Focused Chicks of the World
 

:grouphug: :encore: :wave:

Welcome one and all to our new home. We are some fabulous women from around the world. Always focused on the diet - well maybe not :o but we do have good intentions. And we are a witty, fun group to boot.

Welcome Shad, Teel, Shaker, Annie and any others who wish to join to our new home. Round 6.

I went and created a new thread since we had outgrown our old one and Happy has beaten me to it. So I have deleted the one I made. This looks better anyway.
Focussed Chicks of the World hey, well maybe it is a good omen for my new beginning - maybe I should change the name to Koru - that's the name given to the unfurling of the Fern frond. As you know they are tightly curled up in a ball and slowly unfold or unroll to display the beauty of the fern. It's the name of the symbol on an Air New Zealand planes tail too and if you look it up in the dictionary (Maori of course) it means new beginnings, new journeys, new eras etc. New life even maybe.
So there you go girls, trivia to greet this beautiful Sunday. I'm off out in a few minutes to plant some tomato plants and a Capsicum - bell pepper to you lot up north. I've decided to have a bit of a vege patch this spring. Mind you I think I have overdone it and will be giving tomatoes away right left and centre.
My computer is doing some silly things. It is not behaving well. I thought maybe I had picked up a virus, but it is not that. We are suspecting that the Video Card maybe on the way out. Such joy. But I have had it for a couple of years so maybe it is time for a change. Nothing lasts forever - *sigh*
Last nights Riverfire festival was spectacular. Went out in a boat up the river on a glorious evening, watched the lights come on over the city with a new moon glowing in the sky and Mars gleaming on the horizon. Had a nice if predictable meal of roast dinner = pumpkin was yummy. Passed on the Cheescake. Then there was 35 minutes of incredible co-ordinated fireworks on three sides of the city (the river flows on 3 sides of our city and the bridges were closed to traffic or had reduced lanes). We were also treated to some neat aerobatics earlier in the evening and finally the RAAF came screaming over and did the traditional dump an burn then roared up into the night sky trailing this comet tail of burning fuel. Fantastic and a big thrill for the testosterone set. You should have heard them - you probably did, they made more noise than at the footy grand final when Australia is winning!!!
Took some digital and some film photos. Will put a few of the digitals up asap, but remember I am having some fun with the computer so it may not be today.
Happy, hope we hear from you during the week. Not a fun time for you, I'm sorry.

Riverfire in Brisbane
 

Here you go, a picture of Brisbane on the river. This was taken before we left the wharf to go up river. Sun was just about to set. City and condos looked great.
The digital does not seem to handle night shots too well. Think the film camera may improve on some of these scenes.

Hi Shad

Nice shot of Brisbane, looks like you and I share this great city :) :)
I didn't get to go down to the river this year, I have a 16 week old baby girl, might have been a bit much for her... :)

We did manage to see the F1-11's dump and burn, I live very close to the city, so manage to run out side when they flew over, was great :D :D

Welcome Bunji!

Great picture Shad - sounds like your evening was quite nice. Sorry, didn't mean to tromp on down and start a new thread, was checking in and noticed Suzanne closed our old thread. I started a new one and asked her to post a link over so that we didn't get all messed up.

Am finishing up the last minute packing. Off to the airport in less than 8 hours. Thanks everyone for your prayers and condolences - much appreciated by us both. Check back with you next Saturday. Till then be safe, be good and squeeze a little fun into your lives... because life's too short :wave:

Glad you enjoyed that one
 

Here you go Happy and Bunji. Just to keep them coming, here is another one. Brisbane at the going down of the sun.

And just one more
 

The rest will be on webshots tomorrow.

Address for Riverfire Webshots.
http://community.webshots.com/user/joy_clover
Then go to Riverfire

hmm everyone has gone away or has not woken up yet. Come back later

Hi Ladies, phew I made it.. thought for a minute there you had done a runner and not left me a thread or two..! I loved the Koru description Shad made me all patriotic and proud (fluffing up my kiwi feathers!), this little land has got some beautiful treasures that get forgotten about when they are the symbol of some big plane. Anyway thanks for that and yes perhaps we can stop in for a coffee(tea in my case, and juice in Miss5's) when we arrive, it will be a fleeting visit.

Now I have heard from Annie and she is OK, she has been going through lots of family turmoil and is fine and should be back soon, she is still in Woolly, ha ha, not roaming the streets yet!!

I had a good w/end, lovely night out with the girls but got very sick (to many vodka cruisers), I didn't eat anything which was a silly move!! I had yest off work as on Sun we picked up the inlaws and went to their place, they bought the kids TONS of presents so they were pretty pleased. I fell asleep on the couch so we went home and then had a yuck day, not to well, just wanted to die all day really so of course the house was a pig-sty and had no energy to do anything about it. So yest I had the day off and I cleaned my merry way around the house, got back on the bfl wagon which I must say is still going well although this is week 6 now so I am hoping for some good changes soon. Had a cardio this morning and was so tired afterwards, my legs were a bit sore from the workout on Mon so was really hard.

I will look for Mars again, unfortunately we have had very cloudy skies for the last few nights and it rained all last night and this morning so might try again tonight if it is going to be around for a while..?... Happy very sorry to head about FIL and hope DH and the family can rally together to support each other... bye all.

