good morning!!! It is sunny and cold here today but at least it is sunny....that is a first for about a month. :lol:

I want to go look at a travel trailer today...it is so neat, it has a loft upstairs with 3 mattresses for the kids. I like the concept but I want a fifth wheel really but it would be fun to go see. I already have the fifth wheel that I want all picked out but I have to wait until next year to get it. Fingers crossed.

Tomorrow is Brit's 14th birthday and I am making a big turkey dinner with pumpkin parfaits for her and my sis and neice are coming over for supper with us.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Good morning ladies, happy Saturday. Well Angie, I wish we had some of your sun here. We've got rain with more forecast through the weekend. I was hoping to get out to the lone pumpkin patch out here, but every year it turns into a mud bog. I remember one year there were tons of cars getting stuck deeper and deeper into the mud just turning their wheels in place.

Today I have to pick up some fundraiser goodies (pizza and some other food stuffs) from Michael's school, then I'm off to get my nails done. Aaaaah, relaxation :dizzy: Tomorrow we're doing a Susan Komen breast cancer walk in the morning--me getting some exercise in! :strong: :lol: I hope the rain lets up just a little or we'll have to be wearing ponchos--something we hardly ever have to do here.

Angie, happy 14th b-day to Brit :hb: :gift: :hat: :woo:. It seems like just yesterday she was talking you into letting her get her eyebrow (or was it her belly button?) pierced, and that was a year ago already??? Your baby's almost grown up!

Kempy, so how old are your new pups? How's the proud mama doing and how's Rhea taking it? Can't wait to see pics if you can get them uploaded. So how the heck are you doing? and Joe?

Cal, glad to see you and Kempy (and Angie) got to add yourselves to that map. It's pretty neat to see everyone in that perspective huh? Looking at it that way I must say 'thank you' for making the effort of driving out to California last year. I know you said it's about a 4 hr drive but still, it's quite a ways a way.

Julie, what do you and the kiddos have planned for this weekend?

Cherie, hope you're having a good time off.

Holly, how are you doing today? Anything special planned for your little ones?

Well, I've got to get my stuff together and get one with my day. Enjoy the weekend ladies. :sunny:

What a week!!
Today we had Ashley's b-day party at the park. It was a perfect day.

Angie: Happy 14th to Brit. It sounds like you are all going to have a great time and dinner.

Noelle: It was great to drive out last year to CA to see you. I really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed getting to meet Angie last summer. You mentioned that tomorrow you're going on a breast cancer walk; interesting that you mentioned that because a friend of mine passed away Thursday from breast cancer--she was 41 and had been battling the disease for several years.

Hello to everyone.

Cal

Good morning ladies. I'm up bright and early for the 'Race for the Cure' breast cancer walk. Cal, I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend, she was much too young to go. I will hold her in my thoughts today. I just recently found out that one of my girlfriends from my old workplace was diagnosed as well. Luckily it was caught early and she is undergoing treatment. We're all hoping for the best.

It rained ALL of last night but right now it seems to have stopped. Maybe i should walk in my rain boots? :lol:

Well, I have to go and find some breakfast and go wake up the others. Coffee! I need coffee!!!

Have a great day ladies.

Hi Girls :)

Angie, Happy Birthday to Brit. Your dinner sounds delish! I remember last fall you talking about the pumpkin parfaits.

Noelle how did the walk go? I hope the weather was nice. Hoping the best for your girlfriend, glad it was caught early.

Cal sorry about your friend.

Kempy the puppies are adorable. So tiny and cute.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. It rained here on and off. But the sun is shining today. We may get snow flurries on Wednesday. We went and picked out a new kitchen table last weekend. It is hand made by the amish. It is just beautiful. The chairs on out last one were literally falling apart. LOL. It was time. Anyway sorry so short ladies! I will check back later on when the phone stops ringing off the hook :dizzy:. Have a good Monday everyone.

Hey girls I gave into to some Halloween candy tonight. I should not even have it in the house until just before Halloween. Or I just should not get Almond Joys since the kids don't like them anyway.
Hope everyone had a nice Monday. I went to the mall today and got a pair of pants and thought they were going to be to small. Well they just fit and if I lose ten pounds like I want they just find just right. We had chili tonight. It tasted good on a cold night. Dd had dance class. She had to show me her moves when she got home.
That is about it from me. Hi everyone!

