Oh dear Meadow, you only understood because I am quite certain you have experienced in the not too distant past the phenomena of felines and offspring hanging off all your apendages whilst trying sneak a few momernts of adult convo.

I did just "be". I "was". Church was done, friends daughter picked up, house vacuumed and dishes mostly done and I looked around, it was 2 pm and I had no presssing engagements. I snuck off to bed and intended to read but just dozed happily with the kitties for 2 hours.

Linus~ doing a happy dance for you. A sleeping son and a new angel to smell and hug.

Must head off to the store befoe it closes. We need some fresh veg and bananas and poor Clyde needs some food.

Hubby is off a t a friends installing a hybrid furnace that uses hydro, wood and water???:?: duct work is involved anyhow.

Now there is an exit line if ever I heard one - 'my little sister is in labour so ill come back tomorrow and tell you what time my neice makes her apperance'. Yikes

Holly - I know the proof thing well. I go back to some of my entries and whammo, the mistake hits me straight between the eyes. And just to put the icing on the cake - today I sent out a message to all staff telling them of changes to OnDemands spelling and grammer!!!! Lord help me.

Ruth - how nice of you to drop in. Sending :hug: and :wave: and a big lick to you and your girls. Hope the knee starts to recover soon. And you meant sinday and all!! :D

Mel - good as always to speak to you. Forgot verballyto wish you a Meri Kitima, but hey, who's to say I won't ring again. I never know what I am going to do until I do it. If you haven't heard from Teel :magnify: (where the heck is she anyway - surely not still playing violin in church!!) I'll post the postcode anyway.

Meadow - had you been sipping wine or just finished some Kahlua cookies when reading Holly's post? Must admit I found it easier to read after a couple of wines over lunch and post lunch and pre (the non-existent) dinner! That's why I wondered whether she had been on the turps. I well remember getting a birthday card from someone once which I could read absolutely perfectly after a pub crawl and a boozy dinner - but for the life of me couldn't read the next day.

Another week has begun here. I skipped the early session this morning because I simply couldn't get out of bed in time. I have my gear in the car and will call in to the gym on the way home to get the exercise done and dusted for the day. I'm finding this early, early stuff a bit wearisome. Perhaps it is the huge bag that I have to carry through town with my breakfast, lunch and water and clothes and towels etc. and then tote it back again to the station. I think I need a back pack.

So what will this week bring. I need to sit and talk with my Manager about where we go from here. I have things to do but I can't do most of them because the Business Analysts don't have time to vet the stuff already done. Can't move it to the next step or level. I'm thinking of suggesting that maybe I finish here at Christmas and not Jan 6th. Probably cr*pping in my own nest, but there is not going to be any improvement between the Christmas and New year holidays. I shall be here with nothing to do!


Anyway, better go and see who I can bother at the minute.

Hello Miss Ruth, it's nice of you to drop in. Take care of the dk. At least it wasn't your foot.

Mel Thanks a gillion for the list. That was nice of Jen to do the window decorations for Christmas.

Linus-Thumbs up for CJ.That's great that he is sleeping a little longer. Know mommy could use the rest.

Hello to Shad, Happy, Holly, Nae, tig,teel and meadow. :wave:

I've finished a 12 hour day I'm ready for bed.

I didn't do to bad on the first day of the new food pyramid. It goes by cups and ounces

Need to put a load of laundry in the dryer and get ready for bed.

Good morning ladies,
A quick drive by for me. We finished our handgun safety course yesterday. It took up both days of the entire weekend which I wasn't too crazy about but now I know how to shoot and safely handle a handgun. I didn't do too badly on the marksman qualification shoot - 98 out of 100 which means I only missed one shot out of the target outline. I told DH I was going to hang the shot up target outside next to the back door with a sign - Beware - this COULD be you if you try to enter this house uninvited :lol:

However, that took up most of the weekend and I didn't get much else of anything done including grocery shopping. Today is the team holiday luncheon and I REALLY don't feel like going. It's at a restaurant that we ALWAYS go to for every occasion so it doesn't feel like anything special. It also doesn't feel much like Christmas either which may be part of my reluctance. 3 more weeks here.
Ruth, it is always good to see your smiling face pop in. Welcome you and your "DK" any time! Ceejay so you just make your food selections from the food pyramid and that's it? :eating2: Simple enough it would seem. Didn't Teel say she was packing up to go stay with her friends again? I'll have to go back in posts and check. Shad, your talk of carrying a huge flopping back all over with you on the train brought back unpleasant memories of working in the city too - large purse, laptop, carry bag, lunch bag, and whatever bags from lunchtime shopping trips or gym trips carried back and forth across town - made me feel I was a pack mule in a former life! Even worse when it's so hot out that you need to run the air conditioning. I'm sure the people at the office will not understand your reluctance to simply sit around, do nothing and bill them for the pleasure instead of your preference to "fish or cut bait" as they say. Hope things work out for you, I know you are not one to sit and twiddle the thumbs. :bubbles: So Linus do you think CJ's tongue problem was causing part of the fuss and now that he can suckle better he's a happy little boy? Sounds like he will soon have a young cousin play pal. Hugs to Holly, Painter and Tig, welcome Honey Dipped. Meadow, I think I've run across that walnut cherry cookie recipe myself. Looked and sounded so delightful, yet the results were :halfempty: perhaps the recipe was posted by someone who felt we shouldn't be eating cookies in the first place :lol: Mel, do tell us about Jen's painting scene - how nice of her to cheer up the place. And I'll bring coffee and a fruit cup if you'll share the quiche - my favorite flavor there. :hungry:

Ok, time to go feed the cats and get on with the day...