We're on page two. That will never do. We will have Happy fuming at the ears when she gets back. We may even get to be page 3 girls if we are not careful.
I'm still carefully watching my food intake and drinking the water and trying to get in some exercise. Hopefully it will reflect next weekend when I weigh again. This is day 3 of week 1 - 3 weeks and 4 days to month end.
I'm glad I do not work in town permanently. This driving in and out and around in the city is driving me beserk. It takes longer to drive a shorter distance to South Brisbane than it does when you have to go to the other side of the city to work. Ah well it is only for this week so then I am back in Banyo - I will survive

Hi there, well it does seem that some of our followers have dropped off, perhaps everyone is having a very busy week.

We have got a flu epidemic going around this place, felt so tired yest and sore throat, got home and DH said he was the same but overnight I think I got a bit better and he got worse. He was shocking this morning but has gone to work as he loves his job and doesn't want to miss out.

Shad you are lucky you get to travel a bit and see all the places you wanted for free.. do yoy plan to go other places in the future or maybe around Oz? It is fine and sunny here today but I think it might rain, it gets very changeable and the days are getting longer which means.. yippee Spring has arrived :encore: last evening we got out of the pools as the kids had swimming lessons and it was still light, last week it was dark at that time, and now at 6am it is light so bring on the summer!!!

It is fathers day this Sun here and then my fathers birthday about 5 days later, Sept 11th ... noone will ever forget that date again.. anyway he gets lotto tickets for fathers day so best I go and get them after work today. BFL still going well although am still a bit scared that I am going to get to week 12 and not much will've happened.. at least i haven't gained I suppose. Shad you did well to stay the same your body must be so set at that way you are going to have to give it a good shake-up!

I'm getting around Oz as much as possible while I am here, then I will have to find someplace else to contract too, which will move me around the world or the country.
Yep, your right Shaker, this old body needs a big shake up to move anything. I have started that this week. I hope that by setting only goals for the next 4 weeks I can stick to them and not fall by the wayside yet again.
After that I'll set some more goals for another period of time. But I find that if I can see the end in sight I can discipline myself to manage it. If I can't see an end, it becomes all too hard.
:stress: :stress: :stress:

Hi the chicks of the world:chicken: :chicken: :yes:

I am sorry I have not been terribly communicative of late.....I did think I had posted on our new thread but I cannot find it,have we lost a thread somewhere?:?: I think I have told you that my blooming tribunal was postponed and that the appeal panel has it in mind to send an out of area doctor to do an assessment, after which the whole affair goes back to tribunal mode....well we seem to have made a minute step in the right direction...Dr. W. is coming to do his assessment on Thursday 11th Sept.:( I really hate the thought of the whole thing going back to a tribunal hearing after this.:tied: Words fail me. Actually I can feel my mood slipping a lot this week...I have lost my appetite most of the time and just want to hide under the bed clothes and do nothing all day....PATHETIC!!:stress: :shrug:
Hope everyone is doing ok, Happy, how is fil.....have I missed any news in the thread change or are things still about the same?
Shad, have you recovered from being in a differant time zone every day now your massive trip is finished?I hope your package arrived in one piece after crossing the pond and didn't need too much ironing and tlc to revive the enclosed;)
Hellos to Annie, Shaker and all lurkers and escapees.....:D

Bye bye for tonight, happy dreams to all.




:spin: :cb: :dancer: :bubbles: :encore: :comp:

Teel, the reason that happy is not posting at the moment is that FIL passed away last week. She and DH have gone to the East Coast for his funeral etc. I sincerely hope that they can spend some quality time becoming a family of siblings now that FIL is now longer around. I understand he was not the easiest father in the world.
I hope the Doc does his thing and has some understanding as far as your problems go. This thing is dragging on and on. It cannot be doing much good for your physical state or your mental state. Hang in there my little :chicken: and think positive.
Shaker said that Annie was coming back soon. That will be good. I look forward to her posts.
Weighed in this morning - first time since last Saturday and I have lost 1.5kg. Now weigh in at 74kg. Last Monday I was 75.5. So I have done quite well this week. Long may it last!!!
:jig: :jig: :cb: :cb:

Hello all, I am back and none too soon. The siblings got along well thank heavens. FIL's wife (recent wife, not my beloved MIL who passed away in 1979) put on a good show - I think we will soon see the sincerity/insincerity of the situation as eventually everyone shows their true colors.

Food was bad as we had mostly sandwich trays and fast foods all week long. I kept pacing back and forth as I could not sit in the house for 14 hours at a time - also bothered my foot to sit for long periods. So I would periodically get up and take short walks. But it was good to see SOME of the family again. DH has the sweetest most delightful aunts, was good to spend some time with them, especially since they are in their 80's and getting along in years. We did go down to the ocean twice, once during the day and once at night. It was pretty, especially at night with an almost full moon shimmering on the water in the distance. And I love the sound of the surf.

I am feeling a bit out of sorts at the moment. Too much switching gears quickly. Now I have to buckle down tomorrow, get back to regular life and dig my heels in - lots of homework to do for my course. Guess it's best to get busy and keep my mind from being angry over some potential injustices I have seen this past week.