:) Good Night :)

Hello My Girls
 

Hey I am still here. I have been a busy bee with these puppies. I don't have time to post today either. I am about to head to Baton Rouge to help Joe find a shirt for a party this weekend.

Dips you can call anytime. I just picked up the phone to call Angie and it went great. I wont bite. :lol:

Ok, I am out, sorry to pop on and then off again. Here is a pic for those of you that I don't have e-mails for.

Good Morning girls.

Kempy, The pups are beautiful and Echo actually looks happy in the pics. :lol: How many pups are there?

Dips, Good luck with your exemption. I hope you get it, I would hate for you to have to give up your job,apartment and college after you have put so much effort into getting everything pulled together. Everything seems to be going okay for now with Brit...she is a stubborn teen now and it isnt going to be easy to get her to 18. :lol:

Hey Julie, Congrats on the jeans. I cant even wear jeans now. I have grown out of all my clothes. I really really really need to get on my diet again and stick with it for the rest of my life not just untli I am smaller.

Noelle, Whatcha up to girl?

Oh Yeah It SNOWED here last night!!!!!.... :yikes: They said some parts of Maine got 14-20 inches. We just got a dusting though

Hey guys. I am taking a quick break from getting the house straight. We still have not got everything put back the way it was b4 the storm.

Angie are you guys getting snow from what is left over of Wilma? I havn't watched the news in a few days to see what is going on in the world. She had 6 of them. I swear they look bigger everyday I wake up. I could sit out there with them all day and just look at them. I bet Echo would let me take over so she can run around. I guess she is just like a real mom and needs her breaks.

I havn't gone back to read any of the posts since the hurricane so I am just going to start from here with the replies once you guys post. Sorry but I don't have time to watch TV much less be on the puter. I will try to keep up though.

Hey girls, I'm at my desk working :carrot: --yes, surprising, but true. I'm also getting into the Christmas spirit by listening to Christmas carols... fa la la la la la la la la :lol:

Angie, I heard you guys had a big Nor'easter? (is that how you spell it?) Glad you guys only got a light dusting and not a huge drift. We are still sweltering here, muggy 85. It actually cools down at night to about 69 (hehe) and that's usually when it rains.

Kempy, I love your puppies. They do grow really fast. Are you guys planning on keeping one or two or a few? It'll be so fun when they start tottering around on those stubby legs. What kind of nicknames (or regular names) did you give them?

Dips, good luck on getting your exemption, yeah, what Angie said. Maintaining is a WONDERFUL thing, esp. when you're under all the stress like ya said. It would make me want to eat and eat... oh wait, that's like normal :p

Julie, what's up girl? Congrats on the jeans. I love me a pair of good fitting jeans. 10 lbs ain't so bad...try wanting (and needing) to lose 80+ :eek: I have got to do something about myself and soon, my knee is complaining something fierce. :sumo: How're the kiddos doing in school?

Cal, is Ashley dressing up for Halloween? Michael will be a "Phoenix" ninja--the bird, not the AZ city :rolleyes: :lol: He refused to wear his real karate gi and chose instead to buy a cheaply made play costume from the party store.

Holly, how are you doing girl?

I hope Cherie is at least having some relaxing vacation time.

I've gotta run and pick up the boy from school....did anyone watch the Biggest Loser? How do you get on that show anyway? I wanna apply for next season :)

Hi girls, sorry I have been away....life is just so busy for me these days. I come to check the posts and then I find myself not having time to reply!
My ds had his party at school last night for Halloween. It was a lot fun, pizza, candy, games. My dd went in her ballet outfit and I put makeup on her. And ds went as dracula and I put face paint on him. Spooky :)
Anyway my mom turns fifty this weekend and I need to still go shopping for her. I have no idea what to get? Oh my dad is a part of the red cross and is being deployed this weekend. So I have to drive him to the airport this weekend. I am praying for his safety down there. He loves to help people so I am happy for him. So that is about it from my end. My eating has been blah. I am into the Halloween candy left and right, LOL! I can't wait to get the candy handed out.

Noelle isn't Christmas coming up fast? I should listen to some Holiday tunes to get me in the mood for some shopping, I don't want to last minute shop this year. I say that every year though, haha....