A beautiful day in the neighbourhood. Crisp, clear, cold!!!!!!!!

All the big kids off to school. 2 preschoolers til noon. My big Avon Christmas order goes in today. Follow up calls to make and then send it off. I will do some shovelling at some point for exercise. I am feeling fat. I want to change this.
Hubby seems to be back on track. He got some good rest on the weekend. He spent some time with friends yesterday.


I got some tidying done. I am itching to bake and make scrap books for the my kids and the kids I babysit. I may make some christmas cards too.
I received a gift certificate for a 1/2 hour massage. I called the guy and told him I wanted to use it for hubby. He said, “no way! you will both come ! “ So, tonight at 8 Hubby will go for a 1/2 hour and then come home and then i will go for a 1/2 hour. Of course the fact that a total stranger was compassianate and caring and realized how much a mom needed to be nurtured( his words) made me cry, LOL.
Kids have been awesome all weekend. Gotta love it.
Hockey practise and 4.
Oatmeal and coffee for breaky.

Had this big epiphany about “breaking the cycle”. My kids are very vocal( and physical) about everything as is hubby and well....myself. We are open and communicate( A great deal) whether it is effective or not.
What my son shows on the outside is what i had going on on the inside as a kid but had learned it was wrong to show it, talk about, or even feel it, most definitely by the time I was 7. I would be punished, ignored, put down with sarcasm, told I was worng, unstable, too sensitive.......... So, as busy and hard as our family life can be at times, I can honestly say it is a safe enough and loving enough environment for all of us to be ourselves completely without fear. Imagine the possibilities of growth and love and experience for our kids in this environment!!!!!!!!!

Just in to say hello. The shoulder is hurting to bad to type. Think I must have arthritis.

Oh poor ceejay: Christmas is coming and first the thumb and now the shoulder - which bit comes next?

Happy - I'm glad you finished the course and got a good score on the paper. Here we don't keep handguns in the house and to have a gun of any description one has to be licenced, registered and required to lock the weapon in a secure place and the ammo somewhere else. If it was for protection that scenario would rather defeat the purpose I would have thought. I'm happy enough not having anything like that around the place. Police here carry arms, that's scary enough for me. NZ Police don't go around armed. Don't know that it is that much of a deterrent any more as there are as many holdups and murders over as than there are here per capita no doubt. Maybe the Kiwis are a little more inventive and find weapons in the most unlikely places. Anyway, I'm glad you took a responsible approach and at least worked out how to handle the things.

Holly - itching to bake? Lord no, one has to be a masochist to turn any form of heat on here at the moment. Have a good massage.

Temperatures yesterday were atrocious. The city here got to 33, out west to 39, where I live to 36. That's why there is no way that I will cook much these days. It didn't even cool down overnight here and was 27 when I left the house this morning. I've gone back to gym in the afternoon for the time being. It is just too much effort to drag the bag into town and jostle with the peak hour workers going to work. So the bag stays in the car and I go down to gym after work. Since I am leaving fairly early these days, it isn't too bad in the gym at that time. In fact yesterday was quite quiet. Long may it last.

I've spoken to the manager and suggested I finish at Christmas. She agrees with that okay - thought she would when I suggested the budget overrun might be spared a little. So now I have to get my stuff up to scratch and teach the permanent staff how to use OnDemand. Now I can start to look for something new and work out when I can start. There was something in the online job search on Friday which I should follow up.

That's about it for the day so far. Catch up later.

Thanks for all the warm welcomes! As for my introduction... I'm 22, married with no children, and I live in Japan.

Today it's cold cold cold.... The temperature has dropped to 60 degrees and it makes it so much harder for me to get up and do anything. Lol! I just read Shad's post above. I thought is was cold here! Wow...

Umm that is centrigrade Honey - which makes the temps around the 100F mark. Cold - no way. I sit here in a puddle of sweat.

Are you Japanese or a foreigner living in Japan?

ohhh okay! Duh, I should've noticed that since you are in Aus and it's summer now. Wow, I wish the weather was like that over here! I'm a gaijin--foreigner.

Should have guessed that by the height. Not that there aren't any tall Japanese these days.

Gaijin, tree house, Okinawa - ummmm Military?????

Got back up to 36 again today. I worked late and tried to get to the gym however when I got there I found I had left out some of my gear so had to go home anyway. So I'm calling today a bust on exercise. Weather on the news tonight tells me it got to 49 in Longreach today. Hot is hot, but that is just awful. 49 is something like 128F. I've been to Longreach but I reckon you would only go there in the winter. If you think about looking for Longreach on a map, it is in Queensland. It's plumb on the Tropic of Capricorn.

Bed calls. The cat doesn't know where to put herself so I put her outside. Better get up early tomorrow and water some of those poor plants. The roses love it but the pot plants are showing some pain.

Good morning -
49 celcius? :yikes: That's almost like living on the sun! We could use a bit of (but not all) of your warmth out this way. It is cold and cold is relative to where everyone is right now. But at least stateside I think it's a fair assessment that it's cold no matter where you are.

However given the heat you are having, the only exercising I'd be doing was in an air conditioned gym. Good thing you have some cooling in your house too. I would not want to have Sunday the cat's long coat of hair in this winter. Hopefully the water tank still has a bit of run off from the rains of last week to give the garden a drink of water.

