I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Off-Topic => Off-Topic: Talk about anything you want. => Topic started by: Pam on October 01, 2010, 06:32:19 PM
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I know we are all rundown and tired so lets pat ourselves on the back for what we manage to do.
Today I chopped and froze a bushel of red and green peppers and 10 lbs of onions. :clap;
I'm ignoring the zuccinni that is still going strong. :rofl;
Pam
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Wow, Pam! Well done!! And I agree, we need to recognize the things we do, not what we can't do. Someone told me a few years ago, to make a list during the day of everything I did. She said to start with "getting out of bed" so there would be at least one thing on the list. lol
That is a lot of peppers!! :2thumbsup;
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Bills, homework, homework, homework. More homework to do tomorrow. Going to be a looooong weekend!
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I had one week to finish Jonathan Franzen's new book "Freedom" (borrowed it from the library, and since it's new, it had a one week limit), and I finished it today.
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Nice thread idea! :2thumbsup;
Today I managed to wash and detangle my hair (not easy with my catheter) in the 30 minutes before I had to leave for dialysis. Also stopped to fill up on gas and spontaneously decided to clean all my windows. After dialysis, I planned to buy coffee beans (at a place with cute baristas!) and walk around the farmers' market, but I wasn't feeling well so I didn't. I did manage to activate my Sensipar co-pay card and drop off and pick up my new prescriptions.
Tomorrow I need to water my plants, and maybe I'll get around to trimming them down to keep them inside over the winter. The habanero plant is looking really good.
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Actually, yes!!! Washed my bathroom floor, which is huge, probably 2 ft wide and 4 ft long, LOL. Made dinner, Helped a friend straighten out a bill, made the bed and fixed a very good dinner. Wow, I better go to bed now!!
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I finished knitting a fabulous jacket and sewed on the buttons!!! So soft!!!
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I finished knitting a fabulous jacket and sewed on the buttons!!! So soft!!!
Looks great - how long did that take?
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My footie team got tossed for the flag so I went outside and raked the leaves.
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I'm heading out to the flea market just to look around.
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That is a lot of peppers!! :2thumbsup;
It was l lot of peppers for sure, but we use them in just about everything. Peppers, onions, garlic and mushrooms are staples at our house. I always wanted to try one of those grow your own mushroom kits.
Pam
EDITED: Fixed Quote Error - Bajanne, Moderator
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I enjoyed quality time with Blokey whilst scoffing down a very yummylicious breakfast in Tesco. Then, after doing the supermarket shop, we came home and I picked out the new flooring, tiles and accessories for my divine (and very expensive) new bathroom (coming soon!) before sweeping the kicthen floor and hanging the washing on the line (whilst we still have sun).
Now I'm just chillin'.
;D
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Couldn't agree more. Every night as I drift off to sleep I recount whatever I did that day. Some days it's nothing more than I got out of bed and watched TV all day. Other days I did so many minutes on my bike, washed dishes, did laundry, whatever. I think too many people are concerned with what they can no longer do. Had a man call the other day. He had been on dialysis for 9 years and now has a transplant for 3 months. He's miserable because he can't go back to the gym and "buff up." He seriously thought that when he got his new kidney at age 32 it would transform him back to being 20!!!!!
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I have more of a list of stuff I need to do then stuff I can't do.. like, I need to get out more, I need to get back into walking, I need to start writing again.. all the stuff that, for whatever reason, I just stopped doing.
I haven't really done anything today except troll the internets, but Mom and I are going to a party later.
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I finished knitting a fabulous jacket and sewed on the buttons!!! So soft!!!
Looks great - how long did that take?
A month. I had a lot of time to knit: in terminals, on trains, in cafes and restaurants, and in conferences :-) Knitting is the ideal traveling companion.
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I worked on healing from the arm surgery I had on Tuesday.
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MORE arm surgery Kit??? Whats up now???
I went to Wal mart and got groceries. On a Saturday no less, when I am retired ( and also slightly brain damaged ) !!! Made a keylime pie, easy and delicious, a nice dinner annnnnnd A NAP!!!!!
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Went tp the flea market, feed store for 400 lbs. of chicken feed and Walmart for grocery shopping and prescriptions. Haven't done that much in day in quite a while.
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Today I am going to make zucchini bread and carrot muffins. Then I'm going to sit and relax while DH cleans the ceiling fans.
Pam
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Absolutely nothing - I slept in until noon! Unless you count that I did homework until nearly 2am -that's part of today, right? ;D
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i sat in my front porch admiring the parade of horses passing the house. There must have been over 50 of them. They were beautiful to look at. :clap; :clap; Coming behind was about 10-15 trucks towing horse trailers.
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I went for a walk. It's only 800 metres, and we know this cuz we measured it, but it's better than nothing. Starting on Tuesday, I'm going to start walking to the mailbox. It's at the entrance to our subdivision, which is at the top of a hill, and we live at the bottom, so I have to walk up the hill to get to the mailbox. It takes me about 45 minutes, round trip.
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I scrubbed the tubs/showers today. It is a pain because the water is so hard. I have to soak the tub with water and 2 gallons of vinegar. It takes the hard water stains right off.
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I canned 12 quarts of peaches! They will be soooooo good this winter. :2thumbsup;
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Out of bed at 5am. To work at 7am. Doctors visit to get iron at 9am. Back to work as always totally drained by noon. But gotta keep at the work thing. Actually got half a trade show done today and 8 bxs to be shipped out to customers.
Kidneys are killing me (PKD probably getting ready to start popping)and for the last few days everytime i eat i get sick. Ques this is my new diet program. :puke;
if it isn't raining when i get home i may attempt to close the pool for the winter.
In bed at 8PM hook up to the cycler wish to myself i could sleep without tossing and turning and waking myself up all night. Then do it all over again day in and day out.
I'm just glad i can still do it for now...
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Yes, actually.
7 a.m.- woke up (that's doing pretty good...)
8 a.m. - Took Mr. Kitty (formerly Miss Kitty, until we found out she was a he) to the vet to get neutered.
8:30 a.m. - Headed to the water place to pay the water bill.
8:40 a.m. - Received a call from the vet saying that they have Mr. Kitty anesthetized, but that he didn't have any testicles. :o They wanted permission to do "exploratory surgery" to see if his testicles were in his stomach. :waiting; But being that he's an older kitty more than likely he's already been cut. The exploratory surgery would be an extra $150. :o
8:45 a.m. - Made arrangements to pick up Mr. Kitty. :laugh: I told them I could use the $300 to fix two other cats!!!
11 a.m. - Had a phone conversation with my Atty who's setting up Etta's Gift.
Just relaxing now.
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I came home from D and decided that I should do some work outside. Went in to the bedroom to get my gloves when the bed magically developed a magnetic force drawing me to it. I fought hard to resist it but the bed won. I woke up 3 hours later and the bed let let me free of its grips. Now I have some work to do.
I did get a big smiley face on monthly labs ::)
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This is just what I needed to read today! I feel like I am getting nothing done, but then I remind myself that my body is working hard at healing. I worry others think I am using the surgery as a good reason to slack off. They probably aren't, but -- my husband keeps thinking that 6 weeks is the magic number for when I will feel like myself. He is going to be disappointed! Today I got up early, went to have labs drawn, came home and took a nap, straighted the living room, made grocery list, rested while playing on the computer, made spaghetti for dinner and now I am done!
Keep this thread going --- it is very helpful! :2thumbsup;
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I spent the day in the kitchen. I made 3 batches of biscotti for my daughter to share with her swim team on her birthday. I made brownie, almond, and cherry chip. She better love me. Then right after I made dinner. I am beat.
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Let's see:
7AM awake.
7:30 AM Gwyn brings me hot cup of tea
8:30AM Kids are gone with Gwyn, sit down to see what I have in front of me to recover from missing a week of life with illness.
9AM Endorsed what seemed like 100s of checks for the PTA (I am treasurer). Took cash, checks, drugs, and a sport bottle of iced tea to labs.
11AM Done with labs. Deposit husband's paycheck, drive across town to totally different bank to deposit PTA funds, throw myself on the mercy of the bank cashier saying I am new to this position and not sure I've done everything correctly - she sorts it all out for me.
12PM Can no longer ignore dire food shortage at home and go to coop on way back from bank. Apparently everyone goes to coop at noon on a Monday because I cannot not find parking.
1PM Home, nothing fits in fridge. Have to admit to self that we are never going to eat that kale and make room for more food by removing it. Can no longer ignore even more dire clean plate shortage and do the washing up.
2PM Grab lunch and drink and head up to start work. Phone colleague and get news that heinous coworker was finally let go. Answer a few PTA emails and check in with IHD.
5:30PM Grab reimbursement check and head out to collect the children. Drop check in PTA member's letterbox on way over.
6PM Home again. Ask Aidan to phone his father to pick up a pizza on the way home as there is no way I can envision either of us cooking.
7PM Sit down to work.
11PM decide it is time to go to bed.
1:30 AM Cannot sleep. Going to log back on and get some more work done.
This was one of my more productive days and I am so happy to not feel unwell anymore. Still behind on a million things, but made progress today.
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I did my weekly grocery shopping.
I went for a walk and took along my camera; I took some photos of the beautiful autumn colours to send to my relatives down south who don't get a true fall.
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MM you could post some Fall pictures here for those who miss it(like myself). ;D
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For the first time ever, I am "dialyzing" potatoes. They're soaking away as we speak. I'm gonna mash 'em and serve them with a pot roast that's in the slow cooker.
I started tilling my front yard; the grass all died, so I'm going to put in some paving and then put some plants there. I don't know what I'll plant, but first I have to till the soil. I got about an 8th of it done before I just pooped out. I get embarrassed working in the garden because I don't have as much energy for that sort of physical labour anymore, and I feel rather pitiful if my strapping young neighbours are out working at the same time. ::) Isn't that stupid? They all know about my kidney situation, and I guess I secretly hope that one of them might lend me a hand, but no luck with that yet. :P
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Last fall when my husband gave me his kidney we had a foot of leaves on the ground. We were just trying to take care of ourselves and my next door neighbor complained to the city about our leaves. He knew what we were going through. If it bothered him so much he could have cleaned them himself, just like a few months before he decided my peonies and bridal wreath bush were unsightly so he mowed them down and dug up the roots. I used to have tons of beautiful flowers. Now I only have perennials and lots of weeds.
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Last fall when my husband gave me his kidney we had a foot of leaves on the ground. We were just trying to take care of ourselves and my next door neighbor complained to the city about our leaves. He knew what we were going through. If it bothered him so much he could have cleaned them himself, just like a few months before he decided my peonies and bridal wreath bush were unsightly so he mowed them down and dug up the roots. I used to have tons of beautiful flowers. Now I only have perennials and lots of weeds.
That's just pathetic, it really is.
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Last fall when my husband gave me his kidney we had a foot of leaves on the ground. We were just trying to take care of ourselves and my next door neighbor complained to the city about our leaves. He knew what we were going through. If it bothered him so much he could have cleaned them himself, just like a few months before he decided my peonies and bridal wreath bush were unsightly so he mowed them down and dug up the roots. I used to have tons of beautiful flowers. Now I only have perennials and lots of weeds.
I have a "lovely" neighbor like that also! Last year as i struggled to shovel my driveway from a huge snowstorm he freaked cause I was throwing "snow on top of his snow" yes... on top of snow... not anywhere near where he shoveled.... :urcrazy;
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Last fall when my husband gave me his kidney we had a foot of leaves on the ground. We were just trying to take care of ourselves and my next door neighbor complained to the city about our leaves. He knew what we were going through. If it bothered him so much he could have cleaned them himself, just like a few months before he decided my peonies and bridal wreath bush were unsightly so he mowed them down and dug up the roots. I used to have tons of beautiful flowers. Now I only have perennials and lots of weeds.
He killed peonies and bridal wreath? I would have sat there and cried. What a heartless person. I'd be afraid to have him around children and pets!
I did laundry and made a casserole. I haven't had a nap today, so I should have gotten more done. I still have all evening! lol Who am I kidding? I am done for the day!
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I have been away and the house is crying out for attention, the washing needs doing, etc, etc. And here I am checking out IHD instead - and usual, learning something new. I haven't made a list of jobs today - I'm going freelance - that way I can really feel productive, with no pressure. I love reading what people are up to - you are all so clever!
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Laundry, dishes, scrubbed bathroom top to bottom, made and boxed fudge to take to class tomorrow. Finally finished computer spreadsheet course homework - which involved a great deal of swearing until I finally broke down and e-mailed the teacher for help. Her answer to the problem I couldn't get is neither in the book nor something she showed us in class, and wasn't anything I could find on the net either. Auuugh! So I accomplished e-mailing the solution to everyone else I knew in class who was also stuck.
Tried and failed, yet again, to lure the stray parakeet to me. He's flying with a local flock of sparrows. He belongs to a friend of a friend and has been a free bird for about 6 weeks. Apparently, Michigan fall weather isn't cold enough for him to decide those wacky humans who keep trying to lure them into their apartments around here have his best interests at heart! He does love to sit out of reach in a tree and laugh down at us as we talk to him, though. So I accomplished finding out that keets love millet sprays and added those to my shopping list. . .
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I campleted another day at work...that sounds easier that it is, Now I M folding laundry...blech
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Let's see..
I slept till 1pm.. not sure what the deal is with this 12 hour sleep, then I'm lucky to get 3 hours the next night.
I got up, made myself something to eat, then got dressed, grabbed my phone, my ipod, and my keys and walked up to the mailbox. When I got there, I couldn't remember which box was ours, so I just started trying them all. There's 180 boxes. I tried 3 or 4 before I realized I was using the house key instead of the mailbox key. Once I had the right key, I took a guess and got the right one. Then I walked home. It's 1.18km round trip (almost 3/4 of a mile for you Merkins. *G*) and it took me 27 minutes, including the time it took to try the mailboxes with the worng key, and the frantic text to my mom asking her which box it was, that I never received a reply to.
When I got home, I took a shower, cuz I felt all sweaty and icky, plus, my hair was dirty. *L* By the time I was out of the shower, Mom was home from work. After that, I did nothing except watch tv and have a rather comical conversation with Lil Bro about a particular naked lady statue in the yard of the house next to the warehouse where he was delivering potatoes to today. He says that it's rather detailed. I haven't had a close up look at it.
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I finally took the cover off my laptop to get to the internal battery that keeps everything from being erased. The d**n thing was nearly impossible to remove with all the connections. Now I have to order the coin size battery because the local Walmart doesn't have it. nowww...I hope I can keep from losing any screws while I am wating for the batteries and I hope that that will solve my problem with my dead computer.
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Yesterday was a complete waste. All I managed to do was an hour and a half of work, a lot of crying (never mind) and get my son to soccer practice on time. Oh, and Gwyn and I tried on boxes and boxes of clothes so that we could finally return everything that does not work. I decide I need to diet. Seriously.
Today:
7AM: vague memory of Gwyn saying "It's seven o'clock!" my body's response was "Oh, hell no...."
8AM: Awake, but only just. Picture day for older son. He wears a beautiful houndstooth flannel shirt. Younger son insists on wearing red fleece pants and blue work shirt. Hideous combination, but he's four. No one listens to me when I say it will be well above 70 today.
9AM: Out of shower, wearing a new outfit (thanks, Mother!) Can barely walk. Achilles tendons hurt and I fear this is ultra-serious Levaquin side effect coming to ruin my life. Log onto computer, set up to take notes, manage to hobble downstairs for iced tea and Clif bar, quickly consume both and phone into conference call.
11AM Done with conference call. Weather report on desk top claiming it will reach nearly 80.
11:30AM: Phone Gwyn, arrange to meet for lunch and clothing returns at a local *shudder* shopping centre/fake village. Grab receipts and shorts and T-shirts for both kids.
12PM: Shout my son's name across the play yard until he snaps out of soccer hypnosis and answers me. Take him inside to change into a T-shirt, he refuses to wear the shorts as changing will take precious moments away from game. Drive to other son's school and catch him just before they go out to play. He is covered in spaghetti, so clean clothes are necessity. Not only is he much cooler when I leave, but outfit coordinates perfectly, down to socks.
12:30PM: Gwyn and I meet and the Trader Joes where we had planned to grab lunch is nothing like Trader Joes of California. My choices are chicken, chicken, chicken, turkey, or ham. I give up. We leave and Gwyn and I endure lecture from Gap manager for being five days outside return window. We tell her I was ill (true). I then tell her I expect a little consideration on behalf of my mother, whose account this was, who spends "what must be a billion dollars a month in your shop" (also true). She says nothing. Then to Banana Republic, but in plenty of time so no finger-waggling. I'd ordered a scarf and now insist that someone show me how to tie the damn thing. A sweet sales associate finds a similar one on display and gives me a few ideas. Then to Gymboree where we return rugby shirt that got a hole in it after a single wash.
2PM Finally escape spooky suburban alterna-universe and go home. Grab vegetarian food. Compose a few emails. PTA president asks me if I have written newsletter piece yet. I refuse to admit the truth, so must drop everything and write it. Email draft to her.
5PM Grab drinks for literacy event that evening. Grab PTA checks and drop them at officer's house, pick up other checks to deposit from her.
5:30PM Collect children and drive to son's school for literacy event. Parents are told they can leave children in the gym for a magic show (yes!!!) and go speak to other adults about the literacy curriculum. Gwyn and I report to classroom and discuss bilingual strategies with other grade 3-5 parents. At the very end I blurt out that I wish grade 3 would assign Spanish reading and writing homework. Explain that my son finishes his homework in 30 seconds flat, and then chooses his own reading, always in English. Fifth grade teacher suggests that she would love to offer me materials, internet sites, etc. She wants my son to attend part of class. I know this will terrify him but enthusiastically accept. Go downstairs and see last bit of magic show - he is levitating a student. My four year old sits in the front, mesmerised. He runs up to me after and tells me "Mom, he made a girl levitate!" I reply "How do you know the word 'levitate'" and he replies with perfect definition of the term.
6:30PM: Dinner for everyone at the school with our own drinks. We sit with older son's previous teacher and then win a bilingual book in the raffle. Fifth grade teacher grabs my older son on the way out the door and tells him in Spanish that she is going to bring him to her class tomorrow. I am so delighted. My son not so much.
7:30 PM Four-year-old reads book on the way home, then projectile vomits in my car just as I am turning onto our street. He is really scared and crying and says "I'll never get unsick!"
7:30PM Help my son take a shower while Gwyn oxycleans the car. Read my baby three books and this cheers him up.
8:30 PM Kids are off to bed. Look through important announcements from older son's school. They are going to have a basketball team forming and I sign my son up immediately. Also, there is an entirely free family weekend camp in November with heated cabins and all food included. We sign up for this as well. I am not a rough-it gal, so I'm already nervous.
10:45PM Desperately need to clean but probably will try to get to bed early. Supposed to be another warm, gorgeous day tomorrow. Hurrah!
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Dropped from vicarious exhaustion after reading about cariad's day.
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Me too, good grief Cariad. Slow down a bit would you?
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The only thing I did yesterday was to bring in the rest of the house plants from the deck and clean out the fridge. Today I plan on cleaning out the rest of the garden. Have collard greens and buttercup squash that needs to be picked. The zucchini is still going strong and I can't even give it away on freecycle :banghead;. Guess it will go to the chickens.
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Took frozen left over home made pea and ham soup over to mother in law, who is sick. She finished the radiation therapy, and then couldn't keep anything down, and puked her way to a dehydration induced dose of acute renal failure (GAH!). Yesterday half the family squeezed into her doctor's appointment with the cancer clinic to work out what is going on. After hours of wrangling (doctors had one agenda, family had another) we were finally told that the radiation was a relative success, but she still pukes most everything she eats or drinks because of some kind of surgery induced bowel obstruction. So she is to eat and drink very very small amounts, 6 meals a day, and walk about the place a bit, to get the adhesions to go away. Hence we turned up tonight with frozen left over pea and ham soup, and a tiny bowl to serve it in (a teacup for chinese tea. Found her looking MUCH better. Dressed, teeth in. Talking. Amazing. We knew she was recovering when she began bossing everyone around. Much relieved.
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oh Cariad.. I think I'd be dead by noon with a day like that..
My day was much, much simpler..
Even though I dialyized yesterday, and was tiired and went to bed when the Colbert Report was over, I didn't sleep a wink till about 6am. Kitty woke me at 7:30am, wanting to go out, but we were in the middle of a torrential downpour and refused to go. I went back to bed. When my alarm went off at 9:30am, it was still raining, so I figured I wasn't going for my walk today, so rolled over and went back to sleep. Woke up at 1:30pm to the sun streaming through my bedroom window. I got up, had a piece of leftover pizza (which I think is what kept me awake last night) and a cup of coffee. I went for my walk. About 10 minutes after I got home, my Bro showed up, handed me a wad of cash, and asked if he could use my credit card to book and pay for a hotel room for him, the gf and kids next weekend. They're going to a wrestling thingie to meet Bret Hart. I gladly took the cash and handed him the card. Mom came home. She took her nap while I watched last night's Coronation Street, then she made a light supper for us (I think the pizza might have kept her awake last night too). Then, we went into town, the car got blown around by the wind. I put the wad of cash from my Bro in the bank before he could ask for it back, and we stopped at Tim Horton's to get my Iced Capp. We were home at about 8:45pm. Now my butt is planted and I'm watching my news shows, both real and fake, and will go to bed when they're over.
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I had not read any of this thread until today. I thought at first sight that it would be boringly mundane, but it’s not. It’s fascinating. Opens a window onto IHD member’s lives. So I guess I ought to make my contribution.
Out of bed when the newspapers arrived (it’s dropped in my porch here in the UK, not thrown around the garden!). Then a quick shower and read both newspapers whilst eating my breakfast of porridge and then taking my medicines.
I’ve decided to fix an extra power socket in my workshop but the conduit to it is nearly full and won’t take the pair of wires. So do I bodge it or do it properly? I decide to get conduit from the local DIY store together with a die and diestock for it. Drive over and the only conduit they have is plastic. I need galvanised steel.
Next I drive to the GP’s to pick up a script and get a second Hepatitis B vaccine injection. The nurse also takes a routing BP check and gives me this year’s flu injection, saving me another two visits. Then I drive back home for a business lunch meeting.
I get taken to a nice restaurant on the water front, spend a full two hours in discussions. The bill comes to £90 ($140) which my colleague pays. :2thumbsup;
Back home to recover with 40 winks. I work out a method of fixing the new socket in my workshop properly without a bodge. My wife arrives home from work so I get her a G&T.
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I started the washing but then became distracted by the computer. I was after some PD info and as usual IHD had the answers. Since then I've been reading lots of stuff on this site. I was interupted by a video call from my daughter and grandie. My side of the video is a bit poor but such a delight to share same time cyber space with them. Am now counting my blessings and top of the list is my wonderful family!
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I love this thread because it reminds me that I'm not always to blobby to do anything. And it does, like Stoday says, give us a peek into each others' lives.
We've had beautiful autumn weather here in Chicagoland, so I walked to the hardware store and bought some gardening supplies, namely some thick gloves and some garden rubbish bags. With the walk back home, I got in 2.5 miles which made me feel healthy and virtuous. I watched All My Children (the only soap I've ever watched, and I've been watching it on and off since it started in 1970), had some lunch and then started clearing out my front beds. My Japanese barberry bushes are overgrown, so I trimmed them up. I removed spent dill and trimmed my blackberry bushes, hence my need for think gardening gloves. I then relaxed on the deck and read "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" until my son called from London. He's really into music, so he calls and has me look up/listen to various bands on YouTube, and then we discuss the bands' relative merits. He teaches me about really obscure bands like Red Jumpsuit Apparatus or some such thing. I'm such a cool mom! :cuddle;
My husband is teaching tonight, so I am watching Devdas, a Bollywood film with Aishwarya Rai who is the most beautiful woman in the world. I'm flipping between that and the baseball playoffs. I have very varied interests. :rofl;
Isn't porridge high in phosphorus? I do miss a good bowl of porridge. Seriously, is that safe to eat? If so, I'm going out to the shops tomorrow to buy some!
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Dropped from vicarious exhaustion after reading about cariad's day.
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
I think I have a talent for making very little sound like something. That's a gift that academia bestows upon most of its graduates.
Today was not such a great day. Colleagues all came down with tragic amnesia and were wistfully stating that they missed hideous coworker (even the colleague who played no small part in getting her the sack). There is not enough work for me to do so I had to call the company owner and tell him I need more work or I'm going to have to quit the position. He sent me a proposal to proof, which I have yet to touch, though I'm sure it will be interesting.
Spoke to Northwestern. Topic for another discussion, but it was frustrating. They demand excruciatingly detailed accounts of every complaint, I suppose because it must be reported in their final analysis? I find it difficult enough to describe pain, but the sort of detail they require is beyond my capabilities. Research nurse also has a habit of making contradictory statements and then resisting clarification.
Other than that, errands, labs which went very smoothly, conference calls, and sadness at the school when I picked my younger child up and found he had refused to participate in part of karate. I sat him down in a quiet room and he told me "J said he did not want to be my partner even though we are still best friends". I've heard that he and J are close, but am starting to suspect that J is gravitating away from my son. We discuss the incident and I go find his teacher and suggest that four and five year olds are too young for the stress of picking partners and facing rejection. She agrees and tells me that the week prior, the girls were in tears over this very issue. We know sensei and the assistant very well, so Gwyn will ask them to reconsider this policy. I encourage my son to branch out and make other friends in his class. He tells me that he is also friends with A (who does not take karate) but I am still relieved to hear this. On the up side, we always knew he would be a musician, and he is doing very well in piano. From the age of 2 months, his nickname has been Satchmo. :)
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Half done with writing my legal research paper due on Monday. The second half should go quickly, as I've got a very detailed outline and the conclusion already decided on. Still 3 days to finish it, so I'm doing well for time.
Also filled out all kinds of medical release forms for transfer to potential new neph in my new home town. Got those done and mailed, as well as copies and a letter to the new doc's office to tell them to expect the paper flood. Those were on my "idonwaaaaaaanna" list so it's good to have them off my list of chores. While I was in form mode, I also sent out things about aid and disability reviews that weren't due for a bit yet. Nice to be ahead of the list for once. Besides, once I had that boring mess done, it was a lot easier to do an interesting research paper, even when I'd rather have done something pointless and fun.
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I finished the washing - and found more!!! Luckily the days here are lovely and sunny so everything's drying really well. I even did some watering in my poor neglected garden. (How do I 'garden' while on PD - without doing any lifting? ::::: Very carefully :)
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I didn't do anything today except get up, eat, and go to dialysis, but in my head, I slowly made a list of stuff I need to do.
1. Need to call and make an appointment with the registrar at UPEI. I've put my life on hold for far too long, and if I want to do the things I want to do, I have to start at it now, kidney or no kidney. I'm thinking that if I explain my situation to her, perhaps she will have some options or suggestions for me to be on dialysis and get my education at the same time.
2. Need to call the university pool and make an appointment for an orientation for myself and my mom. We both need the exercise and we both love the water, so I was thinking that an aquafit class would be good for us
3. Need to clean the crap off my computer. The hard drive is full, mostly with downloaded tv shows. Now, that's just something I need to get off my posterior and do, instead of playing around on message boards. *L*
Mom wants to take me shopping tomorrow. I don't like shopping, never did, but I suppose it's a necessary evil. At least part of it will be fun. We're getting a new phone for my Bro, cuz the one he has, the service is crap, and his work can't get a hold of him. If they can't reach him, he could lose his job.
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Finished two loads of laundry!!!!
The day is yet young, so I hope to accomplish much more!
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I didn't do anything today either. Mom and I went out to supper. I imagine Mom will be on her computer all evening, researching furnace payment plans. Ours kicked the bucket last night
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I'm exhausted and probably won't be able to move tomorrow, but today I took down 8 mini blinds and washed. Then washed all of my windows on the out side! Glad my house is only 1 story, that darn ladder was getting heavy. I'm sure that Michigan won't have very many more days in the 70's so it had to be done. You're probably wondering what DH did. He graded the driveway and cut down 2 dead trees. We are ready for winter :clap;
Pam
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I'm jealous, Pam. We are sooooo unprepared for winter.
OK! I'm not sure I accomplished anything so much as desperately tread water all day. Gwyn has whatever virus I had a week ago, and spent the entire day in bed. I did get to sleep in a bit - until about 8:30 AM. Read a bit, then showered for the day. I knew it was supposed to be well into the 80s, and this always energizes me. Aidan had soccer game at 11:15 on the fringe of town and I wanted to leave by 10:30.
Grabbed iced tea and Clif bar for self, ice water for Gwyn, lemonade for the kids while also taking a moment to chuck a few juice packs into the fridge to cool. Asked Aidan to get breakfast for himself and brother while I applied sunscreen, made more iced tea, and finished washing up that would not fit in machine last night. Packed up water bottle, change of shirt for Liot in case of emergency, candies for after game, juice packs, soccer ball (Aidan insisted), and tea for self. Remembered to take drugs before leaving. Sunscreen kids. Late leaving, arrived on time but proper pitch was not on map so wandered around with two kids in blistering heat until we found field. Five minutes late. Elliot persistently tells me that I was going to take him to the bouncy slide, so I cannot watch match.
Took Liot to bouncy slide and bouncy castle. He ran back and forth across the grass to get between the two, sans shoes. I wanted him to be wherever the older children were not, but quickly realised that he had much more fun with the older kids and I was going to lose this battle. Finally lured him away with promise of fresh lemonade, and we return to field just in time to collect Aidan. They've lost horribly, but the usual suspects have scored - Aidan, coach's son, one of the two "wonder brothers" (the other is an amazing goalie) and a fourth player. Aidan informs me he wants to have a go on bouncy slide and castle. I relent, and his entire team turns up to play with him, as well as best friend who is on another team. Liot wants to slide with Aidan. Aidan does not want to slide with Liot. Team mate of Aidan's grabs Elliot's hand and says "I'll take him". Teammate plays with Elliot for nearly half an hour while Aidan is free to do as he pleases with other friends. I cannot thank this kid enough.
Return home, Aidan showers, I make "Crazy Ol' Aidan Sandwich" (which Liot insists is actually called a "Crazy Ol' Elliot Sandwich) consisting of (brace yourselves) hot dog roll with full banana, peanut butter, and jam. Slice in half as we only have one roll left and both kids want this for lunch. Aidan asks for chocolate on his, I say no, then end up bringing over chocolate sprinkles for them. I swear them both to secrecy. Drive Aidan to friend's house, take Elliot with me to co-op. We buy much needed groceries and return home. Elliot is scratching his head vigorously. This can mean only one thing. I check his hair - sure enough.... Treat his head for lice, give him a shower, comb through his hair, he is so very patient through all of it. Gwyn informs me that parent's of Aidan's friend will drop Aidan off around 5:30PM. Thank you, parents! Aidan returns, they chill in front of television, and I will realise later that Liot was supposed to be at ice skating course this evening. I make easiest dinner possible (pasta with sauce from a jar). They eat this, tell them both to get pajamas on. Do washing up and laundry. Read Elliot a story. Send them both to bed. More cleaning and more laundry. Now sitting down to IHD. I have a write-up due tomorrow for work that will probably take me an hour or so, and then hopefully to bed though house is still utter disaster. Gwyn says he is feeling a bit better, so I am hopeful for tomorrow. Tired.
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I slept till one o'clock this afternoon from midnight! Surprised me! Accomplished getting dressed and going out to dinner with hubby!
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I like Kits plan of Action the best. Today I did two loads of laundry and all my ironing. Tomorrow, going to be admitted to the hospital for my angiogram. Finally!!! My son is here, and he barbecued 2 tri tip roasts and some chicken. We had potato salad ( leeched potatoes) and beans. Then he deicded he needed to go to the store and came back with a watermelon, a large box of strawberries and some chocolate to melt. So I showed him how and he made those also. We ate nearly all of them. Now it is after midnight so no food or water.My mouth is dry already. Into hospital at 8 A.M. with lots of hydration for the kidneys and then the angio at noon. Probably will spend one night in that lovely establishment, I hope and then come home.
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Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers, Jean. I hope the test goes well. We'll be waiting for the results. :cuddle;
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The dreaded oral presentation is done, as well as the related research paper. Hurray! I can speak in public - I just don't like to!
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Got up (SLOWLLLY), got a few calls made to docs, ready for pt, drove to Mc Donalds for coffee and a chicken wrap and then got on highway to go to pt. Got home, took out garbage, started cleaning kitchen, layed down for a bit, got back up to finish kitchen and made a sandwich. Then emptied more trash, took a shower, got something to drink and fell asleep in my room watching Top Gear and now took meds late.
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I did nothing today except go to dialysis... my weekly walk schedule starts tomorrow. I'm hoping that by the end of the month, I can walk up to the top of the hill without being sore and out of breath
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I played a game with one of my fifteen year old students. We played it for half an hour because he can't read or write (well) and refuses to access an education (I teach him English). He probably learnt more in that half hour than I've managed to teach him in the last month, because it was a literacy based game where you have to make words up and the better you do, the better you score (like Scrabble, but not really like Scrabble at all). I'm actually quite chuffed with myself. And he probably thinks he's got one over on me because he didn't have to read and write ... ha!
*chuffed face* > ;D
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Nice one, Poppy!
I tutored a little girl in math years ago who insisted she was never going to need to learn fractions. Her teacher had been trying for weeks. So I brought in the Toll house Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and told her when she could properly double the fractions for all the ingredients, I would bring her the double half of the batch. She had cookies the next time I came to tutor her. Nothing like the proper motivation.... ;)
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*giggles* double half the batch. Nice one..
I feel like I accomplished something, but I don't think I did.. I did my walk to the mailbox. Got Beauty and the Beast in the mail today, Yay! I came home, cleaned out my purse, which was mostly gauzes, band aids, and surgifoam. I put that in a separate bag and put it in my dialysis kitbag, and that's about it. I may go out with Mom later to get fuel for the heater.
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Decided on a bathtub for my bathroom reno (I'm so tired of my indecision that I almost let a stranger flip a coin) AND I put out 6 huge paper yard waste bags with garden waste from fall cutting back of perennials.
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I went to doc's at Kaiser 8:30 a.m., got the stitches out of my arm, Hurray! Then came home and took a four hour nap. Watched TV alla fternoon, read a book, then here.
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Did not accomplish anything but sleep and clean. Fell asleep while texting, but sleeping on the floor felt good.
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Today I used my Wii Fit Plus for the first time in six weeks (my accomplishment being that I found the Oompf! to use it). It grumbled at me because it thought I was heavier than the last time I used it.
*gasp* (I've lost at least 4 Ibs in that six weeks!)
Before I waddle off to Weight Watchers tonight I will be sure to put on really light clothing.
;D
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Not yet.
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Went to the library then headed to the hardware store for some nails for my dad and then to the Dollar store for crackers.
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Went to the office for 5 hours and then picked up groceries (store "shopped" for me) got home and cleaned out the fridge (lots of take out boxes since i was in the hospital last week) and am slowly organizing cabinets as I out the things away.... probably won't get finished but at least I made a dent!!!
And thankfully my DS16 helped carry the bags!! :clap;
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I raked leaves.
I unpacked from our long weekend away.
I emptied the dishwasher.
I read the first chapter of Tony Blair's autobiography.
That's really about all I've had the energy for today. I didn't fall asleep last night until 3AM, so I'm dragging today.
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Went to physical therapy then came home to clean kitchen and now worn out.
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I feel like such a dork next to you guys.....
I went to dialysis and watched CNN.. I feel asleep at one point and dreamt that my venous needle fell out and I couldn't get anyone's attention.. I have really odd dreams when I'm at dialysis.
Tomorrow I'll do my walk, and I'm thinking of going through my crap and seeing if I can find a book I bought in December. I started reading it one night and set it down to go to bed, and I haven't seen it since.
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Made some of my extra creamy, high protein whey ice cream!
8)
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Spent time on telephone helping to organise brother-in-law's 60th birthday party, had a good long read of a good book - a mystery/thriller where the central character is very confused as to her identity and people are trying to kill her - and then went and held our pony whose feet are overgrown while hubby trimmed them back. And all the time the pony is pulling away from me I am trying to hold tight LIGHTLY as I was told yesterday not to lift anything over a kilo!!! The pony weighs a bit more than that :laugh:
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Went to have labs drawn. Argued with the new tech because she wondered why I was there. Told her that I had orders (which she was holding). But you were just here the 11th, she exclaimed. Yep and I will be back on Monday, then Thursday, Monday again, etc. What part of the lab order couldn't she understand? Thankfully, my regular tech, Robert, stepped in and took over. I don't deal with inefficient people early in the morning!
Decided on a bathtub for my bathroom reno (I'm so tired of my indecision that I almost let a stranger flip a coin) AND I put out 6 huge paper yard waste bags with garden waste from fall cutting back of perennials.
Monrein, how do you handle gardening, digging in the soil, planting, etc? I want to do the fall work outside so bad, but they still say no digging, working in the dirt. How long did you have to wait? I have bulbs that need to be seperated, etc and no one is going to do it for me!
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I got up
Ate breakfast
Went to work
Taught 6th grade Language arts and math all day.
Feel like a blitthering idiot right now
need nap!
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Took my mom driving to day to do some running around(she was feeling lightheaded). We went to Walmart, take some clothes she needed fixed to the seamstress, check to see the prices on wi-fi usb connections and HEB(supermarket).
I got to meet America and she works at Walmart(her real name is America) ;D
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emailed Pictou County Tourism Association to see if they could help us get a cheaper hotel room this weekend.
Threw out my Tim Horton's Iced Cappuccino cup collection. 56 cups, in a stack, with the straws. It had to go, it was starting to look like the leaning tower of Pisa.
Walked up to the mailbox. Got a coupon for free bacon. Yay!
Fiddled around with my Wii, trying to get CSPAN video to work, so I could watch the Rally for Sanity/March to Keep Fear Alive at the end of the month, but could only get Youtube videos to work. Not happy.
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Went to Wal Mart and did grocery shopping. With the sore foot and the fatigue, it took nearly an hour and a half. Love the newer Wal Mart tho, prices are great and it is cutting about $20.00 a week off my grocery bill. Tomorrow, another bathroom to be cleaned and maybe even the kitchen!!
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I refrained from telling an evil (and no doubt stoned) student what I really think of him. Then I had a good old grumbling-gossip (the sort that puts the world to rights) with my colleague as he drove me home from work. Now I'm spending the evening alone with my pussycats whilst Blokey enjoys his dialysis session.
Yay! 'Tis the weekend!
;D
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I didn't accomplish anything except I probably got a world record for hitting the snooze button. Not sure how many time it would be, every 5 minutes between 9:30 and 11:30
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We got up about 6 a.m and went moose hunting. Didn't see any moose so came back home and packed the last of the woodpile in the wood shed. Cooked supper and then went outside and had a fire in the outside fireplace. I bought some beets yesterday so I boiled them tonight, cut them up and put them in bottles with a vinegar solution. It was a busy day and I am very tired now.
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Went to PT, but they cancelled it because I didn't look good and my blood sugar dropped and did not go up much even after eating more food and candy. They wanted me to go to the hospital or have someone come pick me up, but niether was a good option. So I sat around for a bit and at my stash of granola bars I keep in my truck and then went home and fell asleep for awhile at first. Got up made a couple calls, cleaned the kitchen and went back to sleep till 10 pm. I hink it is due to a new med for arthritis that is messing me up on top of what I am trying to get use to with other recent med changes.
Sunday I plan to accomplish something due to doctor visits on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
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I spent almost the whole day warming myself in front of the wood stove - we've had rain and now it has turned cold again: it is supposed to be warming up! Bring on spring weather.
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Actually, no, I did not.
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Monrein, how do you handle gardening, digging in the soil, planting, etc? I want to do the fall work outside so bad, but they still say no digging, working in the dirt. How long did you have to wait? I have bulbs that need to be seperated, etc and no one is going to do it for me!
Do you know what they're worried about? I've read (but haven't asked specifically) that after a transplant you can still garden, as long as you wash your hands well afterward.
You should be safe wearing thick gloves (to prevent getting poked), long sleeves, and a filter mask (to avoid breathing in spores), but then just about anything is safe in a hazmat suit. :rofl;
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Thanks, Restorer, something to look forward to - gardening in a Hazmat suit!!!!
Today I felt pretty good so I washed and then spent the day relaxing with my family. Not a lot accomplished except contentment :)
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After thinking today would be horrid (I overslept by twenty minutes), I had a pleasant morning at work, printing off and cutting out poppies for my new reading display (which will tie in with Remembrance Day). I was then attacked by an over-zealous apple on the bus on the way home, which made a couple of old folk laugh.
;D
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I knew all the answers to the essay questions on my test. So apparently, I accomplished enough studying!
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It took me over 6 hours, but, finally, I cleaned our entire bedroom, top to bottom, ceiling fan, clean drapes, washed all the bedding, the rugs. vacuumed., cleaned the glass doors, washed all the doilies and polished all the furniture. Probably wont have enough energy left now to do anything for the rest of the week. !!!
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I di ::)d some filing, but I didn't do anything else. The weather has been glorious, but lately I just can't find the energy to get out for my daily walk. I'm really going to have to get some exercise.
Oh, I did manage to swiffer my floors. Such domestic excitement, I can't stand it.
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I managed to have a semi-allergic (or maybe I just left something on too long - I really should follow instructions) reaction and it will give the Blokey a good chuckle when he gets home from work.
Oh, and my poppies are now on display.
;D
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While my mom was getting stitches out of her at the doctor's office I was at the podiatrist getting my monthly foot checkup. Since I was her last patient I had a long talk with her about the status of health care in our town. She told me of all the infighting at the hospital and how her 10 year old daughter was doing on chemo, she has leukemia. We also talk some religion, It was good to talk to her, its too bad I won;t see her until December.
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I don't know where the energy came from but I did 2 loads of laundry, mopped the kitchen and 2 bathrooms and dusted the living and family rooms. I even managed to do some sorting in my sewing room. DH thought he was in the wrong house :rofl; I 'd like to think it will continue but since tomorrow is D day that's not going to happen, Now it's time for bed.
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all I did today was my walk. I did it in 24 minutes. I'm getting faster. I wasn't as winded when I got to the top of the hill either, so it's doing me some good. I am hoping that I'll eventually be able to do it without being winded at all.
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all I did today was my walk. I did it in 24 minutes. I'm getting faster. I wasn't as winded when I got to the top of the hill either, so it's doing me some good. I am hoping that I'll eventually be able to do it without being winded at all.
That's brilliant! I took to walking from work to town every day about a year ago (it's about a mile) because I realised that a) it would probably be as quick as standing at a bus stop waiting for a bus which then had to go round all the houses, and b) it would make me fitter. At first it was a struggle, but now I do it without thinking, and often wonder why I used to have such a thing against walking! Well done you!
My Today Achievements: Phoned up the living donor coordinator and she told me I could donate a kidney to Blokey. WooHoo! I also spent lots of money on buying food as tomorrow it's our 4th wedding anniversary and I thought it was time to dust off and use the cutlery and Royal Doulton we received as wedding presents!
;D
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Happy Anniversary, one day early! Pull out all the good china and enjoy your day.
I have accomplished nothing today and don't think I will! Yesterday was a little draining, so I am just taking it easy today. And I am OK with that! :rofl;
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my youngest grandson is here today, so i guess that is accomplishing something. i do have to go to the grocery store or there won't be any dinner. however i don't really want to go. i do have dialysis tonight, don't want to go to that either..........just won't think about any of it. :flower;
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My Today Achievements: Phoned up the living donor coordinator and she told me I could donate a kidney to Blokey. WooHoo! I also spent lots of money on buying food as tomorrow it's our 4th wedding anniversary and I thought it was time to dust off and use the cutlery and Royal Doulton we received as wedding presents!
;D
Wow! Congrats of the anniversary AND the donor news!! :bandance;
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I got out of bed. I consider that an accomplishment.. *L* Tomorrow is walk day, though, so I'll get that in.
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Odd, since I had the angiogram and the Dr. told me my heart is doing well, I am loaded with energy. So, today I cleaned the bathroom top to bottom, boy do my bedroom and bathroom look and smell nice now. Unfortunately I still have the rest of the house to clean. Seems like I work like a maniac one day and goof off the next. That's okay tho, that is twice what I used to do.
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Spent some time sitting in the porch. I just came after a nice evening listening to last remnants of summer, the sound of crickets and frogs in the field on the side of the house. I also loved hearing the sound of a distant train blowing their horn as it heads towards S.A.
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I did my walk. 23 minutes today, but that's estimated, cuz as I was going up the road, my cat tripped me, twice. *L*
Lil Bro wanted a new phone, so we went out tonight, and we got him a Blackberry and added it to my plan. It's a newer version of mine, but I like mine lots better.
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We have to go to Gander today (That's the town in Newfoundland where a LOT of the planes had to land during 9/11) Hubby has an appt with the eye doctor. We are leaving early enough(it's a 2 hour drive) to do some shopping. The weather is not nice but it is supposed to clear. It is raining (thundershowers) and we even had thunder and lightning this morning!! Wil have to take our time driving because there will be lots of water on the road.
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Not a thing. Anybody got some spare ambition they can pass me?
Yay, Poppy! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
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We went to the Farmer's Market. Bought some plants, cider (yes it is pasturized) apples and enjoyed the sun shine, the fruits and veggies. Wanted to go to a couple more places, but I was tired, so we came home. I am so used to touching all the produce, plants, etc. that I had to be aware of my hands. And before, I would have never looked to see if something was pasturized---lots of new things to remember!
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We are driving down to Cahokia this evening for a weekend of archeological history. I had no idea that there is a World Heritage site in southern Illinois. So in prep for the trip, I'm getting all of the laundry done and cleaning house as I hate the idea of coming home to a dirty house.
I just turned in my picks for this weekend's NFL action.
http://cahokiamounds.org/
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Not sure if I should thank the person who sent me the ambition, or apologize to the person I stole it from. The house is vacuumed, the cat pan is changed, the trash is out, the bathroom is clean, the laundry is done, and I've done the reading for Monday's class. I've even done a bunch of organizing for assorted assignments, and researched some legal terms to make sure I understood them.
Now, if I could just find the answer to the one burning question I have for the day, I'd be good. I want to know how come my cat isn't bald, when she sheds at least a pound of hair a week. (Those clear cup, bagless vacs are kind of scary, aren't they?)
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I went to dialysis today.. made some real fun of my nurses.. I love doing that.. *L*
I also setup Bro's favorite 5 for his phone, and while doing that, realized that I'm paying $25 a month for a service that I never ever use, so I think I'll call Customer Service in the morning and see if I can have it taken off
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I done nothing today. Went to lunch and the Goodwill.
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I cleaned up after my bro-in-law's 60th birthday party that we hosted. We all had a lovely night and b-i-l enjoyed himself and has only just left. I had lots of helpers so it wasn't a big job at all
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I successfully avoided an argument with my dad. Didn't successfully avoid listening to my mom arguing with him, though
My dad is a selfish.......I'm not gonna finish that thought
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i bought a few items for my daughter's "beauty basket" for Christmas. I'm about 1/2 way done with the shopping already.
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I had morning tea with an old friend from school and it was time well spent - great to catch up
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I went to dialysis.. an hour early.. *L*
Tomorrow will be more productive.. I have my walk, if it don't rain, and some phone calls to make before the municipal elections here on Monday
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I raked a few leaves. I made a lamb curry. Other than that, no, nothing, nada, rien.
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I am still cleaning!!! Did the service porch today and made home made cookies, but only after I spent 2 hours at our clubhouse, decorating for fall. NOW, I am tired for sure.
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In a word, no...
I couldn't sleep last night, my legs were killing me.. the dampness and change of season have always bothered them, and I didn't get up until around 3:30pm, and by then, it's getting dark, so I didn't go for my walk. I did call to get transportation to the polling station for the advanced poll on Friday, though. I figured Friday would be better than Monday. It's less crowded.
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Paris, what's with the pasturized part of the cider? You can't drink that either? Hubby been drinking a lot of it lately. Ut-oh.
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I didm't do a single dog-gone thing for the 3 day in a row. I'll try to stay outside after D tomorrow. Its also amazing that my 79-1/3 year old dad can do 20 times what I do in a single day...depressing thought. :(
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Again, no.
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I had a doctor's appointment today. Off work for three weeks.
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texasstyle - if the cider or juice isn't flash-heated to kill bacteria (aka pasturized), it's a higher risk for those on immunosuppresants. If you are getting it in a store, the odds are pretty good it was. Farmer's markets - not so much.
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Yesterday I did nothing. The weather was just to nasty and gloomy. I got home from D and feel better than all of last week so as soon as DH gets them cut up I am going to roast the seeds and cook the pumpkin for pies and bread. We gave away all but 2 pumpkins and they both weigh about 50 lbs. I love pumpkin!
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Worked for a few hours but am losing focus due to the house shaking violently and the droning noise of the wind.
That's the extent of it so far....
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I took the two week off work order to work and avoided talking to anyone there, except the secretary.
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Texasstyle, Jbeany said it perfect! You also need to avoid local made cheeses, soft cheeses from other countries. I was very relieved to read the label on my cider that said it was pasturized. I wouldn't buy any juices made and packaged without labeling. It is so easy to overlook some of these "rules'.
Nothing much got done today. I did make a slow cooked dinner -- that is it.
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nothing today except dialysis
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Went to Wal Mart topday for grocery shopping. If you have never been to a Wal-Mart super center,let me tell you, it is daunting. That and dinner were my only accomplishments today
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I walked up to the mailbox, took me 23 minutes, but I'm starting to think there's something wrong with my hip, because it and my back is always so sore when I've finished the walk.
I also screwed around with the Wii again, trying to get videos to work. I may have to watch the Rally to Restore Sanity/March to Keep Fear Alive on the computer instead of the tv
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I felt pretty good today (even though I slept in later than I meant to) so after my coffee I washed my sheets and a blanket that has a lint problem (but the cats love it!). Then I cooked some rice and cut up some vegetables to eat with the larb (Thai salad with ground chicken) that I made yesterday, and since I bought way too many red Thai chiles, I put some in the convection oven to dry. I also watered my plants.
This is productive for me. My dad emailed me, trying to get us together sometime soon. It's been almost 3 months. He asked if anything was new... I couldn't think of anything. I hate standing still. >:(
It smells like chiles in here because now I have the half-dried Thai chiles sitting on top of the fan vent on my computer to finish drying. ;D
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Spent some time on the back lot pulling weeds to give to the billy goats.(goats love browsing on weeds and we have an over abundance of weeds)
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Two steps forward, three back today.
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On the advice of the cardiologist, I went for a walk to-day. Did 10 minutes without collapsing.
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On the advice of the cardiologist, I went for a walk to-day. Did 10 minutes without collapsing.
My walk today was 23 minutes long.. I time it to see if I'm getting any faster.. *L* the first 15 minutes or so are uphill, and by the time I get to the top, I feel like I'm ready to collapse, but I keep going somehow. I'm kinda secretly hoping that the next place we live is on a level street.. *L*
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Did 15 minutes to-day! Wacko!
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I watched the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear on my computer, missing only the part of one song to get my hair washed. My best friend was in the crowd. She said it was a blast. I wish I could have gone, but there was no way I could afford a trip to DC.
The second the rally was over, we were out the door, to the mall to sell raffle tickets for the Kidney Foundation. Sold 9 tickets in an hour and a half. That's $60. There was also a donation bucket. People going by kept dropping 5 dollar bills in it. I was amazed. I didn't enjoy being winked at by the old guys, though. Malls are weird.
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I awoke to the dog barking; and my housekeeper, who did not have her keys today, at my door. I let her in and got the dog to shut-up! Then I went back to sleep. I was up around the house. Went to lunch with friends and to the Goodwill Thrift Store. Wore myself out. Home. On computer. Watched How Train a Dragon.
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Still on my insane mission to clean the house, so today I did the top half of the china cabinet. The top half only, and then had to take a nap. Why do I keep these dust collectors anyways?
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I posted on my blog.. but that's all I did.. now I"m hiding
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I rode my pushbike to the woolshed and back with three of our dogs to check on the pony that has eaten too much and become overfat - it was a bit muddy as we have had MORE rain (wonderful, wonderful rain after ten years of drought!) I am trying to get fitter and lower my resting heart as it sits at around 90, always has.
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Went to Target bought Clone Wars Season 2. Gave candy out to trick or treaters, watched Ghost Hunters Halloween special.
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I got out of bed.. the way I've felt lately, that's an accomplishment.
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I got dressed at went to vote, then came home and took a nap, then I watched TV, had dinner, cleaned the kitchen and swept its' floor, now on the computer. Oh these exciting days!
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I went for my walk, but halfway up the hill to the mailbox, my mom was coming down the hill in the car. She had gone to the mailbox already, so I changed my route and went around the block. Also, by the time I got to the top of the hill, it was snowing. I was wearing sandals. Although the distance was the same, I did it in 21 minutes. Mom thinks I did it faster cuz it was snowing.
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I sprayed burr in the sheep yards as we have had so much rain everything is growing madly.
Wow, snowing at your place, Riki. Brrr, must be cold. It NEVER snows where I live but it does get very hot in summer.
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Also, by the time I got to the top of the hill, it was snowing. I was wearing sandals.
Snowing?! Sandals?! How quickly does the weather change in your neck of the woods?! Well done on doing it quicker; that's so fab.
Me? I wore myself out whilst browsing the world wide web looking for ideas for Christmas hampers as presents, so then I had to sleep for two hours. This meant I missed my Weight Watchers meeting. Me bad.
;D
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Also, by the time I got to the top of the hill, it was snowing. I was wearing sandals.
Snowing?! Sandals?! How quickly does the weather change in your neck of the woods?!
It depends on the year. If we have a late summer, we usually have a late fall and a dry winter. I like those years. It was warm through to the middle of October.. When I went out yesterday, the ground was wet, but it wasn't really that cold, well, for some it might have been. It was about 5-6C. It cool off quick, though, and in the 10 minutes it took me to get to the top of the hill, it was cold enough to snow, instead of rain. I'm still wearing my sandals because I blew out my shoes when I was in NYC in May, and they hurt my feet. I never bothered getting new shoes, because they weren't needed. I guess they're needed now.
Today I didn't do much except go to dialysis, but I was able to get the nurses to drop my dry weight by .5kg, so it wasn't an unproductive day
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I replaced a shower nozzle, made a elevated base for the tortoise shelter and framed a picture.
I still have a long list.... :P
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Lots of weeding in my garden - but still looks like double the amount left to do. And I have to cart the weeds away yet.
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Went to Walmart to get my meds, stop by the feed store, did a little grocery shopping and I still wasn't done. Had to bring the grocery unload the feed then moved 3 bales pf hay to the back lot and put them away. I am now relaxed.
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I didn't even get dresses today much less take a shower...
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Still weeding! It seems endless.
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I accomplished helping as many people as I could, as much as I could. I spent 8 hours volunteering at the legal aid center in the courthouse. Among others, I helped a woman who was filing an emergency order to prevent her ex from seeing their daughter. The woman had just found out he was sexually abusing the little girl.
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I have accomplished making and eating breakfast, I also watched The Atomic Brain movie.
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Hey, JBeany - great accomplishment. Sure puts things in perspective and makes me glad to be me. The world is a sad place sometimes and luckily there are people like you able to help sort it out.
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I took my walk today. I thought I was walking fast, but the walk took me 25 minutes. I think I slowed down when I saw that the kids were off the bus. I'm incredibly antisocial...
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I think I slowed down when I saw that the kids were off the bus. I'm incredibly antisocial...
*chuckles* ... That sounds like the sort of thing I would do.
;D
I attempted to do absolutely nothing all afternoon, and very nearly managed it (if only my pesky colleagues hadn't kept walking past my open door) ...
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I approved 6 new IHD members, posted a little, met a friend for coffee, checked my daughter's air travel info, made an appointment to renew my driver's license, watered plants (it's another hot day here) and checked on the tortoises. Now I have to get busy working on my list of stuff. It never ends. :)
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I did an 8.5 hour shift today and finished the week with 39 hours straight time and 30 minutes of over time, with an overtime shift tomorrow. This will be the first week with over 40 hours since early 2007 (up until two weeks ago it would have been the first week with more than 30 hours; in the last three weeks I doubled my hours for the year).
If this keeps up (it will if I can) I should regain my union insurance early next year. Work + Insurance = Travel.
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"Bill Peckham - Superman!" I got tired just reading your post. :P
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Did the laundry, all the ironing and mending I had stacked up, cooked and froze meals ahead for the next two weeks, grocery shopped, dropped off the dry cleaning, walked a mile on the treadmill, and did some homework.
Unfortunately, it was one of those days where I did a thousand little things and it still doesn't look like I accomplished a thing at the end of the day....mostly because the house is still dusty and the carpet is still decorated with too much cat hair. :P
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I vacuumed my car inside and washed the outside and then came home and vacuumed the whole house!!! Went to empty the bucket and it wasn't full at all, which means, once again, the vacuum cleaner is not working properly. Arrrgh!!!!
-
I did an 8.5 hour shift today and finished the week with 39 hours straight time and 30 minutes of over time, with an overtime shift tomorrow. This will be the first week with over 40 hours since early 2007 (up until two weeks ago it would have been the first week with more than 30 hours; in the last three weeks I doubled my hours for the year).
If this keeps up (it will if I can) I should regain my union insurance early next year. Work + Insurance = Travel.
How do you get the energy to do all that?
Please give us an idea...
Thanks, Kristina.
-
I stayed at home and cleaned the floors this morning. I've been in hospitals all day every day for so long, the dust balls were almost as big as the cats, I could only tell the difference because the cats have eyes. And I did a load of washing. Then I went and broke Gregory out of hospital for the afternoon, took him to the park to sit in the car and look at the river (near where we were married). Then we went to his dad's house, took his dad to the other hospital where my MIL is. Gregory stayed in the car and listened to the radio (worried about germs). Sat and chatted to marge for a brief while, she is in a general ward out of high dependancy. Then took FIL home, got a hamburger for husband from one of those real hamburger places... he ate some of it :yahoo; (he is too thin, like, waaaaaay too thin) then took him back to his room in the renal ward where we watched television till 9. Came home. Did another load of washing.
-
Not yet and I don't plan to. We are sooo tired today. We need a sleepy(ing) smiley. Zzzzzzz...
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Took mom to the flea market today. I was looking for a 8' usb cable and just to look around. I bumped into one of the techs from D and we were talking while she was purchasing a mechanical reindeer that a vendor was selling. She went to take her purchase to her car while I went on my way looking around. Mom picked up 2 lovebirds at another vendor. We left there and stopped at the feed store once again to pick up feed that they had run out of when I went there earlier in the week.Got back home and worked on my laptop and find why it doesn't detect my wireless.
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Felt pretty weak but was able to: put away groceries delivered by Ocado, clean up my area for meds which needed it badly, made supper.
Watch football (soccer) program as our team Leyton Orient struggled to a draw with neighbors Dagenham and Redbridge. Spent most of the rest of day watch US college football on my computer. Like many times I feel better the longer the day goes on.
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I was home by myself today. I wanted to make cookies, but Mom said we didn't have any butter. So, instead I pulled out my poor, neglected Tassimo coffee maker and cleaned it. It's been sitting for at least 8 months, and wasn't cleaned properly the last time it was used, so it needed some love..*G* It gave me a great feeling of accomplishment when I turned it on, and the "fill tank" and "descale" lights didn't come on. I ran a full tank of water through it to make sure it was good and clean. The "fill take" light came on again, but the tank was still half full, so I disconnected the tank and put it back on, and didn't have any problems again until the tank was actually empty. When it was done, I half filled the tank, and made myself a cappuccino. Then I ran the last of the water in the tank through to make sure it was clean before I put it away again. Even though it was a little too strong, that cappuccino tasted like victory!
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thought i'd jump in on this today :) I was up at 5 30am to get hubby's food and ice ready for the big D. Took him in, put on my 'tech' cloths to watch him get cannulated, took my doggies to the dog park, went and bought groceries, came home and let out the chickens, feed the doggies and cats, did the morning dishes, rented out our trailer, went to pick up hubby, made lunch, got out the gardnening tools, hubby mowed lawns, i moved the chairs etc for him, i did the trimming around the parimiters, trimed the bushes, blew off all the shereddings, swept them up..........took a shower, and took a quick nap :-) Thats just so far of course, it's only 4 30pm ;)
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I did an 8.5 hour shift today and finished the week with 39 hours straight time and 30 minutes of over time, with an overtime shift tomorrow. This will be the first week with over 40 hours since early 2007 (up until two weeks ago it would have been the first week with more than 30 hours; in the last three weeks I doubled my hours for the year).
If this keeps up (it will if I can) I should regain my union insurance early next year. Work + Insurance = Travel.
How do you get the energy to do all that?
Please give us an idea...
Thanks, Kristina.
I think Walter said it best (http://www.billpeckham.com/from_the_sharp_end_of_the/2010/02/cbss-undercover-boss-includes-tvs-best-portrayal-of-dialyzor.html):
I let my spirit tell my body what's going to happen what I'm going to do what I'm not going to do, because if I let the body tell me what I'm going to do I'm not going to do very much.
That seems about right to me. It's been 10 years since I worked day after after day away from a desk I was only offered this position last month), I didn't know if I'd be able to do it, but after 6 days (8.5 today, 48 hours for the week) I'm grinding it out.
My muscles are sore in a good way (my feet are sore, in a bad way) but I'm psyched to finish out this show (the first big show since I got back). I'll work tomorrow and at least into next week, then we'll taper off into the holidays.
But come the new year I'm ready to make the job a priority and I think it'll be good for me. When I started with the union in 1995, it's what turned things around for me in general. I'd say working turned a downward spiral (at the time I had been on dialysis 4 years) into an upward spiral - by the end of 1995 I felt like a new person. No one would go to the gym for 8 hours every day but that's what work felt and feels like. Physical work is just sustained exercise and it leads to eating better and sleeping better and being more organized. It's an upward spiral.
I remember the late 90s as a great time, mostly, a period of work and travel; I'm going to try to get back to that ... my body is just going to have accept that and make it happen.
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Bill, what kind of work do you do (sorry if you've mentioned this already and I've just missed it).
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I work for a company that sets up tradeshows. From 2000 to 2006 I used a computer to layout the shows, and when it got busy I would help to produce graphics. In 2007 I deemphasized work to volunteer more ... when I wanted to get back to work the economy had tanked and I had lost my place in the rotation so I wasn't getting many hours.
Last month I was offered the lead graphics production spot, I accepted but I still had volunteer commitments to unwind - I flew to Baltimore last week - this week is my first full week back on the clock for a long time and really the first full week on my feet for an even longer time.
I've been making hundreds of signs mostly on a big flatbed printer (hp45500) for a computer show that opens at the convention center on Monday.
It's a union job, this is my 16th year in the carpenters union as a tradeshow specialist. Back on the 90s I kicked out carpet and did everything else that needs to be done to set up a show. I like working in graphics not least because I can bring my dog. He's been going to work since he was 7 weeks old - he'll have 11 years in January.
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Nothing.
And I feel like I never do anything. I'm 25, I should be doing things that are fun, that I'll look back on fondly, that will mean something in 5-10 years. Not dragging myself to dialysis and back, cooking twice a week, and wasting all my time on the internet. Hell, I've hardly done anything worth noting in the last 4 years. Definitely nothing at all in the last year and a half.
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I did an 8.5 hour shift today and finished the week with 39 hours straight time and 30 minutes of over time, with an overtime shift tomorrow. This will be the first week with over 40 hours since early 2007 (up until two weeks ago it would have been the first week with more than 30 hours; in the last three weeks I doubled my hours for the year).
If this keeps up (it will if I can) I should regain my union insurance early next year. Work + Insurance = Travel.
How do you get the energy to do all that?
Please give us an idea...
Thanks, Kristina.
I think Walter said it best (http://www.billpeckham.com/from_the_sharp_end_of_the/2010/02/cbss-undercover-boss-includes-tvs-best-portrayal-of-dialyzor.html):
I let my spirit tell my body what's going to happen what I'm going to do what I'm not going to do, because if I let the body tell me what I'm going to do I'm not going to do very much.
That seems about right to me. It's been 10 years since I worked day after after day away from a desk I was only offered this position last month), I didn't know if I'd be able to do it, but after 6 days (8.5 today, 48 hours for the week) I'm grinding it out.
My muscles are sore in a good way (my feet are sore, in a bad way) but I'm psyched to finish out this show (the first big show since I got back). I'll work tomorrow and at least into next week, then we'll taper off into the holidays.
But come the new year I'm ready to make the job a priority and I think it'll be good for me. When I started with the union in 1995, it's what turned things around for me in general. I'd say working turned a downward spiral (at the time I had been on dialysis 4 years) into an upward spiral - by the end of 1995 I felt like a new person. No one would go to the gym for 8 hours every day but that's what work felt and feels like. Physical work is just sustained exercise and it leads to eating better and sleeping better and being more organized. It's an upward spiral.
I remember the late 90s as a great time, mostly, a period of work and travel; I'm going to try to get back to that ... my body is just going to have accept that and make it happen.
Thank you Bill, I was really wondering...
... because having energy in ESRF is quite rare...
I do wish you good luck for the future
& I do hope your body is able to assist you
to support your aims and ambitions.
I take it very easy when my body needs a rest
& I am still working on a strategy
to find a balance between my ESRF and
the many things I would like to do...
Best wishes and good luck to you both from Kristina.
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Whilst cooking Sunday dinner I tested my smoke alarms. Yep, they still work. (Note to self: clean the oven!)
;D
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Poppy...thanks for the grin. :rofl;
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Poppy...thanks for the grin. :rofl;
My pleasure, lovely.
;D
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Visited today (and yesterday) with my nephew (who stopped by Atlanta by en route to meetings in Charlotte, NC) and my niece and her husband (who drove up from Orlando area). It was a great visit; we haven't seen them in four years. I jammed with my nephew, who plays acoustic guitar very nicely (I play bass). We ate, we laughed, as talked and generally got re-acquanted with these fine young people (bot 20-somethings).
gary
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6.5 hours today; 54.5 hours for the week. Back at it tomorrow.
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Whilst cooking Sunday dinner I tested my smoke alarms. Yep, they still work. (Note to self: clean the oven!)
;D
My mother does that all the time, nearly every day. It's very sensitive. It goes off if you try to brown your toast a bit, or if something was spilled on a burner. Sometimes it goes off if you open the oven to take something out.
So, what did I accomplish today.. I successfully overcame the urge to hide under a table from 8 children who would plug their ears and scream at the top of their lungs if one of them them started singing Justin Beiber songs.
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it's 11am and so far today i've made banana muffins and run the dish washer. that may be accomplishment enough, i may take a nap.
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Yes, sort of. I went to see the Allergist today and hopefully got some meds that will clear me up. My voice is gone, gone, gone. I've been coughing so violently that my little kidney and my bladder has just decide to empty with every cough, if you know what I mean. :o
So, it's 40 mg/day of Prednisone for 3 days and a 10 day course of Biaxin (antibiotic). GO AWAY!!!
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not a blessed thing, and i'm not planning to!!!!!!!!!!!! so there!!!!! it's supposed to snow (sorry about swearing) and the walk i took yesterday will just have to count for today too.
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its 2:36 pm where I am right now and I have not :puke; yet today!!! I know that the day is not over yet and it still has great potential to become YACKtastic, but its sill a milestone :cheer:
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I sat at the computer for the morning. Costo run by 2p.m. Then to the Goodwill Thrift Store, where I proceeded to buy science fiction like crazy! For 54 dollars I brought home over 40 books. Awesomeness! Put groceries away, put books away. Trying to get IHD Holiday exchange gifts packaged by boxes are not working out. I may send them three flat rate boxes with gifts in them. Drive them all crazy!
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I didn't do anything today except stay warm under the blankies. The power company decided that Mom was too far behind in payments to bother even letting us know they were gonna shut the power off, so we had no idea of their plans, until the bang on the side of the house (closing the meter) woke me. That was at 10:30 this morning. They turned it back on at 4:55pm. So, I spent the whole day in a cold house, and chose not to take my walk, cuz it was cold and wet out, and there would be no way to warm myself up quickly when I got home. Besides, it starts getting dark at 3pm these days
-
Tidied the office and did some bookwork. Still more to do though
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Holy crap Riki I can not believe that they just cut off the power like that!!!
In Canada it is illegal for any utility to be disconnected between the Oct 31st and April 1st. the companies will charge you up the hoop in fines but they still can not cut you off!!!
My father-in-law used to run the local city hydro company and he told us that there were lost of times that ppl would not be able to pay and there was nothing that could be done to them until after April 1st. That he actually told one family that were having money problem just to hang in there until Oct 31st then they could not worry about it for at least a few months....
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I wrapped up my Secret Santa goodies.
:cheer:
Still need to package them up ready for sending though.
Lost one and a half pounds at WeightWatchers, but now have to learn all about the new ProPoints system. I swear they only change things so that you have to spend more money to lose weight!
Later, when Blokey gets home from dialysis, we will be eating cake (it's his birthday.)
;D
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In Canada it is illegal for any utility to be disconnected between the Oct 31st and April 1st. the companies will charge you up the hoop in fines but they still can not cut you off!!!
That may have been the case at one time, but it is not anymore. They can put load limiters on the meters now, so that it will run your heat and hot water, and keep your freezer from defrosting, but that's about it. We did that for a few months through the spring and summer, just cuz things were tight and Mom couldn't afford to pay off the bill, and they wouldn't turn it back on till the bill was totally paid. She paid on it until it was paid off, and then they took the load limiter off.
right now, we don't have a furnace. It was on it's way out for a while, but finally gave up about a month ago. We've been using electric heaters to keep ourselves warm, and the day that they shut us off, it was a cold and wet day, so there was nothing to keep me warm except blankets and a cat.
As for what I accomplished today, I posted 2 notes on the facebook page that I created for the PEI chapter of the Kidney Foundation. It was a royal pain in the butt, but I go it to work, although, I think my cat may have learned some new swear words.
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I DID accomplish something today. Went out to have lunch with an old friend. It was lovely. Great Mexican food. And, actually, that is all I plan to do today.
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Hey RIKI did i see correctly that you are in PEI?? My dad was born there, in Murry Harbour. I have not been back since my grandfather passed away but my dad says that we still have family there somewhere. My dad and his dad were not close and when my grandfather passed away that was the last time my dad ever went home, his mom had died when I was 5....sad as I always wanted to go back and see if I could track any extended family down.
I had not realized that the ban on turning off the power had gone by the wayside, not cool!!
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Not yet today, but yesterday I did. We were up against some serious deadlines at work, and it was electrifying. My phone rang nonstop, but I got everything on my end finished up and got a bit of a jump on today. (I basically work when I can, and if it's a weekend, I'm happy to do it.)
The person I work with most closely wants to see me promoted to a job I do not want, so that's been awkward. I think she just calls it a promotion to make it sound like an honour, but what do I know? I think I will have to confide in the owner that I do not see myself being successful in this arena. It would have to come at a substantial pay rise, which I doubt is upon the cards right now.
I have many deadlines and I'm going on holiday soon, so back to work!
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finished reading the last harry potter book in preperation for thursday's movie. i'm so excited i can hardly stand it :clap; it didn't snow today, i think that was somebody's acomplishment.
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I walked today, first time I did all week. and I managed to keep my cool while my Dad was here..
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We celebrated hubby's 65th birthday today with lunch out.
-
I rewrote my Blokey's essay.
*slaps wrist* - it's the teacher in me; I can't help correcting things.
;D
-
I celebrated my 2-year divorce anniversary by taking out the trash again. ;D
Other than that, I haven't done a thing yet except read the entire Sunday paper. My homework awaits, though.
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Lets see - Went to Church, Mopped the Kitchen Floor, did a load of Laundry, made Soup Stock out of a Chicken Carcass, that was hanging out in my Fridge, made a Meatloaf and Maybe, Ticked off, some People on E-Mail, Facebook or IHD. I'm done for the Day.
Chicken Soup Anyone?
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I met my daughter's boyfriend and had breakfast with her and him and my hubby. Also went to Kaiser and sat with a friend who is in the hospital. Then home.
-
In a word, no. I stayed in bed all day with my electric heater on cuz it's damp and cold.
-
Was all organised to make my Christmas cards and when I opened the box where I keep everything I still have heaps from last year. I am never that organised. So I am still going to make some and they will be for next year!!!
-
no.. I haven't accomplished much lately. Got bunches I could be doing though..
I want to write a short note to go along with my Secret Santa gift.
I need to scan some pictures for the PEI Kidney Foundation facebook page
I want to do some baking, but I keep forgetting to ask Mom to buy me some butter.. *L*
I should get some more writing done
I should probably pack some of the crap up that's in my room, in case Mom finally throws in the towel and we move out of this dump.
OH..Something I really should do is find my battery charger for my camera so I can take pictures at the Bowl for Research on Sunday
yeah.. I'll get on all this stuff.... tomorrow.. *L*
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Yes,
I got up
I got dressed
I drove to work
and now I am sitting at work.
Not much - but it feels like a heck of a lot to me. heheheh
-
Jackie, from our hospital clinic, got a kidney on Monday. She was called at 5:30 am to go to the Royal London. She messaged us on the way to hospital. I messaged back and she returned it on Wednesday reporting that she was doing well and feeling fine.
We have had 4 transplants in less than a month. :shy; :beer1; :bow; Yea for us.
Everyone is so happy for Jackie and the others. We have a wonderful feeling of community among our patients, nurses, techs and docs.
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That's great that there is a sense of camaraderie amongst everyone at your clinic. All the best for Jackie and her new kidney - hope she continues to feel fine.
-
I watched my grandsons soccer game, they won. Then I went home and took a nap. :guitar:
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I baked butter cookies today. They turned out pretty good. Two of them baked together and look like a bum.. *L*
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Gasps in horror! I went Christmas shopping today!
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Gasps in horror! I went Christmas shopping today!
Me, too! I only need to get a couple of gift cards and I'm done. I know what places I'm getting the cards from, so all I have to do is decide if I want to spend an afternoon running to the shops or order them online. Online sounds easier, but a couple of hours shopping will save me plenty of time the next two years deleting junk e-mail from stores I don't shop at for myself.
Today, I'm doing laundry, and not much else.
-
I went bowling today, a fundraiser for the Kidney Foundation here on PEI. I wasn't impressed, because they had the blacklight on, and I'm visually impaired. My mother had to take me to the lane when it was my turn, and hand me the ball because I couldn't see them. They said that since we hadn't rented the whole place out, they couldn't turn the lights back on for us.
My dialysis nurses were there, though. It was a bit funny to watch them.
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i got a lot of stuff done and spent WAY TOO MUCH MONEY! ::) i cleaned my apt with my boyfriend, then shopped at kohl's and bought some cute boots!! today my boy and I bought him some new suitsfor his accountating internship. kidney disease or not i can shop!!!! hey it's my only cardio right now. :rofl;
xo,
R
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I missed a bus, then another bus, and a fourteen mile one hour journey became a fifty mile three and a half hour journey.
(The achievement being that I walked very fast [practically ran *gasp*] for a mile and a half, trying to catch one of the buses that I missed; if I don't lose weight this week I'll be well miffed, innit.)
I was also rude to a shoe shop person. I didn't mean to be but he wasn't being very helpful, and I was tired and bored and knew that I still had over two hours before I'd get home, even though I should have been at home by then already ... My rudeness did result in him finding the boots he said he didn't have, so that was an achievement.
;D
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I was home alone when I heard the hens cackling and went out to discover one goat nibbling on some weeds and the other goat hanging with one foot hanging stuck in the fence. I spent an hour trying to get it loose. Had to bring a cage and lifted the 150lb billy goat onto the cage and finally got the foot out. Ran around trying to rope the goats to put them back into the pen. He walked around without any injury. I then went to Main street and did some Christmas shopping. Busy, busy day.
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Felt good but tired easily so I have not done much. I took garbage out - :2thumbsup;. I took a nap and feel bit better. Hubby is doing dinner today which is great as that is usually my job. I will do some mash potatoes as he will have chips and, of course, they are not good for me (or you - :bow;.
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I cycled three miles on the very posh (usually for decoration only) exercise bike in the living room. Go me!
;D
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I did 1.5km on my pushbike, with three dogs who like to run in front of me and then STOP!!! We have lots of working dogs and I like to give different ones a run when I'm pedalling. I want to ride my bike EVERY day as I am a bit worried about my weight creeping up - I've always been thin and since starting PD have been gaining. Some gain was good, too much will not be. And I have no commitment, so while I can tick Day 1 off, I already feel the following days of bike riding are in jeopardy
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I came in 0.1 under my base weight. Me good!
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I came in 0.1 under my base weight. Me good!
I did that yesterday... 99.9.. *G*
I went to the Santa Claus parade this evening. I took pictures, but they didn't really turn out, as the parade is after dark, and for some reason, all my pics were more to the right than I thought they were.. I couldn't have been looking through the viewfinder right... I got video of Santa Claus, though
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I am in the process of dying my hair safe in the knowledge that I'm having my bathroom stripped out and reinstalled over this coming week. And what's the betting that I get NO hair dye anywhere other than on my head, for the first time EVER!? (That will be a MASSIVE accomplishment - I've been dying my hair since I was thirteen!)
;D
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:bandance; Day 6 of bike riding. Am now up to 3km. Yesterday I had a head wind - that made it hard work. Even if I stop now, it's the most consistent I've ever been.
Gee, Poppylicious, you are one mad hair dyer! Did you not like your original colour? My eldest daughter has the most beautiful auburn hair and occasionally has it highlighted - I love it natural as it is so pretty. I probably SHOULD dye - I'm what you'd call an ash blonde if you were feeling generous or if you were brutally honest, you'd just say I was going grey!
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Went picking fruit off our trees. We have an orange, grapefruit and a lemon tree(actually more like a large bush). The oranges and grapefruit are the PCTs and the lemons are for the kitchen. One of the PCTs loves my grapefruit.
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I have never dyed my hair. My mother will not let me. She's afraid that what's left of my hair will fall out. I've wanted to dye my hair a dark red since I was about 15
Mom and I went to my dad's today. We stole all his hot water.. *LOL* shower felt nice, though. I'm hoping that we will have hot water here in the next few weeks, before the real winter cold sets in, after Christmas.
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No hot water Riki? Yikes, you poor thing!
My natural hair colour is probably the same beautiful auburn as your daughters; I probably dyed it for the first time because people kept telling me how gorgeous it was. It was the same with the length; I have very think hair and at when I was a tiddler it was down to my waist and I had it chopped off because people loved it so much. I've never gone in for wacky colours, but it has tended to be dark brown or black with a hint of red or purple depending on my mood when in the hair dying shop.
I only dye it now because I get the occasional grey hair peeking through.
;D
Today I have accomplished coldness and the ability to tune out the bathroom man making lots of banging noises in my bathroom.
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no, Poppy.. no heat or hot water. Our furnace died around the end of September
I did absolutely nothing today, and loved every minute of it
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I could probably cope with no hot water, but no heat either? *brrr* I hope you have oodles of woolly jumpers.
Today I failed to engage a reluctant fourteen year old in any form of written activity. And I call myself a teacher ... pffft.
;D
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Actually, I have accomplished a thing or two, and it's early afternoon yet.
I am taking a wee break from work. There was a catastrophic mistake made that went through, by my count, at least 4 checkpoints in order to make it out to the general public. I spent the morning fixing that, but my poor colleague now has to fix it with the people, which is much more difficult than all the work I had to do with computers.
Gwyn could use some extremely positive thoughts and cheering right now. Perhaps I'll have more to say on that later....
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I think I accomplished pissing off my best friend.. she has a performance tonight, and I pointed out to her that if I hadn't looked at her facebook profile, last night, I'd never have known about it, cuz she never said a word about it to me.
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Let's see. Today.... hmmm....
Up at 6:05a.m.
At work at 6:50 a.m., signed in.
Did morning before school routine.
Taught kids about Similar Figures.
Taught kids literature vocabulary
Answered emails
Printed IEP forms
Graded paper
Drove my aide crazy!
Came home.
Filled out paper work for district open enrollment.
Played on computer
It was a busy day
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Already accomplished a few hours of work today, and it's only 9:30!
I have started getting up around 5AM and I love it. Never been a morning person, but this new schedule is really working for me. Also the new transplant.
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Gwyn could use some extremely positive thoughts and cheering right now. Perhaps I'll have more to say on that later....
Positive thoughts and cheering to Gwyn! :grouphug; I hope that whatever the problem may be, it will be easily resolved.
I've had a strand or two of grey hair ever since I was 17, but by the time I was 35, the amusement value was well gone. I dyed my hair for some years to hide the grey, but about 6 years ago, I bought a membership to the Park District's pool (it's beautiful, situated by the river), and I swim most days during the summer. I'd always wash my hair after a swim, so I was literally watching my money go down the drain. This was around the time that I found out how bad my kidneys actually were, so I decided to let my hair revert to its natural grey streaked glory and just be thankful that I survived long enough to get grey in the first place. Fortunately, it must look pretty good because I get a LOT of comments from people about how nice my hair looks, so I don't mind the grey.
I've accomplished a lot over the past few days. I've had my laundry room completely redone, and it has gone from a black hole that absorbed all light and substance to something right out of Martha Stewart's domain. I have bought and put together those chrome storage racks and am in the process of shifting all my stuff from my computer room onto the racks, and it all is looking amazing! I now have plenty of storage space for all of my NxStage supplies when needed, so it makes me feel good that I've done one more thing to ready myself for D.
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I spent oodles of money.
;D
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Gwyn could use some extremely positive thoughts and cheering right now. Perhaps I'll have more to say on that later....
Positive thoughts and cheering to Gwyn! :grouphug; I hope that whatever the problem may be, it will be easily resolved.
Thanks so much, MM. It actually was not a problem - he was at a job interview for work he really wanted and we really needed him to get. See here for details:
http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=17365.180 (http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=17365.180)
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Oh MooseMom, i too am arranging and fixing things for our NxStage supplies and it's beginning to wear me out.. Things are not getting "pretty" like yours, but i am at least getting things ready so it can just move into our lives easily.. Busy day for me/us too. Also, hubby and i walked around the block two seperate times today. Very happy about that because he's been feeling so lousy with his bruised back, that this was a real treat.
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Going for a walk in the fresh air is the best way to put some pep in your life. I hope your hubby's back doesn't give him too much trouble. Back pain can really get you down.
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Going so well with my push bike riding - and it's getting easier. Hope I keep it up (I have commitment issues!)
On hair dying - my Mum (now a fab 89!!!!) used to dye but has gone grey and looks younger because of it. Now if I could just convince her to stop perming - her social life is regulated around her perms and she hates the last few weeks before the next one. Years ago my Dad had a huge mirror put up in the bathroom so his six daughters could see the back of their hair - so Mum can exactly how badly she needs her next perm :)
My dream is to have a laundry with a drain hole in the floor!
Cariad, I would love to be a morning person but fail sadly. Now I'm on overnight PD, going to bed late means getting up late so I'm worse than ever. I'm TRYING to change. You've given me hope.
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Can you put a picture of your push bike up?
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I taught similar figures and how to solve for X today. I am number overloaded. One more number tonight and I will run screaming from the room! I think I did every problem four times today.
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So swamped with work - it never ends. Had a blistering argument with a co-worker over the phone. It is an open secret that her job is in jeopardy and my colleague has asked me to 'vampire her' which I thought was a funny neologism. She meant that I need to 'suck as much information from her as possible while she is here' because she is an expert on a computer program that is essential to our work. If she is sacked, I become the resident computer program expert, a title I'd honestly rather not have. Back to work, and it's 7:30PM here.
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Today I worked for 8 hours, and will go to the hospital to pick up lab reports. Yesterday, however, was a much more full day...
Yesterday I woke up, got ready, drove to pick up a friend. Then I dropped my car off at the dealer to get an oil change, tire rotation and car wash, and they kindly shuttled me and my friend to the hospital for my transplant evaluation. That took longer than i thought it would due to the surgeons being over-busy, but the visit ended about an hour later than projected, and the last thing I did was get 16 vials of blood drawn. I was there from 10:30 to about 5, at which time my car dealer picked us up, I paid for my services and got my car. Then, we drove to a nearby mall to pick up another friend. Headed downtown to park in a garage. Had a Coke and Vodka for Richard, then walked over to the theater and saw Hair from front row seats!!! Awesome, awesome, awesome!!! After that, we all went to Dick's for burgers and fries (it's a local chain - the one we went to some of us like to call "Richard's" - because it's the only one of them that has indoor seating!). Then dropped one friend off at her car at the mall, the other friend off at her home, visited my nephew kitty, then finally came home and went to bed at about midnight. Whew!!!
KarenInWA
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Yeah Karen!! i was asked to perform in HAIR back in the day...lol I was too modest for the hippy i was, and just couldnt do it..lol I'd love to see it again!!
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I put up Christmas lights on our roof today. Tomorrow I will finish the outdoor decorations. Then it's on to the inside decor. And then, the BAKING and CANDY making. YUM! :santahat;
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I did absolutely nothing all week. I spent several hours today looking at recipes for blondies, which, if you don't know, are essentially brownies without chocolate, although some of what I read today says that some would argue with that definition. As long as it has the same texture of a brownie, I don't care.