On a positive note, we did get hold of some family pictures from when the children were small. DH is scanning them in so the whole family can have a copy for themselves. Among the pile were some pictures when DH and I were dating. I actually have proof that at one point in my life I was skinny. :cry: Also when we got married we had a tiny wedding and didn't have formal pictures. Found some my MIL kept from long ago that I didn't have, including a copy of one that was my favorite. It had faded over time and stuck to the glass in the picture frame. Now I have a fresh replacement. Thanks Mom!!!!

May take me a few days to get over my mood here, so forgive me if I lurk a bit but will try to keep up with posting as it is getting rather quiet around here.

Good to see you back happy. Take your time to come back to today. It is never easy. Families are funny things.
We've (Simon, Brendan and I) have spent the day at an airshow. Brendan is interested in all things aviational and so we tagged along with him. Was a very hot day. I'm glad we took food and water with us as it was impossible to buy anything sensible to eat and water was hard to get as well. Plenty of Coke and Sodas however and all food was either highly sugared and coloured or baked, fried in fat. The airshow wasn't too bad but is not something I would want to go to very often.
New bath and shower is now working. It's taken a long time but it has finally happened, now we need to rip out the old and start on the floor. Things will get better given time no doubt.
Back to work tomorrow. Oh well = somethings are sent to try us!!!

hI THERE, WELL SUN NGIHT AND whoops the caps were on, have finshed my work. First of all congrats to you on the weightloss shad, I hope it stays off for you and plenty more to come (although plenty might be a bit over-exhuberant!).. anyway you looked just fine in the photos so take your time. I have had a bit of a the flu and felt quit bad on Fri ngiht, I had to race off and get miss5 from school as she was sick and then went home and had to race around after fil which was most annoying but still goota luv dem aye!!

Had a busy w/end with the soccer tournament which was OK horrible day though but glad to have it out of the way now, long live sat sleep-ins!!! well until the summer season of sports starts anyway which isn't till the end of october. Fathers day was spent pottering around today and I went out with DH for a ride on his bike, was quite nice but he does need to get me a more comfortable seat, is OK till you get off!!!

I am still doing bfl and have got a good plan for the week so looking forward to that, Dh has brought in the barbell so guess my arms are going to be punished!!! I have a good diet plan for the week and going to make sure I am not pushing the carbs to much.. have lost a few more inches but not enough for me so going hard again.

Teel nice of you to drop in, perhaps we did all get a bit lost in the new thread and I hope you get that darned mess sorted out when you can!! Dh is currently watching a spoof called Kung Pow, boy is it lame!!! Happy I am glad to have you back and how lovely that you found some photos to keep some more of your memories safe!!! Has DH put the bike on the market yet?.. I couldn't believe the amound of bikes there, honestly NZ oughta get it's a into g and get more bikes around this place. We are patiently waiting for the next Amazing race, that one was quite good I was surprised who one as I thought those other two single guys were doing so well, just shows what one silly indecision can cost you!!

Well I am going to logoff and have a cuppa and get an early night, have to get up early for the workout.. shad the airshow sounded ok I have never been to one and don't think I will am quite scared they might put me off aeroplanes!!! ka kite..

Airshow was okay, although the day was long and hot. Some sunburnt bodies around. Wouldn't you think they would learn. The show itself was interesting and I saw a helicopter that I would just love to park on my driveway. Wonder if I can rustle up the readies to buy one of them! There were a lot of WW2 warbirds on display and most of them flying as well. Interesting sight when they are all in the air. The F1-11 came over and did its thing so the testosterone set were happy, although through the rules of CASA, it was not allowed to do it's top speed, so that became a bit of a bone of contention. They like it zooming around dumping and burning and making enough noise to wake the dead.
All in all, I found the show a bit slow. Not quite enough action all of the time, but when the action was there I loved it.
Nothing would ever put me off aeroplanes.
Nice to see all of our little group back safe, now we need Annie back as well.

Hello chickies of the world!!:wave: :wave:

Tis I, Annie, the wayward one...

I have been so distracted of late and just havent had the energy to sit on the puter to write you all a letter:o :o my apologies to you special ladies. Teel sorry to hear your case is dragging on, happy sorry to hear about FIL, Shad great to have you back, Shaker good to see those bfl muscles popping up..and welcome bunji.

Well, i have had a bit of a stressful time of late, you will recall DH was hassling to move to Sydney and I was getting more than a little irritated with his attitude so decided to show him some girl power and sung him my favourite song by Gloria Gaynor (thanks to happy for telling me the correct singer many moons ago)..I will survive...Go now go..walk out the door, just turn around now youre not welcome anymore...Anyway, scared the pants off him and after a bit of soul searching i decided not to show him the door..he does have his uses i guess. i am still coming to terms with my decision and are not 100% sure I have done the right thing..however, he is in NZ at the moment and i have some breathing space and some time to think about it all.

On top of it all i have really been quite down and i guess its just the whole upheaval thing and my little libra scales are just so out of balance but i am working hard to fix them.

Not that you want to hear my problems as i know we all have them and being positive and looking to the future is what counts..and i am feeling more and more that there is a light at the end of the tunnell for me..or a heck of a lot of gloworms in here anyway!!

Needless to say.my weight has been a bit up and down..so has my temper also..hee hee.

