Hi there, Shad, Happy and Teel I just wanted to wish you a very Merry Xmas, there is something to be said of returning to a place and been able to see the same folks in there.. you girls rock.. I see you have more friends, must be the fantastic people that you are.. !!! I will be popping in for some chats and every now and again so I won't be that stranger I was!!.. The kids are fine and got so much bigger!!!... the hubby still has the harley and driving me nuts, happy did your DH manage to sell his?.. Kiwi Annie is still around lurks every now and again.. Have a great holiday everyone, is very bad weather here, summer has not arrived, rain, thunder, hail.. WOT THE!!!!!!!! talk soon..

Holly-Holy mackeral, Scarlet Fever! Hugs for that worry. I am so sorry he is so ill. Well Burnaby isn't exactly the woods, just another city next to Vancouver One day maybe we will go more rural but so far we are staying citified

Linus-I wish I had a remote for the guys and their dropsy ways, sure would be useful to just be able to make them do it without having to use any words, just push the round up your stuff button I'm sorry all the hassles made you reach for the ciggy, go for a brandy next time

Shad-Have a lovely visit with your friend. I'm sure the best part will be shooting the breeze and enjoying each other's smiles, regardless of the location You make me hang my head in shame for my lack of exercise, if I could get myself lifting weights I'm sure some of this poundage would shift down and away from me. The cleaning is necessary, I have three cats, a dog and two kids and with visitors expected I need to dehair, declutter and try and make the house "seem" sanitary
Even with that though, the people who have the misfortune of wearing black pants to sit in my house, leave with a mohair finish on their trousers from all the hair

Candlelady-warm in Texas is it? We are chilly here but sunny. Someone will probably be offering you chocolate or cookies this week, don't think you are off the hook just because there aren't any sugar goodies in your house

Rose-so you have been hanging out at the ice rink. My girls want to learn how to skate so bad but I am being the mommy from dullsville and won't allow it till they get a helmet. *which is what they are both getting for a Christmas present, helmet, knee pads and elbox pads, good for biking and skating

Happy-Woah! an all day shopathon! I hope you had a long soak in the tub and downed a shot or two of the good stuff. We went looking for a Christmas tree today but all the trees were over $50. so we might be taking the axe to one of the ones down the back of the yard. Outrageous charging that kind of money for a cut tree! Hubby is going out on his own to prowl around a bit tomorrow but I think it is curtains for the one in the yard

Suzi and Tig must be cleaning their houses and can't find their computers.

((((MEL)))) here is another AB wallpaper to cheer you up

Evening chickies,

Thanks for all the updates on everyone - good to know that everyone's accounted for even if not exactly up to par right now.

Linus you had a slip. A SLIP. It happens. Hope you borrowed someone's fag instead of buying a whole pack. Don't get down on yourself. Don't sell DH and the kids. Instead give them pictures of all the things you WOULD have bought them had they BEHAVED themselves There's a TV show here - Wife Swap where 2 mums and the occasional dads from totally opposite backgrounds and interests switch homes for 2 weeks. Many say afterwards that they appreciate their spouses and mums more afterwards but I have cause to wonder about how long THAT lasts. I think being taken for granted is just one of those things we have to deal with in life - like having to shave our armpits when the DH's get to walk around with this mass of ugly clumpy fuzz under theirs. Hang in there girl and don't lose your wits.

Shaker So nice to hear from you again. Was just thinking about you the other day. Do stop by a bit more often. No we haven't sold the Harley, DH tried but no serious offers. We're moving to another part of the country and the bike is coming with us - remains to be seen if it will be put up for sale or if he renews and interest in it again.

Holly - Scarlet Fever and right before the holidays??? You poor woman. My mom had that - one of those things you have to be careful with. Is it the kind of thing that once you get it, you are immune again or might you also come down with it?

Shad, I'm surprised that you and Chris don't just settle for a cool drink and a swing on the porch. I know she's a travelling maven like you but I'd think for such a short visit it would just be good to have some quiet chat time. Especially since it seems the weather won't co-operate. Hope you had a good time.

Meadow, I heard that Christmas trees were very very expensive for some reason this year. Hope you found something affordable. I love the smell of a real tree.

Nae is it a long trip down to visit your sons? I can't believe you haven't had snow yet. Seems like you're in an area that would get wintered in quickly - goes to show you I'm no geography buff.