Holiday week is upon us. I missed the team holiday luncheon yesterday - got hung up in a meeting. No big loss I am told. Today is a luncheon sponsored by the project team. Thursday evening is a couples' dinner from the neighborhood subdivision.

I know that I have to sit down and get my Christmas cards done and mailed out by this weekend in order to get there in a reasonable time. I must admit that I don't feel much in the spirit of things. Not sure why, no particular reason, just don't.

Perhaps it's because I have to get myself better organized. When I fall into just drifting along, I tend to get this restless lost type of feeling. Guess I'd better jump in the shower and get my thoughts (and deeds) together.

Have a good one everybody... :wave:

Oh Shad, I woudl shrivel up and die!! I start to get heat stroke when it goes over 30C. It is a beautiful -6C here. LOL! My fav temps are 5C- 15C(40F-60F).

Early this morning..."I am awake and cant get my jammies off.wooohoooo! My big Avon order is in!!! And it was a great day. Everything went ticketyboo. I went for a massage at 8:30. I am pretty relaxed at the mo and should probably get DS ready for school. I cant even get myself dressed.la la la la la la .....
My earning should be around $800. Not bad . Wish it was like this all the time. I am going to put it right into savings.
I have turned down 4 dinner/party invites in the last 2 days. I already said no to 3 others. Can you imagine how crazy it would be if I did them all???? I have in the past. I like the new me. LOL!
I have the Candle Light Vigil tonight, where I am speaking.
I have 6 regular kids today and then 2 extras to help out a friend. SHe is going to have DD over on Thurs. I love that she called and asked for help.
I really must get tidying today and sort out laundry etc.
I have every pot in the house washed and sittnig on the counter ready to put away. I also need to make and grocery list. May take the preschoolers and do that tomorrow. I need to get jammies for DH and DS for their stockings.
OKay, time to get DS on the bus. Maybe I will get dressed."

I showered AND got dressed before 9am!!!! 8 kids playing happily. Just about to make some lunch for the troops. Got my baking list sorted out.
I am going to do some spiced nuts too.

Honey dipped- my hubby was in Japan back in 1989, he became good friends with a guy there and then he in turn moved here for 2 years, our friend is now in Tokyo, married and has a daughter , we still keep in touch regularily.

Holly sounds like you went for a massage in your pajamas. At -6 I hope at least they were the flannel ones.

helllo ladies and welcome honey-dipped. my wee man is asleep at the mo but for how long????????:dizzy: he has swings and roundabouts when he sleeps all day and up all night last night after 5 hours of screaming the little darling went to sleep at 12.45am and slept till 7.30 i couldnt look into the moses basket till he moved:( :love: :angel: :cb: :bb: :bb: :bb: and hes basically been asleep all day too so **** be up all night but yes he is more settled at the mo and hes taking more formula now ,
TEEL is m.i.a at the mo as her pooter is bust
to everyone else ill post personal replys soon but for now im going for a bath before satan mark 4 wakes up
bye for now
kirsty

forgot to say sisters labour stalled but she seems to be full swing now so hopefully ???????

hello friends

I've spent some time in the journal the past week or so. Kinda missed it.

Happy--thanks for the advice you gave in the journal. The doc did increase the thyroid med on last visit. It had dropped to low. That may be the cause of the achy joints.

Holly--wish I had your enthusiasm.

Shad--I had to smile when you put the cat outside.

Hello to all the rest.

Morning all,
 

Happy - I hear you on the drifting bit. I'm afraid I'm doing a bit of the same. Can't be bothered with the laundry, can't be bothered dusting and sweeping. I really will have to challenge myself with this one. So I tell you what - I will if you will!

Holly - did you go to the massage in your jammies or was that at 8.30 last night before you put the jammies on??? Good luck with the speech or is that over and you have done it? -6 would have me shrivelling up and complaining. Geez imagine the exercise it would take to keep warm!!!!!! :faint: It's all a matter of what you know I guess. I would actually like to have 4 seasons in a year, but not that cold a winter season thank you. Okay to visit, nice to see (once) but not for this little black duck.

Linus - hope the settle lasts for a while. It's the result of all that racing about when you were pregnant. The wee bairn is now getting his own back. Thanks for letting us know about Teels computer. She has so many problems with that thing. I don't think the repairman knows what is going on. Or maybe he does and wants to bleed her dry before he actually fixes the thing.

Ceejay - glad to hear that the achey joints are disappearing. You can do without that.

Where is Mel?? Meadow?? Tig?? PW?? :wave: :wave:

This morning I got up bright and early and did a very naughty thing - I put the sprinkler system on to water the back yard for half an hour. There are restrictions which says we can't use the sprinklers. Anyhow I did it and then watered the pots front and back. I did actually get dressed to water the front!!!! :yikes: Shad in bra and knickers might have upset the neighbours breakfasts. It's still hot - another stinker coming up; please note we have moved from scorcher to stinker to describe the day. I should get a job with the B.O.M. I have worked out how to program the a/c to come on at 4.00pm and go off at 6.00pm so I should get home to a cooler house today.

Well that's it for a little bit. Catch you

MEADOW~ BON NALALE TO AB FROM ME!!!! ROFLMAO LOVED THE GRAPHIC AND IT WAS THE FIRST THING A TiRED MEL SAW TONITE. CHEERED ME UP AND THEN SOME!! LOL

HONEY~ IT WAS GOOD TO SEE YOU HERE AGAIN AND WELCOME!!! WILL YOU BE IN JAPAN LONG? WE ARE FREEZING HERE THIS WEEK IN NEW JERSEY!!!