Anyway, chin up girls..you are all great..keep on chatting and talking and i will come back and visit again and maybe my kiwi feathers will be a little glossier and shinier next time...big hug from me..love you all...annie

:grouphug: :flow2: :goodvibes

Poor little Annie. No wonder you have not been here. It's time to gloss up those feathers buddy.
We've all had problems from time to time and we all have vented either here or in other threads or forums. Sometimes help even comes our way from those who don't even know us. So keep with us and maybe we can help.
I've been through the hassles of a DH who wanted to shift - only with mine it was not work that made him want to move it was the shear 'fun' of going somewhere new. Only thing was, he loved to organise the move, but did little to actually get the show on the road or unpack at the other end. Then in six months or so, the itch would be there again, usually about the time I landed a job I really enjoyed and had the kids settled. Yes I told him to move on without us, but I should have done it earlier than I did. That way we may have had a chance of talking the problem out, putting thought to the actions etc.
Anyway, we are here if you need us. I think I speak for all of us here.

Hi everyone, sorry I've been missing. Got home Saturday and everything sort of shut down for a while. I was waking up each morning wondering where am I, what day is it, what am I supposed to be doing? Sunday was catch up day - laundry, groceries and then the dreaded HOMEWORK. I sat doing homework from 8pm until 1:30 in the morning. Yesterday I was hoping to have some time to come here but started on homework at 7pm and finally stopped at midnight. This class requires ALOT of time and effort. And I haven't even started my second class yet. So, I'm taking a break tonight for a few minutes to come say hello.

So, Hello :wave: How is everyone doing? It's funny that you should talk of spring. We're getting ready for fall here, some of the trees are showing hints of turning colors. The east coast has the most brilliant of all the color shows, if we had to make our trip a month from now, we would have been treated to some breathtaking spendors.

Annie, I am very sorry to hear of the troubles with you and DH. You said he's in NZ now - did he leave his job in Syndey? Hope things work out for you, it's especially hard when children are involved but remember - you always have one more CHILD than you planned on and that is the DH. Sometimes even they need a good stern talking to. :nono: I do miss your wit and humor tho. Wish circumstances were such that you could be around more often. But we are always glad to hear from you when we can.

So Shad, with spring rolling around does this mean you will be digging up the garden again? Or are things mostly in place all season long? Have you gotten back to the home remodeling yet or are you just taking some time to enjoy a little visit with the sons?

How goes it with the barbells Shaker? Are your arms laying limply by your sides because it hurts too much to lift them :lol: Actually no laughing matter that is, but I remember the feeling. Hope you are feeling better and recovering from your cold.

Teel, good tidings with the new doctor on Thursday. Will send some prayers your way that things can be expedited. I am appalled at the gross unfairness in this world today. Be of good cheer because we and Holly would rather see you smiling than hiding under the bedcovers. I'm sure Holly is not up for a game of hide and go seek - she looks too small to be able to jump the bed well enough.

Got home on Saturday and within 24 hours I was feeling all achy and stiff - blame the barometric pressure out here as I was doing better on the east coast. DH said to me quite sternly :nono: :nono: :nono: you have GOT TO, GOT TO lose some weight and stop smoking already. He did not say it in a mean way - I suppose that after losing someone, you become more concerned about keeping those around you still with you. Although I did not like what he said, he is right. We also took some pictures and that was proof again that the eyes in my head do not really see the me that is me. There is one picture of me sitting on the rocks at the ocean front - a lovely picture with a huge wave rolling in and crashing against the rocks. Would have been a better picture if I did not look like a beached whale myself. Also another with a side shot of me that shows that my favorite sweater does not look as good as I thought it did. I did not gain any weight on our trip which is amazing considering how erratic our eating was. I really have to get back to exercising again - am concerned that this class is taking so much of my evening time and we just started - the work gets more intensive as the class goes on - right up until Christmas time. One good thing about being on the east coast, they are an hour ahead of us and so I am getting used to going to sleep a bit earlier. If I can make that adjustment over the next week, perhaps I can wake earlier and get my walking and exercise in first thing in the morning after coffee. My foot is feeling better again. No more walking around in bare feet for me anymore.

Guess this is way long enough for now. I should get back to homework and we have a group chat in 2 hours I must participate in. Take care ladies, will try not to be absent without leave.

Hi there, nice to welcome you back annie and happy, we are quite quiet around here for now, must be the changing of the seasons. Auckland is quite rainy in the springtime so guess we have some of that coming up today.

Yest my friend and I went to the bfl shop and talked to the guy there, most helpful, guess we just have to keep on pushing it all the time, easy to get complacent but I think well at least I haven't put on any weight and sometimes I even enjoy the workouts, the cardio's I have been pushing hard so I get off that treadmill and need a cup of tea and a lie down :lol: The arms are OK and he said that the day after you should feel your muscles but by now they shouldn't be sore for longer than a day.. ho hum.. sometimes mine hurt for days..!!

Happy that studying sounds very intensive, do you have to do it or is it something that you wanted to do? hats off to you tho gal I have thought about learning something else and really couldn't face studying.. I help DH out with his papers for the police but that is about all, and even those are difficult at the moment as he is doing law and is a totally different language.