The presents are mostly all wrapped. One of those days when I started to do things to clean up and I seem to have made more of a mess instead. Tomorrow I am going for my LAST dentist appointment for the new bridge he's making me. They told me the final cost of it and I daresay I could buy a REAL bridge for what this costs - more than my first car - a 1977 Pontiac Firebird. It better be worth it is all I can say. And I'm sure the next few days will be nothing more than a blur. I'm already behind and I just got started.

Hellos to those I've missed and healing graces to all who could use an extra bit of comfort

Shaker, so good to see you again. Yep we are still here - keeping the home fires burning so to speak. Nice to know Kiwi Annie still sneaks in once in a while - Is she still in Wollongong? Hope to see you back occasionally - let us know what gives. Mel was just asking about you the other day.

Holly - scarlet fever??? I thought that was dead and buried. Strewth. Hope the wee one is okay. I hate to see them sick, they look so little and scared lying there.

Linus so you slipped up once. It's a shame but not the end. I think you have been doing so well that it won't make much difference to you. Just jump back on the wagon and go around again. Families have the habit of making you go off the deep end from time to time.

Happy, the weather co-operated. We had a lovely time. See below. I hope you did not harm the back with that shopping marathon the other day. Look after yourself now. I don't want to hear any more nasty stories about your back. When you shift, are you going to drive down to Tennessee or are you having the cars shipped and flying down yourselves? Hope this house works out for you.

I took Chris on the ferry cats and we went up the river and back. It was nice, not too hot and it didn’t rain. We chit chatted all the way about kids, travel, things that we do, jobs etc.
We stopped off at the Southbank Parklands for a walk and lunch on the way back. I found one of those IPOD things in the ladies loo. I took it to the lost and found office - my good deed for the day.
For lunch we went to the Crepe Cafe and I had a Florentine Crepe - spinach, cheese, muchrooms, bechamel sauce. Chris had a Farmhouse crepe - chicken, cheese, mushrooms, bechamel sauce. When they arrived we couldn’t tell the difference - but figured that one was a bit greener than the other so that was mine.
Then we walked throught the Parklands, checked out the markets, and sat and yakked for an hour or so before catching the ferry back to the car. Then I took her to Newstead House which is the local National Trust mansion. A glorious old house with great gardens and a magnificent view up the river. From there I took her back to the Airport - still talking and put her on the plane. A lovely day was had by all.

Another message from Mel

Joy~ Not me on the pc till now. Jen came for a visit and Richie was bored! LOL They love pogo games. Temp is down to a little less than 101. Still weak. Haven’t been sick like this in ages! Thanks for relaying the messages. (sniff, sniff)With all the love and chicken soup, how could I not get well.
I am going to save the messages and read them again tomorrow
Watching a LOT of TV! Never slept so much either. Yesterday I was asleep more than I was awake! OK time for the loo and some fluids. That’s my life...drink, sleep and piss! ROFLMAO Love to all the Chicks~ Mel

Breakfast - banana and coffee
Lunch - florentine crepe and orange juice
Dinner - Chicken Salad (I think - haven’t had it yet.)
Water - no where near enough
One glass of Rose wine
Snack - ham sandwich on wholemeal with cheese and avocado.

49 minutes of treadmill - 15 walking, rest at the run. 6.2Km and 300Cal. Seems to depend on the treadmill as to how many calories you burn. Normally for 6K I do over 400.

Time to go and think about dinner. Not sure that I really want any, but I still have to get some lunch ready for tomorrow. See you all later.

Meadow I got my wish for cold weather, not going to get above freezing tomorrow. Now that is cold for Texas. I know, I know the minute anyone offers me sugar I practically inhale it, I am such a sugar addict.

shad what a perfect day you had.

Holly hope the little one is feeling better, I had scarlet fever as a child but haven't heard of it in years.

Linus it is amazing how much our families can stress us, but they are ours to keep. There are many times I would like to trade mine in for new models, but I would probably get worse ones.

happy I know you are glad to be finished at the dentist. I have such bad teeth I have to go every 3 months for cleaning. It is a very expensive place to visit.

Have a wonderful day and I hope you get done with all you Christmas activity.Enjoy the wonderful time with your families, after all that is what life is all about.


I will see you all later, have to go to town this morning before the Arctic blast hits this afternoon.