SHAD~ SEND THE HEATWAVE TO ME BABY!!!! MERI KITIMA TO YOU TOO FROM PORANGI! ROFLMAO PLEASE DON'T CRAP IN YOUR OWN NEST....MY BIRDS ALWAYS DID AND IT WASN'T A PRETTY SIGHT! ROFL GOOD LUCK WITH THE JOB HUNT AND GLAD YOU WILL HAVE TIME FOR THE SONS, A WEE BREAK AND THE HOLIDAYS! WE WILL TALK BEFORE CHRISTMAS OF THIS I AM SURE!! LOL

CEEJAY~ SO SORRY ABOUT THE SHOULDER!!! MY POOR SOUTHERN FRIEND. I HOPE IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK AND ONLY SOME INFLAMATION. KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED AND SENDING ((((HUGS))))) GOOD LUCK WITH THE PYRAMID AND I AM ANXIOUS TO SEE IF IT WORKS. I LOOKED AT IT A FEW MONTHS AGO AND WONDERED.

HAPPY AND MEADOW~ JEN PAINTED THE WINDOWS LIKE A XMAS CARD SHE HAD....HOLY AND RED RIBBONS AND SNOW AND GOLD ORNAMENTS. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO FRAME THE TREE IF YOU LOOKED AT IT FROM OUTSIDE TO THE INSIDE. CAME OUT NICE.

HAPPY~ HOW DID THE NEW DR GO OR HAVE YOU NO NEW INFO. I THOUGHT OF YOU WHEN I WAS SHOPPING. NOT SURE WHY YOU ALL TAG ALONG ON MY TRIPS THROUGH THE MALL BUT YOU GALS DO!!! LOVED THE IDEA OF "BEWARE' ON THE BACK DOOR!! ROFL I WILL SHARE THE QUICHE IF YOU BRING COLD STARBUCK'S FRAPPE'S WITH YOU! LOL

HOLLY~ GLAD YOU GOT MASSAGED AND YOU GOT A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT A TIRED WORKING MOM COULD USE!! GOOD FOR HIM AND YOU! LOL I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO SEE ALL THE AVON STUFF IN ONE PLACE!!! MUST HAVE LOOKED LIKE XMAS MORNING!!! ENJOY THE FRUITS OF ALL YOUR LABORS!

KIRSTY~ HOPE THE WEE MAN GETS HIS NIGHTS AND DAYS BACK ON TRACK. HE SOUNDS MORE LIKE MY JERN EVERY DAY!!! ROFL HUGS TO THE SISTER TOO!!! GOOD LUCK!!!! HOPE YOU GET SOME SLEEP YOURSELF!

btw shad.....I DO NEED TEEL'S #'S FROM HER ADDRESS. I HAVE LOOKED ALL OVER AND CANNOT FIND THE ORIGINAL. CANNOT READ THE OTHER ONE!!! LOL SO I WOULD APPRECIATE IT SHAD BECAUSE I GAVE THE WRONG ONES TO CEEJAY TOO!!! LOL:dizzy:
I HAVE BEEN STRETCHED FOR TIME LATELY AND JUST CANNOT SEEM TO CATCH UP. HOPE TO BE ABLE TO START DOING THAT BY THURSDAY. MONDAY WAS XMAS SHOPPING, TODAY WAS FOOD SHOPPING AND TOMORROW WE ARE DOING THE SNOWFLAKE ORNAMENTS. THEY ARE PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
THINGS ARE SO-SO OVER HERE. ROSACEA IS ACTING UP SO THE EYES ARE STILL NOT ABLE TO BE 100%.
HARY POTTER IS ON THE TV IN A FEW MINUTES SO I WILL HEAT UP DINNER AND WATCH AND RELAX FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY!!! LOL TAKE CARE EVERYONE. :moped:

Howdy, y'all...
I haven't been by as offten as before because the upgrade stopped sending me daily reminders that you all had posted.... Left to my own devices... I miss lots of deadlines... (unless it costs me money!!:o )

Great to see you back posting, Mel. Hope you are sassy, warm and happy.

It was 80+ on Saturday, 50 something on Sunday, and is supposed to be in the upper 20's over night with the possibility of sleet/ice/snow in the morning. HOW CRAZY is that!

My DH has talked about getting a gun and I've insisted that if we do, we'd take safety/target shooting courses. There seems to be so much fear and just as much craziness around... I don't know whether I'd be contributing MORE fear and craziness if I were armed, or whether I would feel cool, calm and collected.

I haven't been knitting much. It is astonishing how tired I get just getting back into the "swing" of household tasks, cooking, laundry and so forth , let alone seeing clients. Must. get. stamina.... Do you think it'll be on sale after Christmas?

I have started a new "thing." Needle felting. That's what I'm doing for small gifts this year, I think... I'm finally worried enough about retirement, and lack of earned income that it's not about spending. I might paint some things and give copies, i suppose... but it seems SO egotistical!! Bleh. Here are examples http://www.fadeeva.com/a75.html Mine aren't so anatomically correct as these... but I'm practicing.

I want another week off....or a nap. Or some Schnapps in my fat free cocoa.

Hi everyone! Hope you all are having a wonderful day! I'm up bright and early this morning. Can't wait to get a start on my day.... :)

Shad- Yes, my husband is in the military...lol good guess. Btw, what part of Australia are you in? I have lots of good friends from Aus.

Holly- That's wonderful! I lived in Tokyo while I was going to high school. Back then, I remember complaining about there being nothing to do in Tokyo. Boy was I wrong! He's such a lucky guy to be living there. I'd move back there in a heartbeat if I could.