Well is my fathers birthday today Sept 11, noone can forget that date of course so will ring him tonight, I rang him for fathers day and he seems to be a lot happier now and handling things well. He smokes those horrible cigars geez imagine what his lungs look like!!! he has managed to give up once so might encourage him to do so again. Am sure you can do it happy, has been over a year now since I have had a cigarette and I wouldn't go back for anything now, but just do one thing at a time, look after the weight and get that in order cause when I gave up smoking I put on about 5kg and then because I had already lost weight once I knew I could do it again and then you have something else to focus on instead of smoking... ka kite everyone...

Hey Shaker, congrats on the one year smoke free anniversary. That is a WONDERFUL accomplishment, especially when you say you wouldn't go back again. What is the BFL shop you speak of? I've never heard of that before.

Things are going ok here. This class I'm in is different. I'm teamed with 4 others. We are a misdirected bunch. I will probably be elected project leader since I want to keep my high grade average so I've been doing all the thinking and planning and organizing thusfar. Easier for them to just say - hey I like your ideas (and the fact that you did all the work for us). :dizzy: :?: :D

Next week DH and I will try to have a get away weekend which I am looking forward to. It's been an emotional couple of weeks for both DH and I - we need some quiet time to make peace within ourselves. And after that my new autumn exercise challenge begins. I see the signs of autumn all around, the leaves are slowly changing, you can smell a difference in the air, the nights get dark much sooner in the evening. In a way, it's a chance for me to grab hold of these last few weeks of nice weather and enjoy each day to the fullest knowing it will end all too soon, but I also mourn a bit for the coming winter. Has been a very cool summer for us. Hope that does not mean a dreadful cold and snowy early winter. My aching bones can't take it. :yikes:

DH is making scrambled eggs for supper tonight - he makes the best ones. And we'll have some fresh fruit. And a nice cup of tea I think. A light, but satisfying meal. I think he's about wrapping up his phone call with his sister, so I better run and get my eggs.

Have a good Friday...

Hi there, well that sounds nice to have a w/end away, DH starts nightshift tonight so I will get out and about with the kids on the w/end, bit stressful trying to keep quiet, he sleeps through them but I am always worried we might wake him, and having done shiftwork myself I know how tiring it can be.

The bfl shop is just a little trendy shop that sells all the myoplex/lite range and products as you can only get the EAS cheaper versions in the supermarket (what I use).. I don't use the myoplex as it is far to expensive. They do body composition tests and the guy that owns the place has done it before and can answer all the questions, quite fun but he told us what we knew anyway... you get out what you put in!!!

I know what you mean about winter happy, we are just going into spring and although it has warmed a bit it is our rainy season so that's not much fun!! DS and I ae off to a fun park on Sat, dropping DD off at her mates place as she can't come.. should be fun I suppose.. plenty of exercise walking around that place, will avoid the roller coaster though doesn't do much for me!!!

On Sunday we will go visitng for a bit, grocery shopping and fun stuff like that.. have a nice w/end all if you manage to pop in would be great!!.. ka kite.

Weekend is here - yahooooo! However I have a list of things to do which is longer than my arm and I must achieve at least half of them before I go to Toowoomba for the week.
It's been very hot today and I find my feet have swollen again, despite the fluid tablets, so obviously I am holding fluid. That will show on the scale tomorrow no doubt. I also seem to have developed tinea in the feet, which will no doubt send me crazy for a week or so or until I can get rid of it.
Simon has gone away for the weekend and Brendan is going to Adelaide tomorrow so I should be able to get on with a few things around the house without worrying about what they are up to and what they want to do. There isn't much time tho as I have agreed (jeez I am stupid) to go to an Enjo party on Sunday before I drive out to Twmba. So that means nothing doing on Sunday afternoon and with taking Brendan to the airport tomorrow, not much will get done tomorrow morning. Best I get on with the list tonight. They have just said that today was 35C - the hottest day of this year so far. Ummmm it is only spring. However look on the bright side, the humidity is not yet here!!!
I think we are missing Teel. Wonder where she is??? May try to get in touch with her tomorrow or Sunday. Hope she is okay.
Shaker I did not know that you smoked! One year anniversary is great. I just celebrated 14 years without a ciggie, and like you there is no way that I would go back. Rather have the extra weight! and that is saying something.
Time to go :genie: catch you all tomorrow

Shad, pray tell, what is tinea? Doesn't sound like anything pleasurable! Hope you are feeling better as you have too much to get done to be sidelined by problems.

The weekend is here but no rest for the wicked me. :devil: Have a meeting in the morning with my class team, then rush back, write up the notes :write: while I can still remember them and then on to the regular weekend chores.

Was browsing a catalog today of fancy items for people who have more money than they know what to do with it. For $30 US I can have a tower clock with a spin of a dial will instantly tell me the time in New York, Chicago, London, Amsterdam, Sydney, Auckland and and 12 other international cities. Just what I need so that I don't wake you up in the middle of the night when I ring up. :callme: :D

It is after midnight and ignorant neighbor across the street has a garage full of people making all sorts of noise yelling and hollering and running power tools. Who keeps their 2 year old up after midnight on a regular basis? Do people in this area not have the right to sleep at a reasonable hour? When did the world change such that people have no respect for anyone else anymore? :rollpin: :rollpin: :rollpin: :tape: :sssh: :headache: :mad: I am going to head west to the mountains and find me a nice cave in the wilderness. Wild bobcats and mountain lions would make for more pleasant company.

Teel and Annie, would like you to check in please. :mag: To all, have a pleasant weekend.