It was the attack of the killer cookies yesterday.
I scarfed down 6 shortbreads.I was out of control. I am not really a sweets person but it was anxiety. I have been feeling so well lately and have not binged. It is blazingly apparent how obsessive I am with food when anxious.Then I get disappointed with myself and then I eat some more.Vicious cycle. I dont want to gian these 5 lbs I have lost. I am my lowest weight in a year, STILL.
Today I will eat with awareness.
DS was up a LOT in the night. He is very itchy and MISERABLE. He is intense on a good day. Add illness and wham.It is soooooooo hard not to lose your cool. I am trying so hard to take care of him and he fights me every step of the way but then gets hysterical when I am not right with him.Help???!!!
DD tends to bug him when he gets like this. Not pretty.They are on separate chairs watching a show right now. I have about 20 min of peace.

My SIL is stopping in today. Her son is at a hockey camp in the nest town. She lives an hour away so will hang here. It will be a good visit.
The babysitting kids will be back tomorrow. So far no one else has come down with scarlet fever.We will know by Saturday. 7 day incubation.DS will not be contagious tomorrow.

I will take a bath, plug my ears and tidy the kitchen.I will bake gingerbread this aft and then make up plates for gifts tonight.
4 more sleeps......... ( it is a delight to experience Christmas through the eyes of a 4 and 6 year old)

Mel~ happy to see you got on the PC yourself. Keep resting, drinking and peeing!!!!
Shad~your day sounds lovely.It is so wonderful to catch up with dear friends.
Happy~I love that show. It amazes me how diverse we all are and how we all have something to learn from each other. We have the familes we do because they are just right for us!!!

HUGS to everyone and thank you so much for your well wishes!!!!
You chicks are an amazing and appreciated part of my life.__________________

HOLY MACKERAL IT'S SHAKER!!!!!
Hello my long lost friend it was SO great to read a post from your good self! Last thing we heard from you was when you went to the wedding in the blue dress and disappeared into the sunset! How goes life? Well and health I trust!! Now do not go disappearing on us again, d'you hear, Missie??!!

:sball2: :snf: :sman: As for me...I do apologise for my absences from the site of late. I just don't seem to have any time to sit down and have a long blether...especially this weekend which has been non-stop running around.
Saturday: our church was playing and singing Christmas carols outside the local shops and like a fool I said if it was not precipitating I would play the violin. It was so darn cold!. Then I came home via the supermarket for an hour before going back to church again to help with the primary school craft, games and so on afternoon from 14:00hrs till 16:00hrs, got home at 16:30 to find Edwina sitting waiting on the doorstep. Silly woman cannot find my doorkey and didn't want to disturb the neighbours! We then went back into town to the Cathedral Carols by Candlelight service which I have been to lots of times and she never had...the other person cried off during the afternoon.Got home just after 20:30hrs
Sunday: we had a lay in! And then about lunch time we went to a local craft fair where we had lunch and spent a SMALL amount of money in the decorations and the crafts. Then we went back to my church (where I seem to have spent most of the weekend!) where I had to be at 15:00hrs for an instrumental run-through for the carol service which began at 16:00hrs. After the carol service Edwna went home and I went back to my home to let Holly out before going out AGAIN to a pub 20 minutes drive away for a lovely evening spent with friends.
So you see by yesterday I wanted to simply stop and do nothing but I decided to drive into Bury St Edmunds and deliver the cards and the Poinsettia I had for someone. Any longer in my house and I couldn't guarantee its longevity!!
And today the gardener arrived at 09:00hrs and then at 10:30 someone else arrived for coffee and so its been rather
LINUS I do hope your family have settled down somewhat today!
SHAD thank you SO much for my lovely pressie which arrived in perfect condition and needs a good place to hang. I was very impressed that not even one corner was bent!
HAPPY I hope you have found another house? I think I read somewhere that the last one fell through? And how is your back now? Take care of it, my friend!
MEL A big hug for you and your poor eyes again causing trouble.

In the New Year once again I have to address this weight problem. I seem to have slipped rather a long way of recent months. I also don't seem to have the enthusiasm to get on he computer and have got out of the habit of rising in the morning, getting a mug of coffee and sitting in the study and writing to you all. So sorry. I expect once the new year is here and everything is back to normal I shall be here most days as usual.
My brain is a bit sad at the moment. I don't do "well" at this time of year. Everybody is rushing around preparing and getting excited with the youngsters in tow, or going to office parties or eating and drinking too much and spending all the year's hard earned cash on frivolities that last the season and no longer. Yes there is of course the Christian element to it all but it is hard to see it sometimes buried deep amongst the hype. And as for New Year...
I think I had better go before I depress you all any further!

