd is worth it when you finally can connect with the lady who sells it!

Hellos to Ceejay and Shad. :wave:
==
Annie & Susie - thanks for the suggestions re the socks for the shoe. I have a couple pairs of boot socks and will be sure to wear those in the office. It might be fun to buy some colorful socks since they do show in that shoe. Toe socks…I have a bit of trouble putting on my yoga socks, so toe socks would be the same. Might skip those.

Yes, I know for sure we are destined for another dog in our life, but the timing right now isn’t right. I look forward to it.

Yesterday morning I drove to the train station, but the station that’s a few miles down the road that has more convenient parking. Well I took an express train home that goes to my usual stop, forgetting that the car was at the other station. And the express train I was on didn’t stop there. :doh: Bf to the rescue – picked me up and drove me over to the other station to get my car.

I’m working at home today and tomorrow, so no commuting snafus today! :D But I forgot my darn mouse at work. I’ll have to borrow the one bf uses with his laptop.

That’s about it for me. I’ll get this posted.

Happy - What a great guy you have helping out the lost and stuck guy from Berwin. (Yeh, the way they say "Berwin" on Svengoolie still runs through my head when that town comes up, LOL.) == I guess I'm pessimistic when I think that the extra taxes being imposed in Illinois are not making up the shortfalls, they just go towards more mismanagement and corruption...

Sweet Pickle Dip

8 ounces cream cheese.
12 bread and butter pickles.
1⁄4 cup pickle juice.
3 green onion stems, chopped (could use chives)
1 teaspoon salt.
1⁄3 cup mayonnaise.

Mix all ingredients, refrigerate, serve with ruffle chips (the best) or crackers.

Morning all,
Need to get up and get moving today. Yesterday the lower half of my body was aching and grumping. I think it is all this 'resting up'. The body is telling me it is time to get moving so today will be the day to start exercising again. Nothing aggressive. Bit of walking, bit of housework, finish the damn taxes and entertain niece and niecelet at lunch time. Dog and I might have a game in the yard at sometime too.
I have an appointment with the chemo people next Monday. I guess we will discuss the chemo at that time. My neighbour is coming in with me to keep me company (and keep me focussed probably).

Happy - such a shame that the thrift shop is not giving you the right vibes. Always amazes me how quickly the human race can bring on the 'them and us' syndrome. You'd think they were getting mega bucks for their 'expertise' and not volunteering to help the animals and getting nothing material out of it.
How nice of the DH to help out the man in trouble. One thing I have found in my travels around the world is that nothing is signposted as you would expect. Can't see that being in the backwoods of Wisconsin would make any dent in that opinion. I well remember travelling around the UK and getting off a freeway to see the countryside. This little road, no wider than my driveway at home, wound around some picturesque countryside. The signpost at the beginning of the road said we were on our way to Looe but that was the only time the town was mentioned. There were no further signposts on any of the crossroads, intersections or whatever. We found an old man leaning on a fencepost and asked him which way to go and he waved us off down the road to the right. Before we moved off, I asked him why there were no signposts and he looked at me and sighed and said - well there was a war on you know. We split our sides laughing and wondered how long it would take the Brits to put the signs back up. Eventually we found what we were looking for.
As to the hot tub, I think they are a great thing but whether or not I would buy one I don't know - probably not. I don't like the thought of all those chemicals.

Annie - hope things improve for you soon. I see you are looking on the bright side. Love that. Hope Sam is feeling better and is examining her values. Better get her onto some sort of birth control since she is obviously going to be active in the future.
At least the DS put his starting money back in his pocket. So many of them don't and end up broke at the end of the night. My DB2 was a shocker at it when he was in the throes of gambling.

Laura - when you are ready for another dog, it will happen. Probably quicker than you would like too. I was never ready for another one after Shad the dog. I was travelling a lot too and never felt the time is right. Now after having the ODDU around the place for more than a year, it seems the heart is open for another, but it won't be an ODDU - I'm too old for that. I'll go for an older mutt from the pound. I like the bigger dogs but ODDU is more than I can handle these days.

