[Shad]

Hiya all,
Just a quick hello because I am going to bed early. I'm tired. Guess too much of burning the candle at both ends and I'm not as youthful as I was!
Finished the class today with good accolades all around. Apparently I did okay according to one of my students who gave me a selection of cheeses and some crackers. She had overheard me saying to someone that I don't eat chocolate often so decided on the cheeses. Lovely thought, deadly results. However we are having a morning tea at work tomorrow and we will all have a bit or two there along with the birthday cake.
Okay, I'll be back tomorrow with some more scintillating stories. Happy, I am sorry you did not win that lotto. Now wouldn't that have been nice!!!
Yeah, that's a good saying of happy's. Keep smiling - it makes people wonder what you've been up to! I have always liked that one!!

[teel]

OOOh cheeses!!!Lovely and what a kind thought if, as you say, rather deadly but never mind, they are supposed to mature with age..(or is that wine) so you could have a nibble a day? but no, not as one of these... !

Sleep well Shad. Summer is on its way.....

love from Teelxx

[teel]

We were just at the bottom of page one and I thought I'd have a new image for autumn....a sheep instead of a butterfly....is there some deep psychological meaning in that??

[happy2bme]

Teel is the sheep for BAHHHHH winter is coming or "time to pull out the woolies"? We've had a very cool autumn and a rather cool summer too (except for Shad's visit). Hope that's not a sign of a bad winter coming on us. The new furnace works quite well. We are able to keep the thermostat at a lower temperature than before and we are quite comfortable. We also got our telephone bill from the last 6 weeks when we were making many, many long distance calls to the rellies. I am glad I forced DH to use the calling plan we have - you have to dial 10 extra numbers but it's only 5 cents a minute. I was quite amazed at how little the bill actually was - thought we'd have to refinance the house to pay for it. Now, if we could have only gotten such a deal for the rest of our trip!

I have done quite well the last 2 days getting back on track with food, water and exercise. I did 40 minutes on the treadmill tonight because I had some good music on and was enjoying it. But my foot is saying, stick with 30 minutes for the time being.

And it's way past my bedtime so Happy Friday and Happy Birthday to my beloved Seester Smeester little sister.

[Shad]

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday Seester Smester little sister
Happy Birthday to you.

Oh no not the winter woollies. Oh thats not a sheep, thats Holly after her morning walk in the mud puddles.

Glad to hear that you are getting back on track happy. Better 30 minutes than none at all. I'm still doing my gentle exercises in the mornings but lately I haven't been able to walk much apart from taking the dog down to the park. So next week in Cairns I hope to fix all that. I will be about 5 blocks from the Esplanade and across the road is a large park. I should be able to take a brisk walk in one of those directions. There is also a swimming pool at the complex so I can swim as well.
I'm looking forward to the fruit up there again. It's coming into Mango season. Yeehaa.
Finished work early today and got my corporate card all up to date so am feeling virtuous. That card worries the life out of me. I collect all the receipts like they were precious gold. Hoard them until I get the statement and then staple the receipts to the statement, fill in the form as fast as possible and get rid of the thing. I really didn't want it in the first place but the company insisted I have one. Phooey. Blasted thing is more trouble than driving in USA.
Okay, best get off here and look at the list for the weekend. I need to be out of here by 2 on Sunday, there is heaps to be done yet. Catch up later.

[happy2bme]

Hi all,
Up to my eyeballs in the homework tonight. Have to go to the college tomorrow to do my lab experiments.

With the cold, dry air setting in - static electricity is in the air and I'm a magnet for it. So I'm already crackling here, perfect for a day at the labs.

Will get back to your tomorrow...

[kiwi-annie]

Hello..kiwi annie coming at ya with a big GIDDAY

Not much happening in my neck of the woods...DH is back from his business trip and maybe absense makes the heart grow fonder cos he had definitely been in a better mood since he got back..kinda squashed his hankerings for returnng to NZ too..must have been the rain and the wind and the fog and the dampness or maybe it was the MIL - im sure you guys remember that evil chick!!

So i am happily plodding along..have been through a difficult time lately..just the stresses of life getting on top of me..but have managed to sort myself out witha little help from Dr Phil and his book Self Matters..a truly inspiring book for taking a look at yourself and giving yourself priority in your life...(not that i am selling it of course..but it helped me).

We have had some warm sunny days here but just to remind us its not summer yet we have gone back to a few cool ones..its a long weekend here and the school holidays too. We went to a ten pin bowling birthday party for a couple of kids and the boys enjoyed that..tomorow there is an open day at the naval base and the boys and DH are keen on that..am not exactly keen as you may anticipate but will tag along for the ride..i think..maybe i could get dropped off at local shops instead...hmmmm.

Anyway, must be off am half way through cooking dinner..stick together and stay cool..love you all..annie!!

[Shad]

How nice to hear from Annie and back from the brink too, so to speak. You ought to go on the boats Annie, then you can sit in a corner and ogle the lads! Good pastime. Doesn't always hurt to let the DH see you doing it either.
I have actually heard good comments about that book Annie, it seems very popular - will check it out at the bookshop in the airport tonight.
Now we need Shaker, Leuelu and Noah back here to make our lives complete again. Actually still I have Leuelu's email address, I might just give her a blast from the past one of these days.
Still have a lot to do to get ready for today and tomorrow , so I will catch you all from sunny Cairns manana, domani, a demain - tomorrow anyway.

[happy2bme]

Annie! How wonderful to hear from you! No evil MIL stories? Glad to hear that DH has calmed down (for the moment at least). And thanks for the recommendation on Dr. Phil. I personally find him annoying but if I ever have time to read a book for pleasure again, I will check it out.

Shad, Cairns looks lovely from your pic. Hope you have a nice time after work hours and don't overdose on the new mango crop.