Tomorrow, dialysis and furnace installation, Saturday, Santa Claus parade and supper with the girls..
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I am in the process of accomplishing the ability to sit gingerly on the toilet, pray (and I'm not a religious person) while I pee as quickly as I can, and gingerly stand up again. I think this weekend is going to include visits to lots of places with public toilet facilities. Roll on Monday ... (whose bluddy idea was it to have a new bathroom?)
;D
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Aced two on line quizzes and haven't done a thing since. Ah, well, at least I accomplished something useful. Maybe laundry next. I've got one of those stuffy head colds that makes your eyes water, so reading and doing a lot of homework isn't very appealing.
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I really need to find more to do... I got up this morning and let the fellas in to install our furnace, then went back to bed, until I absolutely had to get up.. at least we have heat now
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I had to rewash everything I wore and washed last week. Seems I have an allergic reaction to Kirkland brand detergent, so back to All and a rewash. I did three loads of clothes so far. Luckily no towels went in this last week. Then went to lunch with friends, then home. Still doing laundry.
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I worked all weekend and woke up to emails suggesting that I do not know what I am doing. I am having a very hard time with this job recently. I don't feel especially welcome as of late.
Oh, and Gwyn and I drove all the way out to the hospital, drove into the car lot, I realised I forgot the trial tubes at home, we went all the way back home, back to hospital, got one of my favorite techs who had the first vein die early in the draw and had to restick. Not a big deal, just sort of an early sign of how the day was going to progress.
That is awful to hear, Kit. You know that Costco will take that detergent right back and at least give you a cash card for it, right? No receipt needed, just your member card. (I love Costco!)
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I really need to find more to do... I got up this morning and let the fellas in to install our furnace, then went back to bed, until I absolutely had to get up.. at least we have heat now
This is great news....a new furnace!! Yay!! :clap;
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:Kit n Stik; Nothing! Got home from Dialysis at midnight - machine refused to start. Watch Pats v. Jets and was tired but I could not get to sleep. I was playing chess on computer at 9 am! I finally got a couple of hours but had to get up by noon as hubby was going out and we had a plumber coming. Plumber never made it and I slept in my chair from 1-4:30.
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I finished my final project - hooray! Now I just have to study for all the others finals..... :P
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I taught at school today....
Then we went to my husband's mother grave site. Today is the anniversary of her death.
Then we went to eat
Then to the school supply store
Then to Best Buy
Then to the Good will.
Then home.. Shew!
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I made blondies today.. they taste good..
and yes, MooseMom, we now have heat.. it feels nice to come home after dialysis and not freeze
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Plumber never made it and I slept in my chair from 1-4:30.
Are you sure the plumber didn't make it or did you just sleep through his door-knocking?!
;D
(Yay! for having heat, Riki!)
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yes, Poppy.. having heat is a nice thing.. *G*
I called Telus today, to ask about the long distance charges on my bill. I thought they had been charged to my phone, and I couldn't figure that out, because I rarely make any calls on my phone. Turns out they were on my brother's phone, not mine. So, I paid the bill, and texted my brother, telling him what he owes. I have no problem with suspending the phone if he doesn't pay
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I put the car in for a service and walked 24 minutes back home without any problem.
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Volunteered today again at the courthouse. Spent 4 straight hours working with a non-English speaking, black-and-blue Vietnamese woman and her friend who had come along to translate. We filled out out all the forms needed to start her divorce and file emergency motions to keep her abusive, drug-addicted husband away from her and her kids, and out of her apartment. Wow, if you think court forms are confusing in English, try figuring them out while filtering the information through someone who is speaking English as a second language herself. We got through it, got them all filled out, and I sent them down to file it all officially. When they left, they kept thanking me - and I just wanted to congratulate her for being strong enough to step up and do it to protect her kids when she was clearly terrified of him.
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Well done, jbeany; and GO, Galvo!
I can't bike ride at the moment as it is a bit wet.
Can anyone give me help on posting a pic?
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I woke up!
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i think i can chook..... go to additional options on your posting page and you will see 'attach'. i just did it and it worked great.. If i didnt explain well, i can direct you to a post where i just asked the same thing, and got a good answer from greg10.
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I woke up, spent 10 minutes trying to get my 6 year old out of bed. Got ready for work, made lunches, listened to about 50 different things what my son wanted for Christmas while on the way to his school. Ran around at work like a crazy woman and of course by time I get off its snowing outside so I got to drive in the snow with people who have lived in WI their whole lives but act like its the first time they have driven in snow. Picked up my son from my mothers house and listened to 50 more things he wants for Christmas. lol. Went home helped him with his homework and made dinner. Oh I get to sit down for a second and then I had to start setting up for dialysis. Now I am laying in bed on D playing on the computer. Even busier day tomorrow....
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How does my car know that I have a little extra money? I took it into the shop today for headlight fix. Ended up with a motor needed for the headlight.
This was after a good day at work.
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When they left, they kept thanking me - and I just wanted to congratulate her for being strong enough to step up and do it to protect her kids when she was clearly terrified of him.
It's brilliant when women (or men) finally find the courage to leave their abusive partners (been there, done that, best accomplishment of my life!)
Today I accomplished the art of doing nothing whilst looking busy.
;D
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Thanks for the tip on posting pics, boswife. I just didn't look far enough down the page. I've compressed this so hope it comes through small.
This is me on my pushbike - pre-dialysis (I'm a bit healthier looking now!)
I have been out poisoning more burr. Makes me feel good when I see where I've been and the burrs are looking a bit sick.
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Today was a beautiful day here in the Ozarks...sunny, calm and 55 degrees (F). Got out and put up a fence section (about 50 feet) and put in a gate with hubby's help. Today was his first GOOD day since November 5th! YAY! :cheer:
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I canulated hubby for the first time :=) Super happy about that. Actually did a bunch more, but that was my highlight..
Your welcome chook.... pretty tiny though lol guess ya really dont want us to see tooooooo much of ya huh..lol
Nicole, i admire you.. Your a fine young lady
looney, sounds like me not so long ago.. We lived in the highdesert and between horses, chickens, etc... we were either putten up fence, or menden fence.. only, hubby used to laugh cause he said i do the 'sewing' of the fences, not mending. I used either bailing wire, or twine for my kind of fixen..lol
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Well Thank You Boswife. That means a lot to me. I was telling my BF about how wonderful everyone on IHD is. He is happy I have people to talk to that are so kind and thoughtful. So, my Bf doesn't know I know about he is going to propose to me on Christmas! I can't wait to say YES! He means the world to me and one day I can only hope that I can repay him for all the long hours he has dedicated to me.
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Oooooh, another wedding for us to plan! Keep us posted and start practicing your surprised face!
Not only did I accomplish spending too much money on myself today, I sent my sis a link to the website for the local store I was at with fabulous handmade jewelry in exactly her style. She called me evil. Wahahahahahaha! >:D
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Yes, I have Christmas cookies cooling on the rack and some that have already been iced. :2thumbsup;
Still haven't got the tree up, though. :embarassed:
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Oooooh, another wedding for us to plan! Keep us posted and start practicing your surprised face!
Oh I will for sure keep everyone posted!
Edited: Fixed quote tag error - okarol/admin
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I slept late. I ate. So far it's been a great day. :rofl;
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Went to the local small town Christmas Parade which was quaint with Mr. and Mrs. Santa, a Nativity float, the fire truck loaded with little kiddos and the high school marching band. Lots of horses and even a cart pulled by a team of goats.
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Helped Mama decorate for Christmas at her house. Went Christmas shopping at Kay Jewelers. Oh pretties! Picked up EMLA prescription at Walgreen's. Big Lots is dangerous.
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haven't done anything today, except try to protect the neighbors dog from my cat, when the dog decided he wanted to visit just as Bro opened the back door.. *LOL*
I think Mom said something about tackling the artificial Christmas tree that my grandfather gave us a few years ago. He says that it's all numbered.. *L*
Bro is here, hiding from his gf.. *L* so, with the 3 of us here, we should be able to figure it out.
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Riki - artificial tree tip - put the lights on each layer before you add the next layer of branches. Much easier!
So far, nothing much besides getting the baking list organized for the big bake-off with Sis next week. I'm procrastinating on finishing studying for tomorrow's final exam in Business Law. I'm ready to be done!
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Good luck on that test jbeany!
I cleanedd the panry and then spent the rest of the day waatching our first winter storm. Snow 8in so far and wind wind. sure hope the road crews are out early. Have to leave for "D" at 5:20 am.
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I have packages ready to go out the door. I did Christmas cards last night.
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I announced to the kids this morning that we were staying in all day due to weather. They did go out briefly to the grocery round the block, but that was it. They stayed in and worked on art for Santa and Aidan worked on his Welsh project. I finished writing copy for work. I have to follow up on a really boring part of the job tomorrow, pestering people for information. I have procrastinated much too long on this. Plan to wake up for 5:30ish and try to get this done. My four-year-old was in a terrible mood today and did not want to speak to anyone. Cannot stand it when he gets like this. We tried all of the usual tricks and nothing seemed to work. He's actually been like this all weekend - extremely defiant, with loads of backchat. Gwyn put him in his room today, but had to hold the door shut to stop him walking out. At one point Liot screamed "I know you can't stand there all day!" Sheesh, who is teaching this lad how to push all our buttons. I think he was exhausted, though, because the last time we put him in his room he fell asleep, and it was not even 7 in the evening.
Anyway, since he does not express himself well at all, tonight I've had Santa buy him a Kimochi Cat doll - a little soft toy that has a front pocket with different emotions you can put in there to describe feelings. I read good things from other buyers, just hope he cottons to it. Got some other Christmas shopping done online. I think I'm just about done, at least for the boys. I wanted to buy a white truffle for Gwyn as his big gift. Of all places, Costco is selling them, but I don't know how to judge if it is decent enough quality. Also, it says you must eat it within 72 hours so I would have to time it too perfectly and then insist that he prep it immediately. Too much pressure. I'll think of something else.
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I accomplished 12 hours of sitting on my butt watching three football games all in a row.
Cariad, I'd be really interested to hear how your son takes to the Kimochi Cat doll.
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Been going through my late parents things and we found old mother day cards and father day cards us kids gave them many years ago can't believe they still had them
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MM, I will be sure to report back after Christmas on whether Liot accepted the cat. The comments from other buyers gave me many ideas on how to use it. Even adults have apparently used these dolls to improve communication in marriage. (I'll admit, I found that peculiar, but if it works for them who cares!)
Have not accomplished much today. I went to labs. Now, I know you must be thinking "But aren't you on a Monday/Thursday course, cariad?" for naturally you all have memorized my schedule. Yes, normally I am. But yesterday Gwyn and I ended up in one of those Let's entirely reassess our marriage from top to bottom discussions just as I was about to leave. Two hours later, it was a bit too late to bother. I knew the conversation was important enough, so never mind the labs.
Today, I received a positively brilliant compliment at work. One of my primary functions is to write copy for other companies to sell their products and services. Apparently, in the past, the company that we work for would put their own copyright on these little pitch pieces since they are the ones who run the program and pay for everything. Today, our liaison at this massive company told me that they have been putting their copyright on these for years and no one objected, and then out of the blue she is getting demands from customers that this big company take their copyright stamp off these little adverts. She said to me "You've done such a good job, I can see why they are all fighting to retain their own rights to this copy." This company has now had to make what she termed a "global change" and no future writeups will feature their copyright. I am beyond flattered. Not that I entertain any grand illusions that what I do has any significance to the world whatsoever, but it's still lovely to receive recognition.
Somewhat ironically, I suppose, I now have writer's block and cannot seem to get the last two finished. My deadline is tonight, so it may be a late evening for me.
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Relax, cariad Enjoy the compliment and take it as it was meant. Don't let it cause you performance anxiety. It is lovely that you have been recognised for your work.
I have my Christmas cards almost done. I make them from last year's cards - revamp them, and think they look pretty good. Would probably be cheaper and easier to just buy some but I love doing it. I especially like sending back to someone the card they send me last year - all cut out and re-glued of course. Small things, I know.
Now for the present wrapping!
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chook - you made your cards?? wow! :bow;
I am sick with a cold and it doesn't look like I will get to mail any in time.
I managed to order a couple things for Jenna online so I did accomplish something.
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I received the official report from the sheriff's department about the 3 car pile-up fender bender I was in on Monday, and called my insurance agent to let him take care of the rest. Nothing like getting rear-ended on the ice 15 minutes before an exam to settle your nerves. :P (I'm pretty sure I aced it anyhow, but it might have been easier to focus without a whiplash headache!
I also studied for tomorrow's exam and made heart-shaped frosted sugar cookies to pass out with my presentation for my spreadsheet class. My state uses little red heart stickers on your driver's license to show that you are a registered donor, so I figured I'd go with the theme. I didn't have a kidney shaped cookie cutter, or I'd have gone with that, too.
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wow jb, i missed seeing you had an accident. Here's hug :cuddle; Good luck!
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I made it to uni. :thumbup;
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Riki - artificial tree tip - put the lights on each layer before you add the next layer of branches. Much easier!
Pffft, I knew I should have come on here before putting my tree up this morning!
That's my accomplishment ... I put the tree up and made the house look a little bit sparkly. Then I wrapped some more presents. Yay! Nearly done. Now, where's the blasted bathroom man?
;D
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i cleaned the kitchen and ran the dishwasher this morning, something i have been ignoring since the kiddos were here saturday. three boys make a lot of noise and clutter. baking cookies and bakers clay ornaments makes a lot of dirty dishes. (used all the paper plates) recently i've been tempted to dig a hole, crawl in and have someone else cover me up.
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Thanks for the encouragement, chook! Don't know how you gathered that I was feeling the pressure of living up to that compliment, but you were absolutely right. I did manage to get over it and just do the writing.
Hellish day! Teacher appreciation, Sandwich Day for the four-year-olds, dinner party for the older kids. We signed up to bring boule, and then Gwyn got called in for his first day of work this morning, so guess who was left to make the last two boule? I delivered the kids to their respective schools, dropping off one boule with butter and jam to Liot's school, drove home, wrote an apologetic email to the PTA president backing out of a meeting we were going to have (I wasn't prepared), baked two boule (dough was made, thankfully) worked for about 4 hours, wrote a bit on IHD, answered the door about 5 times - mostly packages being delivered for Christmas, but the last was a woman wanting some free kid items that we had put on Freecycle. Gwyn did not check his email to tell me she was coming round. Then I couldn't find the damn Spiderman boots, so I had to phone Gwyn while this woman stood awkwardly in my foyer. For some reason known only to himself, Gwyn had placed them in the basement. Oh well, found everything and decluttered the house that little bit.
Made self more presentable, drove to Aidan's school to pick him up from basketball, drove to his after-school program where he was bouncing off the walls in excitement, collected younger child, Gwyn met us there. Started search for our bread knife that I had left with the teachers this morning. Concerned because we were not successful, but then had a delightful time at the kids' dinner party. The teacher had each family make an art project representing our family. I pitched some red paper and cellophane at Gwyn and told him to cut out a dragon. Aidan and I pasted a white and green sheet together, then we taped the dragon on top and voila, a Welsh flag. Then we each wrote something in Welsh on there. Gwyn read the Welsh, Aidan translated, and then Gwyn read the longest place name in Europe to everyone and translated it. Aidan has always known how to play to a crowd.
We are home now. Back to work.
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:bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
Exams are done! Time to party!
Or sleep for a week, take your pick.
Waiting for final grades to come in within the next two weeks. I took a course on Excel spreadsheets, Business Law, and Paralegal 101. Apparently all too easy for me - my grades going into the finals were, respectively, a 98%, a 99%, and 101%. (Can you tell the last one offered a wee bit too much extra credit? I only did half of it, really.)
I plead guilty to the charge of being an overachiever, your Honor. :rofl;
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Got my car through registration. PTL.
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Took my parents to the Bus station so they can ride it to San Antonio. They'll stay overnight there and then catch the plane to Chicago. They'll be gone 2 weeks so I am going to have to sleep in the main house instead of the back house where I am staying, When I got back I went around the property to make everything was closed and locked up.
The only concern that I had was that my mom had what I thought to thin of a coat when they arrive in Chicago. I called up my sister and made sure they have have a much warmer coat just in case. They haven;t been up there in the winter for several years so when they step out the building they'll remember why they left Chicago.
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A huge winter cleaning day - you should see Gwyn, what a wreck he looks tonight. We are repainting what we call the Play Room which is our largest area in the house and also happens to have vaulted ceilings. I think we'll just pay to have the higher portions done. I mostly managed some laundry and tidying of the kitchen. My older son had one of his best friends over for a play date. They spent about 4 hours sat in front of the wii. (Well, not exactly sat, I suppose, but close enough.) I took my little guy to Whole Foods and he was such an angel. I asked him what sort of mushrooms we should buy and he advised shitake. I bought him truffles (the chocolate kind, not the mushroom) for behaving himself so well.
Contacted someone advertising on Craigslist that she will professionally wrap gifts. I am so done with staying up until 4AM every Christmas Eve. This is our present to ourselves. I just hope the person responds or we'll be forced to put a desperate listing up on Craigslist.
We were supposed to go to a big party last night, but the hosts called at the last minute to say that their little girl was ill and they had to cancel. Disappointing, especially for my older son because their son is another of his best friends. Luckily, we received and invite from one of his favourite school friends. This little boy is Latino, but his parents are Irish. They are holding a really clever party in which everyone is to bring a wine or beer and we'll have an improvised tasting. The only dilemma is what to bring. We shall be traveling by taxi for that one, which should thrill the children no end.
I also frantically completed my shopping for my parents which was just about the most aggravating experience in the world. I kept phoning one, then the other, to get help with their gifts. My father loves caramel apples. Did you know that Williams-Sonoma has the cheek to charge $23 per apple!!! Blimey! Everywhere else wanted over $20 to ship. So, I phoned their local Whole Foods and ordered 8 apples to be held for my mother. Now that I think about, I should have requested delivery. I'll ring them back tomorrow. Maybe some keen bakery boy will do it for a sawbuck.
I bought Jim Lahey's no-work bread book for my mother, which required having my father email me pictures of the cast iron dutch oven she owns. It will work, but why does she have a cast iron dutch oven from Lodge? This makes me suspect that she already owns the book - that book has doubled sales of this pot, I am certain. So, I also bought her a cookware grade Himalayan salt block. I did not want to pay the extra shipping, and Santa Barbara was in the 3-day zone, so I am hopeful it will arrive on time. Other than relieving the local liquor store of all of their beers with insulting titles (this is a tradition between Gwyn and me) I think I've completed my Christmas shopping. Yes!!!
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It was a cleaning day for me after 2 weeks of living like a bachelor all that time. Mom and Dad have been up in Chicago visiting my brothers and sisters for Christmas and now they will be coming back on Friday.
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I had my last dialysis for the year.
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I packed Christmas up into boxes before dusting and hoovering. Now I'm all worn out with the excitement that gave me!
;D
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Good luck to you, Henry. I suggest you explain to our American cousins what a kangaroo jack is, or they'll think you're travelling with Paul Hogan.
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Good luck to you, Henry.
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I hoovered and steamed the kitchen floor. This is a process that takes a great deal of time, so I am pretty exhausted. Also did loads of laundry and finally OxiCleaned the chairs at the breakfast table. I could now comfortably do an advert for OxiClean! It took an old blackberry stain right off the upholstery. I love our kitchen chair fabric and the table and chairs are a really expensive set that my parents got through my father's old company, so if we wreck it, it stays wrecked. I was thrilled.
Also bought a pizza from Whole Foods - they are having a sale on their bake at home pizzas, so only $9 for a huge pizza that just needed a few minutes in the oven. It is a much thinner crust than the ones that they prep for you, but we enjoyed. My younger son was Kid of the Day at school today, so got to bring whatever he wanted to share with the class, plus some other privileges that I am not quite clear on. He brought a glow in the dark dinosaur puzzle and his Buddy the Dinosaur (it's a train conductor t-rex where you can insert all of these plastic tickets into his clock and he will entertain you with dinosaur games and facts). He also wore his special Manchester United shirt. Special because it was a gift and he can actually say he's been to Manchester. He calls it his soccer shirt and he loves it.
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came to ihd,about 4 days in a row
some body call guiness book of records :rofl;
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I started my day late around 11:30am. Took a shower, ate brunch, watched t.v.. Since I graduated college last April 2009, I am always home. I go out when it's my dialysis or sometimes when I go to the mall. People in dialysis are not really welcome to work here in the Philippines.
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Found major bargains, first at Salvation Army, then the mall. 20 books for 20 bucks - I arrived just after they put out a new batch, with a ton of sci-fi in it. I returned something that didn't fit at the mall, (my original goal!) and then found plenty of good deals - some on things I actually needed. Seems like EVERYTHING is 70% off right now. I got some shiny, sparkly things that I didn't need, too, so that wasn't an accomplishment, but it felt good anyhow!
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Spent 2hr15min talking on the phone with another D patient. I enjoyed every minute talking about everything thats going on in our lives with her. Made some calls about my parents Medicare.
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I managed to get through an entire box of Kleenex.
I got out of bed only to feed the fish, feed myself and take a shower. I am now back in bed.
I read Henry's explanation of what a "kangaroo jack" is and was disappointed to read that it was a joke.
I whined about my cold.
And that about sums it up for today. I'll probably accomplish even more tomorrow!
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.
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HI Jbeany,
Sounds like a delicious-do-nothing-day to me - we should all enjoy them when we can. I think homework till 2am will be a big plus factor - hope it was good - I am a teacher, so I have a professional interest in these matters!
Just submitted my latest book to the publisher - always a high when I press the send button.
Might take up some knitting or crochet now.
All the best,
Kay
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Henry, noooo! I like the jokes! Don't stop! That was the highlight of my very snotty day!
Truth be told, as I was reading it, I was thinking, "He's making this up!" I once witnessed a pretty vicious altercation between two kangaroos in a zoo...they were fighting over a lady roo. I didn't buy your claim that roos were "docile creatures." :rofl;
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I helped my Mom set up her computer in the living room. She wanted to be able to watch the big tv with the digital box. *L*
I also bought a second wii remote, so Mom and I can play against each other in Wheel of Fortune. I had bought a charger a while ago, with 2 battery packs, so I just had to install the second battery pack into the remote and set it on the charger.
not much, but I do have a warm fuzzy feeling of accomplishment
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I accomplished watching a lot of football. And I made a concerted effort to not whine so much about my cold. :rofl;
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Well, I went to a one hour meeting, drove to a little old ladys house to check some paperwork for her, made 3 loaves of cinnamon raisin bread ( really good stuff) did one load of laundry and made dinner. Thats enough for one day. I am going to bed now.
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I helped hubby ear-tag 10 young cows - in the rain!!! And then relaxed by checking in on IHD.
After reading about the kangaroo jack, I had to add this bit: when we went on our caravan holiday, loaded up with all my PD supplies, we did a tyre. The ordinary jack wasn't big enough to lift the weight but luckily we had one of those big jacks with us. Strangely enough, we call it a 'wallaby' jack. :)
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We call ours a Farm Jack. It's comes in handy for lots of things here.
My Christmas decorations are put away and I have started my annual "spring cleaning". It will take me several days but the house always feels so much better when the walls, ceiling, light fixtures, windows, doors and everything in it is clean.
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I am very pleased to report that today was the first day since Friday that I got out of bed and got dressed. I've been so miserable with my cold. And now my husband has it.
I shovelled our driveway, sidewalk, front path and stoop, which was probably more than I should have done because when I came back inside, I promptly fell asleep. But getting outside and getting some fresh air and exercise felt wonderful, and the snow is very pretty.
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Glad to hear you're on the mend.
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I made an appt. to see an orthopedist. Ever since my car accident I have numbness and tingling in my arms and hands that wakes me up at night. :banghead;
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My blog has taken a new direction, I'm now writing more about me and work and my effort to regain my insurance.
I need to get 330 hours in a three month period (http://www.billpeckham.com/from_the_sharp_end_of_the/2011/01/day-one-at-the-base-of-a-hill.html)
Habilitation means using dialysis to Work, Volunteering and Travel (http://www.billpeckham.com/from_the_sharp_end_of_the/2011/01/work-and-volunteering.html)
This week I clocked 36 hours (http://www.billpeckham.com/from_the_sharp_end_of_the/2011/01/week-one.html)
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I took all my beads and jewelry making supplies to my sister's house, which is half an hour away. We spent all afternoon repairing assorted jewelry, both hers and mine, and making some new pieces. Then I loaded up and drove home, planning to get back before dark. I pulled into the gas station a block from my house just as night really fell, planning to top up my tank for the week. No purse in the seat next me, or in the back with the bead organizers. Phooey. So much for not driving in the dark.
So, I accomplished listening to Prairie Home Companion from start to finish for a change, while I drove back to get my purse and then back home again.
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not a blessed thing! and that's perfectly all right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Haven't done a thing YET......but the day is young and the list is long. Wish me luck!
Let us know how you go with the orthpedist, Karol. Not good if you are losing sleep. Hope you get some help.
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Accomplished next to nothing today. I am putting copious amounts of oolong back in my diet as my skin is so dry all the time and nothing seems to help. Back to 3 pots a day (about 48oz) of citron. Yesterday I think I set a personal record by cleaning for 5 hours straight. No school for the kids yesterday thanks to MLK, but my son's private school friends were all required to be in attendance. So, I offered to have Aidan's friend over after school, and also invited his younger sister who happens to be in Liot's class. They were only by just over an hour - which frankly was plenty for me. ;D Then just as I'm recovering, Gwyn returns and another friend rang to ask if we would like to join him and his son on the sledding hill. We received 3 sleds from Santa last year but had never used them, then we had the most delightful snowfall yesterday - powdery, calm air, not too cold. We spent about an hour there. I even took to the slope for a run with Liot in the big sledding tube. Then we had to grab fast food (Chipotle) because it was gone 8PM and the kids had not eaten. Today, Liot's class is supposed to go sledding, so at least he's had loads of practice. There is a mogul at the bottom of this hill, and he nearly went flying off when I went down with him. I've no idea how he'll have done all on his own, but cannot wait to find out!
Tomorrow evening there is a snowshoeing event at the ecological centre - I am debating whether to try to register the four of us. It will certainly tire Aidan out as he also has his basketball training. Tired children are the best kind of children.
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Well, I went to a one hour meeting, drove to a little old ladys house to check some paperwork for her, made 3 loaves of cinnamon raisin bread ( really good stuff) did one load of laundry and made dinner. Thats enough for one day. I am going to bed now.
I know about where you live, I am coming for bread! :rofl;
Today: I woke up at dialysis at 2:30 a.m. with a migraine. Still had it at work. Made it through the day without killing anyone. Went to the school supply store for certificates. Then Costco for groceries. Then to dinner with hubby.
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Today this PD patient - & temp haemo patient - has had a chatty D session. First time for everything. Feeling good.
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:clap; Henry P........ pleases my heart just to hear of your night... :flower;
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Fixed fence today, burned a brush pile and moved cattle from one pasture to another. I'm tired!
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took the wife out for a valentines day lunch :thumbup;
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Spent hours on the laptop checking out what IHD members have been up to - I've a bit a catchup to do. And busy on Facebook as well, seeing what everyone has been up to. Keeps me in touch and makes me smile. Oh, and I had a good night's sleep last night for the first time in a week. Now that is a grand accomplishment!
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Laundry. Homework, although never enough. I have "spring" break this next week, so I'm hoping to work ahead on everything.
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I laid in bed until 1:30 this afternoon until the cat threw up on the bed twice. Yuck!
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I laid in bed until 1:30 this afternoon until the cat threw up on the bed twice. Yuck!
no way!
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I laid in bed until 1:30 this afternoon until the cat threw up on the bed twice. Yuck!
Oh, that's just yucky. My 'in sympathy' anecdote: I woke up this morning to find that my completely litter-box trained cat had decided to enjoy a spot of 'very loose bowel syndrome' (I'm not even going to attempt to spell that 'd' word) on the landing. Thankfully I didn't put my foot in it as I sleepily stumbled to the bathroom.
Yesterday Blokey and I had a fabulous day in London, and when I say fabulous I mean he didn't feel ill or tired or anything. Now that IS an accomplishment ... yay!
Today I cycled two miles on the exercise bike and did thirty minutes on the Wii Fit. Go me!
;D
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Hmmm...does having good intentions count?
I did do a bit more homework - I'm just not motivated today!
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nope - not a thing!
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I worked in my sewing room for 15 minutes!! That's it!!!! :flower;
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Yes! While hubby was at dialysis I steamed cleaned our living room. We have a pup so I like to do it from time to time to keep it fresh. I used the new Febreeze steam cleaning solution. Gee it smells so nice now.
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Wooohhhhoooooo!
Homework done for the next 2 weeks in my first class. I'd do more, but my teacher is too scatter-brained to let us know what's coming up next.
Homework and reading done for my second class for the entire Month of March.
Now, I have to do my taxes so I can finish my federal student aid app before March 1. :puke;
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I have had a stupid day, and it's mostly over. I did the washing up.... Wow, a whole 15 minutes of productivity! The roads are snowy and it's slowed everything down. We have been having an email discussion/argument over what to do with the PTA because some random parent complained that we are supporting the teachers going to Madison. She said we should be ashamed of ourselves.
Hmmm, not exactly winning any friends with that approach. I've told the PTA that I am not giving up my political voice for any volunteer job that no one would have for love nor money until I came along. The solution is your typical silly semantics game: we have formed a separate committee that will have no affiliation with the PTA (though all of the board members are on it) and it will organize the fight against the budget bill. Happy now, union-hating parent?? :rofl;
I should really be cleaning. Off I go....
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Way to go Cariad! :2thumbsup;
For a day off from work, I actually got quite a bit done....
First I took a load of clean clothes to my dad who convalescing in transitional care from a hospital stay. Then I bought food for my school gerbils and tarantula. Then a doctor's appointment, followed by lunch at home.
We then went to school to give a tour to a prospective family, then visited our dialysis clinic to say hi to everyone and get a $38,000 bill straightened out (neither our insurance nor medicare think they should pay, so it says that WE are responsible! Cough, cough, gag!)
Then we took a walk (about a mile for me and two miles for Carl). After that I talked with a real estate agent who is handling the sale of some property for a board for which I am president and then I had a satisfying chat on FB.
Now we are finished with dinner and I'm tired...... :waiting; What gives?
I'm not looking forward to going to WORK tomorrow. Ha ha ha ha ha!
Aleta
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Taxes are done, and so is the federal aid app. I'm even getting a lovely refund thanks to my tuition bills. :bandance;
Now, more homework.
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I've been catching up on book work that has been ignored while I was less than well. I should have it the bag today. Very satisfying.
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Today has been a great day.
We took my older son to his baseball tryout. I think he was nervous, but he did really well. If they cannot see his potential, they should not be coaches.
Then we went to Growing Power which is an amazing collective of urban farmers that aims to fight racism and poverty through tackling food accessibility. Will Allen, a former pro basketball player, founded it.
Because of my father's former business, he has a load of credits through a trade organization. It's a little difficult to explain, but companies sign up to accept these credits, and you basically treat them like a bank account, except you must pay tax and in gratuity situations, tip in cash. Well, in addition to having some of our favorite restaurants signed up, Growing Power is a member. There is no tax on food in Wisconsin, and no tips in a market. We just received their basket with fresh broccoli (we put some into the egg and potato scramble we had for lunch and it was incredible - I don't even like broccoli that much) haricots verts, 4 apples (2 red, 2 green), French breakfast melon, a yellow onion, 4 pears, 4 oranges, and four bananas. My understanding is that everything is grown locally, so I would love to know who on earth has the facility to grow bananas and oranges in Wisconsin. Gwyn also grabbed some honey harvested from their 11 hives kept out back. This cost us nothing but my father's account number. We can replace our CSA with this, and it is year round, not just summer, so we'll save probably over $1000 annually, and my father has around $140,000 in credits. We really needed this right now - finances are dire.
Then we returned home and noticed that the bananas had been smashed in the bag under the heavier fruits. So, Gwyn and I just threw together another batch of blueberry muffins, and added two of the bananas. Those should be ready shortly. I am also doing laundry. (Woo-hoo! Excitement!)
Fun little moment from the day (don't we all need these!): While Gwyn was out, I tried to help my four-year-old with his Mac (he calls it his iComputer). He cannot read very well yet, so he did not know what to do when the computer told him it wanted to update. Then when the computer shut down, he showed me how he knows how to get back to his favorite sites. Wow. I had no idea he knew his way around that device so well. Then I told him I was going down to the kitchen, which is two floors down from his bedroom. I warned him that I would not be able to hear him down there, and asked him what he could do if he needed help. Without missing a beat he replied "I could Skype you to your iPhone." Beg your pardon??
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Cariad - aren't kids amazing~! No fear of technology there. My 13 year old son has been our very own Geek Squad for years now. He teaches me so much!
So, we've had a good day. The best part was an hour and a half swimming with my favorite person - my son. Nice day!
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Did lots of lawn edging in my daughter's yard. As she has had me here for almost 6 weeks, and another 2 after this, I feel good to be able to do some jobs around the house for her.
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In spite of the auto mechanic's certainty that anyone wearing heels and make-up couldn't possibly have a clue about car repair, I installed my new windshield wiper spring arms on my elderly car without any help. Yeesh, it was only a single bolt to loosen. It took me longer to get the new wiper blades out of the vacu-sealed, safer-than-a-bank-vault plastic packaging than it did to install the new arms!
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In spite of the auto mechanic's certainty that anyone wearing heels and make-up couldn't possibly have a clue about car repair, I installed my new windshield wiper spring arms on my elderly car without any help. Yeesh, it was only a single bolt to loosen. It took me longer to get the new wiper blades out of the vacu-sealed, safer-than-a-bank-vault plastic packaging than it did to install the new arms!
:yahoo;
I tidied my garage and discovered a long lost (and much loved) necklace hidden away in a carrier bag. I lost it in the autumn of 2006; I only know this because the bag was full of a plethora of receipts, leaflets and postcards from our honeymoon.
;D
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Lunch with friends at the Olive Garden, does that count as accomplishing anything? Don't know - but it was yummy!
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Managed to get out of bed before 8.am
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Managed to get out of bed before 8.am
Well done! :2thumbsup;
I hoovered.
;D
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Just managed to get through the day.
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Looks like we will be moving so, though nothing really got done today, I think my days are going to get busier and stressfull!
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I managed to upset someone unintentionally today.
I am so sleep deprived and feeling insecure at the moment ...
I'm sorry x :embarassed:
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I managed to upset someone unintentionally today.
I am so sleep deprived and feeling insecure at the moment ...
I'm sorry x :embarassed:
Don't you wish there were a delete button for times like that? :grouphug;
I was teaching a fourth grade student about finding the areas of triangles and he eyes lit up with comprehension! :2thumbsup;
I love it when that happens. :clap;
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Networking for my future job - always handy....
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I managed to upset someone unintentionally today.
I am so sleep deprived and feeling insecure at the moment ...
I'm sorry x :embarassed:
Don't you wish there were a delete button for times like that? :grouphug;
Yes a think before speaking filter on my mouth :oops;
:grouphug; hopefully he'll forgive me x
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Took a shower. Took my son to school. Took the dog to the vet for her oral surgery. Cleaned up the kitchen. Got a few groceries. Made lunch. Fielded a few phone calls. Now going to pick up son and dog and make dinner..... Yep, that's my day! :flower;
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Got after six hours of sleep and slogged off to work.
Did morning duty. Said good morning to every student who walked into the gate. Got yelled at by another teacher who came late to. she thought I should be directing traffic, not watching the kids. I think she should get to work on time! Managed to keep my big mouth shut, though.
Taught Volume of triangular prisms today.
Reviewed testing skills for CSTs.
Played silent ball with sixth period, then had then write rules for a game.
Had an IEP with parent and admin at the end of the day.
Came home to the computer.
Watched comedy dvds.
Watched RAW.
Went to dinner with hubby.
Went Walmart for paper for school.
Now off to beddy bye.
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I had a really good whinge to my Mumsy on the phone. She put everything into perspective. Since coming off the phone everything has gone skewy again and perspective has been lost.
I am getting good at whinging.
;D
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KitKatz, I was exhausted from reading about your day! :bow;
How do yo do it?
Hugs, Poppy.
We had an interesting day....after most of the kids went home, one of the teachers from the early childhood class came back with her family and I performed her wedding. Right there in the classroom. That is a first!
:flower;
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Why yes, I did accomplish something today, thanks for asking:
Returned hideous "mint green" jeans to GapKids. They looked better online - in person they looked like some godforsaken throwback to the days of acid wash. Also returned chambray trousers that were supposed to be a size 10 (boys) but could have easily fit me. I know I am on the shorter side, but there are no 10-year-olds towering over me in this city.
Then, because I was already on that side of town, I went to Trader Joes for the first time in about a year. Purchased many supplies at great prices including tuna in olive oil (very difficult to find) apple juice in convenient half gallon sizes for less than half the price of the enormous glass gallon bottle we buy at Whole Foods, black mango tea to ice, and a few easter candies for the boys. I also brought a large paper bag of compostable materials in my car, and drove it over to Growing Power to drop in their community compost bin. (Our worms just cannot keep up - we are probably going to donate them.) Unloaded shopping at home and then off to the library to ask a few questions and finally get a new library card, plus book. Our library is gorgeous!! One of those old buildings that are all stained glass and marble.
About to pop over to Aidan's school - we have a monthly family theme night there that we try to go to each time (as who knows if these programs will survive the cuts). Tonight the theme is math and technology, so we'll learn about good kids' sites to visit on the internet, then they offer a free dinner to all attendees. I don't go in for school food, but the kids will eat it, and it's nice for a change of scene for them.
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Why yes, I did accomplish something today, thanks for asking:
Returned hideous "mint green" jeans to GapKids. They looked better online - in person they looked like some godforsaken throwback to the days of acid wash. Also returned chambray trousers that were supposed to be a size 10 (boys) but could have easily fit me. I know I am on the shorter side, but there are no 10-year-olds towering over me in this city.
Then, because I was already on that side of town, I went to Trader Joes for the first time in about a year. Purchased many supplies at great prices including tuna in olive oil (very difficult to find) apple juice in convenient half gallon sizes for less than half the price of the enormous glass gallon bottle we buy at Whole Foods, black mango tea to ice, and a few easter candies for the boys. I also brought a large paper bag of compostable materials in my car, and drove it over to Growing Power to drop in their community compost bin. (Our worms just cannot keep up - we are probably going to donate them.) Unloaded shopping at home and then off to the library to ask a few questions and finally get a new library card, plus book. Our library is gorgeous!! One of those old buildings that are all stained glass and marble.
About to pop over to Aidan's school - we have a monthly family theme night there that we try to go to each time (as who knows if these programs will survive the cuts). Tonight the theme is math and technology, so we'll learn about good kids' sites to visit on the internet, then they offer a free dinner to all attendees. I don't go in for school food, but the kids will eat it, and it's nice for a change of scene for them.
Sounds like a lovely day! :2thumbsup;
We had dinner on the porch! A wonderful sign of SPRING! :yahoo;
Give me more of this, I say! :flower;
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Dropped our tax info off to the tax man and made a couple financial decisions..... That was my Wednesday.....
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Not yet, but it's not 10 pm yet, and my homework isn't due until 1 pm tomorrow. Gonna be a long, sleepless night.....
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I took the day (well, technically morning, because I only work till lunchtime on Thursday's) off work as I am poorly. This is an accomplishment because usually I'm the idiot who goes in even when feeling like soiled under-garments and gets no thanks for it. I refuse to feel guilty for being ill.
;D
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All the machines in my house keep breaking down !!!! am i generating magnetic energy or something ? I don't actually know what this is but sounds technical like I might! First my laptop un-wirelessed itself (tricky now static on my bed only) my blood pressure machine has had enough of my high blood pressure and curled up and died and now my milk frother for cappuccino won't froth ....Help!
it's a sad fact of life that these 3 things might be the most important to me right now!
:bow;
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We had a lovely time at the Math and Tech night yesterday. On the way in, there was someone from community services giving the kids hacky sacks (those little leather balls) chapstick and hand sanitizer.The boys watched a number of books on film in the art room, then we went down to the library where they could play games. I was delighted to see how eager Liot was to learn Spanish, as he will attend that school next year.
We were going to leave then but Aidan said he was starving and they were just setting up the food. It was Mexican, and the best school food I've eaten there. There were trays filled with ground beef or chicken and vegetables, plus a vegetarian rice with vegetables, soft taco shells, and a large bowl of pears. Inside the gymnasium, there was an entire table devoted to condiments: chopped tomato, onions, shredded lettuce, loads of cheese, salsa, sour cream, jalapenos and cilantro. They had way too much food for the small number or participants, so most people, including us, went home with containers of leftovers. I have a load of chopped cilantro down in the fridge, just waiting for me to whip up a pesto for Gwyn and me to have this evening. We also grabbed cheese, both meats, rice and close to two dozen soft taco shells. I already had some more of the rice for lunch. Then our number came up in the raffle (everyone's number came up eventually) and we got a CD for learning Spanish to use at home. Aidan got his hacky sack stuck in the basketball hoop mechanism, and Gwyn had to push a table over so he could reach it and fish it out. Bad example to set! Kids were seen pushing the tables and climbing on them the rest of the night. Liot threw quite the wobbly when it was time to leave - he did not want to go as all the kids were running around in the gym playing. All in all, a wonderful evening, and entirely free which will likely be a thing of the past soon.
Have not anything useful today. Gwyn brought the boys to school as I am in pain. Final skating lesson tonight - I hope my younger son passes. This is his second attempt and I won't sign him up for a third if he does not pass. Nervous!
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An hour of sleep last night, and I had something to at least turn in. Two weeks left to see if this class kills me.
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Most of my dining room is boxed up and ready to move!
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Oh, cariad ... that sounds like an amazing evening, particularly the Mexican nom-nom. I am very partial to a bit of Mexican.
;D
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Which bit Poppy????
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Oh, cariad ... that sounds like an amazing evening, particularly the Mexican nom-nom. I am very partial to a bit of Mexican.
;D
I was pleasantly surprised at how edible it all was.
And Sugar, naughty girl.... :2thumbsup; :rofl;
Both boys passed their skating! Comment from the instructor on my younger son was that he is very good at it WHEN HE TRIES. Gwyn did point out that the kid does have an 8-9 hour school day, plus karate takes place on Thursdays, so everything is rush-rush and it's exhausting. Soccer starts up in a a few weeks, so we are taking a break from skating until the blistering heat of summer when all the other sports go on hiatus. Made pesto with the cilantro tonight and it was lovely. Cleaned, and that's about it.
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Sorry couldn't resist!!!! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
I love mexican food but easy on the fresh chilli please x
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Gave up and went to bed at 6 pm last night. Slept until 5 this morning. So I guess I'm caught up on sleep! So far, I've read 3 chapters ahead for my class today and baked several dozen filled biscuits to tuck in the freezer for a quick meals for the next two weeks, so I don't have to mess with cooking during the final push to exams.
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Which bit Poppy????
Ha ha.
;D
I've been busy in the back garden today. It nearly looks nice now.
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I had a busy morning and afternoon. But then.....
We sat on the swing on the porch and just talked and relaxed and watched the bamboo swaying in the wind....
I almost felt as though I had already retired and was just basking in the beauty of life. Then I went around to the front of the house and picked some lily-of-the valley. Sweet.
:flower;
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I had a busy morning and afternoon. But then.....
We sat on the swing on the porch and just talked and relaxed and watched the bamboo swaying in the wind....
I almost felt as though I had already retired and was just basking in the beauty of life. Then I went around to the front of the house and picked some lily-of-the valley. Sweet.
:flower;
Ah, that sounds gorgeous. The complete opposite of my morning, too.
This morning we went to the basketball party at my son's school, for all the kids who played on the basketball teams. There were snacks and drinks and there was an adult vs. kids game at the end. I even got thrown onto the court for a few minutes, and since I was wearing bright orange, everyone passed to me because they could make me out in the fray. I utterly suck at basketball, and some of those kids are amazing players. My younger son pouted some of the time because i would not give him my iPhone, but we took him outside to play on the playground and he cheered up. One of the coaches recruited Aidan for his afterschool running club. Then we went home and made a huge brunch with tatws (potatoes), eggs, broccoli, and two kinds of cheese.
We received a sourdough starter from one of the teachers at Aidan's school as a Valentine gift and today I made a little loaf of bread with it, and we are going to make crepes with it tomorrow. I cleaned some of the kitchen (still needs a load more work) and now I plan to Freecycle a number of items that we do not need: backpacks and lunch bags that need a bit of repair but can still be used (we have 7 backpacks and matching lunch bags for 2 kids!), coffee maker that works fine but Gwyn no longer needs a spare for work since starting the new job, diapers (those days are over THANK GOD!), and other miscellany.
Got a call from a friend who invited both kids over tomorrow morning. Gwyn and I are going to use the time to attend a yoga class - not Bikram. I learned that lesson for life!
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Some lessons don't need repeating!
My sole accomplishment for today was not buying some artwork I found online while surfing that I really loved. I'm waiting a month - if I'm still in love, I'll get it then.
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Absolutely, nothing.
Walked home from dialysis for the very first time due to really nice weather and I almost got big by a dog walking home. Needless to say, this scared the beejeepers out of me and I felt drained for the rest of the day. :( :(
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I bit my tongue whilst Blokey threw a massive strop this afternoon; I just let the conversation I wanted to have with him play out in my head instead, and obviously I made my point and Blokey saw sense. This was a far better conclusion to the scenario than if it had played out in reality, which would have ended in tears (mine). I left him stewing in his own misery on the settee.
;D
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I have accomplished so much in the last few days that I scare myself thinking about it. It's spring here and that means calving and garden season. The garden is plowed, tilled and fenced with a brand new gate that swings rather than drags. :bandance; The cold crops are in the ground. We have 10 baby calves so far with more to come. My flower beds are mulched and the woods behind the house have been burnt off (killed a BUNCH of ticks! ) My back and shoulders are sore and in need of a good massage (oh where is that cabana boy when I need him?) :rofl; I love spring!
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My flower beds are mulched and the woods behind the house have been burnt off (killed a BUNCH of ticks!)
Eugh! The idea of ticks always makes me feel really queasy.
I hoovered, dusted, made the bed and put some washing on. Now I'm being lazy.
;D
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There are a lot of ticks about this year in England beware!!!!
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There are a lot of ticks about this year in England beware!!!!
I shall steer clear of the country and country-like places, or indeed, anywhere with grass and trees. This means I will not be able to leave my house, but I think that's a small price to pay if it means I won't have my blood guzzled by a nasty disease-ridden tick.
;D
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Drove the 2 hours to the surgeon's office an hour early. Actually got in early and was out 10 minutes after my appointment was supposed to start. Drove like a NYC taxi driver the 2-1/2 hours back and scooted into my exam review class only 10 minutes late. Got the take-home exam and dutifully trudged down to the library immediately and began. Finished it in a speedy 5 hours (fast for this teacher's usual assignments!) and now am ready to get the next one during tomorrow's class. Whew!
Oh, and got surgery scheduled. FINALLY!
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After my morning of shopping, labs, and talking in excruciating detail to Northwestern about my case of shingles (they call every day now - wonder if this will go into the final write-up of the trial) I started the trudgery of sorting through our stacks and stacks of papers. Picked up the meat CSA with two dozen eggs (yes!) and collected the boys from school. My younger son told me he was "a bit homesick today" :( and my older one never wants to leave that place. Two teachers kept raving about my hair - which is a riot of thick curls. I hate it; to me it looks like a hair helmet, but I appreciated the compliments. More paper sorting tonight.
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been so very busy and just got handed another bunch of work to be done ASAP. yay. so doing a lot and not getting much of a break. Well good thing given the football tonight will be horrendous for my team (shut UP Galvo!) so probably good I will have to work late - AGAIN!
feeling a bit blah with things lately :(
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No.
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I powered-walked up the hill to the tx clinic, feeling much better than yesterday. The biopsy has made me a tad sore. The walk home was much steadier and slower, and I had the day in bed. So I accomplished some healing rest. :)
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I get more and more impressed with you, Chook. Power-walking - sheesh!
Not a word about the footy, Richard :rofl; :yahoo; :2thumbsup; :sir ken;
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There are a lot of ticks about this year in England beware!!!!
I shall steer clear of the country and country-like places, or indeed, anywhere with grass and trees. This means I will not be able to leave my house, but I think that's a small price to pay if it means I won't have my blood guzzled by a nasty disease-ridden tick.
;D
Stick with me Pops I've got a tick removing comb (for the dog) but will work on you too. First douse tick in Vodka. Then insert comb
and twist round. Hep presto tick removed!!!
WE're tough out here in the country!!! Like I only live 1m from town anyway!
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Had to look for a new bread-machine today because the old one is many years old
and it looks as if it stops working any moment now.
Passed by Abbey Road and saw tourists stopping in the middle of the road
taking their photos whilst standing on “that” Zebra-crossing,
causing traffic-delays...
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Not much...grocery shopping and laundry. How exciting. :sarcasm;
But Jbeany, I AM thrilled that you have your surgery scheduled! Hooray for belly buttons!
Aleta
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Nope, no belly button! In order to get in and get it done before summer is completely over, the plastic surgeon isn't going to be able to participate. Hard enough to schedule one doc, let alone 2. But, at this point, I'm uncomfortable enough, I don't care if I look like I've been hatched anymore - just so long as I look like I have all my guts back on the inside!
I finished a take-home exam today, and went out to a fabulous dinner with friends visiting from up north. Then I fixed them dessert at my house - cream cheese brownies with fresh strawberries. Yum!
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I spent all day in a chair at the hospital having two units of blood to bring my Hb levels up - they have sat below 70 since transplant. Everyone tells me I'll soon feel like a new woman! As long as the breathlessness when I'm walking disappears, I'll be happy. Cr down to 216 today so am accomplishing lots!
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Actually, for a change, I did accomplish something. Cleaned my entire kitchen, of course, it took me all day. You know, work 20 minutes, rest for 15. Then my brain said, lets go and wash the car, and my body said, Not a chance!!! I hope I sleep good tonight.
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YES! I saved a tiny hummingbird from the jaws (literally) of one of my cats! :bandance; I held him in my hands and he was soooo tiny! His heart was beating so fast. He moved his little feet a little, but never tried to fly away. My husband and I gently looked him over, but couldn't see any obvious wounds or injuries, so we placed him high in a hanging plant away from the cats. Within 10 minutes or so he few away. Oh, I hope he is okay. :pray;
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Made a fab dessert - grape bon-bons - and took it along with me to Gilda's where I taught my craft workshop how to make mokume gane jewelry.
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I drove home from West Virginia and fixed dinner. Now I'm pooped! :rofl;
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Yesterday I accomplished the art of spending too much money. Today I have accomplished lazy-ness.
;D
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Today (Saturday) was remarkably good for me. I woke up at 7ish, and had my meds. Despite being 6C degrees out (that's I dunno 35 or 38F or something) I took a refreshing walk around the local lake (about a 7km walk all up) and said hello to the adorable ducks and swans there. Then took my kitty to the vet for her regular checkup and flu shot (I had human one during the week) and she passed her vet inspection with flying colours even a remark how good her teeth were! :) Then came home, did some shopping, then back home, put some bets on the local races - I managed the winners of 3 races with some roughies that paid rather nicely, and even had a "fun" bet on a horse named DUSTIE DAN (for my kidney) that came 3rd and gave me some joy. Then to top it off my football team had a surprisingly great win over a well fancied oppisition and I enjoyed every single moment of it!!!!
I feel good. I feel like Danny is going well (clinic on Monday with creat results, so we shall see - fingers crossed!!!). My eye is still an issue, but I guess I am getting there with that.. or adjusting or something. I felt more confident being out and qabout at least.
So yeah, a good day. Plus yesterday I solved some work problems and was generally productive which was also pleasing for me.
SO yeah a reasonable few days. Tomorrow - well that may be something else... but I remain hopeful. I will sleep well tonight though with my award winning special immunised furry feline snuggled up close by.....
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I edited a video of a long lost event on my old radio show. I built marble race tracks with my son for a while, did the dishes, and thinking about going downtown to Greek Fest to get a gyro. Now? Hot tea and chefs on tv.
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I caught up on missed sleep - my favorite accomplishment! I've got a to-do list for today that I haven't started yet, but its for the whole weekend, so no rush!
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Did grocery shopping, laundry, some work at school and planted flowers....tonight a late Cinco de Mayo party. Wheeee.
:cheer:
Aleta
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(technically this is for yesterday; today i will just be eating lots at the italian in honour of my BiLs birthday.)
We did our bit for charity and picked up our new little pussy-cat from the animal shelter. I would post a picture but she's feisty and just refuses to sit still long enough. She chirrups at us, like a little bird. She's adorable. Her name was Adora, but I've changed it to Dora because I just wanted to keep calling her Wizzy (Wizadora was a children's tellybox programme and character over here in the nineties) and she doesn't 'feel' like a Wizzy.
I also managed to break our five month old shower. Well, I didn't; I went to turn it on and it had completely stopped working. Grrr. On Friday my hoover died. Life is good.
;D
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I got home from a party at 1 a.m. this morning.
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Made a graduation gift - a drawstring "booze bag," complete with shot glass pockets. I'd have gone upscale and just done a wine bag, but this isn't going to be that kind of party....Already have the shot glasses and the bottle of Sharkwater tucked in it and ready to go on Saturday to the pig roast.
Also did another sample fabric basket for my craft class on Tuesday. Need to try one more with a simpler square bottom. I need them as simple as possible - lots of my students are sewing-impaired.
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Up-cycled a thrift store find into a gift for my sister. I picked up a box of hand blown glass wine bottle stoppers just after another woman set them back on the shelf. The box just screamed, "Wedding gift with no gift receipt!" The glass flowers were lovely, though. I took one out of the box, and realized that the cork attachments just unscrewed. Hmmmm.... I set them in my cart. The other shopper looked at me and said, "Oh, those are gorgeous, but I don't drink wine."
"Me either. I'm going to attach screw-in rods and make garden stakes out of them. It will look like the hand blown glass art by Chihuly that was displayed at the local botanical gardens last year, without the huge price tag."
"OH! Why didn't I think of that!"
They turned out fabulous - I can't wait to see them tucked into my sister's flowers.
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got a blood test
haqve i been good or bad :stressed; :waiting; :Kit n Stik;
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You're on Santa's list, Ang!!!!
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Jbeany those are wonderfull.....truely wonderfull....great find...
I plant 3 apples tree's today .... I am putting them on a trellis... I attached the limbs to the lines ..... now grow!
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This is from yesterday, and because it consumed much of my thoughts over the weekend, I feel such an immense relief today now that it's been put to rest.
I collected my little Liot from school Friday only to have the young head teacher come over to me to discuss his behaviour. Great! Exactly what she should do if he is doing something wrong. So she starts in the usual way, that she had told him that she was going to tell me this, then she added "and it made me mad". Liot just turned 5 - crikey what could he possibly have done to make a supposedly professional teacher lose control of her emotions and actually tell a parent this? She explained that he went up to 2 different children and told them he could beat them up. I waited for the awful part. The awful part, apparently, was that one of the kids that Liot said this to was a little girl, and one was a boy that the teacher tried to point out to me but I refused to even look. The "victim" is irrelevant in this situation as he should not be saying that to anyone, and she did not need to editorialize as if she were expecting me to become as outraged as she appeared to be. She also told me that Liot denied it (duh!) but that she knew he said it because all the other kids told her he said it. (I am now picturing her angry at him, all the other kids pointing and saying he did this awful thing, and me not there to get him the hell away from this person.)
I had all weekend to think this over. We even ran into her immediate supervisor, the room's master teacher, over the weekend, but of course, not the right time. Monday morning the master teacher was not in, no teacher I knew and trusted was there to talk this out with, then I see the assistant director coming down the hall and I just grabbed her and said "C., have you got a minute? I really need to talk to someone about an issue." She listened to me speak, did not try to defend the teacher but reassured me that she was probably not even hearing what she was saying and that she knows this person fairly well and she has loads of patience and is normally very professional with kids. Then I went about my day and the master teacher phoned me and we discussed it further. I feel so much better having sorted this out, and also knowing that they all saw me advocating for him and if there had been any doubt, they now know that I will go to the mat for my child even though he does drive me crazy half the time. His teacher in the preschool room once said to me in a conference "Elliot is a wonderful child. He is not an easy child, but he is a wonderful child." That is what goes through my head when I feel he's being attacked.
Oh, and I told my parents (who have six kids) about this and when I got to the part about what Liot had actually said to these kids, my father burst out laughing. My mother said "boy, she [the teacher] hasn't heard anything yet!"
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This sounds so little compared to yours, Cariad. *G*
I carried the little rocking chair that my parents got me for my birthday out onto the back doorstep, then sat in the sun for several hours, rocking and reading. Mom even brought out my supper on a tray table, so I could stay outside. When the sun went down enough that the side of the house was blocking it, and I was in the shade and getting cold, I carried it all back into the house, all by myself. *G*
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This sounds so little compared to yours, Cariad. *G*
I carried the little rocking chair that my parents got me for my birthday out onto the back doorstep, then sat in the sun for several hours, rocking and reading. Mom even brought out my supper on a tray table, so I could stay outside. When the sun went down enough that the side of the house was blocking it, and I was in the shade and getting cold, I carried it all back into the house, all by myself. *G*
Not at all, Riki. Life is all about the small victories.
We have one kiddie party after the next this weekend. First one starts in 90 minutes and we were late receiving the invite, so I only this morning dashed to Target for gifts. Seems all the superhero stuff is on clearance, so I managed to stay very close to my $15/kid goal and got them what look like some great Iron Man toys. (If not, gift receipts will save the day!)
Stopped off at Brewer stadium on the way home. We are participating in that BP promotion where you collect stamps from the fuel station with each visit and when you have enough, you get a free ticket. Lucky I went today because they are selling out at a pace. I managed two free tickets to the Brewers/LA Dodgers for Gwyn and Aidan. If we can fill one more card in time, they can go to another game for free in September.
Went to the co-op since I was there yesterday and forgot milk of all things. They sell our local milk at astounding prices, so it was well worth the slight detour.
Got home so ravenously hungry that I just grabbed a cold pasta dish out of the fridge. Cleaned Aidan's baseball uniform for his final game tonight (Liot won't have to spend his evening yawning through that one, he'll be at his friend's party). Emailed a friend to arrange an after-hours playdate with our younger boys. Poor thing, her son had a little meltdown and scratched Liot in the face - for the second time earlier this week - and she is just mortified. Hopefully I was able to put her mind at ease. Elliot has had his share of violent outbursts, just not at her son, but I so understand how it feels.
Walked downtown in the blistering heat to drop off forms and a check at a local gym - finally Liot can take those gymnastics classes he keeps asking for. Those start tomorrow, and I saw two names that I know are friends of his up on the wall, so he'll probably have a familiar face to see. The rock climbing instructor wanted to tell me all about the place, and we had a lovely chat. He told me that parents can take any class for free with an enrolled child. I said Gwyn might like rock climbing and he said "Not you? You're in good shape!" Ah, there just was not a good moment to address all that is wrong with that statement, so I laughed non-committally and changed the subject. Gwyn now tells me he wants to do fencing, which they also teach. Walked home, fighting back the urge to hop on the downtown trolley that chugged past with all the old dears pointing at our modest little city. By the time I returned home, I wanted to collapse. Have to write out a few sentences on the card for the birthday boy and then I am off and running once again! I do not have the energy for this anymore and wish I knew what to do to boost that up. I guess that's the eternal question in modern life, though....
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Does managing to make it through the afternoon on only 2 oxy instead of the full dosage of 4 count? That's about all I've accomplished today, besides spending way too much time playing search and find games at Playdom.com. My evil, evil sister sent me a link to Gardens of Time. Ahh, well, I'm still resting up from having my 12 year old nephew stay overnight to "help" me recover from surgery!
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Got that belly button yet, Jbeany? :2thumbsup;
I've been thinking about you!
Cariad, how are the boys and Gwyn doing? And you?
I'm in the midst of my insane summer teacher schedule. Not much else to report.
Aleta
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No belly button, Aleta! I just have one long straight seam from the bottom of my bra line to the top of my bikini line. They told me to live with it for 9 months or so, and if I truly, truly needed a belly button, they could add one out-patient after a year. Or I could tattoo one on. For now, I'm just dealing with an extra 20 pounds of edema and am impatiently waiting for the swelling to go down so I can see just how much of a tummy tuck I've been given. They took off quite a bit of extra skin while they were rearranging. I also don't know if any of my pants fit yet either, since I have two more weeks of surgical drains to live with before I can hope to wear anything but a baggy shift dress. Should be interesting!
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jbeany, I wish you good luck and a speedy recovery,
Kristina.
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:boxing; I am trying to punch out two essays for English comp class....due by Monday. Both need to be at least 700 words. :P Of course they are both about renal transplants. ;D You would think I could write them in no time at all. I WISH! One is a process essay and the other is cause and effect essay.
The process essay is about done. (419 words so far ;D) It's about the process we go thru to get on the transplant list.
The cause and effect essay is going to be about causes of renal failure and what happens to the body when kidneys fail.
I will get these papers done...I will get them done...I will get them done. :pray;
EDITED: Changed back to standard color and size. Please see Epoman's rules as quoted below. I know the color changes are fun, but they do make it difficult for our members with vision problems to use the site, which is why Epo wanted them kept to a bare minimum. Thanks! - jbeany, Moderator
"Please refrain from making your posts in a different colors or using a lot of colors in your posts. Just stick with the default size, color, and font. You may use colors sparingly to add emphasis to certain words, just keep it simple or you will be asked to change it. You are allowed to use bold, italic, etc, etc. however do not get carried away."
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came here :rofl;
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Walked downstairs from my second floor apartment and got my mail and my paper. Holy cow, when did that single flight of steps get soooooooo long? :o
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I went to a parade, to take pictures.. in the rain.. and not one of those nice, warm, summer rains either. This was a cold, feels-like-fall rain. It's too early for that kind of rain. I was cold, and soaked, but I still got good pictures
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Well not me, but i'm so excited!!!
One of my D mates, a lovely young lady named Melisa, with a 10 year old daughter, fiancee and lovely family got that bloody call today!!!! Funnily enough I was just thinking of her yesterday and was going to text her asking where her bloody kidney was because it was overdue.. but then I thought no that would be like teasing her since I have mine. So bugger me when she texts 24 hours later to say she's getting her kidney!!!!!
:2thumbsup; :yahoo; :rofl;
Even better I was actually at the hosp picking up some meds and I went to D to ask the crew if they knew the good news! Sure they did they said.. they were waiting for her and 2 minutes later she walked in the door for a quick final D session, tests etc. omg it was awesom got to give her big hugs, meet her mum and sister again and meet the fiancee for the first time. It was so exciting - I think I was more excited than she was!!! LOL.
She's waited 4.5 years, so about the same as me.... just so happy for her!! She's one person who needs her energy and life back... I sooo hope it all goes well and can't wait to hear how she is doing!!!!
(and yes ok, when I first met her I may have had a ... little... crush on her :rofl; Must be why they moved her to a different unit a few months later hahahaha... but we kept in touch so all good).
So waiting wit baited breath to hear from her!!!
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That's brilliant news Richard!
Following the enormous amount food and alcohol I consumed this weekend (it was my birthday, I was allowed) I've been incredibly good today, and will be again tomorrow, because Wednesday is D-Day and I really can't have put on the four and a half pounds I lost last week! I also nearly fell asleep on the bus. And then I did my first ever session of Zumba on the Wii. Eugh! Sweaty!
;D
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RIKI WANTS ZUMBA FOR THE WII!!! There's no way in hell that I"m doing that in public. *L*
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Belated happy birthday *huggles* Poppy!!!! :cuddle; :cuddle; :cuddle; :cuddle;
Today after working till 10pm I got up and made it back before 9am to sit on an interview panel for an admin job in our dept. We had 3 interviews in 3 hours and it was very interesting, but I was pretty wrecked by the end - and that's with a large strong coffee. It was interesting though to be on the other side of the interview, and assess answers and try and figure out who would be best for the job etc. I learned a lot but also, once i got over my nerves about doing a decent job as an interviewer, enjoyed the experience.
No news yet from my mate. Hoping the tx went well!!
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RIKI WANTS ZUMBA FOR THE WII!!! There's no way in hell that I"m doing that in public. *L*
It's brilliant Riki, but definitely not something I want to do in public! For a start, I have no rhythm so I must look like a demented chicken! Hey, as long as it's burning calories, eh? A friend suggested that once I've practised a few moves we could have a go together. Um, I think not. Me, alone in a room, is public enough.
;D
Belated happy birthday *huggles* Poppy!!!! :cuddle; :cuddle; :cuddle; :cuddle;
Cheers, duck!
Today I not only spent 25 minutes Zumba-ing, I also spent 20 minutes Just Dance(-ing). I will get fit, even if it kills me!
I was also reminded of why I love my job. As I left work a part-time student left too and he got off his bike and walked to the bus stop with me, having a good natter along the way. I work with really naughty kids who don't trust/like authority so it's brilliant when little things like that happen. Unfortunately those occasions are few and far between.
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RIKI WANTS ZUMBA FOR THE WII!!! There's no way in hell that I"m doing that in public. *L*
It's brilliant Riki, but definitely not something I want to do in public! For a start, I have no rhythm so I must look like a demented chicken! Hey, as long as it's burning calories, eh? A friend suggested that once I've practised a few moves we could have a go together. Um, I think not. Me, alone in a room, is public enough.
;D
Yeah.. Mom said we could get it, but there was no way we'd be doing it at the same time. We'd probably go through the floor in the living room. *L* I was thinking it would be a good way for me to get exercise without having to face my fear of getting hit by a car in my neighborhood
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That's brilliant news Richard!
Following the enormous amount food and alcohol I consumed this weekend (it was my birthday, I was allowed) I've been incredibly good today, and will be again tomorrow, because Wednesday is D-Day and I really can't have put on the four and a half pounds I lost last week! I also nearly fell asleep on the bus. And then I did my first ever session of Zumba on the Wii. Eugh! Sweaty!
;D
HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPS
I mananged 3 x 10 reps of dumbell exercizes today without collapsing!!! and needing to be revived with g and t :beer1;
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I'm so tired of having fat feet and unbendable knees from the edema from my surgery. Yesterday, I chugged as much water as I could (which has been a battle the last two weeks, since it keeps coming back up) and then turned off the AC and wrapped myself in an extra blanket when I went to bed. Instant sweat lodge.
It worked! I can comfortably bend my legs this morning, and I have something down there that vaguely resemble feet again! I'm 2 pounds over what I weighed when I went in for surgery, but given the lack of food the last two weeks, I'm sure I still have another 6 or 8 pounds of fluid left.
Now I just need to go change my sheets.....and drink some more water.
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I got my kids off to their summer program, both of them.
I am nervous, though. Aidan clearly has some sort of illness, but today is their field trip to tour the baseball stadium and have a tailgate-style party.
Last night we went to see Cars2, and Aidan was acting so strange. I asked half a dozen times what the matter was, and he finally told me after the film that he was cold. (Uh oh.) Took him home, and sure enough, low-grade fever. He took kids Motrin and went to sleep a bit early. This morning, he complained of being cold again, and he was quite draggy - fever up to 101. I gave him more Motrin and then left it up to him to decide whether he wanted to make a go of the children's center today. He decided for it, and was playing his sports in the gym when I went to sign him in for the day. I had brought a bottle of kids Tylenol Meltaways, which are these brilliant tablets that kids can dissolve in their mouths - and you can take them on airplanes! I don't think they make them anymore, so I treat our bottles like gold. I confided in one young teacher that he has a "headache" because if I say fever, he will be sent home forthwith. She said they require a doctor's note to allow me to leave any meds for him to take. Gah! Then, she adds, "It's so stupid. I'm talking to you, and you're telling me this is what you want. I'll take the fall for this. Give me the bottle."
She is taking a huge risk. This could be her job. I pulled Aidan out of the gym (and was he annoyed at me for that!) and explained that she has the bottle, do not tell your friends, do not tell any other teachers, and if you feel yourself getting sick, tell her you have a headache and she will give you the tablets. So now we've got lies piled upon lies, all so that Aidan can enjoy a few hours with his friends playing sports and seeing the stadium. It was bloody spy/counterspy this morning.
So now I'm waiting for the phone to ring that he's too ill and I have to go collect him from the stadium. And today starts the most wonderful time of the year in our little city - Bastille Days. I am trying to decide if it is worth it for me to stroll over there, grab a free piece of cake from the cakewalk, and maybe watch a master chef demonstration. The Chef De Cuisine from Milwaukee's top restaurant is making a chilled pea soup with basil cream for the crowd to sample, but I have literally 100 other things that I should be doing instead.
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100 other things weighted against the blissed out experience of a fab festival and gourmet food....
I'd be eating soup as we speak!
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didn't accomplish a thing. and I'm damn proud of it.. *L*
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First of all kids, GAMBLING IS BAD, M'KAY?!!!
now that that community service announcement is done.. After a shocker of a night with some poor choices on the UK races (with no thanks to SL's main man, Tony McCoy, who is my personal jinx of a jockey :rofl;) I managed to redeem myself(and then some) with 5 winners in a row today at Geelong (and 1 place to finish). WOO HOO! :rofl;
oh yeah, I did some work too, went to the pub had a mixed grill and a pint of pear cider (YUMMY) and all in all.. a good day :)
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So now I'm waiting for the phone to ring that he's too ill and I have to go collect him from the stadium. And today starts the most wonderful time of the year in our little city - Bastille Days.
That is REALLY nice of the teacher to take that risk...it really is a big risk!! YIKES! I just tell kids if you need it take it but do it when I am not looking...we never had this conversation and I will deny it if you say I did!! You can lose your teaching license! I hope your kiddo is feeling better soon!! What is Bastille day???
I have been applying for jobs so hopefully I can find something part time!! My doc at the end of my appointment yesterday was like, "Well Rach I am hoping you go back to work and get back to living...I know you can do it!" ME- "Don't worry doc I already went to a job fair and started sending out applications/resumes." DOC- "That's my girl!"
I also applied to Kent State to go back to school and get a little more education. Try to find a more specialized niche in education!
xo,
R
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I slept in a four poster bed!!!!
Another tick on the wish list!!!!!
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
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Oh, Rachel, I totally agree. I asked that teacher several times if she was sure. Aidan did not need the drugs after all, so now we just have to find a way to get our Meltaways back from that teacher. And no temperature this morning - he was back to his smiley, energetic self.
I made it to Costco yesterday, after a quick trip to Bastille Days (see the BEST THING thread for details!) Jbeany,I did not get the soup, but I love the way you think! It was just going to take too long, the chef demonstrations already had loads of people there, and I would have been by myself. I had a bad feeling that the soup would probably have chicken stock in it (I tell myself this so I won't regret the decision too much) but I should be able to grab the recipe and we can give it a go at home after vegetarianizing it. We have loads of basil growing in our decorative pot outside the back door. My back went out when I was making dinner yesterday, so I am trying to rest it and not do more damage. Today will probably be a day of very small accomplishments.
Bastille Days is the largest French-themed festival in the US. They are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year. It is my favourite festival in this city. We are city of Summerfest, which I've only been to one year and I will never willingly go again. Name a culture and we probably have a festival for it (not Welsh, though - boo!). Bastille Days is free to go to, has free chef demos and mini wine tastings, lots of music in French and English, can-can dancers, street mimes, free mini-French lessons, a 5k Storm the Bastille run that went off last night, and of course, the food! Beignets, crepes, pomme frites, and whatever other French-ish dishes that local restaurants care to create. Kids day Saturday, with a dogs in costumes parade, soccer (which my son adores) family breakfast, and other happenings. So much fun, and so low cost!
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I slept in a four poster bed!!!!
Another tick on the wish list!!!!!
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
With whom?
>:D
I stopped a student from losing his cool by swiftly dumping the nasty Maths and conjuring up a game of Uno instead. Go me!
;D
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I figured out that I'm ready to drop my pain pill dosage by another pill. I accomplished this out by sleeping until 3 in the afternoon. Oooops. Well, not like I had other plans - I still can't lift anything or bend over or drive, so what else am I gonna do? ;D
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Yes a notch or two on that 4 poster bed I'm sure!!!! :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
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I slept till 11.20am. I'm thinking I was tired.
;D
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I had dialysis until 4 a.m., then drove home. Accomplishments so far today: none :)
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not today yet, but yesterday, I got to the beach.. finally!! I am sore, but it's a happy sore.. *G*
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not today yet, but yesterday, I got to the beach.. finally!! I am sore, but it's a happy sore.. *G*
I saw your pics on FB and they made me want to go to the seaside! Still, the seaside will have to wait; the weather in England is making it seem like March rather than July. Pffft.
Um ... I went to work even though I really didn't want to. Does that count as an accomplishment?
;D
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not yet :rofl; :rofl; :yahoo; :clap;
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oooh beach babe Riki... I like it :)
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Today, I begged and wheedled until my GP agreed to pull my surgical drains for me.
"But we don't touch anything anyone else puts in."
I had the surgeon fax permission last week.
"But we don't have a sterile environment."
Don't need one - at the hospital, they just flip back the sheets and don't even bother to pour cleaner over it.
"But I don't know how to remove a surgical drain."
I do. Cut stitches and pull the drain. Put on a piece of gauze in case it oozes a bit. Tada-boring.
"Well, I'm still not sure."
Okay, hand me a pair of scissors and I'll do it while you watch, just in case I need help.
"Well, okay then, if you are that determined."
Yup.
So I'm drain free and have cut my pain levels in half without the horrid things. Yeehaw! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
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Wow, jbeany. Loved your post AND your determination to get things done your way!
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Since yesterday morning.....Watched a movie, read 2 books, designed a piece of jewelry, did the laundry, changed the sheets, and sorted out clothes from the dresser that don't fit anymore since I lost weight, wrote out note cards, talked to a friend on the phone for over 2 hours, paid the bills, posted on my regular websites repeatedly, wasted far too much time watching sappy videos on Youtube, read the giant Sunday paper and drove the cat crazy with a new catnip toy.
Insomnia does have it's good points.... ::)
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I survived my son's ninth birthday party! He wanted another sleepover. We learnt from last year. Cut the guest list in half (only invite two, not four) invite a smaller crowd to the film, only order a small cake and invite guests back to ours for a piece, impose a bed time and a wake-up time. Yes, this can be done - Gwyn did his mean old man bit with them and told them to look at the clock on the wall and not come down to the playroom until 7AM at the earliest. Next morning one guest had to leave early because his grandparents were in town. We took the other child with us to the water park, where he stayed for just over an hour until his mother came to collect him. We got there just as the place was opening and it was deserted in there. Just as the one guest left, the next guests turned up and I managed to purchase her tickets for her and her boys before she could get to the ticket counter. :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; She said in that slightly dismayed thanks-but-you-shouldn't-have voice "I almost just came by without calling you, but then I thought, no, that would be rude." It was blind luck that I happened to go check the front gate just as the three of them were walking up!
Unfortunately, we had to leave about 45 minutes after they arrived. I told them to please stay and enjoy, though. We had to get to my widowed auntie's home to watch the air show from her front patio. My aunt and I talked about how you can never really sleep when your kids have friends over for the night - somewhere in the back of your mind is always the worry that something will happen. Aidan practiced on the Ripstik that I gave him for his birthday. Then we were supposed to meet our Fest Friend for a jazz show in the arts district, but I just could not even make myself move. Liot was breaking down into tears over the slightest inconvenience which is a sure sign that he is exhausted. We sent our regrets to the Fest Friend and stayed in and watched Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension while eating burgers from the fast food place that only uses grass-fed beef. (They also have a fairly nice veggie burger.) The film was adorable, although I did nod off a few times. If you have never seen Phineas and Ferb, you must! I fell asleep trying to choke down that Water for Elephants book, probably around 9:30. I slept straight through to 8AM this morning, and woke for the first time in recent memory with no backache, and some actual energy. We had a really low-key morning. We gave Aidan the rest of his presents today and took him down to the environmental centre for some more practicing on the Ripstik. He has become very good at it. A friend of mine has a son a few years older than Aidan and this boy agreed to teach Aidan how to ride it if he needs the coaching. I think Aidan is reluctant as he can be a tad shy, but he took a rather serious tumble today and may just have a change of heart.
I have to type up the minutes to a meeting I attended Friday and contact people about my possible return to school in just a few weeks.
Sorry to hear about the insomnia, jbeany. :( I remember those days, in fact, I still have them. I'm nowhere near as productive as you with it, though.
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I rode the HOG- my bike 3.2 mile this evening!
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I made it through another family picnic without laying in on the few cousins that attended for not answering me when I asked them if they'd be willing to get tested to see if they could give me a kidney
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I made it through another family picnic without laying in on the few cousins that attended for not answering me when I asked them if they'd be willing to get tested to see if they could give me a kidney
I don't think pressure is going to budge some of those anyhow, so you might as well save the stress on yourself.
Still awake here. Went to bed at midnight, hoping to drift off. No luck. I got a nap yesterday afternoon, so that may or may not have helped, but I had to have some sleep at some point. I'm all out of whack because I went off my pain killers. I was given oxy after my surgery, and had weaned myself down to only taking one tab at night before bed - that's a far cry from the 4 every 4 hours I was on at the start. I quit that three nights ago, and haven't been able to fall asleep at a normal hour since. *sigh* Guess maybe I should have tried cutting them in half and then quarters instead, but I'm not going back now. Hopefully, I'll eventually accomplish getting off this crap and back to a normal sleep schedule!
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I accomplished the amazing feat of being able to sit on my bum long enough to watch a film (I can do it easily at the cinema, but I do tend to have a short attention span and there are many exciting things needing my attention when watching the tellybox at home) which has been patiently waiting for me to watch it since we video'd it off the telly. It was Juno and it was 'awwwww'. It made me sob. How did I miss such a brilliant film at the cinema? I'm developing a bit of a crush on Jason Bateman (again). I not likey that. Also, popped to the pharmacy and the library, did a couple of loads of washing, stroked my peacocks ...
It's cloudy and breezy in good ol' England. The sun has obviously tootled off on holiday.
;D
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It's cloudy and breezy in good ol' England. The sun has obviously tootled off on holiday.
;D
I think that's the problem here too. It had better darned well get back before the summer is out. I'm a beach bunny (though I tend to look like a beached whale.. *L*) and from May 2004 up till last June, I wasn't able to go swimming. I made it once last year, and it looks like I may only make it once this year too.
I haven't really accomplished anything yet, except for replanting my flower box in Farmville.. Poppy, you might have noticed that.. *G* but I may try to accomplish sleep in the near future, since it is after 2am
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I haven't really accomplished anything yet, except for replanting my flower box in Farmville.. Poppy, you might have noticed that.. *G*
*chuckles* ... Everyday I go on FV and everyday I wonder why I'm wasting a few minutes doing something which really means NOTHING! So many times I've been tempted to delete FV but I just can't do it. It's like some ridiculous addiction. Send some gifts, harvest some crops, plant some crops, move buildings around, feel guilty for not always helping Riki's ducks ...
*sigh*
;D
Today I danced to Boney M and listened to old women moaning in the doctors waiting room (which wasn't much of an accomplishment because they do talk very loudly, and they're so rude! I can't wait to be old!)
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Mom came home tonight and said that we had 4 hours to clean the house because someone who wanted to buy the house was coming at 8pm, so I spent a while making my room look more like a bedroom and not a disaster area.
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Got my official notary public stamps and seals I ordered in the mail today. Oooh - a gadget with my name on it! So I've practiced how hard I need to press the seal and stamp. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze... New toys are the coolest. ;D
I also got a text from my sister. She's been losing weight the right way - a life-style change in her diet and lots of will power. I cheated and just threw everything up for a month with my surgery complications, but we've both lost a lot. She was sorting out her closet, trying everything on to see what still fit. She's still skinnier than I am even if we weigh about the same now - thanks to the 3 extra inches she got in the genetic roll of the dice. So she let me know all her stuff is coming my way. So I started trying on my stuff. 8 pairs of dress pants and 2 pairs of jeans that no longer need to be unzipped to get them off are now in my donate pile. My few remaining pants and jeans are still a bit baggy, but at least they don't fall off when I walk. I tired out after that, but it was a good start. Skirts and dresses next!
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My horse came through at Wolverhampton at 12-1!!!!
I nearly started a riot when I realised I only had a place bet on it, rather than a E/W. Still, paid $3.25 for the place, so that was noice :)
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I'm teaching myself how to sew and I learned four things today... it's always a good day when you learn something new! So:
1) Always trim the cut ends of the fabric with pinking shears BEFORE you put the fabric in the washer
2) The clutch on my machine is a little wonky and likes to re-engage when you're winding bobbins
3) When the book says to take the bobbin with you to make sure you buy the right ones, they mean it. They may all look the same but aren't, and if you buy the wrong ones... nothing happens.
4) The fabric has to be COMPLETELY underneath the presser foot or... nothing happens.
I also realized I HAD to be 43 to undertake this; I didn't have the patience until now. :banghead;
Any sewers out there?
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I sew, DD. Quilts and lots of tote bags mostly, sometimes stuffed toys, usually for gifts or to sell. I don't have patience with sewing my own clothes, but I've done lots of doll clothes for my friend's kids. What are you making?
My accomplishment from last night - My sister brought over the big bag of clothes she had culled from her closet since she lost weight. I've lost 30 pounds because of the surgical complications from my hernia repair, so I needed to do the same. I tried on all the stuff she had brought, and ended up with about half the bag. (We weigh the same, and have similar shapes, but she's taller than I am, so I'm still one size bigger than she is.) I looked at my closet and said I needed to sort out mine the rest of the way. So she started pulling out clothes. We sorted the whole thing and half my hangers are empty now! Everything is in a giant pile, waiting for my friend who is coming to stay tonight. She can have at the pile before it goes to Goodwill.
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I sew, DD. Quilts and lots of tote bags mostly, sometimes stuffed toys, usually for gifts or to sell. I don't have patience with sewing my own clothes, but I've done lots of doll clothes for my friend's kids. What are you making?
Right now I'm just sewing on scraps, trying out all the fancy stitch cams that came with the machine (I have a solid cast-iron Kenmore from 1970-71), playing with stitch width and length and learning how to sew straight. I've got a whole bin full of clothes that under normal circumstances would be turned into rags, but I've cut them all into strips to be sewn together then crocheted into a big oval kitchen rug. (I taught myself to crochet 25 years ago.)
After that: napkins! (OOOHH!) And after that: pillows. Eventually I want to work my way up to clothing, particularly skirts. I have some very definite ideas about the kind of clothing I want - but can't find anywhere - so I'll have to make them myself. Thus the sewing lessons.
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My horse came through at Wolverhampton at 12-1!!!!
I nearly started a riot ...
You would have been a day late, my love. Riots are SO yesterday's news in Wolverhampton ...
;D
Quilts and lots of tote bags mostly ...
I think I've seen pics of your stuff posted somehwere on here, haven't I? I love the sort of stuff you make, but just don't have the patience to actually make anything myself (I have the intention and the scraps though!) ... Still, I'm not 43 yet! I digressed; I'd happily throw some money in your direction for something lovely and handmade and unique (I ♥ bags, much to Blokey's annoyance.)
Today I spent money on things I (semi-) needed. One skirt, one dress, one chunky knit cardigan, two pairs of pants (that's knickers to you), two strappy t-shirts and two pairs of lounging around pj style bottoms for the grand total of ... *drum roll* ... £33 (about $53, which doesn't sound quite as good?) I'm becoming quite the expert at hunting around in charity shops and in the sales racks of department stores.
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Bargain hunting rules. Good thing I get most of my stuff at Goodwill. I'd have been right bummed if the half of my wardrobe that no longer fits had all been purchased at full price!
I think there's pics of my totes and quilts on the hobbies thread - but I've got next to nothing made right now. School work has kept me out of the craft room, and I haven't had much energy lately!
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I paid some bills and missed work today thinking my mouth was going to fall off from pain. Turned out to be a WICKED sinus infection. Motherp*cker.
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I paid some bills and missed work today thinking my mouth was going to fall off from pain. Turned out to be a WICKED sinus infection. Motherp*cker.
Ouch! A sinus infection is the only pain Andy's ever had that's made him cry (that's saying a lot because he's always in lots of pain everywhere). Boy, do I feel for you and hope it clears up SOON.
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I think there's pics of my totes and quilts on the hobbies thread - but I've got next to nothing made right now. School work has kept me out of the craft room, and I haven't had much energy lately!
Ah well. Be sure to spare me a thought when your energy makes a sneaky reappearance!
Today I managed to dye my hair and NOT my bathroom. Yay! I also cancelled a Direct Debit I've been paying since 2002 as insurance for a mobile phone I haven't owned for seven years. I'm not even going to tell you how much money I've managed to inadvertantly spend on that ... (it's hundreds! *gasp*)
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I stopped at Goodwill today and hit the jackpot! Over a dozen new items, to replace the 4 bags I dropped off at the donation door before my friend and I went in. Almost everything I found was from my favorite (drastically expensive!) store. Wheeee! New, flattering, clothes for the new flat-tummied me. My friend, who just changed jobs had a go at the huge pile of clothes my sister and I had sorted out of our closets, so she went home with 4 bags of new clothes suitable for her new job. (Well, 3 bags of work-appropriate clothes, and one bag with all my winter coats that now hang off me completely, anyhow.) At least now I've got some summer shirts I can bend over in without flashing anyone!