Susie - Might be quiet for a couple of weeks with the director gone. Hope so for your sake anyway.
Yes thank you, my strength is returning. I am doing things that neither my son nor the neighbour would probably approve of - but they need doing so who is going to do them if I don't. I am not taking on anything heavy yet, but I am doing things like fixing the flyscreens in the doors and windows - which involves a bit of moving and twisting but isn't too strenuous and if I get all hot and bothered with it, I leave it and rest up.
My weight isn't budging at the moment either. We need to centralising thinking and get rid of it together.

Unfortunately my appetite has returned and I need to rethink the food and content at this point. Difficult when I haven't been able to get out to shop regularly and we are living out of the fridge, freezer and pantry at the moment. But I am back to driving again. The worst thing I have to put up with is the itch of the healing keyholes and the odd bruise or two which are slowly fading.
We are still getting incredibly high temperatures for this time of year. This is the 3rd or 4th week of this heatwave and it is supposed to be reasonably hot today (92F) and up to 106F on Thursday. No rain in sight although most days the forecasters give us hope of a possible shower. Bah humbug. Can't plant out the garden yet. Still too hot. I've fertilised, mulched, weeded and watered it to get it ready for the veges, but can't plant yet.

Okay, better get off here. My butt is telling me it is time to move. I don't want that achy feeling back again today. Catch you later.

Happy Humpity Hump Day! Happy, Healthy, Grateful, Blessed!!!

Last night was homemade chicken salad. Used the hot not wings (thighs & legs) from super bowl food to make the chicken salad. Yum, if I do say so myself. Added green onion, celery, pecans, boiled egg, grapes, and the usual mayo and a TSP of sugar, garlic, pepper. Bought some nice croissants to make sandwiches. Baked some sliced yellow squash, onion and zucchini with olive oil, garlic powder, pepper, Italian seasoning and basil. Any spices I could muster up and mix around. Quite tasty. Dishes, laundry and bed. I did stay up to watch one of my shows, This is Us. Man I love that show. Then Chicago PD or something like that came on and watched that too. Good show. Didn't get to sleep til 11 pm. WAYYYYY past my bed time. By about 3-4 hours. lol. We will see how today goes.

SHADDIE...glad you are moving a bit more. Remember to listen to your body, when it says enough is enough, REST! Don't over do it. Funny thing, Samantha is on birth control and takes it religiously. Must not be strong enough or something. She has two doc appts coming up, one to discuss this issue. Doggies are great but the heartache that comes when they pass on is awful. WE ALL KNOW I do not deal with death very well. Bleh Do let us know once you find out the extent of the chemo and all it entails. Hugs my friend.

LAURA...yes to the bright side. Here is my bright side today....stuck in traffic for 30 minutes, made me late to work. Bright side...I made it to work safely. I thought Illinois would be listed as a bad state also due to the high taxes. My brother lives in IL and complains about the taxes all the time. Good for you for footing your foot down-no pun intended, on working from home.

HAPPY...I guess welcome to your world. Today, cold and 1 to 3 inches of snow. Tomorrow's high is 26. HOWEVER this weekend is 50s again. Crazy! On the boss, no didn't move up his end date, he only gave them a two week notice. DH is such a wonderful person to help the poor man stuck in the snow. You two are such a great pair...two awesome people.

Gots to gets busy... :)

Hugs

Afternoon all.

Shad – I agree with you about the body complaining about too much rest. My right leg doesn’t like this at all. The only exercise I’ve done lately is a short ab workout over the weekend. Unless the crutches last Monday counted – sure worked up a sweat using those. Too bad that over a week later it left me with a strained muscle in my arm pit. == Yeh, large, high-spirited puppies sure can be difficult to handle. Our next dog will very likely not be a puppy or a large dog, much as I love both. I will certainly love a more mature, calm dog too. :)

Annie – Hope you don’t struggle with sleepiness this afternoon due to that late bedtime last night…sleepy is not good on the drive home! :no: Keep your car window open. The cold and snow will keep you awake. :D

Nothing much to say, as has been the case for a while now.

I’m annoyed with another department member - the useless one who got a promotion recently. At least the admin and I can commiserate.

I’m working from home again. The temps have dropped for a few days and it’s chilly in the house. I think I’ll bump up the thermostat by a degree to see if that helps. And I’ll have another mug of tea. I have one of those little beverage warmer hotplates that I rarely use, but now that I want to use it I can’t find it. I know it's in the pantry somewhere. Grrr.

But…I’m happy, healthy, blessed and grateful. :)