Oh my. 1:30 yesterday morning neighbors were making more noise than ever. I got dressed and went stomping across the yard and street. :rollpin: :rollpin: We had a civil conversation but they said the task they started was going to take 7 hours to complete (so they would have made noise ALL night long) and whatever they were doing was making horrible fumes so they could not close their garage door or stop the task. They asked me if I had called the police prior to this - apparently other neighbors are as tired of them as me and the police have visited their house at least 3 times regarding complaints. (You would think they'd get a clue already but the wife just said someone has nothing better to do than call the police all the time. No comprehension that THEY were breaking the LAW). I said no, I did not call the police ever but had WANTED to several times and figured I'd had enough of their regular habit of making lots of noise at 2am, so I finaly had to go and speak to them myself. I also said they had to give consideration to the rest of us (including a huge retirement community right next to them) who had to live with them and reasonably expected to be able to sleep at 1 or 2 am. They thanked me for at least coming over to say something instead of just calling the police. I went back home and laid awake for an hour as I was pumped up. Finally fell asleep and woke up at 3am. I peeked outside and all was quiet and closed up across the street. We will see how things go from there. The goofball husband said it's nice that after 4 years you have FINALLY come over here. Geez, I have always waved hello to them and spoken to the wife a few times (she's nice, he's an idiot). We live in a quiet neighborhood, people don't associate much more than a hello. WHY would I WANT to be friendly with a person who was such a clown????? But I didn't say this, just remarked that we keep to ourselves and have always waved hello.

Such is my adventure for the weekend. Back to doing schoolwork now....

What a fruitloop you have for a neighbour happy! And while I am at it, just what did the police do while they were there? Have a beer and say try to keep it down fellas?
Sorry I did not check in yesterday. I had a very busy day. When I got on here, I saw happy's post and thought I must reply to that and promptly did my journal and forgot all about it. I was also busy uploading photos of England and Teels neck of the woods. They are on Webshots if you still have the address. I'll post the addy on my journal later - oh no I won't, I'll put it here too. Hang on a minute. Aach this thing is running so slow today. Darned if I know what is wrong with it. Come back to that.


Another beautiful morning here in the South Eastern corner of QLD, but it will get hotter shortly. Yesterday was supposed to be a scorcher but the wind got up and cooled us all down a bit. Nice one wind. It also blew half the pot plants over and sent a couple of buckets flying down the street. Got my exercise running after the things I had not put away properly.

Any way, better go and finish of my list of to-do's. I have to leave for Toowoomba no later than 4.30pm and I am going out to a friends place at lunchtime.http://community.webshots.com/user/joy_clover

Well it has not been a banner week for joy and happy dancing in my house this week.

1) this business about settling the estate for FIL has been an emotional rollercoaster as these things usually are
2) As expected, I have been elected the Project Leader for my group in my class. I am trying hard (and not succeeding) not to feel overwhelmed by all the work in this college class, the separate online classes I am taking for my job, the new project at work and keeping up with my regular work duties.
3) ahem.. "discussion" with neighbor yesterday. Although today they are blessedly quiet toight for a change. They are out and about, but quiet about it.
4) We recieved a notice from the fearsome Federal Government tax man saying we owed half my annual salary in taxes, interest and penalties for an omission in our 2001 tax filing - due in 30 days if you please. After much sweating and digging around in old papers, we found that it was a mistake when we moved our retirement funds from one brokerage to another. Not our mistake but we still had to make several phone calls, obtain copies of all we needed to prove that things did not happen the way the tax man percieved it and send off a letter to the government authorities.
5) to cap out the week, I was outside this evening when I heard a strange gurgling sound. Our basement is below the ground foundation and the windows are set below the ground with a "well" type of hole between the ground and the window. I looked around - hose was shut off and was shocked to see what looked like soapy water in the well hole by the window. I called DH who immediately said, looks like the roots of the big tree in front of the house have creeped into the sewer line and broken the pipe. I had just finished washing dishes, hence the soapy water in the well. We checked the basement, thank goodness nothing seeped in. Now we have to find a plumber to come out on Sunday and investigate. Will probably result in the whole front yard being dug up, possible removal of our nice shade tree (and home to many birds we enjoy watching) not to mention lots of money. It also means for the time being, we have to severely restrict water usage in the house unless we want the window well to fill up with water, break and flood the basement. Do I have to make up with neighbor across the street to use his loo? :fr: Of course I have all the laundry to do - looks like I will be packing it up to the laundromat tomorrow. I guess the good thing is that we caught this BEFORE it became the big problem it would have. If I had started the laundry, we would have had a problem for sure.

I am feeling quite down at the minute. I would drown my sorrows in food, but I don't have many bad things in the house and the stuff that is, I'm not interested in. This too shall pass...

Yes hello to everyone from nearly a blast from the past!!!!
I am sorry I have not been in communication lately but I have now caught up with at least this thread:smug: and am sorry to read of everyone's trials of life. Big (((((HUG))))) for Happy...too much agro going on for you at the moment, you need a big:sumo: to sort your list out, especially the neighbours....are they on amphetamines or the like? To be able to work all day and all night too. Perhaps a :rollpin: :stars: would help them all sleep.
Shad, what is Tinea? from this dunce nurse, too!!!!I am looking forward to looking at all your holiday photos, thank you for re-posting the address.
Shaker, well done on giving up the smoking...I hope you are NEVER temted to have one again..:queen:
Kiwi-Annie..a.k.a. Gloria Gaynor..:encore: :encore: what a star to deal with DH in such an awe-inspired way...good job you knew the words.Hope a bit of time out in NZ helps him to asess his assetts, and where he belongs!!