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Yesterday, we just had a phenomenal day (although Liot had, count them THREE, meltdowns). I took Liot to gymnastics so that Gwyn could take Aidan to his karate and weapons class, and participate. Gwyn has wanted to get back into martial arts for ages, but his knee is always playing up. They both had a great time, and I think Gwyn will continue with the class for as long as he is able. Aidan is one of only two children, and the younger of the two, to be invited into this class. Liot did pretty well at gymnastics, though he does not have the focus that Aidan does, and this frustrates me.
We bought our weekly fruit and veg supply from Growing Power (where we can use a special account, so it costs us nothing), then went to the godawful shopping centre made to look like a faux city. I bought two outfits for my interview, if I am not asked to return for a second interview, I'll return one of them. Then, since we were in the neighbourhood of the only Trader Joes in town, I loaded up on their amazing priced tea that I use to make my iced tea. Also, bought many other fun items at great prices. Ran into a friend and mentioned my job interview, and she wished me luck.
Then since it was raining and chilly outside, we started cooking. The kids asked to help (since we cut off the television! ha!) and we let them use our ultra-safe food processor to shred cheese and carrots, I sent them upstairs to the balcony to cut fresh parsley, chives, and one of our outstanding heirloom tomatoes, they trimmed the stems and loaded the parsley into the food processor for chopping, followed by two tins of chickpeas and my red peppers that I roast and saute and store in the fridge with the oil in which they were cooked. I think I have finally stumbled upon a decent recipe for my veggie burgers: carrots, parsley, chives, bit of sauteed onion, sauteed red peppers with saved oil, chickpeas, veggie grill seasoning, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs and two eggs. Mix it all together, shape into patties, Gwyn then coats them with a layer of breadcrumbs to try to keep them from falling apart, and grills them on the cooktop. Last night, we had a voucher for a free on-demand video, so we let the kids choose, I had my veggie burger with a thick slice of heirloom tomato, lettuce, and sriracha mayonaise on a cheese roll from the local bakery. Best veggie burger I've ever had. Gwyn made his James Beard recipe for cheese burgers with the cheese shredded and added right in with the grass fed beef. I had a bag of organic tater tots in the deep freeze, and we all went up to the first floor to watch Rio (boys choice) while eating our burgers, homemade onion rings for the adults (I did not think I even like onion rings, but Gwyn's first attempt was remarkable) and tater tots for the kids. Kids chose soda for their drinks, and we just had an amazing time with some truly fab food.
After the film, Gwyn finished making both types of burgers, and now we have enough for many of those instant dinners that we need to have available on weekdays. Also, the film was cute and at times quite funny. We both thought Eddie Izzard was playing the villain, and it turned out to be Jemaine Clement - a kiwi! That was my favorite recurring joke in Flight of the Conchords - that everyone, even their best friends, were always alluding to them being English, I never tire of it. We have lived that joke around here. Gwyn does not even bother correcting people half the time anymore. One close friend cannot shake the idea that Gwyn is actually Irish, which is the catchall "non-English but with a funny accent" category.
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I accomplished a massive sunburn.. and I'm rather happy about it. *LOL*
I did notice something while looking at the burn on my shoulder, on the left side, which is the fistula side, the veins pop out much more than on the right side. It kinda reminded me of the movie, The Rage: Carrie 2, when Rachel finally snaps, and you can see all her veins showing on her arms and legs, looking like vines. Weird
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NO, I GOT NOTHING ACCOMPLISHED TODAY BECAUSE I AM DROWNING IN RED TAPE AND NO ONE IS AROUND TO ANSWER MY PHONE CALLS AND EVERYONE HAS LEFT THE OFFICE (AT 3:45 IN THE AFTERNOON?) AND NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THE HELL THEY ARE DOING AND IT SEEMS LIKE TODAY IS THE DAY THAT EVERYONE IN EVERY MEDICAL OFFICE HAS DECIDED ON GROUP INEPTITUDE.
I am now going to do some gardening to calm down. :rant;
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Lots of cleaning, made me feel good, getting a lot of it done. :thumbup;
Tomorrow's dialysis in the am, so I expect to get......nothng done around the house ;D
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I dropped off a thank you card to the person who interviewed me yesterday. Normally I would have just mailed it, but in the midst of my post-interview obsessing, I completely forgot to go get my blood drawn across the road. Also, I had brought some materials yesterday that they had asked me to bring in, then forgot to hand them over. I really did not want to email those as it had sensitive information on it. So, I wrote up a quick card, put on a nice outfit, and gave the receptionist the card, the materials, and an updated copy of my resume as I had accidentally attached an older version. (d'oh!) My perfectionist self cannot handle making these stupid mistakes. Then I got my blood drawn and found a load of soccer gear on special at the shops, along with my beloved Clif bars. Oh, and I have started the process to refinance and save us a fair amount on our mortgage. Being unemployed and in financial difficulty is so stressful, so I need to make sure I do as much as I can to address these issues. I also filed my application for my Ph.D. Sounds like a lot when I write it all out, but each thing only took a few minutes, and somehow most of the day is gone. Is the earth rotating faster, or is it just me?? :waiting;
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I WAS feeling all accomplished but next to cariad I'm actually a slug in slo-mo. :rofl;
Spent 2 hours at the gym...30 minutes rowing and an hour and a half on the Pilates transformer machine trying to master the breathing and muscle control...time goes by so fast, despite the lack of shoulder pads which is a big impediment. I improvise with my running shoes or a yoga mat but it's still crap without the pads...I want to buy my own since the gym won't but anyway...this evening while watching TV I plan to do an arm workout with bands.
Then the garden...watered, inspected, lightly weeded and huge accomplishment, managed to finally get my crowbar under a fair sized rock I've been wanting to move, then rolled it ever so gingerly to it's new home where it ought to protect a part of my hosta collection from the zeal of my grass cutter's weed whacker. Now, sweating like a crazy menopausal woman and wishing it would cool down so I could walk.
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I accomplished falling asleep last night almost as soon as I laid down, and waking up rested. Heck, that may be enough for today! But I've already done some laundry and added more clothes that don't fit to the ongoing donate pile.
I've also gotten confirmation that I got the office hours I wanted for my legal clinic class this fall (all the same day as the class, so I only have to drive downtown and pay for parking once a week.), and researched all the parking options and printed out maps to have ready so I know where all the closest lots are if the best one is full.
12 days until classes start!
Auugh! I've got to go buy books! Well, there's tomorrow's plan...
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I accomplished falling asleep last night almost as soon as I laid down, and waking up rested.
,
I wish I could do that. Seems I haven't slept in months.
Today I made four gallons of iced tea (Peach, Blackberry, Raspberry and Plain), a meatloaf and an apple cake. Did two loads of laundry, ironed a half-dozen work shirts, scrubbed all the salt up off the RO room floor and set up the machine for tonight. Scheduled half a dozen modeling sessions and finished two more sections of a 1500 piece jigsaw puzzle that takes up most of my dining room table.
Boring, I know, but I feel like I was actually useful today.
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I WAS feeling all accomplished but next to cariad I'm actually a slug in slo-mo. :rofl;
Spent 2 hours at the gym...30 minutes rowing and an hour and a half on the Pilates transformer machine trying to master the breathing and muscle control...time goes by so fast, despite the lack of shoulder pads which is a big impediment. I improvise with my running shoes or a yoga mat but it's still crap without the pads...I want to buy my own since the gym won't but anyway...this evening while watching TV I plan to do an arm workout with bands.
Then the garden...watered, inspected, lightly weeded and huge accomplishment, managed to finally get my crowbar under a fair sized rock I've been wanting to move, then rolled it ever so gingerly to it's new home where it ought to protect a part of my hosta collection from the zeal of my grass cutter's weed whacker. Now, sweating like a crazy menopausal woman and wishing it would cool down so I could walk.
Wow! Slugs must be really FAST in Canada if this is the slo-mo version.... :rofl;
Agh! Well, I finally canceled our U-verse subscription. We have had it over a year, and the remote in the Great Room never worked properly. It would only talk to the reception box when it felt like it, and AT&T always found ways to muck up repair attempts. Each phone call will cost you at least an hour of your time, and just try scheduling a techie to come by to look at it. One day many months ago I decided I was going to fix the problem, so they sent the tech over and the man told me that he was only an 'outdoor' tech, not an indoor one, so he could not look at the equipment. Oh, great! There's useful! Calling today, they somehow got it into their heads that I was calling from a small business. I was transferred to 5 people before I got through to someone who knew what she was talking about. I was so beyond furious that even the robotic phone menu voice apologised to me! (I'm sorry I'm having such a hard time understanding you....)
We get NetFlix through our Wii, with loads of kids programs on instant view, so for now that is plenty. We also have Internet access to Daily Show, Colbert, and MSNBC and I just ordered two boxes to get Internet played over the television - Logitech and Roku. If any one has any experience with either and could let me know how you got on with them, I would so appreciate it! Between canceling the television service and refinancing, we stand to save over $3000 in a year, with that going up to $5000 if we stay in the house for an additional year. I really hope the refi goes through without incident. I meet with someone about it tomorrow.
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ReFi meeting was canceled yesterday, but not until 10 minutes prior so I had already cleaned the ground floor. Then when I received the cancellation news, I went up to Costco. Spent over $300, which is actually pretty good for me. I bought non-organic red pepper, and have already roasted them, but not done the saute. I also bought a giant pack of non-organic raspberries, and a bag of non-organic avocado. We were out of our typical cheeses, so I bought the 2-lb packs of cheddar and colby-jack (kids' fave) plus a queso blanco and some Jarlsberg on special. Rest of the money was spent on various and sundry products, almost all of which were on a discount. I have a few returns to make, but will probably wait until we're back from holiday.
I wanted to be lazy and go to Chipotle yesterday, but decided that after that massive purchase, better just make do with what was at home. So I made the kids cheese quesadillas with watermelon and raspberries on the side, and Gwyn and I made our own version of a Chipotle burrito (more of a soft taco since we do not have those massive tortillas that can hold all of those ingredients). Gwyn made up some of our volcanic rice from Java, added a squeeze of lemon since we do not have lime nor cilantro right now, a tin of black beans, cheese, avocado, salsa from a jar, and sour cream. We forgot the lettuce and by the time we remembered we were halfway done and could not be bothered. It was messy and it was not the same, but not in a bad way. Plus, we saved nearly $14 which certainly makes me feel better. All of this while enjoying two episodes of Fetch! (kids' request) over the laptop. I am so sad that show has been canceled! I have been telling Aidan that I was going to take him to Boston to audition for it and he was going to GET ON THAT PROGRAM OR DON'T COME HOME! He would have been old enough to audition as early as next year. :(
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I accomplished spending much less money that I thought I was going to.
I went to the mall with my sis today, looking for clothes. I had a list of things, most meant to replace things that got emptied out of my closet in the purge of over-sized clothes after my too-sick-to-eat 25 pd weight loss. I've purchased a number of lovely things second hand, but haven't found everything I thought I should get yet. I was looking for a casual and a dress winter coat, separates for a suit to wear to court, which I hadn't owned before but thought would be useful, and a skirt or two. I tried on a lot of things and just didn't manage to find much of anything I liked. A whole mall to look in, 5 hours to look, and nothing worth spending money on. Either I've gotten really picky, or the styles this year just aren't to my taste and new shape. I gave up on the coats for now - I'll hunt for them at Goodwill until it gets cold enough to really need one. I gave up on the suit idea completely. I have the same problem with suit coats that I do with button down shirts. None of them are meant for broad shouldered women. If I get one that fits my shoulders, it's at least 2 sizes to big for my waist line. Bah humbug and never mind. I'll wear one piece dresses and a wrap, shawl or scarf instead. Those I have, thanks to my sister's hand-me-downs, so no need to spend money on them. I really just needed one silky brown long skirt to replace the one I wore all the time last year. I saw a hundred skirts - but none in that style or fabric.
I bought a couple of tank tops and pair of shorts on sale and gave up. So my bank account is still full and my closet is half-empty. I think, if I can't find it at Goodwill for now, I'm just going to make do without it for a while. I do live in Michigan, so eventually the coats will be a necessity, but not yet, so I can stall for while. I'm going for less is more in a wardrobe for now. That decision is an accomplishment for me!
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We did our usual Saturday shopping today, with an additional stop at Lowe's. I headed to the super sale plant rack and picked up some nice "slightly sad" flowers to spruce up my deck planters. I'll have to wait until the temps drop back down out of the 90s this evening before tackling the re-potting job, though. In the past two months I've lost 19 pounds, so I had a bit of fun trying on some of the clothes that used to be too small for me.
:2thumbsup;
I discovered quite a few gems that I had forgotten about. After about 25 more pounds I'll be able to wear some really lovely clothes that I never wanted to part with since they were so attractive. Next week I'll get a pedicure to celebrate the second 10 pounds....That is my reward for losing (besides, just feeling better).
We are two weeks into the new school year here, and already my class is settling in. It has shifted younger with an influx of 7 new first grade students. Some of my really, really challenging students have moved on, so it looks like it is going to be a good year. Even more exciting, we are going to be able to leave "early" this year - 3:30 ish instead of 5:30. I am so looking forward to that.
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Let's see, slept, got up at 1:30 pm, showered and took pup to puppy class. Came home and slept some moreSoooo my accompplishment was a shower! ;D
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Well at least you were clean! :)
Hope you didn't sleep through taking your meds on time, mate! :)
(I did just last week and OG when I woke up 2 hours later I was in a bit of a panic! )
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Well at least you were clean! :)
Hope you didn't sleep through taking your meds on time, mate! :)
(I did just last week and OG when I woke up 2 hours later I was in a bit of a panic! )
No, did not do that sort of. I was an hour late since I moved my time to take meds to 12:30. This sems to fit how the hospital shifts screw up all the time.
Today I did more sleeping, took the dog out once, set pills for the week up, and fell asleep on the floor. Accomplishment for the day, turned pc on and came here and FB.
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Shopped 'til I dropped again - sis had to go back into town, so we headed back to the mall for round 2 this week. I swear, I'm getting pickier about what I buy by the minute. The first stop she had to make was JoAnn's Fabric and Crafts store. This is usually a place of unspeakable temptation for me. Beads, Fabric, and Poly clay, oh my!
I bought glue-sticks and floral tape. Wheeeee....big spender today! And I even had coupons. I needed the glue and tape for projects I already have materials for.
I looked at all the beads, but the only stuff I really needed they didn't carry, so I ordered the stuff I needed online tonight. For the price of just one of the handmade pieces I've bought from other jewelry artists, I got enough supplies to make about 20 pendants. That ought to keep me busy for a while, and I plan to sell a few of them to pay for the materials. The rest will be gifts. I'm already planning ahead for November birthdays and Christmas - how's that for an accomplishment?
I did try to buy some jeans. And if you are female, you already understand what I mean by "try." Nothing fit right and after about the 5th store, I just gave up. I have one pair of jeans that fits right now, and those were second-hand. Everything else is dress pants, skirts and dresses. Guess I'll be dressing up a lot more for a while.
I think all my luck finding designer clothes at the local Goodwill has spoiled me for buying them new. Even $30 jeans seem to pricey after finding them for $3!
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Okay, more jean shopping today, and actually found some. At Walmart, for $13. Okay, I can live with that price. I ended up with 2 of the same style, in different colors of blue.
Of course, I had to visit two different Walmarts to find them. Not like that's a big deal here. I live on the outskirts of a major urban area. There's another shopping area every 15 or 20 miles, 'cause heaven forbid anyone need drive more than 10 minutes to find a mall or a big box store.
I figured the second stop would be easier - if they had them, I just had to grab the same style, same brand, in the same size. Right. I still had to try them on when I realized that there were 3 pairs, all marked the same size 12, same A for Average length, with all the same stickers and names - but in 3 different lengths. Huh? The first one was too short and too small, the second one was too long, and the third one fit - although not quite as well as the darker blue pair with the same style and size from the other Walmart. Oh good grief. What, am I Goldilocks looking for jeans instead of porridge now? "The last one was just right."
Well, close enough, anyhow.
After all this fuss, I hate clothes shopping. I'm quitting, and I haven't replaced half of what I had to get rid of. I don't care. I'll just do laundry more often instead.
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I didn't do much, but what I did do was ok. After I pulled myself out of bed and had a bite to eat, I went on FB, then I pulled my lovely new rocking chair out onto the back doorstep. I read for a bit, then took clothes off the line, which made me feel a bit less useless, then read some more. I went into town with Mom, got my ice cap, and now I"m watching Rachel Maddow
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jbeany......just reading about your shopping trips wears me out. I didn't think I could get more tired than I already am. :rofl;
Pam
i
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I'm still trying, but it isn't easy!
I wonder if I should just go to a travel agent!
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We made it back from our annual end-of-summer holiday. Nice to be home, but sad that summer is so close to over. Kids start school Thursday!
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I am so flipping knackered. I spent the day filling out forms, sending emails, chasing up information, and tidying up the kitchen (it's back to its disastrous state again already). I have decided that we cannot afford school lunch this year for both kids, so we are just going to have to find the time to pack one. We attended the open house only to find out that my son has been put with the one teacher I did not want for him (but then I met her, and really I think she was not described very well to me and that it is going to be fine). More annoyingly, the simple request I made that Liot have at least one friend in his class was not granted. I know he'll make new friends, but for flips sake, the mothers of the other kids and I think all the kids from the afterschool program were purposefully separated. Four kids in Liot's grade and each in a different class. :( >:(
One of our support people from the transplant will be Liot's afterschool teacher. Oh, she is so great, this will be so good for him to have a few hours with her each day. I got into a bit of a, well not exactly a row, more of a strong difference of opinion with a friend of mine. I got the boys' bus schedule and it is supposedly going to take an hour (AN HOUR!!!) to get them from their school to the afterschool program 5 minutes away. I spoke with so many teachers about this, and Gwyn, and I guess I just really did not want this friend's opinion (I did not ask) and she was not getting the hint that she was overstepping her bounds in telling me how to handle it. I ended up just flatly saying that I expect the principal to sort it out, and if she cannot, I will see no choice but to find an alternate school for the kids. I have been told by S., Liot's afterschool teacher, that there is no way that five year olds can handle spending an hour a day sat on a school bus, and I know this is true for mine.
On the up side, Gwyn and I have an FSA account that we completely forgot about, so I had our tuition reports pulled and we should be getting a big reimbursement check in a few weeks. Also, a prof has stepped in to talk to the grad school about cutting through the red tape and just getting me set up to take classes. Those start as early as Tuesday. I am going to do this.
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Was up early so I could get to my surgery on time, but the person taking me was not so dependable. Then surgery didn't get going till after 9 am instead of 7:30 am. Came ome (no idea what time or when I took my meds, and slept most of time except to empty drainage bag. Feel crappy and sore. Back to doctor tomorrow and then call neph about graft sorness in one area, not related to surgey people.
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I managed to get through a 10 minute ride with my 8yr old nephew after dialysis today. We were dropping him off at a friend's house. It may sound bad that I was irritated at an 8yr old, but I was tired, and he's a motormouth like his mother. The kid did not shut up for the whole ride. I'm not sure how he was able to breathe and talk at the same time. I kept my cool, and did not say anything to him. I'm actually rather proud of myself.
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I managed to get through a 10 minute ride with my 8yr old nephew after dialysis today. We were dropping him off at a friend's house. It may sound bad that I was irritated at an 8yr old, but I was tired, and he's a motormouth like his mother. The kid did not shut up for the whole ride. I'm not sure how he was able to breathe and talk at the same time. I kept my cool, and did not say anything to him. I'm actually rather proud of myself.
It doesn't sound at all bad, and you should be proud, Riki! I know exactly what that is about because BOTH of my boys have been delivering a non-stop monologue since roughly 2009. In fact, Aidan was quiet one day on the way to school and I said "Aidan, what's the matter? Normally I'd be telling you to shut up by now." (I am extremely lucky that my older son has such a sophisticated sense of humour and does not take offense.) So, well done, you.
Have not done much today. Went over half an hour on the Wii Fit, and Gwyn and I just roasted and sauteed all of our red peppers. Food of the gods!!!
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Tailored a pair of brand-new pants with new elastic in the waist band. I just bought them before my too-sick-to-eat weight loss, and was too cheap to donate them before I'd even worn them. Also, fixed a hook on a bra, sewed on a button, and managed to empty the mending basket.
Dyed a shirt from a craft project - I drew a leaf design up the front and down the long sleeve of a white cotton shirt with Elmer's blue gel glue. I hand-dyed it red today. The glue acts like wax resist for a batik design - only I just did it in one color. I added salt to the dye to make the color absorb better. It was supposed to be at least half a cup, and the only thing I had in that amount was sea salt. Hmmmm.....it didn't dissolve like regular salt would have, so I have sections of the shirt that are saltier, and have darker dye spots. I still think it's going to look really cool, though. Can't wait to see the dried and washed finished product. (Also tossed in a purple shirt that fits really well, but was starting to fade. Should be an interesting maroon color when it's done.)
Now that the craft room tables are cleared, I'm ready to start on my next project - infinity scarves from silk.
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Wow, what I wouldn't give to have jbeany's tailoring skills....
I have not accomplished much today. I hate these days where I try to relax but then when I look back on the day, all I can see is that we did not do very much and there is still a never-ending mountain of cleaning ahead of me. Also, Gwyn has bursitis of the elbow and is in a lot of pain. His elbow is all squidgy and horrible from the fluid, and of course this starts in earnest on a Friday night. The ER won't do anything but prescribe pain killers, same with urgent care. They are just referring him to his GP. What GP??!! Ours quit a year ago, and we have had little luck in finding a new one. The one I chose for us is so popular that I could not get an appointment until November, but then I lucked out and got in with a cancellation in early August. So, I just switched my November appointment to Gwyn. He cannot get a last minute appointment with the guy because you have to be an established patient for that. So, Tuesday morning I will beg and plead as the receptionist did tell me that once in a while the doctor will see a spouse on an urgent basis. Blah! He is upstairs HOPEFULLY resting his arm. The poor man has had so many joint issues. His knee went out today during a gentle stroll and Aidan had to run back to the house and grab his knee brace. I really want him to take a sick day Tuesday and try to get in to see someone. Once again, many thanks to the American medical industry for their idiotic regulations. I am waking up now, and it's nearly 10PM, so perhaps I can get some more cleaning done, but then I don't want to throw off my sleep schedule by staying up half the night. Tomorrow we are visiting friends at theirs, and I just hope Gwyn can enjoy it. :( :(
(Hey, I just noticed previews are showing my icons again! It's fixed!) :clap;
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I learned something new and useful today.
In Mozilla foxfire, if you simultaneously hold down CONTROL, SHIFT, and T, the last closed browser tab reopens.
Who knew?
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In Mozilla foxfire, if you simultaneously hold down CONTROL, SHIFT, and T, the last closed browser tab reopens.
WooHoo! I got Farmville!
;D
I hammered a couple of nails into the skirting board. I have now decided that I like hammering.
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Yes, I participated in the Gift Of Life Walk and our community raised $16,000 in money for the Kidney Foundation!! :clap; :2thumbsup; :yahoo;
My family and I raised $500 of it, so I was really proud! :beer1; :clap;
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Is playing Facebook games all day accomplishing something?
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went to clinic this morning results for 12 month biopsy, all good :yahoo;
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3 legal memos and a power point presentation on the Herzog Art collection lawsuit against Hungary.
Soooo glad I didn't do my internship this semester too!
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I haven't yet unless you count getting out of bed!
I am on my way out to do 2 movie theatre audits and a grocery store audit.
I love my job! :bandance;
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Is playing Facebook games all day accomplishing something?
Absolutely!
I am on my way out to do 2 movie theatre audits and a grocery store audit.
I love my job! :bandance;
What do you do? I think I want your job.
I got the bus into town only to find that the thing I went in for has to be completed online and then I'll have to go back later in the week for an appointment. So, with time to spare before my bus home, I continued honing my skills in the art of shopping for bargains. The only problem is that I'm spending A LOT of money on bargains and I'm thinking this defeats the whole purpose ...
;D
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Lived through my presentation. :bandance; Got quite a bit of homework done, too - but still not enough! Tomorrow is another day....
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I am on my way out to do 2 movie theatre audits and a grocery store audit.
I love my job! :bandance;
What do you do? I think I want your job.
My husband & I have a merchandising business. I am an independent contractor. Businesses will call when they need a display set up, taken down, maintained, etc. Movie companies call when they want someone to go (usually opening weekend) to audit specific shows (or in this case, count the boxes of 3D glasses!). I count the people, gauge audience reaction,etc. We started this way before I was diagnosed. He was laid off and there was nothing in the area that paid. I discovered the need for a merchandiser by accident on the internet. We have a fairly large area that we travel and there are few others in our area that do this so we get more calls than we can handle! It works out great for me since I have not been able to find a job locally that is willing to work around my D schedule.
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Gah! I cannot see straight!
The bus issue continues to loom large around here. I spent two entire days in meetings with various individuals about why it is NOT OK for a bus to take 90 minutes to take my children well under 2 miles. I have been surprised at who will agree with me and who has implied that I am being unreasonable. It looks like we will finally triumph in getting the bus route reversed so that my kids will be first to be dropped off (along with the other 4 children who are attending this after school program). If it does not happen, I will have to collect the kids and drive them over to the afterschool program every Wednesday and Thursday or they will miss their piano and karate. My friend called yesterday after I got out of a meeting with La Directoria (Principal, headmistress, what have you) and said she had rung up the very person I was about to call. She said that she seems to have convinced him to reverse the route, so I said Fabulous! I am going to call him right now. She then spent an inordinate amount of time trying to stop me from calling him. I am resisting the urge to put the word friend in quotes, because she is a wonderful person, but with a controlling streak that would make Martha Stewart look relaxed. I eventually became exasperated and said J., I'm not going to screw this up for you or me! She laughed and let it go. Sheesh. Yesterday was Liot's day to bring in a snack for his class. I had left 3 boxes of breakfast bars on the top shelf of his locker (those wooden ones without doors) about a week ago so that I would not forget. His teacher told me yesterday morning that one of the K4 kids had stolen the boxes, and they were only able to recover some of the snacks. Did I not tell you all that this school is nearly 80% impoverished kids? When the teacher said Well, you left them there a long time I snapped at her Look, my kids spent 90 minutes on a bus yesterday and missed their karate class - I can only be expected to cope with so much! I did bring another two boxes of a different flavour breakfast bar, even after she told me not to bother.
This morning, I dropped Aidan off at his baseball, wrote a check, coordinated with his friend's mom on pick up, and tore across town to a place where the public school is holding music lessons. Aidan has wanted to take guitar for forever. For $15 you get an entire semester of group lessons. Oh, hell yes, we're down with that! You had to sign up in person and they only had a two and half hour window to do it. He won't be able to attend every class, but at that price, who cares. Then I popped into Target to buy snacks for next month (think I'll give them direct to the teacher next time) and a gift for a birthday party Liot is attending tomorrow. They are holding it at the Audubon Centre - bless you, little boy's mom, for not holding it at one of those horrifying inflatable slide places. Aidan and Gwyn are at soccer. I forgot everything about gymnastics for Liot this morning, but as I haven't signed him up yet, I am not out any dosh. I'll try to start him up next week. Liot had a soccer game this morning and they made him play for the opposing team because they were short players.
I have all sorts of papers and assignments due next week, don't even have two of my books. Thankfully, no more commitments today, so I can get to work. :P :P :P :P
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So far, I've caught up on sleep. Looks like I should package some of it up and send it to Cariad.
My week has been a blur. I'm hoping to catch up on homework this weekend. I'm getting everything done on time, but I'm doing too much of it the night before it is due. This makes me feel constantly harried and rushed. So my plans for this evening - everything that is due on Monday, hopefully. Sunday, I hope to accomplish everything I need to do for Wednesday. Then, just for once, I won't be up until the middle of the night on Tuesday, working on homework.
Instead, I'll be scrambling to finish a resume and a cover letter for an internship opportunity I just found out about - the apps are due Friday. :stressed;
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LOL Dialysis early this morning ......and then a power nap after lunch and then grocery shopping LOL
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Over slept this morning. Missed part of my D. Slept most of the time. After, went to the Mall in Peru. Bath & Body Works had a free gift with any home fragrance purchase. Needed some more candles anyway. Then to Menard's for bird food & Starbuck's for coffee. Back home again. Thinking about just taking a shower, putting on "Dead Like Me" and heading to bed!
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So far, I've caught up on sleep. Looks like I should package some of it up and send it to Cariad.
Ah, that would be grand!
My week has been a blur. I'm hoping to catch up on homework this weekend. I'm getting everything done on time, but I'm doing too much of it the night before it is due. This makes me feel constantly harried and rushed. So my plans for this evening - everything that is due on Monday, hopefully. Sunday, I hope to accomplish everything I need to do for Wednesday. Then, just for once, I won't be up until the middle of the night on Tuesday, working on homework.
Instead, I'll be scrambling to finish a resume and a cover letter for an internship opportunity I just found out about - the apps are due Friday. :stressed;
Fingers crossed for you, jbeany. They'd be crazy to pick anyone else for that internship in my opinion.
Today, Gwyn and I started the day with an argument. Ick. It was all over soon enough, though, and we took Liot to his friend's party, dropped him at the Audobon Center, took Aidan to get a guitar, went to Trader Joe's for supplies and sandwiches for lunch, party ran a bit late so we did not get to the gardens for our tree walk until half an hour into it. No time to eat sandwiches. Walked in the rain for an hour learning about various trees, returned home and had the sandwiches for an effortless dinner while watching How To Train Your Dragon, one of the better kid films we own. Aidan made lunches (it is one of his jobs to earn his allowance) and right now both boys are on the couch playing with the guitar. I am so glad - Aidan seems really eager to learn how to play. He has not shown this sort of enthusiasm toward anything but video games or Pokemon cards in quite some time.
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I bumped into my elderly next-door neighbour whilst walking down the road and let her ramble on at me for a good ten minutes. I nodded in all the right places, laughed when I was supposed to and expressed sympathy for her poor foot (apparently the bottle of water fell on it; I think she meant the bottle of wine ...)
That's my neighbourly good deed out of the way for this week! Yay!
;D
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Meeting with the lawyers - both student and teacher - was rescheduled, so I get to stay home for the afternoon. Homework already started, and the resume to work on next. I'll get something caught up this week if it kills me!
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It's a cold, wet day here. I have no appts., no errands to run today, etc. I think I will light some scented candles and scrub my bathroom! :lol;
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I have made several lists. :2thumbsup; To add to my already existing lists. I'm setting the lists aside and will do some handsewing on a dress I'm making. It has about 50 cloth rosettes on the bodice. My husband is out of town, so no cooking or cleaning for me today. :clap; I guess that means that I have really accomplished nothing!!
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I finished my first Biometry homework last night - we have an hour to complete it online. I got a 100%, so that's encouraging, although with all the stats I've taken, I would have been mortified with anything less.
Today has been bland. Laundry, a few dishes, bit of reading for anthro. My Public Health text arrived via the post, which is great as I have catching up to do. House is an utter disaster. We were so close to a reasonably clean and organized abode - what on earth happened? :waiting;
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Rather a full day today. Gwyn finally reached head of Milwaukee school transportation and he told me that the guy was just delightful. The kids' bus route should be officially reversed starting Friday. This saves my kids the stress of being moved to a new school mid-year, saves us the money that trying to use a charter bus would cost, and saves me loads of time. Today, Liot had soccer practice, so dropped the kids off at school, reported to my 9:30 class, tore across campus to make it just in time for my 11AM class. I used my new iClicker. This is a cool little device that allows the prof to ask quiz questions in class, you choose from multiple answers and everyone's results are posted instantly (no names, just as a bar graph). These questions comprise 20% of our grade, although the point is more to force people to class since the questions are ludicrously easy.
Returned home, made myself my favorite sandwich of fried queso fresco and sauteed red bell pepper on a multigrain roll. Watched a bit of streamed television, then grabbed the kids from school, dropped them off at the afterschool program, began reading my Public Health text in the parents lounge only to have two dads come in and start talking to me about school and work and life. An hour later I suddenly realised how late I was for Liot's soccer practice, grabbed him, grabbed Aidan, and off we went. Liot threw one gianormous wobbly. Of course he did, because Gwyn was at a golfing event with friends and I cannot lift a 5 year old who weighs nearly half what I weigh. I set Aidan on him, but Liot was wearing spikes and kicking at people, so it was dangerous. Aidan's coach was there and he kept making eye contact with me as if he were wondering if he should offer to carry Liot to the car. (I am so glad he didn't. I could not have handled the risk to his person.) It was so frustrating, but between the two of us Aidan and I managed to subdue him and he even got to join his team in a final huddle at the end. I had a long talk (actually lecture) with Liot on the ride home. I think I've got through to him. Dinner was low key - goat cheese and cranberry Quorn patties, fruit, bread. Gwyn got back and had brought me a Bota box that he found at Woodman's (an Aldi's-like warehouse market) for only $17! The Shiraz received 94 points from Wine Spectator, and the box is 100% recyclable, equivalent to 4 bottles of wine, and fits so compactly in the cupboard or, for the Chard, fridge.
Off to read more Public Health and then sleep....
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Cariad, every time I read your posts, I get tired... *LOL* I also lead an incredibly dull life......
My weekend....
on Saturday night, my mom and I went to Futureshop to buy me a new mouse. We ended up getting that, True Blood 3rd season on DVD, and they had every Harry Potter movie, except for Deathly Hallows Part One, of course, on for $8.99, so I bought the first 2 movies.
On Sunday, Mom and I went for a drive up around the west end of the Island. We ended up in the town of O'Leary, at the Potato Museum. We didn't go in, because it cost $6 per person, but they do have a giant potato outside on the lawn, so we took some pictures, and Mom bought a pin for a friend's little fella, who has an immense collection of pins and buttons. Whenever we travel, we try to buy him one. We also found a potato field full sf wind turbines, so we wandered in and took a few more pictures. We then went down another road, that took us to a wharf with a huge seawall and very cute little beach, so I took a few more pictures. We also came across a park with a waterfall, that happens to be a popular fishing spot. I saw this park on the news. The community got together and built a small platform near the edge of the water, meant to allow those in wheelchairs to get close enough to the water to fish. It's also a great spot for taking pictures of the waterfall. *G*
I should probably upload those pictures on facebook
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I finished a jigsaw puzzle.
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Too early today to do much (haven't finished my coffee yet!) but yesterday I did some shopping, went to the post office and the bank. Then my husband, the dog & I went to the park for a "picnic" dinner! Beautiful weather for sitting outside last night.
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I should probably upload those pictures on facebook
Yes, you should - I want to see the giant potato!
I finished a jigsaw puzzle.
:yahoo;
I went to the hairdressers and actually spent the best part of 45 minutes having a conversation with her. I am NOT a chatty person, particularly when I'm very aware that I'm right in front of me (the mirror) so this was a very BIG accomplishment.
;D
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Hi Poppy, glad you had a good time at the hairdressers. I went Monday, I keep trying to grow it but as soon as it gets to a certain level it drives me scranny, so I get it chopped.
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Isn't this funny! I have an appt. at the hairdresser on Friday! We should all post pics! :lol;
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Isn't this funny! I have an appt. at the hairdresser on Friday! We should all post pics! :lol;
*chuckles* ... we could turn it into a Secret Hairdresser competition and people could vote on which hairdresser did the best job!
But seriously, I could never be a hairdresser ... mostly because of the repetitive conversations, but also because I'd bodge it up. I have no artistic flair and can't cut in a straight line to save my life.
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Court this morning instead of the clinic class - oooh, sounds good. One of the clinic law students was supposed to have an evidentiary hearing, complete with a nasty cross examination of a client's ex-husband. The guy was even subpoenaed and didn't show, just his lawyer. Oh, yeah, Counselor, try checking voice mail - the guy was in the hospital. Court, we are adjourned. Well, phooey. I can't learn when there's nothing to watch. They called off class two hours early, though, so I had a chance to get a law prof to look over my resume and cover letter. Then another 5 hours in the clinic office, shuffling paperwork and dealing with anxious clients on the phone, and I finally got to come. It occurs to me that I never actually had any lunch. Ooops. So, food first, then I just have to edit the changes to internship app and resume tonight and email it all in.
Then I'm going to bed really, really early!
Both doc and dentist appointments tomorrow. Gee, fun. I'll need the sleep!
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:2thumbsup; I never tire of hearing about your edumacational exploits jbeany. You rock.
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I went to the hairdressers and actually spent the best part of 45 minutes having a conversation with her. I am NOT a chatty person, particularly when I'm very aware that I'm right in front of me (the mirror) so this was a very BIG accomplishment.
I'm well impressed with that. And as for the photos, well I spent several hours at the hairdresser's about a month ago. That's still recent in my books, as I only go to hairdressers about three times in a lifetime. On average ;)
Now I have pink bits through my hair. Well they've faded a bit now I must admit. Faded pink bits is about all I can muster these days, better get that joke in quick before someone esle does.
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Now I have pink bits through my hair. Well they've faded a bit now I must admit. Faded pink bits is about all I can muster these days, better get that joke in quick before someone esle does.
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Okay, I taught a full day of school but left when my kids went outside to play. Drove to the gym where I did an hour of water aerobics. Then back to school where I did a bit of cleaning while Carl finished up a parent/teacher conference. Then we went home and I fixed dinner, then BACK to school for a board meeting. Whew.
I had the munchies after the stress of the board meeting, but didn't want to ruin my diet progress, so got out some carrots! THAT was my big accomplishment. :clap;
Aleta
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Off to see the
wizard, errrr, surgeon today. Nothing like a 2-1/2 hour drive for a 10 minute appointment. But, I don't have to go see him again - everything is doing fine. Hurray for all guts on the inside. I officially have been warned off any exercise that is likely to make me fall down a lot. Huh, guess I'm sticking to the treadmill, and skipping the roller skating party. Ahh, well, I was never very coordinated anyhow, so I wasn't going to skate much anyhow.
My first internship application is in. Keep your fingers crossed everyone - this first one is the one I want most - with the federal prosecutor!
What I haven't accomplished is moderating much on here - by the time I'm done with homework most of the time, I'm ready to shut the darn computer off and go to bed instead.
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I managed to accidentally run my wool Ann Taylor pants through the wash AND dryer. The weird part is they look like they've survived. Won't know until I iron out the acetate lining and try them on. Once I realised I'd sent the wrong trousers (Wrong trousers, Gromit!! Wrong trousers!) sorry, once I realised, I expected to pull out something that looked like doll clothes, but they look the same. As it is, I bought these on a superb sale back when I was full-on anorexic, so they have not been that comfortable for a while. If they've shrunk even a speck, I think they'll be for the charity bin.
It was our day for snack for both Aidan and Liot's team. Yesterday I went to Costco to buy said snacks. Then I set up an assembly line using my children and husband as cheap labour - on one end, Liot opened the plastic snack bag, put the cheese and cracker pack in, Aidan put the pudding cup in, arranging it so that it would close, Gwyn added the plastic spoon and sealed the bag. They were a disgrace to Henry Ford, and I let them know it. :rofl;
Our friends, who it turns out are incredible control freaks, are on holiday in another state. They wanted us to take their child home with us after soccer since he and Aidan are on the same team. They phoned last night, texted first thing this morning, then phoned AGAIN and Gwyn basically told them to stop obsessing and trust that we can coordinate with the babysitter without their constant "assistance".
Aside from surviving hours with an extra kid, I sorted out the pantry. Yeow, was that overdue. I had no idea we had half the tins and jars that were in there. It is now all tidied, but it looks like we are expecting the imminent collapse of civilized society.
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Cariad, every time I read your posts, I get tired... *LOL* I also lead an incredibly dull life......
Sadly, I've learnt that exhausting and interesting are really two entirely different things. :laugh:
I loved reading about the potato museum! We have the Weird book series here, I assume there is one for each state, Weird Wisconsin, Weird California, etc. A potato museum would be an excellent find for all those people that live for those kitschy, roadside attractions.
Psssst: How about loading some pics on here??? :pics;
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I accomplished a first for me today! Since I am now reduced to using a cane (temporarily, I hope!) I couldn't walk through the grocery store like I normally do. I took one of those electric carts.
And, for the very first time, I managed to go all through the grocery store without hitting anything or anyone! :clap;
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My first internship application is in. Keep your fingers crossed everyone -
Done!
So far, all I have managed to accomplish today (aside from feeding my children, which only required use of a toaster!) is to send complaints to 2 different companies, Clif and GoGoSqueeze. We expect a swift and deeply apologetic response from Clif. This is always when one learns what kind of company these places really are.
Gwyn and I need our clothing tailored for Las Vegas. Yesterday, Gwyn brought 5 pair trousers and a suit jacket to the tailor round the corner. I was going to go with him, but decided to stay home and work on cleaning. So, he returns without the clothing and mentions as an aside that it is going to cost $20 PER PIECE!!! So, I say You mean to tell me that we are paying $120 for tailoring! To which he responds, Uh, no, the suit jacket is $30. Is that expensive?. I am SO glad I did not go with him. Thankfully, most of the clothing he brought along was extremely high quality and worth paying more to have it done right, but for one item (pants from Banana Republic) I would bet we are paying almost the same price for the tailoring as we did for the stupid pants. It turns out, this man spent decades honing his craft in his native Hong Kong before moving to, of all places, Milwaukee. And he moved shop to our little 'hood recently. Now that I've been warned, I'll only bring the two items for me - a magnificent skirt Gwyn bought me once that I've never worn because it's so long, and my red velvet pants. The rest - things from White House/Black Market et al. can just be done over at the dry cleaners for less than $10 per item.
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I.. um... have yet to upload those pictures. I'll do it in a bit, just so Poppy can see the giant potato. *LOL*
I did sweet FA today, and enjoyed it.. *LOL*
Yesterday, however, I spent 9 HOURS updating my ipod. Two computers, two hard drives, one f-ing ipod. It took me a few hours to make sure all my music was in itunes. Finally, when the moment of truth came, I couldn't find the cord to plug the ipod into the computer. I needed the USB cord, cuz for some reason, even though the computer has a firewire port, it told me that firewire wasn't compatible. My mother and I searched my bedroom, thinking that I had dropped the usb cord behind my bed, since I keep all my cords in a remote caddy that hangs over my headboard. It wasn't behind the bed, it wasn't underneath the bed. It wasn't under the piles of crap all over my room. I then realized that when I went to my dad's a few weeks ago, I took it with me, and lo and behold, it was still in the bag that I had brought all my stuff there in. So, crisis averted, or so I thought. I plugged the ipod in, and the sync began, but it was too quick. When I checked, the 500 or so songs that had been on the ipod before were gone, and were replaced by 9 songs from the Colbert Christmas album. I"m telling you, you cannot make this sh*t up. I tried resyncing a couple of times, but there was no change. I sat back for a few minutes, and thought about it. There had been an error coming up when I tried the sync, that said "track 20"couldn't be copied. I hadn't really paid much attention to it, cuz I didn't know what track 20 was. I ran the sync again, just to get this message to come up. There were over 100 songs listed, along with track 20. What I had done was just add the songs to itunes from my external hard drive. I didn't realize that once you unplug the hard drive, itunes has nothing to pull the songs from. I copied all the music from my hard drive onto Mom's computer (I'm afraid to plug the ipod into my computer cuz it runs windows vista, Mom's runs windows xp) then cleared everything out of the itunes library. I then added all the songs back into itunes. I plugged the ipod in, and nothing happened. I unplugged the cord from the ipod, plugged it back in, and again, nothing happened. I was sure that my ipod was pooched at this point. It's an old video ipod. It's nearing retirement. I decided to run a diagnostic just to be sure. The diagnostic kept telling me that it couldn't find a device connected. I wasn't sure what else to do, until I looked down at the computer tower, and saw that the usb end of the ipod cord was laying on the floor. I hadn't plugged it back in after moving all the songs off the hard drive onto Mom's computer. I unplugged the hard drive, plugged in the ipod, and it synced right up. I killed the battery in it this afternoon, reprogramming the playlists. Mission accomplished. I started at 4pm, I was done around 1am. While letting the ipod sync, I rewarded myself by watching the new Star Trek movie on Netflix, through my Wii.
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Worked on my craft stuff to sell, and made 3 different versions of candy bars - home cooked versions of Twix, Butterfingers, and 3 Musketeers. Needed desserts to take to Gilda's on Tuesday, and can take some to the starving law students and law profs at the clinic tomorrow. Still need to work on some clinic memos, so off to bed now so I can get up at the crack of dawn and work on them when I'm more awake - in theory.
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i'm not sure it qualifies as accomplishing anything, but i'm happy with today. i ran some errands, had a nice lunch at my favorite restaurant and spend the afternoon on the computer. now the news is on and dinner is cooking.
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Gwyn and my older son are at the baseball right now. My younger boy cannot tell time yet (or would never think to double check, I suppose) so I managed to get him to bed a half hour early. Sweeeeeet! He so needs the sleep, and just to prove I'm not a big meanie of a mom, I let him choose an extra story for me to read to him. He asked to sleep with the light on since his big brother isn't there in the room with him.
MAJOR accomplishment yesterday. I finally got off my arse and wrote a thank you/birthday card to a very special friend, and sent along a bottle of Marilyn wine that I've wanted to give him for forever. Gwyn and I bought it on impulse years ago when we got a bit past squiffy at a wine tasting and purchased a bottle. Why?? I honestly will never know. Neither one of us cares about Marilyn Monroe, and yes it is interesting for the bottle since they found a workaround for a law banning the use of nudity to sell alcoholic beverages (her clothes are removable labels), but beyond that, we are NOT wine collectors. As my boys get older, I have been asking myself which I would rather - give the bottle to a dear friend who offered me a kidney and who might enjoy that sort of thing, or come home one day and find that the boys have decided to peel off the labels, or open the wine and try it, or both. Trust me, I have heard horror stories from people who do have expensive liquor and teenagers in the same house.
So it is winging its merry way to California right now. I have wanted to do this for 18 months, and now it's finally, finally done!
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I replaced the bulb in my car's dome light. Not that it took long - it's just I rarely remember to do it when it's daylight, and I can't see to do it when it's dark enough to easily remember it needed to be done.
I bought the bulb several weeks ago. My local auto part store's staff asked me if I needed help fixing my dome light. I can't decide if I should be happy for such excellent customer service, or insulted they think I need help changing a light bulb. :P
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I think the biggest thing I did today was to go outside, walk across the yard, specifically to throw away the stack of Tim Horton's Iced Cappuccino cups that have collected themselves on my bedside table. I had about 3 weeks worth of them, cups, lids, and straws. *L*
Last summer, just to see if I could do it, I didn't throw any of them out. I had about 60 cups before I threw them away.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/66654_10150278121265387_588375386_15239813_1776469_n.jpg
In retrospect, I probably should have put something in the picture for scale.. oh well
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I got my haircut last Friday! It's been over a year........ feel refreshed and look like myself again! :flower;
Today: I changed my bed. Ran the laundry. Found Halloween decorations, and put them around the house. Defrosted flounder for tonight's dinner. Wiped down all the window sills. Made 2 important phone calls about getting Charity assistance to pay my ongoing medical bills, and another call for getting cheaper medical transport. For a change, I'm getting things DONE! Feels good. :bandance;
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I waddled off to Weight Watchers and was pleasantly surprised to see that I weighed exactly the same as this time last week. This is despite the huuuuge Chinese take-away we indulged in at the weekend.
;D
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I went to class where my advisor was guest lecturer. There are about 20 people in the class, but I was one of the few who actually spoke. It was about biocultural models for capacity for compassion, and it was a great discussion, though as the professor (who strongly disagreed with me) said "so this is a contentious topic". I finally rang up Medicare to put an end to questions about whether or not they should be primary in my case. I have my answer for all time (well, until I get off Medicare with this go-round). Medicare Primary! End of story. Going to make myself a cup of tea before trekking off to my SAS computing course. Thursdays are rough, not helped by my long day down in Chicago yesterday. :P
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I sorted out IHD names vs. real names and "think" I have it right. I have had 2 members mixed up for a couple of weeks. I was beginning to think they were one person! But, I worked through all the pm's and emails and have sense of who will be in Vegas!!!! Good thing I'm not the one doing the name tags. That is all I got done today.
Cariad, you put me to shame!! I couldn't keep up with you on your slow day :rofl;
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I managed to duck at least one politician who was campaigning in my neighborhood today. The election is Monday, so they're putting in that final push.
I also took clothes in off the line, and even though I had to sit down halfway through, I think I did ok.
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Doc appt with local neph. Found out that my medical records from my overnight stay do NOT document which antibiotic I had the reaction to. And they gave me several different ones very close to each other. Do said he couldn't tell unless I knew what time it was. Uhhh, the middle of the night, between doses of Oxy and morphine. No clue.
But, I did get to wander around the HUGE art festival - Artprize - going on downtown. Hundreds of venues showing thousands of artists, and with almost $500,000 in prizes to be split among the top 10 - who are all chosen by the public, voting online or on a cell phone, after registering and activating a voting account in person. The local paper calculated that if you wanted to see each artwork, taking into account the hours the venues/museums/galleries are open during the 20 days of the festival, but not including travel or walking time, you'd have 6 minutes to spend with each piece of art. Like I said, it's HUGE!
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:stressed; It is a little difficult to get much done with no electricity. We had a small storm on Monday & a large section of our area lost power. We have chosen to wait for the electrician (known , trusted & inexpensive) because everyone else we called wants twice as much. It will probably be Monday before he can get to us.
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I have finished all of my school stuff for the week, but I do have both a test and important paper due shortly after my return from Vegas. I am trying not to get overwhelmed - test is in Biometry and I have not missed a single point on any of the quizzes or homeworks, so I don't think I will need loads of study time for that, and my grade is not in much danger (suppose I could really botch something, but I am a math person to the core and think it will be fine). My psychological anthro prof is a tough grader, though. I have started on my paper already, and it's only five pages, but ever since the transplant, I know I no longer have the ability to pull an all-nighter the way I used to do with such frequency. My parents will be here in a matter of hours.
Today I also did laundry, put clothes away, changed the table linens, attended my classes, picked up my clothes from the tailor, and sent a few emails out to professors. Gwyn attended a seminar today so he was done quite early and offered to take Liot to soccer practice. I said yes, please. I have been feeling draggy all day and really was dreading that practice. I picked up Aidan, the four of us met at Whole Foods where Gwyn and the boys ate pizza and had drinks from their cold case. I am trying to reduce carbs, so I had spaghetti squash and tofu curry.
Then Gwyn took Aidan to play soccer on a friend's team. Soccer was not terribly well thought through this year - each team only has eight players, and with six minimum required to play, there is no room for kids having conflicts and not turning up for games. So, everyone is calling everyone else for volunteer subs, and Aidan is always a safe bet for that. Liot and I did a bit of shopping at Whole Foods (their organic nectarines were stunning) and then I took him home, got him into the shower, let him play on my iPhone for a bit, two stories and bed. Gwyn is cleaning furiously, and I should really go help. Ta!
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Let's see.... Got up at about 8am to let the dog out, on way back inside I took my tablets, thought "screw it" and went back to a dead sleep till 11, got dressed, did the washing/drying up, did clothes washing and it's overcast so shoved them into the dryer, vaccumed, changed the kitty litter, moped the kitchen and laundry and made a list of food we need.
And my parents tell me I'm undomestic.
OH, and watched season 2 of Doctor Who (with David Tennant) while doing the grocery list.
;D
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Yesterday I spent the whole day - and I started at 6am as the itchy shingles kicked me out of bed early - catching up on bookwork. And today I have rewarded myself by emailing family and friends, and then spending time here on IHD - always rewarding and satisfying!
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Yes. Yesterday, dialysis, met my husband for lunch on his lunch break, went for a nice drive to see the beautiful fall leaves.........had a nap, made supper and voted in our provincial election. :flower;
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Yes. Yesterday, dialysis, met my husband for lunch on his lunch break, went for a nice drive to see the beautiful fall leaves.........had a nap, made supper and voted in our provincial election. :flower;
oh yeah.. you guys had an election too.. although yours got more national coverage than ours.. *LOL* Ours was Monday. I got my dialysis transport to take me to the poll first, then to dialysis
I slept all day today, which means that I'll be up all night tonight... maybe that means I can sleep through the turkey dinner tomorrow... I"m not really looking forward to it..
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Researched a presentation on the ACLU's case against Michigan's anti-begging law.
Finished another half dozen ornaments for the Christmas craft show and started several more.
Fixed what was left of my manicure after spending half the afternoon destroying it with glue while doing crafts.
Slept in after staying up half the night at the karaoke bar, watching my fellow law clinic students get very, very drunk. Pretty sure that's not really an accomplishment, though. Figuring out the best way to use the blackmail photos might qualify, though!
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Hi Riki, I hadn't voted in years and decided in the last couple of elections that I should start again. Yes, ours got a lot of coverage. I wasn't happy with the results LOL
I'm so sorry you're not looking forward to your turkey diinner.....ours is today, I will be a busy Bee running around like a chicken with it's head cut off LOL
Hmmmm now I have to think, what did I accomplish yesterday? Oh yeah, I went for a 8 km walk along the Niagara escarpment, it was just beautiful! It was quite the hike and quite the scenery, there was a look out point and it was just fantastic, the leaves are turning colors and are so incredibly beautifull! And I did dialysis too in the am, I skipped my nap in the afternoon and I actually felt energetic enough to do all that hikig, I was happy! :flower;
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Let's see. Yesterday I had D in the morning then my husband & I and two friends went to see "Sweeney Todd" at Drury Lane Theatre. I had won the tickets from a local radio station. It was a fantastic production! Lot's of fun.
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Got up early (4:30am). Had a long, therapeutic bath. Ate breakfast. Spent some time on the iPad. Am heading back to bed for a nap. I suspect I'm at a different point in my journey than most of you are...
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Today I waited for a plumber who was supposed to repair an emergency two hours ago.
When phoning his employer I was told he got sick just before my appointment with him at 1 o’clock.
I suspected, of course, that Monday may not be a very motivating day, but I was really hoping.
Problem is it’s a complicated repair in the kitchen and I already found out not many plumbers have the skills...
Now I really feel like “Waiting for Godot”... because I was promised it will be repaired another day...
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I cleaned the fridge!
:yahoo;
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I went for another lengthy walk, enjoyed the trees changing beautiful colors, spent time with my family today, that was special. Did some cleaning too, but not my fridge ;D
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I was outside most of the day. I watered my plants, cleaned up my herb garden, moved my solar lights so they can get better sun, supervised my dog & the neighbour's dog while they played, took both dogs for a walk, then just sat & read for a while and enjoyed the nice weather.
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I love being outdoors, esp when it's nice outside like it was here too today. I like to take advantage of the warm weather while it lasts before winter comes as I dread winter driving.
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I love being outdoors, esp when it's nice outside like it was here too today. I like to take advantage of the warm weather while it lasts before winter comes as I dread winter driving.
I don't mind driving in Winter as long as the roads aren't icy. I just plain HATE the cold! I would hibernate if I could. :rofl;
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Hehe me too, I'd love to hibernate too! ;D I hate the cold, too! LOL :rofl;
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The second of two required presentations for my Advanced Litigation class is OVER. :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
I hate public speaking. Hate, hate, hate it.
Now, I have to decide if I do any more for extra credit or not. I can do it two more times if I want, for 5 pts each. Given how nit-picky this prof is when it comes to grading, it might not be a bad thought. It's just not a happy one for me!
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went for colonoscopy today- found out 5 minutes before procedure, that i had no need to be there,(no bodys fault) :urcrazy;
will be chatting to nephs and consultant about this.
prep 4 colonoscopy and no food for 36 hrs, still nobodys fault :bandance; :bandance;
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went for colonoscopy today- found out 5 minutes before procedure, that i had no need to be there,(no bodys fault) :urcrazy;
gah! don't you haate that!!!?
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Today I waited for a plumber who was supposed to repair an emergency
Has anyone come yet?
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Hmm...Let's see: Got up on time (4am); :2thumbsup; Got to the center on time (6:15am); :2thumbsup; Still waiting to run! :stressed; NOT the clinic's fault. I've been having problems with the Venus part of my fistula. There's too much pressure and it literally pushes the needle out. :banghead; So I'm sitting here with the Arterial in waiting for the head nurse to get here. They tried my buttonhole, no luck. Yes, the same nurse sticks me all the time. It went in with no problem but stopped running once it got in all the way. Pulled it 1/2 way out and it would run but not stay in place. So we pulled it and tried in a different spot with the same result. I still can't believe the words came out of my mouth agreeing to get stuck a third time! I don't think it will work but I'm willing to try. That's been my day so far.
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Aww, Cebushan!
We got up and had breakfast with the granddaughters before they left for school. Then had leisurely showers and drove our SIL's vehicle to school for him. Then we drove north from Stockbridge, MA to Williamstown and went the the Williams College Museum of Art. Had a lovely lunch at a corner deli there in Williamstown and drove west in NY to drive back to Stockbridge. Lovely, lovely fall colors all around and the weather is PERFECT.
Tomorrow will be rainy, but the granddaughters are staying home from school with us. :2thumbsup;
It is nice to be on "vacation" in Massachusetts! :clap;
Aleta
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Today I waited for a plumber who was supposed to repair an emergency
Has anyone come yet?
Hello, Natalya, nice to “meet” you again, and thanks.
The emergency in my kitchen was only semi-fixed,
and I am still “waiting for Godot” to have it properly fixed...that’s the bad news...
...the good news is that my “two little fighters” are doing a tiny little better,
and my GFR has gone up a further percent.
I know it is not much, but at least it has not deteriorated further.
I have been doing a little better for the past 4 weeks;
I went for a little walk every day of the week
and it has done me lots of good.
How have you been doing?
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Not too much, dialysis and a nice looooooooong nap, then cooked supper and now just relaxing. About to take my kids to the local library, they love to go. I will likely sit and read the daily newspaper.
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Yes, yes I did....
I had to stay up too late last night to finish the rough draft of my paper due Thursday. Ever since the transplant, I feel ill within moments of getting too tired, so I barely managed to put something coherent to paper. This class is mixed grad and undergrad, so I knew they would have very little to offer me in the peer critique, but I like to think I helped the woman whose paper I was handed to mark up. She seemed to not grasp some of the basics of anthro analysis and crafting an argument, so I went through that with her.
Then off to stats for the exam review. That was a very quick class and I am not at all concerned about the test, but I do have that paper due right before so need to make sure I do not procrastinate too much. Used my extra time to make lunch, then furiously read my Public Health text. I hate this book. It is full of mile long sentences that are difficult to follow, and often boring. We have to devise discussion questions for the class and email her by 5PM each Tuesday, so I managed to wade through that very dense chapter, write my questions and get them to her on time. Then I raced to grab Mr. Liot for his soccer practice. We were late, but not too far off. Aidan forgot his lunch in the back of the car so he had to buy school lunch - he lucked out with Mac N Cheese. Gwyn met us at the soccer pitch, I went home because I was freezing cold, did the washing up that has sat in the sink for far too long (since before Vegas) and made Liot an egg, cheese and red pepper wrap while Gwyn grabbed food for the rest of us at Chipotle. (Liot does not enjoy their offerings, so it's best not to bother for him). Kids are watching their programs and it's almost time for them to go to bed. Then I will polish up my essay, have a second glass of wine (Because we need the room in the fridge. Yeah, see, it's a service, really....) and try to get a full night's sleep for the first time in a week.
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Gosh, Cariad, and I was ready to proudly post that yesterday I stayed up late to make 11 patchwork potholders for my grandies' playgroup street stall! Seem a meagre effort after your busy day! I did enjoy it though. Today I connected up our new walk around phones as the old ones packed it in. It took forever to put our most dialled numbers in - sometimes I think this time saving technology needs more time than is really necessary. Hubby is away today in our truck taking our wool down to sell - fingers crossed for a good price. Hubby managed to fit 41 bales on our truck.
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...the good news is that my “two little fighters” are doing a tiny little better,
and my GFR has gone up a further percent.
I know it is not much, but at least it has not deteriorated further.
I have been doing a little better for the past 4 weeks;
I went for a little walk every day of the week
and it has done me lots of good.
How have you been doing?
Been doing alright! Been working really really hard, as I've started lecturing (god help my students) which takes amazing amounts of time to prepare and huge amounts of time for marking too... and am also supposed to be writing this phd thing. As phd's require that you focus on a little bit and learn a lot from it, I've been reading and re-reading and pondering about 7 threads, of which 6 are from IHD (they have all "ended" / aren't still being added to - old threads) and I think maybe going a little mad. Also I have a different paper which is in a state where I'd better post it here and show people, I just have to get a moment... So its been busy. But I am very pleased because (and this is far more practical) I also just finished knitting a new poncho yesterday! I have a photo of it, must put up and show for I am very pleased with how it turned out ;D
I have heard that exercise has all kinds of unexpected good outcomes, so your walking is probably relevant to your good health Kristina. I'm always pleased when I hear about another of your tiny gains, I think its really amazing what you are managing with careful living and I guess a bit of luck too.
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Crikey, Natalya, you have been busy !
Are you considering working your papers up into a book?
Thanks for your kind thoughts, they are very much appreciated,
best wishes and good luck from Kristina. :waving;
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Well, it's not been your typical day. It's not everyday that you take your twin daughters for an ultraround to rule out Polycystic kidney disease. (I'm hoping they don't have my disease, but I'm checking just to be sure)
For lunch, I'm meeting a biological Aunt whom I haven't seen for 8 long years. I am nervous but looking forward to seeing her at the same time. Should be interesting. Like I said, not my most typical day. :P
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Well, it's not been your typical day. It's not everyday that you take your twin daughters for an ultraround to rule out Polycystic kidney disease. (I'm hoping they don't have my disease, but I'm checking just to be sure)
Oh, Cordelia, I hope the tests are negative. Our daughter was tested to see if she would donate to Carl, and that is when she discovered that she had PKD, too. It is affecting her liver, as well, though. I'm hoping your girls don't have it. :pray;
We are visiting with our daughter and her family. Went for a walk with the girls, then went to my daughter's physical therapist for my should that has been bothering me. He worked it over pretty well for about 40 minutes and taped it to give the muscles some support. I apparently stressed the rotator cuff and need to give it some rest. Ouch. But the therapy felt WONDERFUL!
After getting back I fixed lunch for everyone and then the girls and I got in the hot tub for a few minutes. Then we painted the little one's nails (or rather my older granddaughter did that while I put the dishes away and folded some laundry. I try to get as much done for my daughter as possible so she is not so over-stressed while we are visiting.
Then I read a couple of stories to the little one and she is now taking a nap. Grandmom is catching up on IHD! :2thumbsup;
This afternoon, after my daughter is finished at school we older girls are going for a spa pedicure while older granddaughter gets a manicure. Fun, fun, fun. A pot of soup is simmering on the stove. Life feels good.
One day, still many years off, we will be moving here to live in the apartment attached to our daughter and SIL's "new" house. They looked high and low for a house that had an apartment that would be good for us, too. I love my family. :cuddle;
Aleta
Aleta
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Hi Willowtreewren,
Thanks so much for your best wishes that they don't have the same disease as I do. I'm hoping and praying they don't. :bow; The technician said the results would be forwarded in about 3-5 business days. Will check in with my doctor later next week to see if he reviewed them yet and to see if they can give me results over the phone or if I would need to make an apt to find out test results.
My doc said he'd call if he saw anything but I think I still should definitely make the call myself just to double check. In this day and age one can never know for sure no news means good news.
I'm so sorry to hear your daughter has it and that it has affected her liver also :cuddle;
It's definitely one thing I'm very concerned about, I sure hope they don't inherit this from me and go through this horrible disease.
Ouch! Rotar cuff is painful, my MIL had surgery on her one shoulder since she tore her rotar cuff too, it was very painful. I hope your therapy helps.
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Our gilrs were tested by ultrasound for PKD in their 20s and are due to be tested again. They are 30 and 28 and were advised to be tested every ten years. Their first tests came back clear and we decided then that our chance of winning Lotto was gone, as we'd already used all our luck. I am keen to have them genetically tested to rule out PKD altogether but just keep getting told it's too expensive. What cost is peace of mind that I haven't passed PKD on to my daughters and my grand-daughters?!
Please post your daughters results, and I'm wishing for good results with all of my heart. :pray;
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geez.. I get tired just reading some of the posts in this thread... :rofl;
My bp went nutty on Wednesday, and I haven't felt well since. I've kinda just been sleeping, so compared to you guys, I'm a slug.. *LOL*
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Here it is. My new poncho. Tadah!
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Here it is. My new poncho. Tadah!
Wow! That's very pretty! :clap;
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That's really a pretty poncho, Natnnat!
Riki, I hope your BP turns back to normal!
Thanks Chook, for your best wishes. I will let you all know about my daughters. The ultrasound tech said it would likely take 3-5 business mailing days to forward it to my doctor's office. Hopefully I'll find out in another week or so. Not sure if I can just call in to find out results or if I will have to physcially go in for an apt to find out.
Yesterday I went for D, went out to lunch with my Mom and an aunt I haven't seen for 2 years. I missed my nap since I had an upset earlier in the day. Then in the evening I went to a meeting with my daugters. It was a support group meeting for parents with children who have epilepsy. My one twin daughter has mild epilepsy. We enjoy going to the group together and conversing with others going through the same thing as us.
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Here it is. My new poncho. Tadah!
'Tis most gorgeous! I wish I had the patience to be creative like that!
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got up two hours earlier than usual, showered, put in a load of wash, had breakfast. when the car came home i went to walmart. then to the post office to mail pictures to my mother, bought something for my secret santa, then safeway and home to argue with the freezer. i think i've had all the productivity i can handle fore several days.
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When the car came home?? *LOL* do you let it out to roam at night and wait for it to come home, like a cat?
I'm still feeling cruddy, so I went to bed early last night. I woke up early this morning because of it, but I decided that I would pull out my Tassimo machine and make myself a cappuccino, so I did. *L* I pulled it out from under the cupboard, cleaned it, made and drank my cappuccino, then cleaned the machine again before putting it away.
Then I got dressed and went to an Occupy Wall Street solidarity rally, and rather enjoyed myself, listening to the people speak.
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When the car came home?? *LOL* do you let it out to roam at night and wait for it to come home, like a cat?
lol, not quite. there are 3 us. my daughter works from 7am to 3pm and uses one car. my spinal works from 3am to 11am and uses the other car. i had to wait till elliott came home to go out and about.
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So far:
A mile on the treadmill.
Another no-knit yarn scarf to use for a sample at my craft class.
Cleaned the bathroom from top to bottom.
Emptied all the trash, cleaned and scrubbed the cat pan, sorted the recycling.
Loaded the latest stack of donations for Goodwill into the car to be dropped off on Monday.
Did all the laundry and reorganized my closet. I'm halfway through a reverse-hanger sort, and I pulled all the things not yet reversed into one section. When I get almost to the end, anything not worn usually gets donated.
Now, a couple hours of homework.
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Chook, I have read that PKD does NOT skip generations, so if your daughters are clear, your grandkids should be all right. :cuddle;
Nat, you can make a poncho for me anytime! :2thumbsup;
It's just lovely!!!!
Gramma, do you KNOW who your Secret Santa is? I'm still waiting to hear! I am raring to get out and get a special, special gift!
Aleta
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I don't know if I accomplished anything productive, but I had a busy, good day. Went on a 3 hour "church walk". 8 downtown churches (all built in the 1800's) were open for visiting. Very interesting. The day was beautiful and I enjoyed learning the history of the churches. Since we are in the South, the history of the church has largely to do with races. We go to a United Methodist. 1 block away is a AME Methodist. The difference? Edenton St UMC was built first by rich plantation owners and business men. Their slaves were allowed to sit in the balcony. Later, the slaves (now free men) were tired of the situation and built their own church. Still to this day, the difference is great. One church with money, the other one struggling. The same situation with the Baptist churches. They started as one, split and became one "white" church and a "black" church. I grew up in the Midwest, so this part of history is always interesting to me.
Then it was time to go to Zeke's football game. Thought of you YLGuy!! Zeke's team won--they are undefeated for 3 years, but the other team scored a touchdown and that is the only time someone has scored against our team. So the boys were happy and mad!
The day started at 8am and finally wound down around 6pm. Thanks to my lovely kidney, I enjoyed my entire day. :cuddle; Now it is bedtime!!
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I vacuumed, dusted, changed the bed sheets, put three loads of washing on, filled the dishwasher, put washing on the line, brought washing back in again, mowed the grass, scrubbed the kitchen, scrubbed the bathroom, packed two bags (I should only be in for half the time that Blokey is, but guess who has twice as much stuff?), took two cats to the cattery (one of whom was a trifle nervous being in his basket and poo'd halfway there!), showered, defluffed, sent an email or two and watched an episode of Buffy. Oh, and I cooked dinner.
Whilst I busied myself what did Blokey do? He watched the tellybox! Okay, he did do his bit when I wanted to plump up the settee cushions though ... yes, he stood up for me. Bless him. (I don't mind; being busy meant I didn't have to think.)
;D
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I've set four daily goals for myself.
Walk one mile every day.
Clean one thing every day.
Create one thing to sell at the craft show every day.
Do one hour of homework every day.
I'm usually good for 3 out of 4, but it's a good set of goals for me. The house stays clean, even if I only spend 15 minutes on cleaning one small thing. I do pretty well at staying on top of my homework if I pick at it a bit at a time. My craft show stock is slowly stacking up, even if I only spent 15 minutes making a pom-pom ornament. The walking is pretty easy most days - by the time I park and hike between the courthouse to watch my law student team at work and then hike back to school, I'm already done.
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Omigosh, the energy is just oozing outta me today, must get lots done with I have these energy spurts LOL
Today I went shopping for 5 hours, boot shopping for my kids, bra shopping for my daughters, grocery shopping and halloween decorating shopping LOL
Basically speaking, shop til you drop! :rofl;
Now to start supper, I'm making chili and then decorating the house with halloween lights! I'm excited about that!
Then tonight I'll probably watch the Amazing Race and catch up on last week's episode of Survivor that I missed ;D
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So far, not too much. Got the grocery list written out while watching the Packers game (6 and 0 baby!!!), will be hitting the stores in a few minutes. Put the TV room back together from our big party earlier this week. Tonight will be laundry and TV while DH is in Indiana for a wake.
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not much. got up way early for me because my 4 year old grand son spent the night. had a little nap after damian left. did som shopping for tonights dinner. still nice enough out to use the b-b-q.
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I think I've figured out SAS enough to actually complete the homework due Thursday. However, I am not taking this course to be able to crank out a few homeworks, I want to actually learn the program. I meet with the instructor in an hour to try to understand a few issues better. Still, it is a relief to be able to say that it looks like I've at least managed to complete the assignment.
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Good for you, CarIad! I have done nothing today. I'm still tired and sore from the weekend. Stayed snuggled in bed watching movies.
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Having a lazy day here, it's cold, rainy and windy and just plain miserable outside, I'm happy to stay inside and do.......nothing! :2thumbsup; I figure we all need days like that ;D
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Here it is. My new poncho. Tadah!
Wonderful Poncho, Natalya! I do like the pattern very much!
How long did you work on it ?
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I managed to get a good bit of housework done today. I vacuumed the ceiling fans. It was a real slog because I have a cold; I don't know if I feel awful because I'm uremic or because my head is full of boogers...probably both. ::)
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Not much. Had D this morning, walked home from the hospital since I live so close, had lunch and just woke up from a much-needed nap ;D
Oh! I got my "labs report card" at my unit today, it was the best ever, so that was a huge accomplisment! :yahoo; :2thumbsup;
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Oh! I got my "labs report card" at my unit today, it was the best ever, so that was a huge accomplisment! :yahoo; :2thumbsup;
Did you get actual numbers on your "labs report card" or those smiley/frowny faces? Whichever, congratulations!
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LOL MM on the smiley/frown faces :rofl; :rofl; You know what's really funny? Today I had a dietician I've never met, don't know what happened to our "usual" dietician, quite honestly, I can't stand her, she's condescending and arrogant to be blunt. Anyways, I was very happy to meet this other lady, she was very nice, she said I was doing great. Apparently my albumin was a little low, still on the safe side, so.....I must eat more protein ;D
Yes, I got a smiley today ;D
Thanks for your congrats! :cuddle;
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My bp went weird on Wednesday, and I haven't quite been right since. I've been doing more sleeping than anything else. I went to the ophthalmologist on Thursday, and he told me that my eyesight was gradually getting worse. I'm almost said "well duh" out loud to him, but I didn't. I've been going to the guy since I was a teenager. Although, he did suggest that I get myself reacquainted with the CNIB again. It must be pretty bad if he's suggesting that
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So far, got up, saw the kids off to school, showered and I'm soon off to a kidney disease support group this aft, it's once a month and I look forward to getting together with other people who are in the same boat as me ;D
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So far, got up, saw the kids off to school, showered and I'm soon off to a kidney disease support group this aft, it's once a month and I look forward to getting together with other people who are in the same boat as me ;D
You have a support group?! That is so cool! My D SW has been trying to get one started here but it seems that, other than me, no one is interested. My support group is right here on IHD.
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Hi Cebushan! Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that, that is really frustrating so much when you want to and no one else does :(
I really enjoy mine, it's a good-sized group too. We meet at my hospital in the board room, it's once a month, there are two facilitators and they are just awesome people, just like here, I love support networks, I don't know what I'd do without my friends there and my IHD friends here, it's so comforting to vent in a place/setting where you feel comfortable! :thumbup; :grouphug;
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I barely accomplished anything today. I was chatting with another woman in my public health class and saying that I just do not like this text and cannot seem to retain any of the information that I'm reading, and she said she had the same problem and we laughed about a few of the quirks with the book (like the chapters have a conclusion, then you turn the page and there is an additional 20 pages to read, spotlighting some facet of public health. It's psychologically damaging.)
I tend to talk to the same people in class each week, and I was discussing salt and how many experts believe that the studies show that limiting salt has little to no health benefit. (Little benefit to hypertensives, none for non-hypertensives.) The EMT in the class wants to see the article (there are actually many) so I found one that talks about how slow public health is to adopt new information, that we get the same arguments shoved at us for a lifetime. OK, I know this is a renal forum and there are other benefits to dialysis patients in limiting salt, but I find I have little patience for these outdated arguments. Immediately after the conversation, we started laughing because sure enough, one woman starts talking about the evils of Ritz crackers because of the sodium. If one more person says in those really earnest tones that we just have to get everyone to lose weight and never again consume any fat or salt, I swear I'm going to lose it and devour a bacon double cheeseburger right in their faces.
Anyhow, then I happen to mention the renal diet (to make a point that there is no such thing as a single Healthy Diet) and for reasons I cannot remember, the nurse in the class starts talking about a dialysis patient she came into contact with who 'wanted to drown'. Excuse me? She said the woman was eating pretzels and so the nurse told her she cannot do that, so the patient stopped eating pretzels and switched to Cheez Its. OK, where does the wanting to drown come in exactly? Then she said something about she had no problems with her eating the pretzels because her blood pressure was low which was just confusing (then why exactly were you telling her to stop eating them?!) and I asked 'was she drinking too much fluid' and the prof jumped in because I think she could tell I was getting agitated and we were short of time. There is simply no faster way to wind me up then to hear of a nurse judging a patient, speaking to the patient's inner thoughts ("she wanted to drown") and not seeming to have a very firm grasp of how dialysis works. So, I said "Well, there are loads of problems with dialysis in this country, and I'm doing my presentation on it so I'll have more to say at that time."
So, the accomplishment: I kept my cool and did not insist on having it out with this person (who I'm sure is a perfectly lovely individual when she's not saying bizarre, contradictory, and judgmental things about patients). This is actually quite an achievement for me.
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Not much, just D this morning. Too rainy, too cold to do anything outside today. I'm tired of the rain, we've had so much in the last week at least........
Going to ly down for a nap this aft and likely do a load of laundry tonight since it's cheaper to do laundry at night after 7 pm, it's not as high peak time for Kilowatt hours as it is the morning/afternoon during the day. Here in Ontario, there are times you can save money doing laundry at particular times of the day.
Laundry is soooooooooo B-o-r-i-n-g ::) LOL
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I haven't done much yet. I had D this morning, I'm being beckoned by the dog and cat to take a nap. Then I need to start looking through my dvds to find one for the Halloween party at the clinic.
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Naps are great! :thumbup; ;D I feel refreshed now :lol;
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Submitted my SAS program. I think I finally figured out what the instructor was looking for. Not only does everyone agree that there is not enough time each week for a proper class, but there is a language barrier.
Had a cracking discussion about schizophrenia today in psychological anthro. The prof wanted to know what differences we saw between the perception of people with schizophrenia vs. those with chronic, physical illness. Gee, if only I had experience with chronic illness. :rofl;
Someone mentioned the lack of credibility that mentally ill patients have with doctors, and I said that chronic patients also see their credibility compromised, but the difference is that they would be accused of lying, a conscious choice, as opposed to having their experience denied because they lack a connection to reality. The prof liked this (he likes very little - quite particular) and said "Yes, it's one thing to be called a liar, a liar is still granted the possibility of speaking truth. In schizophrenia, you are seen as incapable of speaking truth." I loved his wording so much, I wrote it down. I received my grade for our first paper - 28/30. He seemed to appreciate what I wrote. Also, the woman whose paper I peer-critiqued, I think I saw that she received a 27/30, so that makes me feel better. I basically was trying to give her a crash course in anthro analysis in the five minutes I was afforded to talk to her. I was concerned that my critique came off as insulting, because I had to just get to the point as quickly as possible. She seemed very happy with whatever grade she received. Off to computing class soon....
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Did get my nap in. The dog woke me when it was time for him to go out. (Good boy!) My husband called and said he had something for me to look at. So, I got dressed & we went to look at a house. We both loved it. We can start moving in whenever we want! Yay!
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Cariad, that is great! It's such a good feeling when accomplishing something! :thumbup;
Cebushan, good luck with the house! :thumbup;
Tonight I made a renal-friendly apple crumble/crisp, oh, it was sooo good! It took me a long time to peel, de-core and slice the apples, but I'm surprising my family when they get home later tonight with a yummy bed-time snack! It was the first time I made it and it turned exceptionally yummy!!!!! :clap; :bandance;
My arm is killing me though from all the cutting, but it was well worth it! :thumbup; :yahoo;
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I got up this morning, took a shower and went to the doctor for my obligatory yearly pap. He surprised me by being incredibly quick, no waiting! He wants me to come back in some morning next week to have my cholesterol checked. The nurse keeps a basket of suckers on the desk, so on the way out, I grabbed a green one. I think after what I had to do, I deserved it. *L*
I went home, plugged my ipod into my mom's computer speakers, then danced around to Katy Perry"s latest release until I got tired, then laid down for a 3 hour nap. *L*
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I wish my doctor had suckers :P :rofl; :popcorn;
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I wish my doctor had suckers :P :rofl; :popcorn;
your doctor doesn't have suckers?? your doctor sucks.. *LOL*
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LMAO! Riki! Nope :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
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They're green suckers too.. so they're good
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Mmmm the green and purple ones are my most fav ;D
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The drive thru at my bank has suckers AND doggie biscuits! :rofl;
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Scheduled two important appointments with the Career Services group at school, to prepare for my internship and practice for my upcoming interview.
Caught up on all the sleep I missed this week - this may be the most important accomplishment, even if it means I slept through half the afternoon.
Yesterday evening, when I was too tired to focus after a morning spent at the courthouse and then running errands and getting all my shopping done, I didn't flop in a chair and read book. I dug everything out of the fridge and made enough meals to freeze and have ready for the next two weeks. Soup, chili, stuffed biscuits, taco fixings...I'm prepared!
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:rofl; Cebushan
So I went to D, this am, realized while I was going thru my wallet while sitting in the chair that I must have left my debit card at a restaurant I ate at lastnight, it was not in my wallet :oops; I was so upset, sitting in the chair, I was panic-stricken that someone may have stole it. I had paid for the dinner with my card but then I figured I must have forgotten it in the debit machine.
Anyways, to make a long story short, had to call home on my cell to get my husband to look up the phone number for the restaurant to see if it was there, he couldn't find the number in the phone book or online so I asked one of the nurse's for a local phone book, thank goodness they had one. Anyways, to make a long story short, I managed to find the number, called, and a manager said it was there, I was SO grateful that they held it for me, talk about a scare, I was SO relieved to retrieve it! :2thumbsup;
Scary part of it was the fact that when I described the card in detail, the woman said, "Oh hon, we have a lot of cards that are that color," LOL I was like, WTF? Guess nobody calls when their card goes missing. Either that or they can't remember where they lost it. Thankfully, I knew it was the last place I had visited and used mine before I had gone to use it again somewhere else and had more time that lapsed between the time I lost it to the time I picked it up.
It just made my day that someone went out on a limb for me, there are good people in this world! :)
I also had a short nap this afternoon (my most fav part of D day :rofl; ) and then I started my Christmas shopping today after I got up.....
And, tonight, I'm going to watch a horror movie, I love horror movies esp at this time of year! :thumbup;
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I have finished my 19 page, 78 multi-part question take-home midterm exam for Advanced Litigation! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
I spent about 4 hours working on it Friday night, and, minus breaks, another 12 or so that started on Saturday afternoon and continued on until almost 2:30 this morning. Auuugh! But at least I don't have to look at the darn thing when I wake up on Sunday morning, no matter how little sleep I get.
Instead, I get to do more homework.... :P
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Well had a busy few days. Worked till midnight on Friday due to some power works being done which caused some issues(as always!) and have to repeat again next week because it wasn't all finished ugh. Then again Sat morning for a few hours to fix a problem from the night before. Then a successful afternoon on the races was good. Today I went out in the warmth and walked 16km's (10 miles) in 3 hours which was pretty good (yes I drank a lot!). It was good to get out and about.....
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I'm playing taxi Mom today. Parties galore to take the kids to. One has a halloween party, the other two have a birthday party to go to. I will try to squeeze a little "me" time in between pick up times......likely some shopping ;D
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ohhhhh i love it HenryP..... and i have chickens ALL over my kitchen..Some in my back yard too..hehe Really nice job!!
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Meh ..... I'm not feeling "quite myself" today ..... funny, the difference a day makes. Anywhooooo .......I did run an errand, changed the bandage on my fistula and did my 1.5 mile walk. It's 6PM now and I'm hoping to still get a load of laundry done, write a few short letters to some folks and then take a nice, long bath. Somehow, that's enough for today .....
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My husband & I and the dog did the Gift of Life Walk yesterday. I was only able to do 1 1/2 miles instead of the full 3 miles but I thought that was pretty good after spending 2 days in the hospital. I wish I knew how to upload photos because I got a really cute one of the dog in his costume. Today I went to Church, did some grocery shopping, and started doing some packing.
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I worked out walked/jogged a little over a mile this morning. The trainer took us to the park to play.
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Got the laundry done, got the letters done ..........now time for the bath. WHOO HOO. I sure hope I wake up feeling better than I did today. Have to work plus see a doctor or two.
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I worked out walked/jogged a little over a mile this morning. The trainer took us to the park to play.
That sounds like you're a dog.. the trainer took you to the park for a run... *L*
*isawaitingthebigstick*
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Speaking of Dogs. Had a nice win on my one bet of the day on one of my special greyhounds - TIGER COTCHIN !!! WOOHOO!!! :)
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Excellent news, Richard. Keep it up and you'll pay off that wedding and divorce in no time! :rofl;
I took my fourth biostats online quiz. The prof makes these pretty easy - no trick questions - so I got 100%. I am now doing reading for my Tuesday classes and generally trying to keep ahead of all of my upcoming tests and papers.
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*giggle* Cariad so funny! Yeah it's so expensive!! I mean that Vegas wedding was a whole $64, not counting what the cabbie charged us to stay and be witness (the bastard had no romance in his heart - he left the meter running during the ceremony!!) and then of course we had to split our posessions from the wedding and all... need a few more good results at the track I think to pay that off.
On the other hand if I send her a box of tim tams we might be able to settle things another way :)
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
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Yes, Richard, and now that there is no chance of sun and warm weather, those Tim Tams won't melt in my mail box!!! Yay!!!
I thought I'd add what I did this past Friday to this thread.
I left home for work at 6am, worked until 3pm. Ran a few errands after work, than picked up my friend to go to Seattle and see Journey/Foreigner/Night Ranger in concert! We had dinner at Dick's Drive In (although this location is the only sit-down one in the chain, so I and my friends like to affectionately call it "Richard's") then parked the car in an over-priced parking garage and went to the concert. It was a great show! started at 7pm, lasted til almost 11, I believe. Drove back home after waiting for the garage to clear out (once rock concert and one ballet got out at the same time), stopped at Taco Bell for a late night soft taco snack, then drove my friend home, then myself home and got home just before 1am. Whew!!! Was very happy to sleep in on Saturday!
KarenInWA
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My day was going not too bad until I just phoned my family doctor's office this afternoon and found out that one of my twin daughters has "small renal cysts"
......That's what the receptionist told me on the phone. She and her twin sister had an ultrasound about 2 weeks ago to rule out polycystic kidney disease and I have a very sinky feeling she has inherited the gene from me.
