Quick post for me today... it was a very sad day for me at work. One of my teammates - a truly wonderful young guy in his mid 20's was shot and killed in his house on Saturday. They don't know all the details, they think perhaps he startled an intruder or burglar. He leaves behind a wife and 2 very young children. It's so hard to believe, here we were laughing on Friday, playing tricks on one of our other co-workers. I have email from him, he's on instant messenger tho not logged on right now - how can he be gone? And did I say that he was just a heckova nice guy - that I really enjoyed working with even tho I didn't know him for very long. I'm stunned...

Happy, I'm so sorry to hear about your workmate. What a horrible thing to happen. You must be feeling very down right now. The whole office must feel awful. Please just take it easy and breathe deeply.

Meadow - love the description of that viburnum. I always wanted one of those in the garden, however they don't flower so well up here. Short season and buggy as well. Your sisters weren't that kind to you for Mothers day were they??

Linus - good to hear from you and good to know that all is well - apart from the DH's strange rash that is.

Holly - good to hear that Mothers day was good for you. My DS2 came whizzing in, dropped off the bed that he borrowed, shot off in the van again and then came screeching back, sticking his head out of the window yelling come 'ere. He then proceeded to give me a cuddle and a kiss and wish me happy Mothers day. Strange kid.

I got this joke today from my friend Chris in Japan. (Sorry Happy, know you are not feeling much like laughing at the moment.


Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had given their new wives duties.

Terry had married a woman from Croatia, and bragged that he had told his wife she was going to do all the dishes and house cleaning that needed to be done at their house. He said that it took a couple of days but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were all washed and put away.

Jimmy had married a woman from Australia. He bragged that he had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes, and the cooking. He told them that the first day he didnt see any results, but the next day it was better. By the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done, and he had a huge dinner on the table.

The third man had married a New Zealand girl. He boasted that he told her that her duties were to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didnt see anything, the second day he didnt see anything, but by the third day most of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye enough to fix himself a bite to eat, load the dishwasher, and call a landscaper.
God Bless New Zealand Women!

I have a Kiwi friend in Arizona that is just going to love that one.

DS1 just rang to say that he has downloaded a program to his PC which allows him to make phone calls from the PC to other PC’s across the world and talk to them for free - the owners of the PC not the PC - as far as I know he is not yet into talking like a hi speed rattle. There is a bit of a time delay, but no worse than some of the overseas calls I have made. The upshot is that if he goes on with it and finds it okay, then I will put it on mine as well and I know my friend in Japan has it on her PC at school. Let you all know how it goes.

Work ontinues to get more and more hectic. I’ll be going in at 5.00am tomorrow to try to get away from the social chit-chat and gossip that goes on. Some of them don’t seem to know what work is. Something that I was a bit worried about before I took the job. Govt. Departments don’t seem to be known for dedication to the job - that’s a generalisation, not a total hard fact, so those of you who are departmental workers please don’t get on my case. I just wish that they would freeze the system so we could get the final material ready, but hey let’s not think about how the trainers feel. Jeez I feel grumpy.
Anyway, I took a peek at the training schedule today and darned near fell off my chair. I have days and days and days of it 7.5 hours a day of it. Stretches through most of August and some of September. I’m going to need a rest after this lot.

Was going to the gym tonight, however I figured that it might be a good idea to give these shoulders and arms a rest. Geez Jason, I’ll end up with knuckles brushing the ground at this rate and I am already vertically challenged.

Haven’t seen my garden in the daylight for 2 days. I went out with the torch tonight and the new tomatoes are taking off, it won’t be long before the baby beetroot is ready. The Coriander is ready to run away to seed and the herbs are rowing wild. Spinach is coming along as well. Might have some good veges to eat soon. The lettuces are ready and will be overdone if I don’t get to eat them soon. Such is life. These veg grow well in my wee patch.

Okay, time to go and get on with the evening. So much to do, so little time.

Happy im so very sorry to hear about your very sand news its always so sad and so senseless when the young die so needlessly
I GOT MY NEW HOUSE I GET THE KEYS IN 2 WEEKS AND WILL BE IN BEFORE TEEL COMES
and now im just so tired goodnight and hope all is REAT with your world
kirsty+bump

There's that word again. Must be the scots for right

Evenin' Chicks,
I clicked on here twice today and got sidetracked by a kid. I finally got to read through.
Happy~ I am deeply sorry for the loss of the man you work with.It IS senseless and so hard for the wife and children. HUGS!!!
Shad/Meadow~ I planted 3 viburnun 2 years ago but no pompoms yet(ever).Maybe I need to fertilize.Ours dont bloom here till June.
Linus~ so glad everything is working out just reat in your world!!!
Shad~ DS sound funny and sweet!!!!
How is dear Mel?????
Rose??? Suzi?????? Tig popped in last week didn't she??

HUGS and LOVE!!

Yahoo, it’s payday. Some money in the account. Makes it all worthwhile.

It’s been a rotten week weatherwise, not raining enough to make the umbrella worthwhile, and too wet to go out and sit in the fresh air at lunch time. Bah humbug.

Things have relaxed enough at work to manage a few jokes now. However that will all change by the end of the month when I have to know the business enough to be able to train the troops. These people have been stuck in an electronic time warp for the past 20 years. It’s not going to be easy for them to change now. I have a couple of documents to write and that’s it for this implementation release.

Went to the gym tonight to do a cardio workout - 10 minutes on the machines and the warmup. I did only three of the machines - bike, eliptical, stepper and used the treadmill for warm up. Now I feel all sweaty and smelly so had better start thinking of a shower and some quiet time. There is a tv program I want to see shortly as well.

That means - see you later. Have a good day.

Linus, yaaaaaayyyyyy!!!! *jumping up and down excitely for you* So very glad to hear you got the house! It's about time you got some good news in your life. So will you be having a big housewarming party with Teel?