Melody- Thanks for the welcome! I'm not sure how much longer I'll be here. I'm thinking I have at least another year. I bet it is cold in New Jersey. Is it snowing? I have seen snow in about 11 years.

Happy- You just reminded me that I haven't even BOUGHT any Christmas cards. Ahh...I was thinking that Christmas was still a month away!

Linus- hello! Is your sister having a baby?

I'm being attacked by shortbread cookies! Save me from my baking :p My kids don't like it, my husband eats one and I eat the rest. I'm putting the remainder in a ziploc and putting them in the freezer before all that is left is crumbs and me in the hospital in a Christmas cookie coma. I have only done 4 miles this week which is bugging me, I wanted to be at least two tapes done by this time in the week so I can lounge while watching the Apprentice (Martha/The Donald) on Wednesday and Thursday nights. I guess I'm going to be sweating at midnight again :yikes:

I am feeling a bit zany and would taint the thread by turning everything around to me, so I'll say no more ;)

:wave:Warm hugs and a hot cup of low calorie cocoa for everybody.

good luck Meadow! I have a weakness for shortbread cookies :).

Painter, if you do decide to get a gun BEFORE you make that purchase, please take a handgun safety course. You get alot of good information, including all the eye opening info about safe handling - and that means keeping you safe too. The course we took was for defensive use of a firearm. The point is not to kill someone or wound them but simply if it comes to that point, to defend yourself to the point of STOPPING the attacker. It was quite interesting.

Let me say (if I may take a few minutes) that I entered into this gun thing a bit unsure. I am not a violent person (although people who've heard me scream at the idiots on the road may differ with that opinion :bike: ). I don't believe in hunting for sport and if there's a bug in my house, unless it poses an immenent danger, I will generally relocate it outside back to nature if possible. DH had a shotgun many many years ago and I was afraid of it. I don't watch the news much but when I do I am appalled at the brazeness of the criminals now a days. They are no longer content to take your wallet and run, they aim to hurt you too, even if you comply fully. We have lunch and learn classes at work. I attend them whenever I can. Our sheriff's department has a crime prevention program and they give excellent seminars on a variety of topics. One of the things that they were saying is that you have a better than 60 percent chance of getting attacked by TWO or MORE criminals. They are hunting in packs now. Just this summer a family friend stopped at the pharmacy after work to pick up a few things - this was back up in Chicago. It was twilight on a summer night. She made her purchases and was walking back to her car. As she was unlocking the door, she found herself suddenly surrounded by 6 thugs (and I'm not talking Tig's cute grandkids here). They circled around her and pushed her away from her car. They started pushing her from one guy to to the next. They demanded money from her. All she had was about 40 dollars in cash. A few of them unzipped and exposed themselves and one guy pulled out a cell phone. He said he was going to call his leader who would decide if they would just simply gang rape her or whether they'd "finish her off" after they raped her all night long. Talk about freaking out. If you can believe it, there were people in the parking lot and no one made any attempt to help her. This went on for about 10 minutes when they finally settled for the cash she had along with her jewelry. She got back to her car and just collapsed for a few minutes before going back into the store where they called the police. This happened 3 miles from her home. Back in 1976, I was robbed at gunpoint. At 1pm right in front of my office building. The following year I narrowly avoided a second attack, simply because I happened to notice someone lurking in the shadows through my rearview mirror just as I was sliding the car into park. At the time it was 5:30pm on a dark winter's evening and I was sitting in the parking lot of my apartment building.

Thing is, you don't have to be in the "bad" side of town to be in danger. And it doesn't always happen at 3am outside of a bar. When DH brought up the subject of a gun he walked on eggshells as he knows I am not fond of them. I wasn't even sure as I walked into the class this weekend. But the thing that kept me there was my bigger fear that what if God forbid some day I needed to know how to use this and I passed it by. I am trying to be open minded about it.

I learned alot from this class. I surprised myself that I could actual handle a gun and shoot with some level of accuracy. However, don't get me wrong, if you are going to get one, you need to practice, practice, practice because in the event you need to actually use it, it's highly likely the criminal won't be standing stock still 3 feet in front of you with a big red circle on his shirt to guide your aim! You learn that you don't shoot at shadows or noises and that you are responsible for every bullet you shoot, no matter where it lands.

I don't think I will ever carry a concealed weapon. Yet if the gun is in a safe at home it won't do me much good if I get mugged in the parking lot at work. It's a dilemma. We have security guards at work - they are unarmed nice ladies who are much older than me. The most protection they can offer is to call the police after the fact. And average response time for the police is 12 to 30 minutes. Doesn't make one very comfortable. So I don't work late and I'm out of the office before it gets dark. If I need to work extra time on something, I take my laptop home and work from home.

It's a tough decision to make. And it's also pretty scary to realize that while the criminals are getting bolder and nuttier, there's also probably a fair number of people "packing heat" that do not put safety high on their list.

I'd be much happier if we could go back to the time when only the police had guns - but we live in a different world now. Ok, sorry to take up so much time on the soapbox. :o

In other news...
I was supposed to do my Christmas cards tonight but instead picked up the phone and chatted with 2 friends I haven't talked to in almost a year. It was so good to connect again. I must do this more often.

Meadow, put those cookies away and start WATP. That's an order :drill: You have me drooling for shortbread cookies now. :T I will have to settle for dreaming of them.