And yes of course... :merry:

good evening chickies
SHAKER my god how are you ????? we thought that blue dress had taken you away this lot really missed you and where so worried and we kept hoping youd be back in i think shad had said that you used to use the comp at work ? so do you have more secure access now did bring you one glad your back
HOLLYHOCK im so sorry about the wee man and im afraid they are still like that {clinging to mum then hasseling her for the sake of it}even when they are 15 and in my dh,s case 35 but then its harassing the wife not mother
MEADOW due to my hubby and kids hayfever weve never been able to have a real tree but the good thing about an artificial one is that you bung it in a cupboard or loft and use it year after year and no needles to worry about adding to the fact that that bloody idiot of a dog of mine wont walk past a tree without trying to bite the thing so just aswell weve got an artificial one really
MEL i will get to you eventually just didnt want to depress you too much and im not good conversation at the mo still growling when anybody talks to me hope your feeling a wee bit better :sball: :snf:
SHAD so glad you had a nice visit with chris and that the weather held out for you hows your bro ?{or is that a bad subject} glad to see old freinds are homing in for you again
HAPPY maybe dh wont want to sell the harley once you get to sunnier climes oops didnt you say that it wasnt much of a temp difference youll have to forgive me brain doesnt function well at the moment only had one cig was as sick as a dog and wont be doing it again

ROSE pity your acess guys didnt show up while the boys where there you could have showed them how to handle people that dont listen to good{or read}how did the cheesecake turn out??? i can practically smell it from here
TIG you must still be away unless youve decieded to run and visit mel???? or maybe the church ladies have kidnapped your dh and you are negotiating his release
TEEL i knew you couldnt resist those santa smileys
CANDLELADY ill have to bring you over here and satnd you on the castle parapet with a kilt on and then youd know cold weve got threatened snow hopefully it will cause for some strange reason it doesnt feel so cold after it actually snows
right im off and ill speak to you all later
kirsty

Hi Ladies, well thanks for the welcomes, and nice to see the new faces as well.. Linus I did forget a to you as well!!! Well haven't really heard from the bride since the wedding except an email to say thanks for all the help so I am pleased that we have this distance between us.. was to nightmarish for me.

Annie is in Sydney now she moved bout 6mths ago and is working and doing OK.. I have a at home now, how flash is that .. not that I am on it as I am at work. Lots of changes at work and now a Project Manager and still doing bits of my old job, you know the same old merging of two jobs, just makes you more busy and a bit resentful at times!!

It is still raining here, I tell you Shad what the heck has happened to us, we have not seen summer at all and normally we are at least in 3/4 pants, I go home and put on trackies and socks and slippers it is cold!!! Very disappointing for everyone makes the xmas spirit a bit harder to find!!

What sort of trees do you have for Xmas happy?.. we have pine trees here and got a big one for $30, but then NZ is a bit of a forest country so you could probably go out in the bush and cut yourself one anyway.. the one I got the money goes to help out one of the kids charities so thought that was a nice idea.

I have not heard of scarlett fever, is that like the chicken pox? sounds nasty anyway and hope it goes away before xmas. Only one more day at work and then i have 5 off and back for the days inbetween.

Teel the carols sounded good lovely, even if you don't seem to have time to catch your breath of late.. perhaps that is why the puter eludes you!!!.. I hope is good to you all.. bye for now..

Evening all,
Here's a very sick joke for you Linus:
Where do all the policeman live? Letsby Avenue.

Shaker we are having a reasonable summer - for us that is. Not too humid as yet and sort of 3 days on and 3 days off as far as the heat goes. Today was very warm. Tomorrow we are supposed to have thunder and lightning. Christmas day is predicted as wet. Still they only get it right about 29% of the time so we'll continue to schedule the barbeque. Which reminds me to go get some heat beads and starters on Friday, along with the veges. I did hear that the weather in NZ is fairly lousy this year, but I have seen snow in Wellington on Christmas day. It seems that the seasons are changing.