I saw some lovely recipes from the Black Swan Wine website. Too bad I don't have Quandong, Warrigal Greens and Mountain Pepper in my kitchen. They did suggest substitutes for us on the other side of the ocean, but I'm not sure it would come out the same.

Teel, hope you have not posted because you are busy catching up with sleep (counting sheep perhaps?) instead. Pleasant dreams...

I tell you this schooling is something else. Spent all last night and today (Saturday) on nothing but school, school, school. October 19th starts another class. Both go until December 19. I am then signed up for another class that starts December 22. Who in the devil starts a class 3 days before Christmas????? That class will overlap into the end of January when the spring semester of college starts. 2 more college classes though and I will get my Web Development Certificate. Won't I feel the fancy one? Not really, just the tired one.

But... when I moan about this work, I think about how they carried true at work about cut backs. 4 people were laid off from my office this week. I'm sure if they had the chance, they'd go to school and keep their jobs. So I will not complain and will study and learn like a good employee.

I did start out the week better with diet and exercise and water. That was until last night when I got very busy with other things and my other good plans got laid aside. I think that's what bothers me most.

DH's problem with his software program has escalated to new heights. Replaced the video card in the PC, installed a new operating system and now he needs a bigger hard drive. He must REALLY like this picture book software to go through so much trouble to get it to work. Of course he leans over and keeps telling me about what he's doing - like I really understand or care at the moment, especially when I'm trying to take an online test for my class!

I shouldn't complain though. While I was at school today, he pulled out the tomato plants, cut down all the spent summer flowers and did alot of yard work that needed to be done before the first frost hits. He also did some work on the bathroom paneling.

The leaves are starting to turn here. In about 2 weeks if the weather cooperaties, we should have a lovely autumn color show. I'm hoping to get a bit ahead of my work so that we can take a weekend off in 2 weeks and take an overnight drive up north to admire the trees.

[teel]

KIWI-ANNIE!!! Good to have you in our ranks again AND in home territory..
this post is a quickie.Mum an dad are coming to stay for a few days in about 1hrs time so I may be rather absent from the site.I'll get on when I can though.

Be good and wrap up warm..I wonder if anyone mkes wellies for dogs?????

[Shad]

Hello from Cairns.
Well here we are again back in the tropics and off course it has decided to be overcast warm and steamy although there is a bit of a breeze blowing as well.
Went for a walk this morning through the old pioneer cemetery and over the railway line and down a couple of blocks. There was a wee creek down there all covered in lily pads and wading in the creek were 2 white herons. It was very pretty and very peaceful. I'll have to wander back and see if I can get a photo of it for you all.
Class went reasonably well today. One not so good, but she will prevail (that 4x2 may come in handy) but we will get her over the line!
Well best go get a short journal entry in and I'll see you all tomorrow.

[teel]

Hi everyone, seems very quiet here today...perhaps everyone has joined Shad in Cairns and you are all paddling in the water lilly pond....this is just a quick post 'cos mum and dad are here and I haven't got much to say...
mum and dad have bought me an early Christmas pressie...a slo-cooker and I tried it out today, cooking a sausage casserole in it for dinner it was SO nice to come back from town and have the house smelling of sausage casserole all ready cooked and NOT burnt to a crisp which is how my sausages usually end up.
Mum and dad are all free of cold now so can now have their flu jabs..
I have just realised that at 12:30hrs on the 07.10.03, I will have been posting on this site for a whole year, give or take a few months awol in Chelmsford and I feel very honoured to have made so many cyber friends in that time...here's to another year thanks to everyone for all the well-needed support...please don't stop now!!!

Night night from England

[Shad]

Jeez teel and I thought that the folks were staying for a couple of days too!
Have you been around that long????!!!! Someways it feels like forever and others it doesn't seem very long at all. At lot has happened since then hasn't it?

[happy2bme]

Teel, hope you are enjoying your visit with the germ free parents. The slow cooker sounds wonderful. There's all sorts of websites with lots of recipes and now that it's cooler, the smells of something tasty cooking in the kitchen (and not burning) is very pleasant indeed. I made an Italian chicken dish tonight along with a pot of soup to take to work for our group luncheon tomorrow and a nice loaf of home baked bread. The kitchen smelled divine!

It's been sweater weather during the day and 2 blanket weather at night but it's supposed to warm up tomorrow and be in the mid 70's (21c) all week long. Yippee - it's that long awaited last week of beautiful weather we usually get that makes you feel so glorious! I'll be outside as much as I can taking it all in.

Our town is going crazy at the moment. One of our baseball teams made the playoffs last night. Haven't come this far since 1908 so it's been a long wait. Go Cubbies!!! They have one more team to beat to get into the championship game but we have one of the most loyal, optimistic insane fan groups in the entire country. It's a rousing time to be in this city. Last night when they clinched their spot in the playoffs, you could hear cheering and fireworks all around. Even I got deterred from my usual stuff to watch the game.

Shad I am soooooooo very jealous that you can go for a nice swim after your classes. Cairns sounds wonderful... Enjoy!!!!

[Shad]

Umm didn't exactly go for a swim last night. Had a bit of a stroll around the new harbourfront and shhhh an icecream.....shhhh. But tonight will be in the pool for sure as the other trainer is going to the movies and so is getting something for his tea himself. I hold the corporate card you see.
Class is going quite well and am seeing a couple of light bulbs being turned on here and there. Tomorrow one of the project guys is bringing in a quote he has had to prepare for 56 units on the old system. We are going to see what happens to the same quote on the new system. Should be a test of ingenuity to ensure he really appreciates the benefits of the new one.
Anyway time to off again. I need to go buy some fruit for my snacks. Mangoes mangoes mangoes!!!!!