Honey-Dipped, what do Japanese Christmas cards look like? Shad has shared some of her designs of Santa in swim attire and 'roo's that pull the Santa's carriage or whatever you call it. Please share your designs with us too.

PW - they were talking on the weather channel about the sudden and wide swing of temperatures out your way. Brrrr. Take care and don't be slip sliding away on the sleety patches. We're supposed to get some snow on Thursday too. Everyone tells me that no one knows how to drive in snow here. Heck, half of them can't drive on dry pavement. That sudden right hand turn from the center driving lane will be even more thrilling if the road is slushy. :yikes:
And work your way back up to speed with the chores. A small list, a few accomplishments at a time. You are still healing and getting better.

Mel, Jen's artwork sounds delightful. How cool to set the window up so that you can see the tree through it. No, I don't go to the "rheu-mah-tiz" doc until next week. I have 3 holiday peppermint and 2 regular vanilla Starbucks frappachinos sitting here waiting for you right now. And I make a mean one in the blender with cracked ice. What's your preference?

Shad, I may have spend unplanned time on the phone but I did get all the dishes and pots cleaned up and put away. Cleared the counters while I was chatting and even got a load of laundry done. So I'm passing the tidy baton to you - what did you do with it? I am beside myself with the giggles of you walking the house in just a bra and knickers. Now I truly understand just how hot it is by you. :rofl:

Linus, sent some sleepy dust across the pond so that the wee boy sleeps like me on a Saturday morning :wizard: Maybe then you can catch 10 extra winks yourself.

Ceejay have you considered taking Glucosamine with Condroitin added? It's a supplement, my family practice doc suggested it for the achy joints. If an aspirin or two doesn't help when you're feeling bad, try taking the Glucosamine regularly.

Holly, how did the speech go?

Foo, it's after midnight again. I really have to stop this too late to bed stuff. Nighty night.

LOL, I am not as flakey as my typing suggests. I went for the massage at 8:30 pm, although I did wear my flannels. Some days the difference between daywear and night wear in that I wear my bra during the day!!

I just has the most enjoyable read thru of everyones chat!!!

-7C/23F here today, beautiful, sunny crisp and clear.

aaaahhhh some peace......................................
I actually ONLY babysat yesterday. It was amazing. I had time to tidy up after the kids and do the dishes. No phonecalls or emails of a pressing nature, no deadlines........
I spoke at the vigil last night.

It was touching and beautifully done. I spoke off the cuff. I figured there was no point in planning until I was there to get a feel for the tone, the content and where I fit into it. I talked about how scary it was to send my 4 year old son off to school,into the big bad world and to experience the compassion and caring of the staff at our school and the peace program and then my part in participating in the workshops and school council and how my/our goal was to raise a generation of young people who will have skills in resolving conflicts and commincation and be able to avoid violence in there lives.
We walked through the downtown with candles. There were over 60 there.
I ended up with a flat tire. Got a ride home with someone else we’ll go back after supper and fix my tire.
I was going to get groceries but didn’t. I have just finished the last speck of coffee. There is no bread and milk.I do have apples and some celery and a freezer full of meat. I will be creative.
3 little guys all day. 4 in school. More puttering and laundry. I am feeling like cleaning out stuff again. My kids are pack rats. I will see what I can toss.
HUGS chickies!!

Don't know what happened but i just lost my post. and I've used up my time limit on the computer. I'll write more when I get home.

Mel--you went to all the trouble to pm me the addresses but forgot to include yours.

Morning all,
 

Rush job today. I've blown the abs challenge and the exercise bit. Too hot, too weary, too busy, etc. Those are my excuses and I am sticking with those.

Since I handed in my notice they are coming out of the woodwork with things for me to do - "MUST BE DONE BEFORE YOU GO!!!!" Don't you just love it.
So today will be busy with the pile of work on my desk and it will be done by tommorrow afternoon. Then I can spend the next two weeks fixing the MUST BE DONE stuff.

Okay - now for the interesting stuff:

Mel - I have sent myself a reminder email to get Teels postcode to you tonight. Sorry I forgot it last night - it's hard to remember things when the brain is heat damaged. If you wish some of this heat, start pedalling. I just want it to rain. I have a job interview by phone next Tuesday to work at Roxby Downs. My agent is confident that provided I don't make a complete idiot of myself, I will get the job. It will probably lead to other things so I can't really turn it down if offered. Just means a heap of organisation and reorganisation thats all.

Painter - good to see you back again. Why does it feel egotistical to give a painting for a gift. Personally I would love it because I would feel that you had gone to some lengths to think about who I am, what I like, shapes, colours etc. It's all too easy to go to a shop, pick out something, get it wrapped and give it. Not much effort required there.

Happy & Painter - Hope I wasn't being narky about the gun issue. I just wish it wasn't necessary for you to have to go to these lengths. When we can no longer rely on the law to help us, then there is not much hope for freedom IMHO. It then becomes anarchy. I'm pleased that you have got the responsibility, determination and sense to go for the course. I would never do it, because I would never own a gun. In my experience with weapons (not much but the odd rabbit shoot in my youth) I am more of a liability than an asset. I hear you with the gangs etc. I hear the reasons, I don't have to like 'em.