Teel, I am so pleased that you are so busy. Sometimes it takes a really busy week to make us just forget about our personal troubles. We simply have no time to think about them, but we just keep taking the medicine and getting on with life. I wish I could have been there to see you all carolling away in the cold, ice and snow!!!

Shaker, my tree, if I could find it, is artificial. I have actually been looking for it to put up outside on the deck. Figure we might as well do something with it. However, it is either in the roof or in the spare room packed at the back of all the junk. Time I got in there and did something about tidying up. Yeah well one day. I'll check the roof tomorrow after work - or at least after the haircut!

Holly, hope the little one is behaving himself. Poor wee chap. So awful to be so sick at this time of the year. Mind you with the awful cold you lot are having, bed is probably the best place to be. Don't eat those biscuits. It's not worth it. Might taste good for the moment, but won't look good in the future. Cool them, wrap them, put them out of sight - better still deliver them.

My brother?? - oh yes. He is doing very well at the moment. So well in fact that I rung the counsellor to see what I was doing wrong! I can expect regression (sp) at some stage. Mind you he has no money until tomorrow so that makes it all a bit difficult. After tomorrow, we shall see. I still give him the daily phone call. Biggest problem is, he only has a mobile phone. Therefore it is difficult to figure out exactly where he is when he answers the phone. If I hear birds in the background and/ or a dog then I know he is at home. (he rents a cottage out in the bush. The owners live in the big house and they have the dog). I am trying to pin him down to a budget, but he is difficult and stubborn and morose and recalcitrant, and a sometimes pain in the neck - he is also my brother.

Work finishes on Friday midday. Then it will be a free for all on the freeways until I get home. The idiots will be out in force. Still we will be off for 4 days - go back Wednesday - so that will be a peaceful time. I may actually get something done around here.

I have a boarder for a few weeks in January. The daughter of a friend of a friend of mine. She is coming up here from Melbourne to work and is having trouble finding a place to rent. I haven't got the time to hunt one out for her, so she will have to do it on her own. Having just said that, there is a friend of mine who owns a block of flats who may have a place. Just thought of that. Phone call may be necessary.

Day of gym today. Back to the weights tomorrow. I was going to go today as Saturday will be no gym so I wont get 5 days in, but quite frankly the body needs a rest every couple of days, so I decided against it. I got plenty of walking in as the diuretic has decided to work today and I have been doing a Mel, drinking and p*ddling all day long.

Okay, well I better go do some tidying and cleaning or I will have it all to do on the weekend and that's not how I want to spend Christmas. So I best get off here and do it.

I just got a 1/2 hour of yoga in and I am chugging water to flush toxins as I type.I have terrible tension/pain in my neck. It feels a bit better. I will try for another 1/2 hour this aft. It has felt like 4 days of Sunday with just my 2 kids here lounging around. I have 2 babysitting kids today. It is back to normal chaos. DS is feeling much better today!! Thankfully.
DD has a runny nose and is crabby. I am hoping that is all it is. It is not a symptom of scarlet fever.
I did NOT eat after supper or have cookies yesterday!!!!!!
I weigh in tonight.
It is a balmy -3C today but they are calling for more snow tonight.
I will deliver some cookie plates tonight. HO HO HO.
Shad~ it will be nice for you to have 4 days off! Glad DB is feeling better. Enjoy your day!!
Teel~ the caroling does sound nice, even if it was chilly.Your festivities sound fun.
Linus~hope your crew are behaving!!!

Hello to everyone!!

hi just a wee quicky to check if i can get on as teel cant
kirsty

testing testing

hello I am having such trouble posting on the site this evening but that seems to be ok at this moment. Fingers crossed! But I cannot insert a signature ticker and Linus and I have tried and tried and retried to no avail. I just hope this posts or that bottle of Charddonay will get even lower than it is already.
Anyway I will try and ring Shad and Mel and Linus over the weekend
I will leave this short just in case.....

right im going on strike teel and i are having so many problems my page sizes are wrong my signature keeps going whack and sheila and i have spent two hours trying to get the problems sorted and have now gave up and contacted 3fc everything is good here i got two wonderful e-mails from mel {one was a wee elf flashing his bum}and the man next door gave me a lovely bunch of flowers for being a wonderfull neighbour{his words not mine} and now ive had a wonderful talk with sheila so im off night night
kirsty