I am in a state of shock right now even though I knew the chances of one of my kids getting it was very possible. Even though you know the risk is there, I still feel in shock. I had a damn good cry after I got off the phone.
I have booked an appointment with my GP for this Thursday to talk to him about it and I want to really stress to him that I want her to start seeing a nephrologist. I am scared out of my wits!!!!!
:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
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I went in for what I thought was going to be a fistulagram to try to fix my fistula. Turns out, they accidentally scheduled me for the same thing they did 2 weeks ago! At least they discovered it before they prepped me? When I asked he they where doing anything today and found out no, I asked for a cup of coffee. the surgeon brought me some himself! Lol! So what they need to do now is a different procedure that is more invasive. Now I wait...
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My day was going not too bad until I just phoned my family doctor's office this afternoon and found out that one of my twin daughters has "small renal cysts"
......That's what the receptionist told me on the phone. She and her twin sister had an ultrasound about 2 weeks ago to rule out polycystic kidney disease and I have a very sinky feeling she has inherited the gene from me.
I am in a state of shock right now even though I knew the chances of one of my kids getting it was very possible. Even though you know the risk is there, I still feel in shock. I had a damn good cry after I got off the phone.
I have booked an appointment with my GP for this Thursday to talk to him about it and I want to really stress to him that I want her to start seeing a nephrologist. I am scared out of my wits!!!!!
:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
:grouphug; :grouphug; :grouphug;
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Cordellia, our eldest daughter was first ultrasounded at age 2 because of a totally unrelated illness and had one cyst. My neph at the time said these can occur as a result of severe illness. She is 30 now, has had no kidney related problems and a 2nd ultrasound at age 20 was clear. She has been recommended to have one every ten years just to be cautious. 2nd daughter also clear at age 20 but will test every 10 years too.
Crossing fingers for you and yours.
On the accomplishment subject, I managed to lodge our quarterly goods and services tax report today!!!! This is exciting because last quarter I decided it was all too hard and we'd have to pay someone to do it. And it was so easy this time.
Amazing what better health and time at home can achieve!
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Hi Chook and Jbeany, you both are so very sweet, thank you so much for your hugs and your best wishes and good thoughts. :grouphug; I can totally understand, Chook, how fearful you must have been for all these years wondering whether or not anymore cysts would appear on your daughter's kidney..... I'm so relieved to hear that she is okay!! :grouphug;
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Yes, Karen, hold out for the Tim Tams! Those things were way too delicious for a boxed cookie. What sort of secret Aussie magic pixie dust is in those, anyhow?!
Classes this morning, but I was not in a mood to say much in anthro, and biostats is just a lecture, no discussion. We are finally learning material that is new to me.
Dropped by the Children's Center to see the clothing exchange. Nothing there that we could use, but it was nice to see how much stuff had been donated to hopefully help out other parents. I did not see any of our donated items, so can only assume those have gone to a good home.
Gwyn and I argued much of the afternoon. We disagree on how to handle an issue with Aidan and it turned heated. Aidan was crying this morning and then this afternoon he was absolutely fine and able to discuss it calmly. Kids are mercurial creatures. I still manage to read a long, dense chapter on Public Health and formulate 2 discussion questions to email to the prof before the 5PM deadline.
Collected the kids so that Gwyn could have his phone interview. Went to Whole Foods and ran into the mother of Liot's best friend and the father of one of Aidan's best friends. Grabbed pizza and fresh fruit and dinner was sorted. About to grab a glass of wine and do more school research.
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I've scheduled everything perfectly this week - except enough time to sleep. It's Tuesday, and I haven't even accomplished reading the Sunday paper - it's still in the plastic bag!
I finished another presentation on Monday night. :bandance; :bandance; This one was for extra credit, which I may need after handing in the 19 page exam that took me 16 hours to finish this weekend. Well, maybe not, since I thought it was easy, just time consuming, and plenty of my classmates had problems even finding answers to some of the questions. At any rate, I currently have a 105% in the class.
Had my Grand Day Out with my nephew today. Laser show at the planetarium after dinner out at Ritz Coney. Managed to schedule plans for our days for November and December too. Bought tickets to Tran-Siberian Orchestra for December. Yay! I've never seen them live - I can't wait.
Had a mandatory luncheon seminar for my internship today. Checked a box off on list of things to do for that. Next...
Edited my resume and with tips from Career Services, now have a clear copy all one page. Did a mock interview on Monday with Career services, too. Picked out an interview outfit (and sorted a lot of uncomfortable clothes out of my closet) so I'm as ready as I'm gonna be for my interview on Friday.
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Had an interesting morning. Went to psychological anthro. Some days I am just so proud of myself for speaking in that class - the prof is great, but when you say something that does not catch his fancy, whoa can he (inadvertently, I assume) make you feel like an idiot. The woman whose paper I critiqued emailed me yesterday because she missed class and asked if I could let her know what they talked about. I wrote her back a brief two paragraphs (considering I was summarizing 75 minutes of discussion) and she thanked me profusely and asked me if she could buy me a tea or coffee for next class. I said that wasn't necessary, but was concerned I would hurt her feelings so told her that I love a hot tea. We'll see if she remembers - I thought it was lovely of her to offer.
We talked on the way out. She got a 27/30 for the paper that I critiqued (I tried to give her a crash course in writing for this prof, because her first draft was not going to win her any accolades - she must be a quick study because that prof is such a hard grader. He wrote glowing comments all over my paper, then gave me a 28/30 :waiting;) Anyhow, she's an anthropology undergrad, but what's more, she is interning with the woman that I used to work with in town. I asked how she liked her, and she froze with that sort of is-this-a-trap face and gave a non-committal She's nice! I like her!. I told her this woman is NUTS and to not ever mention my name to her because we had a massive falling out and she will likely go off on you if she thinks you're giving me the time of day. I had the advantage of working with four other people back then, so I knew that it was not just me, this woman takes all of her stress and frustration out on the people around her. So, in the end I said "I don't want to scare you, but if she does ever lose it with you, just know that it's her, not you. Let me know if it happens, I'll be happy to listen." She seemed happy to hear that offer.
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Cariad, I bet your warning will make life a lot easier for this undergrad. It's so easy to take things personally when you don't realize that the other person is just batsh*t crazy! I hope she remembers her offer of tea because you deserve it! That was a nice gesture.
I like hearing about your psych anthro class. I'd love to take a class in genetic or linguistic anthropology. Maybe if I get a tx and my energy level improves, I can think about such things. Right now just the thought makes me tired! ::)
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I survived my interview, and I think it might actually have went well. It's hard to tell, since I prepped for a traditional interview with questions like "Tell me a little about yourself," and "What 3 adjectives would your friends use to describe you?" Instead, it was a pop quiz on how much I had researched the program and their jobs, and if I had intelligent questions to ask about what they did for a living. (I did. I even had my questions written out.) I'll know if I get the internship in a week.
Had an interesting morning. Went to psychological anthro. Some days I am just so proud of myself for speaking in that class - the prof is great, but when you say something that does not catch his fancy, whoa can he (inadvertently, I assume) make you feel like an idiot.
Your prof must be related to mine. Mine has 3 jobs - he's a law professor, a lawyer, and an actor on stage. The acting part shows up at every class. He stands and the front and emotes. Loudly. About what we did wrong on the assignments or how we aren't giving the proper answers to his class discussion questions. As a result, no one wants to speak up in class, because even if you give the right answer, he's still bellowing on how it isn't the perfect answer!
One of our class assignments was doing an investigation plan for a woman with a sexual harassment claim against her employer. He had us do a written memo on it, and gave us no other instructions than "Tell your boss what to do next." The day we handed it in, he went over what we should have included in the plan. One of the most obvious things to do is have the woman request her employee file from HR. Plenty of students had put that in their memo. I was the only one in the class who had explained why I knew she could get it.There is a law in Michigan that gives you the right to get the file. I stated during the class discussion that she had a right to it by law. When he asked what law, all I could remember of the name was the first half. "It's the Bullard-Pul-something that sounds Polish-eski Act, but I don't remember the second half of the name." He blew up. (It's Bullard-Plawecki.) Heck, even now that I know it, I don't think I'm pronouncing it right. But I was apparently an idiot for not having memorized the full name and pronunciation of something that took me less than 20 minutes to research and write up, out of a 10 hour assignment.
I don't know how inadvertent it is, though. My prof has stated clearly that his goal in this class is to weed out those who aren't perfectly suited for this future career. That was also his reason for giving us a 19 page take home exam that took some students as long as 25 hours to complete.
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Ack, jbeany, your prof sounds horrific. My school cannot afford to have weed-out classes. They do not want to lose the tuition. In fact, there is some push to have people over 60 take courses, because on the first day there were all of these men with add forms, and it said '60+' across the top. I don't know the details. I think there is something slightly off about this particular professor. He is a nervous little guy, very blunt - will tell you 'I don't want to talk about that' which he does not seem to understand sounds rather abrupt and startling. I'll make a point and he'll say "that's old news" or similar. I'm convinced he means nothing by it, he is just socially awkward.
I have actually thought that if we are forced to move, I may look into law school. Law school has been something I've considered all my life, and I'm rather surprised that I never went. My father was a lawyer and hated it though. I took the LSAT a few years ago, so my score (which I think was only OK) is still valid. As much as I love anthro, I don't want to start over in a new city or new country with it. Congrats on the interview! I would bet that most candidates will have been thrown by that style, and you probably will look exceptional in the comparison. Fingers crossed!
MM, I thought of you in anthro the other day. We are talking about schizophrenia, but we relate it to the way people with other conditions are treated or view their various disorders. The one analysis of schizophrenia that we were discussing reminded me of the article Don't Mourn For Us, by the man with autism who argued, compellingly, that what people with autism need is coping skills, not a cure. Since the course is grounded in the conception of the self, I mentioned it in class as similar to the argument with mental illness, that schizophrenics do not need medication, they need coping skills for their particular challenges. Anyway, I found myself wondering what you think of the autism article. Cultural linguistics is a fun field, but one that you could probably suss out yourself with a good text. Genetics is tough but as a physical anthropologist, I obviously feel it is vital for all of us to understand on some level.
Accomplishments today are near zero. Watched Liot's final soccer game of the year. Wound up talking to his coaches after the game for an hour (the female coach is a linguist who once considered law school, so I just had this conversation earlier today). Kids are at our friends' house for a bit. We were supposed to take them trick or treating, but all the parents were too tired so we convinced the kids to wait until tomorrow. Cleaning and helping Gwyn prep for his interview Monday.
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:lol;
After reading what you gals are doing, my piddling attempt at Russian with Rosetta Stone seems rather puny!
:rofl;
We did take old "drugs" in to the Justice center for disposal this morning and followed that by going to the market to buy 25 pumpkins for my class to carve on Monday. That will be followed by a mock auction for the parents on Monday afternoon. The only problem with this scenario is that my right (dominant) arm is in a ling due to some rotator cuff problems. I always carve a huge pumpkin that is actually auctioned off. That is going to be a wee bit of a challenge this year.
:sos;
After getting the pumpkins we swung by the grocery store for home and school groceries. During that little shopping spree I stopped in at the pharmacy and got my flu shot. Now I have two sore arms instead of just one! Duh! I always get a bit of pleasure at the grocery store watching some of my supplies go into a red Whole Foods bag from Milwaukee (You KNOW who you are!)
We were running a bit late by this time so dashed home for lunch and a 1:00 PM meeting with our insurance agent. We FINALLY have all our ducks in a row to switch our insurance away from the group plan we had at work to individual plans that will save us a whopping amount of $$$ each month. My rotator cuff issue almost put the nix on that change. Can you hear the huge sigh of relief? The new policies go into effect on Tuesday. :2thumbsup;
I followed that meeting with three loads of laundry, a very brisk walk around our hilly neighborhood (the shoulder is keeping me out of the pool for my more strenuous exercise, but that is what caused the problem in the first place), and fixing a rather yummy dinner. The highlight of dinner was fresh corn on the cob. OMG! It was the best corn we had had all summer and it isn't even summer any more! I almost didn't buy it because the season for good corn on the cob is past! :beer1;
Somewhere in all this gadding about I finished two Russian lessons. I am really fortunate to have access to Rosetta Stone on-line through an offer by another Montessori school administrator who bought a huge package of spots for his school. He had more than he could use, so offered them to other schools for a fee of $20 a spot for the whole school year! I bought enough spots for my students and staff and I'm committed to reaping the full benefit of my year of Russian. :2thumbsup;
So, the evening has enfolded us, wild berry muffins just came out of the oven, and I have ice on my shoulder. It has been a good day. No, a fabulous day. :yahoo;
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Cariad, I had not read Do Not Mourn for Us until just now. I had always thought that I must have been at some disadvantage in not having had any experience with young children before having had my son. I had no siblings, no young relatives, so my son was actually the first baby I had ever held, much less brought up. So I didn't have "expectations" that resulted in any disappointments because of his autism, and maybe for this reason I was actually lucky. I never found him unable to communicate because I was able to interpret all of the other ways in which he communicated. He was not particularly verbal when he was young, and while it might have appeared to others that he was not engaged, I knew his little ways, and I could get him to communicate just fine. I just had to learn his language.
I never once felt that I wanted a non-autistic kid because that would make my son someone that he was not, and I love my son just as he is. My husband has a son who is 18, just two years younger than my son, and while my stepson is "neural normal", he is completely uncommunicative about his feelings, his fears, his wants and his needs. He'll happily talk about politics or about his keen sense of justice, and in that way we can get a sense of the kind of person he is, but he is very closed lipped about himself. He is easily embarrassed in talking about "feelings" or about doing anything at all that might suggest that he has feelings at all! How "normal" is that!! Very! But it is frustrating.
My son, on the other hand, will call me most days and discuss his feelings about everything. While he was in college, if there was something that he saw or did that disturbed him, my phone would ring. If there is a girl he likes, he calls me to tell me all about it. I have a deeper understanding of my autistic child than my husband will ever have of his "normal" child.
My main concern is how other people will treat my son as he gets older. Will he get a girlfriend? Will he marry? Will he find someone to love? Who will love him when I am dead? Will he die alone?
To be fair, my son is on the more highly functioning end of the spectrum. I've seen children who are much more "classically autistic" and present much greater challenges, and I have seen families destroyed before the spectre of autism. My experiences with other parents of special needs/autistic kids have taught me that it is NOT true that God gives us only as much as we can endure. I've seen too many people crack under the pressure, especially when their own families blame them or ignore them, or both.
I rarely feel offense, but I do recall once feeling offended by calls to "cure autism". My son does not need to be cured. A "cure" for autism would deprive us of the Temple Grandins of the world. But to be fair, if my child was severely autistic and ran screaming from me at the slightest hint of physical affection, I might desperately want a "cure". My son didn't say "I love you" until he was 4 years old. That was a great day.
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I'm having one of those days where I've accomplished a lot - but I've got so much to do that it doesn't feel like I've done a darn thing! I've edited and researched a legal brief for my senior law student for a clinic client. I've done all my ironing, mending and laundry, including the sheets on the bed, and remade the bed. I've paid and filed all my bills. I've wrapped a birthday present, inventoried my craft supplies for my next craft workshop, called a friend and discussed the interview tips and job search ideas I just learned so she could use them for her upcoming interview, and called another friend to wish her a happy birthday. I cleaned the kitchen so I could see the bottom of the sink again. I finally caught up on sleep - about 11 hours worth. Maybe that's where the day went - I slept half the day away to make up for not having time to sleep most of last week. Great idea, except I still have a list with 12 more things to do on it, some of which (mostly homework!) are going to take many, many hours!
Hmmm....I think I'm too brain-dead to do more homework right now. It's 10 pm - too late at night to vacuum without driving my neighbors crazy. I think I'll go shopping and get that done. It's only a 5 minute drive to the store and it's open 24/7. If shopping doesn't take too long, I can make the fudge and toffee I need for the 3 places I'm supposed to be taking treats next week.
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MM, that's a beautiful tribute to your son you've just written there. I hope you've shared these feelings with him. Thanks for such a thorough response, your perspective on this is fascinating to me.
I think every parent is concerned about how their children will be treated by the world at large. I always went into Aidan's schools saying 'I know he's smart, I don't care so much about his grades, I want him to have a happy social life here.' Teachers have thought it bizarre that I was worried about Aidan making friends, because everywhere he's gone kids have latched onto him. He is such a great kid, and I hope that he always finds it so easy to make friends, but I still have my moments where I worry about both them. Liot seems to inhabit his own world. There is an obnoxious child on his soccer team, and he has said some pretty stupid things to Liot and it is like it does not even get through to Liots' brain - he just ignores him.
I know I once told you that I was concerned that Liot was autistic. I know there is something unusual about him, but all of the child development specialists who work at his afterschool program have told me that I am just flat out wrong that he could ever be diagnosed autistic. He had frightening tantrums as a toddler, and I was really ill for a year or two, so I did not have the energy to fight him. It was a sad time in some ways. We were once walking out of the market in California where the check out person had taken an interest in the boys and wanted to give them both balloons. Great, thank you, they would love that. Then walking out of the store Elliot accidentally let his balloon go. Of course, it was dangerous enough walking him to the car on a good day, but he completely melted down when the balloon flew away. My only way to deal with this was to impose upon Aidan, something I HATED doing. I grabbed Aidan and said "If you give your balloon to your brother I will buy you any balloon you want next time we are at the shops." He gave him the balloon, and even though we were really hurting for money, I did buy Aidan one of those mylar balloons. Liot is much better now - Gwyn and I just had to make the decision that no matter how much energy it took, we were not going to cave into him anymore.
I don't think Liot said 'I love you' until he was probably close to four, and even then, he seemed to LOATHE it. He would mutter it, begrudgingly, and it was like it was physically hurting him. I don't know what changed for him. For a while, he liked making it into a contest. I would say 'I love you' he would say 'I love you more' and we would go back and forth. He came up with some truly strange statements trying to one-up me. The one I remember most is "I love you more than anything on the side of god." Uh, OK. Thanks, sweetie. I bought him this Kimochi Cat, a Japanese soft toy that has all of these feelings he can put in the front pocket of the cat. He likes it, he named the cat and everything, but he will not EVER and I mean NEVER allow anyone to put a negative feeling into that cat. When he would have a little meltdown at school or home, I used to bring out Kitty Boo and tell him that the cat could feel what he was feeling, and ask him to help me pick out the proper emotions. There are feelings representing 'embarrassed' and 'hurt' and 'sad' but he will never admit to feeling them. 'Weird' is the only one he ever says for unhappy feelings, and we don't have an emotion for that (though we could make our own I suppose). Anyhow, we have about 20 emotions for this cat, and the only ones he ever uses are 'friendly', 'loved' and 'sleepy' for bedtime.
So, all this to say I can see why it would offend you to hear people talk about curing your son, because if there is ever a name put to Liot's personality, I would not want people to rally to 'cure' it either. I would want information that will help him be happier, but I don't want to change who he is. I think it's great that you also see both sides, because personally if Liot had never moved out of his meltdown phase and I was still afraid to be left alone with him, I might feel very differently. Thanks again for the insight! :cuddle;
Sorry for straying so far off topic, everyone.
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I'm kind of bummed. Today was supposed to be the Halloween "party"for the T-Th-Sa group. The sign that was posted said,"Movies, Activities, and Snacks". They asked me to bring in a Halloween movie. I brought in Ghostbusters 1 & 2 on Thursday (so I wouldn't forget). Got there today and... Nothing! Absolutely nothing. Maybe they did something on a later shift. IDK. I guess I feel so disappointed because I was looking forward to having a little fun for once. Anything to make a crappy situation a little better!
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Cariad, still straying off topic...(no one has to read this if they don't want!)...
When I was pregnant, I had visions of returning to work in the City as an oil and gas facultative reinsurance broker for Lloyd of London underwriters. Sounds pretty impressive, eh? :rofl; I loved my job, and I enjoyed the intellectual stimulation provided by my colleagues. I was the only woman, and the only American, on the broking floor, and it was way cool. But once my son was born and I learned that I had fsgs and that another pregnancy would be too dangerous, I decided that if I was going to have only one kid, I'd do the whole stay at home mom thing, even if it meant that my brain might turn into porridge. But being my kid's mom turned out to be the most intellectually fascinating thing I'd ever encounter.
I remember that he didn't know how to say "yes". I'd ask him if he'd like chicken for dinner, and if he didn't, he'd say "no". But if he did, instead of saying "yes", he'd just repeat the question. So I dreamed up a game called "Mummy's Favorite Boy." I'd go through all the names of the boys in his class, and I'd ask,
"Is Rory mommy's favorite boy?"
Son: "No."
"Is Harry mommy's favorite boy?"
"No."
"Are YOU mommy's favorite boy?" And I'd shout "YES!", and that's how he learned how to say "yes".
If I thought he wasn't listening to me (which was often), I'd tell him that I was going to make pizza for dinner and that it would have cheese and elephant toes. He'd sure pay attention then!
Kids are weird at the best of times. My son is very, very different than he was as a child, but he had the benefit of going to a top notch special school where they had to TEACH kids how to have a socially appropriate conversation. My kid still has to think about what to the rest of us is socially innate behavior, but that's OK. Having a conversation with him can be a challenge. He wants to talk about what HE wants to talk about, and it is very hard to steer him away from a particular discussion until all of his concerns have been addressed or solved. So, I am thinking that Liot will mature and do just fine. That's a very, very interesting story about the Kimochi Cat. Kids have a hard time defining and/or recognizing emotions in other people. I've worked very hard to teach my son empathy (I know you and I have talked about "theory of mind"), and it is not something you can really teach. To this day, I still talk to him about how someone else might have felt when my son spoke harshly.
I've worried a lot about my son's psychological health. He feels a good amount of social anxiety because he knows he's autistic. He is terrified of being seen as "weird" by his peers. Of course, most young people have this fear, but my son has good reason to feel this way because I can certainly see that someone his age would think him odd. Now that he is looking for a girlfriend, you can imagine how anxious he is! He's so afraid that some girl will think he is stalking her, even if all he does is say, "Hello." It is very very interesting to hear him describe his anxieties and his hopes to me.
I've asked him several times how it feels to be autistic, and he's said, "Oh, it's OK. I don't notice it much. I'm not very autistic, anyway." Isn't that fascinating? I think it is! And it's true! And it's kinda funny.
One last thing I find interesting. I've always been interested in language, so it was rather enlightening to watch this autistic kid gain language and use it in a different way. Social language is impaired in autistic people, more in some than in others, but my son's language abilities have surprised me. He used to be able to effortly slip into and out of an American accent. I used to beg him to speak in an American accent when he returned to school in the UK after spending the summer in Texas, but he wouldn't do it. His SALT teacher would have been gobsmacked! hahahaha! Oh God, for a while, he started speaking in that awful south London accent, and I'd get all over his case about that. "Nuffink" and all that. Anyway, he took to "Facebook-ese" like a fish to water. On Facebook, you'd never know he was on the autistic spectrum.
But yes, cariad, you are right...every parent is concerned about how their child will be treated. "Scared" better describes my feeling. But despite his autism, my kid is the most sociable person I know, far more so than me, and that just amazes me. He certainly has more friends than I do, and I find myself in the very peculiar position of sometimes envying him. That must mean he will be OK. And Liot will be, too.
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I'm kind of bummed. Today was supposed to be the Halloween "party"for the T-Th-Sa group. The sign that was posted said,"Movies, Activities, and Snacks". They asked me to bring in a Halloween movie. I brought in Ghostbusters 1 & 2 on Thursday (so I wouldn't forget). Got there today and... Nothing! Absolutely nothing. Maybe they did something on a later shift. IDK. I guess I feel so disappointed because I was looking forward to having a little fun for once. Anything to make a crappy situation a little better!
I don't blame you for being bummed. That's just unacceptable. Boooo!
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That's spectacular that your son is doing so well socially. The world of kids seems to be so much more difficult to navigate today than when we were kids, but maybe that is only because it is just so foreign to me now. Haven't you said that you are not sure your son IS truly autistic? I don't mean to pry, but I was just wondering if there was a reason that you suspect that he may have been misdiagnosed? I used to read a blog written by an aspie woman, and she is a wonderful writer. She was not diagnosed until she was in her 40s, and she talked about how difficult it was to live in a world where everyone else seemed to understand all of these rules that she couldn't grasp. It was fascinating reading.
OK, we survived trick or treating. We went out with another family, but first we popped by our neighbours who gave each of the boys a special little bag of treats, including Harry Potter Jelly Bellies. The boys were laughing uproariously in the car at the flavours. The other family then invited our kids over to their house for a few hours after it got too rainy to continue trick or treating. Gwyn and I went home and he packed the last of his things and is now on a plane to California. I collected the boys late afternoon, made dinner and then let them each pick six candies. They both chose their Harry Potter Jelly Bellies as one candy. I thought the gross flavours were a joke! Then Liot tried one and ran over to the bin to spit it out. Aidan then took it as a challenge and tried most of the disgusting ones. I have a photo of him trying vomit flavour. They have not seen any of the films or read any of the books, although Aidan did seem to know through the kid grapevine that these candies were trying to be authentic to the story. Wow, I really do not get the point of buying grotesque candies, but Aidan seemed to find it amusing.
I helped little Elliot shower (he had green makeup residue from his dinosaur costume), read him two stories, and they are both up in bed now. I received an email from my biostats prof, I am the very first person scheduled to do the grad presentation, and that means I must have a rough draft to him next week! Gah!!! He couldn't give me more notice? Oh well, it's only 15 minutes max, and he suggested that 12 PowerPoint slides should be our limit. I just hope I can make enough sense of this article to give a decent talk.
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I didn't really accomplish much, but we had a wonderful day at the arboretum. It was a fresh, grey and windy day, and the leaves were at the peak of their color. A large portion of the western part of the arboretum is covered with sugar maples, and they were the brightest yellow. The wind caused may leaves to fall, and it was like being in a yellow blizzard. There were yellow leaves on the ground, on the trees and flying through the air, so we were engulfed in their brightness. It was extraordinary.
Cariad, no, of course you are not prying. I don't think he was misdiagnosed; I think he IS on the autistic spectrum, but I think he may be more high functioning than we all thought when he was a child. He happens to be quite good at reading people, which is extremely rare in someone who is autistic because, well, that's what autism IS...the impairment of the recognition of these human cues. Autism is so devastating because it strikes at what makes us uniquely human.
Sounds like your family is off to a great Halloween! I suspect that kids throughout history have found amusement in "grossness". Ha...there's another anthropological discussion we could have...what did children in 18th century Japan find gross, and did it amuse them? :rofl;
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Universal kid gross-out. Their parents kissing.
Day 2 of this weekend spent doing things that all take twice as long as I think they will. Who knew how much effort it takes just to write a thank you for an interview?! Decisions, decisions - letter or card? Handwritten or printed? Formal or informal? And then just finding a proper thank-you card took ages. I have lovely blank medium sized cards with Escher cat prints on them. Will that do? Research online. Well, maybe. But they all show a card with a proper, formal "Thank you" on the front. It's not a full-size card, like a standard birthday card, but it's not one of those little ones that come 50 to a pack for graduation thank you notes either. My local store had none in the proper size or style. Lots of blank spaces where they clearly had them, but not a one in the store. $%#$%&. Now what? Everything that is simply a nice pic on the front and blank inside doesn't look any better than the cat note cards I already own. Finally, inspiration strikes, and I scoot off to the craft section and buy a "Thank You" rubber stamp. Second stamping attempt at home looks good enough that it might have been straight from the printer.
Peachy. Now I just have to figure out what to write in it. Google "interview thank you note sample." Holy Schmoley. Pages of results. Templates, samples, guidelines for particular jobs, what to do if you were interviewed by more than one person....Accck!
Still have an assignment to finish for class tomorrow. Guessing sleep is optional again. Can we get a yawning icon?
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Same thing with my Vulcan cruiser, it's been sold, - no more motorcycles for me, (or bicycles, but who wants to ride a bicycle anyway? :rofl;) I would fall over immediately.
There is a place near me that makes "conversion" kits for motorcycles (making them more like a trike)
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I was accepted for my internship at the US Attorney's office!!! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
That's it - that's all I'm going to manage for the rest of the day. Much too hyper now!
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WOW!!!! What superb news! Congratulations!
jbeany, I usually try to avoid using words like 'deserve' because I think it's generally ridiculous to say who does and does not deserve anything, but.... YOU DESERVE THIS! The monumental effort you've put in to your schooling, the obstacles that you've vaulted over. If you don't deserve this payoff, then I really don't know who does.
Just imagine the stories that you're going to have after the first 2 minutes there. Shame you won't be able to share most of them with people like me.... ;D Go, girl!
All luck to you in your new position! :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:
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:bandance; Jim :bandance; Timo(the dog) :bandance; Tuula(the cat) :bandance; and ME are all doing a happy dance for you jbeany!
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I was accepted for my internship at the US Attorney's office!!! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
That's it - that's all I'm going to manage for the rest of the day. Much too hyper now!
Oh my, that's just spectactular! How exciting! What happens next?
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Oh my, that's just spectactular! How exciting! What happens next?
Now I fill out a huge bunch of paper work for the Federal Background check. If I clear it - which I'm not particularly worried about, having not so much as a parking ticket to my name - then they fill out a few forms for me to take to my school. I've also got a stack of forms that go directly from to the school - official applications for the internship class, etc. Then we work out a work schedule for my 16 hours a week, and I begin in January at the start of the Winter semester.
I will have opportunities to assist victims and witness with travel plans and payments for travel expenses (the fed system pays for over night stays and meals for its witnesses), escort them to the court, observe testimony, and hold hands as needed, although not as much of that until they get a good idea of how well I can cope with crying and hysteria, I'm sure.
I also get to help plan and organize training sessions for state and tribal police, as well as education seminars on a variety of topics related to dealing with witnesses and victims to crimes, including how to get them the aid and counseling they need to deal with PTSD and other issues.
I'll be helping design brochures and doing some computer work, since I'm familiar with both the computer programs they are currently using and the one they have just been mandated to change over to.
I'll being doing a lot of paper work with the notification system that keeps all victims and witnesses updated on the progress of the case through court and tracks the convicted criminals through the penal system. Victims receive notification of all parole hearings, prison transfers, etc. This is LOTS of paperwork. One fraud case alone that they are dealing with right now has over 20,000 victims!
The same office also deals with establishing restitution payments to victims and press releases on current cases.
No wonder they need interns. They need all the free help they can get!
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Universal kid gross-out. Their parents kissing.
When I was 16 or 17, I went to a play put on by the other high school in town. Charlottetown has 2 high schools, and they take turns putting on a play at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. Anyway, I forget which play it was, but 2 of the characters in the play were to kiss. There was a group of elementary school students down front, and when they did kiss, all you could hear through the whole theatre was the kids down front going 'ewww" *LOL*
As for what I accomplished today, the cat woke me at 7:30 this morning, like he normally does when Mom is working. I couldn't get back to sleep, so I started writing at 8:30 and have been writing on an off all day. I took a break for Coronation Street, and to come on here. *G*
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Absolutely fabulous, jbeany!!!!!
:2thumbsup; :2thumbsup; :2thumbsup;
In addition to teaching, I had a doctor appointment regarding my torn rotator cuff, went to a hearing to appeal property tax for the non-profit middle school and went for a mile walk.
Other than that, just normal stuff!
Aleta
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I did something today that I've wanted to for a while :rofl; I pulled a joke on one of the newer techs. I was done dialyzing & was holding the site. I checked to make sure it had stopped them called her over. I told her I "thought" it was done. She very carefully was lifting the gauze when I jerked my arm (just a little) and said, quietly, "Surprise!" you should have seen her jump! Everyone cracked up! She was a good sport about it and laughed too. Sometimes opportunities are too good to pass up! :rofl;
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.
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Same thing with my Vulcan cruiser, it's been sold, - no more motorcycles for me, (or bicycles, but who wants to ride a bicycle anyway? :rofl;) I would fall over immediately.
There is a place near me that makes "conversion" kits for motorcycles (making them more like a trike)
The electrician we use builds trikes as a hobby, - VW or Subaru engines. Cost about $40,000
I sold my Harley Road Glide this past spring. Broke my heart. But I'm looking at the Harley Trike as a replacement...just have to convince Mom it would be ok :pray;
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Yesterday I had an interview for a position I really wanted. My Mumsy drove me twenty miles to get there and I had the longest walk I've had since the op. Thankfully I was dosed up on Tramadol so the pain was minimal. I thought the interview went really badly, but this morning I had a phone call offering me the job.
Huzzah!
I start after Christmas (my choice - I've been signed off till December anyway and I didn't think it was worth starting a new position with only two weeks (it's in an educational establishment) to go till the Christmas hols.)
I'm very proud of myself because I haven't had an interview since 2004 (which was for my last job, ending in August this year) and I HATE interviews as I'm completely socially-inept.
;D
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:bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
Yay to Poppy!
And I think everyone stinks at interviews!
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Wow Poppy.... what a year 2011 has been for you !! Whew. Congrats.
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Awesome, Poppy..... *G*
I wrote another nearly 3000 words on my Nanowrimo novel today. I've hit the day 3 target even though I did no writing at all yesterday. I'm having a lot of fun with it so far.
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Going to get out and enjoy the sun today. I'm tired of being cooped up inside. Today I feel the energy busting so my time to get much done, meet a friend for lunch and then get some more Christmas shopping in this afternoon! :thumbup; I'm being smarter/wiser this year.....over the next 6 weeks we're budgeting so much out our income so its not all one big lump sum of gifts to buy at once out of one paycheque spending a lot of money....a few days ago My husband won $100 in gift cards for Wal-mart, which will help also! :2thumbsup;
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Trying to get things packed so we can move but so much seems to be going wrong! Beginning to think maybe we shouldn't move!
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I washed the two bathroom floors and the kitchen floor before 7:00 this morning.
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My husband is packing up the old place & I am unpacking at the new place. Amazing how much "stuff" one collects in 19 years at the same place!
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I remembered to change my clocks!
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My husband is packing up the old place & I am unpacking at the new place. Amazing how much "stuff" one collects in 19 years at the same place!
I fear packing up this place. My mom has lived here since 1992, and I know there's stuff still in boxes from when we moved in. We're definitely going to have to downsize if we're going to move into an apartment.
I went to the Kidney Foundation's Bowl for Research, to be their photographer, and I was really disappointed with the turnout. There were only a few teams, barely twenty people overall, including volunteers like me, who just showed up.
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All I have accomplished is a few loads of laundry.....but I've had fun, and gone out to lunch with friends. Oh, I forgot....walked a mile.
Aleta
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Saw a movie with a friend ("In Tme") and had a salad at Friday's. Made the trek to meet him, which was about 40 miles round trip. Big accomplishment with my driving anxiety (weird how the drive there was fine, but I had the anxiety driving home ....maybe it's more driving in the dark. Still not sure, but it's kind of frustrating)
Yesterday I ran errands... grocery shopping, some Walmart time and then came home and did some clean up time in my messy bedroom.
Now if I can just get off my butt now and do my 1 1/2 mile walk tonight .... it will have been a full, complete weekend.
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And the 1 1/2 mile is done and the shoes are off !!! Now I have about an hour and a half to chill out and read. Whoo Hoo.
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Not enough, never enough! 6 more weeks to the end of the semester.
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Poppy - Congrats on the job!!!!
Just one thing hun - this outcome was NEVER in doubt. Karma pays back and after all the awesome good Karma you have racked up giving Blokey your kidney you're due awesomeness for a long time to come!
:yahoo; :2thumbsup; :yahoo; :2thumbsup; :yahoo; :2thumbsup;
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this morning I had a phone call offering me the job.
Huzzah!
Hurrah!!!! I'm with RM: this is all about good karma.
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I worked out my little cat is sick. She's the one on the left. She has urinary tract infection, poor thing. I've got her booked into the vet tomorrow; when I called frantically at 7:30pm he'd just got home. She has blood in her wee. I think it will be long night for her but tomorrow she'll get a shot and then it will all be good, I hope. [fret]
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Jim and I figured out that we CANNOT both pack. We did nothing but fight. We came to an agreement though. He goes to the old place and packs while I stay at the new place and unpack. Seems to be working for us.
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Poppy - Congrats on the job!!!!
Just one thing hun - this outcome was NEVER in doubt. Karma pays back and after all the awesome good Karma you have racked up giving Blokey your kidney you're due awesomeness for a long time to come!
:yahoo; :2thumbsup; :yahoo; :2thumbsup; :yahoo; :2thumbsup;
Awww, cheers duck! And I really hope so ... I have a couple of awesome things I'd like myself and Blokey to accomplish before Our Kidney decides it's done enough! And thank you to everybody else for the Yay! factor too. I'm still waiting for my contract to arrive in the post though ... ho-hum.
Nat, so sorry for your little pussy-cat. Give her squillions of gentle little cuddles from me. Hope she gets well soon.
My accomplishment for today was the loop around town which took in the supermarket (for bread) and the pharmacy (for a bag FULL of Blokey's meds). It's about a mile and I went alone, so I'm quite chuffed with myself and - as an added bonus - I have NO PAIN!!! today! *touch wood* I really don't understand how people can go back to work so quickly after major operations ... they're bonkers!
;D
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Congrats on the job, Poppy! :yahoo;
I finally got my Secret Santa shopping done!
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I finally got my Secret Santa shopping done!
I still need to do that, but I know what I'm getting, so that helps
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I had a long phone call from my kidney sister - we share a donor. She is younger than me and not bouncing back as well after the transplant which makes me a bit sad. Still, she managed a week away and enjoyed herself. She suffers badly from the shakes and I wish her doctors would swap her on to something else, particularly as my shakes have disappeared with a drug change. Despite the fact she is struggling, it makes my heart sing to hear her voice and know she is okay.
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I got the car re-registered, bought a Christmas present, planned, and will to-morrow purchase, my Christmas dinner, researched the purchase of a new mobile phone, got my computer going again after kicking the connections loose, and have commenced crying and sneezing with late onset hay fever. Apart from that, a pretty quiet day so far.
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Full day of work, got my 1 1/2 walk in, scheduled an appointment, ran an errand and caught up with four friends tonight on the phone ! Whew.
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Got my mid-term back in my Advanced Litigation class. Missed 1.5 points out of 100. However, the prof was so pleased that I properly cited all the court rules even when they weren't specifically requested and gave expanded answers above and beyond what the question required that he gave me 5 pts extra credit. So I got 103.5%. With my other extra credit, I'm getting 106.7% in the class right now. Guess I can lay off the extra credit for a bit! ::)
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Lots! :bandance; :yahoo; Got most of my Christmas decorating done, the tree is up, the garland is up, my Christmas village is the only thing I haven't done yet, that will be the next major project :santahat; :snowman; :christmastree; :rudolph;
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Today I repaired a barn wall, prepped a hay loft for 120 bales of hay to be delivered and stacked, pulled 25 fence posts, re-posted those same posts so I could move about 100 ft. of american horse/cattle fencing, cleaned the barn and am still standing... :yahoo;
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Lots! :bandance; :yahoo; Got most of my Christmas decorating done, the tree is up, the garland is up, my Christmas village is the only thing I haven't done yet, that will be the next major project :santahat; :snowman; :christmastree; :rudolph;
Wow! I don't even think about Christmas decorating until the day after Thanksgiving. (I don't do Black Friday) I used to wait until December 1 but it takes me longer now than it used to!
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Lots! :bandance; :yahoo; Got most of my Christmas decorating done, the tree is up, the garland is up, my Christmas village is the only thing I haven't done yet, that will be the next major project :santahat; :snowman; :christmastree; :rudolph;
Wow! I don't even think about Christmas decorating until the day after Thanksgiving. (I don't do Black Friday) I used to wait until December 1 but it takes me longer now than it used to!
In Canada, where I'm from, we celebrate our Thanksgiving quite early, in mid October. By the time November rolls around, I am restless to put our Christmas decors up :rofl; ;D :rofl;
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Lots! :bandance; :yahoo; Got most of my Christmas decorating done, the tree is up, the garland is up, my Christmas village is the only thing I haven't done yet, that will be the next major project :santahat; :snowman; :christmastree; :rudolph;
My mom stopped putting up her Christmas village, because she would put it on an old chest stereo in front of the big window in the living room, and every once in a while, a giant cat would devastate the village and it's people
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Lots! :bandance; :yahoo; Got most of my Christmas decorating done, the tree is up, the garland is up, my Christmas village is the only thing I haven't done yet, that will be the next major project :santahat; :snowman; :christmastree; :rudolph;
My mom stopped putting up her Christmas village, because she would put it on an old chest stereo in front of the big window in the living room, and every once in a while, a giant cat would devastate the village and it's people
:rofl; my act does that to my nativity set! I always wanted a village to set out at Christmas but have never had the room. About 15 yeast ago, we fund the perfect solution: my village is for the kitchen! It has a cookie jar; mugs; sugar bowl; creamer; salt & pepper shakers; etc! I love it!
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I went to psychological anthro this morning despite the fact that I really was not up for it. So glad I went - we read about the bureaucracy of the holocaust and next Tuesday we're going to delve into the Milgram study. I remarked that Milgram was able to accomplish what he did because he did not have an IRB to answer to, and the prof responded 'but no one was harmed'. Uh, then we must be talking about a totally different Milgram study. I shall find the opportunity on Tuesday to ask him to elaborate.
I did my biostats presentation this morning. I think it went fine. With the prof's help I explained a transplant study that used survival models. I have no idea if they understood what I was trying to say, but I can tell you when I showed a picture of dialysis needles and explained what dialysis entailed, I saw an incredulous gaze or two.
We went to our local Occupy Protest where we all took over a bridge. It was inspiring. Two kids performed their poetry slam poems, which was rather incredible. I do consider myself difficult to impress especially in the realm of the theatrical, and yet listening to these young revolutionaries commanding a crowd so effortlessly really got to me. They each had the cadence of a great orator. I'll see if I can post a pickie off Gwyn's phone later.
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I had a pretty chill weekend. Puttered a bit, got out of the house to run some errands. Did my 1 1/2 mile walk Friday night, Saturday night and tonight. Got a bunch of phone calls made to friends and family and tidied up my place a bit.
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Had a successful craft show this weekend. Did some drastic mark-downs on some things I had been dragging from show to show for a while, and got rid of them. Yay, no more storing them! Even took a special order for 18 ornaments during the show from someone else with a booth and managed to finish them all before the show ended. A wee bit of cash in my pocket for shopping next weekend is a good thing.
Also rearranged my craft room and got everything put away that had been left out in the whirl-wind of show prep. Ahhh, clear counters ready for the next project are lovely things.
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Had D.
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Lots! :bandance; :yahoo; Got most of my Christmas decorating done, the tree is up, the garland is up, my Christmas village is the only thing I haven't done yet, that will be the next major project :santahat; :snowman; :christmastree; :rudolph;
My mom stopped putting up her Christmas village, because she would put it on an old chest stereo in front of the big window in the living room, and every once in a while, a giant cat would devastate the village and it's people
Oh no!!!! :(
Well, today, I got more Christmas shopping done, I'm getting to the point where I'm going to say, "I'm done" ;D :thumbup;
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Chucked out a lot of my fat clothes.
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Today I posted a parcel to family in Prague and a package to a friend in the States. Also wrote and sent a Christmas card to the girl I sponsor in India. Bought two tops from my favourite expensive shop (only because I had a 15% off code, plus it was free delivery for spending a certain amount.) Cleaned up the vomit the cat had left in the bathroom during the night (I have to love my Moggles; he always tries to be sick on hard surfaces, not carpeted ones ... bless him!)
Tomorrow I intend to busy myself with the writing of Christmas cards. Want one, anyone?
;D
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:rofl; :rofl; That's funny, I was doing the same thing while on D this am, writing my Christmas cards. ;D
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I always liked doing Christmas cards.. I always try to send something more than a Christmas card to my best friend in NYC, but she's Jewish, so it always seems a little weird.. *L*
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I LOVE Christmas :bandance; :santahat; :christmastree;
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I was very sad because one of my earrings became entangled in my hair (it has grown almost to my elbows).
Because of this I lost one earring. :( I then looked around and found in a Charity-shop a wonderful pair of very classy pearl-look-alike-earrings
and a pair of ruby-look-alike-earrings, both pairs very reasonable priced and I am very pleased. ;D
I also spotted today some fresh chestnuts and have calculated ::) that if I cut down on my asparagus, greens and salad,
I can “afford” to enjoy two roasted chestnuts per day, despite their potassium ;D
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Still early but my house is clean and I plan on doing some more unpacking.
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Sitting around for a very importrant phone call, unfortunately I've been waiting since 9 am this morning and I'm NOT getting anything accomplished due to waiting around. :Kit n Stik;
I get annoyed waiting and waiting when I could be out doing other things on my day off. I know the minute I step out that flippin' door, that's when the phone will ring, it always happens! :boxing; :urcrazy;
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Memos and letters and filing, oh my!
I got a lot done in the office with everyone else scooting out early to leave for the holiday.
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We had our annual Thanksgiving luncheon at school today. We cooked a HUGE roaster full of vegetable soup, made homemade hot apple sauce and rounded it out with some nice crescent rolls. Cooking that much food pretty much tuckered me out!
The kids did the cutting and chopping of the vegetables yesterday and we used one of those dandy apply slicers for the apples.
The best part was listening to the kinds enjoy their soup!
After getting home I did some laundry and then chilled out. (Left over soup for dinner!)
Aleta
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Just got my hot water tank repaired, it was not working since yesterday. Have to shower now tonight and do laundry to get caught up what I couldn't do today, it's amazing how you really realize how good you have it having running hot water available all the time and its pretty funny how much you realize it when you miss it when its not working! :rofl;
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We've had our dinner and the dishes are almost done. This was our first Thanksgiving in the US where we did not make a single traditional item. I had a break down two years ago as my baby was throwing the third Thanksgiving tantrum of his life, refusing to eat these foods that he never has a problem with on any other day of the year. I've banned those foods from my life. We were out of the country last year, this year we had crepes made from sour dough starter and apple cider. Gwyn roasted a chicken in the pressure cooker, then made a mixture of chicken, mushroom, leeks and cream for the three of them to fill their crepes. I had a mushroom, spinach, leeks and cream mix in mine. No screaming, no tears. I'd bought a pie at Whole Foods yesterday, but since we had two crepes left over and they do not reheat nicely, I let the boys each have one with Nutella and some fresh whipped cream that Gwyn had made, followed by a small slice of pie.
I have never liked Thanksgiving. My earliest memory of it was lying in my room, in the dark, hall light on, little bell by my bedside, listening to everyone else somberly eating their dinner while I was too sick to join them. The following years we went to the country club, my mother would not let us eat all day (well, she probably let my siblings eat, but not me) then we would get there around 3PM, I would be half-crazed with hunger and would be set loose on the buffet. The next morning I would have a weigh-in (as always) and my mother would scream bloody murder at me for gaining weight. So, while it is hardly a popular stance, I admit it, I find Thanksgiving to be utterly stupid. All the hand wringing over the food, the way we are all supposed to eat and enjoy but also watch our weight and never gain an ounce and chastise ourselves as soon as the holiday is over.
Tonight I feel especially free. To hell with traditions that have never meant anything to me, and never will. It did feel a little strange today, as we also no longer have broadcast television, so I did not even flip past the parade. It did not feel like Thanksgiving, but that was what made it so wonderful. We did go around the table and mention what we were thankful for, but we pretty much all said the same thing.
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Tonight I feel especially free. To hell with traditions that have never meant anything to me, and never will. It did feel a little strange today, as we also no longer have broadcast television, so I did not even flip past the parade. It did not feel like Thanksgiving, but that was what made it so wonderful. We did go around the table and mention what we were thankful for, but we pretty much all said the same thing.
Traditions are meant to be broken. Or revised as needed! We had done turkey, ham and more turkey for Christmas for years. The first year we bought the family restaurant, paying the bills was a group effort between myself and my parents. They owned the seasonal business, so they couldn't really collect unemployment. I was technically an employee, so I was getting a tiny unemployment check. We couldn't afford to pay ourselves much at all at the start, so my unemployment checks were nearly invisible. Mine was being carefully budgeted into food for the 3 of us for the entire winter. Then the holidays came, and we were still expected to serve the giant family dinner we had always given. I juggled and clipped coupons and just couldn't stretch it. I laid out my budget for my dad and asked him what he suggested.
He thought hard for a while, then crossed the turkey and ham off the shopping list, leaving me enough money to cover all the other things. He drove down to the restaurant and raided the one remaining freezer that we hadn't emptied to bring home to eat. He walked back in with the last case of lobster tails and a partial case of New York strips. He hadn't brought them home because they just seemed too expensive to serve for a weekly family dinner. He was hoping to be able to use them when the restaurant reopened for the season, but it was that or nothing, given the budget. So that was our family holiday dinner.
That was 1993. Both my parents have passed away; the restaurant is long sold, but my family has had steak and lobster tail for every Christmas dinner ever since.
Turkey? Who needs Turkey?
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Tonight I feel especially free. To hell with traditions that have never meant anything to me, and never will. It did feel a little strange today, as we also no longer have broadcast television, so I did not even flip past the parade. It did not feel like Thanksgiving, but that was what made it so wonderful. We did go around the table and mention what we were thankful for, but we pretty much all said the same thing.
Traditions are meant to be broken. Or revised as needed! We had done turkey, ham and more turkey for Christmas for years. The first year we bought the family restaurant, paying the bills was a group effort between myself and my parents. They owned the seasonal business, so they couldn't really collect unemployment. I was technically an employee, so I was getting a tiny unemployment check. We couldn't afford to pay ourselves much at all at the start, so my unemployment checks were nearly invisible. Mine was being carefully budgeted into food for the 3 of us for the entire winter. Then the holidays came, and we were still expected to serve the giant family dinner we had always given. I juggled and clipped coupons and just couldn't stretch it. I laid out my budget for my dad and asked him what he suggested.
He thought hard for a while, then crossed the turkey and ham off the shopping list, leaving me enough money to cover all the other things. He drove down to the restaurant and raided the one remaining freezer that we hadn't emptied to bring home to eat. He walked back in with the last case of lobster tails and a partial case of New York strips. He hadn't brought them home because they just seemed too expensive to serve for a weekly family dinner. He was hoping to be able to use them when the restaurant reopened for the season, but it was that or nothing, given the budget. So that was our family holiday dinner.
That was 1993. Both my parents have passed away; the restaurant is long sold, but my family has had steak and lobster tail for every Christmas dinner ever since.
Turkey? Who needs Turkey?
We have turkey for Thanksgiving because my husband likes to deep fry. But for Christmas, we usually have prime rib. We splurge like that because it is almost always just us two on Christmas night.
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Going to wrap up my Christmas shopping for all my kids today......Giant Tiger here we come! I love that store! :rofl;
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Staying home and avoiding "Black Friday"!
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No Black Friday here in Canada......our reduced pricing is on Dec. 26 (Boxing Day) I'll likely be avoiding stores then, too! :rofl;
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No Black Friday here in Canada......our reduced pricing is on Dec. 26 (Boxing Day) I'll likely be avoiding stores then, too! :rofl;
We seem to have constant sales here (UK) now. I remember the Good Old Days when people were up early on Boxing Day for the bargains. It's not so exciting now that there are bargains to be found throughout the year!
Today I have wrapped up some more presents, and then felt foolish because there's still a month till Christmas. Went for a long walk, picked up a sick note, posted some Christmas cards to foreign places and felt very relieved when the docs phoned and didn't mention creatinine increases. It's amazing how happy the smallest things can make you ...
;D
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No Black Friday here in Canada......our reduced pricing is on Dec. 26 (Boxing Day) I'll likely be avoiding stores then, too! :rofl;
We seem to have constant sales here (UK) now. I remember the Good Old Days when people were up early on Boxing Day for the bargains. It's not so exciting now that there are bargains to be found throughout the year!
Today I have wrapped up some more presents, and then felt foolish because there's still a month till Christmas. Went for a long walk, picked up a sick note, posted some Christmas cards to foreign places and felt very relieved when the docs phoned and didn't mention creatinine increases. It's amazing how happy the smallest things can make you ...
;D
Hey, that's awesome! :thumbup; :2thumbsup;
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Had a decent session at D. Came home and tried to take a nap but the dog wouldn't let me. There was some target shooting going on nearby and Timo was scared. So I got up and turned on the TV and stretched out on the couch with the dog. When my husband got home, we left for the Christmas parade. It was the 19th one we have been to here.
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Did D this am. Turns out they've been doing a test on me, called a blood volume test, to help measure how much fluid to take off. My eyes have been slightly puffy so I guess its a handy dandy tool/gadget, not completely accurate but helpful just the same.
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Not really an accomplishment, but today my NHS Blood and Transplant 'specially commissioned silver pin badge in recognition of your [my] kidney donation' came through the letterbox.
Also, we felt comfortable enough to go to the cinema for the first time since the transplant. Yay!
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That is really cool! :thumbup; congrats!
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That's beautiful. Poppy! You deserve it!
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Cool, pops.
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Going to wrap up my Christmas shopping for all my kids today......Giant Tiger here we come! I love that store! :rofl;
We went to Giant Tiger when we were in Ottawa last summer. It was quite the store. I actually got a bigger kick from the Beer Store that was 2 doors down from our hotel. It was a concept unfamiliar to me. *L*
No Black Friday here in Canada......our reduced pricing is on Dec. 26 (Boxing Day) I'll likely be avoiding stores then, too! :rofl;
Our stores aren't open on Boxing Day. We've only recently been allowed to have stores open on Sundays. Even then, it's only from 12-5pm
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Going to wrap up my Christmas shopping for all my kids today......Giant Tiger here we come! I love that store! :rofl;
We went to Giant Tiger when we were in Ottawa last summer. It was quite the store. I actually got a bigger kick from the Beer Store that was 2 doors down from our hotel. It was a concept unfamiliar to me. *L*
No Black Friday here in Canada......our reduced pricing is on Dec. 26 (Boxing Day) I'll likely be avoiding stores then, too! :rofl;
Our stores aren't open on Boxing Day. We've only recently been allowed to have stores open on Sundays. Even then, it's only from 12-5pm
LOL I go there a couple times a year, it's too tempting to spend for me if I were to go often :rofl;
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We've only recently been allowed to have stores open on Sundays. Even then, it's only from 12-5pm
Wow, you are SO lucky. I long for the days when shops didn't open on a Sunday and people didn't feel pressured into working. Even my local high street supermarket (not a big one) has recently started staying open till 8pm on a Sunday. Ridiculous!
Although having said that, I did go for a walk today (we needed some milk; now that Blokey drinks lots of tea and has cereal I really need to change my milk order with the milkman!) and popped into the cheap shop (one of only three that open on a Sunday in my sleepy rural town). It gave me something to do and a place to walk to. I didn't stay in it long because the people that run it are really scary. Really.
;D
I cooked Sunday dinner today; meat, roasties, stuffing, yorkshire puddings and veg ... the complete works. Yummy. I am completely stuffed now though.
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We've only recently been allowed to have stores open on Sundays. Even then, it's only from 12-5pm
Wow, you are SO lucky. I long for the days when shops didn't open on a Sunday and people didn't feel pressured into working. Even my local high street supermarket (not a big one) has recently started staying open till 8pm on a Sunday. Ridiculous!
Although having said that, I did go for a walk today (we needed some milk; now that Blokey drinks lots of tea and has cereal I really need to change my milk order with the milkman!) and popped into the cheap shop (one of only three that open on a Sunday in my sleepy rural town). It gave me something to do and a place to walk to. I didn't stay in it long because the people that run it are really scary. Really.
;D
I cooked Sunday dinner today; meat, roasties, stuffing, yorkshire puddings and veg ... the complete works. Yummy. I am completely stuffed now though.
I worked in call centres for years. The people against sunday shopping kept saying that sunday should be a day for family, but I never got the day off to spend with my family. I worked every holiday too, including Christmas. My stance on it was that either everything should be open or everything should be closed, across the board.. so now, everything is open, even if it is even only for 5 hours
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I got a 2pm reading of my cat's glucose levels.
My boy-cat Akbah has diabetes. He was just diagnosed about 2-3 weeks ago (its all a blur), and I've been learning how to be a cat-caregiver. Its one hell of a learning curve. Came home twice today, once to give him insulin, then this afternoon to test his glucose. The vet wants me to find his "lowest" level. Lowest I've got so far was today: 11.5 Not very low, but better than he was (29.5 at one stage). Poor old Ak, he's fairly patient about it. Except today, I think he's "over it". :(
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Yes, I did accomplish something today, I talked my caregiver/wife into joining. Now you can check all of my BS. Don't be surprised if it turns out to be true. One more thing, she has an entirley different perspective on these things. I can't wait to read what she says.
Gerald Lively
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Achieved my lowest BP on D - 73/65!
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Oh galvo, you poor thing! Hope you're all right.
We have a computer virus that really started to take things apart yesterday. We are in the process of de-infecting the computer right now but it's been a bit of a nightmare. It's all gone pants as a character said on an episode of Peep Show that we watched last night. (don't know why that made me laugh so hard, but it did, and now I'm looking for an excuse to use it. Excuses don't come much better than a computer worm that has taken over all your files....)
The gas company installed lines by digging up our street weeks ago, leaving a huge hole in the concrete in front of our drive for ages. This morning they came to fill it up. Of course, Gwyn waits for them to leave and then races out to inscribe our kids' names in the cement. I figure they owe us this much for inconveniencing us for so long. ;D
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I got a 2pm reading of my cat's glucose levels.
My boy-cat Akbah has diabetes. He was just diagnosed about 2-3 weeks ago (its all a blur), and I've been learning how to be a cat-caregiver. Its one hell of a learning curve. Came home twice today, once to give him insulin, then this afternoon to test his glucose. The vet wants me to find his "lowest" level. Lowest I've got so far was today: 11.5 Not very low, but better than he was (29.5 at one stage). Poor old Ak, he's fairly patient about it. Except today, I think he's "over it". :(
Awww, your poor little pussy-cat. Bless him.
Achieved my lowest BP on D - 73/65!
Whoa!
I walked to the shop and spent some money. But I forgot my milk and felt too foolish to return to the original shop, so while my butternut squash was roasting I walked to another shop a little further away to buy a pint. Then I wrapped some pressies. Oh, and I signed off one benefit and onto another. Busy day! (for me.)
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Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks. Saw IDES OF MARCHto-day. Review in appropriate spot.
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I got a 2pm reading of my cat's glucose levels.
My boy-cat Akbah has diabetes. He was just diagnosed about 2-3 weeks ago (its all a blur), and I've been learning how to be a cat-caregiver. Its one hell of a learning curve. Came home twice today, once to give him insulin, then this afternoon to test his glucose. The vet wants me to find his "lowest" level. Lowest I've got so far was today: 11.5 Not very low, but better than he was (29.5 at one stage). Poor old Ak, he's fairly patient about it. Except today, I think he's "over it". :(
Check out: www.conservationcubclub.com Click on "Gracey's Story" She also has diabetes. Might help. Good luck with your baby.
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I went to a Christmas parade today. I haven't looked through the pictures yet. When we got there, one of the dialysis nurses was across the street. This one has been on maternity leave since the beginning of October, I think, so I crossed the street just to see the new baby. *G*
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Yesterday we got stuck behind Father Christmas as we walked into town to see the turning on of the lights. Grrr. Bah, Humbug!
Today we managed to sleep till Naughty O'Clock and then went to the cinema.
Neither are really much of an accomplishment though ...
;D
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Was actuallyin a mood to get p and work on my sons school yearbook which I have done for the past 3 yrs,
Have not felt like doing it do to being so sick. Did a lot work today though
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That sounds great, Kevin! :2thumbsup;
For me, well, this has been an awesome day. We attended a lively discussion about current issues, followed by more discussion over lunch with friends, which lasted well into the afternoon. Then I dutifully did my shoulder routine, (with added calorie burning leg exercises that have my butt somewhat sore!). It was beautifully sunny and warm until I started my walk, but even with the sky clouding up, the three miles went quickly as I listened to two lectures from the Nutrition course I'm working on. When I got home I put together a yummy quiche. That combined with school pizza will take care of all the cooking for this week. I feel like I'm ready to start the school week. AND I have physical therapy on my shoulders tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to that.
Aleta
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I cooked up a batch of crepes for dessert and it like to have killed me off. But I did it.
Mmmmm! Chocolate goodies for wife, lesser sweets for me.
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I worked out this morning with my trainer. Ran/walked ,66 of a mile and did hill training. Up and down a small hill a few times. Then a three mile bike ride. Took puppy 1.5 miles to wear her out. Then went out ont he bike with hubby on his new bike 1.5 miles.
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I had won tickets last week to a Santa meet & greet for the grandsons, we did that yesterday. Oh it was so much fun! The boys had their picture taken with Santa, the oldest grandson, Pierce (19 months) who is terrified of Santa smiled for the picture! How priceless. He was sitting on his mom's lap, but still!
Today, I am supposed to be working on my resume to get back to work, discouraging when I start seeing what is out there. I really don't want to go back to what I was doing, at times it was horrible, because people don't know how to talk to each other any more. The customers say whatever makes them feel good at the time, never mind how it makes the person on the other end feel. That being said, if I have to go back to that, so be it but it certainly is an incentive to get back into school and start working on the social work degree!!
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I've been back on my push bike and am amazed how easy it is to pedal post tx. I'm giving myself a :2thumbsup; for managing to ride it when I was not so well.
As well I've been chipping burr - we have a lot of galvanised burr, horrible prickly stuff, around our house. It gives me a great sense of achievement when I clear another patch. Yes, it is an endless job but satifying just the same.
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I took a 4 hour nap this afternoon.. not sure if that's an achievement or not. *LOL*
I got a call yesterday from the cane trainer at the CNIB. He said he can start training me next week. That's step 1 towards getting a guide dog! I'm really excited.
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I'm excited for you too, Riki. That's great news about the cane.
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Lots, and I was glad. Went shopping, did some renal-friendly muffin baking for breakfast, and got all my Christmas cards mailed. I think that's a lot ;D
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This has been a very busy week! We are fostering a kitten until Sunday and he has helped liven things up! I had my surgery on Wednesday and have been dealing with so much swelling. Actually got the bed made yesterday but my arm ached so bad afterwards. We had our first measureable snowfall last night/this morning. I have D today and then the adult Christmas party at our Church tonight.
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Did you have a fistula put in? I totally understand the 'ache' you're talking about!
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Have become my pre-teen nephew's chauffeur since my brother-in-law tried to turn his station wagon into a compact by sliding it into a tree on slick roads on Thanksgiving weekend, so have been juggling that ever since, along with studying and volunteering. He's broken his sternum, 3 ribs, his ankle and his foot, so he won't be driving for several months.
On Tuesday, I finished 5 client memos and turned them in and presented 3 of them for final regular class on Wednesday. Thursday, I outlined and found specific examples for a 5 page paper due next Wednesday. Friday, I finished a 19 page take home exam, after about 16 hours of working on it. Friday night, I started my giant final assignment, a 12 section trial notebook with both edited previous assignments and some new assignments that is due on Monday night. If I have time to sleep before exams are over, that will be an accomplishment.
I'll be back to being an active moderator soon, I hope!
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Wow, jbeany, I'm impressed!!! Hope you get to take a break from studies and have a nice relaxed Christmas!
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GAAAAAAAHHHHH! It's been another on-the-go day with little to show for it. Got the kids off to school, thankfully had packed lunch the night before. Lawyer asked me to call him so I did and we had a brief chat about mediation. Worked on my SAS program. With a few alterations, that should be good to go and I'm done with that class. It's only a 1 credit class and I only took it because once you reach 8 credits you don't pay any extra, so it was free, and something I really wanted to learn properly. My Public Health prof chose today to tell me that dialysis is not a Public Health issue, that it must be on CKD. Oh, hell. I give my presentation on Wednesday. I would have panicked but I did not have time. Traveled to the mediation. What a nightmare. They wisely kept me separated from the jerk we're suing and his lawyer. It went as expected - whining about how they don't have the money and now we have to move forward with a court case. We are trying for a default judgment but who knows if that will happen. When the mediator told me what he was offering I burst out laughing. Gwyn was furious (over the phone) and I was in the rare position of trying to calm him down, as generally it is the reverse.
Returned home, did a few quick google searches for public health articles. Collected Aidan early from basketball at school - I just could not wait. Collected Elliot and we were off to get them haircuts. It was getting ridiculous, poor Liot could barely see. The place was empty which never happens, so we were home by our usual 6ish. Gave Liot a shower because he was uncomfortable after the haircut. Made them a quick dinner of meatloaf sandwiches, pear, and yogurt. (Gwyn made his apparently-awesome meatloaf and froze it in slices). Did the dishes while the kids were eating. Made Liot's sandwich for tomorrow (Aidan did not eat his today, so he gets it again tomorrow). Kids are talking to their dad right now, who spent the day at a Phoenix test track.
Finished up Biostatistics last week while parents were in town. Felt really unprepared, but thanks to 3 extra credit questions on the grad student presentations, including "Which statistical model was used to discuss transplant outcomes?" I got over 100%. Whew. Just like the first exam, I left thinking that I either aced it or bombed it but could not really be sure of which. So, at least I know I have one solid A for the term.
Anyhow, just wanted to pop over and give a quick look at what I am up against this week: a presentation and computer program due this week, two papers due next week. Plus the single mother routine. Our house looks like a hurricane tore through here. Ah well, at least my kids look adorable. Behold the new hair:
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I got my new cane today! I"m rather proud of it.. not really sure why..
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I can understand why you'd be proud, Riki! I think you should be proud. You're pursuing your own health goals.
Congratulations on a job well done!
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Lots of great pics on this thread lately! :clap;
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Thank you, Cariad. I'm learning the proper way to use the cane, and there's a way of holding it that I'm having trouble with. You are supposed to pretty much swing it in front of you, using your wrist, but whenever I do the motion with my wrist, it snaps.. *L*
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All my assignments are turned in. I have one final class session in the morning and I am a free soul for 3 weeks until the next semester begins. Hurray!!!!
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Oh, Riki, I've always thought I have really weak wrists. That sounds like it would be a struggle for me. Plus, as a former tennis player, you usually want to keep your wrist rigid, so I don't have loads of dexterity there.
I have my Public Health presentation on CKD tonight. It is mostly done, I just want to add a few more precise facts about racial disparities in CKD and ESRD. I am not nervous because I like this class and we all seem to get along well, and while it is 15% of my grade, she strikes me as being a pretty generous grader. She has given me full marks for everything I've done so far.
Think of me tonight as I try to condense CKD and ESRD down to a 15 minute presentation! :P
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Think of me tonight as I try to condense CKD and ESRD down to a 15 minute presentation! :P
I've no doubt your 15 minute presentation will contain far more information than anyone in your audience ever knew existed about ESRD.
I'm done with my semester. :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
I've also finally gotten approval to work for the federal government, having passed my background check. Still not sure why it took so long. I've been on SS Disability and Medicare for ages. How long does it take them to look up their own records? ::) I start the first week of January, so my vacation just got a week shorter because of the start time, but so it is. The goal is a job at the end of this, which will come with regular vacations, so I'll just have to wait!
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I put my Christmas decorations up!
:santahat;
I usually leave it till at least a week before the big day, but I decided I needed to a) start getting in the festive mood ready for Blokey's work party on Friday night, and b) have somewhere to store all the beautifully wrapped presents currently taking over my spare bedroom.
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OH, my.
About 35 years ago I made a teddy bear for my daughter. I kept the pattern and made a matching teddy for HER daughter about 6 or 7 year ago. At that time I also mended my daughter's teddy because her dog had chewed on it. Okay, granddaughter number 2 came along 3 1/2 years ago. I meant to make her a teddy out of the same pattern about two years ago. Sigh. I got the pieces cut out this summer for her third birthday but ran out of time to finish it.
Well, tonight I finished sewing the head. This teddy WILL be done for Christmas. But when I am finished with it, I am burning the pattern.
:bow; :rofl; :bow; :rofl;
I never want to see it again. I keep reminding myself that the teddy is a work of love..... :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
It has been a LOOOOOONG time since I have said so many cuss words over a work of love.
:shy;
I have to do my shoulder rehab exercises and and then I am done for the night! :boxing; :boxing;
Aleta
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That's so sweet, willowtreewren!
My grandmother made bears for all of us when we were born. Mine is blue, because they thought I was going to be a boy. After about 34 years, the poor thing is getting a little threadbare. She died in 2000. Now, that bear is one of a couple of things she made me. It's worth more than gold to me.
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What sweet teddy bear stories. My mother had dolls made for me and my two sisters that were supposed to look like us. I don't think mine still exists, and she made mine with blonde hair which is not even close to accurate anymore. We were each wearing our school uniforms, and I always felt like such a dork in that thing. (Although now I think all the little kids looks so adorable in them, I wish more schools would use them.)
Well, the :wine; has been poured - I finished my presentation! I had to talk like an auctioneer to keep it to the time limit (so did almost everyone else) but it's done. Now I just need to get a 10 page paper completed by this time next week for this class (I can write ten pages before I even mention the topic.... :rofl;)
I have a 15-page minimum paper due Tuesday morning for Psych Anthro. He will give a zero if you are even a bit late, and will not accept emailed papers. Since it's on how transplant affects one's sense of self, I feel I have a pretty solid grasp of the topic, although he insists it be mostly current literary analysis. That's good, though, because there is quite a lot out there, nothing that strikes me as too terribly accurate, and I have to familiarize myself with the literature before I can propose for my Ph.D. If I am going to continue on, I need to read anything and everything.
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I don't have a bear story but my nana did make me a doll with two heads (she/they have a long reversable skirt so it only looks like one doll at any given time, regardless of which head is showing - does that even make sense?) and I do still have it (somewhere)!
Today I visited my new place of work to meet my line manager and have the tour I initially declined during the interview process. Feeling a bit bewildered now ...
;D
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I had that stupid ultrasound done today. It started snowing while I was in there, so I just came home again and took a shower to get all the ultrasound crud off. I was thinking of going out and making a little snowman on the doorstep, but Mom says it's raining now and all the snow is gone
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I've spent most of the day in bed with a book - and it was even a trashy romance novel. Ahhhhhh. That was exactly what I planned to accomplish all day. I have started some laundry finally, but that's hardly much of an effort when the laundry room is 3 steps from the bed.
I'll be ambitious tomorrow. Maybe!
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That sounds lovely, Jbeany!
Today was quite an accomplishment...
After teaching all day (with kids getting revved up for the holidays) we went to town. The bank had called to say that after their merger with another bank, our business account had an identical number as another account and we would need to get the account changed..... They had the papers all ready and all we needed to do was go in during banking hours and sign them. Sooooo......
When we got there, the papers had been filled out incorrectly so we had to wait fro them to be corrected. BUT, we were given one of those nice bank gifts for opening a new account! :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
After that, Carl dropped me off at the mall to pick up a gift that I had read was on sale. Then we went to the liquor store for a couple of bottles of wine for more gifts. A stop at target was next, where we bought gifts for the students at school. The grocery store was our last stop. Oh, I love having my grocery list in my iPhone. Each week I just put a check next to the items I need. I rarely forget to buy what I need any more!
At home I had some homemade chicken soup ready to be reheated for dinner. It was a good thing, because I was TIRED!
Now all my holiday shopping is complete. I only need to finish making a teddy bear for one granddaughter and hemming the costume my daughter wore as Clara in the Nutcracker many years ago. That goes to the other granddaughter (old make-up stains and all).
By this time next Friday we will have completed our 15 hour drive to Massachusetts where darling granddaughters will be asleep in their beds eagerly dreaming of seeing us when they awake in the morning!
Life is good.
Aleta
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Oh, Aleta, what a satisfying list of accomplishments that was!
Last night while collecting the boys from the after-school program I received a last-minute offer for two friends to take the kids to see our local team play a soccer match. I thought my friend A had said that they only had 6 tickets, and that if my kids wanted to go she would stay home and let her husband take all 5 kids. (!!!!!) Well, she asked me in front of the boys, so there was little I could do other than say that would be great (and it was such a nice offer, but my 5-year-old can be so baffling if you are not familiar with his various quirks and I was so stressed at the idea that I would not be there to sort things out if he had a meltdown).
Well, then she invited me to go with them for a quick bite first. I was really tired, but was so happy at the invitation since 1. I did not want them paying for dinner for the boys and 2. I could help them handle Liot. So, went to dinner and they start saying that I could go to the game as well. Turns out they had 12 tickets, not six. I decided that I could not relax knowing that Liot was at the game, so accepted. They offered to follow me to my place so I could drop the car and they could use their pass to get free parking. We went to the game. Loud, kids everywhere, chaotic, but our team won. Afterward all the kids wanted autographs. I should have known that things had been just a little too easy all night. Liot did not even know what an autograph was, but when he did not get one from the first player he started crying in the most heartbreaking way. So, oh my amazing little Aidan grabbed his program and said 'I'll get him one' and that kid pulled it off. I hand the program back to Liot and he asked me what it said. I tried to read the name and he starts sobbing again. Then he did not stop weeping and pouting until we got home. He refused to tell me what was wrong, so I sat him on the naughty step, he waited his five minutes, and then I sat next to him and we talked. It turns out he thought that an autograph meant that the player would write his name, as in somehow magically know Liot's full name and write it across the program. Aidan and I did a quick role play with him, and he hated that and did not want to do it but he eventually agreed. This was a first. In the end, he was smiley again and all was well.
Today I did loads more reading for the paper, we grabbed food at the co-op, I made a quick dinner for them of mac n' cheese with some crumbled hamburger and frozen peas. I let them eat upstairs while watching television. Then I read Liot a story, did laundry and dishes, and am going to read one more journal article before bed. Swim lessons tomorrow.
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Don't you love it when there is a breakthrough, Cariad? :2thumbsup;
Your whirl-wind life simply amazes me! I won't say that I don't know how you do it, because when people say that to me I start to doubt myself.
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
I've had a most lovely weekend. Got some work done on the teddy bear I'm making for Wren. And of course loads of the ever-present laundry. But last night we went to a wonderful Solstice party. The highlight of the evening was looking at Saturn and four of its moons through a telescope! WOW!
Today, was a very interesting lecture on Paul's role in the rise of Christianity, followed by lunch with friends. Now on to more sewing.
Aleta
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Today, I finally wrapped Christmas gifts. It's done. Yay! It wasn't without its challenges though. 2 of my 3 kitties thought the wrapping paper was the coolest stuff they'd ever seen, so I patiently waited for them to get off my paper. I also took pictures because sometimes seeing is believing! lol
We took the boys last night on a Santa train ride. It's a real train and Santa talks to every single child on the train, the ride lasts for about an hour and a half. My oldest grandson, (20 months) said Santa for the first time ever! It was so awesome to see and he was so engrossed in the train ride, it made me so sad that my husband couldn't be there. My daughter kept saying he was there in spirit, however, sometimes that just doesn't cut it.....needless to say I couldn't sleep well after that.
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Today, I finally wrapped Christmas gifts. It's done. Yay! It wasn't without its challenges though. 2 of my 3 kitties thought the wrapping paper was the coolest stuff they'd ever seen, so I patiently waited for them to get off my paper. I also took pictures because sometimes seeing is believing! lol
We took the boys last night on a Santa train ride. It's a real train and Santa talks to every single child on the train, the ride lasts for about an hour and a half. My oldest grandson, (20 months) said Santa for the first time ever! It was so awesome to see and he was so engrossed in the train ride, it made me so sad that my husband couldn't be there. My daughter kept saying he was there in spirit, however, sometimes that just doesn't cut it.....needless to say I couldn't sleep well after that.
:grouphug; :grouphug; :grouphug;
Lost loved ones (a whole parade of them) have been visiting my dreams lately, Kitty Cat. I almost hate to wake up. No, it doesn't cut it, does it?
:grouphug;
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Pre-Christmas cleaning and I did lots of baking. I'm almost done :bandance;
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We went to visit my grandparents for Christmas. We always do this the weekend before the ferries stop running. They're finished for the winter on Tuesday. When we set out this morning, it was cold, but the sun was shining, so we figured it was be a great day for the crossing. It seemed uneventful, a little rough in the middle, but it usually is once the cold starts to set in. However, as we were waiting to step off the ferry and into Nova Scotia, we could see out the door, and it was snowing to beat the band. The whole day, all it did was snow. From what I could tell (I was talking to a few people on Twitter), all of Nova Scotia was clear, except for Pictou County, which looked like a regular winter blizzard. We visited with my grandparents, and 2 of my dad's sisters, and picked up a couple presents for Bro's kids. We took it slow all the way back to the ferry terminal, as it was still snowing, and got on the ferry. An hour and 15 minutes later, we were back on Prince Edward Island, and there was still the small dusting on the ground that we'd had when we left this morning.
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Grades back today. My clinic course is only graded as A,B,C or fail. I got an A in that one - but most people do. (Hard to screw up showing up and trying to help people.) My Advanced Litigation course was points based. I got 589 out of 585 points. Gotta love extra credit! 100.6 %. I was hoping to beat my other high grade on my transcript - I got 101% in my first course, Paralegal 101, but I supposed a measly 100.6 will have to do.... ;D
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Ohhhhhhh! Jbeany!
GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!
:2thumbsup; :clap; :2thumbsup; :clap; :2thumbsup; :clap;
Aleta
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Grades back today. My clinic course is only graded as A,B,C or fail. I got an A in that one - but most people do. (Hard to screw up showing up and trying to help people.) My Advanced Litigation course was points based. I got 589 out of 585 points. Gotta love extra credit! 100.6 %. I was hoping to beat my other high grade on my transcript - I got 101% in my first course, Paralegal 101, but I supposed a measly 100.6 will have to do.... ;D
Oh! jbeany! What's with the slacking? (*kidding*) Congrats on the most excellent marks. :2thumbsup;
I have finished my major, hand-it-in-on-time-or-get-a-zero paper. I have all the citations done, just need to spend another hour or two editing, possibly collecting a last citation here and there, then get it to him by 9:30AM. I am so exhausted. I went to bed last night at around 1AM because I was starting to feel ill, but just could not sleep for worrying over this paper. I don't think I fell asleep until gone 3AM. Up at 7AM to make my tea. Worked all day on the paper, collected A from basketball and L from after school. One trip to the naughty step later and we were all OK again. Dinner, they've been watching telly, talking to Dad as I type, and are about to head off to the land of nod. :yahoo;
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I haven't done anything yet today, but my O&M instructor is coming by later. I'm hoping to persuade him to stay inside today, instead of going out into the frigid wind
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I had a bit of a set-back with my shoulder yesterday...
:thumbdown; :thumbdown; :thumbdown;
That made physical therapy kind of a stretch (pun intended!) :rofl; :rofl;
And with the pain, I didn't sleep well last night, but only two more days of school.... and them I'm "free" for a couple of weeks.
:yahoo;
Aleta
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I got out of bed.
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I got out of bed.
Me too... then I got back in bed for a few hours... then the O&M instructor knocked on the door, so I had to get up and stay up.. *L*
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Dragged myself out of bed too, that being the most important accomplishment of the day. Did better once I was up and moving and had chugged a couple glasses of water. I've been sick lately from medication side effects, and it's leaving me dehydrated. Made a batch of Christmas Cracker Toffee - AKA Christmas Crack. Packed up, taught my last craft class of the year at Gilda's Club, and just got home and unloaded. Need to start baking now. I need to make a second batch of Christmas Crack - the first went amazingly fast during the class and the dinner that followed.
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I have only one more day of school before the holidays, but many progress reports to complete.
Today after school we drove to town because one of the teachers said that she couldn't have poinsettias in her house.....OOPS! We had bought poinsettias to give (along with a bonus). Bought her some raspberry chocolates, which I KNOW she loves.
After dinner I finished the teddy bear and started wrapping gifts. Whew. I'm pooped.....
Aleta
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Had a fantstic Christmas bar-b-q lunch at the D centre to-day. Steak, sausages, many kinds of salads and some ripper Indian desserts that the boss' mum made. Had a good yarn with some of the gang and had a moments silence in memory of the ten who didn't make from last Christmas.
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Glad you had a great barbie, galvo! All the best for a great Chrissy too - it's lookin' to be a hot one but no complaints as the weather has been so mild.
Today I crossed more of my TO DO list for Christmas Day - have most of my cooking done, beds made, house clean, decorations up. I am so organised for once: must be the new kidney. Thinking of my donor's family's first Christmas without them too :(
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Yesterday I took Blokey for a really long walk. He didn't know it was going to be a really long walk until we were a really long way into it! Ha ha.
Today he was wise to this and so our walk was shorter. Whilst in town I found a lovely top and a fun game to play on Boxing Day when the nephews are round. It came to a whopping £4 ($6). Thank you, Charity Shop!
Had a fantstic Christmas bar-b-q lunch at the D centre to-day. Steak, sausages, many kinds of salads and some ripper Indian desserts that the boss' mum made. Had a good yarn with some of the gang and had a moments silence in memory of the ten who didn't make from last Christmas.
That sounds lovely, galvo. Glad to see that you Australians really do have 'barbies' at Christmas ...
;D
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Aleta, look at you, Ms. Arts and Crafts! What an extraordinary gift to give! I'd be lucky if I could make a convincing stuffed amoeba. :rofl;
Soooo close to freedom. Finished my final paper for Public Health, just have to grab pizzas that I promised to bring around 4PM, and sit through nearly 3 hours of classmate presentations. :P Tomorrow will be all about prepping for Christmas, buying last-minute gifts and supplies, wrapping and mostly cleaning. Approximately 36 more hours until I see Gwyn.
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Mom and I got word yesterday that there was a low income apartment in town with our name on it. Mom and I went by the building today, just to see where it was. It's centrally located, walking distance to EVERYTHING. I seriously can't wait to move in. As long as everything is approved, and we'll know that by the end of the week, we'll be able to move in February 1st
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Onya, Chooky! All the very best to you too, out there 10 miles from Bringadogalong.
Poppy, it wouldn't be an Aussie Christmas without the sizzle of a 'roo haunch and a couple of skinned wombats on the barbie.
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I have always dreamed of spending Christmas "down under"! Christmas is my favourite holiday & Summer is my favourite season. How awesome would that be to combine the two!
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You'd be most welcome, CebuShan.
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Bringadogalong ...
:rofl; (Took me ages to break that down ... And I'm now hoping it isn't a real place otherwise I may have offended the Chookster with my laughing.)
I have done nothing. The floors need hoovering, the bed sheets need changing, the bath needs scrubbing ... I'm saving it all for tomorrow and Christmas Eve (otherwise I'll only have to do it again anyway before my guests arrive). The temptation to do it is so hard to resist though ...
This evening (about 10ish) we're going supermarket shopping. The aisles will be devoid of snivelling children and ratty parents and dodgy shopping trolleys and bargain hunters, but we will have to play dodgems with the shelf-stackers as they restock shelves. It's a small price to pay for a relaxed food shopping experience.
;D
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I decided last minute to send gifts to my semi-estranged parents. I could not find decent chocolates to send to my father, but just as well as they are all calorie-obsessed bores over there. Last year I conspired with my mother to get him caramel apples with chocolate and nuts from Whole Foods, who incidentally will not take credit card details over the phone. So my mother being the take-no-prisoners ninja shopper that she is found some Whole Foods hipster employee who told her about a new internet site that sends gift cards via mobile phone texts, or something, cannot remember specifics. Whole Foods accepted that, and because my mother found a promotional code, I gave her a $50 text for only $40, and she was able to pay for the apples and get herself a posh coffee or something.
This year I decided to give them a set of ceramic knives, and I sent a jigsaw puzzle as well. My family has been really into jigsaw puzzles ever since my husband brought a free one over from work, so we usually have one out when my parents come to visit, and they quite enjoy them. I figure it's a silly little something that they would never buy for themselves, and isn't that the true meaning of Christmas? :rofl;
I am trying to do a frenzied clean today, though progress has been minimal. Aidan had a terrible, sudden-onset headache last night and I decided he has not been getting enough sleep, so early night and he woke up this morning feeling like new. (relief there!) So, we took our sweet time getting to the childrens center, and then OH MY GOD, MOM, I THINK I'M THE ONLY BOY HERE!!! (His best friend has a half-day at school and should be there by now. Breathe, Aidan, breathe! Cooties aren't nearly as contagious as they say.) I have to go out before 6 to pick up my traditional gift to Gwyn: insulting and/or mildly crude microbrew beers. I always buy his favourite - Santa's Butt, although I try to find a couple new ones each year. I don't know if there is much left to discover, though, after I got him Lump of Coal, Reindeer Droppings, and Old Chub, to name a few. If you know and love a beer connoisseur and need a memorable gift, look for Santa's Butt. They'll thank you for it.
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I have always dreamed of spending Christmas "down under"! Christmas is my favourite holiday & Summer is my favourite season. How awesome would that be to combine the two!
Oh yeah... Santa on the beach....... *LOL*
Seriously, though.. I get that.. I'd love to go for a swim this time of year and not have to sign a waiver in case of the shock to the heart by the cold water
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Hmm... Santa's Butt... I may have to look that one up. I'm surprised none of the microbreweries around here do that. They all have the stupid Anne of Green Gables themed beers, though. Anne of Green Gables didn't drink beer. It was currant wine she had. *L*
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I drove a friend to her chemo treatment this morning. As I was taking her back home the car started acting strangely. Oh, oh.