Shad, the more I observe, the more I think they should rename SAP - "Chaos Reigns". I sit next to the trainers group and I don't envy you a bit. All I can say is that your suffering seems universal. Now I'm even in more awe of what you do. Makes my job seem not so bad afterall Hang in there... loved your joke too. It's one to pass along.

Good heavens, the heat has hit. In the 90's and it's only May - when I got home from work, I found DH lounging in the pool. After all the work he's put into it, he deserves it. Water a bit too cool yet for me tho with temps this warm the next 2 days, water should heat up enough for me to stick a toe in. I'm actually looking forward to swimming laps - a pool was my main reason for joining a health club in the past.

I've done better on the food this week. Water is pretty good. Still recovering a bit from the cold last week. Lungs still congested, blasted coughing about to make me insane already. I don't tolerate being ill for too long.

Busy day ahead. Fun with Crystal Reports - yet a new thing to learn. Everyone says it's simple. Today I go into my other office - my home base. I imagine it will be pretty somber there. Apparently they found someone who might have been a witness to my coworker's murder and they have at least a minimim description of a suspect to go on. Prayers that they find the @#$%#( and bring them to justice.

Holly, I hope you have a day of a calm DH and happy, well behaved children. Hugs to the rest of the clan as we march through the day

Happy~ I actually thought for a moment wow it's May down there already....huh...need more coffee. It is May here too I guess. Bit of a blur!

I sat down and couldn't get up!
That was me last night. Everyboby and their brother has been cutting grass out here since the weekend. Lots of pollen floating around.My head is foggy!!!
Good day yesterday. Took the kids bike riding in town after supper. Met another family and the Mom and I walked. There is no place to walk or ride here so I toss the bikes in the van and go to town.
I sat down to watch Idol and didn’t get off the couch till 11.It was restful to say the least. I did gather the trash for this morning.
Finished the revision on the handbook but my printer bunged up, arg! Council meeting tonight.
Only 3 little people today. All of them nap in the aft!!!!!
I ate icecream last night.
It was steamy and humid all day but we didn’t get the rain. I wanted it for my grass seed. Sunny and clear today.
Might do some weeding.
I will do yoga!!!!!!

Have a funky day!!!!

Linus-Finally! a new house for you Alright!

Shad-you mean people in government offices know how to smile? They tell jokes? Gosh Good that you get a breather before the heavy duty brain thumping begins Hopefully the weather will clear up down there and you can take some beautiful deep breaths of air to invigorate you. Just reading about your workouts make my arms ache, I can't imagine how your limbs must feel.

Holly-Cool, three viburnums, they get huge you know, I hope you have them "FAR" apart How are you liking "No Great Mischief"? I've just finished a Sue Grafton "R" one and am starting an Elizabeth George novel.

Happy-Mint juleps for you! 90 degrees? That is just outrageous. Are you wearing more white since you moved to the South? Has silk become your fabric of choice? Do you have a portable, battery operated fan for use between car and buildings? Is an air conditioning failure cause to evacuate offices? I live in the North so hitting 75 up here is like a heat wave

The peanut butter fingers are all gone, I ate 10 of the twelve over three days. I hid the two boxes of peanut butter daisies in my husband's sock drawer, I should forget about them soon. I can't even give them my kid's teachers because of peanut allergies. I could throw them out but that little voice in my head says, you might need them for comfort during the big move this summer I hear twilight zone music

Meadow~ We are on an acre, i planted 30 bushes across the back. They can get as big as they want. I did mostly purple leaf nine bark and a few mock orange and viburnum. I am loving No Great Mischief. An easy read.
How is the house coming??

Ha Tig - nice one. Quiet around here isn't it. Sorry can't stop, these 10 and 12 hour days are beginning to bite. Deadline today for documentation. Should be able to relax and enjoy life a bit more by next week. What am I talking about - what's life??

WOW, you could hear a pin drop!

HUGS Shad!! Wishing you quiet moments on the patio with a nice glass of wine, while you enjoy your garden!

Busy, busy with kids this week. $$$$$$$$ We need it too. d\Did some edging around flower beds yesterday. School council meeting last night, worked on revisions today.Actually vacuumed upstairs! Yippee! My life is way more non existant than yours Shad.
TGIF tomorrow. 1 little person, big kids are all in school.LOTS of tidying to do and maybe some actual cleaning!!
Allergies are quite bad. I lose steam as the day goes on. My evenings are pretty disfunctional.
I am actually feeling hungry for supper. Wow. Now ,not to over eat would be brilliant!!!

HI CHICKS, hope everyone is well.

Just a rant ahead, don't read if you are feeling chipper, you will just huck something at your computer

Comfort eating, double fill oreos, marshmallow puff cookies, I am feeling a complete ***. Of course it isn't "MY" fault, I'm blaming Oprah. Here boot camp show today just made me feel terrible and I sought out cookies *they were supposed to be for the kids Why does watching people who used to be fat giving advice on how to do it make me want sugar intravenous injections? Heck if I know, it just makes me feel like a complete jerk for not getting there myself. I have to start exercising on a regular basis, I know the cookies were just a temporary blip, I'm not going to be stuffing that calorie laden garbage into my beautiful machine again anytime soon. Why can't I hear the fiddle playing, the church bells, the grand sound of that soul touching music that motivates and carries me forward to a thinner, more conscious woman? Do I have to be hospitalized before I get it? "Insert mass amounts of swearing and punching things in here" I feel so stupid, I have been attempting and failing at this for so long and it is a ***** that others are doing it and I'm just treading water.

Big hugs for you Meadow. We have all been there at one time or other. You should have heard me swearing this morning!

I'll be back later with some sage advice (well I try to have some sage advice)