Now for some news from me, now I have finally settled down enough to :comp: Holly has not been well this week and has visited the vets, her favourite place, hee hee!!She was SO scratchy and was being a bit sick early in the morning and generally right off her food (and you lot can STOP thinking about what I know you are all thinking about:fr: 'cos she is really an "it") so I thought she had scavanged some disgusting treat from somewhere. The vet said her temp. was fine and also thought the original thought or perhaps a virus so gave her a jab and me the bill :faint: She is so much better and her nearer her usual..no no I did not say NORMAL ...self that I realised she has probably been stewing this virus up for a few weeks. Boy, didn't I feel guilty for not reading the signs. Poor baby:eek: :bb: :cb:

Now I know I have not said anything about me personally, but I thought I'd do everyone first, and there is method in my madness 'cos I have not got enough smilies left to enhance my tale, so I will be right back....give me two secs.....:wave:

Right.I have returned.
The ongoing saga of my benefits tribunal...:mad: The e.m.p. stands for examining medical practitioner, and he duly arrived Thursday 14:30 hrs PRECISELY!!! And Judy, my social worker let him in. It would have been easier to crack a walnut with a cottonwool ball than to get a smile out of the doctor.He said he had been aiming to arrive early(?) but had got lost, and it was a long form and a lot to do so we would get on with it RIGHT NOW.:drill: :write: It was not at all as I nor Judy had ever expected, to answer questions in a d.l.a. form that I realised was the same one as I had filled in for my very first claim and subsequent renewal 3 years later, and last November time when this renewal was started.I thought this would be a more detailed look at why I was claiming and needing so much help. It was black and white with no grey areas for explanation or clarification.One of the pages was on meals and cooking and I said yes I could feed myself but the problem was that I was often too tired or depressed to think about food and would rely some days on cereal and yoghurts etc.,but all he said was " yes but you CAN FEED YOURSELF, CAN'T YOU??AND THAT IS THE ONLY ANSWER I NEED":bomb: :headache: :mad: And so it went on. 1 and a half hours to fill in all 30 pages of it.:write: :mag: :write: :mag: He did not really do any physical examination, just a very basic watch you walk, sit on bed, pull, push straight leg raise..(:lol: :lol: )He said a few things that made me wonder if he was on the same track as myself and Judy but it was not until he had gone and I had done the :cry: bit that we both voiced the same thoughts. He went right back to the beginning to why I retired from work and wanted all the dates... well as most of my freinds know my memory is shot to bits and I could not tell him other than a rough guess.I said my concentration was bad but he saw the puter and said well it can't be THAT BAD if you can use that.And he did not really know if all this was going to go back to tribunal.It felt like he thought he was dealing with a first time claimant.I didn't go through all this even the first time!!!:mad:
So there it is.We have been at this for close on a year now. Perhaps we are going for some record or other.I am going demented with anxiety. Perhaps I could go into exile on some lost island until I am no more....:bubbles::bubbles:

Oh poor sweet Teel, my heart goes out to you having to deal with all this aggrivation just to get what's due to you. I would be SOOOOOO very angry if it were me. Sure do wish I could do something to help you. I'd drive over an knock some heads together but I'm sure it wouldn't help and I doubt I can drive on the left side of the road. Will just have to settle for hurtling some nasty thoughts to the authorities. Sorry to hear that poor little Holly is not at her best either.

Shad and I share something in common tonight. We are both staying in a hotel room. Plumber came today - we have a collapsed sewer pipe. No water use WHATSOEVER! So DH and I packed it off to a hotel. It's nice and brand new. Problem is it has a giant whirlpool hot tub in the room (which is nice) but no desk to work at (which is not nice). I brought all my books with me intending to do homework. Instead I am sitting in the common room of the hotel at the free Internet connection (which is good). DH is sitting in the room watching the footy games. I thought it would be quiet where I am (was when we came in). Man is sitting in the great room here with backwards baseball cap (not a good sign), WATCHING THE FOOTBALL GAMES, loudly belching and yakking on his cell phone. Go away, go away, go away!!!!! Guess I am not meant to study tonight. Could go for a swim in the pool, or a nice whirlpool. I will try to study for a while and maybe an early to bed night.

Broken pipe at home should get fixed tomorrow. DH stay home and supervise the plumber (not having access to a loo is not a problem for him). I will trot over to the office for the day and surprise everyone by actually being at the office for the day.

Things could be worse, glad they aren't so I'm not complaining...