Fortunately I was just a block from a Pep Boys and wheeled in. Carl came and collected us, but I had to miss my physical therapy session. The car is "temporarily" fixed (to the tune of $400). I had to miss my physical therapy, though. :thumbdown; There won't be another chance until after the new year since we are leaving town in the morning.
After we go pick up the car, I'll take a gift to my dad. The laundry is done, but I still need to pack and wrap all the gifts. Then we are off for a lovely 15 hour drive (in a different vehicle) to Massachusetts in the morning.
Happy holidays, everyone!
Aleta
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Christmas is canceled! :'( :'( :'( :'(
The off-license that stocks everything was out of Santa's Butt!!! I tried phoning around. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to ask for a beer called Santa's Butt without sounding like a complete perv? The man at the second place couldn't understand me and I had to SPELL IT for him. Gah! :embarassed: :embarassed: :embarassed:
I just thought of one more place to try.... I'll pop over on the way to get the boys. Must clean, wrap, desperately need a hair cut and color. Need more time!!!!
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They all have the stupid Anne of Green Gables themed beers, though. Anne of Green Gables didn't drink beer. It was currant wine she had. *L*
When I was a book-loving 10 year old I adored Anne of Green Gables in the way only a 10 year old book-loving girl can. I didn't even really know what a gable was for years ... idiot. If I win the lottery I shall visit you so that I can see where it was set and drink some Anne themed beer.
;D
I've been baking! Yay!
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Treated myself to a "tea tree" facial & hair treatment today. Felt wonderful and I needed to feel special. Got some grocery shopping done this afternoon. Going to make some renal-friendly snacks to take to the center tomorrow.
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They all have the stupid Anne of Green Gables themed beers, though. Anne of Green Gables didn't drink beer. It was currant wine she had. *L*
When I was a book-loving 10 year old I adored Anne of Green Gables in the way only a 10 year old book-loving girl can. I didn't even really know what a gable was for years ... idiot. If I win the lottery I shall visit you so that I can see where it was set and drink some Anne themed beer.
;D
I've been baking! Yay!
I have some pictures of Green Gables in one of the Island Wanderings photo albums on my facebook profile. It was in winter when I took them, so there is snow on the ground around the building. The park was closed, so if we had've been caught there, we'd have been in a bit of trouble.. *G*
I think I may be sick. I was fine up until a few hours ago. Mom says that Dad is sick as a dog, and he was here Monday, so he may have given me something. I'm kinda hoping it's just a chill, and after a good night's sleep, I'll be fine. I do have a bit of a temp, though. My last check said 38.1C. That's 100.6F
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No one had Santa's Butt. :(
I did find a new beer called Sheep Shagger which mitigated the disappointment.... ever so slightly. Santa's is his favourite. Not sure if I should go further afield tomorrow in a desperate quest. I did score a bottle of Entire Butt which I know he likes, but it just does not bring the same je ne sais quoi to the gift. I ventured into the rough part of town looking, but no luck there. I do have loads and loads of beer, and some very nice ones, so I should probably just settle on what I have.
I think rather than trekking all over the city embarrassing myself ("Can I help, Ma'am?" "Yeah, uh, there's this beer I'm looking for? By the makers of Bad Elf? And, well, I apologise for the name, but it's called Santa's Butt...." "Excuse me? Missed that last part....") I'll just buy him a nice bottle of whiskey to go with the cute whiskey rocks set I have for him. We are going very low key this year, other than that I have the beers, some stocking stuffers, and clothes for the boys to give him. That's pretty much the extent of it. We went to a quick lunch (no tea room) and did a bit of wrapping, grabbed dinner at the grass-fed burger shop, boys watched Narnia and Gwyn is putting them to bed. Then the wine comes out and we will wrap and chat and relax.
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Oh, Riki! So close to Christmas. :( I hope the sleep is the answer. Take care of yourself. :cuddle;
I somehow don't see Anna of Green Gables making for a terribly popular beer. I remember reading that book on some family holiday, and it was OK for a distraction but nothing special to me. In fact, if you had not mentioned it, I don't think that book would have ever crossed my mind again.
Feel better....
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Cariad, I know it's Christmas and all, but hey, perfection is still unattainable, even if Santa makes it look possible. Go with the beer you have! Besides, how long have you and hubby been separated now? You really think Santa's butt is the one he truly wants to get his hands on? ;D
Triple batch of cinnamon roll dough rising in the fridge, to be shaped later in the afternoon. Last minute run to the store for one more batch of bacon. Darn it, I stood in front of that counter two days ago, and said "Nah, I'm sure there's two already in the freezer." Nope. Only one. Glad the store is only a block away. Roasted bacon-pecan nibbles with sugar and salt coming up soon!
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I feel much better today, actually. I think I may have just been a little dehydrated.
Cariad, Anne of Green Gables is EVERYTHING around here. Just about everything has the house or her face on it. I'm sure one of the microbreweries makes a beet with her face on it. I know there's a John A. MacDonald themed beer, for the Fathers of Confederation, and someone makes raspberry cordial, but I forget who makes it.
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Cariad, I know it's Christmas and all, but hey, perfection is still unattainable, even if Santa makes it look possible. Go with the beer you have! Besides, how long have you and hubby been separated now? You really think Santa's butt is the one he truly wants to get his hands on? ;D
You know, you make a good point there, jbeany! :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
I don't think he would have even noticed the beer missing if I had not told him of my escapades trying to track it down.
We made Santa an apple pie last night, Adan is learning to cook which takes some of the stress off his parents.
Roasted bacon pecan nibbles? I must keep these secret from Gwyn forever! He'll never want anything else. :rofl;
Glad you're feeling better, Riki!
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Accomplish anything today? :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
It's Christmas! :clap; :clap; :clap;
But, I have been doing laundry for my dear daughter....she hasn't been feeling too well.... and I packed up one of the stockings to take home with me, because I'll need to make another matching one for NEXT Christmas....
:yahoo; Yep! There will be another little one joining us by then.
Aleta
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Have accomplished very little today, but that's what Boxing Day is for, at least in our house.
We had another non-traditional, stress-less Christmas dinner last night. The boys all had a ribeye roast that they had sampled at whole foods, with provolone cheese, rosemary, garlic, thyme, and olive oil all shoved into strategic places. Liot did not eat much of it, probably because of all the candy he helped himself to through the day. They had peas and roasted potato on the side. I had another veggie burger from the Trampeleau Hotel with potatoes and the most amazing mushrooms on the side - they are called Hedgehog Mushrooms and were divine! As an appetizer, I had some of the pickled watermelon rind I received for Christmas, with some bleu cheese. I just love trying new and unique (vegetarian) foods.
For breakfast this morning we had some of the leftover lemon/cheese croissant and the boys had some of the chocolat ones. They were so unbelievably scrumptious, I had TWO. :shy; I bought them off Williams-Sonoma during their annual 20% off croissants sale. Still a touch pricey, but nothing like what you would pay for a mediocre one at a bakery. We still have more in the deep freeze waiting to be thawed and baked....
Late lunch is ready, so I'm off for now. Ta!
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I got up and went to dialysis. Since it was a holiday today, the unit had a skeleton staff. I hate that. I was an hour late getting on, when I generally only wait a few minutes. (we totally need a raspberry emoticon for situations like this. *L*) When I came home, Mom had made turkey soup!! :yahoo; I ate 3 bowls, then waddled into my bedroom and played Lego Harry Potter for about 2 hours. Now I'm thinking about delving into the book that Rsudock gave me for Christmas
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Oh, I forgot to mention, found out I received an A in psychological anthro. I wish I had had more time to do a proper job with the paper, but he is known for being a very difficult grader. The last classes I took with him many, many years ago, I got an A-. I guess he has become less particular.
The only class I have yet to receive a grade for is Public Health. So far I had not missed any points, but 40% of my grade was the presentation and paper, so no guarantees of anything.
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:bandance; I got an e-mail informing me that I won a gift card from a local favorite restaurant! :bandance;
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I've been writing thank-you notes! :2thumbsup;
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I got an A in my final class. I hope to get my paper back from her with comments. I am torn on whether or not to continue for a public health certificate as I am finding Public Health to be not really my thing. I am all for prevention and changing behaviours when feasible, but there is something about the hard focus on changing behaviour that unsettles me, especially with regards obesity which they are rather obsessed with in that field.
Speaking of changing behaviours, I have been eating like a crazy person. Gwyn is taking the last of the lemon ricotta croissants out of the deep freeze as he suggested we just eat them tomorrow and 'have done with them'. We have four left and I swear I could eat those single-handedly. :P I want to get back to much healthier eating and exercising on the Wii Fit, so I will check back in as I (hopefully) make progress on that soon.
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:yahoo; Yep! There will be another little one joining us by then.
Aleta
Only just noticed this, Aleta! Huzzah!
We went to the transplant clinic and saw the dishy nephrologist. Phwoar. Then I spent some money on clothes and attempted to cajole more money out of Blokey, but he didn't get the hint ... so I didn't get the gorgous long cardigan I wanted. He later grumbled at me for not buying it. I only didn't put it on the credit card because I thought he'd grumble at me. I had no chance of winning that one really.
I've eaten too much today. I blame the supermarkets for making me think I actually needed to fill the cupboards with all that extra food over Christmas.
;D
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I got an A in my final class. I hope to get my paper back from her with comments. I am torn on whether or not to continue for a public health certificate as I am finding Public Health to be not really my thing. I am all for prevention and changing behaviours when feasible, but there is something about the hard focus on changing behaviour that unsettles me, especially with regards obesity which they are rather obsessed with in that field.
I agree. I'm all for changing behaviors, but I do think that some in the health field seem to think that it should be something as easy as providing the information and getting people to immediately change their behavior accordingly. 'Cause we all respond so well to being told we're doing something wrong and that we should be doing it some other way, after all. "Stop eating everything that is cheap, convenient, and tasty." Especially when it's coming from a President's wife with a professional chef and a team of full time gardeners. ::)
Nice job on the A!
I went to a retirement party and a court hearing today. Mailed packages, washed the car, and plan to do nothing of use for the rest of the day. Good enough!
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I got an A in my final class. I hope to get my paper back from her with comments. I am torn on whether or not to continue for a public health certificate as I am finding Public Health to be not really my thing. I am all for prevention and changing behaviours when feasible, but there is something about the hard focus on changing behaviour that unsettles me, especially with regards obesity which they are rather obsessed with in that field.
I agree. I'm all for changing behaviors, but I do think that some in the health field seem to think that it should be something as easy as providing the information and getting people to immediately change their behavior accordingly. 'Cause we all respond so well to being told we're doing something wrong and that we should be doing it some other way, after all. "Stop eating everything that is cheap, convenient, and tasty." Especially when it's coming from a President's wife with a professional chef and a team of full time gardeners. ::)
Sooooo true! I make no secret of my love of all things Obama, but I think she is utterly misguided with her 'war on obesity' or whatever it is. I can promise everyone that as a former fat kid (thank you, prednisone!) I would have immediately internalized this and thought 'oh, great, even the First Lady knows there's something horribly defective about me!'. She could have made this about social justice and equal access to high-quality food, even lobbied to change ridiculous food laws that cripple the federal government from properly protecting the food supply, or threw her political clout behind keeping physical education and extracurricular sports in public schools, but instead we get the same old 'we should all follow low-calorie diets and do military-style exercises every day.' Unrealistic and proven repeatedly to be ineffective. Promoting high-quality foods and fun exercise would capture more participants who are just sick of the damn lectures and policing of our behaviours. Which is what public health is starting to look like to me, thus my dilemma....
Today we met up with friends who we rarely get to see. Our boys are so similar, but they really need to see each other one-on-one or my son will gravitate toward his closer friends whom he sees every day. It was so cute, they did not have much to say to each other at first when we sat at the cafe enjoying lunch, but by the end of the day they were lagging behind at the zoo, engrossed in conversation. At home, the adults cracked open the beer and wine and the three boys had some sort of battle using pillows as shields, stuffed animals as weapons (we even threw GwynBear, Mom!!! GwynBear being our huge Gund bear that we bought for Aidan before he was born.) and blankets as 'forcefields'. We could hear the stomping around upstairs but I could not be bothered to go up and check on them, and hurrah! No injuries, no property damage! Success!
These friends are a special-needs teacher and a nurse, such a fab couple. We were talking politics (as we usually do) and I was talking about the evils of dialysis and this nurse who is ferociously smart and politically active had never heard of NxStage. Sure, she is not a dialysis nurse, but I just said "See! See??" She has two jobs right now and she told me that the one job she absolutely adores. She works in hospice. Wow. I just couldn't. And of course she is protesting with "Oh, no, you could, you could! I am not special!" but please. I just so thoroughly admire that.
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Went to D and they used my new fistula. It worked like a charm! The swelling has finally started to go down and if all things go well, I should get my catheter out next week. Yay! :cheer:
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I put Christmas to bed for another year. Cards down, decorations packed away and tree taped up into its box. Now the house just looks empty. Unfortunately I still have oodles of food left. Humpf. Fatty tum-tum.
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Finally got my pictures printed for the school yearbook. Have put it off 2 weeks now.
Now need to take to school on monday
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Got up early without an alarm, paid bills, got a haircut, went to laundry mat to wash the over-sized comforter that won't fit in my machine, grocery shopped, picked up prescriptions, went to the post office to mail a book for my swap site, cleaned the kitchen, reorganized my bookshelf to prepare for next semester, and took out the trash. Enough!
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I put Christmas to bed for another year. Cards down, decorations packed away and tree taped up into its box. Now the house just looks empty. Unfortunately I still have oodles of food left. Humpf. Fatty tum-tum.
You took it down before New Years??? Wow. Ours will be up till sometime next week
I didn't do much today, except go to dialysis. The apartment we thought we'd be moving into fell through, but they appear to have found us another place. We can't move in there till March, though. I've decided not to get my hopes up on this one either, just in case it falls through as well. We drove by on the way to dialysis to take a look. It doesn't look like a bad place. It's on a quiet street, which is different than the apartment we were going to get. It's still walking distance to everything, so that's a plus.
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I'm thinking I need to start going to a gym to build up my non-existent stamina. Today I woke up, took a shower, watched TV, then my big thing was I drove to the post office to mail a check!!! Whoo hoo!!! Then I drove back home, took a nap, gathered up a load of laundry (so hey, I am doing a chore) and am back to watching tv. I am over 5 weeks post-transplant.
Yesterday, I woke up early to drive to the hospital for my clinic visit. I had my stent removed first, then had the clinic visit. They gave me a shot of Aranesp, so hopefully, that will help. I then drove to a different hospital to meet up with my parents. I accidently brought home Dad's Christmas gift! So returned that to them, then headed towards home. I stopped off and had lunch, then went to visit my neph. He was happy to see me! (I'm not under his care until the transplant people release me). Then I killed time at a bookstore and went home.
I know, not too exciting, huh?
KarenInWA
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I know, not too exciting, huh?
KarenInWA
Little steps still get you where you are going! I had to have Aranesp for a while after my transplant, too. Then, *poof*, it hit 14 and hasn't budged since. I love it! Hope your kidney gets there too.
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We got the ornaments off the tree, just have to take the lights off and haul it out to the curb. I am going to miss Fred (L named the tree this year.)
Gwyn made breakfast this morning - eggs, cheese, salsa, toast and bacon for them, veggie sausage (that I did not like) for me. We cleaned for a bit, then dropped the boys off at a friends and went to the tea room for a late lunch. Sat for over an hour eating and getting re-infusion after re-infusion, as normal. (Had Iron Goddess of Mercy this time). Gwyn dropped me off, hoovered our beyond-icky kitchen floor, then I got the steam cleaner out while he collected the boys. Our floor looks one million times better, and no revolting crunchy sound when we walk through the kitchen anymore. :yahoo;
Laundry, Aidan made dinner with just a touch of supervision (:yahoo; x2) and we did a lot more of the puzzle of the crowned cranes that Santy gave us. I call Liot 'the puzzle genius' because since he was about 18 months old, he has been a prodigy at them, to the point that his teachers at the childrens centre who see dozens of kids a year for decades once told me they had never seen a child that young able to put a puzzle back together with quite the speed and intuitive sense of shape that he possesses. So, anyway Aidan and I were staring at this 500 piece puzzle, getting nowhere, Liot walks over, picks up a piece, places it immediately, Aidan and I both smack our foreheads, and Liot does it again. Finally all four of us were there, 3 of us shaking our heads in despair every few seconds as we hear Liot exclaiming 'I got a match' over and over and over. Aidan finally turned to Liot and muttered sarcastivally "Puzzle freak!" and Liot has claimed the term with pride. We watched Bug's Life on the video while the boys ate their mac n' cheese and ground beef and peas. Gwyn and I could not eat after the tea room. I finally decided to empty the laundry basket that has had a few items in it for what must have been weeks. Kids drawers are overflowing - time for an end of year charity drop tomorrow to unload all of the clothes that Liot has outgrown. (*blubber* My baby's already five!)
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After being in bed with the flu I am feeling like I might venture toward eating something today.
My sister was here for a week from Wisconsin. I hate that I slept though our last day together, but she understood.
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You took it down before New Years??? Wow. Ours will be up till sometime next week
Yep. I don't normally, but we're out all day Sunday and both Blokey and I are returning to work post-transplant on Tuesday (and for me it's a brand new job in a brand new place) so I didn't want to be faffing around doing it on Monday ...
Today I walked for a long time, realised I'd forgotten the post (the reason for my long walk) and thus went for another long walk to get it posted before final collection. Then I slept all afternoon because I have a stinking cold.
;D
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I didn't do a darned thing, and I'm proud of it.. *LOL*
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I didn't do a darned thing, and I'm proud of it.. *LOL*
Me too! It's dinner time, and I'm still not even dressed! I'm not going anywhere except from the computer to the armchair to read another book. My rockin' New Year's Eve plans include going to bed before the ball drops.
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I usually watch CNN on NYE.. I like watching Anderson Cooper.. *G* I stay up till the ball drops usually. They show people running in Central Park. There's a NYE run that starts at midnight, I think, and they show the dropping of the transvestite somewhere in Florida, I think. They put her in a giant shoe and they lower it from the top of a hotel.
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Breakfast with a friend, a three mile walk and a power nap. Late dinner tonight in town with a friend. Quiet night at a nice restaurant. Can't believe this week (and the year) is over. I was off from work and it went SO FAST.
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I put the Christmas things away, did the grocery shopping and a couple of loads of laundry. It seems that whenever we go on a trip, there is so much to do when we get home.
We are spending a quiet New Year's Eve. I have been ruminating today about what life was like a year ago.
Things change. :2thumbsup;
Aleta
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Strike me gently, Riki! Dropping a tranny in a giant shoe for a hotel roof!! What a ripper!!! I can't match that. I've started my 9,874th health kick. Happy 2012 to you.
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Strike me gently, Riki! Dropping a tranny in a giant shoe for a hotel roof!! What a ripper!!! I can't match that. I've started my 9,874th health kick. Happy 2012 to you.
Yep, it was done.. Watched it on CNN... it was Key West, and the transvestite's name is Sushi. They dropped a music note in Nashville too.
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I'm surprised we actually stayed up until midnight (will have to curb this trend before we go back to school on Wednesday! :rofl;)
It has been a lazy day. I took a nice long pampering shower, had bacon and eggs for breakfast (a real treat!) and put a pot of bean soup on the stove to cook all day. My the house smells nice. I did my shoulder therapy exercises and s bit of cleaning. But mostly just enjoying the sense of having nothing pressing that HAS to be done.
Happy New Year!
Aleta
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Oy .......... I was out SOOOOOOOOOO LATE .....but it was a nice night. So, thus far ..........NO, I've accomplished nothing (except reading this board !). It's now approaching 3PM, so it's time to do some laundry, go take my walk (minimum 1 and 1/2 miles), do a little grocery shopping ..........and then MOURN that I have only one day left until I have to go back to work Tuesday !! Actually, it's been nice and relaxing being off .... but going back to work is actually a really good thing in itself to be accomplishing !!
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LOTS! Took Christmas down in my house, organized my two freezers and did a load of laundry. Not your everyday typical kind of stuff, but I feel as though I accomplished lots bigtime!
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Yay for me. Got everything done I wanted to today and it's not yet 8PM ........ now I may tackle cleaning up my place a little bit and then settle in for a relaxing bath. I need to write a letter to a friend and get that into the mail as well, so perhaps I'll try to tackle that tonight too.
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I got a 3+ mile walk in this afternoon while the sun was still shining. Todd, you inspired me! Tomorrow it is going to be cold again. :thumbdown;
Cordelia, I can hardly imagine organizing 2 freezers! Good for you!
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I got a 3+ mile walk in this afternoon while the sun was still shining. Todd, you inspired me! Tomorrow it is going to be cold again. :thumbdown;
Cordelia, I can hardly imagine organizing 2 freezers! Good for you!
Thanks, WT, oh, it was such a good feeling to get things done :rofl;
It's great to hear everybody's accomplishments!! They can really be inspiring and give ideas too!
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Not much today. Slept a bit late, we had breakfast (crepes) and I did some very light cleaning while Gwyn finished his packing. Drove Gwyn to the airport, took the kids to the co-op for a few essentials, had leftover pizza for dinner and finished the last of the second apple pie for dessert. Read a bit with the boys, going to give the little guy a shower and prep them for school tomorrow. Everyone will be surprised to see us as we did say we were going to all return to California together. We will follow G to California in a few days, so I have to pack up everything he forgot (first have to determine what those things are). The boys have decided that they would rather have an extra three days with their dad instead of returning home for the school-closing day where they would get to spend all day at the childrens center. This is the highest compliment that they can pay him. :laugh:
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Jim had the day off today so we tackled the Christmas decorations, turned the mattress, and did some general cleaning before settling in to watch "The Lake House" It was nice having my husband all to myself today. :2thumbsup;
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I started my new job, which means I had to talk to new people. Yikes! And - even worse - I'm part of a support group and I work across two faculties so I had to stand up and wave to strangers when introduced on TWO occasions. They seem a nice bunch, but it's a little overwhelming (the place is MASSIVE and I'm used to a cosy little building with very few staff).
Oh, and Blokey returned to work today, first day since transplant. He's been home more than three hours and he's still awake! This makes me happy.
;D
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I started my new job, which means I had to talk to new people. Yikes! And - even worse - I'm part of a support group and I work across two faculties so I had to stand up and wave to strangers when introduced on TWO occasions. They seem a nice bunch, but it's a little overwhelming (the place is MASSIVE and I'm used to a cosy little building with very few staff).
Oh, and Blokey returned to work today, first day since transplant. He's been home more than three hours and he's still awake! This makes me happy.
;D
That is wonderful news, Poppy! :2thumbsup;
I finished "The Help" today, did a student orientation at school and did my last physical therapy session on my shoulders (not in that order!) :2thumbsup;
School starts tomorrow. I don't think I'm ready to return to using the alarm. :thumbdown;
Aleta
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I used bad language when the D centre 'phoned and changed my time from noon to 3pm! Bastards!! Ruins both the day and the evening. I shall not be a happy chappy when i turn up.
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Started my internship today! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; It's going to be amazing - lots to learn and a great group of people to do it with. I knew I was in the right spot when the conversation got around to the taxidermy bear torso that was sitting in a wing chair in the atty general's office when I swore my oath of service before him this morning. Apparently, it's stray evidence from a poaching case. It's still there because the big boss likes to stick a hat on it and include it in the audience for video conferences on occasion. Oh, yeah, this is my kind of work environment! ;D
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I helped make Cariad feel a little better today :)
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I helped make Cariad feel a little better today :)
Aw, Richard, you are too sweet! That's twice you've lifted my spirits today, my friend!
Quite literally all I managed today was to clean up the remainder of Christmas. Every year I wonder what weird place I'll discover pine needles in this time around. The little buggers are excellent at stealthily hitching a ride on whomever walks past, then hiding until mid-July.... :rofl;
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I started cleaning up the garage today. I've been storing my dialysate boxes out there since I started and had a pile that was as tall as I was! So that's all bundled up and sitting on the curb for the recycler pickup tomorrow. Next step is cleaning up my workbench out there. Who knows, I might even get a chance to work on a wood project or two!
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I spent time on the computer cleaning up my emails - very satisfying!!! It is hot here today (about 115 degrees F outside) and I only have a fan in the office so very brave of me! The air-co is in the front part of our house and the internet cable is about a foot too short. :(
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I don't know if this applies but...
I organised a small gift of some crabtree & evelyn hand lotions for my Transplant Co-ordinator. I thought after a year of looking after me through my tx (and everyone else) she deserved a little something at the end of the year to recognise her efforts. I wrote a little note with it just thanking her for looking after all of us and always being available to help us out and sort stuff out.
Well I got an email today from her - she's supposed to be on holidays, but typically she wasn't really. She wrote:
Happy New Year to you and a big thankyou for my lovely present. While I am on holidays officially,
I have called into work today to check on some new transplant patients we have done and found
your lovely gift on my desk. that was very kind of you and unneccessary . My rewards are to
see all of you doing well with your transplants and enjoying life. I look forward to catching up
with you in clinic on my return.
That's very sweet, no?
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YES, Richard .... what YOU did ...*THAT* was very sweet. And YES, her response was wonderful too. But it all began with your lovely gesture. Way to go.
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Yesterday I sat in meetings for 4 and a half hours, hammering out two major documents, one for the state Attorney General's office.
The person taking all the notes and preparing the documents for submission e-mailed this morning that her computer did NOT save the changes. :banghead; :banghead; :banghead;
What did I accomplish yesterday? Zilch!
Ah, well. It will all get done eventually.
Aleta
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Yesterday was laundry. Today is my last official day of school break, so other than setting out books and packing lunch and dinner for tomorrow, I don't plan to do much at all. I've got my internship from 8:30 to 5 tomorrow, although I'm going to have to leave early, because I have a class about the internship with my college dean from 5 to 6, and then class from 6 to 9. The classes are on campus, 40 minutes away from my internship office. If anyone has a Star Trek teleporter they could lend me for tomorrow, I'd really appreciate it!
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If anyone has a Star Trek teleporter they could lend me for tomorrow, I'd really appreciate it!
according to William Shatner, there is (or was) one on a secret military base in New Jersey
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Yeah but there's sh!*@#! that Shatner says....
(I know he's Canadian, but really..... :rofl;)
Of course I could use a transporter too!!! It would save many hours on planes, but then all my FF miles would become worthless!! Better cash in a few more ASAP! :rofl;
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I'd love a transporter... I can't afford to fly enough to rack up FF miles.. *LOL*
My friend Kelly, goes to an improv mixer on Tuesday nights, as a performer. I'd like to just show up sometime, not tell her I'm coming, and surprise her. I've always wanted to see her perform too
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Live long and propsper; and cover those pointy ears.
Where is my tin-foil hat?
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I had my perma-cath removed today! :clap;
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I had my perma-cath removed today! :clap;
Congratulations!!! I was so relieved when I had mine removed!
KarenInWA
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I took the boys to Griffith Observatory today! So great, for once our slowness paid off. We did not arrive until nearly noon, which I thought was going to be two hours after they opened but it turned out they did not open until 12PM so we had a few minutes to explore the grounds around the building, including the scale model of the solar system. We had the place more or less to ourselves. A guide was telling us all about the massive photo on the back wall showing millions of galaxies all within an area of night sky that can be covered by one's finger. (There is a statue of Einstein holding his finger up in demonstration.) Boys weighed themselves on the nine different scales in front of the planets. Saw a planetarium show (those things make me so queasy - had to shut my eyes for much of it) listened to an explanation of the pendulum at the entrance, Aidan asked a guide what a wormhole is and got a quick explanation. Read all about the Big Bang in their fantastic display along the ramp to the lower level. Your other option is the more direct Worm Hole Stairs, which Aidan and I found very clever. (Not sure L. understood.)
Saw the Tesla Coil operational, and the boys were let up to the front for a fab view. Found a telescope that was stuck in the open position and looked at the Hollywood sign. Saw the giant telescope on the roof and went for a stroll through Griffith Park, came upon a felled tree and had to navigate around it. (Griffith is atop a large hill, so was dangerous). Had lunch in the cafe and made it home without too much time wasted in traffic. Just as we arrived home we heard about the discovery of the largest cluster of galaxies yet, called El Gordo by the Chileans who discovered it. Thanks to the planetarium show, the boys knew what they were talking about when they mentioned the dark matter and dark energy in this cluster. Other than that, laundry, and a quick dinner of reheated pizza. Tomorrow I brave Knotts Berry Farm (where I hope to meet up with a certain IHDer....)
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Dusted, vaccuumed, washing machine went whirly-spin-spin, scrubbed, Dance 2'd, juiced, online sipermarket shopped, threw some meat and veg into the slow cooker, showered, caught up with Buffy, got all competitive with galvo and am now relaxing before heading off to the pharmacy to pick up a bag full of meds.
;D
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I feel tired reading all that!
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I am tired after being battered by the popster.
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I am tired after being battered by the popster.
;D
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Ran a few errands, lunch with a friend, my 1.5 mile way and now @ 4:30PM I think I'll dig back into the book I'm reading (and probably fall asleep during the read) ......... Called my brother and will try to call a friend before I go off for my nap ..... I mean, to read my book. And later, I'll do able an hour of cleaning around my place. The high temperature today was 35 degrees. I was dreading going out ........but when I did, I thought "35 degrees isn't so bad ...". Tomorrow, I hope to see the movie Joyful Noise (I *think* it's been released....). Supposed to be 30 degrees tomorrow. I think I can "weather" it. HA.
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Did not really accomplish anything yesterday - a few errands last night - but had an amazing day. I met Lori Hartwell! That was very cool, I remember first reading about her on the Internet back in 2001, so I feel like I already knew her quite well in a way. Very friendly, funny, tremendously sweet person.
I stupidly left my PFFlyers, my most stunning pair of shoes, the red leather high tops that people gasp over everywhere, up in Santa Barbara. We were going to head up to collect them yesterday, scare the boys into thinking we were coming to take them home (they so picture themselves moving in with my parents, living a life of leisure in one of the most gorgeous cities on earth). We decided to head to Topanga Canyon and I passed a shoe shop, had a quick look, purchased a pair of beachy shoes but no trainers or anything. I tend to find that one pair I love and don't want anything else.
So, then I decided I could go for a cup of tea. We were right in front of a Starbucks but I just couldn't. So we searched for a tea room and were within a mile of a little tea house. We popped in, no reservation, placed was jammed but they found room for us. This place has changed my life! I have not only found my tea of choice for life from their over 100 (!!!!!) varieties, the people who owned the place were an Australian and her English husband who had done years in the Aussie Army. They sat and chatted with us for an hour or two, telling us all about Oz, filling our heads with ideas on how we could indeed move there. Then, in a moment that sadly could only happen if we were in attendance, the kitchen staff pulled the owner away and we knew there was something very wrong, half the place was suddenly in tears. Our waitress had received word that her father had been found dead. So, we spoke to the owners about it for a moment, then in a very British (English) move, it was declared that he had had a great life and was not mentioned again.
As it was my first visit to the tea room the owner gave me a gift. A gorgeous compact engraved with a pair of pandas. This place was really special and Gwyn can periodically pop back there and keep me in tea for ever and ever. Yay!
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Yikes. It's 1PM here and I haven't done much yet. Phone call with a friend ..... got off to a late start by dragging myself out of bed around 10AM. Time to get it in gear. First, my 1.5 mile walk, then a movie and some puttering around Barnes & Noble. I went outside earlier for a moment and it was C.O.L.D. It's now about 25 degrees, but it's time to 'suck it up' and not waste the day. Off I go.
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I turned a pair of Blokey's white boxer shorts a lovely shade of light grey. He won't notice.
;D
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Got to do *most* of my list, plus I got some grocery and "supply" shopping done (light bulbs, household widgets). Caught up with another friend on a long phone call and still have time to clean up my apartment for about a half hour. The only thing I didn't do was get *through* the movie (yes, that's right .... I'll post the longer version under another thread), but I went and didn't stay ! Oy. I did actually also go to a Farmer's market that I like as well. An AMISH farmer's market .... on a SUNDAY ...........uhhhhh, not too smart ! HA. Well, I'll call it a productive day and leave it at that. Considering I didn't get out the door until 1PM. I got my walk in, so mission accomplished there.
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So far, I've got my bed made and my house cleaned! I have some errands to run later (that I am NOT looking forward to since it is cold! The dog has been out to roll in the snow several times. He loves the snow but hates the rain! He is not my dog! LOL!
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Up early, drove 100km in to town to open toyshop: am minding my sister's shop for a few days. Haven't worked here since November 2009 - amazing what a new kidney can do!! LOVE working in a toy shop!
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Up early, drove 100km in to town to open toyshop: am minding my sister's shop for a few days. Haven't worked here since November 2009 - amazing what a new kidney can do!! LOVE working in a toy shop!
Awesome!
I'm feeling rather mellow about what I've accomplished. I'm the secretary of a non-profit. We had a board meeting this morning followed by the annual business meeting. TWO sets of minutes. Each meeting lasted about 2 hours. WELL, I have finished typing up both sets of minutes. Yea! I also discovered that getting the minutes prepared takes about the same amount of time as taking them during the meetings. LOL.
Carl spent the afternoon cutting down a tree and trimming another one to make room in our yard to maneuver the new travel trailer that we bought. It is being delivered on Wednesday. :2thumbsup;
I'm so excited!
Aleta
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Oooh, the travel trailer sounds beaut.
And remember, Aleta, the hand that types the minutes rules the meeting :)
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Not much this weekend. It snowed a bit, which means I had NO interest in really doing anything outside. Did some grocery shopping Friday night. After the snow, I got the mail, took out the trash. Today I cleared off the car, took a short drive to the drugstore and that was about it. Spent my time indoors, relaxing and catching up with friends on the phone. Now I'll head off and do some reading. As far as I'm concerned, considering not wanting to deal with the weather, I accomplished enough.
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Oooh, the travel trailer sounds beaut.
And remember, Aleta, the hand that types the minutes rules the meeting :)
You know, Chook, as I was typing that thought crossed my mind....I was having to interpret all the discussion....
Hmmmm. I guess I'm just doing this for the power! :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Here's a link to the type of trailer we bought, although ours is a used model!
http://www.earthboundrv.com/photo-gallery/2011-v2-earthbound-golden-ridge-interiors/ (http://www.earthboundrv.com/photo-gallery/2011-v2-earthbound-golden-ridge-interiors/)
It's a beauty! And we are going to spend so much time in it when we retire. Finding a used one was a dream come true!
Todd, staying inside out of the snow sounds like the right plan! :2thumbsup;
Aleta
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Oooh, the travel trailer sounds beaut.
And remember, Aleta, the hand that types the minutes rules the meeting :)
You know, Chook, as I was typing that thought crossed my mind....I was having to interpret all the discussion....
Hmmmm. I guess I'm just doing this for the power! :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Here's a link to the type of trailer we bought, although ours is a used model!
http://www.earthboundrv.com/photo-gallery/2011-v2-earthbound-golden-ridge-interiors/ (http://www.earthboundrv.com/photo-gallery/2011-v2-earthbound-golden-ridge-interiors/)
It's a beauty! And we are going to spend so much time in it when we retire. Finding a used one was a dream come true!
Todd, staying inside out of the snow sounds like the right plan! :2thumbsup;
Aleta
We lived for the first 8 years of our marriage in a travel trailer then a fifth wheel. If you need any advice, just ask! :rofl; have you ever seen the movie, "The Long, Long Trailer"? It takes on a whole new meaning after living in one! :rofl; :rofl; best of luck!
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Oh, CebuSan!
For the first 6 years of our marriage we lived in a Spartan. It was very much like an AirStream. It was 45 feet long including the hitch. We loved it. The camper trailer we have now is only 17 feet long! It has been a joy to us for the last 6 years, but as we approach retirement we plan for more extensive travel over longer periods of time.
:2thumbsup; :2thumbsup; :2thumbsup;
I'll have to look for that movie! We haven't seen it!
Aleta
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Oh, CebuSan!
For the first 6 years of our marriage we lived in a Spartan. It was very much like an AirStream. It was 45 feet long including the hitch. We loved it. The camper trailer we have now is only 17 feet long! It has been a joy to us for the last 6 years, but as we approach retirement we plan for more extensive travel over longer periods of time.
:2thumbsup; :2thumbsup; :2thumbsup;
I'll have to look for that movie! We haven't seen it!
Aleta
Our first four was in a 20 foot (don't remember the name) then we bought a 40 foot fifth wheel (luxurious!). The Long, Long Trailer stars LucIelle Ball and DesI Arnaz.
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Monthly Costco shopping completed! Even though I purchased two expensive cosmetics items, nearly everything I purchased was on special and my bill only came to a bit over $200. We have cheese to suit any taste now, quick and not-too-awful dinner options for the boys, and loads of snacks for their lunches.
This morning I finally was able to put a huge issue with the boys' school to rest. I was furious with Liot's teacher which is quite a feat on her part since I have all the sympathy in the world for teachers and have always taken their concerns seriously. La Directoria found me just in time and told me that she had resolved the issue. About flipping time, this goes back to December, but OK, it's done.
I have no classes today, so hope to catch up on cleaning and prepping for the semester. Still not caught up on sleep, but it's been several days with no diet Coke, just tea, and so far I have managed to keep my eyes open.
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I got outta bed and wish I hadn't.
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(I lost half a pound!)
I'm just getting to grips with my new job and today I discovered that I can be confident and talk to seventeen year olds about their work. They didn't bite my head off, nor did they snigger at me, and a couple even thanked me for helping them.
I think I need to lie down now; a lady can only take so much shock in one day ...
;D
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My wife worked on her quilt. I successfully watched her.
Does that count?
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The internship this week - one mad bomber, two con artists, eight fraudulent doctors, eight hundred letters to fold, seal, stamp and mail in less than two hours, 20,000 victim statements to sort for a single case, and too many crazy people to count. And an afternoon spent playing "Where's Attorney Ray?" - it's like Where's Waldo, but instead of striped hats, it's all striped ties and suit coats on the three floors worth of prosecuting attorneys.
We found him in time to get the missing affidavits signed at court, so it's all good.
I love my job!
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My wife worked on her quilt. I successfully watched her.
Does that count?
That's very important work Gerald, oft underrated. Society will thank you one day though.
jbeany: I love your job too.
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I love reading this thread!
:clap; :clap; :clap;
I got all of our things moved from the old camper to the new one tonight. Oh, this is going to be such a different camping experience. :2thumbsup;
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Today I was a glutton for punishment ..... dentist AND eye doctor .........and ended up working until 10PM to make up for the time away from work during the day (I love my manager who lets me "come and go" and make my own hours. She knows I'll work as long as I have to to get the job done, so ....)
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To-day is Australia Dayand I am spending it patriotically, watching Australia smash India in the cricket test (onTV).
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Galvo, Have a good day.
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Happy Australia Day, all you lovely Aussies! :ausflag; :ausflag; :ausflag; :ausflag;
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I went to D this morning. Came home, lit the fireplace, laid on the couch and haven't moved since!
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I recovered after crashing on D with a BP of 70/55.
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Did I accomplish something today? Wife beat me at checkers during dialysis. Came home to read a fired-up political thread. I couldn't resist.
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I popped into the charity shop to see if they had a skirt for work. About fifteen minutes later I walked back out with two black skirts, one pair of black jeans and two tops for the grand total of £15 and all of which are work friendly. As each item individually would have cost me at least £15 brand new I think I did very well.
*smug grin*
Plus, it means I can get some new boots.
;D
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I love the second hand stores (charity) Great selections, awesome prices!
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I worked a regular day, bu AFTER work....
Headed to town to run some errands, but there was a terrific traffic back-up. At a split in a four-lane highway, all the traffic was being diverted one direction, due to an accident shortly past the split. Fortunately the direction we needed to go was open, but it was stop and go for miles.
So, we went to the bank, then to Office Depot to drop off some printing and pick up some supplies for school. The next stop was Wal-Mart where we purchased some dishes and silverware for our new trailer (along with some other things). Then on the Lowe's for more things. After that we went to Target, where we were able to get some plastic "glasses" for the trailer, and finally on the the grocery store.
I was so glad there was a simple "heat and eat" left-over meal ready for us when we finally got home. I'm POOPED!
But the weekend is beginning and most of the running around is DONE! :2thumbsup;
Aleta
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We had an "adoption day/birthday party" for our rescue dog. So I got some shopping done, got my house cleaned, I had a telephone interview with Social Security, and I got some things in the mail that needed to go out.
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I managed to unprogram my car radio after my nephew reprogrammed it this weekend so the bass made my windows rattle. Gotta love a teenager - just not what they do to your stuff!
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Besides getting my house clean, I got my "soil starter" going. It's a little trick I learned years ago from a master gardener. (who has, sadly, passed on) it has never failed to get comments of amazement when people see the plant growth. I am so ready for spring!
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That soil starter sounds great, Cebushan. My garden needs all the help it can get as I forget to water!
I am feeling very satisfied - cleaned up old paper in the office: so many precious memories. Am thinking I'll have to have a go at scrapbooking some of them. Having never had a go before, it will be challenging.
Then I spent this morning on the 4wheeler spraying burrs! Lots more to do but I can see where I've been!
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Replied to an ad on Craigslist. My new kitty was born today and will be coming home as soon as it is big enough to leave its mom! :bandance;
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Congratulations, JBeany on your new baby! :2thumbsup;
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Congrats, JB. Photo when possible, please.
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Congratulations on the new arrival, jb! ;D
I accomplished the art of doing sod all (in between hoovering, dusting, showering, scrubbing, watching Buffy and phoning the boiler man.)
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I didn't even get a full treatment today! Pressures started out good and then bottomed out. Tried getting stuck 2 more times to no avail. Came home and slept until the hospital called to set up my mammo appointment in March. That's all I've done today!
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I am being a lazy slob today. So there!
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Trip to Costco. Spent less than $200 which is pretty good for us.
Emailed the woman who hit my car again. I am going to have to file with small claims court if she continues to ignore me. I'm giving her until Monday and hoping that she will meet that deadline. She works for the university where most of our money goes, so she cannot exactly hide.
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This was one of THOSE days.
It started off just as the kids were arriving with a call from my dad. He was on his way by ambulance to ER. Then before lunch I got a call from a fellow who had driven up from Alabama to see a modular building that the non-profit I preside over is selling. He was sitting outside the building and needed me to drive out there to let him in.
Carl's assistant doesn't arrive on Thursdays until after lunch, so he couldn't go. All right. Twenty minute drive over to the building, and while this guy is taking photos, I do some sweeping and cleaning. Then back to school just in time for lunch. While I was gone, my dad had called to tell me that he was being admitted to the hospital.
Thursday afternoons at school are always interesting as I gather the students (1st - 6th grade) for a discussion about an inspirational quote that they will incorporate into a journal entry. Then they write in their journals. The younger students finish earlier and I write responses to them while the older students finish up. Then I read to them. I am trying to get this book finished by next Tuesday because the older students are going on a camping trip to the Smoky Mountains and I want to have it finished by then. So, just as I announce that it is time to read, the health inspector arrives. I am supposed to handle that, but I have already gotten my class "ready" to hear me read. (I am reading "Because of Winn-Dixie" and this is a truly exceptional book.) So, Carl steps out of his class to handle that while I continue reading.
We were able to leave school at 3:15 today.....that doesn't usually happen. I dropped Carl off at home and headed to the hospital.
I almost just went up the the fourth floor (heart patients) because that is where my dad has gone for the last 4 or 5 visits to the hospital. On second thought, I stopped at information and discovered that he was on the fifth floor. Hmmmmm. So while I'm standing waiting for the elevator, I scan the departments. Oh oh. Oncology.
A pulmonary doctor is with Dad when I get to his room. Te admitting ER doctor had the cause for admitting him down as pneumonia, but the pulmonary doc says that there are no signs, but the x-ray showed a "consolidated" area in one lung.
Damn. My dad has no idea what they are talking about so he isn't worried about anything. I'm going to leave it that way. He never listens to the doctors and never has, so it doesn't really matter.
I called my brother before leaving Dad, and he said that he was on his way out (about 45 minutes away). So I came on home and fixed some dinner for us. A real honest-to-goodness dinner, too, not a heat-and-eat! Salmon croquettes, baked sweet potato, and my mixed squash and tomato with garlic saute. It was GOOOOD!
And now a little down time on the computer. Whew. It HAS been one of those days.
Aleta
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A;eta --- Keep us posted on your Dad. I hope all goes well.
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A;eta --- Keep us posted on your Dad. I hope all goes well.
:thx;
My dad has flirted with death so many times in the past 5 years that my brother and I have lost count. The hospital even had me spend the night once so I could make "that decision" during the night. He went home 2 days later. He's a tough old bird, but not getting any younger. Each time he is in the hospital, we wonder if this is "it." I love my dad. But I also know that he will not live forever. That is the rhythm of life....and death.
He has gone over with me all the details of his wishes, so I'm "prepared" as much as anyone can be.
I will let you know. Thanks.
Aleta
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:grouphug; for Aleta!
Had all the answers my two junior law students were supposed to know during our weekly meeting with their supervisory atty/professor. Bit my tongue a lot while they fumbled around looking for them. Prof keep grinning and saying, "Don't help!" He then told them they were lucky to have me volunteering to work with them as their paralegal because I was "freakishly good" at family law. Strangest compliment I've heard in a while, but I'll take it. ;D It sounds better than the one I got from a previous supervising atty at a different pro bono clinic - "over-enthusiastic do-gooder!"
Baby pics below. Everyone cross your fingers for me that the woman who posted the ad on craigslist doesn't back out when it's time to give one to me!
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Ahhhhh!
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Pretty babies!
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Awww, gorgeous mother and babies jb! And *huggles* for Aleta!
I watched the final four episodes of Buffy this afternoon. Seven seasons in six months ... not bad going for someone who used to shy away from anything vampire related and couldn't understand the attraction of very beautiful, young, ageless, intensely brooding (and a little bit evil) dead men ...
;D
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I love the kitties, Jbeany! :2thumbsup; And I'm a tad jealous.
:shy;
Congrats!
Aleta
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I got my hair done; did some grocery shopping; paid some bills; and made a pot of chili. I'll be working all weekend. I have a movie check to do. My favourite type of assignment! I have to check "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" My husband is a little upset that I am working on Sunday (it's my bd) but oh well! We need the money!
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:birthday; CebuShan!
I visited my dad in the hospital. And he had good news. They will release him on Monday. Apparently he was coughing up blood from bronchitis, even though he did not have a bad cough.
:2thumbsup;
Thanks for all the *huggles* and concern.
Aleta
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Awww, gorgeous mother and babies jb! And *huggles* for Aleta!
I watched the final four episodes of Buffy this afternoon. Seven seasons in six months ... not bad going for someone who used to shy away from anything vampire related and couldn't understand the attraction of very beautiful, young, ageless, intensely brooding (and a little bit evil) dead men ...
;D
Yes.....Buffy! That's where I developed a liking for that type of bloke too. Angel, what a name. Love him (David B) in Bones as well. :)
And thanks, lmunchkin. I think I've got the quote thing working now.
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Happy Birthday, CebuShan!
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I booked tickets for our next trip to California in mid-March. we will probably take another, shorter trip in April and then perhaps Gwyn can come to us for May.
Kids have eaten and I took another Ibuprofen because I was starting to run another temperature. The boys' swim lesson has been canceled tomorrow due to a swim meet at the pool, so we have an entire day to just rest and reassemble the house. The boys really want to go do something, but it is so bitter cold I just don't know. I thought our furnace had gone on the blink because it took the entire day for the ground floor to get from its overnight temp of 55 to it's daytime temp of 68. Hopefully Gwyn can sort it out when he's in town next.
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I haven't accomplished anything in the last few days (except the art of gracefully falling on my bum on a patch of ice disguised as a light dusting of snow) but galvo managed to finally beat me at Scrabble after months of trying ... (bless him, but not for the 'forces of darkness' comment ...)
;D
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Please see above!
hehehehehehehe!!!
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I managed to take my latest creation into the wool shop I knit for.
It was a gorgeous dress, made for a sweet young thing, lacy flounces around the hem, almost a full circle skirt, cable top, very fitted, 4 ply, light as a feather. I have always had a dislike of knitted dresses, but I'm now a convert.
The pattern was badly translated from German and the whole thing took four weeks to complete. I finished it on Saturday, and spent Sunday and Monday doing anything to avoid pressing it. My floors have been scrubbed, you could eat off any surface in the house, the entire garden has been mulched, and my elderly neighbours have been visited so many times they think I have been kicked out of home. Finally plucked up the courage to press it late on Monday, and took it in to the shop. They put it on a dress form straight away and it looks gorgeous! Elegant! Fashionable! Yum!
Now, all I have to do it rewrite the pattern so that the average English-speaking knitter can make their own
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I got a sore throat, ran a fever, took some Tylenol, called in sick to the clinic where I volunteer, and went back to bed. Enough for one day!
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I ordered my new Lic p Organ dlares today. State of Virginia
Support Irgan donatio DON8IT
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I'm trying to get the backroom empty so that the kitchen can be fitted (the sink literally sank throught the worksurface) But that means I have to sort the admin that has been piling up (especially in the years I was admitted, or ill when I just stuck everything in a box (hubby does not do admin). So there is a lot, but I did a lot. Emptied 3 crates today
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I finally managed to get the baby toys that have been sitting in the front room for two months cleaned and put in the back of the car for donation. I was cleaning one of the baby toys with a bleach cloth and saw a dead arachnid on it and automatically threw the cube away from me. It landed on the tile in front of the fire. I then collected the kids from school, explained what I wanted to do, and told them I would pay them 10$ each for them to do it. I helped them set up a donate box and a trash bag and they took care of the dead bug (Liot even said that he would clean up the next dead bug we find because Aidan got to clean up the first one.) It took them about an hour, but their dad called in the middle of that.
Toward the end, Aidan picked up a book and showed it to me. I said "that's a book my mom would read to me in the hospital" and I started tearing up. Aidan took one last glance at the book and threw it in the trash, then came directly to me and gave me a hug. The maturity and compassion in that boy, it completely undid me. Elliot asked what was wrong and I said "I'm fine, I'm fine. I just had a bad memory." Then I thought that the book should be recycled, so Aidan walked it out to the bin. My mother found this book about a year ago and even though I am quite sure I told her I did not want it, she sent it anyway. I then did not know what to do with it. I am so glad Aidan took the initiative. My mother always joked that it was such a long and boring book, about a boy and a moose, and I think they got lost or something. She would recall how she would try to speed things up by skipping pages, but I would correct her. She didn't understand. I specifically chose that book because I knew it was long and so it delayed her leaving me there alone.
Front room still needs a bit of sorting, but is mostly back to normal.
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It took almost a week but now I think I can die happy. The house is ship-shape and Bristol fashion. Floors are sparkling. Light bulbs and baseboards all dusted. The tops of all the molding - all eight linear miles of it - vacuumed along with all the ceiling fans. All the wood polished and windows shining. All the sinks and faucets looking like they just came from the store. Refrigerator cleaned out, yard weeded and trees trimmed. Somehow managed to create double the floorspace in the spare room despite accumulating twice as much 'stuff' back there, including a new Eastlake dresser. And I'm finally putting the border on a queen-sized afghan I began crocheting... oh... five or six years ago.
Now if I'm burglarized I won't be embarrassed and if everyone comes to the house for my funeral I won't have to be mortified from beyond. It's a great feeling.
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I am suitably impressed DD, about to start the continuation of just the backroom, and feel tired already. Than again, I drove my hubby to work, cos his car didn't start at 6.00 this morning, and then to the Dr for something weird growing on my hand. Now just finished my espresso
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She didn't understand. I specifically chose that book because I knew it was long and so it delayed her leaving me there alone.
Awww, cariad. This made me all leaky. I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for the Little You.
*huggles*
I managed to find another six books for my Enid Blyton Dean & Sons Ltd. collection. The chap in the charity shop went out of his way to find them in the backroom after overhearing me talking about them. Then he only charged me a tenner for the six of them, even though I know for a fact that they're usually sold for at least three poundage each. I also bought oodles of bright spring bloomage for the tubs/hanging baskets in my front garden and treated my Mumsy to the most amazingly gorgeous Pandora ring for a Very Big-ish Birthday which she has coming up next week.
My bank balance* does not love me today, but nevertheless, I am happy.
(*please note that any reference to 'bank balance' usually means i put it on the credit card and later informed Blokey so that he could pay it off.)
;D
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My professional certification exam is tomorrow morning. I've cranked through reviewing 9 out of 10 chapters so far. One more to go in the next 2 hours before I crawl off to bed to get a good night's sleep. It's the grammar and communications chapter. Uggh. I'm pretty decent with spelling and punctuation, so I don't expect this one to be the worst part of the exam, but I could be wrong. It's full of randomly weird questions like "What is the proper salutation when writing to a Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court?"
Dear High Muckety Muck,
is apparently NOT the right answer, so I guess I should study some more.
I also found a house I might want to make an offer on in the next few weeks. It's in my price range, in the neighborhood I wanted, and looks to be move-in ready except for some paint colors. It's the cozy little bungalow I've been looking for - one I can pay for without a mortgage. (You know it's small when the street number and the square footage are both three digits long, and the house number is the bigger of the two, by almost 100.) This is sooner than I planned to make an offer, but it's a short sale, and those take time, so I need to make an offer now if I want it any time close to when my lease ends. Is it strange to feel guilty about being able to buy a house from someone who clearly took good care of it and probably doesn't want to move out?
I'm also counting down. 19 days until my kitten is old enough to be picked up!
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18 days to go to on the kitten count down. ;D
Got through my cert exam this morning. Heck, I may even have passed. I won't know for 45 days or so.
Drove by three houses for sale in my area. Eliminated two from my "possible" list just from a quick drive by. If I can spot the rotting the roof and porch from the road, the house is not an option. The other "eww" was located right at the spot near the truck route where semis would have to start putting on air brakes for the upcoming stop light. Never mind.
The third one is adorable from the outside though; Victorian trim, and a lovely, tree-filled garden. Must schedule a tour soon.
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18 days to go to on the kitten count down. ;D
I love kittens!!
Good luck with the house hunting!
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I have been working 10 hours a day every day this week. I am really tired. There are 45 days left until this fundraising project opens so it's still going to keep me busy. My goal today is to get some rest!
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I managed to take my latest creation into the wool shop I knit for.
It was a gorgeous dress, made for a sweet young thing, lacy flounces around the hem, almost a full circle skirt, cable top, very fitted, 4 ply, light as a feather. I have always had a dislike of knitted dresses, but I'm now a convert. [...] Elegant! Fashionable! Yum!
Hey hey hey! That sounds good! And IMPRESSIVE!!! Any chance of a photo?
:bow;
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19 days until my kitten is old enough to be picked up!
Oh god, a kitten. I've been seeing a lot of really cute kittens about the place lately, and going all ga-ga. Can't see why all of a sudden I'm interested in kittens again. (BUT THEY'RE SO CUTE AND LOOK AT THE LITTLE CARROT TAIL!!!) I have to keep reminding myself that the two cats I have now are a lot of work now that his nibs has gone diabetic. He's off insulin, but at the price of being fed 6 times a day to keep the system ticking over. That's a lot of feeds.
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Only 6 times a day? Bet that didn't take him long to get used to! ;D
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Only 6 times a day? Bet that didn't take him long to get used to! ;D
LOL! I know! I think he thinks he's in cat-heaven!!!! ;D
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I am trying to make progress on this house after about a month with only minimal cleaning. Have done piles of laundry, dishes, cleaned the guest bath and mopped the wood floors downstairs. So much more to do, though.
Yesterday I hit some sort of wall with my energy. Shoveled wet, heavy snow Friday night because Aidan had an early morning basketball game and did not want to deal with it when we were in a time crunch. So we went to the basketball game against The Big Z - the team they only narrowly defeated in overtime last time they played them, but Aidan's team pulled it off twice: they beat them 28-24 this time around. These are the play-off games, so it would have been such a drag if they had lost because they went in to the game undefeated, but you don't get a trophy for that, only for winning all the playoff games. They play the #4 ranked team next week in the final game. Aidan was tripped yesterday in the game so he got a freethrow but missed. :( He is way too hard on himself.
After the game I made them an early lunch, then I crashed in my room for about an hour, fell asleep. Then woke up but just could not find the energy to do much. Used a gift certificate to get them dinner at the grass-fed burger place - we ate upstairs in the great room while watching Jimmy Neutron, but I fell asleep sitting on the couch. Got them off to bed at 9, poured myself wine and made a cup of tea, watched a bit of telly, then Gwyn called at 10PM and I said I couldn't talk as I was just about to go to sleep. Was out about 5 minutes later and slept all the way through to 8:30. Weird. Swim lessons today and friends asked if they could send their son over to play before the game. Had him over, made them peanut butter and jam sandwiches but had to explain that we were out of bread, could they have it on an English muffin or a bagel? They chose the English muffin. This kid is a majorly picky eater, so I was glad to see he actually ate his sandwich. Thankfully, his parents offered to take the boys to their soccer game which is out in the back of beyond, so that's where the one child is now. Liot is upstairs playing on his computer. Have to go to Whole Foods for bread after Aidan is dropped off.
Liot and I are going to play Monopoly Jr. now. Ta!
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Tell Aidan that even the pros don't make free throws more than 75% of the time. (I had to look it up, but I figured it was NOT going to be perfect!) College teams average about 70%, and the stat hasn't changed in 50 years. If he's getting even 2 out of 4, he's doing really, really well.
We constantly have to remind my Little Leaguer nephew that 3 out of 10 is considered a good job in baseball.
They get so disappointed that they can't be perfect at that age, don't they?
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They get so disappointed that they can't be perfect at that age, don't they?
Oh, completely! And Aidan is not used to being one of the weakest members of the team, but sorry sweetie, you do have half of your mother's genes and basketball was just never going to be the short, fat kid's sport. (tennis was my game) He just wants to feel like he contributed to this team's roaring success, but luckily I taught him the word 'assist' and this satisfy him across a wide spectrum of sports. (Not really baseball, though. Hard to soften the blow with that one.)
Thanks so much for the stats on the pros. I gave Aidan this information tonight in the Emergency Department of the city hospital.
Let me back up a moment.
Aidan had his last practice today. I went to school as I do every Monday, looking forward to seeing the last part of practice and possibly watching Aidan shoot baskets with his friends after. Aidan was being really aggressive, probably, I admit with much guilt, because I suggested that he could stand to be a bit more so in the games. I was talking to another mom, not there even five minutes, and Aidan tried to keep the ball from going out of bounds and in so doing ran directly into the concrete block wall. His arm flew up, so I thought maybe he managed to take most of the impact on his forearm, but when he just stood there with his head in his hands I knew there was trouble. I ran over to him, all the kids were so concerned, it is so sweet to see him on such a close team. The coach came over and I said I didn't know what to do (Gwyn has had so many concussions that he was always the one to check for that). The coach checked him and said he was fine, to watch for vomiting or his pupils going two different diameters. The mother I had been speaking to said I should probably get him checked. I asked him if he wanted to finish practice and he said no, so I went into a bit of a panic. We left, I called ahead to the afterschool to ask S to sign Liot out and take him upstairs. Her daughter just got a bad concussion while ice skating, so she came running out to the car to check Aidan because she had all of this information fresh in her head. She said he looked fine but she also suggested I take him to emergency.
I did. Guess who has a $200 copay? Our insurance sucks. Anyhow, we did not even have a doctor grace us with his presence. They sent in the sweetest PA to talk me out of the CT scan I wanted. She said that it is 300x the radiation level of an x-ray. Of course, I had just read this story out of Long Beach: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/joanna-ramos-11-year-old-girl-dead_n_1304134.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/joanna-ramos-11-year-old-girl-dead_n_1304134.html) I was asking that woman so many questions, rang Gwyn in CA, and we agreed that we would hold off on the CT scan. Aidan was worried that if we had to return we would be out another $200. I told him I could argue that with them, but honestly that would be the least of our worries if we had to come back. I then said You wouldn't believe the money my parents spent just to keep me alive.
S packed pretzels into Liot's backpack which was so lucky since the boys were starving. They inhaled the pretzels. We were back home by 7PM and thankfully I had a carton of chicken soup from Whole Foods to chuck in the micro. Gah, it's going to be a tense night for me. If tomorrow you read the headline Crazed Mother Burns Milwaukee Hospital to the Ground you'll know it's not good news.
Not sure any of this counts as an accomplishment, but there it is.
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Oh, Cariad, that's a great tale. Sorry to hear that Aidan hit his head and pray that you are not setting fires at the hospital at the moment and all is okay with him.
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Oh, Cariad, that's a great tale. Sorry to hear that Aidan hit his head and pray that you are not setting fires at the hospital at the moment and all is okay with him.
Aw, thanks, Chook. I am happy to report that all Milwaukee hospitals are still standing.
I woke Aidan right before I went to sleep to check on his mental status. Poor boy. I made him sit up and resolved I would not leave until he could tell me what 7+8 was. I thought this would be easy for him, so panic increased as he answered 'five' and tried to lie back down. Then he thought for a moment and said 'fifty.... I mean...' meanwhile I'm shouting Seven plus eight! Seven PLUS eight! He did eventually get it and I let him go back to sleep.
He has completely recovered it would seem - no more headache this morning. :yahoo;
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Whew! Glad to hear he's okay.
My accomplishments for Monday - I got to my craft workshop early. Because I skipped my blood draw. Ooops.
I got up half an hour early, which is usually plenty of time to run to the little lab a block from my house. There's only one tech, but she usually cranks people through in 10 minutes, and there's never been more than 3 people when I check in. Today, however, the waiting room was standing room only - at least a dozen. Even if half of them were there to keep someone else company, there was no way I was going to get blood work done and be at Gilda's on time to teach. Sooooo, I took one step into the waiting room, stopped, blinked, said, "Uh-uh," and turned right back around and got into my car.
I'll try again tomorrow.
Today - I paid rapt attention in my evening legal class. Because our big certification exam is over and the prof didn't give us anything to work on after all the time we spent cramming for the test on Saturday, there really wasn't anything to do in class. We watched "My Cousin Vinny" instead. That counts as legal work, right?
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I ate too many sweeties and helped make animals out of plastic bottles and scraps of material.
;D
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I'm doing my fourth day of minding my sister's toy shop - love this job. I take the opportunity to check the children's maths skills if they come in and shop alone. It's frightening how the kids don't understand that 4.99 is almost five dollars, or that they can't buy a toy priced 39.99 with a ten dollar note! I try and explain it all in the small window of time I have with them :)
@ Cariad - poor Adiain. 7+5 !!!! :rofl;
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I cleaned the bathrooms, did the laundry, vacuumed the entire apartment, organized all my materials for the beading workshop I'm teaching tomorrow and loaded all 40-some pounds of beads and supplies into the car. I'm baking a batch of strawberry scones to take to the class right now and preparing to read my homework assignment.
Oh yeah, and I made an offer on a house today.
Nothing major! ;D
Cross your fingers for me everyone. It's a HUD house - I either get it or get out-bid - not likely to be any chance to negotiate in the housing market around here, so I'm hoping I'm the first bidder with a decent offer.
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good luck Jbeany, how long before you hear?
I've ordered my meds, decided to ring the hosp for email address of Neph so I can start my 'I want Nxstage campaign', and have decided to make yet an other cup of coffee.
xx Cas
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good luck Jbeany, how long before you hear?
At least a week before I know if I just spent the most money ever in one day!
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I spent two and a bit hours gardening. It was a trifle difficult because the sun is out and the cats just wanted to flop about in my company, but always in the bit I wanted to hoe/rake/weed/mow. Pesky creatures. I was also nice to the JWs who handed me a leaflet. If I hadn't been gardening I might have invited them in for coffee.
;D
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I can totally relate Jbeany....we are also trying to buy a home and the wait is torture. We want to downside but we have to wait for the house to go thru Probate before we find out if it's going to be Ours. Hubby found it, made the offer and I am so relieved NOT to have to make any decisions I totally fell in love with it even though the kitchen is a bit small (what the heck, I'm not suppose to eat anything anyway). When someone else takes the initiative to make plans or take the lead on a decision....I feel so "take care of"...I LOVE IT!!!
And what did I do today...let's see...I worked 10 hours (I use the word work loosely, I was there physically but mostly in my usual fog) I'll go home at 1 in the morning, turn on the TV and fall into oblivion and beyond....ahhhhhhhh.
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I got outbid on the house. Ah, well - time to shop some more!
I picked up my kitten, plus one. The woman who had them sent me a message 5 minutes before I left, "Someone just backed out on another kitten. Do you want two?" Urrgh...of course I do. Just tape that lollipop to my forehead and call me sucker. At least I don't have to worry about them being alone while I'm at work all day.
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sorry to hear about the house Jbeany. But the kittens will make you forget that one house soon as they will keep not only eachother but also youself nicely entertained
:beer1;
better luck next time thought (with the house) and enjoy those kittens.
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We moved over the weekend. Downsizing the house from the monster we've been in for 13 years to something more workable for just the wife and me. It's been a looooooooooooong weekend, but we're 98% in and just have the piano and grandfather clock left to move. Those are being done by professionals tomorrow (I do know my limitations!)
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OK! I am going to go back to Monday because everything from then until now has blurred together:
Packed up in LA, Gwyn worked from home which really consisted of him sitting on his work computer and mobile as they went through some excruciatingly boring meeting. Packed up, did dishes so Gwyn would not have to deal with it, and then he drove us to the airport for 2PM. Everything went smoothly, I even managed to get their juice boxes through security. (I just pop them in their backpacks and if anyone calls me on it, which has not happened yet, I'll just say I forgot they were in there. Saves us a small fortune.) Then, thanks to Colorado wildfire, the plane is delayed hours. What was going to be a rough but manageable day turned into a 12:30 AM arrival, returning home and not getting the kids in bed until almost 2AM, and trying to ignore the creeping suspicion I had that the furnace was no longer functioning. Luckily, the weather had been freakishly tropical whilst we were away.
I tell the kids I won't be taking them to school tomorrow (not enough sleep) and I drag them and myself out of bed around 9:45. Furnace is definitely sickly. Gwyn calls around to find someone, I take the kids to Noodles & Co where I have a voucher and we have lunch in normal temperature conditions. Return, tell the kids to get ready they are going to their afterschool program way early. I get there and run into all the lovely teachers, talking a mile a minute because I have to get back to meet furnace tech. I have a 5:30 class but have already resolved that I will miss half of it. Furnace tech is waiting at the door for me when I return. I have to lead him into the basement. I am afraid of the basement. I put on a brace face and get a crash course in how our furnace system works. He is not entirely sure what has gone wrong, but he was able to fix it and it cost under $200, so that was not too painful. He leaves, I open my school email, prof sent us readings for that day on Sunday, apparently moments after I checked my email for the last time. I begin reading furiously, cannot get through it all before I have to collect the boys, run in to one of our support people from the transplant, so I update him on all the news and he asks if I think this would make a good documentary. (I'll talk about that somewhere else.)
Get the boys home, leave for class, arrive with about an hour and a half left. It was a depressing but enlightening class about the privatization of water and water contamination and scarcity. Get home, get the kids to bed who are still way off schedule. I don't think they fell asleep until close to 11PM. I could not sleep either and was up until past 1AM. Woke up at 4:30AM and could not get back to sleep. Drag kids out of bed at customary 7AM, finish getting ready for trip to Chicago. I had my two-year follow up. I want to talk all about it in the transplant section because it was just amazing!!! Will pick up kids in about 90 minutes, we will grab pizza from Whole Foods and watch that new Muppet Movie that I bought them on Amazon digital. We are all so draggy but this should finally get us back on local time. California was great fun, I'll post a pickie or two later if I can get G to email them to me.
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Proofed and edited a 20 page law school paper on the death penalty for a friend.
DID MY TAXES. :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; Only owe $4 in state use tax for internet purchases. No refund, but I'm happy with only owing a few dollars.
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great JB that's peanuts.
today I did the weeks shopping, did some housework, went for a birthday-lunch with some D, and former D girls. Very, very tyring, and I did have to take some extra Diazepam
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I called LL Bean straight after getting the kids off to school. They make the best kids spring/autumn jackets in the world, but there've problems with a broken zip on both of Aidan's fleece-lined camp coats.
Made a walnut burger for lunch with salsa instead of mayo. I find I don't really want rich foods any longer.
Phoned all around town trying to find someplace that could give me my vaccines. Anywhere could do TDAP, fewer had meningitis, only the travel clinic can do HiB, and I would have to pay out of pocket as they don't deal with insurance. Someone suggested those little clinics that are now attached to Walgreens, so I walked down to my local one and boy were they happy to see me. I guess they don't get a lot of traffic, which is one of the reasons I chose them. The woman wanted to hear all about the clinical trial, a sure sign that she has time on her hands. They could not do HiB, but at least I got the two out of the way, and the tetanus was not that bad.
I bought Easter candy, finally. I have not been to a Target in months, but they sell their candy at sale prices, so that was nice. Not looking forward to doing Easter Bunny duty on my own. I broke down and bought white eggs for the kids to dye. Whole Foods were selling organic white eggs for $2.50/dozen which is insanely cheap. Somehow we got into this tradition (little toddler Aidan made it up) where the boys dye eggs and then hide them for the Easter Bunny to find. The Easter Bunny eats them but leaves candy. Which means I have to not only help them hide the eggs but find them all and make egg salad immediately, then keep that at the back of the fridge so they are not tipped off by the technicolor food.
Back to Whole Foods late afternoon for their pizza. Collected the boys, on the way home they were singing My Brother The Ape by They Might Be Giants (a song about evolution) and Aidan said to Liot "You'd make a good pet ape". Liot got that look on his face that seems to say well, that's obvious and instead earnestly corrected Aidan with "I'd make a good pet golden tamarin."
The jabs made me so sleepy. I dozed off watching television and am ready to go back for more.
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You're a busy girl, cariad.
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You're a busy girl, cariad.
Nah, just verbose!
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Did I accomplish anything today? :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Let me preface this with the little tidbit that I came down with Lyme Disease Sunday night....
I boiled water for hummingbird food, and feeling rather energetic, I took the trash out. BIG mistake. My legs got so shaking taking that bit of extra walk that I almost didn't make it back into the house. And because I was carrying the trash, I didn't carry my cell phone. I will not make THAT mistake again. The phone goes with me everywhere....like I'm moving around alot. That means I carry it from the chair to the couch and back.
After that little fiasco, I had my first pity party since this all started. No telling how long this is going to last....
Then I sucked it up and organized a stack of "junk" that Carl had kindly put out for me.
Oh, and this morning I was able to remain sitting up until 10:30 AM!!! Wonders never cease. :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
All I can say is that I have two incredible speeds - sitting and prone. Sometimes I break into a shuffle, but not very often!
Aleta
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Oh, Aleta. I can remember being that ill myself. I hope you are improving with each day. At least you've kept your humor, I certainly got some giggles reading your vivid description of your day.
I went out to the suburbs today. :P I decided I needed to go to Trader Joes for more of the inexpensive but lovely tea that I ice, plus their wonderful breakfast bars that are now $2/box (used to be $1.69! :() As i was helping myself to their free, hot coffee, I looked up at a woman waiting for me to finish pouring, and I swear it was my aunt. Her husband sued his brother (now deceased) and rather than work it out between the two of them as my late uncle wanted, he took it all the way to court. My late uncle still left his brother's kids a substantial sum of money. This guy is a creep, and I don't want to see either of them, so I just gave a quick smile and went about my business. I doubt she even recognised me, it's been over 5 years. They stayed away from the funeral out of respect for my uncle's widow who detests them both.
Aside from shopping, cleaned quite a bit, made a banana cake for the kids (need confectioners sugar for the cream cheese frosting, they will just have to have it with chocolate or caramel sauce tonight) and emailed Northwestern about the vaccines. That's not very much now that I see it written out, not sure where the day went. I overslept quite a bit this morning but the kids were so excited for spring break that they were already awake at 7:15. Got them to the afterschool for 9AM, in plenty of time for the coach to the zoo. Liot is obsessed with tamarins, it was the first thing he mentioned when I asked about the zoo. Aidan rang a friend tonight - I think that's the first time he's ever done that. Typical of this generation, they've texted each other frequently. They are planning to film a little movie that they've written and they want to use the park across the way from us. So cute!
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We finished moving out of the old house this weekend. Got all the odds and ends of stuff out and cleaned the hard floors. Carpet cleaner coming in tomorrow to wrap it up. We are scheduled for the final closing on Friday and we'll be done with it :bandance; Now we just have to find space in the new house for all the stuff that came out of the old one. Downsizing by about half is going to make that really interesting.
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We finished moving out of the old house this weekend. Got all the odds and ends of stuff out and cleaned the hard floors. Carpet cleaner coming in tomorrow to wrap it up. We are scheduled for the final closing on Friday and we'll be done with it :bandance; Now we just have to find space in the new house for all the stuff that came out of the old one. Downsizing by about half is going to make that really interesting.
Joe, if you have any good tips on that down-sizing task, let me know. We will be facing that in a few years!
So, I'm still operating on severe energy deficit. :bow;
After Carl left for school, I remained in my upright position until the dentist's office opened at 8:00. I have to get my teeth thoroughly checked due to that spate of severe shivering the other day. I know I broke one tooth, and I'm pretty sure two more are badly cracked. The phone was busy so I left a message. I also needed to talk with Baxter about a delivery for Hanify, who is visiting from New Zealand on Friday. I figured that I might be on the phone for a while, so instead of calling them, I wait for the return call from the dentist. It was about ten minutes (with my up-right fuel tank ticking away) before they call back. OMG! I can't get in to see them until April 19!!!! Oh, well. the tooth aches are nothing compared to the headaches, so I guess I'll survive. :2thumbsup;
Then the call to Baxter..... holding, holding, holding.... ah! a real live person.... but, wait..... I need to talk to the international representative....holding, holding... yes, yes, I get the right person, but she has to find the account.....holding, holding, holding. My upright energy level is slipping..... I get all that squared away (I hope).
By then it was time for my 9:00 AM medicine, for which I hoist myself into super upright position (otherwise know as walking) and shuffle over to the table to take the magic antibiotic that is going to eventually bring life back to normal.
It is important that I remain upright for another 30 minutes after this so I don't experience [more] gastric distress. Okay, that is a good time frame for taking a shower and getting dressed.
Hoo boy! After getting in the shower I contemplated just how stupid THAT might have been, but found a close friendship with the hand bars that some knowing person incorporated into the shower design.
Upon collapsing into my chair, now fully dressed and clean, I completed a list of things that all the poor souls covering for me at work will need to do this week (in the likely event that I'm going to miss another week of school), and then answered a couple of e-mails. I cannot attest to the coherence of my work on either of these tasks.
I'm pretty sure by this time that if I assume my prone position I will fall into a deep sleep, so I stumble to the couch. Oh oh. I didn't remember to bring the phone with me....Stumble back to the chair, get phone and a tissue...Now I'm all set.
Once in the prone position, I feel myself falling, falling blissfully into that semi-conscious state.....until the phone rings. It is Carl checking on me. Oh, I'm glad I had gotten the phone. Once I assure him that I was not all the way asleep and we ring off, I actually DO fall into that oblivious state.....until the phone rings again. Automated sales call. :banghead; :banghead; :banghead;
Twenty minutes of sleep was NOT enough! So that's what I have accomplished so far this morning. The good news is that I have all afternoon for further accomplishments (including another nap!)
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Aleta
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Aleta, the trick is selective packing; First pass through, anything with an inch of dust on it isn't needed. Second pass through, keep one thing, donate one thing - that should get you down pretty quickly. :rofl; We're at the start of the second pass. It all just isn't going to fit in the new house. The new place is only 2100 sq ft, about half of what we had before. It's going to take a thorough scrub of what we hang on to. But we'll get there.
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LOL, Joe,
Our down-sizing will be a bit more drastic. We will be moving into an 850 square foot apartment! We have some lovely antique furniture that will NOT fit.
We are already donating and giving away lots of stuff to prepare for "the move." It will not come until 4-5 years down the pike, but it is going to be hard to down-size enough at the last minute. Plus, I think that would be an awful shock to the system!
:rofl;
Aleta
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Aleta -
Watch one of these...
http://www.aetv.com/hoarders/video/?paidlink=1&cmpid=PaidSearch_Google_AETV_hoarders_hoarders%2Bepisodes&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hoarders&utm_term=hoarders%20episodes
After watching, sort, toss and donate. Repeat.
Trust me, it helps!
Also, start scanning photos now. Digital storage takes up far less room than photo albums. 6 laundry baskets worth of photo albums are now down to one small box and a flash drive smaller than a pack of gum.
Start sorting books now, too. If you don't reread them regularly, they can go.
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Thanks, Jbeany.
I clipped the URLs to my organization file. NEED. TO. TAKE. A. NAP. now. :rofl;
The books....ah, that is really Carl's problem. I'm good with taking them to a used book store. Carl, on the other hand feels the need to keep each of his old friends. We have several thousand! :banghead;
Aleta
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Holy crap, I did a six-mile hike yesterday. I haven't hiked in over six years and have spent the last three sitting on my butt. I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it, especially given how crappy I've felt lately. But I did it!
Such a little unimportant thing, but it really felt like I'd accomplished something.
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Congratulations DD! That is a very worthy accomplishment.
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Did I accomplish anything today?
No!
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Holy C%$#, I read about DD walking six miles... :clap;
(Does that count as something I did today?)
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I bought two new bras and paid for them with my own money instead of putting them on the credit card!
;D
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that is very impressive
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Remembered to shut all the bathroom and closet doors before I left this morning. This is a good thing. One of my new kittens was half soaked when I got home. Because all the bathrooms were closed off, I at least know he was either in his water bowl or one of the two fish bowls.
Beats one of the two toilet bowls.
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When at the doctor yesterday I was given the advice to set a goal that extends my "activity" a little each day. So, my goal for today was to dust 2 rooms. Whoopee! I met and exceeded that goal. But to be honest the third room was a gimme. And as a disclaimer, after getting half way through the first room I needed a one hour nap.
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Oh, I also boiled some eggs and made two phone calls. I'm a regular dynamo.... :bow;
Next thing you know, I'll be able to walk to the mail box to get the mail!
Baby steps, baby steps. I am getting a little stronger.
Aleta
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I've gotten through over 200 unread e-mails. (With dial-up, I think that's pretty good!)
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Had to buy Photoshop to compress my pictures. If anyone's interested, this is where we hiked on Sunday. It was in the mid-90s and we were the only ones who didn't run out of water! I don't think we'll get any more teasing about the size of our packs.
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Ooooh. That is starkly beautiful, DD.
I dream of the hiking days as I sit here convalescing. :2thumbsup;
Aleta
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Gorgeous, DD! No wonder you were inspired to hike so far - I'd have wanted to see as much as I could too.
I finished my internship today. I'm going to miss it, but it's one step closer to graduation. As a parting gift, the U.S. Attorney from my office gave me a DOJ challenge coin. It's my first. It's a nice bonus; I don't have to buy the first round of drinks now! :beer1;
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Well today went down and babysit for my sister. Then went to target and the grocery store then came back home to wait for my delivery. But it was yesterday that i did something I was proud of! I got over a fear! I needed to go up on the roof to fix a leak and I got over the fear of climbing up the latter and getting up on roof. Sorry to say I didn't find the leak but hey I did it!!! :yahoo;
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Congratulations, Jbeany! :yahoo;
And deniferfer.... that is an accomplishment that I know I couldn't do. :2thumbsup;
Aleta
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Worked the ususal 10 or so...then changed 15 gallons water in the saltwater aquarium...three fish..."Hobie, Red and Oreo" are much happier. Along with some snails and peppermint shrimp.
Then it was time to sleep in my chair, and then go to bed.
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Um....I made some notepads from scrap paper at work. Slow day. Otherwise I have been naughty, on IHD all day in-between work stuff. IHD is terrible for my productivity lately, but that's my fault.
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I have been VERY productive, considering my limited physical stamina. I put together a chicken casserole (with squash, carrots and hearts of palm), made a batch of baked French toast so it is ready to slide into the oven in the morning, made a big batch of chicken salad, with grapes and celery, cleaned the bath-tub (I got the rest of the bathroom cleaned yesterday), did 5 loads of laundry, called Baxter to track down supplies for Hanify, made two quiches for tonight's dinner, put together a corn pudding casserole for tomorrow night's dinner, and took a nice long 45 minute nap.
Plus a bit of tidying here and there.
Now, I'm just waiting for the quiches to bake and the guests to start arriving. Marge, will get here from Atlanta first. Then Hanify from New Zealand with her family, and hopefully Mizar will join us for dinner tomorrow night. It is a regular IHD meet-up! We are going to have a blast! I'm glad I have all the food ready so I can just enjoy everyone!
Aleta
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I thought that I was going to do soooo much this week... I've taken a week off work because I had my fistula op on the 10th, turns out that I've done pretty well nothing much lol. So full of good intentions ... so little achieved. My bedroom looks like we've been ransacked after I emptied the wardrobe to de-clutter and decorate, then my energy left me and I still haven't finished it :P I go back to work next Tuesday - so maybe I'll get to it before then... or not :rofl;
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Cat proofed the bottom of my closet. All the boots are safely stowed in closed boxes or tucked away in the big under-bed storage box until fall. Put 3 pairs in the donate bin. Now there are slots for all the remaining pairs in my shoe racks, safely beyond the reach of kitten teeth. The way they both like to eat through leather, you'd think they were descended from the Donner family.
Annual "oil and lube" checkup appointment is over for another year, hurray. :P
Also drove by a couple more possible houses. Eh, no to both of them. The one was a handyman special. And it was REALLY special. The other was fine, except it was so close to the freeway that it sounded like river rapids roaring by. I suppose I'd learn to sleep through it eventually, but I'm not that ambitious.
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The way they both like to eat through leather, you'd think they were descended from the Donner family.
I'll swap mine for yours ... my Mog likes to chew through electric cables; I'd much rather he was chewing through leather than something which could potentially kill him/me!!
I managed to clear my computer desk. I also walked to the shop and didn't buy anything yummy (aka fattening and gooey). Blokey managed to eat half a bowl of Heinz Tomato Soup: he's been ill for two days, so I've spent the last 48 hours going from panicky to angry to frustrated to tearful to panicky to ... *sigh*
;D
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I am fairly wrecked from this past weekend. Hosted a playdate with my Liot's two best friends and their two older brothers. I had the entire house clean except for the guest room (which no longer has a bed in it since Gwyn took it to CA and has become more of a storage room), the office (papers everywhere) and my bedroom. The boys helped me clean but Aidan neglected to mention that he "accidentally" vacuumed up what looked like an entire box of tissues, so as I was hoovering the front lounge, the stupid dyson starts upchucking dust everywhere. This was about 10 minutes before everyone arrived. Luckily, these are two very cool moms who wouldn't know how to be impolite if they tried. We had a great time. Aidan was off at his best friend's for the friend's birthday sleepover. One of the moms brought beers, so we drank a six-pack between the 3 of us. The boys (and one girl) tore through the house, and there were disputes and a bit of whining here and there, but it all went off famously in the end.
The next morning I had agreed to take Liot to a school friend's birthday party. I was dreading it, and for good reason. The mother invited everyone by phone, and when I asked what we could buy her son J as a present, she said don't worry about a gift, that he will just be so excited that Liot will be attending. She then stated "he says Elliot is best friend". (Gah. I had never heard this boys name before.) We arrive at the party, which is at their house (usually a really bad sign - most parents just rent a party place like one of those bouncy slide places so that at least the kids will be entertained the whole time). The little boy just went barmy when we arrived, jumping up and down saying that Elliot was there because Elliot was his best friend. I had lectured Elliot repeatedly on not correcting J on this best friend point. Liot has really matured - he made it through over two hours without listing all of his "real" best friends. There were loads of other adults there, and maybe 8 kids, most of them this little boy's relatives. None of the adults came over to say hello or let us know what the kids were going to be doing or anything. I mean, they seemed friendly enough, and I know there was a language barrier, but it really should not be up to the parents of the guests to approach them. If any IHDers from Latin America have any insight into why they behaved this way, I would love to hear theories. The mother was in the house the entire time and we were not invited inside, no one even told us that we were welcome to at least use the restrooms or anything. Maybe we were supposed to assume it. The birthday boy kept asking me when Elliot's friend O was going to be there, and I kept asking him 'Did your mother invite O?' He did not seem to understand that I would have no idea who was coming to his party or not. He was an adorable little boy, and he called me 'Ellot's Mom' which I found charming, as in, "Elliot's Mom, what does this say?" Two neighbourhood boys arrived after us, and that was good because it took the focus off poor little Liot. Then I heard the words that will make a person's blood run cold "Oh, look. The clown is here." *shudder*
The clown was actually OK. He wasn't one of those annoying mime type creatures that just tries to make the kids laugh but in fact traumatizes them for life. He was a bit of a grumpy old queen. At one point he made Liot cry because he made balloon animals for the kids and part of Liot's balloon popped and the clown told Liot that he hadn't followed the rules (to keep the balloon off the grass). I ran over there because I knew exactly what Liot's reaction would be to this criticism, and the clown apologised and fixed the animal and it actually was not as awkward as it sounds. He had all the kids go give their balloons to a parent, so I got a breather as I took Liot to the car to deposit his balloon dog and let him calm down. Then the clown did a magic show and face painting, then he left and there was some awkward time just sort of doing nothing until they brought out food. They tried to include me in the adult portion of the dining, but vegetarians and Latin Americans don't tend to mix very well when it comes to food. I was making noise about needing to go collect Aidan (which was true) when they brought out the cake. Then the mother finally appeared and introduced herself to me and suggested that I go get Aidan and BRING HIM BACK THERE. Oh, good lord. I'd been there over two hours for a six-year-old whom I'd never heard mentioned before. As much as I appreciated the hospitality, it was time to call it a day. I explained that Aidan would be exhausted from his sleepover and I hope she understood enough of my English to know what I was saying.