Happy - I'm with you about the chatting with friends. Nothing better in this world than to pick up the phone and say hello - amongst other things.
I still haven't done my Christmas cards and letters yet. And I have some Japanese Christmas cards to send out. But I'll let Honey-dipped tell you about Christmas in Japan.
And yes I did get some things done. As you know I am better in the mornings, but last night I raced home, got some washing out, cooked my pork steak for dinner and some chicken tenderloins for my rice paper wraps (todays lunch) and boiled some eggs for protein snacks. Then I cleaned up the dishes and the bench tops, raced out and got the washing which was baked to a crisp within about 30 minutes and hung a load of towels out. I then watched Rick Stein floating and cooking his way up the Garonne River in France, made my lunch, folded the washing and started to prepare the Christmas letter. A game of Sudoki on the computer and bed. This morning, I ironed a skirt and 2 pair of trousers and put them away. So I am getting to things, but slowly - its a pain to do all this washing and ruin the lot by dripping sweat all over them.
I thought I was daring doing the watering in bra and knickers, but the lady over the side fence is doing better, I caught a glance of her clad only in the knickers. Not the greatest sight in the world. It's out with the sarongs again for another round I guess.

Honey - I'm in South East Queensland, close to the State capital of Brisbane. I'm about 1/2 way between Brisbane and the Gold Coast but inland somewhat. What happens when you leave the military? Will you still consider living in Japan. You seem to have been there for a long time if you went to High School there. I guess your folks are also military?? I love the country and most of the culture although I think I would find constant Japanese life somewhat confining (not sure that is the right word but it will do). It all seems to depend on getting in with a group and being accepted into that group. My friend copes with it very well and I greatly admire her ability to get on with life there. There is another New Zealander living close by and he is married to a Japanese lady. He doesn't get on so well but then he is a totally different type of person to my friend.

Meadow - stop looking at the cookies and start putting a picture of AB on the front of the treadmill or wherever. That way you can walk to him. I'll bet you go for miles and fast too! GET OUT OF THE COOKIE JAR.

Holly - your place sounds like mine. No milk, no bread, precious little fruit left. I need to do some shopping.
I think your speech sounded fine. Good for you. A pox on all tyres!!!!

Ceejay - poor you, lost posts. They are a pain in the proverbial.

Okay, I better run and do something. I just pointed out that the person I have been training is away for today and tomorrow and it would be better if I went and worked with this other person for these two days so I can concentrate on M when she gets back. Aaaah never thought about that, I'll see what I can do. Organisation???!!!!! - get back in your box.

prayer
 

Hi friends I see have some catching up to do. I am calling on my friends and sisters here to give a prayer for mom. She fell a the pool and caught herself with her left wrist shattering it into about 20 fractures.... surgery tomorrow afternoon about 4. Give you some good vibes.... you all have such wonderful energy and I would be so grateful. My mom is in very good health otherwise so that is in her favor, she is 78 years young.
I wil check back in later.... Blessings to all of you.
Nae

I think EVERYONE has gotten into the shortbread cookies that might have been laced with a bit of a nip! Whew.... just reading the posts and I felt the need of a bike ride just to settle my nerves... :rofl: Actually, you folks are the entertaining lot - just a bit hyper sometimes. FLANNEL to go to the massagerperson, Holly? I'd wear silk. Or leather. Or feathers.

Honey ~ so glad you've decided to join us! Welcome, welcome! My DDIL and two lovely grandsons aka the Thugs are in Okinawa. My DS is Military. I'm planning to visit the summer of 2007. I've got the money saved up. Can't wait!

MRI results - perfect spine...no nothing. That's good news. Annoying. But good news. I got to see the perfect spine. Go back in three months unless any more unexplained symptoms like I can't stand up for 20 minutes again. Meanwhile I can still keep on doing whatever I want to because I said so. :dance:

Hello to all and mucho hugs!! :hug: :hug: :hug:

I gotta get ready for bed so I can be really crabby at work tomorrow. Have to stay in rare form. :cheer:

Nae ~ I just saw your post. I will definitely add a prayer for your Mom, her medical team, her surgery tomorrow, and for healing.

A note to 'Nae's Mum.

So sorry to hear that you fell and have badly damaged the wrist. I'm sending some warm Aussie sunshine and some good ol' Kiwi caring your way to ease the pain and start the healing.

Nae says you have broken some bones. Well this is a grand excuse to get others to do a few things for you at least until around Christmas. Put the feet up, grab the remote and do your own thing.

Keep the arm still for a while and then get back to gentle exercising with the fingers to keep those muscles in trim.

Wishing you blessings for a speedy recovery and no lasting problems. Have a safe and happy Christmas. Good luck.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1.../brokearm4.jpg

Mel, Teel and all you smiley junkies - didja see did you see DID YOU SEE!!!!

:gift2: :stardav: :present: :snow4: :snowglo: :snowfight :shocksn: :elf: :snowball1 :coolsnow: :xcheer: :ginger: :snowball: :wreath: :clause: :newyear: :rudolph: :mrsclaus: :tree: :han:

Now I need to go back and catch up on posts.

Nae, so sorry to hear about your Mom. Sending healing prayers and wishes for a speedy recovery out your way. :hug:

Mel, I think you need one of those air horn in a can's in one hand and some pepper spray in the other. Shame that we can't go out in the early morning and enjoy a nice outing, isn't it?

Tig that's good news on the spine. Just what do you do to ensure you get to work crabby enough? :rofl: For me the commute alone will do it. :lol:

Shad, you are never "narky" - I just had something to say and in true fashion, I said it. And you certainly had me beat in the "let's get something done around the house" contest. When you say you can't afford to turn this new job down, is it because eventually it will lead to other things for you? I hope it all works out. I can imagine that some people hear that you are leaving and go :eek: :cry: :fr: Always hard to lose the good ones.