Aw heck Teel, I feel really bad for you. I have been down the back and found a piece of 4x2 just my size and I have hammered a couple of nails into one end. That is for the Dr. I'm about to hop on a plane and belt him with it. What a wally he would have to be. He is obviously paid to discourage people. Next time someone asks you if you can feed yourself, say no because you can not afford to buy the food. You can't feed yourself with no food, regardless of whether you are capable of it or not.
Well, I've found my way here and to the Branch. I think I am doing pretty well. Still can't print anything, so the course for the rest of the week is looking a bit shakey, Still this little brown spotted kiwi will cope - somehow or other. Maybe test the 4x2 out on the help desk over here before heading to UK?
So food is okay for the time being. Haven't had a look at the menu yet at the restaurant at the hotel. No whirlpool in my bathroom I am sad to say. Hope you can get some peace and quiet for work soon Happy.
Time to go, or they will be locking me up here for the night. Catch you all tomorrow. Chin up - we'll get past these trials by hook or by crook.

Well the 1 guy watching football turned into a rowdy gang of 6. Studying was not an option. So I went to the exercise room, did a walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes and then had me a nice swim for 30 minutes. It felt good to exercise again. Reminded me that I have GOT to make time to do this. Reminded DH that the fall exercise challenge started yesterday and he committed to exercising too. Furious finger switching on the TV remote control does not count.

Have to go find something in the refrigerator to put together for dinner now. Might be back later...

Well I did a big post and lost the lot through some technical hitch. So I won't go into more detail - no time anyway.
Tinea you may know as Athletes foot. If you don't and want some more gory details then I will enlighten you tomorrow.
Hopew you are home again and have dried out or whatever happy. Must beat that footy gang

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Shad
[more detail - no time anyway.
Tinea you may know as Athletes foot.

OOOOH!AAAAARGH! Have run THAT far then, Shad to er....er.....heeheeheeheehee!:lol: :lol: :joker: :cb:
Sorry, that one was terrible and it found its way onto the screen all by itself!Let me start again...oh dear, that's a real nuisance! Are you powdering it and is it getting any better?
I had a new experience this morning...it was "being at the doctors (no that was not the new experience!!!!)....for a cortisone steroid injection into my left carpal tunnel.Boy the injection hurt...my g.p. warned me that if he hit the nerve I would feel like electric shocks going up my fingers and he would then draw the needle back. He did, it did!!!! And all I have to show for the agony is a tiny weeny spot plaster!!I didn't even get a brave girl certificate!!Apparently it will hurt for 24hrs or so and when I feel brave enough I can go and have the other one done.:devil: :eek: :censored:

I have not been to see the scales recently to find out how those two pounds are doing...last week was stress enough without voluntarily adding to it!!:p
Happy, I am sure your finger felt the better for a remote workout,but I will send it a helper to encourage all the other 9 to join in too!!!:hyper: :drill:

Ta Ta....or should that be ka kite!!!!:lol: :comp: :bubbles:

:fr: :stress: :headache: Ow Teel, that shot sounds very painful! I have heard the cortesone injections are very uncomfortable and you have confirmed that. Sending you a virtual pat on the arm (but not too close to the injection site) to make you feel better.

I am holding my own on the scales. No loss but then again I'm not doing too much in that effort but no gain either. Not even the usual 1 - 2 pound bounce around, just steady as she goes so I should be grateful for that.

The sewer pipe is fixed and all is warm and dry again except for a big gaping hole in the front yard. Makes me glad we didn't have time to do some yard planting this year - I would have cried if we landscaped and then had to rip it out. Plumber's BETTER show up tomorrow to fill the hole in as they were supposed to do it today - they are not very good at clean up and finishing the job. We have a large door covering the hole right now. Reminds me of a storm cellar - a place to dodge tornadoes and hurricanes. Lucky we are very, very far from the east coast and in no hurricane danger here.

Nothing exciting to report here, although I have had enough excitement these last few weeks to take me to Christmastime. So I will bid everyone a good night, sleep well or sieze the day, whichever time frame you are in.

I've finished training for the day and I'm about to take myself off to the Japanese Garden for a wander around. It looks like quite a nice evening out, although I will need my jacket.
Had an e-mail this morning requesting information about that twit that was in a class some months back - you remember the one - he knocked himself out on the Car port post!! (saved me from doing it with the :rollpin: So I thought about what I could reply with and come up with a few insights such as - He should go far - one hopes it is as far to the west of Mars as possible. A total waste of space etc etc. Don't think I left much out, but I was careful to write in terms which are non slanderous or libellous - don't want that to catch up with me do I.
Anyway, off I go to the Japanese Garden. Catch up again tomorrow.
Teel I am sorry about the cortisone injection woes. Wander if that is better than the operation woes on CT. They used to be a bit debilitating too as I remember.
So Happy has the storm cellar door in the yard and teel has the spot injection in the arm, and I have the fungal feet. (yes they are getting better) - wonder what is up with shaker. Anne has the DH blues of course. Ummm interesting day.

It is such a lovely evening here but the sun has slipped behind the roofs of the bungalows at the back so it gets quite chilly rather quickly and I don't get to see the wonderful sunsets that I know are happening over the horizon.:p

This is latish for me to do a first post of the day, but the gate-keeper had "gorn to lunch" earlier and I could not access my isp. But here am I!Oh well only a flash of an appearance....back later!

Short entry, we are starting class early this morning and they (little angels that they are) will no doubt arrive early as they did yesterday.
Should be an interesting weigh in on Saturday as I have been walking and exercising and eating well here. Had a nice little jaunt down to the Japanese Garden last night. That should look superb in a couple of weeks time. The Bot. Gardens look good too.
Time to go. Maybe back tonight depends on time.