I managed to get back to town, extract Aidan from his friend's house (he was even more tired than I imagined), get home and get the kids inside before the sky opened up five minutes later. It chucked it down for a good 15 minutes. Aidan needed a shower, so he took one and it woke him up enough for us to all watch the film Labyrinth (because we had heard Kevin Clash talk about a particularly difficult scene in the documentary on his life) and we all turned in a bit early. I woke up this morning feeling like I had just worked a couple of double shifts. Consequently, got very little accomplished today.
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The Babe with the Power! Love that movie - have the anniversary DVD. When I was a teen, I fantasized about looking just like Jennifer Connelly.
(Now I just fantasize about being as healthy as I was as a teen...never mind my looks!)
More house tours today. Actually decided at the last minute to tour the house I didn't think I was interested in because it was so close to the highway, since the others on my tour list were all pretty much duds. Ummm, well. My bid on it goes in first thing tomorrow. It's huge and doesn't need much past painting and carpet scrubbing in the main living areas. The walk-out basement is already mostly finished, so even that won't take much work to turn into a fabulous space with a second bathroom already finished down there, a huge laundry/workroom, and three other big rooms to expand into down there, two of them with full daylight windows. Other than a few missing handrails on the deck, the outside doesn't need much past some ferns and flowers. The backyard is large, with big trees that are just begging for a hammock. The tree house platform is already up. It's new, so no messing with replacement roof shingles or putting in new windows. It's in a cute neighborhood, and because of its location, it's really well priced.
So, fingers crossed, for the third time since I started house shopping. Hopefully I'm high bid this time.
Also found a new-to-me car and bought that today. A 2-door 2001 Ford Focus. Got a good deal on what I wanted - smaller and easier to parallel park in a big city, but with the hatchback I like so I can still do craft shows without trying to put a 10X10 canvas pop-up canopy in the trunk of a sedan. Wheeeee, spending the money like water! (Actually, it was half of what I had budgeted, so I'm doing good.)
Okay, off to sleep, after one more quick check of the board for crazy people posting ugly pictures.....
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I hope this one will get to be yours JB.
My accomplishments were: finishing shortening a skirt, which is now usable again. Planning to do the next dress. Baking 3 loaves wholegrain bread (with some extra toasted pecans, walnut, and sunflower seeds). Went for checkup Glaucoma (okay). Now of for a nap
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Got spare keys made for car and made an appointment at the dealership to get an estimate on repairing the missing handles and knobs. Most of the parts are pretty cheap, so it shouldn't be much. Left the car and walked home while they made the keys. Got two - one to leave in it for lending out and valet parking, and one extra to keep in my wallet for idiot-you-just-locked-'em-in emergencies. Hiked back after an hour. $101. Are ya kidding me? I swear that whole "programmable for security" key design is just a scam to charge us more for things that shouldn't cost that much. It's $2 to get a regular key copied.
Seriously, how much security did they think a 4 cylinder, two door hatchback needed, even when it was new? There's no fancy stereo, no heated leather seats. This thing doesn't even have power windows, let alone power locks. Who was going to steal it? And if they did - how, exactly, does Ford think the programmable key is going to stop them from hot wiring it?
Okay, done now. :rant;
::)
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Oh, I know, jbeany! The $100 car key. It's mad. Good luck on that house, it sounds lovely.
I managed to get both my kids to their sporting events yesterday even though my friend had to withdraw her offer to take Aidan to practice at the last second. It turns out she's got one of those attention-seeking relatives who decided a few days ago to get married this weekend in another state. I, of course, have no idea what being related to a crazy person is like, so could not relate.
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
No, actually, I was more shocked that this has never happened to me (yet).
The divorced dad who coaches my older son's team offered to drive Aidan from Liot's practice over to their practice. That saved me a load of aggravation. His younger son is on Liot's team. Actually, when practice was over, there was no parent there for the younger boy, C. This little boy is almost a year older than Elliot, but looks maybe 4, tops. Tiny little guy! C then said to all the moms hanging around "That's OK, I know where I live, I'll just walk home." It reminded me of myself as a kid, which is why I found it so bewildering that my older son used to burst into panicky tears if we were a few minutes late picking him up. Anyhow, of course the mothers, including me, were having none of that. I offered to drive him to his dad's practice, but a quick call to his mother revealed that she was on the way. After practice, our weekly Whole Foods pizza run, and home.
I declared no-screen time until the weekend because my kids are showing a disturbing lack of attention. By the time we got home, ate, the boys showered, it was time for bed. I am reading Elliot his first real chapter book, The Magician's Elephant, and Aidan is listening with us. We are about a third of the way through and they seem to be interested and actually listening and understanding the characters. The boys usually wake up to play on their iPods or watch a bit of Netflix, but it seems they are actually taking me seriously on my no-screen declaration. I walked upstairs this morning to the sound of the piano coming down from the second floor. Tonight, we have gymnastics for Liot and baseball for Aidan, so they should easily make it to Friday night without video games or television.
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I spent my inheritance - I won the bid on a house! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
Actually, I lost this particular house 6 weeks ago, and then was offered it again today. I'm the second place finisher, but the highest bidder couldn't get the financing, so it dropped back to me. It's a HUD house, and I'm getting a really good deal on a solid house in nice neighborhood that just needs cosmetic updates.
:yahoo; :yahoo; :yahoo;
Right now, I'm still excited. I'm sure the sheer terror will strike soon!
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Congrats JB, the terror won't strike till something drastic goes wrong. Don't worry it will all be just great.
love Cas
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Yay jb! Congrats.
I was wasting time in the charity shop and found a gorgeous, floaty-sleeved little top. I picked it up thinking it was so lovely, but would never fit me because it was so teeny ... but I tried it on anyway and not only was it a perfect fit, it was really flattering and pretty too. I still find it hard to accept that I've lost so much weight. It came with a matching skirt, which I didn't try on. I was more than happy to just pay the asking price for the top only, but the skirt may be useful for a friend's wedding in June!
Of course, eating all the sweets I took to the Hospital as a treat for Blokey probably wasn't such a good idea.
;D
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Spent a lovely day with my in-laws family. Eating, talking, laughing and even a belated Easter Egg Hunt for the kiddos! Good day! :flower; :flower; :flower;
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Poppy - that's Phantom Fat syndrome. Like having a phantom limb that itches or hurts when it's gone. Your brain still THINKS you are fat, even when the fat is long gone.
I'm down 60 pounds from my heaviest. I wear 12's now in pants, and M or L in shirts, and it took me ages to quit heading directly to the Plus Size section in the clothing stores. It's even harder in the thrift stores, where things often don't have size tags. I keep finding things that look like they ought to be fine that fall off when I try them on. It's nice, but irritating that it takes so long to retrain your brain!
I went to the bank and got my certified check for the earnest money deposit on the house. I scheduled a meeting with my realtor on Monday at the my house to sign the first round of paperwork. I'm taking along graph paper, a camera, measuring tapes, and my brother-in-law and nephew to get a good floor plan roughed out. It will be easier to figure out where all my stuff will go if I have dimensions. I also need a list of what repairs I want done before I move in. I keep pouring over the pictures that were in the web listing, trying to remember everything that I saw that I wanted to paint or work on when I looked at it over a month ago.
It's a government-owned foreclosure house right now, so the paperwork is more than a normal house. They accepted the bid, now I have to send a contract to "ratify" the bid, and then they let me sign for the house and pay them. And then they put money in escrow for repairs that they insist must be done before I can move in. Then once the repairs are done, they have to inspect it again before I can FINALLY move in.
I did do a tiny bit of the final project that is due Tuesday evening for my internship class, but I keep getting distracted. Huh, wonder why? ;D
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Jbeany, that's fantastic news about your new house!!! It sounds like things are starting to come together for you. I can't wait to hear about all of your plans for your new home. I think that once you move in, you should start a new thread and post about all of your projects, maybe even with a few before and after photos! That'd be such fun!
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Jbeany, such wonderful news. It makes me think back to your grandmother's house, all you did, packing, sorting, etc. And now, you are moving into YOUR house. Lots of room to spread out your crafts! I am so excited for you. Can't wait to see pictures. You have a lot of busy days ahead.
I cut out a new shade cover for my outdoor swing today. The top was ruined in a bad storm, so I figured "how hard could it be to make a new one?". It isn't hard, but why do I do this to myself? Others would just go out and buy a new one. Noooooo, I have to do it myself! :rofl; But because of everyone's comments on how to keep the house in order, I have had no housework except dusting and sweeping alll week. So, I have time to sew. :thumbup;
"Phantom fat" - I too forget that I look different now and will automatically pick up my old size. I love the phrase!!
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I thought I'd take my phantom phat outside and get some exercise today. I opened the door and discovered that it was 85 degrees out there. I did a U-turn and asked myself if I was crazy. Sick people are supposed to sit in front of the TV and moan. I forgot. I turned on the air conditioner.
Besides, I'm running out of diseases.
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Very good news JB, stop once and a while from the "new house" chaos and just "enjoy for a bit", then go back to the chaos.
Went shooting yesterday at the indoor range. Shot around 350 rounds (always work's to relieve stress). Then stopped at the LFS (local fish store) and picked up two small green chromis and a green leg crab. Repaired two vending machines and home by 5:00, then real tired, fell asleep in my chair, then off to bed.
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I was apart of a flash mob!!!! :2thumbsup;
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Looks like I over did it yesterday, my only claim to fame today was I hung a mirror in the hallway, real nice one my wife picked up on sale at Pier-1.
deniferfer, does that make you a "flasher" :clap;
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I was apart of a flash mob!!!! :2thumbsup;
Video! We want video!
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LOL wow, I guess it kinda does!! :rofl;
Right now the only video I have kinda sucks but I'm hoping one of the people who watched will send it. I saw quite a few video recording on their phones and cameras.
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I was supposed to go to a new exhibit at the museum with my sister yesterday. We got as far as the yard at my new house and got out and began measuring it outside for preliminary floor plans. Then we skipped the museum and went to Lowes to get price estimates on all the things I think I need for upgrades to make it livable. I made a list and totaled up the prices.
Scary! And that wasn't even including the kitchen remodel that it is in desperate need of. It's a time warp back to 1979 when you walk in the kitchen. I will live with it for a while, decide what I want to redo, and then get it remodeled with a home equity loan, but it's going to be pretty homely for now!
I sign papers today ratifying my bid and sending them proof of funds. I'm bring a paper bag to hyperventilate in.
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The moving prep continues...
Shifted the contents of my garage around so I can begin to stack packing boxes in it. Once I get the house, I can take a load over every time I go to clean/paint/remodel. It will save me a lot of money on movers. Hauled down the half dozen boxes I already had packed. Hauled up more packing boxes and all the milk crates I had stacked out there. Packed 4 more boxes of art work and decorative items, plus filled 7 milk crates with books.
Took inventory of kitchen cupboards, fridge, and freezer. Worked out what I could make that would use up the most stuff and be freezable for quick meals. Made double batches of chili, potato soup, and minestrone. Also made taco meat and potato salad. Sorted all my freezer tubbies to match lids with bottoms, tossed the unmatched pieces, and tucked lots of meals into the freezer. Tomorrow, I continue with biscuits and sausage gravy, turkey and cream cheese filled biscuits, cooked diced chicken for pasta toppings, chicken salad, and some cookies and brownies to freeze for treats for the family and friends who will be helping me with the house. Good to have sugar when you are working hard!
Okay, just the minestrone to pack up and I'm done for the night.
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This weekend I house sat for my sister and help her out by babysitting a little 1 year old boy(8 hrs each day) she does for a side job so she could go to a wedding for her husbands brother. The little boy was a total sweat heart but love to make chase after him and go get him. :laugh:
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I managed to stay in my jammies all day.
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Ha! I managed to get out of mine - have a shower and go to work ! Felt like c**p all day but got thru it :)
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I'm still in my jammies but I'm getting ready to take a shower and get dressed. I need to go grocery shopping!
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I'm working again, full time. :2thumbsup;
BUT, I was hoping that the headaches were a thing of the past. Nope. About half way through arrivals (my first where I actually went down to the cars), I realized that I was feeling woozy. Ugh. It looks like the headaches are from a concussion from passing out and not from the anaplasmosis. :thumbdown;
I had a follow-up with the doctor today, and got some different pain meds. If these don't work, I'll need an MRI. Bah!
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I didn't fall asleep on the bus on the way home from work! Huzzah!
Also, I painted my bannisters at the weekend (and if I never have to paint another blasted spindle again, I shall be the happiest lady that ever lived.)
;D
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Today was my last day of my week's vacation. I made cinnamon scones this morning (note to self: need new scone recipe, these were too crumbly) and did a mystery shop at lunch. Cleaned my bathroom and am in the middle of making broccoli salad for the rest of the week and beef & noodles for tonight's dinner.
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I made cinnamon scones this morning (note to self: need new scone recipe, these were too crumbly)
The best I've ever found....bring them to work and they fight over the crumbs.
Strawberry Shortcake Scones
**recipe makes 16 scones**
Ingredients:
4 cups flour 1 cup (2 sticks) COLD butter, cubed into small pieces
4 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
(Plus a couple of tablespoons for the top.) 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt 2/3 cup milk
2 cups strawberries, washed, hulled and diced.
(Strawberries make the moistest scone, but you can use a pint of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or even raisins and walnuts if you prefer. Fresh or frozen fruit both work, but fresh is better. Thaw and drain frozen fruit before adding. For completely dry additions, lower the amount of flour by a tablespoon or two.)
Directions:
1. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
2. In a small bowl combine eggs, milk and vanilla extract
3. Dice up COLD butter and combine with flour mixture with a pastry cutter, 2 knives or your hands until the crumbs are pea size.(Keep butter cold both before and after dicing. Don’t take it out of fridge until you are ready to add it.)
4. Stir the egg mixture into the flour/butter mixture until dough is moist. DO NOT OVER MIX. The dough will be rather sticky.
5. Gently knead in diced strawberries and turn onto a well floured surface and knead a few times.
6. (If you have a really large mixing bowl, you can sprinkle a little flour on top and knead half of the batch at a time right in the bowl. Much less mess.)
7. Divide dough into 2 equal balls and place on a lightly greased and floured cookie sheet. Gently pat balls into uniform 8-10" circles. Cut each circle into 8 wedges and then sprinkle generously with sugar. (You want to see little lumps of the cold butter in the dough - this is what makes the scone moist.)
8. Bake @ 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Best served warm! Dough refrigerates well overnight. Can be shaped and ready to pop in the oven at the last minute.
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I made cinnamon scones this morning (note to self: need new scone recipe, these were too crumbly)
The best I've ever found....bring them to work and they fight over the crumbs.
Strawberry Shortcake Scones
**recipe makes 16 scones**
Ingredients:
4 cups flour 1 cup (2 sticks) COLD butter, cubed into small pieces
4 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
(Plus a couple of tablespoons for the top.) 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt 2/3 cup milk
2 cups strawberries, washed, hulled and diced.
(Strawberries make the moistest scone, but you can use a pint of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or even raisins and walnuts if you prefer. Fresh or frozen fruit both work, but fresh is better. Thaw and drain frozen fruit before adding. For completely dry additions, lower the amount of flour by a tablespoon or two.)
Directions:
1. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
2. In a small bowl combine eggs, milk and vanilla extract
3. Dice up COLD butter and combine with flour mixture with a pastry cutter, 2 knives or your hands until the crumbs are pea size.(Keep butter cold both before and after dicing. Don’t take it out of fridge until you are ready to add it.)
4. Stir the egg mixture into the flour/butter mixture until dough is moist. DO NOT OVER MIX. The dough will be rather sticky.
5. Gently knead in diced strawberries and turn onto a well floured surface and knead a few times.
6. (If you have a really large mixing bowl, you can sprinkle a little flour on top and knead half of the batch at a time right in the bowl. Much less mess.)
7. Divide dough into 2 equal balls and place on a lightly greased and floured cookie sheet. Gently pat balls into uniform 8-10" circles. Cut each circle into 8 wedges and then sprinkle generously with sugar. (You want to see little lumps of the cold butter in the dough - this is what makes the scone moist.)
8. Bake @ 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Best served warm! Dough refrigerates well overnight. Can be shaped and ready to pop in the oven at the last minute.
These sound delicious!
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Finished planting the front yard----until I decide I want more flowers! It looks nice and I am glad it is done.
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All the utilities are ready to be transferred into my name for Monday when I sign and get possession of the house.
Only 3 hours of looking things up online and waiting on hold! :P
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We took some stuff to the tip/recycling centre today and barely made a dent in the garage. *sigh*
Of course, I say we but I mean Blokey drove and I carried everything to its appropriate skip (including big bulky heavy items) whilst he stood by the boot of the car watching me. I can only imagine what other people were thinking about some six foot chap allowing his wifey to do all the heavy lifting! (Obviously he can't, what with still having to look after his fistula and having only recently had the hernia repaired!)
;D
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They were probably thinking "What a well trained wifey!".
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I managed to get a load of laundry in before work, and had a nice breakfast because I had laid our clothes out the night before so I was less rushed. And I woke up on time! Yay! Still only in Five minutes before work started, it is so hard for me to make it in ten minutes before my shift....but they're not paying me to be early, anyway,so....
:sir ken;
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They were probably thinking "What a well trained wifey!".
I should rent myself out by the hour ... I'd make a lot of money what with being so well trained and perfect!
I went to work, spent six hours listening to the many hardships of teenage life (one day they will realise that teenage life is simples compared to adulthood!) and then I came home. That's enough accomplishment for one day, methinks.
;D
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Popsy, if you need a manager for this 'renting yourself out by the hour' thing, please give me a call. I'm sure we could come to some arrangement!
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I have recently joined Planet fFtness, a gym for the non-athletic, any size, non-gym type people. I REALLY like it there. So today I spent 21 minutes on the tread mill and 12 minutes on the bike. I did 1 minute on this crazy hard elliptical/jogger thing. I'm working up to 30 min on the tread mill and 30 additional minutes of "stuff" LOL I always feel better after I go even on the days I only stay 15 minutes!
So far it's a good day! :flower; :flower; :flower;
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First off I wanted to say that's great WishIKnew!!
My sister is graduating college and yesterday she was hanging and say bye to some friends. Well I bought some stuff to do her room up and was going to do it Friday. But I wasn't sure if I could get her out of the house. So I decided to surprise her yesterday night once she got home. She has a very good size room and I wanted to deck the whole thing out(as hopefully you can see with the pics ). She came home and noticed that I had put the 2012 on her do and was like oh cool...then she open the door and saw all i had done...including blowing up 40 balloons and she LOVED it!!!
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Nice!
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very nice deniferfer! I haven't forgotten about the snail mail thingy, I'm just slow!!!! LOL Anticipation ...
So today I hope yto straighten out a problem I have with my son's school. Wish me luck. They've been stupid and I need to set them straight! :rofl;
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Thanks
WishIKnew its ok I understand, I'm the same way. lol
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So today I hope yto straighten out a problem I have with my son's school. Wish me luck. They've been stupid and I need to set them straight! :rofl;
Call cariad - you can tag-team them!
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Got it all worked out. I went in to the school to "straighten them out" and ran into my son's English teacher who was just as aghast as I was. She assured me she'd already put the "smart" back into them and all is well. :2thumbsup; It's great to know there are teachers fighting for my son and that I didn't have to put up a big stink. Plus, this morning while I was so twisted about all of this I went to the gym and walked on the tread mill. I told myself to stay there until I'd calmed down a little. I walked for over an hour! :yahoo;
Hope your days turned out as good as mine!
:flower; :flower; :flower;
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I made scones today, using this recipe: http://www.yummymummykitchen.com/2011/05/blueberry-oatmeal-scones-recipe.html
Instead of blueberries, which the kids ate before I could use, I used chopped cherries that were a bit too soft to eat but still fine for cooking. The boys had one tonight and said they were really good. I like that it has as much oatmeal as flour. I have been so spacey/sleepy lately, so I completely boofed the steps, pouring the milk directly in with the (unstirred) dry ingredients, then panicking and just adding everything together and mixing by hand. I think they turned out exactly the same as they would have had I been more focused. It was very easy, and was all cleaned up well before the scones came out of the oven. I really should do this more often. I can't be bothered to calculate the exact cost for the seven scones I made, but I'm sure it would not work out to as much as the $14 I'd pay for that many scones from Whole Foods bakery.
I have been battling the google redirect virus for almost 2 months now. Yesterday I used HitmanPro and it found one issue that improved things but did not completely sort the problem. Ran Emsisoft and it found 4 trojans on my system. Still the problem was not fixed, so I uninstalled Mozilla and the virus seems to have uninstalled Flash. I then could not get my computer to download Mozilla again, finally just saved it and ran it from my desktop and the google redirect virus was back full-force. So I reset Mozilla (lucked in to discovering that this could be done) and I seem to be done with the stupid virus. I still have not dealt with Flash being taken off the computer, but I've had enough aggravation for the day and I am going to collapse in bed now. Ta!
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I managed to keep the dressing on my stitches today, had $20 easily go down the drain thanks to dog chewing his harness (somehow he got to it and dragged it into his pen), cleaned up the house, and packed a little more into suit case.
Yeah not that exciting of a day!
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I was part of a zombie walk with my sister! I group of about 70 people got together dress and acting like zombies walk from the park to the movie theater and back. It was a little over a mile round trip. We had people taking pics, honking and cheering us on, It brought a smile to many peoples faces and they even did a story in the news paper!! I did a hippy zombie but they want to do this again and I think I should have a sign on my back that say this is why you need to donate!!
My make up was make was made, glued on toilet paper, with foundation to cover it, red food coloring and black eyeshadow...
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I'd have had a hard time not humming "Thriller" for the whole walk. ;D
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I'd have had a hard time not humming "Thriller" for the whole walk. ;D
:rofl; a few were and thinking about busting out in a Thriller flash mob!! But no one had the music.
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Yesterday I managed to Freecycle my Fleurville Mothership bag along with the last of our kiddie plates. I am trying to slowly empty out the house without giving sellable things away (we need the money) but also not being forced to move things we don't want or use anymore, and not throwing decent, usable items like the diaper bag away in desperation. I had not been on Freecycle for so long, and now they've made all of these fancy changes. It's much easier to use, but there is no room to give details about damage or special considerations. Also, our account did not carry over so I had to re-register. It was out of my life within 18 hours, and I have loads more storage in my kitchen now with those plates gone. Woo-hoo!
I think I have sold the Pottery Barn Kids lounge chair on Craigslist, the person just has to pick a time to meet. Yesterday, I also made scones, did laundry, and got Gwyn's Harley registered so he can finally ride it again. He wants to sell his car in CA and I am all for that (except for the fear of him riding in LA). I spent hours yesterday sending him apartment listings only to find that he is able to extend his current lease a month, and who knows, he could be leaving CA by that point.
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Today ended up being "repair" day. I have almost finished the pile of clothing that needed a button, a seam sewn, a hem stitched. It does feel good to look at the end result and see what you did.
Cariad, Beth and I love Freecycle. Both for finding things and giving things. It is a good idea and everyone benefits. :2thumbsup;
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I have accomplished watching the Two Transformer movies I and II, playing ont he computer, and having a small dinner. Hoo boy busy day! :2thumbsup;
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Taking my pills an hour late on the worst possible day - when I have a doc appointment in the morning, with pre-appointment bloodwork. Oh well, can't be helped now. :P
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I vaccumed the inside of my car and then cleaned the leather seats with the good stuff and then cleaned all the other surfaces. The dash and seats didn't really need it, but the carpet did due to leaves. I just like a clean and organized interior. Bought a couple shirts that are suppose to have sun protection, came home, walked the dog, gave him a shower with the hose, went inside and took a shower myself and then fell asleep for 6 hours. Soooo I'll be up all night!
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Cleaned up after the dog at 3:00 am due to him eating wifes sock. Oh yeah, yesterday had to clean up after dog ate the other sock...
::)
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Nice nap, Chris!
My doc told me I was the most stable patient he's seen all week. :bandance; Creatinine is a lovely .94 today. Ahhh....so nice when it finally goes the way it should. That's enough of an accomplishment for the day, really. But I'm going to sort the junk on my desk and pay the bills anyhow.
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I sold the chaise on Craigslist, though it was an ordeal to meet with this woman. I chose a spot by the hospital because I figured it would get me to finally go get labs - Northwestern phoned at some point either this week or last saying Ahem! Little help here? You may be over it, but some of us have a lot riding on that transplant of yours.
Also met with my economic anthro prof who weirdly enough I ran into at the co-op last month. I told him that my advisor basically told me to bugger off since I was leaving Milwaukee, and he said he could be my advisor and get my psychological anthro prof on board and that I had to finish this thing because you're smart and you have an important perspective. So, I said I would get in touch after my son's birthday, but sort of let it slide thinking maybe he was just babbling in the heat of the moment. Then he emailed me saying he had just finished my 'excellent' paper (Wow, this is the only prof who's ever given me a B+ at that school, so I always thought he was none too impressed with my work) and had comments. Soooooo, went to see him today and we spoke for an hour about how I'm going to do this all in two and a half years, apply for grants, they will connect me with people who can help. I am cautiously optimistic that I can do this. I want to look at the eval process, a particular fascination of mine, always has been.
Then I dropped Liot at his first ever sleepover. I so hope he and the other invitee don't drive this poor mom toward a mental collapse. It is so weirdly quiet without a little guy asking me which animal, dinosaur, superhero, pokemon, monster or dragon I'd be if I could have my pick.
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Put together two racks for plants I got at IKEA - first one was hard but second one a breeze.
Have been gathering succulent cuttings from friends and have assembled a nice little collection. Most are potted now. Only a few to go!
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Bills are paid, and the stack of things awaiting address changes and official confirmations of address changes has been dealt with. Dishes are washed and house is tidied up, with the stray tools collected in one spot again. I even managed to go shopping. Bargain for the day - a curtain rod that fits my enormous 8 ft living room window - on sale for only $20, and a little one for the other window that is similar enough in style to do for a match - only $9. And curtains at $12 a set. I love Big Lots. No rug for the bedroom though. That's what I actually stopped at Big Lots for, of course. ::)
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Cleaned the breakfast area in between picking little Liot up from his sleepover and getting Aidan to his baseball game. We have nothing scheduled for tomorrow. Nothing!!! I can have a lie-in. I am so excited I probably won't be able to sleep! (irony)
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I cleaned the kitchen (well, except the floors) this morning and then the boys and I made the blueberry oatmeal scones that I have made twice already. They really enjoyed getting to do the work and see it all come together. Then as they were baking my older son and I whipped up some egg and cheese scramble and we all sat down to a lovely brunch of scrambled eggs and fresh scones. Aidan's best friend invited him over today. They are moving out of Milwaukee in a month, and his parents only just told him this morning. His mother kept telling me she couldn't stand the idea of telling her son because he would be in mourning over leaving Aidan. She was at least able to tell him that Aidan is leaving in 6-8 weeks, so staying in town would not mean getting to see him anyway.
I had an afternoon of Elliot time. We went on a hike through the Audobon nature preserve and went shopping at Trader Joes where I bought them two different types of ice cream sandwiches (in addition to all sorts of random supplies) because it's supposed to get to 100 degrees by Thursday. Liot found Milly the parrot at Trader Joes and got a free lollipop, and insisted on getting one to bring home to Aidan.
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I took a shower this morning....Came out of the shower and promptly slipped and fell. Hit my right knee pretty hard. Went to chiropractor afterwards. Evaluated me, says things look okay. Then went to thrift store and cleaned up on 11 sci fi books for ten bucks! Bought two pillows at Anna's Linens and some dark chocolate at Big Lots. The Danny and I found a new Sushi place in Ontario. I would go back to eat there again. Nice ambience. Then to WinCo for groceries. Then home, Now off to D in half an hour.
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Cleaned the master bath shower stall - such a production. All I have left is the stainless steel tower (mostly done, but a few more baskets to clean) and the hardware in there. The tower is in pieces all over the bathroom floor. I drove Liot and friend to gymnastics today - I basically have to pack a week's worth of edibles for them, they eat like little raccoons back there while I'm driving: muffins, cheese crackers, apple sauce packets, yoghurt, juice, bunny gummies, and so on. Watched them jump around for an hour, drove back to exchange children with friend's parents - their child for Aidan. Traffic was mad today, drove Aidan straight to beach soccer with Hewerton. Ladies (or gents, don't want to discriminate), if, like me, you have a weakness for dark, well-fit, bilingual foreigners, have a look here. And the picture does not do this man justice. http://www.milwaukeewave.com/team/roster/?player_id=20 (http://www.milwaukeewave.com/team/roster/?player_id=20) Nicest guy, too, Aidan adores him.
He is the coaching director for the club that Aidan would be playing with if we stayed in town. I asked him what it meant to be a first alternate for the Blues, and he said they pick 2-3 kids who will take a position with the A-team should anyone decline or otherwise be unable to play. Wow. What are the odds with all those kids there that Aidan and one of his best friends would be those 2 kids? Huh. I have to think at least one kid on blue will decline his offer, so I wonder which of them will move up first. Anyhow, beach soccer is played on the little beach at the bottom of a massive set of steps. Liot and I trudged down, dropped Aidan off, trudged back up, went home, Liot ate dinner, drove back, trudged down, watched Aidan for about 15 minutes (Hewerton won't stop until they kick him out of the place) trudged up, went home. Needless to say they are collapsed in bed right now. I had packed Aidan a PBJ for a snack and thankfully he said that would just be his dinner. I'm tired but I have to do dishes and finish cleaning that stupid tower. Probably should not have downed a large glass of wine first, I'll likely fall asleep sitting in the bathroom, sponge in hand. :P
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After a rough night of watery eye and pain, a runney and stuffed nose, coughing spells, and a sore throat, I fell asleep after 4 am, got up at 7 am to take one more bag of garbage out before pick up. Went back to bed, got up at 11:30 and finally outrt of bed at 12:30 to get some things done before trip. Haircut done, most prescriptions picked up, gas in car. Came home and took a nap. Now preparing for tomorrow by typing up financial expences and mileage report for insurance spend down qualifications.
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Scheduled an assessment test for two clerk job openings with the local county court system for tomorrow afternoon. I have to be tested for computer skillsand typing speed, so I think I'm spending the rest of the day doing speed drills. I only need 50 wpm, which I know I have, but I'm out of practice the last two months.
One job is with the Friend of the Court, which would use all my paralegal training. The other is at the Sheriff's Department, which would involve more people skills than legal knowledge, but I'm good with that, too. The Sheriff's Department is within walking distance of my new house, as well as a 3 minute ride on the bus if the weather was horrid, so that would be awesome! Think of all the money I'd save on gas and parking fees.
Typing drills, here I come. Cross your fingers for me that I get a call for an interview for at least one of them!
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Job application, cover letter and resume are prepped and ready to go. My typing speed drills range from 48 wpm on my worst attempt to 66 on my best. That should do. Clothes are picked - dress casual, since even though it's not an interview, it's in the Human Resources office, and I don't want to make a bad impression on anyone. (Never underestimate the influence of the receptionist. Ever.)
Now off to do a manicure. Home improvement does not give me an office-appropriate paint color on my nails, let alone nice looking ones. And of course, I've been painting the front door bright pumpkin orange. :P
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Most of July meds now picked up and packed, financial expences and mileage report submitted. Not taking dog for a walk due to heat and still not up to it, but feeling better. Now updating medication sheets and doctor appointments for doctors on Thursday and Friday. No word back yet from knee doc about MRI to see if I have a tear in ACL, but can't do anything about it till I get back.
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Chris, hope you're feeling better and that all goes well on your trip.
jbeany, good luck on your assessment tests, sounds like you're as prepared as you can get. You're right the receptionist's impression is key.
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I just ran 36 new registrations through a spam filter one by one.
Of the 36, 21 were spammers.
I approved 15 new members.
I hope I didn't miss one spammer! ???
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You did! I'm still here ain't I? :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :-[
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:rofl; So you are!! ;D
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Do you usually get that proportion of spammers?
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Got 60 wpm on the typing portion of the test. 100% on Excel and the filing portions. (Really, they give you a test to see if you can file in alphabetical and numerical order. Cracked me up.) I stunk at the Word part, only because if you didn't have the right answer on the first or second click, it was wrong. I haven't done a mail merge on it - only in Perfect, so I couldn't find the options for that fast enough. 88% - Ah, close enough.
Stopped to say hi to the professors who ran the pro bono clinic I volunteered at. Both offered to be excellent references. One said if I get past HR and get an interview with Friend of the Court to let her know. She'd tell the director over lunch to put my name at the top of the list. Ah, it's good to have a network of people who you've worked well with, isn't it?
Lastly, stopped and ordered a trash bin delivered. Been using bags and tags with the city sanitation crew. I'm tired of the stray cats ripping open the bags. A bin with wheels it is!
Right now, it's so humid and warm, I'm thinking of going to the basement and blowing up the air mattress and sprawling out in the cool air with a snack and a book.
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Best of luck with the jobs, jbeany. It sounds like you are well on your way to some very interesting, gratifying employment. It sounds to me like you'd be perfect for either, so I'm hoping you get your pick!
I scrubbed the two bathrooms today, top to bottom. I cleaned the master bath yesterday, just have to clean out the actual tub as that is where I normally put the drying rack for my hand washing. Ten minutes tonight after the kids are in bed (no, not yet) and all three bathrooms should be spotless. I have someone coming to look at the property and tell me what he could get it rented out for. I did not get the best feeling from him on the phone, but we'll see. Our friends recommended him but I'd have no problem going our own way. The people with one company took pics years ago of our house and, without asking us first, sent the pics all over town. They have a client who is interested, but they wanted to see it a few days ago. Sorry! Not enough notice, I don't normally have this place pristine.
The weirdest part is that the one company thinks they could get three times what the other company has mentioned. Now, only one of them has been inside the house, so who knows. The second company is really cheap to use, but not cheap enough that I would turn away three times the rent if the first place can actually get that for us. I am wary of going with the cheapest option because I think they can afford to be so cheap by lowballing the properties and getting tenants in very quickly.
I also spoke to my father at length. He is coming to milwaukee end of July and says he can stay "as long as it takes". Oh. Great.
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Oh. Yay. Familiy!
Best of luck with that, cariad!
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Get your labs done Cariad!
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Get your labs done Cariad!
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Did Northwestern put you up to this?
I did get my labs! Honest! Obligation fulfilled until next month.
Oh. Yay. Familiy!
Best of luck with that, cariad!
Yes, I'm sure all can just feel my excitement leaping off the screen. Gwyn and I have been discussing what crucial, two-person job my father and I will be in the midst of when he abruptly announces he's due at the airport in 30 minutes and leaves. Yes, it has happened before.
So far today I've tidied the house a bit more - still looks like a hurricane came through, but at least it's mostly clutter and not dirt. Still have to steam the floors in the kitchen, dust them in the dining area and on the first floor, vacuum and start getting the boys to decide which stuff they can part with. Met with the property manager this morning and we had a good long talk. I think we will be hiring his company. The sooner I can get the place cleaned and on the rental market, the sooner I'll have one less thing to worry about.
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Yesterday, I made food for the long weekend. No heating the house again for days in this 105 degree heat. So, I didn't get anything done today. I took the day off and read and did mending. That is it. You all put me to shame! Everyone is working so hard. My mind is so scattered right now, I can't concentrate on anything very long. Maybe tomorrow.
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Paris, in now way shape or form am I working! You neeed a break also and are allowed to take it easy.
Cariad, no, but I was there on Friday and got my labs done. I'm sure they wouldn't take mine for you :rofl;
So today was my day to get up at 5 am to be in the city early for two appointments. Was going to get 1:30 pm train home, but after getting on there apprently was a pick poketer who just got off and the drive got off, called the police and supervisor. After waiting sometime with idiot passengers complaining because the driver was doing the right thing instead of getting to their stop, I missssed my train and had to wait an hour for next train. While in the doctor offices I missed the quick big downpour till the next opne came at 9:30 pm
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Did I accomplish anything today?
Nope!
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I have a million projects to do. And I've done nada. Yup, it's too hot!
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I have a million projects to do. And I've done nada. Yup, it's too hot!
Then I expect you to get back to work around midnight when it is cooler... :P
No rest for the wicked. >:D
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I worked from about 8:30 to 1am yesterday - the only time I can stand to do stuff!
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Woke up at about 5:30 AM with a splitting headache. I could not imagine falling back to sleep with this pain, so I plodded down for a cup of China Breakfast. Did not need to be anywhere until late morning, so once the kids were fully awake we made blueberry scones again, and once again had them with egg and cheese scramble. Liot did amazingly well with measuring out ingredients and remembering the little changes in technique I wanted to try. Doorbell rang about 9:30 AM and I thought it was going to be the annoying church types who periodically infest the neighborhood. It was a dozen gorgeous roses from Gwyn. Awwww! It's our anniversary tomorrow. I didn't get him anything! Must think, think, think!
Picture day for Liot's baseball team. They have torn up that entire part of town, so I got hopelessly lost on the way there. I really did not think it was possible for me to get lost this close to home. Arrived there and the coach says to me "it's totally voluntary". Well, yes, but the trouble with that is that I have an older child and ordered this kind of crap for his baseball team, so I can't very well skip the little guy, now can I? I ordered a mug with his picture on it. I had to make up a position and number for him since they are too little for that just yet. Since he plays for the Tigers, Liot chose #28. Anyone recognise it? Hint, the boys are Brewers fans....
I don't know any other parents on this team but Aidan had his own game across town so I had to leave little Liot there while I raced through the suburbs. I discovered the trick to navigating through the endless road works - just ignore the 'road closed' signs like everyone else. Got Aidan to his game, returned, collected Liot at the end of his game, back to Aidan's game. Aidan was on third when I arrived. I shouted"I'm watching you, Aidan!" and he shouted back "Mom! I got hit! First pitch of the game!" I asked if he was all right and he replied "Yeah, it was funny." OK, stress level coming down a bit. The pitcher is a good friend of his, and this poor kid was the best player on a truly terrible team.
Aidan was going to his best friend J's house after. Sometimes I worry that J and his family are a bit obsessed with Aidan. I find it very flattering how many people tell me that they hope their child will become friends with Aidan because they want his personality and temperament to rub off on their own kid, but usually it ends with kind words. I had texted the mother this morning to tell her that Aidan forgot his day shoes at home and wanted to shower in his own bathroom, so we would be there around 4PM. Midway through the baseball game J appears. I asked where his parents were and he said "nowhere". This was really confusing and just plain weird. I asked if he had walked from home (possible, but a bit far) and he said no, his parents dropped him off. This put me in an awkward and somewhat irritating position. Nice of the kid to like Aidan so much that he wants to just turn up to watch him play, but, well.... The game ended a bit early and J's parents were nowhere to be seen. Oh, fabulous, so I get to babysit your kid until you turn up even though it's a billion degrees in the shade and my little guy is bored and hot and wants to go home. Thankfully, it was only a few minutes after the game that the father meandered over, but wow, I can't exactly explain it but this whole episode just did not sit well with me. Took Aidan home, made him a late lunch, dropped him off at the sleepover, Liot and I went to Whole Foods and now we are chilling for the rest of the evening. He's on his iPod.
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Do you usually get that proportion of spammers?
It varies. Some days there are quite a few. I don't know what they find about IHD that makes it attractive, besides the fact that we get over a million hits a month... not sure if that's it?
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Well last night..I traded in my 2006 PT cruiser (my baby) for a 2008 hyundai elantra...My PT kept having more and more problems and the warranty wasn't covering any of it. So I looked into trading it in. Well my mom found the Hyundai at carmax..5 years old and only 12,000 miles...That's unheard of..only one owner and he must have been a older person that only drove in town for years. I had a bit of a lost seeing my PT but after driving my new car home it felt good and I did enjoy how smooth it was. So I think I made the right choice.
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:clap; Congrats on the new (to you) car! I know you'll miss the Cruiser for a few days, we get attached to our things and their familiarity, but you'll also love the Elantra. Enjoy your new wheels.
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Well I guess you can call this an accomplishment, making it to 6:30 am lecture. Could not sleep worth a darn after 8 pm nap for an hour the night before. Juno (latin) training went well even tho I was not feeling well, then got sick when they had me eat lunch, well attempt! It was like eating two breakfast's with this time change and the instructor made a mistake of trying to force me to eat. Nurse got everyone on board about my eating pattern and will not get such large portions.
Tomorrow will be a busy day starting at 6:30 am and getting our dogs in the early afternoon. Then all h&^% breaks loose they insinuated when we attempt to have dinner with the dogs in tow. :rofl;
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Can't wait to hear about your new friend. Sorry you're not felling well, :( hope it was just a minor time adjustment thing.
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Went kayaking for the first time ever and paddled around the lake by myself for about an hour and half. Fun! But enough exercise, even when I spent part of the time just drifting along, watching the fish, the birds, and the muskrats.
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Another day, another job app sent out. I swear, it takes me forever to write a cover letter. I can sell just about anything except myself. I finally pounded one out, after several hours of frustration with my results, and taking breaks to at least accomplish something like the dishes and dyeing my hair. Then I logged into the company's website to post it and my resume. Ugh, the website was a pain, but it's all uploaded. I also blew an hour digging through all my school paperwork, which is packed still in various moving boxes, since I needed to know how high my government security clearance was during my internship to fill out the profile on the website.
By the time I finished, it was raining, and I didn't want to start painting when it was damp, so I managed to procrastinate on the living room windows a bit longer. But wait, that's the other thread....
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I don't know if it counts as I accomplished this but I had a service tech out to do my complimentary, yearly "checkup" on my vaccuum. He fixed a few minor problems and left me with some more filters. Then I laid on the couch and fell asleep. (D first thing this a.m.) That's about it for today!
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I accomplished a little today.
I got my hair cut this afternoon. My barber told me it looked like I got a spider bite on my ear. I went to the doctor, he told me it looked cancerous and refered me to see a specialist. I still had enough energy to pickup some milk and bread.
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After 3 hours, 2 scrubbie pads, half a gallon of Murphy's Oil Soap, and untold buckets of hot water, my living room floor is spotless. My knees, however, are going to have lots of black and blue spots. The ugly burgundy cross hatch pattern from the previous owner's throw rug is gone, though. Hurray!
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I planted a terracotta bowl of succulents and hung some twinkly lights over the back arbor. Need to get more but it's looking nice on the back patio. Our younger daughter returns from her Barcelona study abroad program on Friday so we will celebrate her birthday outside - a month late. :2thumbsup;
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I made a practice batch of all-natural, solid perfume for my next craft class. (Orange with a hint of rose for one; Lilac and green tea with a hint of orange for the other.) I determined what I needed to make 4 sets of double boilers to melt the beeswax, and then hiked off to the thrift stores to find enough tiny pots to make them. I took out the trash and sorted out all the tin cans I already had, since those are going to be the top layer of the double boilers. I also am going to need more beeswax and more containers, since it's incredibly easy and fun. No doubt, each of my students will want to make several different batches.
I did my volunteer orientation for the Transplant Games this weekend, and got my T-shirt so I can get into all the events I want to go to. Hurray!
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I sheared a ewe. Now have the ram to do and then all 25 are finished. Until next time. I am PreD so it may not count.
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I sheared a ewe. Now have the ram to do and then all 25 are finished. Until next time. I am PreD so it may not count.
This thread is for anyone, not just the D patients, so yes, that counts!
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I washed 3 loads of laundry and hung them on the line. Ironed some clothes that have been sitting there. Made the bed. Had a really good treatment this morning and now I am watching the Olympics.
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Running on 2 hrs of sleep from last night due to my RLS.
My day started out running some errands. Then I did the dishes, vacuumed & steam vac. the carpets. did a load of laundry, organized my sons room/toys & now I'm sitting down/relaxing to an awesome thunderstorm! I love when it storms. Oh and I feel like I got a good work out with all I did :boxing;
I love feeling very accomplished! :2thumbsup;
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I actually DID accomplish some things today.
Today was my birthday, and to celebrate, I decided to stimulate the economy and go shopping. There are so many things I needed that I just haven't been able to get up the enthusiasm to go and get. I tend to be the kind of person who hangs on to old, holey clothing, thinking that I can wear stuff gardening or cleaning or whatnot, so I have far too many slippers, nightgowns and (ahem) panties that are hanging by a thread. I needed new walking shoes, and I have been wanting some ballet flats in an eye popping color. I wanted a blue handbag.
I'm very patriotic and wanted to boost the consumer confidence statistics... :P
I haven't done any proper shopping for myself in YEARS! I got some good stuff!
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:birthday; Moosemom, and many more!
Glad you're not running around in threadbare undies any more
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Yay MM! :birthday;
Guess that means it's safe for you to get in accident now - my gram always said to wear clean ones, just in case! (But I figure Bill Cosby had it right - first ya say it, then you do it!)
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:birthday; to you, Ms. MooseMom!
I started out with a bang this morning but ran out of steam mid-Afternoon. I was showered and dressed and making breakfast for my little guests by 8AM. By 7PM I was falling asleep on my couch. Not much accomplished in between, although my kids did have a fun time at a local festival near the house. I must find time to post a pic of my little guy's purchase. (Well, by his purchase I mean he managed to talk my father into buying it for him.)
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:birthday; MM! Glad you could help with the economy!
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Happy (belated) Birthday, MM!
:birthday;
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From me too, Mumsy.
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Belated :birthday; & :bestwishes; MooseMom
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I cooked breakfast and got Aidan out the door within an hour of receiving a call from his best friend (the one who still lives in Milwaukee) that they wanted to take him to the city water park. He left at 12:30 and was out until gone 9PM! The mother was apolgising profusely saying she lost track of time, but so long as they had fun I was completely unfazed. I did dishes and took Liot to the natural history museum where we completed two scavenger hunt/quiz things that the museum has on file, then we watched the IMAX film Cosmic Colors. I preferred Born to be Wild but Liot loves regaling people with his latest collection of science facts so I think he really enjoyed it.
A lazy day for the two of us, and just what we needed. I wrote adverts for G's car and our gorgeous couch and put them up on Craigslist. Cutting it fine on timing, but my parents will help sell the car if that does not go, can always donate the couch or (last resort) leave it curbside with a note on CL saying it's free to the first taker. (I did that once with a broken dresser from IKEA in LA. Our friend who was helping us pack thought we were crazy but I assured him it would be picked up. Within 10 minutes of posting it we watched from the window as a car pulled over, examined the dresser, shoved it in the back of the car, and took off.)
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I worked out Saturday and Sunday at the gym.
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3 weeks until the move and I am stressed beyond all measure. There is just so much to do. Yesterday I was feeling so proud of myself for effortlessly weaving through the logistics of two boys needing to be in two separate places and making it look easy, but I crashed when I got home. Liot had gymnastics out in the back of beyond. He was her only student yesterday and she said that she might just give him more free time because "he's going to be TIRED". Yeah, right. Got him back in the car afterward and I told him we had to collect Aidan for beach soccer and he insisted that he wanted to do beach soccer, too. OK, he's a bit young, but I've seen other small kids there, but Liot is a bit more challenging than most kids.
Got back to the children's centre at 5:30 and beach soccer is a 6:30 start. Walk the hallways to collect the big kid, and of course it's all people I know down there and this is me for 20 minutes: :waving; I love it usually, not as much when I'm stressed and on a deadline. Run into J whose kids attend the same public school as mine did and she tells me her kids will be at beach soccer too and she'd like an update.
Finally get out, pass a sandwich shop that i know the boys like and offer that we go there. I forgot a water bottle for Aidan. "How much is your [tiny bottle of] water?" "$2.39" "Oh, my god!!!" "Yeah, I know. Sorry." Well, that's a mistake I will be careful to avoid in future. At least it was a glorious, warm dining experience out at the lookout above the beach. Brought both boys down there. I really just wanted to curl up in my car and read/sleep but Liot was having a very difficult time with directions and that stressed Aidan so I felt I needed to stick close by and help the coaches when necessary. J wandered up to me when it was nearly over and we chatted for quite a while (it always runs late). She offered that Elliot could play in Lake Michigan with her boy and I asked Liot if he wanted to stop and he said no, then I told him the offer and he said "Yeah, I can stop."
They played in Lake Michigan for maybe half an hour and then we came home and it was 8:30 and I was tired from following the boys along in the sand for 90 minutes but I had to immediately clean everything that was there, including the boys, since there was wet and sand everywhere. Thank heavens I just grabbed fast food for them for dinner. Then I was up making phone calls, sending emails, and doing dishes, sorting laundry until gone midnight. G and I had an argument over the phone - we are both just so stressed. I canceled a meeting with the property manager this morning, I just ran out of time and have not had a chance to read the contracts. I am getting ticked off with all of these people whom I am paying trying to tell me what to do, and this property manager tops the list. I sent him a tensely worded email this morning, with a thin veneer of obligatory politeness to soften the edges. I think I may have sold my PBK train table set with mat and wooden trains, but I never believe it until it happens.
Gwyn texted me yesterday to tell me what CarMax offered on his Jag. Less than half of Blue Book value, although they said everything about the car was excellent. I texted back two words: That's bullshit. My father is now going to have to take over selling that car and he sooooo doesn't want to. I have not even addressed needing to sell my reliable but nondescript MomMobile. CarMax says that BlueBook is not a reliable indicator of pricing. I found another Jag just like Gwyn's except 2 years older that they were selling in SoCal for $5000 over Blue Book. Why do people like them? :waiting;
Back to cleaning, always back to cleaning.
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1st off happy Birthday MM!! Hope you had a great one!!
As for my day.. machine broke had to do a manual, so I have felt prego all day. went to babysit my nephew he is 10 months, smart and a really cutie!! Then came back and had a mini bday party for my sister bestie..it was just her, me, and him...He just turned 21 and made him dinner(ginger sesame seed chicken and white rice ) and cake...
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I made all the living things that depend on me happy today. Filled the bird feeders, washed the cat's food feeder and water bowls and refilled them, refilled the aquarium that the cats usually drink out of anyhow, and watered all the plants. There - no whining allowed now, from any of ya!
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Made it through the first day of a new school year!
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Made it through the first day of a new school year!
Already???!!!!
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Went to Barnes & Noble. Managed to get out of there with only one book (I am a bibliophile - is that the right word?). Dyed my roots, a job I detest but was putting off. Have been reading up as much as possible on this disease so I can think intelligently about treatment options (which all suck).
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I worked out - swam 1/2 a mile. I had a massage. Then had a manicure and pedicure. Then a haircut. Then a trip to Target. Bought House Season 7 for under 20 bucks. Bought a Christmas present already. LOL. Also bought the Lorax. Came home to leftover salad from Cheesecake factory. air conditioning, because he-geez it is hot outside today!
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Also made it through the second week of school.
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Weeded my garlic, planted snap peas, mulched where the new passionfruit is to go, swept the courtyard paving, tied up the guavas (they don't know they are meant to be turning into a hedge) and cuddled the cat.
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Went to Barnes & Noble. Managed to get out of there with only one book (I am a bibliophile - is that the right word?).
I went yesterday for the first time in almost a year. 8 books. Ooops. At least when I wait for ages to go, the stuff I want is out in paperback!
Bought a Christmas present already. LOL.
I bought one yesterday, too! When I see something perfect, I grab it then. I've had my sister's gift for her November birthday for 3 months already.
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Not yet. The wifi has been really patchy here. I am trying to find indoor activities for the kids as they are driving me bonkers and it is chucking down rain right now and will be for most of the day.
Yesterday.... could not avoid driving any longer. My mother-in-law never learnt to drive and I secretly have always felt that this was a bit, well, don't really have the word. Not lazy, not cowardly, those words are too strong, but sort of this cluelessly selfish way of just deciding that driving would be everyone elses problem. Completely unintentional I know that, she is far from a selfish person, but I do rather resent people who say they can't do something and then stick by that forever. At least the kids are old enough to know I was not feeling especially confident. I don't have a map or any working phone. We made it to the lake yesterday completely by accident. We had been once with Gwyn, and just as I was about to turn around and go back to the cottage in defeat, we realised we had arrived.
I made one horrible mistake driving, I thought I was entering a large roundabout when it was just a regular turn and wound up on the wrong side of the road with an oncoming van. No one seemed to notice oddly - no car horns and angry gestures - but I was haunted by that for the rest of the day. On the way back we got massively lost. I saw the word "superstore" and we drove into a 24-hour Tescos and I asked the woman at the lottery desk if they sold maps there and she said to try the garage across the car lot. I asked if I could walk there - this car park was madness, there was a roundabout in the stupid lot! She said yes then asked where I was going. I told her the name of the town and then asked where I was and she told me and then gave the clearest, most amazing directions to the town centre. I ran back to the car, typed a few notes into my phone - about the only thing that works on it right now - and was away. She was absolutely right about how to get to this town and we made it back.
The people who own the cottage have a son living in, where else, Wisconsin. It is where their daughter-in-law grew up. When they asked me if I wanted to move to England I said yes, very much so. The woman lit up. They are hoping their daughter-in-law will agree to move back one day. From the description of her, I don't see this happening. The parents have not even bothered to learn the name of the town where they live.
I am depressed and overwhelmed right now.
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Not yet. The wifi has been really patchy here.
You must be in the country.
Yesterday.... could not avoid driving any longer. My mother-in-law never learnt to drive and I secretly have always felt that this was a bit, well, don't really have the word. Not lazy, not cowardly, those words are too strong, but sort of this cluelessly selfish way of just deciding that driving would be everyone elses problem. Completely unintentional I know that, she is far from a selfish person, but I do rather resent people who say they can't do something and then stick by that forever.
You must resent me then ... have tried, can't drive, won't drive. I make no apologies for that and my self-inflicted punishment is having to rely on unpredictable public transport. For this moment in time I plan on sticking with public transport for ever. The only thing I'll apologise for is that this seems to be offensive to some people, but I can also clarify that I never think that anybody owes me a lift anywhere and I don't rely on people to take me to places (except the bus drivers, obviously).
I made one horrible mistake driving, I thought I was entering a large roundabout when it was just a regular turn and wound up on the wrong side of the road with an oncoming van. No one seemed to notice oddly - no car horns and angry gestures - but I was haunted by that for the rest of the day. On the way back we got massively lost. I saw the word "superstore" and we drove into a 24-hour Tescos and I asked the woman at the lottery desk if they sold maps there and she said to try the garage across the car lot. I asked if I could walk there - this car park was madness, there was a roundabout in the stupid lot!
I wondered what you meant by 'lottery desk' and then realised you meant 'cigarette kiosk' ... *grin* You'll get used to the roundabouts, even the mini ones in silly places. You might suddenly start calling 'car lots' 'car parks' as well ... then you'll know you've really settled in! I have never, ever, added as s to Tesco and I know lots of people who don't, but lots who do. It causes debate ... ;D
I am depressed and overwhelmed right now.
I can't imagine beginning a new life on the other side of the world with children, even when there are extended family around for support. I really hope it doesn't take you too long to settle in and begin to enjoy the experience.
*huggles*
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:cuddle; to cariad! Such a challenge, and I know you'll get through it all, even if you get a bit frazzled along the way.
Today - oh, heaven's it's not even over and I'm already exhausted.
I need to get back on a morning schedule, so today was day one of that. I got up at 7:30 am, (about 3 hours earlier than normal these days!), ran intervals for a mile and a half on my treadmill, cleaned the kitchen, and packaged up the dry ingredients for uber-healthy flax-seed pumpkin muffins for the rest of the week, so I can stir in egg and pumpkin and bake individual muffins quickly. Then I got showered and dressed up and scooted off the pro-bono clinic to volunteer for 4 hours. Sorting paperwork. On the same file. While swearing under my breath at the idiot student from last term who had completely misfiled nearly every bit of paper in it.
Okay, enough of that. I finally got it finished, then talked with the clinic director and staff and worked out my volunteer schedule for the term that starts next week. Hiked the half mile downtown from law school and filed yet another job application with the court, made a deposit at the bank, stopped for a quick shopping trip through my favorite vintage boutique, and grabbed lunch at the bookstore cafe. They were already out of soup by the time I arrived, so I was naughty and had half a sandwich. I did not accomplish a low carb diet today. I did find two incredibly adorable vintage school chairs to go with the one I already own - or to use as end tables for my platform couch when I get it done. I should, perhaps, have eaten lunch before shopping, but they were small enough to carry in the bookstore. Then I hiked the half mile back to my car with them, causing flashbacks for every person over 50 I walked past on the way. "I remember sitting on those!!!!" They are made by Steelcase, which is based here in my hometown, so I'm sure they allllllll did.
I took off from there to run the rest of my errands. Oil change for the car - which took forever, because I also needed some brake lights replaced, and all the bolts were rusted solid. I stopped for vitamin cat treats at the vet, stopped at the thrift store and found another lamp and some giant wooden cheese boxes for nicer looking storage in the craft room (which has lots of floor space, but tiny closets in which to hide ugly but practical giant plastic tubs), and a random assortment of other things I can use for the house. Stopped at the grocery store, got a cart load, wedged it in the car with the thrift and vintage finds, and just got home. I logged on to check for job related email - I've got a security pre-screening to fill out for one possibility, so I need to get that done tomorrow first thing.
Tonight, I still need to unload the car, change the cat pans and get all the trash to the curb, as well as water my newly transplanted flowers.
Oh yeah, and eat dinner.
If I'm still awake, since it's already 8:30.
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I have made it through the fourth week of our school year. Test in Language Arts today. I have not made anyone cry this school year, yet. We seem quite happy. The new room is working out great!
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I have made it through the fourth week of our school year. Test in Language Arts today. I have not made anyone cry this school year, yet. We seem quite happy. The new room is working out great!
:clap; :clap; :clap;
Yesterday, I filled out the 15 pages worth of security clearance docs for one of the jobs I applied for. I opened it in Word and began working through all the questions. I realized I had been deputized into the grammar police when I had corrected the grammar on the one of the questions without even thinking about it. (It's is NOT a possessive, folks! Figure it out!)
Today, I found another job to apply for, wrote a cover letter and emailed out that with my resume. The job looks interesting, but it's a small firm with only one lawyer and a handful of assistants for 3 different offices. Guessing my insurance coverage would break him! Ah, well, worth a shot.
Sorted a lot of electronic files, and went through the incredibly long list of books in my favorite author's series and figured out which ones I don't actually own. I bought a duplicate home from the thrift store the other day. Not a crisis, and nice to replace a paperback with a hardcover, but it occurred to me I'd save money if I was certain which ones I already owned! Even found a website to put them in chronological order, along with the companion novels written by her family and friends. There are an awful lot of Pern stories out there!
Did laundry. Made sausage/cucumber kebobs and a creamy lemon pepper/cucumber dip to go with them for part of my contributions to the glut of food at the cottage this weekend. They are marinated in the fridge. Still need to make a sweet - either scones or cookies, I think, and finish packing.
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Pern stories- what do you need Jbeany? I have some extra ones.
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Mostly I have cried and felt sorry for myself all day. Got to dialysis yesterday and found that a lady I liked very much had passed away in her sleep. She was really nice and had overcome so much only to die anyway. Then this morning got news that my aunt that has been in the hospital is now on hospice not expected to survive the next couple of days. I lost my younger brother in May and I am just not sure I can handle losing someone else. He died on hospice too after lingering for 11 days. He had multiple sclerosis. Just so much grief...
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That's a lot of losses in a short time, I'm very sorry for you Leanne, and hope you have some supportive people you can contact to just talk, I suppose. There's not much you can do, apart from that. I always try to put all my grief in a box (virtually) in my hands, very concentrated, and than put it in a corner in a cubboard, and say that's your place. Now let me live the rest of my life, cos I ain't got no room in my head.
I hope you find a way for you, that will help.
Good luck, and lots of strength Leanne,
love Cas
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Yesterday I managed to make a salmon with a mango salsa for my husband's birthday, bake a cake and shop for groceries. I had to take a three hour nap after falling asleep at my desk paying bills but it all worked out in the end. Today I managed to do all my laundry, work for five hours and make a nice salad for dinner.
Here's to more productive days in the future.
God bless you all.
Christi
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Thank you Cas. I am trying not to let things get to me too much. My aunt passed early Sunday night so at least she didnt suffer very long. And I know she had a nice happy life too and i think that matters as well. It has been an awful year for us. There have been many losses in our family and our close friends.
Today I just want an easy dialysis and hope to feel pretty good after. Got up feeling pretty good so i am optimistic! Hot shower and scrambled eggs later and its time to go the hour and a half to my center. Good day to everybody, hope itsa great one!
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Pern stories- what do you need Jbeany? I have some extra ones.
I ordered the few I didn't own on my paperback swap site, so I'm good now - except for the newest one that's only out in hardcover. I wishlisted that - and it can wait until it's in paper back and affordable - or I can get it on the swap site.
My kebobs turned out fabulous. If you haven't tried grilled cucumbers, you are missing out! There were a few leftover because some of the crowd backed out at the last minute - and I was informed I was not allowed to take them home. They were eating them for dinner after I left. :)
I collected an entire trash bag full of litter while kayaking this weekend at the cottage. Ugh. But, the lake and canal look sooo much better.
:grouphug; to Leanne.
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I went back to work after my two month summer hols. I didn't even need to as I don't work on Thurday's, but there was a meeting I didn't want to miss. I'm just far too dedicated. :o
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Not really. Talked to my boyfriend. Talked to my son. Played World of Warcraft for like two hours. Got the coffee I ordered. Made dinner. That's pretty much been it for me. A very lazy day.
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You are an inspiration, pops!
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I was all green and environmentally friendly today - or just cheap, depending on how you look at it. I took the bus into town today to volunteer at the pro bono clinic. It's $3 round trip on the bus. It's $7 a day for parking, not to mention the cost of gas these days.
It was the first time I've tried riding the bus system. The last time I rode a bus on a regular basis, it was a big yellow one with "PUBLIC SCHOOL" on the side. It took me a bit to fumble through the website last night and find the quickest route, but I love some of the website features, like real time updates on when the bus is going to arrive at your stop. If I get a job on the bus routes, I think I'll want a smart phone just for that.
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Oh, that's funny jbeany because I have to familiarize myself with my local bus system, too. I am not allowed to drive the car that work is loaning Gwyn - insurance issues - so I have not driven in almost a week. That means walking everywhere, so I walked to the Sainsburys and I walked to collect the boys from school. Once I got to the school and herded both boys out the door we went to check the bus schedule at the terminal across the way. The bus wasn't arriving for 45 minutes, so we walked back. 1.8 miles each way - I coaxed the kids onward using chocolate covered caramel wafers from aforementioned Sainsburys visit.
Gwyn is being sent to France next week and I cannot make them walk that twice in one day, so hope I can suss the routes by the end of the week. We cannot afford 2 cars at the moment (can't even afford one) so I need to learn the public transit system.
I have to return to the US to get a proper visa, so that needs to be planned and booked. Oh bureaucracy, how I loathe you.
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Okay, that makes no sense whatsoever that you can't go to the embassy in London to deal with the visa.
I went into the law clinic to volunteer for what I expected to be an hour intake. It was two, and by the time I got out, every student in the class had arrived, and I ended up helping for a full 8 hours with a little bit of everything. Everyone was in crisis mode today, and they were all too new to figure things out on their own. I'd forgotten how brain dead you get after 8 hours of paperwork and clients!
On the other hand, too busy for more than a nibble for breakfast and lunch is a great diet plan. I had a stick of string cheese for breakfast, and a big handful of almonds for lunch.
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Okay, that makes no sense whatsoever that you can't go to the embassy in London to deal with the visa.
It is way beyond making no sense! It is as if British Immigration has declared war on common sense. And they are winning. At Passport Control, the officer told me specifically to NOT apply while still in the UK or it would be rejected and I would have a flag on my passport forever. She said FOREVER. Because mistakes can apparently never be corrected when it comes to travel. I was hoping this was just a case of people who are paid to do a job not knowing it very well, but no, she was absolutely correct.
She leaves. Aidan is starting to panic. Gwyn is standing smugly through a set of glass doors, and he leans through them so I can say "I think I'm a political prisoner!" He starts dancing around telling me how free the air is on the British side. It seemed to help calm Aidan down. I told Aidan these are reasonable people and that all will be well.
Then her supervisor came over and he told me that they were going to let me in to the country (gee, thanks, I guess. So, you don't want to create an ugly incident by barring me from living with my children? That's so very generous of you.) He said I could even travel throughout the EU but if I returned to the US and then tried to go back to the UK they would, and I quote, 'bounce you back to The States'. I am really curious what this would look like and who would pay for my flight, but I so don't need the aggravation so any temptation to try it evaporates immediately.
There are 3 different visas that I looked into in an effort to determine which one I might need. The first was a marriage visa - hey, I have one of those, sounds like the visa for me! No, Gwyn and I have deduced that this is for people who want permission to marry a foreigner in the UK and this one sounds like quite the nightmare to get so no loss there.
Next, my hopes were raised by a Family Permit Visa. I also have a family! And, this is one of only 3 visas given out in countries other than one's country of origin. Research indicates that I can expect to receive one within 3 days in Spain if approved. Oh, but it turns out, and this really takes the biscuit, that this visa is for UK citizens who work at least 6 months in the EU and then want to bring their family over to live with them in the UK. This is a classic back door for legal entry into the UK without any of the hassle, but it does not apply to our situation, so no luck.
Finally, I resign myself to the ghetto-ized Spousal Visa. I can fast-track it for an extra fee but I need our marriage certificate which is on the boat with many other essential documents that we inadvertently shipped rather than packed with us. I will just go to Chicago because I know the area, can drop in to Northwestern, maybe visit a few people in Milwaukee, then, my favourite part, LEAVE.
I do get to visit the embassy in London, however. Oh, joy. I have to take my kids there to get their passports which are thankfully issued automatically. This is called Citizenship by Descent and it is only open to one generation born outside the UK. I have already told Aidan to have his kids born in the country, then tell them to have their kids born in the US and everyone should just flip back and forth each generation to get the benefit of dual citizenship. I can become a citizen in five years and will probably do so, based on the same reasoning that drove us to get Gwyn his US passport.
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Sent a thank you for my interview, after hunting all over to find the correct spelling of my interviewer's name. Way to many ways to spells all the Dutch names in this area to take a guess!
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[/quote]
.....
Finally, I resign myself to the ghetto-ized Spousal Visa. I can fast-track it for an extra fee but I need our marriage certificate which is on the boat with many other essential documents that we inadvertently shipped rather than packed with us. I will just go to Chicago because I know the area, can drop in to Northwestern, maybe visit a few people in Milwaukee, then, my favourite part, LEAVE. ......
[/quote]
Dear Cariad, is it maybe possible to call the place you married, and ask them to fax either you, or the embassy a copy of your certificate?
I managed to sell our house in (dare I say.. The Netherlands, from the UK) like that.
love Cas
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I received a book in the mail from my book swap site today. Hurray, I love adding to my to-be-read pile! Opened the package and found a book in library bindings, still with bar code attached, the pocket for the check out card, and NO stamp anywhere that said WITHDRAWN. Just a cheery note from the previous "owner" with "Enjoy! It's a first edition!" Hmmm.....
Ah, gotta love the internet. It's from a community college in PA. The college website gave me the library number, and I got bumped around from person to person for a bit until I reached the right one. Yup - it's been stolen. So, I'm sending it back - right after I read it, of course!
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When I bought this house two years ago, I thought I had a gas oven because there was gas for stove-top cooking. The first time I went to use the oven I felt so CHEATED. I hate electric ovens with a passion. I only used it about 10 times.
A few days ago I bought a gas oven. Oh my! The poor dishwasher is having trouble keeping up with the oven. I have made four Christmas cakes, two roasts, some cheese straws, roasted some nuts, Anzac biscuits, and now another roast and a new chocolate cake recipe. The kitchen is dusted with dutch cocoa powder, and the dishwasher is threatening to go on strike.
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The weather was beautiful here today, so I got all my laundry done and hung out on the line. I know it's strange but I love hanging my clothes out. It is very relaxing for me.
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I ended up with am electric stove at my new place. There were hook-ups for both, but the house was so old and there clearly hadn't been a gas stove in so long, I wasn't sure I trusted the hook up. I didn't want the additional expense of having it checked and possibly repaired.
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MaryD - Could you put on your mailing list for baked goods? I'm not a big baker, when my husband or son sees homemade goodies in my kitchen they want to know who's having a bake sale! ;D
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The weather was beautiful here today, so I got all my laundry done and hung out on the line. I know it's strange but I love hanging my clothes out. It is very relaxing for me.
I know EXACTLY what you mean. I love doing laundry. In our old house, I couldn't get up and down the stairs to get to the washer and dryer, but now they're in the kitchen. The only problem I have now is being able to bring the hamper downstairs and hold on to the railing at the same time. Mom actually bought me a smaller hamper so that's not a problem. *G* And if I want to hang the clothes on the line, I just have to step out the kitchen door, and around the corner to our shared back yard, and I can actually reach the clothesline. I couldn't at the house.
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Wow, fantastic to try to organise everything for the nxstagemachine that will arrive this Thursday, as they told me that a week ago Thursday. The bed comes Wednesday. I just ordered a kitchentrolley, waterproof mattress-cover etc today, which might come Friday. Now I start cleaning the rest of the house. Good thing I'm still having some kind of adrenaline rush
:yahoo;
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I had labs drawn this morning (only two weeks late, I'm improving!!!!) and my final polio and HepB vaccines. Those were maybe a month late, but it seems that it should all be ok. They do vaccines differently here so no one seems exactly sure if they gave me the right thing, but I'll find out in a month when they draw titers. I am so relieved to be able to be done with the vaccines for a few years, and be back on schedule with blood draws.
I have the best news to pass along to my boys. They do not give children the flu vax here! Aidan will be overjoyed.
I also got the boys off to their half-term sporty camp on time. Will spend the next few hours sorting through clothes and books and giving as much to charity as possible. I wanted to start a little game on here to help with the clutter called Keep, Chuck, Donate, Sell or similar in which I would post pics of items that we cannot seem to make a decision on and welcome opinions, but it may be too time consuming and/or too boring for anyone but me. ;D
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I painted my down stairs cloakroom to-day, walls ceilings , not bad for an old one. :bandance; :bandance; Feel shattered now.
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Billybags - Shattered, maybe, but no doubt very virtuous :clap;
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I finally gave in to the idea that summer is over for this year....Started putting the summer clothing away and getting out the winter ones....Pretty good for me..I am usually in a hodge podge until almost Thanksgiving and so unorganized!
Ricki
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I had an eye appointment this morning and had my pupil dilated. It took forever for them to get back to normal. I discovered that Windows Narrator will not read anything on the screen unless you've typed it. I was not a happy camper. I couldn't do anything. I wanted to get some stuff done for my cake decorating class. Mom ended up doing it for me because I couldn't do it myself
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Helped with a trial this morning. Went out to lunch with the legal team and the rest of the students, came home and cleaned the living room, did some research to send to the client. Now preparing for the costumed onslaught.... Happy Halloween!
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I got up and went to work. Taught all five periods, then ran around school on my prep period doing things that needed doing.
Left school right after school, almost hitting the principal ont he corner LOL on my way out!
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I iced a cake.. all by myself.. *LOL* It was not as easy as it sounds, and it took all day. I made 2 batches of icing, with several different consistencies and several different colors. It wore me out, but I'm impressed with the outcome..
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152217925660387&l=396cc06de1
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Oooh, Riki even got fancy with the decorating tips!
Let's see....I had approximately 225 trick or treaters in just over 2 hours on Halloween, about half of the expected amount because it was cold and rainy. I was going to count them, but I lost track somewhere around 35 in the first 20 minutes. Totally crazy! I saw more costumed kids in the first half an hour than I've seen altogether in the last decade at the other places I've lived. I passed out stickers and candy, and the little kids were more thrilled with the stickers. Supply and demand, I suppose. They got tons of candy, but only one sheet of stickers all night, so it was thrilling. If you asked them to choose on a regular day, they would all want the candy!
Yesterday, I went shopping with my sister to celebrate her birthday. Planned to come home and work on painting my trim in the office, but laid down and took a nap instead. It lasted until bedtime. It's been a lot of long days and too short nights, so I guess I finally caught up. Maybe I'll get more done over the weekend!
I applied for 4 more jobs this week, and I've got two more jobs to apply for, now that I've got my official transcript from my 20 year old BA mailed to me. (The state needs a copy of the official transcript for their jobs. My student copy wasn't good enough, even just as a preliminary to go with the resume. Good grief.) I've also got a lot of notes from the court trial I assisted with to type up and send on to the lawyer, to prepare for the next phase. Then I've got to write up and email in the information for my will. I'm getting one done for free by the students in the estate planning class, and I'm more than happy to save the $500 dollars. Looks like my weekend is going to be spent doing paperwork. Yippie. :P
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Went to my volunteer job at the charity shop and the most fantastic cup and saucer sets (2) came in the door. We were all admiring them and I told the manager that if it was OK, I'd like to buy them. I really love them and Gwyn broke the saucer to my 100 year old teacup a while ago so I think he's relieved that I've found something to take its place.
The rest of the day was rather frustrating - tried to find an antique that I was considering buying (one of those old mechanical banks) because, while I cannot remember how precisely, it was very racist and if I could have afforded it, I wanted to send it to this museum: http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/ (http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/) The bank was gone. Then I thought I'd pick up Gwyn's suit from the cleaners but had spent all my cash on the tea cups (d'oh!) and needed to get passport photos for the boys but could not find the place that was suggested to me in town. I took an earlier bus into town to accomplish all of these things and wound up wasting 45 minutes.
I did find out that my labs are ready for collection from the GP. He said everything was in range (hurrah!) and that my creat was 68 (.77). I emailed the surgeon immediately to tell him that everything was still holding steady - he has not received lab numbers from me since June as my September labs seem to have disappeared into the ether.
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I actually got a lot done today...surprised myself! Cleaned the bathroom, went for a 2 mile walk, then to the grocery store and actually cooked dinner, chicken and dumplings...yummy! Think I will probably be paying the price tomorrow...but it was good to feel almost normal today! :)
Ricki
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Woke up with a clogged head and a queasy tummy. Joy.
But, I did research Ticket to Work today. I do want to sign up - the protection it offers is well worth it. Unfortunately, I do have to give my ticket to an Employment Network - I can't just sign up on my own. I don't really need any career services from them - I have plenty of help from my school for that. But, okay, I'll jump through the hoops for the health insurance protection and the 9 months of double payment and all the rest of the benefits I can get while I find out if working a 40 hour week will be possible with my patched together guts. I've done weeks with plenty of work, but I haven't done it consistently - I've always been able to stop for 3 or 4 days to rest up. I'm wondering if 40 hours, week after week, is going to wear me to a frazzle quickly, or if I'll adapt to it.
So, I looked up EN's in my area. There's exactly 3. One for the Hearing impaired. One for the blind and physically disabled with muscle control issues. That leaves only one - and the "Report Card" says it's served a grand total of 8 people since it started, and none at all in the last year. Also, it reports that none of the people it helped were still working after 6 months. Ummmmm.....goodie. Such a rave review fills me with enthusiasm for contacting them. So that was several hours spent on the phone and the computer that doesn't seem to have been productive at all.
Then I made Bad Weather Brownies, which are still in the oven. I used up a substantial portion of the Halloween candy I had left over because of the bad weather - m&m's in several varieties, mini pb cups, etc. I'm going to cover the tops in mini 3 Musketeer bars while the brownies are still warm. Should be an interesting frosting!
Now I'm off to check the oven timer, and then get organized for the craft class I'm teaching tomorrow....
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I took the bus home from dialysis and the bus driver missed my stop.. AGAIN.. When he does this, it makes me have to walk across the entrance to the parking lot for a grocery store. There's 3 lanes of traffic, no lights, and nobody watches for pedestrians. They don't even seem to notice my white cane, unless I happen to whack their bumper with it. I got home in time to see one of the neighbors chasing a large group of teenagers out of my back yard. Thank you, neighbor. They sit back there and smoke, leave their garbage, that kind of stuff.. one of them even took a crap back there. it was disgusting. I went in the house, made myself something to eat and played on the computer for a bit. I tried to ice some cupcakes, but the icing had been in the fridge, and it was too cold to come out of the piping bag, so I said screw it, and put it back in the fridge and watched Dark Shadows for the rest of the afternoon. *L*
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For the record, melted 3 Musketeer Bars make AWESOME frosting....
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Went to the Cardiac Dr. today. My 6-month check up. Everything looks good. He even cut one of my meds! Yay! :clap;
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I threw out some old icing.. that's the extent of my day right there
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I threw out some old icing.. that's the extent of my day right there
Whoa Riki ... slow down girl! Surely you can only take so much excitement in one day?!
*grin*
So far today I've had my hair chopped, visited the library, picked up a parcel from the Royal Mail delivery office (someone sent me Twinkies!!) and another from the Post Office, posted my SS package to foreign lands and a letter to my new little sponsored boy in India, bought a gift for an eleven year old girl (we do a thing at work where you buy a Christmas present for a child in care who would otherwise get very little - I don't know much about eleven year old girls so I'm hoping that some Hello Kitty eau de toilette will suffice) and drunk a mug of tea. It's now noon so I'll soon be settling down with some lunch in front of the tellybox to watch some recorded shows (Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, followed by The Almighty Johnson's, if you're interested) and then wrapping Blokey's birthday presents ready for tomorrow. Not quite a lazy day, but not too busy either. Nice.
;D
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Yesterday...
Woke up 2 hours before my alarm. Well, someone did - cause that sure can't have been me who got up, did a mile on the treadmill, ate a healthy breakfast,cleaned the house, and did a stack of paperwork before I got dressed and went to my legal professional association meeting!
Came home, did more paperwork, got called for a job interview next Tuesday ( :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;), and then went to the Secretary of State's office to renew my car registration and order my DONATE LIFE plate, which is my birthday gift to myself this year. I am getting one that says 2SPARE, for my two spare parts. :)
Then I went to the 2 thrift stores in the same plaza as the SoS's office. Okay, probably shouldn't have, but found some fab deals on fun stuff!
Today - well, not much so far, but the day is young! I'm FINALLY going to paint the trim in my office. My sister is coming to help me with the room tomorrow, and we'll be arranging the furniture, hanging blinds and curtains, and decorating it. Can't wait to see it all pulled together!
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I baked (am baking) bread, half of it will be with some smoked cheese, and fresh basil. Still looking at the mess I made I will clear up some time, and the rest of the house that needs tidying.
But the sun is shining.
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i talk to my crush today!! :shy; sooo happy!
well moving on!!!
i just finish our Christmas tree (assemble type) ... 8)
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Someone on this site compromised with me and changed their wording. The Political part of this forum is a war zone.
:flower;
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managed to watch the rest of warehouse 13 on netflix. seem to have caught a cold. which april says is what i get for sitting in a room full of germs 3 times a week with a compromised immune system. gotta blame someone!
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Finished decorating and organizing my office. Filled out and sent all the forms I needed for my will and financial and medical power of attorney to the students and professor who are running the estate planning seminar. Worked on the notes I took at trial last week for two hours before my eyes crossed. Cleaned the kitchen of all the leftover clutter from a weekend of home improvement projects. Did the dishes and the laundry. Picked an interview outfit. Decided I deserved to go to bed early.
Good night!
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I got an abstract put together for a System Engineering tutorial for a conference next April. As usual, waited until the last minute to get going on it. One of these years we'll get it started earlier...
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I went to Church and stayed for the dinner afterwards. Surprised a friend with a Birthday cake.
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What kind of birthday cake was it CebuShan? I'm looking for ideas for hubby's upcoming birthday.
I rang the council for reduction in rates, because of home hemo. I rang Kimal to change my needles for BH. The HH nurse said he had emailed them 3 times for the right order, yet nobody had seen them, surprise, surprise.
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It was a white cake with chocolate cupcakes surrounding it. It was really pretty.
My accomplishment for today is: I got my labs back. :cheer: Everything looks great. They even told me to eat a banana (or an artichoke!) :cheer:
I was compl;imented on how well I control my numbers through diet. I don't take phos binders, No epogen (for now) and no calcitriol! :clap;
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I accomplished a lot this morning! :cheer: Went to the clinic to get my labs redone for Calcium...wonder why I rarely have a problem with phosphorus or potassium, but calcium gets me every third month or so? Anyhow, I went to the dollar store and got some tins for cookie and bread holiday baking, did grocery shopping, and then got my exercise walk in! Had to take a nap after all of that, and now it is raining, so just gonna read and watch tv for the rest of the day. Still have several spoons left, so hopefully will not be too drained tomorrow!
Ricki
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Tonight we are having our house blessed, and the people coming over are friends, too, so we are having dinner. Tried to have it last week, but stupid crockpot turned off (user error, I'm sure, I was rushed).
This time, I'm buying the food, not making it.
But, the house is a little trashed , so I got up and started working in earnest at about 3:30am. I put on the flylady home blessing hour podcast and got to work. I ignored most of what she said, cause I had other things to do outside of her 7 item list, but her talking and reminding me to rest and drink water are really helpful. By 6:30 I was showered, dressed, had an egg and cream of rice for breakfast, fed kitties and cleaned out all four litter boxes, did two loads of laundry, 1.5 loads of dishes, handwashed breakfast pots, put things away, emptied all trash and recycling and took it to the garage, cleaned whole bathroom, washed downstairs windows and mirror, swept and mopped all floors, packed our lunches (usu do that at night, but was so tired yesterday), brewed tea for myself* and husband, made sure he got up, folded clothes and sheets, made bed, feather dusted all but the bedrooms, brushed one cat, and started emptying a box of VHS tapes that I need to use to stash all the clothes I don't have time to out away before company comes tonight!
When I get home tonight, I just have to vacuum and stash....stashing will take some effort, we have a lot of crap, and an undeveloped organizational system. Working on it!
This all would have taken me, like, 8 hours to do before. Also, I would have been super stressed, but I had a lovely morning. Flylady is helpful, if you adjust her to your own needs. Eg, my bathroom was easy to clean, since I pretty much wipe the sink and toilet every day, and the floor I'm pretty good about once a week.. It's like Molly Maid, though. A quick clean isn't usually a very thorough one, so I think the home blessing "hour" needs adjusting based on individual needs. I really just need someone to keep me focused and on-task, or my ADD brain will decide it's a good day to paint the upstairs bathroom or something!
:kiss;
I'm proudest of the fact that I stopped cleaning at 6:40, and focused on getting ready for work. I can get really hyperfocused and make myself late when I do anything other than get ready for work in the morning. I was in about 7 mins before my start time. Not the best, but not too bad, either.
the hubs will pick up a chicken and sides while I finish up tonight.
:beer1;
*ginger for me...try it! Kills bacteria, good for nausea. I peel and then cut ginger root into discs that I freeze, then put one or two disks into the pot on Hi til boiling, then simmer for 20 mins....let cool and put leftover tea in fridge to heat or have cold later. Gross cold, though. One large root lasts forever!
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I took the bus home from dialysis and the bus driver missed my stop.. AGAIN.. When he does this, it makes me have to walk across the entrance to the parking lot for a grocery store. There's 3 lanes of traffic, no lights, and nobody watches for pedestrians. They don't even seem to notice my white cane, unless I happen to whack their bumper with it. I got home in time to see one of the neighbors chasing a large group of teenagers out of my back yard. Thank you, neighbor. They sit back there and smoke, leave their garbage, that kind of stuff.. one of them even took a crap back there. it was disgusting. I went in the house, made myself something to eat and played on the computer for a bit. I tried to ice some cupcakes, but the icing had been in the fridge, and it was too cold to come out of the piping bag, so I said screw it, and put it back in the fridge and watched Dark Shadows for the rest of the afternoon. *L*
I would have just taken the cake and icing to the television, spooned out some icing, then taken a bite of cupcake. In my family, the frozen cookie batter we bought hardly ever even made it to the oven. My parents worked a lot.....
:shy;
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Mom is in the process of trying to decide if she can sell her house and move to a wonderful senior living community near here. I spent the day with Mom and a real estate agent and then just us looking at all the numbers and discussing all of the financial and emotional ramifications of it all. Exhausting and necessary. I'm glad to be able to be there for her. Big changes!
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Survived another interview. I think it went well, not that you can ever really tell. (It's easy to tell if it went bad, not so easy to tell if it went great!) Hoping for good results - sounds like a really interesting position. I'm more than ready to be employed. I'm starting to hate cover letters!
Had to laugh when one of the students I help at the pro bono clinic asked if she could see my cover letter. Which one? I do a new one for every job app. I think I've got at least 40 on file now. Working full time has got to be easier than trying to come up with yet another way to get noticed in a stack of applicants!