Angie, snow all ready? It seems to soon! Stay warm.

Cherie, I hope you are having a great time on vacation. Miss ya.

Cal what is Ashley going to be on Halloween?

Kempy are you planning on selling the pups? I would love one! Hehe....

Dips I hope everything works out for you the way you want girl.

Hi Holly.

Have a great day everyone. :)

Hey guys. I have a few minutes to spare. We have th DU banquet tonight and I am waiting for the furniture people to get here. We ordered a bed b4 we went on vacation and they just couldn't seem to find our shipment so I have to beg them to let me have the floor model. Which is the one that I wanted in the first place. I guess they felt bad and said yes.

I think we have all of the puppies sold and I think by that time I will be ready to say goodbye. I will have 8 dogs to take care of by then and I have my hands fun with 2 usually.

Julie I made the mistake of buying candy early this year and I have made a huge dent in it myself. i love tootsie rolls and I knew better than to buy them.

Noelle we relaly havn't thought of any names yet. Most of the poeple that are taking them are friends and they already have names so I think once they see which one they want we will start to call them by that. Two of the friends are going to carry on the tradition of the Greek names which I think is great.

Ok, I need to get back to ironing for tonight. I'll check in tomorrow.

Our first week back and it's not too bad. It has been a long week though. I'm sooooo tired.

Angie: It's still so warm here, I can't even imagine having snow right now. Be sure to stay warm.

Kempy: I'm glad things are getting back to normal for you. You were always in our thoughts and prayers; we're certainly glad to have you back.

Dips: I hope everything works out for you.

Julie: Ashley is going to dress up as Jasmine from Aladdin. It's her favorite princess...so far.

Noelle: Michael will be so cute. Be sure to post pictures. I'll try to do the same, but I usually have to email them instead.

Cherie: Enjoy your vacation!!

Have a good night everyone.

Cal

Hey ladies, how's your Friday evening turning out? I am almost out the door to go pick up a pumpkin and some Halloween candy. My sis did some pretty neat artwork on her pumpkins. She got the idea from a magazine, but she did her own designs. Her pumpkin has a giant smile painted across the front with some freaky looking eyes. Then she painted another one dark bottle green (as in Heineken), and painted the label on the front, just like the real thing complete with the red star. If I can get the camera back this evening I will shoot some pics of it. She did it for my other sis who is going to a party. Everyone going to the party has to bring a pumpkin either carved or painted or decorated in such a way that everyone else will know who that pumpkin represents...and well, my oldest sis, I guess she likes to drink :^: :lol: It's pretty cool. I'm just gonna carve mine up with a nice 6" chefs knife :s:

Hi Cal. We're having some hot temps here as well, but lots of rain coming still. Do something relaxing this weekend and do take some pics of your princess Jasmine at Halloween as well.

Kempy, I'm glad Echo's pups will be going to good homes. I think Pluto would be a good name for a yellow lab--but then I've still got Disney on the brain... wait, I think Pluto was the Roman name :dizzy: ...Artemis the goddess of the (duck)hunt ;) would be an excellent name for a duck hunting dog :blah:

Julie, wow your mom is so young. My oldest sis is 46 herself (she'd faint if she knew I was telling anyone this :lol: ) . Have you found her the perfect present yet? I will say a prayer for your dad to keep safe during his journey. Your kids sounded adorable in their costumes. I remember when Michael was 4 he dressed up in a Spiderman costume at school. Another kid dressed as one of the Wiggles(?) kept tailing him the whole night. It seems this kid wanted to be Spiderman but his mom had already bought him the other costume. He kept trying to pull Michael's mask off, it was pretty funny and annoying at the same time :rolleyes:

i gotta stop here. :wave: Hi to Angie, Cherie, Holly, Dips and everyone else. Have a great weekend.

Hello My Gurlz!!
 

Boo!
 

:) Happy Halloween!!! Stay out of the candy bowl or there won't be any left to give out to the kiddies! I bought 2 bags of that mixed candy (junky ones that I don't really care for--i know the neighborhood kids will love me :rolleyes: ) and I've got those mini bags of microwave popcorn to give out. Michael will be skipping out on karate lessons tonight so he can go trick or treating. I think I'll be dressing up Lucky and take her for a walk. I don't know if she'll be Darth Vader, Snow White or Superdog...we shall see.