I am bringing a consultant in next week to do some documentation and fix some broken things. There is a bit of a language barrier. And he's in one office and I will be toggling between 2 offices and 2 doctor appointments. This should be fun. NOT. Guess I will earn my Christmas vacation in spades. My "dance card" is filling up with visits with all kinds of friends and family for our upcoming visit. Good thing about moving away is that when you come back to town you really mean it about getting together instead of just doing lip service. I got the nicest letter from my Aunt today. She's my favorite one. We are cut from the same cloth personality wise. I wish she wasn't so leary of travelling - she and my mom would have a grand time visiting here and I'd gladly pay for their train tickets. (She hates cars and won't fly). I'm sure the bus trip is too long for her too.

Geez, I was petting the cat earlier which is stupid, stupid, stupid. Now my chest is tight and I'm all sneezy. Where did I put those allergy pills :?:

Nae~ adding my prayers and healing thougths


I woke up really sick. Raging sore throat, headache, dizzy, hot and cold flashes. 4 kids here. I managed to get DS on the bus.
Last night, all 4 of us went in hubby’s car with the newly inflated spare tire to put it on my van. We desperately needed groceries. kids wanted to come. I just assumed hubby would go back home. He stayed until we were done so he could follow me home. Sometimes he acts like he might give a sh*t, LOL! Shocking .
There are downsides to being capable and independant. 1) I dont need help with very much. 2) I assume I have to do everything myself. 3) I automatically do everything myself.

I was laughing about the women chatting( in the journals) about hubbies not wrapping Christmas gifts yesterday. My hubby has never bought a gift.... he has still to propose marriage......... It is not the end of the world.
It was -17 C this morning going up to -6( 24F). I feel bad for my guy working outside in this weather.
Last night before bed I felt monumentally fat and incredibly ugly. I am now assuming it was this bug.
There is a lot I want to do but today will involve laying on the couch and feeding kids. Best go do that now.
HUGS!

Nae-- Prayers will be sent for your mom. Hope she does well in the surgery.

Tig--glad the MRI went well. Sometimes our symptoms make no sense at all.

Holly-- Hope your sore throat gets better soon.

Happy--Will pm you in a bit with address. Were you disappointed that we didn't get any of the white stuff. I was.

Mel--Glad the seniors were excited about putting up the tree.

Hello- to Honey, Linus and Teel.

I'm going to try and stay on the food pyramid plan today. According to this I've been eating way to much red meat. We live and learn. I have my lunch cooking and now eaten.

Time to run some errands.

yeah g'day
 

Last night we had the biggest scariest thunderstorm yet. I feel like a pincushion from the cat's claws. But it has at least cooled down the place somewhat and a better sleep was had by all (including the cat). I left work early, did the weekly shop. Didn't buy much except fruit and veg and the odd bit of meat. The sky went green and black and the thunder starting rumbling and the lightning started to flash, so I hightailed it out of there and got home just in time to get saturated in the downpour. And most of the walkway is covered from the carport to the verandah!!!! Then it was continuous booms and flashes. We lost power intermittently and I finally just turned everything off and we sat in the dark accompanied by booms and flashes and squeals from the mother as the cat dug claws into me.

I left work early on account of the fact that they had gone out to lunch to farewell a colleague consultant. And they didn't come back. What am I supposed to do?? Well can't say just now. Just hang around they will be back soon (or later as the case maybe) I left at 3.10 and they still weren't back. So here I am back at the office ready and waiting to try again. Geez you don't have to come from a different country to have a language barrier around here.

Ceejay - hope you have an on plan day today. Too much red meat is not good for anyone. I guess these days I eat it about once or twice a month. Sometimes lamb, sometimes beef.

Holly - hope you feel better soon. Lemon juice drinks and panadol. Does it for me.

Happy - I can't turn down this job (if I get it) for just those reasons. I turned this company down once before and the person who got the job travelled the world for nearly a year - from the frozen wastes of Canada's oil joints to the diamond mines of Africa. So be it. She didn't have to work for a year after that. She did but she said she could pick and chose the jobs she wanted.

Nae - let us know how the Mom gets on. We will be awaiting results.

Tig - Glad to hear the spine is okay. That must be a relief off your mind.

Now - I have all personnel lined up and ready to go. I'd better go and do what I have to do before they get away again.

I'll be back to check on the others I haven't mentioned shortly.

TIG did you promise the mailman your first born?????? i got my lovely xmas card this morning :carrot: :love: :angel: :hb: :bravo: happy mel and i demand to know how you managed it in just three days :censored: :censored: :faint: :wizard:
NAE hope mums okay and had passed saifly through surgery send her my love
well im now the proud aunt of a neice finally after 7 nephews ,my mother now has 8 grandsons and 1 grand daughter she bounced into the world at 2.15am wednesday morning and she weighed 6lb 14 and is called georgina,louise,abigail,catherine
:love: :love: :love: :love: such a big name for such a wee lassie but myself and her other aunties are calling her georgie
this house is chaos my hubbys being a pig and my craig has ahd a wee bit of bother with the law ,i have done virtually no xmas shopping ,and my dogs desperatly need baths but hey i have only one pair of hands and at the moment christopher is always in them :mad: :mad: :( :( :( :( :( :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: as you can probably tell im on a major pity trip so just ignore me :dizzy: right im off to do some ironing or conners going to school in his jammies lol and its minus 4 here
SHAD did you get TEELS postcode as i have it if you need it
bye for now ladies and the xmas cards are on there way
kirsty

oh there are no pics in the cards as hubby and i aent talking and he has