But I guess what I'm doing is working - I was told that they had over 100 applicants for this position, and it was only posted one week. They only did interviews today, and I was the last one at 3:30, with an hour scheduled for each interview. So, 1 of 7 or 8 candidates at most. Not bad! Now if only that means I'm going to get more than a polite "Thanks for playing" letter....
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Beany - Have you thought going back to work as a temp? I did that after having the kids. Three of the four temp positions I worked at asked me to stay on as a fulltime worker. Two of them I wouldn't have touched with a barge pole but the third one was a lovely place to work. It would give you time to thoroughly check them out, too.
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Beany - Have you thought going back to work as a temp? I did that after having the kids. Three of the four temp positions I worked at asked me to stay on as a fulltime worker. Two of them I wouldn't have touched with a barge pole but the third one was a lovely place to work. It would give you time to thoroughly check them out, too.
I'm getting signed up for Ticket to Work, so I can get a part-time position if none of the full time things pans out. I can't possibly pay for transplant meds without insurance, so that's been a sticking point with temp jobs without benefits.
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Survived another interview. I think it went well, not that you can ever really tell. (It's easy to tell if it went bad, not so easy to tell if it went great!)
When I had the interview for the position I have now I thought I'd done SO badly that when they rang me the next day and offered me the job I blurted out (without thinking), 'But I came across really badly!' and the lady (who is really senior in a place of 700-ish employees) laughed and insisted that I came across brilliantly. Of course, I was dosed up on painkillers (two weeks post-donation) which may have skewed my judgement somewhat.
I've achieved nothing today. Oh, I made a student laugh and helped a colleague or four, made a fabulous chicken stew with the slow cooker (coming home to those amazing aromas and warmth is heavenly) and I played at being a 'good sport' when friends took the proverbial out of my organisation skills (tidy desk, tidy mind) but it was still a bit of a flat day really.
8)
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Survived another interview. I think it went well, not that you can ever really tell. (It's easy to tell if it went bad, not so easy to tell if it went great!)
When I had the interview for the position I have now I thought I'd done SO badly that when they rang me the next day and offered me the job I blurted out (without thinking), 'But I came across really badly!' and the lady (who is really senior in a place of 700-ish employees) laughed and insisted that I came across brilliantly.
Sounds good to me - I would love one of those calls right now!
Let's see - got up, walked to the bus stop, rode to campus, and then walked the 15 minutes from there to the courthourse to observe the law students do motion practice in front of a real judge who likes to help out the clinic students practice at least once a term. After, I walked the next block to the bank, cashed a check, and walked 25 minutes back past the campus to the central bus station to buy another bus pass, since my 31 day pass expires tomorrow. Their credit card system was down, so all that for no pass. Hopped on the bus there, and headed for home. Got off at the grocery store half a mile from home, bought a pass from them, and grabbed a few groceries. The bus runs every half hour, but it only took me 15 minutes to get my stuff. So I walked home, and took a curving, different route than usual that doubled the distance.
I should have worn the boots without heels today. My calves are not happy, but I'm feeling virtuous, so that okay.
I wasn't in the mood to do anything at all by the time I got home at 3:30, but didn't want to waste the rest of the afternoon, so I put down my book and got up out of my comfy chair after I ate lunch and got started.
I wrote my to-do list for the rest of the week.
Added to my shopping list.
Changed out two dead light bulbs I keep forgetting about.
Did the dishes.
Wrapped all the books I need to mail for my swap site after printing the labels with postage.
(Most of this I did while on the phone with a good friend, so the time flew by.)
I also cut some leftover trim from my bathroom on my chop box. I have one picture in the collage on my office wall that needs a bigger frame to balance the group. I don't have one that matches anywhere else that I could trade out, and I don't want to spend any more money on one if I can help it. I've glued the angled pieces together. When it's dry tomorrow, I will paint it and glue my existing narrow frame on the center of it, and hang it up again.
Renew, reuse, recycle, right?
Or as my Gram put it - Make do or do without!
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I walked up to Tim Horton's to use the free coffee and donut coupon that I won at the Bowl for Research a couple of weeks ago. It was cold, so I wore my socks and shoes instead of my sandals. I think I have a blister, but I had free coffee, so it was worth it.
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I haven't done much at all today, I hate to say! I boiled eggs for deviled eggs (gotta get that protein in!) and walked for 1-1/2 miles. Tried to download music to my new cell phone, got 2 songs downloaded and lord knows where the rest went! Still havr to make ny Thanksgiving shopping list....will get that done by Tuesday!
Ricki
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In a word, no. I limped home from the bus stop after dialysis. My feet were just burning. I guess there's just no getting used to these shoes this year, which is a shame, cuz they're not that old
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Lots of random little things, but none of the big projects I wanted to finish!
Got the extra support bracket I bought up on the curtain rod in the office. It doesn't sag in the middle anymore when the curtains are closed - always a good thing.
Got my will and financial and medical power of attorney paperwork updated, signed, and ready to go. Feels good to have that mess taken care of, so if anything happens to me, my sister doesn't have to deal with a lot of nonsense.
Rearranged my collage of pics to make use of my new frame backing. I didn't end up gluing the little frame to the new piece I made out of left over trim - I just nailed one on top of the other. It looks really good, and didn't cost a thing. Free is my favorite price!
Made the cats happy by changing all the cat pans. I'm a day late on my usual schedule - you would think I'd left it for weeks, given how much they flounced around in the fresh litter, scattering it hither and yon as they dug at it.
Started scrubbing the second story stairs and banister to prep for painting tomorrow. Didn't get very far because my sister arrived in the middle of my hammering away at stray nails on the top step. Eventually, I figured out that the knocking she was doing on the door was not an echo and went and let her in. ;)
Took the gift card my sister gave me for my birthday and got more paint, so I don't have to mix so much to cover the rec room walls. She helped me work out how the furniture will look best, and pick colors before I went to get paint. She also brought me a thrift store find - an overhead projector that I can use to project designs on the walls. I'm going to cover the laundry room area with graphic soap bubbles. My rec room is going to have a deep brown on the walls in one corner section, and I'm going to do a random design of overlapping circles in multiple colors. I did everything upstairs nicely, but I'm going to go a bit crazy with the downstairs!
Off to bed now so I can get up early and get lots done tomorrow.
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I went to Nova Scotia today to visit with a cousin who is visiting from Edmonton, Alberta. I'm actually on the ferry on the way home right now, and they're coming into the dock, so I best shut down and get to the car.. *G*
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Two days in a row of non-stop home improvement projects. Ow. I may or may not be able to stand upright tomorrow, since a substantial portion of my time was spent hunched over my stairs, prepping and painting them.
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SO: Christmas shopping at the mall.
Anniversary gift bought by hubby at my urging. See's Dark Chocolate.
Dinner out at Sundowners
Home to watch the last hour of WWE wrestling Survivor Series
Cleaned off my desk. The mail pile was getting seriously high.
Finished a book.
Watching Six Million Dollar Man Season 2.
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I did laundry.. just mine, though.. Mom can do her own.. *LOL* I was going to make cookies too, but I'm not feeling the best, so I figured I'd leave them to another day
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I found my front door key! Also have managed a bit of cleaning and sorting, nothing too impressive. This morning I spoke with Dyl's teacher about a lunch incident yesterday. My baby was in tears. This dinner lady (as they call them) told Dyl he had to eat with a knife and fork. He was eating chips! Then he felt as if she was mocking him because he said he wasn't hungry and she said something obnoxious like "It's not that he's not hungry, he just doesn't want to do as he's told." Yes, congratulations, you put my child off eating chips with your control freakishness. You also forced him to eat more fried potato (idiocy) in order to get his pudding and you rudely spoke about him in the third person right in front of him. Once again, Aidan had to go fix it. Stop forcing my 10-year-old to be the responsible mediator!
Anyway, Dyl did speak to his teachers about it and they tried to help him but he was so reluctant to tell them what happened because he struggles to handle negative emotion. Gwyn and I both went in to reinforce that this is not to happen again and his teacher was lovely about it and said she will pass these instructions along to the lunch supervisor.
Going to volunteer in an hour.
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This dinner lady (as they call them) ...
I remember my dinner lady from primary school with absolute fondness ... she was a lovely little thing; I saw her last weekend but didn't get to speak with her. And she's definitely not as old as she should be (she was ancient when I was at primary school 27 years ago!!) This one sounds a right madam though; I'm pleased he has a lovely teacher who can handle the situation.
I changed my bedsheets, am about to hang them on the line and wash some more stuff, and managed to nearly book tickets to see Muse in London next May, until I realised Blokey had also got to the 'buy' stage and cancelled my order. Still, we could have sold the extra tickets and made LOTS of money ... darn! I'll be spending the rest of the day watching some tellybox shows I've Sky+'d and just relaxing, because I can.
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Repeat post above about days on end of home improvement. Ow. I will have this place in order before my party!
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I changed, and turned 3 mattresses, finished the last chaircushion, assembled a medium drawerchest, feel mighty proud, and knackered.
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I shopped for Christmas treats for classroom. Bought ornaments and candy canes and wrapping paper.
I have 31 books to be wrapped by my TA.
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Arranged for purchase and delivery of half of my Xmas shopping list. I.e. made a phone call to a friend who is going to pick up gift passes to the little local movie theater where she lives and bring them to me when she comes to visit so I can wrap them with "movie" boxes of candy and ship them out to my friends up north. I tried to get them online, but the theater organization is so low tech, they barely have a website, let alone ordering options for people who want to use credit cards!
Organized the timing of my friend's visit and planned what we were going to do while she was here. Planned a day for a housewarming party for my up-north and other friends, since I can't fit them and the law clinic crowd in my house at the same time. Decided on weekend of St. Patty's day. If I do a Saturday afternoon-into-evening open house party, they can drive down and back in one day if they want. Or fight for space on my floor - their choice!
Job hunted on-line. Found two more to apply for this week, and am in the middle of writing a cover letter for a third I'd already found.
Fiddled a little bit more with decorating, but decided I needed a day to rest from home improvement. Did laundry and read the Sunday paper instead. Clipped and filed all the coupons, wrote up a list of what needs to be done next in the rec room, and inventoried the kitchen cupboards to make a shopping list, with Xmas baking in mind.
Not bad considering I didn't get dressed or make the bed today!
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I maintained some semblance of sanity even though my kids both have a 'viral cough' and spent the morning at home. I took them to the GP late morning on a walk-in basis. Laundry, laundry, laundry, then lunch with 6 friends to celebrate two birthdays. Picked up Dyl from school (Aidan was the worse off of the two so he stayed home all day, Gwyn worked from home so I could go to lunch). My Aussie friend has me re-examining my visa plans. I am going to try to do this without leaving the country - she said it's the law that my husband has the right the live with his family. I so do not want to go back to America. More general cleaning and studying for the Life in the UK test that I have to take if I am going to go the route that my Aussie friend went. I have no idea why they think it's important that I know the exact percentage of people under the age of 19 living in the UK, but then, when I taught citizenship to refugees in the US, I never knew why I had to make them memorize who said "Give me liberty or give me death." :waiting;
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It's about hoops - if they are willing to jump through hoops, then they are sincere about wanting it. Most Americans can't pass the test it takes to become a citizen!
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It's about hoops - if they are willing to jump through hoops, then they are sincere about wanting it.
I think you've nailed it there, jbeany. I think of these citizenship tests as high-stakes Trivial Pursuit. They're all a bit silly in my opinion. I do believe Gwyn is one of those Americans who couldn't pass the citizenship test, and the only reason he's an American is because he's already passed it, and only four years ago.
Accomplishment of sorts. I was up almost the entire night last night, worrying about whether I could get Dyl into this school I want him to go to. A friend told me she wants her boy to go there, and this is all so touchy and horrible because our kids will be competing for spaces. I hate being pitted against other families, but I will do what I have to do for Dyl. I went for coffee with my Aussie friend this morning and she and I had a long, enormously calming conversation about this. The best part is, I was able to help her by telling her that I knew there was a space for her child in this amazing and free school because he is in a different year to my boy. Chances are she could save her family thousands of pounds a year because they were set to go private.
OK, but unrelated to this - Gwyn and I have been battling since our arrival to get Aidan on a football team. I left messages, sent emails, harangued anyone with a sports connection in town and got next to nowhere. So Gwyn and I stepped it up - anytime I would hear about or see a practice taking place, we would crash it. Two weeks ago, Aidan trained with a U12 team because we turned up unannounced and they gave him a shot (he's actually U11). The kids were so much bigger than him, but he did manage to show them his talents to a certain extent. Finally some kind soul took the time to explain to us that according to football regs, they can only have 15 players on any given squad and every team in town was at capacity, but Aidan was welcome to train with them and perhaps a spot would open up eventually. He trained tonight - he has this awful cough and Tuesdays are our most insanely busy nights, but he and Gwyn went anyway. After practice, the coach pulled him aside and said he had talked to the U12 coach and after seeing what Aidan could do, the U11 coach offered him a spot on the team. I guess they are allowed to go over capacity by one and when the coach saw Aidan play, he decided it was time to do that. Yay! Finally! Football's Great Intellect is back in the game!
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Two job apps out tonight - one emailed already, one printed to be dropped off in person tomorrow. Two in one night, after a full day at the pro-bono clinic knee deep in paper work. I feel virtuous now. :angel;
Last night, I made and sent out party invites last night to all the staff and students from the clinic. (Now I really have to finish the remodeling/decorating!) Much giggling and laughing as they greeted me this morning. I used the official court form for a Motion, along with a notice of hearing date and location. I attached the map, stamped as Exhibit 1. The motion title was "Motion to Celebrate the End of Term" in front of Honorable Judge Stress Relief. I modified the "If you need special accommodations for disability, etc." line to read that if Mexican food, Margaritas, and Mexican Beer didn't accommodate them, to BYOB.
Another joke that may only be funny to lawyers.... ;D
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And another app out tonight. Two rejection emails in, but thankfully neither for the job I had the interview with. Not sure if that's good or bad, though. Wondering is worse than the rejections.
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It's about hoops - if they are willing to jump through hoops, then they are sincere about wanting it. Most Americans can't pass the test it takes to become a citizen!
I have no idea why they think it's important that I know the exact percentage of people under the age of 19 living in the UK, but then, when I taught citizenship to refugees in the US, I never knew why I had to make them memorize who said "Give me liberty or give me death." :waiting;
I took the UK test once and failed appallingly; less then 50% if I recall. I should not have the right to a British passport ... tsk!!
I've been to the PO and spent oodles of money on sending cheap little goodies abroad. I also went to the library and the chemist, watched The Almighty Johnson's and put some washing on the line. Now I need to retrieve the washing before it gets dark outside. I can't see my keyboard. I think a coffee is in order before I get to grips with finishing my mental health presentation for a micro-lesson I need to do to pass this damn course at work.
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I bought new mini lights to go on my tree outside. I plugged them in before I ever took them out of the box and they all worked just fine. Then I got them on and plugged them in and only half were working. It was too dark so I had to wait until today. I had my hands over my head for a half hour trying to push them all in. Then I tired to change the base bulb and they all came on. I was so happy. ;D
:christmastree;
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I bought toys on Amazon for the niece and nephew this morning. I love that Amazon will ship to my sister's address.
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A very accomplished day indeed! Woke way too early this morning considering I could have had a lie-in. Ah, well, I did stay in bed, just didn't sleep. Made it to Dyl's football training a few minutes late all the same - they are starting to divide them into teams for next year when they start playing. They are desperate for refs, and I volunteered Aidan. While he's too young, they need refs so much that they have offered to let him unofficially ref the friendlies that they will host over the next six months. We shall see if he goes through with it.
Then we got home and really attacked the lounge. It was piled with boxes and we are collecting a used couch, chair and ottoman tomorrow off of Preloved. Gwyn is also going to circle round to get a gorgeous second hand leather club chair and a barely used Skylanders starter pack for the Wii to give to Dyl for Christmas (along with the Wii which will be a gift from Santa to all of us). Total cost for a beautiful sofa set plus the game will be £250. Anyhow, in the course of a day, the lounge went from being a disaster filled with boxes to being somewhat organized and clean enough to put the furniture into (though we still have work to do). We have been in this house 10 weeks and we are finally going to have a room where we can all gather and watch videos or play a game. Woohoo!
Finding so much stuff I'd forgot about in going through every last item we own (still much more to do in the garage!) I found a very expensive watch of mine in the pocket of a coat I've hardly worn. I am thrilled to have recovered the watch, the coat will be headed to Ebay (a friend is going to help me as I've never tried to sell anything on there). Also found a stack of Simpson's comics that a friend gave me that I immediately handed over to the boys who are busy reading them right now (90 minutes past their bedtime!!!)
Earlier in the week I donated the Franklin Mint pewter Harley Davidson model to the charity shop. (Gwyn owns the motorbike so it seemed stupid to also have the model, and he got the thing stupidly cheap from a dealer show or something). The charity shop put it out yesterday (in the window!) for £20 and I was so nervous, because that is pretty pricey for a charity shop, we have no box or papers for the model, and there is minor damage to it. I thought I'd be a bit embarrassed if it didn't sell, so this morning when we were at the open market buying our veg and cheese, I slipped over to the shop to have a look and the model was gone. Gwyn said "Someone's getting it for Christmas." :)
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My early garlic is trimmed and plaited. I wouldn't get a prize for plaiting. My late garlic has been pulled up and is curing on the verandah. The garlic beds are weeded, mulched and planted with nasturtium, cantaloupe and cucumber seeds, and protected from cats with plastic mesh. I am full of strawberries and radishes from thinnings and pickings. Bliss!
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I helped my six-year-old write up the text for his school project on the subject of winter. He wrote about the Hotel de Glace in Quebec, and he dictated the most amazing statements to me (which I sadly had to help him edit down because he is so verbose and comes up with these Faulkner-esque sentences). This was much harder to help him with than his report on frilled lizards, but all he has left to do is to draw some pictures and pick some photos to include.
I took the UK test once and failed appallingly; less then 50% if I recall. I should not have the right to a British passport ... tsk!!
I think I got an 8 out of 24 on my first attempt, and some of those were guesses. I thankfully don't recall my first score on the American citizenship exam.
Speaking of citizenship, we are stuck in Britain for the foreseeable future. We finally completed the boys' UK passport applications and had to surrender their American passports whilst those are reviewed. Bit scary the trust I've put in the Royal Mail.
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I've almost completed my 100 point plan for things I wish to accomplish in 2013. As I've today, I've only got three more spots to fill.
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Yesterday I forced myself to donate four bags of items to the charity shop. The longer I wait to do this, the more likely it is that I will talk myself out of getting rid of stuff I don't use. I had to take the bags on the bus but it was worth it to have it out of our way.
Today will hopefully be about cleaning, organizing and making scones.
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Volunteered at the clinic this morning. Home at a reasonable time for a change, which is good since I have a craft class to teach tonight and company coming to stay. Thankfully, this isn't a "clean the house" type guest. I've known her far too long for that. She can ignore the dust, since I already know she has plenty of practice ignoring it at her house!
Yesterday, I got a lot done. I got lights hung along the fence. I'd say they were Xmas lights, but since I'm planning on leaving them up until I can afford to hire an electrician to figure out why my side porch and garage lights don't work, not so much on the "holiday" lights....I hate coming home to a dark yard. I also stripped all the extra cable that was strung around the outside of the house. I don't pay for cable tv, and I can't picture spending the money on it even when I do get a job and can afford it, so I see no reason to leave the ugly black wires wrapped around the foundation. Now I just have to remember to fill the holes in the walls when I work on the rest of the winterizing/insulation. I did a lot of little things on my house projects. I baked goodies for my craft class and the dinner at the club house, and packed up and organized all my class supplies.
Hopefully, I can be equally productive this afternoon!
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I haven't even gotten out of bed yet... and it's dark outside...
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Supervised the boys finishing their winter projects. Dyl wrote a "book" on L'Hotel de Glace and Aidan wrote a biography on Neil Armstrong and created a model of Apollo 11. I made Aidan cry. :( I was a bit too honest about what I thought of his rough draft, but I sat down with him to polish it and now it's much improved.
Also: piles of laundry, raced down to the art shop for supplies, volunteered for 2 hours, cleaned the kitchen, collected the boys, missed the bus by minutes and waited in the bitter cold for the rush hour bus. The boys were wearing their football kit - shorts and Ts - so I made them put their trousers on over their shorts at the bus stop. Gwyn was already home by the time we staggered into the house where he made me tea and the boys hot cocoa.
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Anyone want to come help me clean/ organize my house???
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Must be today. Here is my list:
(Remember I got home from dialysis at 4 a.m. Did a load of laundry. Then caught an hour or so of sleep. Up at 6a.m. And at work by 6:45a.m.)
Contact students to see if parents speak Spanish or English
Calendar IEP dates to translator lady on computer 9 IEP dates
Grade 29 persuasive essays
Fix grade book snafu I made yesterday for period 4
Teach 5 classes, give two classes tests today
Collect math papers from homework
Checked all of it off and walked away from work done with most everything.
Tomorrow-
Update Language Arts grade in computer gradebook
Update all grades in computer gradebook.
Give Language Arts classes test to complete.
Judge writer's showcase contest.
Duck two teachers who are thoroughly pissed off at me. Yes, I managed to do it again!
Collect articles for a unit I am teaching next quarter.
Take scantrons from test to scanner and get scanned and graded.
Prepare for next week.
Keep my sanity. One week to the end of Semester 1/Quarter 2. Test week next week. We may all cry together!
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Went shopping. Bought beautiful shoes and gorgeous dress (with grateful thanks to Blokey's credit card) plus a few presents. Now completely zoinked.
Oh, and I got a card from galvo in Australia-Land! They even put their stamps on upside down down-under, the silly beggars.
;D
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Stand on your head!
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I managed to work for 10 hours straight while battling strep throat with a fever and stuffed up nose. The nose is driving me insane right now.
All emails cleaned up though after missing two days of work.
Christi
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My best friend's dad died this morning, so I spent as much time as she'd let me trying to make her laugh, without success, unfortunately. Mom worked today, and she didn't feel like making supper, so we went out to eat. A new Toys R Us opened last month, and we hadn't been there yet, so we wandered around that store until our feet hurt. I took some pictures and video. *L*
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997 dollars spent on a new water pump for my car. Sigh! I told it when I dropped it off at the mechanics, I had no extra money to spend on it!
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I found the Pom-pom Bermuda Triangle! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
My two cats' favorite toys are small pom-poms. I estimate I've made or bought at least 50 in the 6 months I've lived here. They vanish on a daily basis. Poof. Gone. Each day, I get a lecture in Kittenese on how drastic the loss is to their emotional state, but I have rarely been able to reliably locate more than one or two at any given time.
I've been working upstairs on my craft room. I was scrubbing the floor on my hands and knees when I realized the built-in desk has a gap under the drawers at each end. I can access it by removing the drawer directly above on each end. Tada - At least 25 poms have returned from the Triangle! I've tucked them in a handy box so I can dole them back out each day.
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3 naps. Gotta love holiday colds. I've got a sore throat that no amount of hot tea or broth seems to do much for. It's not really bad, just persistently annoying. Bleah.
I'm still planning on doing my 3 miles on the treadmill today, though. I've only missed one day since I started back in again on the 15th. (Skipped one day for my shin splints to ease up - whoops, back to power walking instead of jogging for a bit.)
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I went Christmas shopping with my dad.. got a lot of walking in cuz he forgot to get the disabled parking placard from my mom.. *G*
I got my mom's present, so I'm happy.. that's all I really wanted to do... I won't say what it is, cuz I think she may wander around the site, and I'm not sure what non members are allowed to see, plus she's always saying that she's gonna join..
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I finished the holiday baking today...got the gingerbread men decorated, and the containers ready to be filled! This years selection is fruitcake cookies, choc chips, peanut butter reindeer, Russian tea cakes, ginger crackles, and southern pecans. Will fill the pails and start giving them out tomorrow. Somehow I always get backed up...I have been working on this project for almost a week!
Ricki
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I finished the holiday baking today...got the gingerbread men decorated, and the containers ready to be filled! This years selection is fruitcake cookies, choc chips, peanut butter reindeer, Russian tea cakes, ginger crackles, and southern pecans. Will fill the pails and start giving them out tomorrow. Somehow I always get backed up...I have been working on this project for almost a week!
Ricki
You need faster recipes! All I made this year to pass out was bacon pecans (half an hour in the oven, stir every 10 minutes, with only about 3 minutes prep time to start, and a couple minutes at the end to stir them in sugar and salt), microwave caramels (6 minutes, stir every 2 - when they are cool, cut into loooong slices and wrap bon-bon style so people can slice off whatever size bite they want), and fudge in assorted flavors (only about 15 minutes total time from start to finish with my favorite no-thermometer recipe). Was done in a couple of hours, and mailed it all out the next day. I will make homemade rolls for the family dinner, but that's it for me!
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The Christmas presents are wrapped.
We had lunch/dinner with my sister and Mom and gave presents to them today around 2p.m.
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Today I went to the grocery store, which I swore I wouldn't due because of an incoming Nor'easter, but when I found what I was out of, I really didn't have a choice. It wasn't bad, I went fairly early this morning to avoid the crowds.
I tossed meatballs into the crock pot, so dinner will be yummy, yet simple. I love simple!!
All the chores that I put off during the week are done, so right now, I have waiting for me, both of my books, a comfy blanket on the recliner, a very nice fire in the wood stove and the nor'easter has started so I can still see the snow coming down even though it's getting dark outside. It's really very pretty! All in all, a successful day :-)
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I ate too much chocolate.
;D
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Dishes done. Laundry done. Fish tank cleaned. Selected material from my stash for several tote bags and have one half done. Planning to make several dozen more over the next few days. Need a cash infusion after Xmas spending, and since my job interviews aren't panning out yet, I need to get back to crafting!
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Accomplishments have been very thin on the ground around here, at least for me.
I slept until 10:30 which never happens, but then I probably did not fall asleep last night until gone 2:30 AM. I have been sick since Christmas day with a tonsil infection and I finally broke down and have started taking ibuprofen, which worked miraculously for days but is suddenly not taking the pain away completely. I had scheduled hair appointments for the three males early afternoon, then since it was chucking down rain most of the day, the boys and I stayed home and did not much of anything while Gwyn played in his rugby game. Gwyn came back quite injured, made dinner because I was too lazy to do it, and then left to meet a friend who was celebrating her birthday at a local pub. I am off alcohol until I can stop taking ibuprofen, which meant I declined the invite. All I've managed to do is the very minimum of laundry, dishes, making lunch for the boys. I hate unproductive days! Hoping for better tomorrow.
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Not much. One load of laundry. Some organizing. Helped Carl look through old slides that his brother-in-law dropped off at our house a few weeks back. Carl realized that he is the last living person on earth who might have any connection to these old slides. :'(
The list of what I did NOT do (and should have) is far longer. Oops!
Aleta
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"Woke up, fell out of bed, grabbed a comb across my head"...reef fish tank cleaned, (found weird stripped starfish looking thing in the live rock, not sure what it is yet), have a house appraisal today, need to clean up a little, movie and early dinner (New Years tradition around here) home by 7:00, tonight is for amateurs...
Happy New Year all...
M
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10 things on my to-list today. Accomplished so - a big fat ZERO. Hmmm....
Might be time to get the procrastination thread going again!
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I got 2 loads of laundry done. And my kitchen is sparkling! Good enough for me!
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I was rudely woken up at midday, upon which I stripped the house of decorations, dusted available surfaces and ran the hoover across the floors. The bathroom and kitchen also saw a bit of cleaning fluid. Christmas is well and truly over.
:2thumbsup;
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I did manage some laundry, tidied a bit.
Wishing everybody a Great 2013!!! :cheer: :waiting; :cheer:
Love y'all. :grouphug;
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Took down the Xmas stuff, resorted it all into new containers, put some of it into the donate pile, took apart a beat up wreath to salvage the wire frame and some of the garland and tossed the beat-up ribbon and faded florals, and replaced and rearranged the non-seasonal decor. Worked for a bit on more tote bags to sell. Well, that's three of the 10 things off the list, (1. more totes, 2. take down Xmas, 3. sort and repack it into boxes I can lift easily.) at any rate. Time for a dinner break and then I'll see how much more I can do today.
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spent most of the day playing on my computer....
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Not yet, but we will.. I decided that I wanted to rearrange my bedroom.. Mom got most of the little stuff out, now we just need to move the bed
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Paid bills. One more thing off my to-do-list. Made another tote bag. One more to add to my stock for summer. If I keep going, I may have enough to do a craft show by mid-summer, and then I can make retail on them instead of wholesale. Much better deal!
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I took me a day and a half of cleaning and sorting, but the home office room- The Room of Doom- is sorted and organized. I started it the 30th and worked all 7 a.m until dialysis at 6p.m. Then I continued today.
All book shelves have been sorted and cleaned out in here. I dusted the nic-nacs and books, too.
A bookshelf was moved.
I cleaned and dusted the top of the desk.
I cleaned out the paper work on top of the desk.
I cleaned out the desk drawers.
I cleaned out the file cabinet and shredded old documents.
I cleaned and organized the DVD closet.
I even wrote my birthday gift thank you cards.
Whew!
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I took me a day and a half of cleaning and sorting, but the home office room- The Room of Doom- is sorted and organized. I started it the 30th and worked all 7 a.m until dialysis at 6p.m. Then I continued today.
All book shelves have been sorted and cleaned out in here. I dusted the nic-nacs and books, too.
A bookshelf was moved.
I cleaned and dusted the top of the desk.
I cleaned out the paper work on top of the desk.
I cleaned out the desk drawers.
I cleaned out the file cabinet and shredded old documents.
I cleaned and organized the DVD closet.
I even wrote my birthday gift thank you cards.
Whew!
Oh, now you made me look at my computer area! NIGHTMARE!
I really need to go through and sort the paperwork!
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Kitkat, you're making me feel ashamed of myself!
I did do a bit of that kind of sorting. I cleared and filed a lot of random stuff while I paid bills, so my desk doesn't look too bad right now. If I can find a job any time soon, I can get rid of the heaps of job apps and resume clutter, too. That will help. I hate paper clutter. The cats always turn it into a snow drift!
My accomplishment for the day was managing to go to bed before 3 am last night, and waking up before noon. The term at the law school clinic where I volunteer starts in a week - time to get back on a human schedule instead of a vampire sleep cycle. I was doing really well at going to bed by 10 pm until I got sick just before the holidays!
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Yay! The entire house is now vacuumed, and the living room is rearranged so that my favorite chair is closer to the heat vent and farther from the cold window. Now to catch my breath and see if I have the ambition to get down on my hands and knees and scrub the kitchen floor. :P
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jbeany, I get tired just reading your posts........
I spent the day on my computer mostly, because the roads here aren't plowed plus they're covered with ice, so couldn't really go anywhere.
:P
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I skipped the floor and made another tote bag instead. 8 done. Two more and I'll have enough to pack up and store in my nearly-inaccessible closet until craft show season starts. 5 packs and I can sign up for a show. 10 packs and I can make some decent money from the show....
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I've gotten more Christmas put away. I usually leave the Snowmen and "Wintery" things out through January. It's just a matter of rearranging now. More laundry to do, seems like a neverending cycle! :rofl;
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I fixed my car lights! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
The instrument panel went dark in my car a couple weeks ago. Really annoying, but I didn't think much of it. When I went to see my BIL the next week, I had him look at it. He replaced the fuse on my cigarette lighter, which was also dead, but after checking all the other fuses that were were labeled in the manual as anything that seemed related to the instrument panel, he came up empty. Ah, well, we figured it must be a bulb. That's a mess to fix since the whole dashboard usually has to come out, but I was planning on taking my car to a friend's mechanic-hubby anyhow, because the light bulbs and one of the covers are shot on the plate lights, and the bolts that hold them in place are rusted shut and snap off when you turn them. The bolts need to be redrilled and some of the connectors need to be replaced. I figured he could do both jobs at the same time. It wasn't going to be scheduled until after the holidays, but there was no huge rush - I take the bus most of the time anyhow, so driving after dark is a rare thing for me.
A few days after that, my sister mentioned my running lights were out on the back of my car when I left her house that night after BIL looked at it. WHAT? She thought I knew, since I knew about the instrument panel. Uh, no, I didn't. I don't normally stand behind my car while I'm driving it at night!
So, that was one more clue to look at. I went to the parts store (in the daylight!) and got an assortment of fuses. I haven't touched the car in a couple of weeks, since I've been sick (and too lazy to crawl around in the garage in the cold), but I finally got to it today. I looked back at the manual and checked every fuse on the list that looked related to tail lights or running lights.
Nada.
Phooey. Well, fine. So I started at one end of the fuse panel, and began pulling each and every one and checking them. Tada! Found one burned out. #39 on the panel. 10 amp. Oooh, even have one of those. Switched it out, turned on the key, turned on the brights.
Instrument lights!
Got out of the car.
Running lights!
Sweet. So, what was the #39 fuse labeled? "Light switch." Now why that fuse blowing turns out the tail lights and the instrument panel, but not the head lights or any of the interior lights....who knows? Whoever wrote the car manual must be related to the person who wired my house, where the workroom lights in the basement were labeled "Garage."
So, flush with my success, I'm going to go shopping tomorrow for the rest of the parts and see how far I can get changing out the plate lights.
Look out - woman with tools, and she's not afraid to use 'em!
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What did I accomplish today? Hmm... Oh! I remembered to take my Phosphorus binders with dinner! haha That's an accomplishment for me. (Shh... don't tell my neph! EEK!) And... I'm going on my 6th hour of work right now. 2 more to go! So, yeah. I feel accomplished today. :D
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I made it through a full day of work with no nap and cooked chicken soup for dinner. yum
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Shopping, laundry, tidied the craft room, had my phone appt. with the Ticket to Work place, and found a pair of jeans that fit me at the the thrift store. Hey. once in a while, miracles really do happen. Jeans that fit, flatter, and only cost a few bucks are in that category!
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I cleaned my half of the bedroom and moved things around so I can read in my glider in my room and watch TV.
Today I went t Barnes and Noble and spent Birthday gift cards. I bought a WWE magazine, Cyclops by Cussler,Dead REckoning by Mercedes LAckey and Rosemary Edgehill, and Catalyst by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Scarborough.
I will take a pic of my library one day after I go through it.
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Not a darn thing. I am so bored!!!!!!
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We did a marathon shopping day (even visited the new Costco that opened up here). Did not get home until mid afternoon and still needed to eat lunch after that. Then I did several loads of laundry and worked on getting files ready for an audit from the state. They were going to come on Monday, but I will be in New York that day for a visit with my Lyme specialist. That gave me until Thursday. I am almost ready. There was a bunch of catching up to do since I had not been keeping up with them since getting sick in April.
:shy;
The bad part is that all the files are electronic, but they needed them printed out! What a waste of paper and time..... Sheesh!
Now I'm doing my IV antibiotic treatment for the Lyme disease. After this post, I'm going to visit Pinterest..... time for some eye candy!
Aleta
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Hmmm....I accomplished NOT spending my usual hour on Pinterest today.... ;) (I'm on under "beany" if you want to see how much time I've spent on it!)
I went to the big annual antique show - newly renamed the "Vintage Life" show this year, by some idiotic marketing "genius" - with my sister. I saw a thousand things I wanted and didn't need. I couldn't find what I actually was looking for though. (Interesting coat hooks for my stairwell, and a more interesting pill box than the plastic thing I'm dragging around in my purse.) We spent 4 hours looking - and bought absolutely nothing - but were highly entertained at finding out the value of all the crap we've kept or bought at thrift stores over the years. I was very entertained to find that my $3 thrift-store hand-carved one-piece over-sized vintage rolling pin is worth about $75, give or take. I just bought it because it looked like I could keep it handy for break-ins, instead of a base-ball bat. ;D (It's on display in my kitchen, just for fun.)
Then we went to a thrift store and found what we'd been looking for. I bought 3 extremely battered hand trowels to drill holes in and hang in my stairwell with the handles up to hold coats and sweaters. My sister found two darling ceramic bowls to use for new planters. Total spent between the two of us was less than $8.
Of course, then we went to Flowerland and blew all the money we saved by not buying at the antique show. My sister bought plants and potting soil. I bought craft supplies from the Christmas clearance bins. I did manage to skip the temptation of buying plants, though. My cats have enough toys. ::)
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I went to the big annual antique show.
I wanted to go to one of our failry big antique fairs this weekend, but I talked myself out of it because I knew I'd buy something I didn't need with money I don't have. Also, it's at the local animal shelter so we would have had to go and look at the pussy-cats and then we would have had to bring one home ... (we wouldn't, but we would have wanted to!)
;D
Today I have showered, prepared the veg and meat to throw in the slow cooker when I wake up in the morning, washed one load of washing and just meandered about online. Oh, and I did a bit of dancing on the Wii (it's been too long!) It all equates to a fairly lazy Sunday before a busy first week back at work following the Christmas break. Early mornings ... ugh ... *shudder*
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I wanted to go to one of our failry big antique fairs this weekend, but I talked myself out of it because I knew I'd buy something I didn't need with money I don't have. Also, it's at the local animal shelter so we would have had to go and look at the pussy-cats and then we would have had to bring one home ... (we wouldn't, but we would have wanted to!)
Oooh, the pets would be tough to pass up! Do they label the older cats and dogs as "Vintage" items?
I can look at all the old stuff with my sister and just point at things and think - "Flashback!" without buying anything, but only if I have a shopping list and a set amount to spend. I wanted a fun pill box and the coat hooks. I didn't find anything I loved that would work for either thing, at least on my $50 budget, so it was easy to pass on the rest. (Not that I didn't love some of the Tiffany compacts I could have used for pillboxes, but I'm not carrying a $200 pillbox in my purse, even if I could have afforded it.) There are a lot of vendors at this show who are designers who remake antiques into various kinds of useful things or artwork, and I love to go look for ideas for my thrift store finds. Plus they had an Old House Expo, subtitled "Caring for your largest antique," and that was interesting, too.
I haven't accomplished a thing yet, but I'm working on it!
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Went to church. I've been to this one three times now and think I may have finally found "my" church. I'm really liking it. They have a deaf ministry and an interpreter at the service. Very helpful!
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Finished the wreath with the floral picks I bought yesterday, and hung it up instead of the "Beware of Cat" wood craft I've had up on my front door at the last 3 places I've lived. Time for a change! It's not fancy, just light green and white berries, but it should be good for multiple seasons. I can add hearts, shamrocks, eggs, whatever, as needed.
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OCD day. Couldn't sleep, even though it was the first day I could sleep in all week. Woke at 6, gave up trying to sleep and got up at quarter to 7. So far, the entire house is tidied, dusted, and vacuumed, the bathroom is scrubbed top to bottom, the sheets are changed, and the last load of laundry is in the dryer. Taking a quick breather before I start on the kitchen floor. Then treadmill and errands. Not bad for the first 7 hours of my day!
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OCD day. Couldn't sleep, even though it was the first day I could sleep in all week. Woke at 6, gave up trying to sleep and got up at quarter to 7. So far, the entire house is tidied, dusted, and vacuumed, the bathroom is scrubbed top to bottom, the sheets are changed, and the last load of laundry is in the dryer. Taking a quick breather before I start on the kitchen floor. Then treadmill and errands. Not bad for the first 7 hours of my day!
Wow! jbeany, if you're bored you can always come over and do that to my house! :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
I thought it was good that I am up , made coffee & made my bed! :clap;
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OCD day. Couldn't sleep, even though it was the first day I could sleep in all week. Woke at 6, gave up trying to sleep and got up at quarter to 7. So far, the entire house is tidied, dusted, and vacuumed, the bathroom is scrubbed top to bottom, the sheets are changed, and the last load of laundry is in the dryer. Taking a quick breather before I start on the kitchen floor. Then treadmill and errands. Not bad for the first 7 hours of my day!
Wow! jbeany, if you're bored you can always come over and do that to my house! :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
I thought it was good that I am up , made coffee & made my bed! :clap;
I didn't even get that far.. I'm still in bed..
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I took the children and got them new footwear, outfits, university resources, back packs and cups. Yes, it was a really lengthy and costly day, in situation you were thinking.
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Is it Friday yet? Is orientation week over yet? Puhleeeease? I'm wiped out! 12 new paralegal and law students who needed to know every procedure, computer system and program we use in the clinic, 20 client files to learn divided up between the 5 students I'm supposed to be working with this term (16 of them case files I've not handled before), 2 court hearings, 5 client meetings (one for a case and law student I'm not even working with, but he didn't have anyone else available to help then), and two added cases from the clinic's supervising attorney's practice that I've worked on for him without any of the students involved. And it's only Wednesday. I've been the first one in the office most of the week, and have stayed until at least 7 every night.
I signed up for this willingly, right? I think.... Because it looks good on a resume and is good experience.
Yeah, that's it. I just need to keep reminding myself of that!
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Today I did well, considering. I've had a pretty bad cold/virus that I've been battling for a little while. I only want to sleep at this point. I did grocery shopping, changed the cat box, did all the laundry, cleaned out the wood stove, brought in a lot of wood for the stove and took some of the severe cold medicines I picked up from the store. It's been helping, it did knock me out and tomorrow, I can already tell you I am doing nothing. Absolutely nothing more than I need to do. I've heard we have arctic temperatures coming in starting tonight and I think sweatpants and a sweatshirt with a cozy blanket will do just fine. lol :yahoo;
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Hurray, I survived the craziness! I slept in this morning, got up and did my semi-mandatory 1 mile on the treadmill, and sorted through my books. A local bookstore buys them for cash. They took 14 of the 20 I took with me, and gave me $15 in cash. I was good - I only bought one for 50 cents while I was there. I did pick up a few at the thrift store, but they were a couple of kids books in Spanish, so I can have reading material to practice with, and a giant dictionary I want to try to make a book safe out of.
I spent my book money on groceries to make pralines. That's next on the list of things to do. I want to have them done and ready to go before I need them on Monday for my dish-to-pass for the club dinner.
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Aaaaagh, I'm not in the best of spirits at the moment! I researched my visa options today. I got a good feeling from one consulting agency, so I emailed them a few basic questions and they said I should plan to be in the US at least a month! A month!!!!! My friend is still trapped in Michigan, no visa in sight. She was promised it over two weeks ago.
I did the usual cleaning and sorting, and as usual not as much was accomplished as I had originally planned. Must start being more realistic.
The boys and I have started a new Tuesday routine. They get out of school at 3:15 and have to be about a mile down the road by 4:45 for their choral group. On the way, we pass one of those tea rooms set in an old half-timbered cottage with winding staircases, sloping ceilings and creaky, uneven floors. It's a bit of a rabbit warren in there, with tiny little rooms hidden everywhere. I am always reluctant to try new establishments without Gwyn - I dread that initial awkwardness as you orient yourself to a new environment.
Well! I decided I could not take another visit to Cafe Nero - good God, may as well go to starbucks, it is impersonal and character-free in there, but my friends always seem to drag me in there. I took the boys and I have rarely encountered a more welcoming atmosphere. Gwyn wound up joining us as he got off his weekly site-visit early. We ordered the afternoon tea that came with sandwich of our choice (egg mayonaise) gianormous scone with bullets of butter, clotted cream and jam, and slice of cake from the cake trolley (chocolate fudge), plus a pot of tea. Boys ordered hot cocoa and chai. Then Gwyn ordered cream tea when he arrived. It was amazing - I told the boys we've found our Tuesday afternoon hangout.
We dropped the boys at choir practice, Gwyn dropped me back home, he worked for a bit, I phoned my father to talk visa plans. Gwyn collected the boys, gave them a bite to eat and watched a video with them. Then, when we finally got them to bed, little Dyl comes downstairs to say "I don't know if it's bad...." Oh, not the ideal start to a sentence. I asked him if he had vomited on the bed because he looked shaken. No, not that awful. I had left him reading his Simpsons comic, and apparently his pot of slime that he made at a birthday party "just popped open". It slimed his pajamas, all of his sheets, his duvet cover, and every last pillow slip (3 on his bed!!!) And there is still plenty left in the container. We are out of single sheets, so Gwyn had to jigger a set of queen sheets to fit. I guess life would be pretty dull without my kids....
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Clotted cream!! Yum, oh yum.
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"just popped open" :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Today was my day off from the pro-bono clinic. Which, of course, means one of my desperate law students picked me up at 12:30, and I was his traveling notary for the next 3 and half hours. Outside. Walking. In negative degree wind chill. I was supposed to be home getting things organized for the craft class I taught tonight, but luckily, I had most of it done over the weekend, or this morning when I got up early.
I also sent off another job app. I've got a good feeling about this one. It's the office of the professor who runs the clinic where I volunteer. The office is just him and his partner. He called his partner to give me a verbal reference, which consisted of "She's a really good legal assistant - and she used to be a pastry chef, so she brings in treats all the time." ;D Can you tell he has a HUGE sweet tooth? The other clinic attorney wrote me a reference letter as well, (on clinic letterhead, which has the head professor/partner's name on it, which is even funnier than the verbal reference on the basis of his sweet tooth). The Dean of Paralegal Studies from my university, who is in charge of the paralegal students who take the clinic class, not only wrote me a letter, but called him directly to tell him he'd be a fool not to hire me.
So, pretty much guaranteed an interview at least. I'm hoping the Work Opportunity Tax Credit he will get for hiring someone on Ticket to Work will be the final touch to getting hired. Oh yeah, that and the fact that I can work either part or full time and don't need health benefits.
Yeah, that should do it.
I've got another app out right now for a Program Director to run a non-profit mediation center. I'd be the assistant to the Executive Director - who is also someone I've volunteered for at another pro-bono legal center before I started at the law school's clinic. One way or another, all the volunteering is going to pay off!
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I am really plugging for you, Jbeany! :cheer:
Today I relaxed, read email, listened to the radio, stayed nice and warm inside since it's ***brrrr*** outside, began to think/do a little research about long term plans for taking classes, working etc....overall, a laid-back day.
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Ah, no go on the non-profit. I'm collecting enough rejection letters to start wallpapering with them. :P But, still hoping for the call from the partner. I also jumped through all the website hoops to sign up with a local temp agency, and applied to a job through them. Got two more to do tonight, if I can get through the computer applications with wanting to through my screen out the window...
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I spent most of the day knitting and watching Dark Shadows... and when I'm done running through this site, I'm going to watch Dark Shadows and knit.. *LOL*
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OK, after reading that lawyer's endorsement, now I want to hire you, jbeany. Tell the partner to get on with writing up an offer, or I'll be spending money I don't have to relocate you to England. :)
Today, sorting, cleaning, sorting, cleaning, sorting, cleaning. Trip to market where we always buy waaaaaaay more fruit and veg than any family of four could reasonably eat, and today was no exception. Dropped loads of donations off at the charity shop.
The best accomplishment - THE BEST - was yesterday. We finally enrolled Dyl in a professionally-taught street dance class. I have been trying to find something for Dyl that would be like football and karate are to Aidan, something that he just never wanted to stop doing, something that was just for him where he would not be in Aidan's shadow all the time. This has been a huge problem for him because Aidan is always praised lavishly and people will come up to Gwyn and me and tell us how phenomenal Aidan is without ever mentioning Dyl (that kind of hurts, actually). A few weeks ago, an Indian acquaintance of mine who often rides the same bus as me said "I really like your older son." Thanks, but WTH, the only time you ever see my kids is at the bus stop, you don't know anything about them, what is it about Aidan? I was both flattered and a tad insulted.
Usually I ask Dyl how he liked a class and he'll answer with a tepid "it was good" or "it was fun". He never sounds like he means it. But yesterday, walking to the car, I asked him what he thought and he said "It was awesome! I love it!!!!" (and yes, I could hear the exclamation points!) and then we got him home and he burst in the door and said to his brother "Aidan, that was the best class!!!!" The teacher was so sweet, so energetic, so enthusiastic and she taught them real moves and praised Dyl repeatedly for his dancing. She even demonstrated one of those moves where you are kind of balanced on your head and shoulder. I asked Dyl if he minded that there was only one other boy who was much younger than him in the class, and he said he wouldn't care if he were the only boy. We have found our place for him, and once he (hopefully) switches schools, she teaches at that school after-hours, so it will be far more convenient. I can not possibly overstate how thrilled I am that we've found an activity for him that he is good at, loves, and that is taught by a teacher who recognises what a truly delightful boy my little guy is. :yahoo; :yahoo; :yahoo;
Oh, and Dyl had his first day of French club yesterday - a club that Aidan is already in. He immediately told the teacher je suis Americain and she was well impressed with that. Aidan also told me that the teacher complimented Dyl on his accent. What a triumphant day for my under-appreciated boy.
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I've accomplished 6 hours of work and...... losing my glasses. xD I think they're in my car though. :pray; Oh and omg, you guys, tonight after work I'm actually going to go out and play some cards with friends! :yahoo; It's been so long since I left my house to do anything other than dialysis or work. Feels good. :D
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OK, after reading that lawyer's endorsement, now I want to hire you, jbeany. Tell the partner to get on with writing up an offer, or I'll be spending money I don't have to relocate you to England. :)
You'd need to get a Wizard of Oz tornado to move me. I'm not leaving this house after all the work I put in it!
Today I made a double batch of ham and sweet potato soup and a batch of kahlua cashew fudge, did a load of laundry, made a birthday poster for a friend for Monday, and finished a book. And ignored all the other stuff I was supposed to do!
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You'd need to get a Wizard of Oz tornado to move me.
Hmmm. Well, that sounds more economical than a transatlantic airline ticket.
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Yesterday, for the first time in more years than I can count, I went to the mall by myself and shopped.
I met my daughter and her family for lunch, the little guys starting melting down and I really didn't want to go home yet, so I did it!!! For me this is huge! I did everything with Mark, we enjoyed each others company so much and I'm still learning how to do things without him.
I'm looking at this as a gigantic step in the right direction for me :yahoo :clap;
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Yesterday, for the first time in more years than I can count, I went to the mall by myself and shopped.
I met my daughter and her family for lunch, the little guys starting melting down and I really didn't want to go home yet, so I did it!!! For me this is huge! I did everything with Mark, we enjoyed each others company so much and I'm still learning how to do things without him.
I'm looking at this as a gigantic step in the right direction for me :yahoo :clap;
This post made my day, Kitty Cat. I can understand why this little outting respresents such a huge moment in your life. :cuddle;
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oh ((((((((((((((((((((((((( kitty cat)))))))))))))))))))))))))), im so happy that this is starting for you. I thought about you today and said a quick prayer. bless you and all you do...
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i emptied the dish washer...does that count?
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YES grammalady!! it does :2thumbsup; :cuddle;
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:cuddle; to Kitty Cat!
Yes, any effort made towards chores counts, GLady!
I'm only doing laundry right now because I blew an hour at the thrift store, and I want to wear my new cardigan tomorrow. I am however, feeling very virtuous.
One of my favorite clothing stores, Chicos, has a line called Travelers that is made out of seemingly indestructible never-wrinkle material. I adore the clothes, and they usually have them in styles that flatter my shape. They are usually dreadfully out of my budget though. They may not be horribly expensive compared to a lot of designer clothes, but $80-$100 for a sweater just isn't possible for me right now. I've gotten one of my friends addicted as well, and the last time she came to see me, we went to the mall specifically to go to the store. (There aren't any by her.) She bought a Travelers cardi in the latest color - a lovely purplish blue. It's just come out recently, so none of it has made it to the clearance racks. I left the store that day without buying a thing, in spite of being very tempted.
That same cardi is what I found at the thrift store today. In perfect shape. For $5. :bandance;
Sooo, to whoever didn't like her Christmas gift last month - thank you!
I also bought a hula hoop. Well, in theory, it will help me stretch the scar tissue that is now my entire abdomen. Maybe....I need to go try it out.
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You'd need to get a Wizard of Oz tornado to move me.
Hmmm. Well, that sounds more economical than a transatlantic airline ticket.
:rofl;
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Discovered that the hula hoop doesn't bother my scar much. Mostly because I have forgotten how to keep it up for more than a few spins!
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Mom and I were invited for supper tonight with our neighbors across the street. They are trying to meet more people in the neighborhood. They've also been here longer than we have. *G* They are a couple, and their little baby girl. The husband is in a popular local band that will be touring soon. He said something about going into the US in March, I think. Had a great time just sitting and chatting in their wonderously warm living room. They have a wood stove.. *G*
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I paid mine and Mom's phone bill, paid on my 2 credit cards, and signed up for premium membership here.. all in the last 5 minutes, and all without getting out from under my covers.. *LOL*
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Did a half mile on the treadmill this morning. Gotta start getting up when the alarm goes off, instead of hitting the snooze, so I can do a full mile without missing the bus.
Missed the bus anyhow. It was running about 8 minutes early. I saw it go by while I was about 30 seconds from the bus stop, but it was too foggy to flag it down. Went home and cleaned the bathroom, and headed back to catch the next one, which came at the right time.
Volunteered at the clinic. Did subpoena forms all day. Whee fun. :P
Paid bills by scheduling them online. Flinched at my credit card bill. Vowed to do better at sticking to my budget until I get a job.
Sent out another job app, after much swearing at their on-line application software. (After 3 tries to rearrange/delete/order my list of current and past employers, I gave up. The current volunteer position is second, after the last one. I have no idea why.) The cover letter for this one will only need editing of addresses for the next one, since it's the same clerk job in a different district. Tomorrow for that, because I'm sure it's an equally annoying online application.
Almost got my hula hoop to stay up. I will figure this out. How can something that came so easily at 8 be so frustrating now?
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Slept in. ;D
Three on line applications sent out, plus a resume sent to a temp agency.
Going to a "Meet the Artist" gathering at a local Sculpture Garden tonight. Still need to find out if my former-art-now-law-student is coming with me.
Off to the treadmill now.
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Yesterday I managed to keep calm as I walked a screaming four-year-old around town so that his mother could attend a job interview. Weirdly enough, I enjoyed it. Sometimes angry toddlers are the funniest thing in the world. And this one was enraged.
I emailed the visa consultant that I am going to hire. Just waiting on a response from him and we will get that started. I will be staying in SoCal for most of it, but I also need to go to Chicago and Gwyn has to visit Milwaukee. We will have no children for that portion of the trip. Perhaps we can plan to maffick with some IHD locals. I will post if it looks like our schedule will permit.
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I, with a group of friends, joined a physical activity challenge through (I think) a government program called GoPEI. The challenge is to increase the amount of minutes of physical activity per week, so for someone like me, who has barely any, this should be a cinch. *G* I was already planning on starting aqua zumba in February, so that'll do great for the challenge. I think there's prizes involved too, but I never really looked.
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Skipped the treadmill and re-mounted my hair dryer holder inside the bathroom cabinet. I had it mounted with little screws because of the thin wood on the cabinet door. It was coming loose, so I found another way to mount it with an extra piece of wood.
My law student couldn't make it - too much studying to catch up on. (Another reason to never go to law school!) I went to the Meet the Artist gallery opening and lecture by myself. I arrived later than I planned, since the roads were like driving through a giant spilled Slurpee. Made it just in time for the lecture. After the introduction of the head of Sculpture Acquisitions (who was supposed to introduce the artist) it became clear the big wig likes to hear himself talk too much. By the time the artist took the stage, there was only 30 minutes for her to answer questions from the crowd before the gallery closed for the night. I figured I could come back and see the sculptures later, though, so it was okay.
Or not.
The first person asked her if she "planned the use of space around her sculptures." Geez, might as well as a writer where the ideas come from. She fumbled around, trying to explain for bit, before giving up on making it clear.
Okay, next question.
"The guide said the bronze and iron sculptures are made with the lost wax method. I don't understand what that means. How is wax used and how is it lost?"
One of the large group of art students (who had driven over 3 hours to attend the opening with one of their professors) sitting in front of me hissed, "SERIOUSLY???"
I already knew why the wax needed a GPS, so while the artist launched into a long explanation of something the guy could have looked up on the internet, I snuck out of the lecture hall and went to the gallery.
Other than the security guard, I was the only one there for 20 minutes. Ah, now that was lovely!
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I took delivery a Tesco shop, toned my body with 2000 sweatpoints on the Wii Dance 2, put on two lods of washing, emptied the dishwasher, hung some washing on the line, packed a bag for our night away, charged the battery for my camera, wrote an email to long-lost family in Canada, printed out a booking confirmation email, wrote five postcards, walked to the Post Office to post the five postcards, calling in at the library (got two books out) and the charity shop (bought a skirt) and stopped in at the chemists (for Blokey's prescription) on the way home. Also popped into the local cemetary to enjoy a few moments of reflection in the peace and quiet. It was a walk of about a mile and a half. It's now nearly one in the afternoon and my lunch, Glee and The New Normal are all calling me.
Time to relax!
;D
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Well, first day of my activity challenge was a flop.. I got 12 minutes of activity in today, and that was just going up and down stairs.. it was such a nice day today too.. most of the snow and ice is gone, though I am sure it will be back before April. *L* I got dressed to go for a walk and the second I went to step outside, I got weak and felt like I was going to pass out, so I decided I'd better stay in...
My goal minutes for the week is 88, so 12 minutes for today kinda sucks.. might see if Mom can take me in to Walmart tomorrow after work to see if she can get me a wii game that does more than just make my arms sore.. *L*
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Finished all the post-rugby laundry!
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I got 65 minutes for my activity challenge yesterday, and 45 minutes of that was Aqua Zumba. I had fun with that, but I couldn't keep up with the moves. I ended up just dancing in the water to the music. *G*
Aqua Zumba blew my weekly goal out of the water.. *LMAO* I'm at least 50 minutes over my goal, and I still have to factor in today's minutes
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Way to go, Riki!
I completed some on-line skills tests for a temp agency, with a hope for a "law clerk" position they have open. It cracks me up when businesses tack a fancy title on to a low-end job to make the low-end pay sound better, but I just need to get some practical paid experience, even if it's only temporary. And hey, "law clerk" will look better on my resume than "under-paid paper shuffler." I'm waiting for the temp agency to call me back now.
Otherwise, I don't think I'm even getting dressed in anything more ambitious than yoga pants today - and I have no intentions of doing any yoga beside the "Downward Facing Cat" pose I do whenever one of fur-babies rolls belly up on the floor in front of me, demanding attention.
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I've been busy today catching up on everything I didn't get done yesterday! ;D
It was my husband's birthday yesterday so almost nothing got done.
Today, I've done laundry, made my bed (quite an accomplishment in itself considering I really wanted to just crawl back in!).
I had gone shopping last night so I got all of the meat wrapped and put in the freezer.
Most important of all, I took time to play with my four-legged children when they asked! :2thumbsup;
Now I think I'll sit and watch a movie, any suggestions? :popcorn;
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Something seasonal perhaps?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAiWLy6lxVU
;D
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Put a 24-hour hold on tickets for our return to the US. Gwyn's company is paying for much of it, thankfully. We have to be in London for the boys' performance at the Royal Albert Hall the night before we leave, so we are just going to make a weekend of it. It will reduce stress to not have to ride a coach down to London with the rest of the school children and families. We are staying at a Premier Inn - I absolutely love this chain. So inexpensive and especially good for those horrifying 'night before an international flight' instances. Our 2 nights will cost us £78. Yes, in total.
Took care of some financial stuff today. Tomorrow we sign on a microscopic flat in catchment. I wish we did not have to do this, but crowding into this place for six months will get Dyl into an excellent and completely free school for 4 years. I reckon that's about a £50,000 savings when all is said and done. We have a one month overlap with this house, and then we will be in America for most of the second month, and then, all going well, we hope to buy a house well before the lease is out so we have time for a bit of renovation before moving in. Nothing seems to ever sort out easily for us, but I continue to hope that there will be a first time!
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cariad, just tell the boys it's like camping with better toilets. Men love camping.
Got the call back from the temp agency, and I passed the assessment tests with a wide enough margin to make me a good candidate for the job. I gave permission for them to call my references, and quickly fired off emails to all of them to give them a heads up. The recruiter sounded quite enthusiastic, but then of course she is - she doesn't get paid until she fills the position....
I've also sent out two other job apps, and found a third I'm thinking about applying for. I can tell I've gotten used to public transportation. The job would involve a 30 minute commute, and I'm debating if I even want to apply, even though it looks really interesting. Then I think of the decades I spent living so far north that I was 45 minutes away (in good weather!) from anything big enough to even have a grocery store, and over an hour away from my D center and doctors, and wonder why I'm hesitating. How quickly I've forgotten what it's like to have a bus running a block away all day long!
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JB
Temp jobs were the best way back into the workforce after my child rearing days. I had about 10 of them and all but one asked me to stay on. It's a good way to suss out whether you like the company and the way it's run. The last one I loved enough to stay on. It hadn't looked too promising to start with - a great big greasy mechanical place which serviced trucks - but the boss often took us all out for Chinese banquets and gorgeous Japanese meals as a thank you for our work. Lovely place to work for!
PS The worst one was a semi-government job, where I finished my work by 10.30 and was expected to look busy for the rest of the day. No tea, no coffee, no talking to other employees, no eye contact if you met someone else at the photocopier.
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cariad, just tell the boys it's like camping with better toilets. Men love camping.
I love this!!! :rofl;
Today was beyond frustrating. I just want to go to bed (it's only just gone 9PM!) Gwyn was very ill last night - he every once in a while finds himself in excruciating abdominal pain and it has been suggested that he has gallstones, but since it goes away after a few hours and will not recur for months or years, he just won't take the time to follow up. So, he gets such an attack around midnight, and I stayed up until about 1:30 trying to help him, then I went to sleep because there was nothing I could do. The pain finally subsided around 3:30 and he came to bed, waking me up in the process. I tried to talk him into coming home early for a kip before our afternoon appointment with the estate agent, but he never, never, never takes this advice. I told him we have too much going on this weekend for him to be falling asleep, but he just wouldn't and then it ruins the whole weekend, and yes I'm complaining about how this will affect me and the kids more than him.
Meanwhile, I drop the kids off at school and have to attend this assembly because my boys are both doing a little bit for it. (Really, the entire school had a part to play in it.) It went on forever. My Aussie friend texted me during it asking if I wanted to go with her for a visit to the area where she is buying a house - very scenic part of England, but I knew that I did not have the time. I asked her if I could just have a rain check, she turns up at the school insisting I go with her. Meanwhile, I somehow lost my American friend in the crowd and she is texting me. Scottish friend is trying to coordinate getting coffee with me and the Aussie friend in another town. A new American introduces herself to me and as I am trying to follow her story, I am getting text after text after text from people all about this outing that I knew I shouldn't even be going on in the first place. I mention visa issues to the American friend - her husband is Irish and they came over from Ireland where they had been living for years. She had no problems in Ireland getting work visas and there was no penalty for her not arriving with one already in place. They ferried over here when they decided to move to our area and no one cared that she has no visa at all. I tried to tell her that she needs to be really careful because if she goes back to America and then tries to come here, they will nail her at Heathrow. She wants me to go to her Americans in England club because they know all about visas and she said "they will tell you everything". That's nice, really sweet offer, but if there is one thing I can take no more of, it is advice or further conflicting information about visas. I have to return to America anyhow, Gwyn's company is generously sharing much of the cost with us, we have been able to coordinate most of this - I just don't want to hear how I've done everything wrong - again. It seems to be all I ever hear in this country.
So, I go with my Aussie friend and knowing her, I told her I had to be back a good hour before I really had to be back. Consequently, I just barely made it back home by the actual deadline. I wound up accompanying her on a school tour in a remote village where they will be living. Got to see the inside of the house she bought, which was really cool, but the school part did nothing but convince me that I do not want my kids to go to a little village school. As I said to my friend (who is trying to convince me to move to this area, too) my kids are far too sarcastic and urbane for that atmosphere. I think I convinced her (maybe) to keep her younger child at the school where I hope to send Dyl.
So! I get back. American friend is sending me sad texts about how she wanted to go with us but did not get my messages in time. :( We sign on the microscopic flat. Go into town for a quick lunch (the only thing that worked out perfectly. We get there fifteen minutes before close and they have exactly 3 items left - 2 steak pasties and a roasted veg pasty. Simply delectable!) Then we go to the council to show them our new lease and all hell breaks loose. The woman tells us that our lease does not go through the start of the term, therefore we cannot use it for our new address. I tell her there was no mention of this on the site. She says she can get the guidelines for me, which she does and I read it and say that this is different to what I read on their site. Gwyn is about to get himself arrested he is so furious. I try to keep it light by saying I know what I read and have faith that everything will work out (I'm such a liar. I have zero faith that things will sort out for us anymore.) We have a mind-bogglingly illogical conversation with the council woman. She tells me that if I feel I've been misled by the site then they will investigate but that I'm the first person to state this (or similar). According to the guidelines she brought us, we don't need a minimum 6 month lease, we just need a lease that ends after the start of the September term.
We had to leave to get Dyl to street dance, and we were quite late to that. I burst into tears in the car because I just cannot take the stress anymore. All the hours of conversations I've had with the council, being absolutely certain I am following all the rules, and then this. I am starting to doubt myself and that I didn't miss something huge on the site. We call the letting agent and she says she will call the landlord and see if we can extend the lease one month. A new lease will cost us £50. Shite. I give up. Eventually, the letting agent reaches the landlord, he says fine to a 7-month lease, we just need that signed and shown to the council by next Friday but I am terrified that they will find another reason to reject us. She kept saying how unfair it was that they've had to reject all of these other people at this top school, and all I could think was 'How is this my fault? If it's unfair, fix it, but don't penalize us for following your rules.'
So now we're facing an extra month in this place, but it should still get us where we want to go. It had better. I found the place on the site that says we need a 6-month lease, no mention of the start of the school term. Then I find another spot on a downloadable file from the site, exact same wording except the sentence about 6-month lease has been replaced with the lease needs to end after school starts, no minimum duration. We are taking the safe route and just accepting the extra cost and time, but I am so furious that I'd have to risk Dyl's school placement if I wanted to fight this.
That's been my day. Not sure the word 'accomplish' applies to a single moment of it.
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Achieved nothing much today.
For the last three weeks the handsome Ed has caught himself two or three mice from outside each week - surprising both Ed and me. On Thursday he came crashing over the fence from next door with a rat in his mouth and parked it at the front door. It wasn't in a good condition. I went out with bare feet and a broom and disposed of it thoughtfully - much to Ed's disappointment. Yesterday he came inside and settled down on the rug with a mouse between his paws. I armed myself with the broom and tried to shepherd Ed and mouse back out the door. Mouse managed to escape under the couch. Yeek! I have spent yesterday and most of today getting everything up off the floor. The cats have been locked out of my bedroom and the PD storage bedroom. Still no sign of mouse. He was a little cutie and has probably died of shock, but I will be wearing shoes and be leaving the cats locked out of my bedroom for the next few days.
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You have my sympathies, Mary!
Crossed off my to-do list for today:
Hung up the wreaths I made as samples for my last craft class.
Fixed a loose door knob.
Inventoried everything, planned meals, and wrote a shopping list for food, household needs, and craft supplies, as well as planned out where I needed to go tomorrow to get the best deals with my available coupons.
Did some online comparison shopping to see if the oscillating saw that is on sale locally with a sizable rebate will do the project I want it to do. It will, so that got added to the shopping list.
Copied, organized, and printed all the ideas for the clay mosaics that I need for an upcoming craft class.
Researched places I can find an adult-sized, weighted hula hoop locally. Added the most likely to the shopping trip plan for tomorrow.
Other than that, I've ignored the 10 other things on my to do list and read a book instead.
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Update re mouse - While getting a new ball of wool from my basket, I noticed between the basket and my foot sat the sweetest, cutest little mouse. Without even thinking I stomped on it. Now I've got the shakes. Poor little mouse. I'm off for a stiff drink in it's honour.
:'(
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Update re mouse - While getting a new ball of wool from my basket, I noticed between the basket and my foot sat the sweetest, cutest little mouse. Without even thinking I stomped on it. Now I've got the shakes. Poor little mouse. I'm off for a stiff drink in it's honour.
:'(
I laughed.. I'm sorry
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We finished the video presentation for Aidan's half-term project!
:cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:
This has been causing so much stress! He wanted to do a video, so we decided to have an interview with his chosen artist, Salvador Dali. He played Dali, Dyl interviewed him - it took about 4 hours and Gwyn and I still have to edit it, but it's done. It was due last Friday, but I told the teacher we really only have time to do these things over the weekend and would need until Monday. At the end, we had Dyl ask Dali to comment on Aidan's work - a dadaist piece called Whistling Electric Tea Kettle. Then, we ended it with a scene in which Salvador Dali likes Aidan's work so much, he steals it. My kids have a lovely dramatic flair even if I do say so myself.
Also, we went to Dyl's first belt test. He is now officially a yellow belt in karate.
Next focus is Dyl's half-term project on the differences between the Arctic and Antarctica.
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I took a nap after I got up, just real tired lately (creat's up, GFr down) Then got inspired, finished taxes, setup online 401k stuff (twice) doh!!, then changed the water in the saltwater tank...might end with a quick vacuum, nah, I think I maxed out...
M
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Got most of my shopping done. The craft store closed before I got there - I always forget everything shuts down early on my end of town on Sundays. Ah well, that just means I won't go until the coupons kick in on the 15th.
I bought a weighted hula hoop today. Wow, are the thousands of blogs that say the heavy ones are easier right. I have a light kids' one the same size, and it's a pain to use. (I need to see if I can pry that one apart and add some sand or something to weight it down.) And boy oh boy is 10 minutes of twirling a weighted hoop a good way to get your heart rate up!
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Update re mouse - While getting a new ball of wool from my basket, I noticed between the basket and my foot sat the sweetest, cutest little mouse. Without even thinking I stomped on it. Now I've got the shakes. Poor little mouse. I'm off for a stiff drink in it's honour.
:'(
I laughed.. I'm sorry
I gasped. And now I feel a little squidgy in my tummy. Poor wee thing!
Not today, but yesterday: went shopping with mumsy. We hit the charity shops and I came home with one gorgeous top, one photo album, two beautiful old plates (I'm starting a collection of mismatched old plates fit for afternoon tea), one fabulous decorative bag, one ball of deep pink wool, a Dianne Wynne Jones book ... I think that was it. But it all came to less than £20. I am becoming the Queen of Bargain-tat.
I bought a weighted hula hoop today. Wow, are the thousands of blogs that say the heavy ones are easier right. I have a light kids' one the same size, and it's a pain to use. (I need to see if I can pry that one apart and add some sand or something to weight it down.) And boy oh boy is 10 minutes of twirling a weighted hoop a good way to get your heart rate up!
Oh, is that where I'm going wrong? I can only manage about five twirls with my new Avon one. I must try making it a little heavier ... or just accept that I don't have the twirly-ness for hula-hooping.
;D
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Yup, it needs to be at least belly button high or higher, and at least 2 pounds, if not more. The size and weight make it spin slow enough to help you keep it up. That's why they were so easy to do as a kid - in comparison to our size then, the hoops were much larger! Check eHow and youtube - all kinds of vids and tips - plus tricks! (I can almost spin the hoop and rotate myself in place at the same time now.)
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I could never use a hula hoop, even when I was kid. I get one, maybe two spins before it hit the floor.
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I could hula hoop all day as a kid. Still can, to be honest. I also score very highly on the Wii Fit hula hoop section, which I think is harder than the real thing because you have to remember what the motion is without having the benefit of an actual hula hoop to help you get the rhythm down.
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The motion can change though. You can rock hip to hip or front to back, as long as you are catching the front of the hoop and nudging it each time it goes by. I'm very amused by mine, although I need to go back downstairs to my treadmill too. The hooping stance does wonders for working my thighs, but I'd hate to lose the calf muscles I've built with all the power walking I've done so far this year. So far, all I've accomplished is the hooping and some tax code research for a client. At least for once, the exercise seemed more fun than what I was doing on the computer at home....
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So much accomplished today. Saw my family doc AND my rheumatologist. I got a new prescription to take and we are backing off the prednisone slowly (FINALLY!!!). I am excited but exhausted. I am also moving so there is no rest until late tonight.... suitcases, boxes, erg. Moving is the worst. This is my first apartment EVER though and the first time I'll be living on my own in 10 years. Yikes! That is going to be quite an adjustment. So yes. Very busy, very productive, very exhausting. I am far too old for this nonsense (34... ha ha ha).
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Today I tidied the office and the spare bedroom (I say tidy, but I actually mean I hid everything in drawers and under throws). Then I made Blokey's Valentine present. (Yes, we 'do' Valentine's Day ... go Bah, humbug! someone else ...!) It's a tad girly and is probably more for me than for him but it's a semi-throwback to our wedding as I printed out and framed the reading my FiL did (an excerpt of The Velveteen Rabbit) at our ceremony. Then I added a bunch of mini white paper roses which I still had lying around from when I made my own invitations. I hope he likes it. I'm going to bake some heart-shaped cookies for him tomorrow as well. I imagine he'll love those lots.
I could hula hoop all day as a kid. Still can, to be honest. I also score very highly on the Wii Fit hula hoop section, which I think is harder than the real thing because you have to remember what the motion is without having the benefit of an actual hula hoop to help you get the rhythm down.
I can actually achieve high scores on the Wii hula-hoop game. Real life seems to confound me though! Maybe I should try actual hula-hooping whilst doing it virtually on the Wii. Hmmm ...
;D
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Ah, Poppy that sounds dead romantic. Hope you both have a lovely valentines.
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Dyl's project was handed in this morning. Whew! Last night was a mess, lots of shouting and crying, I am so relieved to see the back of that thing. When a 6-year-old cries "I'm under so much stress" you know there's a problem. His teacher has already said that his project is, and I quote, FAB. We had two giant shoeboxes that we filled with animals and features from the arctic and antarctic. Did you know that the Arctic is an ocean surrounded by continents and the Antarctic is a continent surrounded by oceans? Why, that's just a sampling of the useless facts I now have in my head!
I emailed the council with our amended tenancy agreement, got the keys from the letting agent, and had our initial consult with a mortgage consultant. There is the ideal property on the market now and I am so frantic that it will sell before we can buy it, but trying to remain calm. It's half-term!!! Time to catch up on sleep.
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Yesterday I photographed my dining suite and a massive oriental carpet that we have and sent the pics and everything I knew about the pieces (not much) off to ValueMyStuff.com which I guess is run by people involved with Antiques Roadshow or similar. Anyhow, I figured it was an inexpensive way to get a start on finding out if this carpet is worth anything. I knew the dining suite probably is, but we don't have any intention of selling that as we love it. I received the dining table and chair valuation first thing this morning - guess it was an easy one! It's an Edward Wormley ca. 1955. Still waiting on any info on the carpet but they guarantee a response within 48 hours.
It's actually quite fun, this site. I bought a set of 3 valuations, so we can still get info on one more item. I think we'll use it for Gwyn's antique motorbike, assuming he ever restores the silly thing. :)
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Woke up (always grateful), cup of coffee, since it was my off day we went to Nissan dealer looked at a Rogue, then home to change the water in the saltwater aquarium. After my wife came home, off to Chevy dealer, test drove Chevy Equinox. Played new car game with dealer, we lost, but we bought the Equinox anyway. (paid a q
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I got told off in a lesson ... *gasp* ... I'm such a naughty Support Assistant.
;D
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A movie monster doctor's appointment. (Someone has to get close enough to poke it with a sharp object to see if it's still alive.)
Made an appointment for a bone density test.
Got the name of a dermatologist.
Have blood work to do later. Wheeha fun.
Had a phone interview with a local court magistrate. It was a scary 13 minutes, but I think I sounded okay for most of it.
Remembered I needed to send out thank yous for the interview - even if only one person talked on the speaker phone. Dug out the note cards and am getting ready to start those.
Finished a book I want to sell this weekend.
Put away my beading supplies.
Nothing else yet!
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I was so disgusted with my appointment this afternoon that I just came home and went to bed. I'm still angry, and emotionally exhausted over the whole thing. Tomorrow, I begin the work to lose the weight, to spite the b@stards
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I was so disgusted with my appointment this afternoon that I just came home and went to bed. I'm still angry, and emotionally exhausted over the whole thing. Tomorrow, I begin the work to lose the weight, to spite the b@stards
I've been following your adventures on Fb! I will be dancing with you (but in a different time zone and possibly to different tracks.)
*huggles*
I went to the supermarket. And the cinema. Then scrubbed the house from top-to-bottom ready for entertaining tomorrow. I need to turn the heating on because it's a tad frosty outside, but the heating system made the weirdest noise this morning and I panicked and turned it off. Now I'm scared to turn it back on and would rather be cold whilst burying my head in the sand.
*grin*
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My little guy has a bad cold. Yesterday was American sport day at a local school, so for the second time this week I got behind the wheel of a car. It was far too cold and the boys were too under-the-weather to mess about with public transport. An easy journey on streets I know very well with roundabouts that for whatever reason do not stress me out.
We also went to a second meeting with a mortgage advisor. They offered to lend us a ridiculous amount of money. We had to face the unpleasant fact that we spend something like £250 a month on kids' clubs and classes, not including holiday camps which run a minimum of £125 per week, plus equipment and uniforms. We are always so wrung out and overscheduled, so we have discussed with the boys what they are willing to drop and hope to drop that down by at least £75/month. Street dance and karate are the two big expenses, but we are keeping both of those.
Today we skipped football practice for Dyl because he has been so worn down from this cold. Instead, we went to the open morning for the house that I was convinced I wanted to buy. I am so glad I went - I don't want to buy it anymore. It needed so much work and was already above what I am comfortable paying. We want a fixer, but that requires that we don't max out our resources before we even move in. There is a place only a half mile away on a quieter street that's about half the price of this place, and we want to see it and then if it has potential, we could theoretically afford to realise that potential. Theoretically.
In the afternoon Gwyn and Aidan went to a karate seminar and I stayed home with Dyl. We worked on a puzzle and then he chilled out in front of LoveFilm. We are skipping rugby training tomorrow, too. Dyl needs to rest some more and Aidan has his first football game.
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Cleaned house - tidied away paperwork, scrubbed the bathroom, vacuumed, dusted, swept, and mopped.
Did laundry.
Did dishes.
Straightened up the craft room and put away all but the current project supplies.
Can you tell I have company coming to stay?
Still have a ton of things to do, like make something ahead for breakfasts when they are here, more job apps, and a lot of info to read for an interview on Tuesday.
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anyone who, like Poppy, has me on FB, knows what I did today. *G*
I pulled out the Just Dance Kids Wii game and built myself a 5 song workout. It took me about an hour to do, as I was testing songs on how hard they were to do and how fast they were. At one point, Cleo decided that my dancing sucked and attacked my foot. *L* My playlist consists of 5 songs and the workout itself is 12 minutes long. I think that's a good start.
After I did that, I played ski ball for a while, also on the Wii, then bowled, then played 2 games of Wheel of Fortune.
So my body and my brain got a workout this afternoon.. *G*
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Our youngest daughter has a Wii - they are great fun. My fav is a game where you pedal a BMX. And playing it with my Mum watching is a hoot. Mum calls instructions out to me - pedal faster! look out for the tree! It is a good work out too.
I am at the start of two weeks work at my sister's toy shop. This is the only work I do all year. I stay with my Mum and love the job and the time I spend with Mum. It is just customer service but lots of interaction with the children and I enjoy that.
I take my hat off to everyone that works full time. I've been blessed to have virtually 'retired' at 20, and apart from raising a family and running our own grazing business, my time has been my own.
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hehe.. Mom pointed out to me that the curtain in the living room was open all day yesterday.. so the neighbors could probably see me dancing in the living room.. *LOL*
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Glucose tolerance test and a 3-mile walk, then quickly made lunch for Gwyn who popped home on a 30 minute break between meetings.
Tuesdays are our crazy days - pick the boys up from school, grab them afternoon tea at the adorable tea room, walk down to their choral rehearsal, race out to grab the bus home, Gwyn picks me up at 5:45, we race to the rehearsal site, I grab Dyl and dash to the same bus stop to get him home, Gwyn waits 15 minutes for the older kids to finish their rehearsal, takes Aidan to football practice. We only have to do this 2 more times and then they have their big show down in London and then we take a break from chorus until September.
I am trying to plan the most logistically nightmarish trip back to America *ever*. There is one week when we need to be in Chicago, various appointments we must keep in Milwaukee and Chicago, 4 kids that we MUST visit but one of them lives in Colorado and can only visit the same week. Plus, we are trying to use frequent flyer miles through my father who wants rid of them, so that limits our itinerary choice. Dad is a legendary control freak. He has criticism for every plan I've come up with to date. He seems to believe that a morning flight out of LA will somehow traumatise all of us because we will have to leave their house at 6AM. I'll leave at 6AM to save $2000. It's just not that big of a deal. It matters little to him that Gwyn and I lived in LA for a few years and are actually somewhat familiar with LA traffic. Dad also told us what to expect moving to England. You can see how much easier those tips have made our lives!
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I discovered today that Just Dance Kids has parental controls that shows your progress per day. It said that today, I danced for 22 minutes, which is great. I know my legs are feeling it. *L*
I have an information meeting tonight about a retirement savings plan for people with disabilities. It's something that I've known about for a while, but didn't know how to go about applying for. I'm actually looking forward to it.
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Last Thursday - phone interview with District Court Judge.
Last Friday - interview scheduled through my temp recruiter for Circuit Court interview.
Saturday - cleaned house and baked for guests (and bowling from 10 pm to midnight. Yes, I stink at it.)
Sunday - prepped for Monday interview, guests arrived. Went shopping with them, and came home and made dinner for them, hemmed pants for them.
Monday - tour of local college campus with my guests. Got a call in the middle of the tour - a second interview with the District Court judge - in person this time - scheduled for Wednesday. Wheeee! I finally caught up with the tour, we finished, went to eat, and hung out at home until it was time for the concert last night. (Owl City, Neon Trees, and Maroon 5. Even with half his voice gone, Adam Levine is amazing.)
Tuesday - guests cleared out after I caught the bus in the morning. Interview at 11. Over by 11:20. Went to my pro bono clinic to volunteer and got a call from the agency before noon.
I'm employed!!!! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
It's a 3 or 4 week position, and it starts on Monday, so I can still easily go to my interview tomorrow. I figure if they do offer me the year-round job, it will take them a week to decide who to hire, and I can give two weeks notice to the temp job and still be there for all the time they need someone. The job I'm interviewing for tomorrow is part time but year round - and more than twice what I'm living on now with disability. I can live with that!
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Congrats, Jbeany!!! Well done you!! :beer1;
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More congrats! :yahoo;
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.
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Nice one.. employment is always a good thing.. *G*
btw.. I LOVE Neon Trees... *G*
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:clap; :clap; :clap; Way to go, jbeany!
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I have discovered the trick to successful interviews - not caring if you get the job.
I think I did well yesterday because I figured if I didn't get, well, I had another interview the next day, right?
And today I thought, hey, if I don't get it, well, I've got a paying job already...
Sooooo....today's interview went so well they called me an hour later and asked if I could interview tomorrow with the Chief Judge. This is interview number 3 for this position!
I'm in shock at the moment. When I left the interview - which did seem to go well - I was told they had no idea how long it would take them to contact me with results. I figured at least two weeks. That's pretty standard, really. I figured even if they offered me the job, I could give my notice at the temp one I'm starting on Monday, and it would take me pretty much to the end of the time they wanted extra help. I'd love this other job, but I really don't want to burn any bridges at the main courthouse either. Hopefully, the timing will all work out, and everyone ends up happy - including my savings account!
Now to find an interview outfit for the third interview in as many days....
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Good luck with it all~
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:yahoo; All luck to you, jbeany! Knock them out with your mad legal skillz! :yahoo;
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Interview was a bit more stilted this time. Perhaps because I'd already talked to all of the staff so long yesterday, there wasn't really anything left to discuss! They said I'd know TOMORROW if I have the job. Holy cow, that's fast for government work!
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Fingers are crossed! :2thumbsup;
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my fingers are crossed too !
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Good luck, jbeany! :thumbup;
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I start my year-round job on Tuesday!!!! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
I am now a Deputy Court Clerk - or I will be as soon as I pass the pee-in-cup test I'm going for tomorrow.
I had to pass on the temp position, and the temp agency wasn't thrilled, but I have to give precedence to the ones who plan to keep me more than 3 weeks!
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Congratulations! :yahoo;
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Well done !
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I start my year-round job on Tuesday!!!! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
Congratulations!
;D
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:cheer:
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:flower;
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Well, my accomplishments are quite boring & routine!
Got the bed made & got some laundry going.
Let the dog out to "plow" the yard. He likes to put his face down in the snow and walk around! :rofl; Imagine a 17 lb Pomeranian with his head down & his butt up in the air moving through a foot of snow! He comes up looking like a Yeti!! :rofl;
I made fried chicken last night so I'm getting ready to make some chicken stock.
It's Wednesday, so I mop my floors today, too!
Like I said, routine & boring! :)
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CebuShan
How can it be boring when you have a dog plowing through the snow? How do you thaw out his nose?
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This morning I have tidyed , hoovered and steam cleaned upstairs and done ironing after taking five year old son to school. My daughter helped with the dusting bless her loves to clean :-) xx
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I am almost finished my two week stint looking after my sister's toy shop. Love this job. I stay with my Mum while in town so that is an added bonus. I dips me lid (take my hat off) to those of you that work full time. I am looking forward to the weekend. I only work for two weeks a year, love the toy shop and it is not hard work or mentally draining. I am lucky not to have to work week in, week out.