OMG girls, I have got yet another horror story to add to my 'car maintenance and repair' file. Y'all know how I used to tell those stories about the Ford service dept? Well this one is about Nissan. I brought the Murano in on Thursday @ 8am for a regular maintenance, for a recall notice and to get the tires re-balanced. Well anyway, they kept it for the whole day and at close to 4 pm they call to say it's done. I drive home on the freeway and get it up to about 60 mph to check if there's any kind of shimmy in the steering--there was none at all so I was extremely pleased with the balancing job. The next morning I brought Michael to school and came right back (all of a 1/2 mile drive maybe?). Then I didn't drive it again until I had to pick him up. I did a few other errands at the same time but all within a 3 mi. radius from home. Right before I pull into his school I hear a rattling noise, it sounded like I was dragging a tin can. So I get to his school and one of the teachers comes and tells me she hears a noise from my tire. I pull over and look everything over and see nothing unusual. I thought one of the balancing weights had some off and maybe was rattling around, but after almost sliding under the car and checking things out, I still didn't see anything. So I just drive home slowly. Rick gets home and checks the tires, nothing there visually. He opens up the cap on the rim and a freakin' lug nut comes falling out. THat was the rattling noise. On top of that, another one was almost ready to fall off--and the other 4 were loose, like the stupid mechanic had only hand-tightened (FINGERTIPS!?!!) the lugs and did not use a wrench of any kind. My damn wheel could've came right off. It's a good thing I didn't drive into town or anything. I was so pissed off. My God! their incompetence could've killed me and my kid. I am writing a letter to their service dept. mgr., the president of the company and to the corp. office @ Nissan North America expressing my extreme displeasure about their employees' incompetence. Come on now, they're supposed to be the professionals. *shudder*

With that scary thought...have a happy halloween. Be back later.

Happy Halloween

BOO

Noelle that is just down right scary about the car!! Glad you are safe. I hope Michael has a spooktacular time tonight! I have got tons of the "good" chocoalte candy here. I think I ate enough last weekend though to hold me over, LOL.

Dips great job on the midterms :carrot:

Cal I hope Ashley has a fun time tonight.

Cherie, are you coming back today? What are the girls costumes this year? Miss ya and can't wait to hear about your trip!

Kempy how was the banquet?

Angie are the kids going out tonight?

Hi Holly.

I might carve a pumpkin or two for the porch tonight. I just love Halloween. It is not suppose to rain anymore so that is good. We went out for dinner Friday night for a fish fry. It was excellent. I have not had that in a long time. Also we went to mom's for her birthday and had a little party. I ended up getting her a spa/hair gift certificate. We had a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. It was so good. Like I didn't get enough sugar. We made a trip to the museum. I also got my dad to the airport. As of now he is going to be in Miami. I scrubbed the all the floors on my hands and knees yesterday and feel kind of sore today. Age must be catching up with me :^:. Anyway ladies wanted to wish you all a Happy Halloween :)
Have a great day :)

Hey Girls!! Happy Halloween!! I am sick today my throat feels like someone grated it with a cheese grater. LOL I have been laying around all day today. No my kids arent going out for candy but they are using it as an excuse to go walking with friends. we will see.

I just found out this weekend that jays parents give my kids half the money they give the others for birthdays and Christmas. WTF!!!! I am so pissed. I emailed my other sisterinlaw because they have always hated her too to see if it is the same for her kids and it is. Nice and fair huh. The first born grandaughter is a little pothead who they spoil rotten. They paid for college which she quickly flunked out of after a year and then she got knocked up by some random guy so they built her a really nice house for free. I am so pissed.

My brain thinks I'm still on the boat!
 

Hello everyone! Happy Halloween! I am back.. Sorry I didn't get any postcards sent out.. but two of our ports were cancelled due to Wilma and the other two were so small, I wasn't really able to get out and find a place to pick up any cards. :-(

The girls and I got back late last night, and I am here at work today. My brain is still telling me I'm on the ship, because everything keeps rocking. I'm hoping in a couple of days, I'll get back to normal! :-)

The cruise was good.... it started out rocky, for the first day and a half... the boat rocked so much, we ended up laying down all day because it just didn't seem as bad as when we were up. The two ports that I wanted to see, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel were closed because Wilma just tore them up. We were able to port at Belize City, Belize and Roatan, Honduras... but we spent most of our time out on the ocean. I found the boat a little constricting, I like exploring, and there is only so much you can explore on a boat, but overall.. I am glad I had the opportunity to take a cruise... However, I will probably never go on another one. It's just not my thing.. well, at least for another 30 to 40 years! :D (lots of old people!)

After seeing some of my pictures from the cruise... I am starting back on my diet. The good thing is.. even though I was on a 7 day cruise.. I don't think I really gained any weight.. the pants I gauge my weight gain and loss by still fit... so I am happy. :-) I am going to see if I can post a picture.... if not, I'll try again!


OK.. I can't .. my picture is too big.. but I did go do that thing that Noelle posted about where we all are.. and I posted the picture there!

OK.. I need to go back and catch up when I can get the chance... but right now, I need to get back to work. :-)

Talk to you all soon!

Cherie

Welcome back Cherie. I'm so sorry Wilma put a crimp on your cruising but glad you had a good time anyway--and no weight gain :carrot:. I know what you mean about "old people" on cruises :lol: They're the ones that have the time and money to go, eh? I'm sure there are different demographics for different destinations though... have you heard about the "Chocolate Cruise"? oops, bad me, this is supposed to be dieting website :p Hey, that's a nice picture of you on the boat!

Angie, get better soon girl. Drink some hot tea w/lemon, that always helps my throat. I don't know why families do the gift-giving "game"...do your in-laws think the other family won't find out the difference? We have the same situation w/my BIL (my oldest sis' husband). He gives extravagant gifts to my two nieces because he feels "sorry" for them, as if they're disadvantaged because their mother (my #6 sis) isn't married to their father (even though they live together). He gave one niece a Nintendo DS last year, and gave the other one a laptop computer. This is just because they asked him for it. I teach my son not to ask for things like that--and if he does, he'll only get them for stuff like Christmas or a birthday, not everyday kind of giving, ya know? Oh, and my sis and BIL gave Michael some kind of board game... and it wasn't more than $20, But oh well...

Julie, even though you got into the halloween candy a bit at least you burned some calories scrubbing that floor. My #2 sis just told me that she had 11 bags of halloween candy in her house, and as of yesterday, only 4 were left :o ....so don't feel bad :lol: Hope your kiddos have a great time trick-or-treating as well. Stay safe and warm! I'll be carving my pumpkin this afternoon as well.

Dips, congrats on your mid-terms. Hey girl, I knew you were youngest one here but damn! 10 years younger than me :lol: If you don't get a chance to pop in before then, HAPPY early BIRTHDAY wishes to you!!! :hb: Enjoy your youth!

Hi to Kempy, Holly, Cal and everyone...gotta run and get some more work done. Have a fun Halloween!!!

Good Morning everyone! I still have a cold but at least my throat doesnt hurt as bad today. I just feel blah.

Cherie, I am glad you are back. I am sorry you didnt get to go to the ports you wanted to though, did they give you guys any compensation for not getting to do the things that you paid to do. Congrats on coming home without a weight gain. Me and Jay want to do a cruise just for the food. :lol:

Noelle, I forgot to add yesterday that I am glad you caught the tire problem before your wheel fell off. Geesh, You would think they would know better than that. Some people. I remember you telling us about your BIL giving Micheal a boardgame. That is so low. Do you think these people think that the kids cant figure it out? I know I should take it as a compliment because it means deep down they know we take good care of our kids but when the kids are the ones figuring it out it is hard to explain to them. Plus My in laws are the first people to say bad **** about us and our parenting so that sucks.

Julie, did the kiddos have a fun Halloween? I hope so. My kids didnt dressup or anything this year. Jay said we are officially old. :lol: Corey and Brit hung out uptown with their friends and Alicia stayed home with us to hand out candy( I think it was mostly so that if Brit and Corey got in trouble than she wouldnt be involved....she is the good kid. :lol: ). Mickey and Rebel had fun last night. They didnt know what to think of all these people coming to our front door. They would both jump up in the chair and keep a lookout for kids. :lol: It was pretty cute.

Hey girls, I started us a FRESH new thread for November....the Sept. thread was getting a bit long, especially since we kept it thru October. Let's get the party started and head on over to Weighty Issues #32