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I helped set a world record today - the most fake mustaches worn at the same time. Over 1400 of us! ;D
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Yesterday, I finished my first week at my new job - and I almost feel competent at it...it's going to take a bit, but there's a lot to learn!
I also replaced the tail lightbulb in my car. That may now sound like much to most of the guys, but any time I can fix something on it myself, I'm always happy!
Today - well, I've made a list of everything I need to do this weekend....and that's it so far!
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Today is payday from the first week of my first real, 5 day a week job since my kidneys went kaboom in 1998. :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
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I got out of bed.. trust me, that was an accomplishment.. at least, for today it was..
I have a headache that started in the last 45 minutes of dialysis yesterday, and the damn thing has not left me.. It was that bad that I didn't go to Aqua Zumba yesterday.. I just could not pull myself out of the bed
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I got my linens changed, a load of laundry done, my Spring shower curtain put up & a new batch made! :2thumbsup;
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Today was a slow day. A few phone calls, some research on things to do with the kids. We went to the market to grab lunch and Dyl asked for - and then actually ate - a turkey sandwich with cheese, pesto and lettuce. The boys did a bit of school work and I should really go grade Aidan's practice SATS mathematics exam. Dyl is writing a fiction story about the the California gold rush. I want them to research and write about the Chumash Indian tribe. We saw their cave paintings yesterday and now I want to see more but most of the locations of those are closely guarded secrets.
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My son really wants to go to the aquarium but when we got down there it was just too crowded so I asked him if we could postpone it for another day. Was not sure what to do with them, then desperation set in and I offered to take them to drive by my former home. I really hate these nostalgia tours. We went there and the place is under construction and I got questions like "Mom, did you have a giant lady's head in your garden when you were a kid?" There was one of those beautiful Indian heads just sitting in the middle of a patch of grass. You can now see the place fairly clearly from the road, you never could when I was growing up. It was sad for me, especially when I heard "Lucky!" from the boys and I told them that I wish I could afford to give them my childhood but I can't. I told them that I'd rather live like we're living with people who actually want me around than have all of that back. It's not like we live in poverty anyhow, I love our lives now, but yeah, I would so love to be able to let them grow up in a place like that. Then I took them to my former school that I went to before prep school. I told them that it was a pretty terrible school when I was there but it looks like they've done much to improve it. Aidan then asked me what the worst part of it was and I said that they had no idea how to handle instances of kids being ostracized or bullied. I also said the headmaster was an idiot. I did tell the boys that I had some great memories from there, too, because I do.
Then we walked up and down State St. There is a to-die-for shop there called Bettie Page and there are about 3 items there that I need! When Gwyn gets here I'll drag him in there and see what works and what doesn't. I better stop downing the guacamole or I won't fit into any of it soon. Check it out: http://www.bettiepageclothing.com/ They have quite a few locations across the country.
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Spent two hours moving 1/2 cubic metre of topsoil from point A to point B, half a bucket at a time. I have some raised garden beds which I have been filling with composty things for two years and it's too slow. Once upon a time I would have got the entire 2 cubic metre load done in two hours. Now, half a bucket at a time, I'll be lucky if it's done in a week! Oh, youth, strength and stamina - why have you forsaken me? :waiting;
A snooze is definitely on the cards this afternoon.
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I did 23 minutes of Just Dance on the wii, then I spent the rest of the day playing Animal Crossing on the DS.. bad idea.. I'm having trouble reading regular text now, after playing on that little screen all day..
Tuesday was my busy day.. it started off fine.. I was sitting up in bed, on my computer, strolling through facebook (which is another thing I do too much of. *L*) and I stretched my legs out and felt a wet spot. I got a wiff of it, and it was cat pee... I complained about it on facebook, and a friend asked me if the cat pee told my fortune.. I told him yes, it told me I'd be doing laundry in the near future.. *L* I ended up having to wash all my blankets and sheets, and when Mom got home, she put a mattress cover on my mattress
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I started a movie audit today. I'll be auditing "The Croods". All weekend, all 12 showtimes! ;D
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What the heck does a movie auditor do?
I may have managed to convince my new boss to hire me to work both the part time deputy clerk job I have now and the newly empty part time collections clerk job as well. That would bump my hours to 39 hours per week. It would still be part time, so no benefits, but since Ticket to Work is protecting my Medicare for the next 8 years, I'm good with that. I can start my own retirement savings account for now - and invest in home improvements that will lower my heating and cooling costs long term, which will save even more.
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According to the progress tracker on my Just Dance game, I did 26 minutes of activity.. though it took me an hour and a half to do it.. *L*
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Woke up, always makes me 'Happy-Happy". My wife and I looked a possible flooring options ..."9.00 per sq. ft" !! likley not an option. We went to spend time with her father, then off to "Q-BBQ" in Naperville, always quite tasty, everyone must try the "Q-Pups". Home to install the Reverse Osmosis unit for the fish tanks. After several choice words the install was complete and no leaks, well not yet...as usual, over did it, now very tired...off to nap before bed...
M
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I guess this as good a place to put this as anywhere else.
Last Thursday I attended a pre-transplant information session put on by my renal team. I was asked to be a speaker and found it a great honour because I have often said I wanted to give something back and help others if I could and well they listened to me!
About 8 years ao I went to a similar session put on and found it so very helpful, even though my actual tx was 6 years later. It was exactly the sort of thing that I needed I feel to prepare me. Plus being on IHD helped a lot too.. but at the stage I attended I did not know about IHD, so it was good in the sense that they didn't sugar coat anything - when I went the speakers they had were of a successful transplantee and one that had had problems with theirs to contrast, and they also went through the (then) stats on success rates and the like.
So this time I was one of 4 speakers invited. I had thought that it would be like the first one that I attended where the Transplane Co-ordinator (TC) would ask a series of questions based on our experiences to draw out issues (eg "So how did you feel when you woke up" or "How do you cope with the meds post tx and taking them on time?") with some general questions allowed from the audience. However when I got there with my sister(who I thought would find it interesting) the TC said "OK I want you to take about 10 minutes to just talk about your experiences and don't sugar coat the negatives - just be honest and talk about how it feels now and your journey" so I had like 90 mins to panic and think what the heck I would say.
In the meantime they had her and the head of renal discuss all the tx options - live donation, cadaveric, "the list" and the general tx procedure, and post discharge concerns (eg skin cancer, dental health, etc).. all of this we all know. I thought they were pretty good and covered all the important issues - not in massive detail, but to give an idea.
So then came time for us to speak. As I said there were 4 of us. There was myself, a lady who had her tx 3 years ago and spends 3 months of the year living in France (hard life!!) and how she dealt with having supplies of her meds, and getting help when in France, or other european countries. Turns out her local hospital in France when she has had to visit have actually kept in contact with the renal team back here and shared info and stuff which is pretty good, and for more intensive stuff she can go to a place near Cambridge in the UK where they look after her (free) and it is all covered. The other 2 were a mother and son, the mother donated to her son.
What made these last 2 of special interest was that this gent has had 33 operations - yes *33* and post-tx had steroid induced diabetes and other complications, and endured (wait for it) EIGHT biopsies of his kidney in just 12 months (they joked he held the hospital record). Even more amazing when it all started due to a fall from a surfboard. He mentioned in passing to a small group of us that he had been on TV. I fund the youtube, and here is the story up to his tx: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiSnvVwJ9AI - it's 13 minutes, but really well worth it in the end as it's very positive.. and meeting him just 4-5 mnths after he became stable is a tribute to both his strength and also their willingness to share further with others the benefits, despite it all, of tx. I really admired that effort.
So I got up after the "South of France" lady. I thought it was a heavy topic and a lot for the crowd to take in. Oh there were about 50 I would say and I have to say that I was a bit saddened to see quite a number of younger faces there - either D patients or family members perhaps consiering donation.. either way tough issues and situations for anyone to face. So I thought I would try and add a bit of humour eg joke that some might think the wost side effect so far to tx was a surprising strong interest in horse racing (true), or that my "caregiver" was my cat who isn't much help with keeping track of the meds etc... I got a few laughs. My sister said I spoke well(that's her job of course!) and that I kept people's attention, but honestly I just hope I helped just one person there in any way to get a more positive idea of tx and stuff then I feel it was worth it despite my nerves. I really tried to mention to be as informed as possible and I did mention my membership of an internet forum (I thought with the head of Renal sitting there I decided to not specifically name IHD, but hoped someone would ask me privately, but nobody did). I did get some questions from the audience like how I looked after kitty post-tx (so they did listen to my joke! LOL) and travel and stuff so I think that was good.
SO yeah that was pretty eventful. Not sure if I will be asked to do it again, but I am glad I got the chance to help!
that afternoon I had a skin cancer survey which didn't discover anything so that was a bonus too!!! YAY!
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Nice job, Richard!
I had big plans this weekend that didn't involve even leaving the house - taxes, house cleaning, organizing my notes from work and laundry. If I had time after that, I was going to hem a dress for a friend. Instead, I got invited to a party yesterday, which was only supposed to be for a couple of hours in the afternoon, and made plans with my nephew at the last minute to go to the local sculpture gardens and see the spring display of 1000's of live butterflies in their massive conservatory. I didn't get home last night from the party until 10. Whoops, so much for taxes and hemming. I did get the rest of the stuff done, though! Maybe I'll be ambitious enough to work on taxes when I get home from dropping off my nephew....surrrre.
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... and for more intensive stuff she can go to a place near Cambridge in the UK where they look after her (free) and it is all covered.
That'll be Blokey's Hospital where he had haemoD and we had our transplant ... we have a brilliant kidney team there. And well done on being an inspiration (as I'm pretty sure you would have been to some of the folk there!)
:2thumbsup;
I've done sod all today, except go to the cinema and tease my Qyzie.
;D
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I've had a clusterf@#k of an afternoon.
This morning, after all my relatives stampeded into town over the weekend upon hearing that I was trapped there, I innocently check my flight out of town, through Denver. My departure out of SB with the boys was delayed by 2 hours, arriving 3 minutes before our connecting flight was due to take off. I called the airline with some questions, yes the flight was delayed, no they would not hold the second flight. They said they would put us on another airline, but then the only airline that still had room did not have an agreement with our airline so they wouldn't do it. I asked about leaving out of LA but that would involve a change fee and they still couldn't make it work. This trip is so complicated because it involves 5 different families in 2 states, each with different schedules. G was oblivious on a plane over from Heathrow. Frontier could only get us there for Tuesday night, giving Aidan only 1 day to see his Milwaukee friends. I made an 'you only live once' decision when I saw I could get a seat for Aidan on Gwyn's American flight out of LA using miles (25,000!!!). So, I take 2 seats on the Tuesday flight for Dyl and me and ask for a refund for Aidan's ticket which was apparently a complicated procedure but she did it.
Whilst on the phone I have trouble logging in to American Airlines and by the time I do the seat is gone. Gah!!!! I have been on the phone 2 hours by now. I ring up AA, explain the situation only to discover the call's been dropped. Phone back, plead with them to just work with me. She can put Aidan on another flight and, since I have Gwyn's reservation number, I can change his flight, too. (Reservation numbers: guard them with your life!)
Then I frantically throw all of our stuff in mother's car, my father hands me his mobile (we have done nothing but shout at each other, so this is awkward) and we go bombing down the coast. Gwyn knows nothing of this but I figure we will explain all when we surprise him at the hotel. I arrive at the hotel, no Gwyn. Try his mobile, call won't go through. Try his friendwho came up to meet him for a few hours and no name on voicemail, so leave one of those 'hope this is you' messages. Meanwhile, gwyn has received an email from the airline that they changed his flight, so he goes to the AA desk and demands they change it back. Gah!!!!! times a million!
Luckily, he happened to see an email that Aidan was now on his flight and told them he had no idea what was going on, but change his flight back. His friend rang back and eventually we all had dinner at Macaroni Grill. (This friend was our support person and his first words to me were: hey, happy three years. WOW! I forgot totally on the actual day, well impressed he remembered.
So, I am in an LAX hotel with three dozing males. Yay! Together again, separated tomorrow, then reunited Tuesday night (for 2 weeks). C'mon visa!
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Lordy, Cariad....that is a mess!
Well, it's a no go on almost-full-time hours. The judge said yes, the HR department said no. New Obamacare rules apparently prevent them from hiring anyone for more than 29 hours per week on average without benefits, unlike what they used to do. Since the budget doesn't stretch to benefits, they have to get someone else for the other 19 hours per week.
Ah, well, it never hurts to ask!
And I'm still employed at a job I really like with a lot of great people!
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I did 34 minutes on Just Dance, hoping that it would somehow miraculously have me drop the 25 pounds I need to lose to go back to being active on the transplant list.. no such luck.. oh well.. Aqua Zumba tomorrow.. maybe 45 minutes in the pool will do it... here's hoping
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I managed to draw my own blood today with my non-dominant hand! lol Since I can only be drawn on my right side and I am coincidently right handed, I drew myself with my left hand! Usually I'm such a hard draw my co-workers have a hell of a time getting me so it was by chance (or possibly just pure skill?) that I was able to draw myself! :D
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that's cool.. I'd never be able to do that.. that's why I have dialysis nurses.. *LOL*
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Lexxtech
I'm sure it was skill, along with a good dose of daring! :2thumbsup;
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I am in awe on two counts....
I know it is your job to draw blood but to a) do yourself and b) with your non dominant hand/arm?
well done!! :bow; :bow; :bow; :bow; :bow;
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This friend was our support person and his first words to me were: hey, happy three years. WOW! I forgot totally on the actual day, well impressed he remembered.
Happy (but belated) three years! :2thumbsup;
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This friend was our support person and his first words to me were: hey, happy three years. WOW! I forgot totally on the actual day, well impressed he remembered.
Happy (but belated) three years! :2thumbsup;
Aw, thanks. This was sort of a major one, yet I still managed to forget everything about it. Never been sentimental about transplant....
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You'd be forgiven for mistaking the following for an advert for OxyClean.
Last night while watching the Phil Spector film In bed, I splashed red wine on my aunt's lovely duvet cover. Gwyn wanted to put it through the wash, but I doubted that would work and we were not sure of the material so worried it would shrink or be ruined. So, we bought a small pot of OxyClean. Gwyn spot cleaned the duvet cover, rinsed liberally with water then put it through the dryer on low heat. You cannot see a trace of the wine.
Yes, OK, Gwyn did the actual cleaning, but I did supervise and update him on IHD news as he treated the stain. We'll share the credit.
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So far, I've caught up on sleep - and made a list of all the things I should have got up early and done....
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Wooohoo - finally did my taxes! I'm even getting a nice chunk back from the state, which I wasn't expecting. Usually I don't owe anything, but I also don't get anything back.
Also managed the other thing I've been stalling on - digging up the nasty landscaping plastic that the last owner used to cover the flower beds in front of the house. He buried the plastic under 3 inches of river rock, and raking the rocks away simply shredded the plastic into chunks, so removing it involved a lot of time crawling on my hands and knees on a bed of over-sized gravel pushing armloads of rocks around. Owww. This house is over 60 years old - I'm sure there must be some bulbs planted out there somewhere. Hopefully the warm, rainy weather that's coming in the next couple of weeks will show me if anything survived.
So that's the two worst things off my list. Tomorrow, I get to do all the entertaining things, like sample craft projects for my up-coming classes.
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Said goodbye to Dyl's best friend today. They are moving to Texas so one less reason to ever come back here. I'm so glad we left when we did, all the important people in my kids' lives are moving on, too.
We are mostly packed, have to be up in a couple hours to catch a 6am flight. :P
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Went to Painted Cave to show Gwyn the Chumash cave paintings. I found a separate painting way up on a rock outside the cave, at least it looked like a Chumash design. Picked my older son up from the airport, fresh from his first trip to visit friends via airplane on his own. He had so much fun but he keeps bursting into sobs because he says he misses his friend so much. It's wearing on my patience.
We went shopping - Bettie Page clothes are made to fit Barbie dolls so as much as I loved the look, I only found one thing that I liked on me.
Scheduled Gwyn and Aidan for paragliding lessons on Wednesday. We are all overtired from too much travel. All of these flights and not one time do all four of us fly together. See for yourself, behold our flights, in chronological order:
C,A,E Heathrow to LAX
G Heathrow to LAX
G,A LAX to Milwaukee
C,E Santa Barbara to Milwaukee
A Midway to Denver
G, E, C Milwaukee to LAX
A Denver to Santa Barbara
G,A,E LAX to Heathrow
C LAX to Phoenix
C Phoenix to LAX
C LAX to Heathrow
I was in charge of logistics. It's a wonder I have a single hair left on my head.
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Wow, that sounds so heavy! :clap;
Love Cas
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Today was almost exactly the same as yesterday. I drove Dyl out to Ojai for his second day of horse camp (he loved it so much yesterday that he asked to have another day there) and my mother dropped Aidan and Gwyn off at the paragliding training hill. Aidan apparently had the most amazing flight today, just soaring around for ages. He is rumored to be their youngest pilot ever.
I've surprised myself by suggesting that the boys undertake these challenges. I videoed Aidan gliding yesterday and stayed perfectly calm. Aidan declared that paragliding is "the coolest thing I've ever done".
Boys are in the spa right now relaxing. We are hopefully going out to dinner for our last night with all four of us in town.
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Yesterday's load of washing is on the line, the bed is made, the library has been visited, a postcard posted, tonight's dinner bought, a Tesco delivery ordered for tomorrow, and a cold breeze is wafting through the house in an attempt to freshen the place up ...
This afternoon I'll be sorting out my photographs from my nearly-Sister-in-Laws Hen Do (Bachelorette Party for those the wrong side of the pond) to PARIS! I've been to Paris before - back in 2004 with Mumsy - but this trip was just for a night and included dinner on a ship on the Seine and a show at the Moulin Rouge. There were A LOT of boobies on show (the dancers, not the gaggle of Hens I was with - we had to be a little bit classy because of her status in society!) and it was AMAZING! I almost didn't go because I'm so shy/introverted and find meeting new people to be really uncomfortable, but I think I got on with everyone (that was my accomplishment for the weekend; stepping out of my comfort zone). Yay me!
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Boobie photos, yes?
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Boobie photos, yes?
Haha ... no. The Moulin Rouge has a very strict policy on photography once you're inside. I suspect that anybody found taking pictures during the actual show would be roughly escorted from the premises, but I wasn't willing to put that to the test.
;D
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I went for a walk today. Walked 1.34km in half an hour, according to the sports tracker on my phone
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:2thumbsup;
I went for a walk today. Walked 1.34km in half an hour, according to the sports tracker on my phone
:2thumbsup;
I slept till midday. I'm either very tired or attempting to shake off this cold-bug which has been threatening me (but never quite peaking) for over a week. Grrr. I also danced for half an hour, with the curtains closed.
;D
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Last night I finally got the last tax papers to Gwyn to get to the accountant. Don't know why it took me so long, I have one of those psychological blocks when it comes to tax. We usually get a refund, too, but I am always convinced that this will be the year that we are slammed with an unmanageable tax bill.
I also broached an uncomfortable subject with my mother last night. It went better than expected, which is not to say it went well. :P
Just purchased approximately $400 worth of kids shoes on Amazon so that I can see what will fit in my bags. Geox, Primigi, and Keen are all difficult if not impossible to find in the UK, so I went a bit wild. Everything I decide against is returnable. I also bought a few artsy zipper pulls off Etsy. My lovely, soft, soft, soft, furry jacket that a friend gave me had a pull come off in the dryer, and it was a nice pull, so I decide to treat myself to a bit of sparkle and give a touch of support to two artists. I have a cosmetics appointment with a woman from LA to get my mother's special foundation. My skin is so touchy and prone to horrible dry patches so I am going to spend a crazy amount of money to try to keep that under control. I've tried this concoction before and it works really well for me, but you have to meet with the person who makes it, and it isn't the most recession-friendly.
In other words, I've been single-handedly propping up the American economy. Could someone else take over for a while? I need to give the bank account a breather....
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:2thumbsup;I went for a walk today. Walked 1.34km in half an hour, according to the sports tracker on my phone
:2thumbsup;
I slept till midday. I'm either very tired or attempting to shake off this cold-bug which has been threatening me (but never quite peaking) for over a week. Grrr. I also danced for half an hour, with the curtains closed.
;D
I haven't done any dancing lately.. might do that tomorrow, if it's still cold out like it was today.. there was snow poofies in the air when I was going into dialysis
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I did another 1.32km today in 34 minutes. My new shoes are really hurting my feet, though. I think the neighbors might be getting used to seeing me out walking around now.
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I am doing a bit of restaurant recon in preparation for my good friend M coming up from LA. I am thinking divey Mexican as SB does that better than anywhere else (except possibly Mexico). I just finished rajas con queso tacos at one option.
All I've managed to do today is get to Old Navy and buy the boys their costumes for a dance performance they have coming up in May. I don't care for Old Navy. The clothes are cheap because they are so quickly and poorly made. But they had the type of thing that the instructor was looking for, and I'm not convinced the boys will ever wear these clothes again once the performance is over.
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I'm bedding down the garden for winter. Lost count of the bags of manure I've spread. And the bucket-loads of compost. But I know I have used two bags of sugar cane mulch to top it all off. Also planted an avocado tree and a pomegranate tree.
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I'm bedding down the garden for winter. Lost count of the bags of manure I've spread. And the bucket-loads of compost. But I know I have used two bags of sugar cane mulch to top it all off. Also planted an avocado tree and a pomegranate tree.
Ah, gotta love the contrasts here. I went to the garden supply shop today to roam around and get ideas of what I want to plant when it warms up in a couple of weeks! Peonies, I think, for one. And I want that cocoa bean husk mulch that makes everything smell like chocolate...
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Maybe you girls can help me. Mom and I are looking for something to plant on Reese's grave in the back yard. We're looking for something that will stand out, it flowers nicely or has colored leaves, doesn't require a whole lot of maintenance, and is big enough that the guy who cuts the grass won't mow it down.
Any suggestions?
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Where are you at for climate? And ask Monrein - she's the master gardener here!
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I am back home and almost back on schedule. Actually got out the door in plenty of time today, and with walking to school we know it will always take about 20 minutes. Dropped off my dry cleaning, ran into the mother of a girl who was desperate to get into the touch rugby club and warned her there was only one slot left, then over to Smith's for a copy of the Beano. Met up with a friend there who said she also wanted a copy of the Beano, and as it was the last one left, I insisted she take it. I'll be getting Dyl an annual subscription for his birthday. Friend and I then went for tea this morning and had a long chat about where we both are with life issues.
Yesterday I managed to get 3 friends their gifts from America - 2 women I gave a 1 pound box of assorted See's chocolates (very Californian) and my American friend I gave 3 ounces of Rishi green mint tea and a bottle of very local Syrah. When I gave my Scottish friend her See's she said "Do y'know, an hour ago I tore my house up looking for chocolates?" :laugh: I still have to get the peanut butter and chocolate assortment to my Aussie friend (by request I got her peanut butter M&Ms and a new Reees's product, and then bought her some Trader joe's peanut butter cups because those are far better than anything Reese's.). I also have 2 bottles of local beer for the father of a friend and a bottle of local white for another friend. Yes, I did pay an additional $48 to check an extra bag on my flight.
We are scheduled to see a few houses this afternoon. I think we're going to put an offer in on a house we saw yesterday but we don't imagine they will accept it. We already put an offer in on a fixer but were outbid by at least 4 different builders with cash. Scary. There is so little affordable in this town, so we're in for a long search I imagine. We've all four been officially living in this 2-bed flat for less than a week and it's doing my head in. However, Dyl has his place at one of the top primary schools in Britain! The plan worked. :cheer:
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Today has been a major clean-up day around here. Closets, file cabinet, desk drawers, scout files. I still need to spend a lot of time getting all of my medical paperwork organized, BUT it was a very productive day. Also took my son to get his temporary driving permit. EEEKKK! Good day here.
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More shopping! Subscription to The Beano for Dyl to start his birthday week, a storage bed frame to be delivered Wednesday so that we will actually be sleeping on a real bed and not a mattress on the floor, plus have more drawers for our clothes, and a table and chairs off of Preloved. We needed as small a set as possible for this flat. I think we got a high quality set (solid wood) so we should be able to resell for about what we paid for it, possibly even a bit more.
Aidan had a football game and Dyl had rugby practice, and I cleaned and organized for a few hours, though you really cannot tell.
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Made fresh strawberry syrup and pancakes this morning for my company, as they were packing up to head north after a weekend of shopping and entertainment in the "big city". Got the house almost back in order. I'm working on getting my basement dried out - with the record flood levels, I've got a damp rug in my rec room in the basement, but nothing major. Time to do laundry and vac up the spring shed of cat hair next!
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I managed to wash the sheets! Not exciting but something that needed to be done.
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I was sick all weekend, so I didn't get out for any walks. I went today, and walked 1.56kms in 45 minutes. I went in a little different direction, and explored the trail, but had to walk home along a busy street. That was rather uncomfortable. I still did it, though
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Accomplished very little. I had to stay in to wait for our bed to be delivered. I sensed that there would be issues with this and was not disappointed. The delivery man had a strong Geordie accent, so I could only understand about 3/4 of what he was saying. He claimed he couldn't get his truck to the door, so he told me he could either drop the bed in the middle of the street or he could keep take it back with him. He then demanded to know "Do you want your delivery or not?" He was blocking a woman from exiting the parking area, so he suddenly said he had to let her out and jumped in his truck and left. I apologised to her and I could tell from the look on her face that she felt sorry for me having to interact with this creep. Next thing I knew, he had thrown his truck into reverse and was screeching toward my building. I suspected that if I hadn't rushed off to the side that he would have run me over and then blamed me for being there. Then he brought the bed out and wanted to know who told me that I would have this delivered to my door. (Isn't that normally where deliveries are brought? To one's door??) I answered 'the website', which was quite clear on this issue actually, and he said "that's what you get for internet shopping" and shoved a form in my hand to sign. Gwyn then had to leave work to help me get this bed inside the building (because he was not even willing to place it inside the door). Gwyn rang up the company who said we should write a formal letter of complaint so that they can complain to the delivery company. I feel on the one hand that I should do this and on the other, this person knows where we live and he did strike me as rather unstable.
Thankfully I was able to walk to the school to collect the boys and the exercise and distraction helped settle my nerves. Bought pizza and sparkling water from M&S. Also have reserved a space for Dyl's birthday party. He and his friends will have a horse riding lesson at the local school. Can't possibly top last year's training sea lions party, but I know he's going to love it.
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I've been working for days clearing up the basement after the flooding. I think I should be able to finish up tomorrow. I've had to throw out some rugs, and I sure won't be replacing them! This is the 3rd time since 2007 that we've had so much rain so quickly that we've had flood problems, and somehow I don't think it will be the last. Each time it's worse than the previous flood! So there won't be any more fancy rugs! Waste of money.
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I wrote several paragraphs on writer's block, then tossed them when they started not making any sense.. *L*
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Got handed a file today at the pro-bono clinic. The law student in charge of the file is mysteriously not coming back for the second, required term. No one offered an explanation of what happened to him, but I don't really need one after working on the file. What a mess! I got a lovely head start at redrafting most of the documents, and have the motion mostly rewritten to include all the things that were left out. Hopefully, the poor student who inherits the mess when the new term starts in two weeks won't be too lost when I'm done, but I expect it's going to take me most of that time just to properly sort through this and the other files the first student mucked up.
There's a reason I got flowers for Administrative Professionals Day, after all! :angel;
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I've been working for days clearing up the basement after the flooding. I think I should be able to finish up tomorrow. I've had to throw out some rugs, and I sure won't be replacing them! This is the 3rd time since 2007 that we've had so much rain so quickly that we've had flood problems, and somehow I don't think it will be the last. Each time it's worse than the previous flood! So there won't be any more fancy rugs! Waste of money.
Ah, what a shame. Sorry to hear it. Rugs are definitely not a pocket-change purchase.
This was an issue in Milwaukee, the floods. I remember writing about it on here one time because I had never seen anything like it. If I had taken a few more minutes to collect the kids I think we would have been in big trouble. My uncle's basement flooded that year, and he had so many priceless items down there. Then the city decided to open the sewers and as quickly as it started, it was over. My uncle was completely fed up with it, as he said "we can't have the storm of the century every year!" Apparently there are environmental regulations that the city has to follow when it comes to opening the sewers, so everyone in town gets water damage first and then they decide it's bad enough to justify the environmental impact. So everyone loses. You'd think there might just be a better way.... :waiting;
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I finished knitting a fabulous jacket and sewed on the buttons!!! So soft!!!
well done that looks very comfey :thumbup; :cheer:
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I walked about 5 miles today. I have the boys doing what I call a bus challenge. For every week that we get to school and back without resorting to taking the bus, I will give them each £12. (A monthly bus pass costs about £50, and I'd rather pay them that money than Stagecoach.) So, I wind up walking a minimum of 3 miles per day as I walk them there, come back on my own, walk to meet them, bring them back at the end of the day. I also met up with two friends who live round the corner from the school, so that was an extra journey. It's about .7 miles each way, and then the friends and I drove to a neighbouring town to wander through the charity shops, so I reckon that would account for an extra .8 miles.
I was very good and did not buy an adorable Red or Dead handbag. It was £15, which seemed too high for a used, moderate-value designer bag at a charity shop. I did, however, grab a National Trust waterproof-backed blanket roll that looked unused. We are going to two National Trust sites over the bank holiday weekend, and the weather is supposed to be brilliant so I think a picnic may be upon the cards. I checked and they sell similar blankets for £30 and up, and I got this one for £5. :yahoo;
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Oooooh, I was a member of The National Trust for yonks! There's few things better than a visit to one of their sites on a spring or summer's day! Enjoy!
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I figured out how to use the hand-held scanner and took it to court to scan an entire case file for a client. Got that done, and read it while I was at it. Soooo much work to do on it... :p
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I walked over to the grocery store that's 2 blocks away to get some Emla cream and an iced tea. Not really that big of a walk, but I really haven't been feeling the walking thing lately
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Oooooh, I was a member of The National Trust for yonks! There's few things better than a visit to one of their sites on a spring or summer's day! Enjoy!
Oh, agreed! We signed up as members at our first opportunity, and I cannot believe all we've got for our hundred quid or whatever the price is, and the best months to go are just beginning. We are off to two of the bigger draw properties, Stonehenge and Sutton Hoo, and no, they haven't moved them, those two sites are still not particularly close to one another. :) Aidan studied Sutton Hoo in school, and I really cannot stand to live here much longer without the boys (including Gwyn) being able to say that they've seen Stonehenge. The American shouldn't be the only one in the house who's been! So this weekend it is.
The kids passed their first week of the Great Spring Bus Challenge. They'll each have an extra £12 to spend as they like. :cheer:
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We are off to two of the bigger draw properties, Stonehenge and Sutton Hoo, and no, they haven't moved them, those two sites are still not particularly close to one another. :) Aidan studied Sutton Hoo in school, and I really cannot stand to live here much longer without the boys (including Gwyn) being able to say that they've seen Stonehenge. The American shouldn't be the only one in the house who's been! So this weekend it is.
Blimey ... they're nowhere near each other! Sutton Hoo is near where I was brought up. You'll need to go to Woodbridge because it is a rather nice little Suffolk town (it has VERY expensive charity shops I think *grin*). I think I last went to Stonehenge when I was about fourteen. It didn't impress me much because it was too touristy. Plus, I suspect that time-travelling future people built it just to mess with our heads!
Today I spent four hours gardening, found out the elderly man over the road passed away last week, did two loads of washing (and hung them on the line), picked up Blokey's meds from the pharmacy, posted three postcards and a 'thank you for the invitation, we'd be delighted to attend the wedding of Blokey's brother' acceptance card, took in a Tesco delivery and went to the library. At 10am this morning a knock at the door interrupted my Just Dance 2 routine, but it was only Blokey; he'd forgotten to take his meds with him to work. He blamed me of course. I don't work on Friday's and that messes up his routine. What he really means is that I'm not up before him making sure his meds, phone, wallet and wedding ring are all together ready for him to grab and take with him!
;D
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Blimey ... they're nowhere near each other!
We're actually coming back home in between. We live pretty much equidistant to the two.
Sutton Hoo is near where I was brought up. You'll need to go to Woodbridge because it is a rather nice little Suffolk town (it has VERY expensive charity shops I think *grin*).
Thanks for the tip. Don't know that we'll have time this trip, but something to keep in mind for future excursions.
I think I last went to Stonehenge when I was about fourteen. It didn't impress me much because it was too touristy. Plus, I suspect that time-travelling future people built it just to mess with our heads!
But of course, time-traveling future people! It seems so obvious now! Another mystery solved. :2thumbsup;
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Well.....so far, I've email blasted invitations to a surprise birthday lunch, planned the lunch menu, worked, grocery shopped,shopped 2 thrift stores looking for a used toaster over that is big enough for my polymer clay projects (no luck, but too many books I didn't need), measured my planting bed, searched 4 garden stores to see what was available that will work there (partial sun and one big window that's only about 3 feet off the ground - everything I'm getting has "dwarf" in the name!) and made notes of locations and prices of what I want to get so I could compare prices before buying anything. Tomorrow I shop, pick up my teenage nephew, and plant with my yard-boy to help!
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I didn't do anything today except go to dialysis and sleep. *L* Tomorrow, however, I'm going to the house to help Mom with sorting stuff. She wants to have a yard sale in a couple of weeks, and a lot of the stuff that's still there is mine anyway. My dad is being no help at all. A lot of his stuff is still there too, and he's the one that's so anxious for the house to sell. I never realized how much of a hat my dad was until after he and Mom split up.
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Over the bank holiday weekend we saw Sutton Hoo, Stonehenge, and today the boys got to chalk the Uffington horse.
Whew. Knackered.
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In the midst of a bit of a mare right now, with my son not reminding me until last night that he has a fancy dress (costume) party at school tomorrow. He is supposed to dress in clothes from a certain decade, anything from 1950s-1990s. He wants to go as Yoda, because you can also dress as a character from film or television, but I said no to that because I think the point is to cobble an outfit together that represents the fashion of the time. Right now I am trying to go one of two directions - 1950s biker like Marlon Brando, or Marty McFly from Back to the Future.
I annoy myself with being such a perfectionist when it comes to these things. We have so many clothes in storage - I know I have a biker jacket that might fit Aidan if I can only find it, and biker boots which will fit him as we are currently the same shoe size. Worried that they might look too girly, but if I remember right, they were fairly unisex. No cool military-inspired cap, though. Also, no black hairspray and no confidence that I can find the items I do own quickly enough.
Cannot find the orange gilet (puffer vest) for Marty, and without that, well, not sure it would come across at all.
Frustrated because I kept running into a mom of a classmate of Aidan's this morning at all the charity shops. Finally, I thought to ask "so, are you on a hunt for the fancy-dress party, too?" She knew nothing about it. So I explained it to her, and she reaches into the OxFam rail, pulls out the most gorgeous flower-child dress, then finds a brown suede jacket with fringe for her daughter. Explain the justice in that?!
I've rung Debenhams, nothing. There are no department stores in my town so anything I find will require a ride anyhow. Bah. Stuck.
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I used to hate dressing up days at school with four kids!!!
Did you like Sutton Hoo (was it worth the trip?) I have to admit I have never been there despite living within 10 miles of it!!!!
I have been to Stonehenge though, and I love that...
Today I managed (for the first time in six months) DRUM ROLL here ... :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:
to walk around Tesco's to do a shop with a trolley. Wheelchair stayed firmly in the boot!
Felt really pleased til I got home and had a phonecall from my dialysis unit telling me my pre-dialysis potassium on Wednesday was 8!!!
Sure that can't be right (really strict diet until tomorrow >:() but I feel okay.
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I used to hate dressing up days at school with four kids!!!
Four! I can't even imagine. They'd never coax me out from under the bed.... :)
Gwyn found my biker jacket and boots in storage easily. Found black hairspray at a place that specializes in drug paraphenalia in the neighbouring city, and we employed the black cap that Aidan used to play Salvador Dali, if you unsnap the brim it has basically the same shape as Brando's. Rolled up blue jeans, a white t-shirt (I've learnt we should *always* have one of them at hand for the boys) and a heavy black belt and the outfit looks pretty authentic. I think he'll have fun with it.
Did you like Sutton Hoo (was it worth the trip?) I have to admit I have never been there despite living within 10 miles of it!!!!
I have been to Stonehenge though, and I love that...
I did like Sutton Hoo but it's nowhere near as majestic as Stonehenge. The best part for me was going on the tour - you learn a lot about the Anglo Saxons and how paganism was being replaced by Christianity during the time of the burial. Our guide was one of the archaeologists on some of the past digs, so that was cool, and you also learn about the various plunder attempts that took place there. The one disappointment was that the majority of the artifacts are reproductions - the real ones are in the British Museum. Still, for a ten minute drive, I'd say check it out.
Today I managed (for the first time in six months) DRUM ROLL here ... :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:
to walk around Tesco's to do a shop with a trolley. Wheelchair stayed firmly in the boot!
Felt really pleased til I got home and had a phonecall from my dialysis unit telling me my pre-dialysis potassium on Wednesday was 8!!!
Sure that can't be right (really strict diet until tomorrow >:() but I feel okay.
Sorry to hear about the potassium, but the rest is brilliant news! :yahoo;
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Nope, not really. Been really lazy today.
Good on you, Sugarlump, for the walk! Sorry to hear about the Potassium level though :( That's no fun....I'll be surrounding you with lots of healing thoughts that that gets resolved for the better quickly!
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Wahaha - found the answer to two legal questions that the lawyers couldn't figure out. So glad I saved all that tuition money by not going to law school - apparently they don't actually teach that much while they are charging you the earth!
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Well yesterday I did a pile of washing and Ironing so wouldn't have to today, so far today have cleaned bathroom and toilets tidied whole house and played lots of games with my daughter and her dolls and teddies! She is sleeping, so I am being lazy watching TV with a hot drink as it freezing and horrid outside here in UK! Then will be picking son up from school helping him with homework then a game before making dinner then hubby be home. Kids will be in bed by 7 then some me time again :)
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I'm doing laundry right now. Earlier I had to go to the bank, Dollar General, and the grocery store. Then I had to go buy a new tire for my van. I'm beat so I'm going to make some coffee and relax before I start my treatment!
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I had a doctor's appointment. It was in and out, not what I expected at all. All he did was add some things to my monthly labs. Could have done that over the phone.
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My second day after returning to work after fistula surgery and three weeks off. The kids missed me. One boy brought me a card with m and ms snack pack to welcome me back. One of the girls gave me a little Shrek Donkey toy. 3 days of school left.
I cleane dout supplies and did paperwork and more paper work, and coaxed children to behave and work today! I have more to do tomorrow. Never ends.
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Did some laundry, "cooked" dinner in the crock pot, had lunch with a friend, finished reading the book for my book club tomorrow night and had a "date night" with DH doing a mystery shop at a local ice cream place. Not a bad day. :yahoo;
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Gah, I'm always in the pressure cooker this time of year it seems. Half-term starts this Friday but of course the boys have a crucial street dance rehearsal Friday night for their first major performance the following week. We are so late with Dyl's dinosaur project, but last night we got the papier mache mask fully built (it had to be done in stages) with the Dyson Hot pointed at it to dry it out (luckily the Hot can be turned to cool 8)) Dyl chose a parasaurolophus (of course he did, he's Elliot Dylan, the former 3-year-old who spoke to an employee at the Field Museum like a colleague). I am worried the crest will collapse and hoping that what we read about papier mache being remarkably durable is actually true. Not too true, though, because we do have to trim a bit to make room for him to put his head inside, plus I'm sure he'll want holes for the eyes. We have to paint it and he'll have to write up what he knows about the dinosaur, and then we can hand it in hopefully tomorrow but Friday at the latest. Yesterday Gwyn was quite ill with the mystery condition that crops up every 6 months or so - doctors suspect it's a gallbladder issue but they can't find anything. So, he was trying to work from home whilst I cleaned both bathrooms, did piles of laundry, tried to get a grip on the forms that I need to fill in for these new schools where the boys will go next year., walked them to choir practice, and eventually made dinner. I stupidly am allowing Dyl to have YET ANOTHER birthday party. Why couldn't I just stick to the "invite 2-3 friends to go do something low-key" rule that I have enforced with Aidan for years? This is his 3rd year in a row with a birthday party. I have to get the deposit to the stables, give a final guest count when I'm still awaiting a reply from 2 guests, order food, a cake, arrange decorations. Trying to decide if it's worth it to order M&Ms with Dyl's picture on them, probably won't be enough time to get them here before the party.
Today I've put dry laundry away and started hanging up the wet clothes as room becomes available, bought yellow paint because Dyl has decided that that dinosaur was a pale yellow, paid school dinners through to the end of the school year, dropped off a giant load of towels for the cleaners to wash, and I'll be volunteering in a few hours. I'll be supervising the mask painting tonight, and time permitting, taking the boys outside for an hour or two to practice their street dance routines. The teacher says their group is the only one who are not proficient in these dances and she has demanded that they all practice for several hours at home. :P We want to go away for the bank holiday weekend but have no place booked yet and will probably just have to stay here.
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Seriously, cariad, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING low-key about m & m's with the kid's picture on them. Honestly, the stables are over the top enough!
Stay home, take the kids to the park with soccer ball and call it good. Buy some good wine for you and hubby, get some over-the-top ice cream cake for a picnic lunch, and stop stressing. Those are called stay-cations now, and they're all the rage....
;D
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I have two more days of school, then Tuesday is a teacher work day. Almost done!!!
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Seriously, cariad, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING low-key about m & m's with the kid's picture on them. Honestly, the stables are over the top enough!
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Oh my! This is exactly what I needed to hear. Why do I go stark raving bonkers every single year? Anyhow, greetings, my fellow earthlings! I have returned! Thanks, jbeany!
Stay home, take the kids to the park with soccer ball and call it good. Buy some good wine for you and hubby, get some over-the-top ice cream cake for a picnic lunch, and stop stressing. Those are called stay-cations now, and they're all the rage....
;D
This, too. We were going to stay in one of my brother-in-laws rental flats in Wales so we could go panning for gold at Dolaucothi, but they have a tenant moving in this weekend. They offered their home as they will be away, but I've told Gwyn I wouldn't be comfortable with that. Cheapest place I could find is 200 quid PER NIGHT. I think we'll be taking a few day trips like we did last bank holiday weekend, and generally enjoying the chance to do nothing at all. (Two bank holiday weekends in May? Can we not space these out better, Britain?)
Our major accomplishment yesterday: We finished the dinosaur mask, painted to little Dyl's exact specifications (we all helped but the concept was his). It's actually more of a hat, but it's been turned in and not a moment too soon. Teacher was acting well impressed.
Going to clean, fill out some forms for schools, get some returns out the door, write a few letters if I can, and then go collect Dyl. Aidan has a little disco to attend which will be excellent warm-up for the hours of street dance I will have them practicing before dinner. :cheer:
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You rock, cariad!!! What an awesome mom you are. Enjoy every minute of the craziness, because it goes too fast. My boys are 21 and 24 now, and I so miss the days of school projects, sporting events and birthday parties! I am not sure how I would have handled everything if I had been going through these medical issues when they were young. My accomplishments for today seem rather minimal compared to yours, but I did manage to clean the kitchen and finish mowing the grass. Getting ready to make dinner so it's ready for us while I am on D tonight. I am happy to get anything done lately lol! Keep up the good work! You are doing an amazing job!
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Today I am so tired I can barely move.
So I went to work and I worked my ass :sir ken; off:
1. Worked with the kids and got 25 kids finished with major Language Arts project. HAve 5 kids who still owe me pieces.
2. Cleaned out 5 notebooks, three file boxes, and 2 teacher file areas.
3. Sent four large full boxes of trash to the dumpster.
4. Did Writer's Showcase Contest booklets (Thank God for Maria S. at work, she copied them for me. The copier and I had a run in early this morning.) Sent them to teacher's to give to students after looking up teacher names and labeling all of them.
5. Cleaned out my large storage cabinet. I have a few things left and empty containers.
6. Organized projects with individual kids.
7. Grade all 25 projects.
8. Did awards for math classes.
9. Put grades into the computer.
10. Filled out parent reports for students.
11. Made a list of things to do tomorrow on my white board.
Every thing I cleaned up turned up more stuff to clean up. Good God!!!
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Tuesday - stayed late at work to print up judgments for the 30 - count 'em - 30 cases from my division that the judge is supposed to hear Friday between 9 and noon. (Along with a dozen arraignments and 3 other civil division cases. I wasn't working Wednesday to balance hours for working all day Friday, so I thought I'd make sure I was well prepared to catch up on Thursday, which is the day I usually devote to printing up judgments.
Wednesday - attended the class with the pro bono clinicstudents to hear the guest lecturers and get both of them to give me fliers for their particular legal aid specialties. I can then hand these out to the people who come to the counter at court, instead of trying to explain what Legal Aid and the Tenants' Alliance actually do and when and where they do it. Went to lunch with a friend, and then went home and cleaned the house from top to bottom. Made chili to put in my crock pot Thursday morning. Made beer bread, veggie dip, a fruit tray, and sea salt chocolate chip cookies - some baked immediately, some dough for the fridge.
Thursday, got up almost on time, tossed the chili in the crock pot on low, and went to the clinic to volunteer for 3 hours before going to work. Took a batch of cookies, and was alternately thanked or hated, depending on the diet plans of the person currently talking to me around a mouth full of cookie. Scooted off to work. Today was the day I would normally have spent 2 to 3 hours working on printing judgments between my normal duties. Annnnnd the computer system was completely down. Kaput. No email, no nothing! Soooooooo happy the darn things were already done! Got to leave work on time, if only because I couldn't actually work on anything even if I stayed late. Buzzed home, organized dinner. baked more cookies, and had company come at 6:30. Dinner was yummy and easy to set out. Then we all played with polymer clay in my craft room for 3 hours. My company left, and I wrapped up the remaining cookies and decorated the package as a host gift for my dinner invite tomorrow.
Now, off to bed in my clean house - well, except for the dirty dishes in the sink, but they aren't going anywhere!
Now I'm going to ignore my dirty dishes and go to bed to prepare for the crazy day tomorrow at court!
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Since the sun has decided to go on vacation, but it's still warm, I thought I'd go for a walk. I'm testing some new trackers on my phone, so depending on which one I used, I walked just above or just below 3kms in a little over an hour. The only problem I had or have, depending on how you look at it, is that I didn't check the UV index for today until I got home. Even with no sun, the index was high (forget the actual number) and I think the top of my head, where the hair is the thinnest, got burned. I must remember to start wearing hats when I leave the house again.
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... for a picnic lunch
She'll be lucky ... the weather forecast is rain, rain and more rain (with a little bit of wind and below average temps thrown in for good measure) this Bank Holiday weekend!
;D
I'm having a lazy-ish day as I begin my half-term break today. I do need to get to the Post Office and the library, but I'm waiting for the bathroom man to come and fix my wobbly sink. I'm still in my pyjamas; I hope he doesn't mind.
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We got together for Memorial Day for a family member's birthday, at a park in Orange County, CA.
It was a beautiful day, lots of turtles sunning themselves and baby geese swimming in the pond.
We grilled hot dogs and ate cake.
Here's a photo of the fam.
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You rock, cariad!!! What an awesome mom you are. Enjoy every minute of the craziness, because it goes too fast.
Aren't you sweet! I like to think I rock! I try to remind myself that I'll miss this all one day, sooner than I think.
My accomplishments for today seem rather minimal compared to yours, but I did manage to clean the kitchen and finish mowing the grass. Getting ready to make dinner so it's ready for us while I am on D tonight. I am happy to get anything done lately lol! Keep up the good work! You are doing an amazing job!
Whoa, those are hardly minimal accomplishments! If I ever manage to completely clean the kitchen, I'm quite sure it will make national news. :laugh: Thank you so much for your supportive comments. :waving;
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It's my birthday, so I went and got my hair trimmed. *G* While I was out, I got myself an ice cap, and then came home. I'm now sitting on my bed, with the Sharpened Shadow taking a nap next to me
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Happy birthday to you! And may there be many more. :birthday;
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It's my birthday, so I went and got my hair trimmed. *G* While I was out, I got myself an ice cap, and then came home. I'm now sitting on my bed, with the Sharpened Shadow taking a nap next to me
Riki - I didn't visit yesterday so I missed it! Let me say that I hope you had the happiest birthday ever! :birthday;
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I hope you had a great they too.
Love Cas
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Riki, I can't think of a better way to celebrate a birthday than by getting a haircut. Something about that is so therapeutic! I got mine cut (after a six month delay) over the weekend, and I love not looking like the crazy woman at the end of the road anymore. LOL!
I'm glad you enjoyed your day! Have a wonderful year! :2thumbsup;
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Thanks guys. I did have a good day. I like walking around my little city, as much as I can, though. Had supper with my parents, although my dad really needs to leave the computer off the table during meals. I love that even though they're not together, my parents do get along really well. I got a call from my brother, a card from my grandparents, and a virtual hug from Kelly. All in all, a good day. Oh.. and no surprise saline flush attacks from my fellow dialysis patients this year! Always a plus. *G*
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I was up at 3:00 am to go out hunting turkey this morning. I stayed out until 9:00 then came home and finish repairing my utility trailer, drilled and bolted the plywood to the bed. ithen went and mowed the lawn. Candy wanted to go shopping, so we took the bike into town for walmart stuff and her chinese food. I am having a salad. I also pulled my boat out and started getting it ready for the season. Guess I can take a break now.
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I asked a friend to go to the sculpture park with me next week. He went to law school here for two years, and never managed to go. He's back working here now, and I convinced him he should go see it - after all, it's only ranked in the top 100 art collections in the world.... Yay, I love showing off one of my favorite places to someone new!
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I asked a friend to go to the sculpture park with me next week. He went to law school here for two years, and never managed to go. He's back working here now, and I convinced him he should go see it - after all, it's only ranked in the top 100 art collections in the world.... Yay, I love showing off one of my favorite places to someone new!
Ooooh, which sculpture park is this?
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Fredrick Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan. :)
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I haven't actually done anything this morning except make coffee! But I have lots that I need to do today: Laundry; dishes; change the sheets; work in the garden...I just hope my energy holds out!
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Cleaning, laundry, hand washed some delicates, ordered Dyl's birthday cake, ordered the helium tanks for the balloons (ouch! £50!), ordered balloons, ordered a few gifts. Found a back-up shirt for Aidan to wear for his costume for his tap dance performance in case the t-shirt I ordered does not make it in the next 18 hours, and it looks like it won't.
Making iced tea now (it's a process) and then taking the boys outside to have them run through each of their dance numbers 5 times. Their show is tomorrow afternoon. *head explodes*
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I managed to forget going on the yearly trip with my local kidneyfund this morning. I was really looking forward to going. :(
In my phone it said next week.
So just doing some housework and enjoying the sun, after I have finished my coffees that is
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not a thing
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Two graduation parties for us today. Boys from my husband and son's scout troop. Nice day!
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This weekend, I am going through all of my stuff and getting rid of anything I don't need, use or can't or shouldn't wear anymore.
I gotta say, it's rather freeing.
I'm sure I'm not going to get it all done in one weekend, but it sure is quite a start!
KarenInWA
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I finally found a Slushy Magic! Well, Mom found it. I've no idea if it works or not. Will be so cool if it does
http://www.orderslushymagic.com/Default.asp?bhcp=1
I'll let you know if it works. I need to let the freezer cubes freeze, and I think I'll wait till after dialysis tomorrow, so I don't have to worry about fluid gains
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I took my car to the garage for a service and walked the 25 minutes home. Hit the wall at the ten minute mark but kepy going and got my second wind. What an adventure. Must try it again next year!
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It's hard to keep going once you hit that wall, but I'm stubborn. If I set out to do something, I'm going to do it. There are a few times that I've had to feel my way home with my cane because when I overexert myself, my double vision starts acting up and I get disoriented. I'll keep walking, though, because the more you do it, the easier it gets. I have friends that have been doing 5k walks. I'll do it with them next year
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I took my car to the garage for a service and walked the 25 minutes home. Hit the wall at the ten minute mark but kepy going and got my second wind. What an adventure. Must try it again next year!
Ha ha, thank you for brightening up my day. That made me laugh muchly!
In no particular order, I've danced like no-one was watching (and I don't think they were, unless I have a peeping Tom), been to the library, browsed the charity shops, sent some postcards to foreign shores, weeded and trimmed my front garden and mowed the lawn (feel free to take that in two different ways), read Warm Bodies for an hour in the garden, showered, painted my toe nails, went to tidy the drive (it's at the back of our house and I only see it about twice a year, when I want to get in the garage for some odd rubbishy thing which might be stored in there) and discovered that some kind neighbour had pulled all the weeds up for me, most probably because they were sick of having to see them *grin*, did one load of washing, hung it on the line and have since been able to put it away ... I love this glorious weather (sometimes).
Tomorrow I'm dragging Blokey into town to buy shoes for his brother's wedding. I bought the dress last week so just need the accessories. I love shoe shopping ... he hates it, bless him. So we'll be going to Pizza Hut for lunch. Yummy.
;D
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Once again, I am confused. Are the shoes for you, Blokely or BB (Blokey's brother)? Oh, and I've taken the trimming and mowing in only one way - the way it was intended! You minx!!
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Once again, I am confused. Are the shoes for you, Blokely or BB (Blokey's brother)? Oh, and I've taken the trimming and mowing in only one way - the way it was intended! You minx!!
Minx? Me? I have no idea what you mean, galvo ... *looks innocent* ...
The shoes are for me. And they're GORGEOUS. I'm not sure they match the dress very well but I don't care. Nobody is going to be looking at my shoes anyway when there's a blushing bride to hog all the attention.
;D
I cleared out all my kitchen cupboards today and now have a dining room table full of stuff I don't need. It will have to stay there till we drag it to the charity shop next weekend. *sigh* (I hate mess.)
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I sent out invitations to an open house for my pro bono clinic students for Saturday, June 22. My sister bravely volunteered her cottage on the lake, as well as the pontoon, the paddle boat, the canoe, the two fishing boats, the three kayaks, and the bonfire pit for the day. I sent some seriously casual emails and facebook messages to about 2 dozen people, figuring if I got 9 or 10 who could come, it would be a fun day. The invite was basically "Cottage open house, daylight until too dark to drink around the bonfire, boat tours and fishing on the 80 acre chain of lakes and wetlands, kid friendly, guests welcome, bring a dish to pass, BYOB." I figured I'd throw some brats and hot dogs on the grill for the few who could come, grab a couple bags of chips, put out a heaping bowl of fresh strawberries, bring the stuff to make s'mores, and call it good.
I've heard back from only about half of the people I've invited so far. Only one said no. Current head count for the party, including kids and guests, is 26. Oh my. ;D
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I sent out invitations to an open house for my pro bono clinic students for Saturday, June 22. My sister bravely volunteered her cottage on the lake, as well as the pontoon, the paddle boat, the canoe, the two fishing boats, the three kayaks, and the bonfire pit for the day. I sent some seriously casual emails and facebook messages to about 2 dozen people, figuring if I got 9 or 10 who could come, it would be a fun day. The invite was basically "Cottage open house, daylight until too dark to drink around the bonfire, boat tours and fishing on the 80 acre chain of lakes and wetlands, kid friendly, guests welcome, bring a dish to pass, BYOB." I figured I'd throw some brats and hot dogs on the grill for the few who could come, grab a couple bags of chips, put out a heaping bowl of fresh strawberries, bring the stuff to make s'mores, and call it good.
I've heard back from only about half of the people I've invited so far. Only one said no. Current head count for the party, including kids and guests, is 26. Oh my. ;D
Can I come? :pray;
I survived Dyl's birthday and now have a friendly warning, jbeany. Combine alcohol and a sunny, picturesque environment and your guests will not leave without a court order (and given that they know the legal system so well, probably not even then!) We did not offer gift bags for the kids because I so detest those things filled with plastic crap, so we had to resort to handing each child a balloon and saying within earshot of the parents (happily enjoying a warm afternoon, sipping the lager and cider on offer) 'Here ya go, sweetheart! This is for you TO TAKE HOME.'
Our Scottish friends are holding a party in two weeks for their daughter and are joking that we've set the standard, but that Scotland shall prevail over the Welsh. It is on!
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Can I come? :pray;
I survived Dyl's birthday and now have a friendly warning, jbeany. Combine alcohol and a sunny, picturesque environment and your guests will not leave without a court order (and given that they know the legal system so well, probably not even then!)
Sure, fly on over! Between the pontoon, the paddleboat, the canoe, the two 14 ft fishing boats, the 3 kayaks, and the new sailboat - I bet we can squeeze you and boys out on the water with everyone else!
There is, of course, a reason none of the invites were for overnight! We are on wetlands, after a major flood season, and the spray and thermocells only work just so well Eventually, the mosquitoes will pick up any stray guests left around the campfire and carry them off. ;D
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Both parties sound great!
... Combine alcohol and a sunny, picturesque environment and your guests will not leave without a court order (and given that they know the legal system so well, probably not even then!) We did not offer gift bags for the kids because I so detest those things filled with plastic crap, so we had to resort to handing each child a balloon and saying within earshot of the parents (happily enjoying a warm afternoon, sipping the lager and cider on offer) 'Here ya go, sweetheart! This is for you TO TAKE HOME.'
It's not really *that* hard to wrap things up -- just run out of lager & cider!
(Though I think jbeany's mosquito solution is pure genius.)
cheers,
skg
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It's not really *that* hard to wrap things up -- just run out of lager & cider!
So where were you Saturday when we needed you and your quick thinking? ;D
Sure, fly on over!
We'll be there.... with BUG SPRAY! Ha! See? There's always a Kryptonite!
Your party does sound divine and your sister is indeed a brave and trusting soul. Have a ball!!! Don't forget the :pics;
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I baked bread for the first time ever. Kneading is surprisingly therapeutic.
;D
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Does this make you somewhat kneady?
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:banghead;
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Oh yes, very kneady.
(Well played, galvo. :P)
Today I have spent most of the day in bed. I am full of snot, my glands (at least, I assume it's my glands) are really painful, my head is fuzzy and I woke up drenched in sweat following a brief nap this afternoon. Blokey is hoping I don't pass it on to him; so am I, because he's a far worse invalid than me, what with being a male of the species. At the moment I can't even smell my Vicks which is very annoying because I really love that smell ...
;D
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Yesterday - caught up on sleep, mowed lawn, trimmed edges, pulled weeds, planted a decorative grass that wasn't doing well inside anymore. Then ran errands and got some shopping done.
Today - got up early, cleaned house, did laundry, made caramels to take to my craft class tomorrow, called on craft show table in November, and answered a bunch of emails. Still need to organize my craft supplies for the class, wrap the caramels, and make a batch of brownies to freeze for the party next weekend.
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Wow jbeany! You make me tired just reading your post! :rofl;
I'm in the midst of doing laundry and doing my Monday chores. (Yes I have all my chores separated by which day I do them. :2thumbsup; )
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I finally got all the application forms for the guide dog training school in Long Island. I only sent for the forms in April. *L* I got tired reading through them. There's a form for me to fill out, one for my doctor, one for my ophthalmologist, and one for my O&M instructor, plus I need three reference letters and a video showing how well I can get around on my own, including crossing streets and getting on the bus. Kelly seemed excited when I told her. If I'm approved, I'll be within visiting distance for her for a month.
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This weekend, I am going through all of my stuff and getting rid of anything I don't need, use or can't or shouldn't wear anymore.
I gotta say, it's rather freeing.
I'm sure I'm not going to get it all done in one weekend, but it sure is quite a start!
KarenInWA
I could use somebody like you for a weekend to go through my wardrobe. I am not nearly ruthless enough and get emotionally attached to things (that I don't wear/don't fit/don't match anything else...)
And my kitchen cupboards!!!!
What's your secret? :clap; :clap; :clap;
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I accomplished getting stuck in an elevator at work today. It just stopped working, wouldn't even move up or down. I'm slightly claustrophobic so I FLIPPED OUT. Almost had a panic attack, started stripping off my jacket, sat on the floor and screamed for help. Someone finally heard me and got maintnance to help get me out. :bow; They had to pry open the doors and pull me out onto a ladder from the floor below.
I will be taking the stairs from now on.
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I've had the same experience, Lexx. Not much fun. What floor are you on? It could turn out to be a good exercise routine.
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I am spending on clothes at the charity shop like a crazy person.
Today I bought a Next blouse and Ben Sherman jacket for myself, and had Gwyn try on a Next suit and M&S shirt, both of which he purchased. They keep putting out gorgeous boys clothes, and gorgeous, designer boys clothes are rare at charity shops, so what am I supposed to do exactly?
The other day I decided to try to cook. My right hand is a blotchy red from the scorching oil that I spilled on myself, and my left hand has blisters on the fingertips. There is a reason I say I don't cook, and it's because I'd really like to live out my natural lifespan.
Last night I went to a "craft party" with my Aussie friend who was one of the instructors. As she said to me "it's where you make different crafty things, and you drink". I am so down with one of those two things. I gave up in disgust with the sewing bit, but my friend taught me to macrame (and you can't even imagine how she pronounces it - you have to love those Southern Hemispherians! Like all our lovely IHD members from south of the equator). I was as amazed as anyone when I said to her "L., I *like* this activity. I can handle this."
Birthday party tomorrow (still have to wrap the little girl's gifts) and then off to Wales in the afternoon.
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So -- does anyone else do this: get feeling a little better so finally try to catch up on all sorts of things which need doing -- spend what would have been a fairly normal day (at least pre-kidney-issues) -- and then be completely exhausted and useless the next day or two?
I'm torn between doing everything I can do when I actually feel up to doing it, and hoping/imagining that maybe if I took it a little easier, I'd be able to have two decent days in a row.
cheers,
skg
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skg
I'm for pacing myself. Five years ago I could do anything and go all day. Now I labour away for hours doing what used to take half an hour. And I often am found having a snooze in the afternoon.
:shy;
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Today I "helped" paint the bathroom yellow.
My contribution is the middle band of the wall I can reach without crouching or standing on a chair! :urcrazy;
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I've had the same experience, Lexx. Not much fun. What floor are you on? It could turn out to be a good exercise routine.
The lab is on the ground floor and most of our inpatient draws are two to three floors up. lol I need the exercise anyway! :D
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I'm feeling like a jellyfish in the sand these days. I'm hot, and I don't have the energy to get out of my own way. It's a beautiful day today, and I'd love to do something that won't cause me to need to take a cat nap in someone's front yard in order to continue on.
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So -- does anyone else do this: get feeling a little better so finally try to catch up on all sorts of things which need doing -- spend what would have been a fairly normal day (at least pre-kidney-issues) -- and then be completely exhausted and useless the next day or two?
I had one of those days today. Got up and felt good, hubby and son were clearing the edges of the fields and planting sweet corn. I decided to weed eat one of the rental houses and the sides of the driveway. Did that in the 95 degree heat, but still didn't feel too bad, so I trimmed branches at the end of the drive and went back to work on my own yard. Finished that and still felt pretty good (although drenched in sweat), so I went to feed and water my chickens and gather eggs. At this point I knew I overdid it. Went inside, showered, ordered pizza and got on my machine. I am so proud of myself for all I managed to do, but am thinking I will be sorry tomorrow! That's how it goes, I guess. I get so far behind on things that I feel like I have to go all out when I am feeling good. Hopefully I won't be too dead tomorrow as I have a Graduation party to attend and can't miss it.
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*
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So -- does anyone else do this: get feeling a little better so finally try to catch up on all sorts of things which need doing -- spend what would have been a fairly normal day (at least pre-kidney-issues) -- and then be completely exhausted and useless the next day or two?
I'm torn between doing everything I can do when I actually feel up to doing it, and hoping/imagining that maybe if I took it a little easier, I'd be able to have two decent days in a row.
cheers,
skg
Glad it's not just me who feels like that... One good day and you feel able to conquer the world, quickly followed by two "dead" days as your body has to recover...
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Yup. I changed the bed today, and the laundry, that's me hugging the Settee for the week
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Tuesday chores:
Dusting (check!) :2thumbsup;
Clean mirrors (check) :2thumbsup;
Water houseplants (check) :2thumbsup;
Done!
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First driving lesson today. I have set a goal to get a license before the summer's out so that I can help Gwyn out a bit more with errands and the like while improving my odds of getting a decent, part-time job because I'll more transportation options.
I also got a haircut and took a hideous provisional license photo. I have to get my provisional license before I can apply to take the theory test, then pass the theory test before I can attempt the driving test. So, even though I already drive here now and again, it will take me at least a few months to get to the test. The instructor reckons I will need 10-15 hours of practice, whether with him or on my own. I have to break a few American habits, some of them I will only stop for the test and then go right back to doing it my way.
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Hi ;D I got my haircut today too!!!!!
Did some washing, cleaned the living room (and decluttered it) and started on my kitchen cupboards. Got two done.
My food (tins and baking stuff cupboard) and condiments and drinking items cupboard both spotless and organised. Yay!
Taking it one day at a time :2thumbsup;
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Hey to everyone. Dropped in for an IHD fix - never seem to have enough time to catch up on my reading on this site. My achievement for today was to finalise workers' tax summaries. I did it on line using a new accounting program and all went through no worries. I am a champ! Just need to put them in the mail now and the job is done for another 12 months - love that.
Re the 'go hard when good then drop' - that is SO kidney. I love that since my transplant I feel like an Eveready battery sometimes - I can just keep going and going. Of course there are still those low days. Wishing my IHD family all the best always!
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I have to break a few American habits, some of them I will only stop for the test and then go right back to doing it my way.
ok.. this could be a dumb question, but what kind of habits would you need to drop?
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Good to hear from you, Chooky!
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I have to break a few American habits, some of them I will only stop for the test and then go right back to doing it my way.
ok.. this could be a dumb question, but what kind of habits would you need to drop?
Not a dumb question! Arguably a dumb test, though!
The instructors teach entirely to the road test, so there are numerous little things that I have to do differently. For example, here it must be: check mirrors, signal, drive. I think it is safer to do the signal first. They also do not check blind spots as often as I do. The other one that irritates me is using the hand brake between each turn of the 3-point turn. Why would they require this? The pedal brake works beautifully in this situation. I made my mechanical-engineer, brakes-specialist husband admit that their method will burn out the clutch and the hand brake much more quickly. I can understand using the hand brake when you have to start the car going up a steep incline (although I never did, and I lived in San Francisco where I became expert at getting out of parallel parking spaces - mere inches to spare on both ends - without rolling back at all.)
I am starting to think that I am more "right-handed" than I thought. There are certain things I favour my left hand for (catching and sometimes throwing, because of the quirks of baseball and tennis) but something about switching sides of everything in the car is throwing me. I fear no parallel parking spot in America, but have no confidence in parking here. I have a rough time gauging the distances now. I have to be able to parallel park, reverse bay park, reverse round a corner and 3-point turn for the driving test. :P
I find it mentally exhausting to take these lessons, and the driving test is apparently 1 *hour* long!!!! And if you get a major fault at the beginning and fail, you have to still finish the test!!! This is going to be tedious. And expensive.
Hi ;D I got my haircut today too!!!!!
Well, that's cool! My next cut is scheduled for August 1 (just in case you want to stay in step with me). ;D
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I find it mentally exhausting to take these lessons, and the driving test is apparently 1 *hour* long!!!! And if you get a major fault at the beginning and fail, you have to still finish the test!!! This is going to be tedious. And expensive.
Just curious; do you drive an automatic? Not that it really has anything to do with anything(!) but I hear that American folk favour automatic whereas we all tend to drive with gears ... and not that I even drive so it makes no difference to me! I did about forty lessons and just gave up (I was just burning money for no apaprent reason), but I'm wondering if an autmatic would be better for me because I had HUGE issues with the gears. And roundabouts. How are you getting on with roundabouts?
I was paid today and checked my bank balance ... I'm happy to report that I'm quite rich despite my best intentions at spending as much money as I can on frivolous items in charity shops.
I've just looked to my right and see that Blokey has cleared out some boxes from under his desk, leaving a big pile of dust in their place. I'm wondering what will happen if I point him in the direction of the hoover when he gets home from work ...
;D
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I find it mentally exhausting to take these lessons, and the driving test is apparently 1 *hour* long!!!! And if you get a major fault at the beginning and fail, you have to still finish the test!!! This is going to be tedious. And expensive.
Just curious; do you drive an automatic? Not that it really has anything to do with anything(!) but I hear that American folk favour automatic whereas we all tend to drive with gears ... and not that I even drive so it makes no difference to me! I did about forty lessons and just gave up (I was just burning money for no apaprent reason), but I'm wondering if an autmatic would be better for me because I had HUGE issues with the gears. And roundabouts. How are you getting on with roundabouts?
I drive a manual. I prefer them, but an automatic could be just the thing for you. It is one less thing to think about. Didn't you say you stalled in a roundabout? That would put anyone off driving, but an automatic would at least virtually ensure that this would not happen again. Automatics are more readily available in the US - though Gwyn says that one day soon all of Europe will be switching to cars with an automatic feature anyhow. In the US there is no separate license for manuals, so I suspect most young people do as I did, get their license at 16 on an automatic and then teach themselves how to drive stick later on.
I am fine with the *concept* of roundabouts, and understand the signalling - still panic a bit when actually driving through them, especially when I need to exit and worry that there will be a car on my left that shouldn't be there but is. Left turns don't bother me at all, generally fine with going straight, it's right turns on massive roundabouts that I have no use for. I hope the test administrators don't take off for talking to oneself, because I always count the exits when I have to take the third or higher one.
I've read that the average novice driver here requires around 45 hours of practice or lessons, so you haven't taken an exorbitant amount of instruction. If you think you'd like to get a license, I would give it another shot. If you feel no differently about the experience the second time around, then it's perfectly OK to spare yourself the bother.
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We took the boys to the tennis club where they have hour-long group lessons for only £5 a kid. The best part is that during the younger kids' instruction, they hold a clinic for the adults that involves tennis and much running and silliness. Gwyn could not play because he wrecked his shoulder in rugby and it would not be wise for him to swing a racquet, and of my two friends that were in attendence one refused to play and the other was not dressed appropriately for it. So, I bravely walked over to the court and introduced myself to the pro (who was female) and five strange men. (Strange as in unknown to me.... and as in weird. Ha, no, I'm only joking. They were lovely.)
I had soooooo much fun. I do circuit training most weeks with the other moms, but it is grueling and doesn't hold my interest as much as sports do, and this was just the right amount of tennis with a bit of competition thrown in. About halfway through another woman joined us, so that was fantastic. I had to borrow Aidan's shoes to play. All I have are my PF Flyers which won't do the job. I pulled my quad muscle during the first drill but it didn't hurt enough to stop. It's been too long since I've got to get out there and play a bit of sport and just have fun with other adults.
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Today, I've accomplished everything I wanted to. In other words, I've done exactly nothing. ;D
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Today, I've accomplished everything I wanted to. In other words, I've done exactly nothing. ;D
Sounds like me..
And though today is Canada Day, I have absolutely no want to go to the concerts or the fireworks tonight. I think I'll just stay home and listen to the booms
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Watched "The Real Sopranos", survived several power outages (don't know *what* was going on, but it seemed we had the electric company here half the afternoon doing something outside with a huge metal box), and practiced listening to my "thrill", which is buzzing away just as expected. Kind of neat, actually, I feel like I have a motor underneath my skin. :thumbup;
Anne
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When I was a kid, I made a pediatrician jump with my fistula. She'd never seen one before, and I invited her to touch it. It had never been used, and the thrill was incredible. It was quite funny to see her jump the way she did. I don't think she expected the sensation to be as strong as it was.
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Today we bought a new carpet for the bedroom (sort of textured oatmeal colour) and two tins of paint for the walls Cocoa bean (sort of chocolate brown for feature wall behind the bedhead)
and chocolate milkshake (latte coloured) for the other 3 walls.
Guess who's going to be busy bees this weekend!!!!
I have chocolate brown duvet cover, sheets, pillowcases, fur throw and curtains so it will be like sleeping in Willie Wonka's chocolate factory!!!!
Mmmmmmmm :yahoo; :yahoo; :yahoo;
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I spent the day in front of fans and the air conditioner. It's about time summer showed up. I just wish I had the energy for the beach.
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Sugarlump, if you need a project I have a hall and landing which is in dire need of decorating. I can provide tea and biscuits. Or wine ...
I've been to the Royal Mail delivery office to pick up two parcels, the Post Office to send some (post)cards, and the library to return a book. I've mowed the lawn, weeded the garden, cut back some dead flowers, swept the decking, hung some washing on the line and watched last night's episode of Big Brother. The windows are open, the sun is HOT!! and I think it's safe to say that summer has arrived. If it's still here on Sunday that will be a bonus because we're entertaining. In the meantime I'll make the most of it by spending the afternoon soaking up some rays.
I only have four days of work next week and then I get seven weeks off ... WooHoo!! Obviously next week will no doubt be the busiest of the academic year (end of year meetings, hog roasts, finishing up my IT qualification and having to do stuff with next year's new students who are having taster sessions for their courses.) Hopefully the week will whizz by.
;D
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If summer has officially arrived, I am getting that barbeque out again this weekend. :2thumbsup;
Have venison burgers in the freezer and Mojito mix in the cupboard... :yahoo;
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Got my bed made, the dishes done and the laundry done! Too hot to do much else!
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Made 30 chocolate rice krispy cakes for tomorrow :clap;
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I spent an unproductive evening in the ER. I did the same thing with the same issue last Tuesday. The wait time was so long that they wouldn't have gotten to me until sometime tomorrow morning.
On Tuesday I went in with pain just below the breast bone that radiated through into my back. The first thing they did with me was an ECG to ensure that the problem wasn't with my heart. I then sat in the waiting room for 4 hours. In that time, the pain went away, so I went home.
Tonight, I had the same pain. This time, no ECG. I just sat in the waiting room with people who had broken bones and cuts that needed stitches, and a man who came in by ambulance with similar pain to my own. These people had been waiting 6-8 hours already, and had hours yet to wait to see a doctor. The guy who came by ambulance called his daughter to come get him because, like me, his pain went away. We only sat for 2 and a half hours tonight until my pain went away and we went home
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We joined the gym last week and this morning we had our induction. Whoa! I discovered that I really can't do lunges.
;D
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Laundry, dishes, mowed and weed wacked the lawn, pulled weeds from the flower beds and watered, read the paper, was annoyed there were no coupons, now I"m off to the shower 'cause I'm sweaty and covered in grass clippings, then I'm going to try a crock-pot recipe for cinnamon sugar almonds.
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Made it through 10th month anniversary after losing Barry. That is all I could do today - get through the day. Tomorrow will be more productive.
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Poppy! You joined a gym!!! A gym!!!!! OMGPTL!!!!!
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OMGPTL!!!!!
Eh? What does that mean?
And stop laughing.
;D
Today I didn't go to the gym because my poor little Qyzy is ill. He's been having problems passing urine and has even taken to trying to go on the bed, in the bath, in carrier bags, on the kitchen floor ... but can only manage a drop each time. Vet says it's cystitis and has given him an antibiotic and some medicine to take. He's not allowed dry food (he'll love that!) nor is he allowed to go outside for about a week (he'll hate that!). Bless him, he's sound asleep now after the trauma of being carried through the streets to the vets. In good news for me that was a fifteen minute walk there, plus a fifteen minute walk back whilst carrying a 5.35kg bundle (cat and carrier combined) in the burning sun. I was sweating like a pig when I got home ... who needs gym membership when you can just do that everyday?!
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Had a portable air conditioner delivered from Costco today. They are taking it back. I was misled by the word "portable" in to thinking this would be a machine I could carry from room to room and would not take up a quarter of the lounge. It works, but not well enough to justify the cost.
Bought weekly bus passes for the boys and me, got them to circus training - the instructors all found it astonishing that there were two sets of brothers named Aidan and Dylan in the class, and that we were all friends. These people were absolutely lovely and I'm so happy that the boys are doing this.
Cleaned all day, laundry, friends offered to drop my boys back here for me so I got a fair amount done. Went to the cash point for money and as I was counting the purple bills dropping one by one from the machine, I saw a bright flash of green. Went through the bills and there was a £20 from the Republic of Ireland. I asked the manager to change it for me and he refused, I think the language barrier was quite substantial. Went home to find that it is at least worth the same and may be accepted here in England, but it's sort of a shopkeepers discretion thing. I called the shop's customer service line and she said that she'd never seen one herself, neither had Gwyn. Aidan wanted to keep it so he 'bought' it off me. Loaded the boys up with cold drinks upon their return, they put on their gis and went to karate whilst I walked to Tescos and found materials for dinner. Cooked, off to clean up and hopefully get a bit of telly in before falling dead asleep.
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The crock pot cinnamon nuts were a pain in the arse. The recipe used so much sugar that the nut shapes aren't even visible, and the the silly thing had to be stirred every 20 minutes for over 3 hours. Uh, hello? Isn't the whole point of a crock pot that you can toss the ingredients in and forget about them until they are done? I gave up part way through and finished them in the oven in less than half an hour. They taste good, but no crock pot for me next time!
Continued my mini urban sprawl today - I'm making tiny clay houses in fantastical shapes for a future craft sale. They are quick and fun, and I might just be a teeeeeeeny bit addicted to making them....
Now I just have to convince a cat to lay sprawled in the sun long enough for me to set all the houses up in front of the tummy for a real "sprawl" picture!
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OMGPTL!!!!!
I was sweating like a pig when I got home
Poppy, please! Men sweat, ladies glow!
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Poppy, please! Men sweat, ladies glow!
Nope, I definitely don't glow, galvo!
Qyzen pee'd on our bed last night so I've been using the washing machine today. He also did a BIG pee just outside his litter tray (pesky boy) this morning but I didn't mind clearing that up because it must mean he's on the mend.
After a sleepless night due to the massive storm we enjoyed for about four hours (fork lightning, thunder that made the house shake and torrential rain) I got up early and went to the gym. Blokey dropped me off halfway and I walked in the (very wet) rain only to find the gym lights off and nobody home. *gasp* ... it should have been open at seven and I got there at eight-thirty. So I walked home (over a mile) in the (very wet) rain which miraculously stopped the minute I stepped inside my front door.
Humpf.
Later, I dyed my hair. Now it's a waiting game to see just how long before the grey starts peeking through again.
;D
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After spending a rather painful evening in the ER, I spent most of today sitting or sleeping on my hospital bed, watching my roommate across the way read the paper and eat (I'm not allowed food at the moment). Someone just came in, put a name on the bed next to me, and pulled the curtain, so I guess we're getting a new roommate as well. If anyone wants to chat to me, to alleviate my boredom, I'm on skype, rikimae528
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Driving is starting to feel more of a fun challenge and less a terrifying suicide mission. So that's an improvement. I can now drive through my own town with ease, and I even ventured in to the neighbouring city, with its roadworks and diversions, and pressed on with calm. Can I drive in the nitpicky, laughably unrealistic way that the DVLA insists? That remains to be seen. I have my theory test scheduled, and even that is far from a dead cert. Written exams rarely pose a problem for me, but it's this ludicrous 'hazard perception test' that may trip me up. Fail that and you fail the whole thing and have to retest. Why Britain, why? Oh, right.... the more times I fail, the more fees for the state.
Today I drove my kids to circus training, decided I needed a new pair of linen trousers and would you believe the first charity shop I walked in to had a pair in my size with tags still on? And an adorable linen shirt that goes perfectly with it and so much else I own? I also bought a truly gorgeous jacket from the charity shop where I volunteer. Walked in to the bank to ask why our transfers are taking so long and received an irritating answer that this whole process is not as painless as we were led to believe. Battled the arrogant jerk at our flat's management company. I actually spoke the words "I'm not doing this on your schedule. I don't work for you, I do believe it's the other way round." Dishes and laundry, also cooked the red peppers that have sat in the fridge for almost a week. Watched the show that all the kids in the circus class put on this afternoon for the end of the camp. It was so cool to see all they've learnt. My kids did silks, diablo, human cannonball (leaping off a mini trampoline and doing aerial somersaults) and hoops. There was also trapeze, tightrope, stilt-walking, skipping rope and human pyramids, plus they learnt other skills like plate spinning that were not in the show. The man who ran the program just earned his degree in circus skills (who knew??)
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That sounds like a cool camp.. I wish they'd had stuff like that when I was a kid.
I had my first MRI ever today. They were checking to see if there were any gallstones stuck in the ducts going into the bowel, and though at one time there was, because there had been inflammation, there no longer is. I was able to eat today for the first time since Sunday, and though it was crappy hospital food, I inhaled it.
Next step, gallbladder removal. What a fun summer.. *eye roll*
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The crock pot cinnamon nuts were a pain in the arse.
Language, jbeany! We IHD ladies say 'pain in the hat'!
That sounds like a cool camp.. I wish they'd had stuff like that when I was a kid.
I wish I'd met people with their attitude when I was a kid. Everything was so positive and encouraging and the instructors really had a way of bringing out the kids' creativity.
Oh, Riki, gallbladder removal. Sheesh. Never had the pleasure myself but I can imagine it's not on anyone's list of Top Ten Activities for Summer Fun. Take care and keep everyone updated.
I had a driving lesson today and asked him if I was ready to take a mock test (last step before booking the practical) and he said "oh, definitely". The primary issue I'm having now is that we tend to chit chat all through the lesson and then I forget all of the picky little things I am supposed to be remembering - handbrake on if you're going to be stopped more than 5 seconds, don't cross your hands when turning the wheel (oh, please - who doesn't do this?!), put the handbrake on each time you stop the car and switch between forward and reverse (oh, please - who does do this?!) mirrors signal go, "only a fool breaks the two second rule!", tarmac and tires, mirrors every time you change speed - it's a lot to change about my driving for the sake of 53 minutes of testing. And I've been told that they are only allowed a maximum of 53 minutes including paperwork, eye check, and the show me/tell me portion. I will hope for heavy traffic. It's hard to make a mistake if you're not able to really go anywhere.
I have also collected most everything for my kids' passport appointment. Because Dyl was under age five for his last passport we need to provide pics of him for every year between his last passport photo and today. I have no idea what this will prove to them. Thankfully between here and G's FB account, I think we have enough electronic files that we won't have to go burrowing through our storage unit to try to find the various CDs of snaps. Luckily, this will be the last time we have to do this for Aidan, by the time he gets the next one he will just squeak into adult status and can get a 10-year without needing his parents to escort him to the embassy (they're called trains, kid, use them). We'll have to go through this once more with Dyl, hopefully we can take care of it in the US over some visit or other. Still have to take them to get their official photos taken, but that was painless for their British passports. At least with the American ones, you are still allowed to smile!!! :) :) :) It makes it seem less of a chore somehow.
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ugh.. passports.. Mom and I need to get ours renewed. At least they have a new 10 year option, and since it's a renewal, there's not as much rigamaroll to it as there was when we first got those passports. We need to get the renewal done before October, though, or we'll have to start over from scratch.
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ugh.. passports.. Mom and I need to get ours renewed. At least they have a new 10 year option, and since it's a renewal, there's not as much rigamaroll to it as there was when we first got those passports. We need to get the renewal done before October, though, or we'll have to start over from scratch.
Wait.... they treat this like insurance? If you go a day without coverage (in terms of a valid passport) they make it more difficult for you? Wow, that's just mean.
My kids' passports expired end of June. The process is the same. In retrospect, I am surprised they let them back in to the US in March as you are not supposed to travel internationally within 6 months of your passport expiring. I think it's ridiculous that they cannot travel to the US on their British passports. Are they afraid we'll slip back in to the country to live? Would this be such a big deal if we did??
Accomplishments: G left for Paris at 3AM, he'll be back within the hour but he took an hour detour on the drive back to pick up a birthday gift for Aidan - a Ben Sherman black leather jacket I found on Preloved, never worn, all of £20! (Sells for around £80 in the shops).
Woke up to realise we had no fresh fruit in the house and I needed something for the boys' lunchboxes. Got them out the door by about 9:15, drove that's right drove to town centre, grabbed two packs of Pink Lady apples at M&S for £4, and then drove them to their American sport camp. Made a few calls at home, ordered a few presents for Aidan (he wants circus equipment), walked to the shop to volunteer for a few hours, had great conversation about theatre with the shop manager's parents who also volunteer there frequently, walked back, collected the kids in the car, heard reports that Dyl was 'amazing' today (even his brother corroborated that this was the case), herded them in to the showers, walked back to town, had their pics taken for passports, waited at the library over the road and found scads of books for them to check out and read over our upcoming holiday, collected the pictures, went back to M&S, found steak and pork chops reduced over a pound each, purchased, cooked pork chops for the boys (I await my medal for bravery - nothing grosses me out quite so much as pork) boys said it was delicious, dishes and laundry done and I await Gwyn's return. Beer chilled in the fridge, I guess I may as well offer to cook the steak for him, it cannot possibly be worse than what I've already been through.... :)
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I reached my 25th wedding anniversary today, and am alive and well to tell about it. Candy got a dozen roses and we went on the bike for a nice ride and ended up at The Red Barn for some awesome seafood.
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I reached my 25th wedding anniversary today, and am alive and well to tell about it. Candy got a dozen roses and we went on the bike for a nice ride and ended up at The Red Barn for some awesome seafood.
Awww, happy anniversary!
:guitar:
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Avoided the temptation to go shopping by going to the library and checking out books instead. Much cheaper! The libraries are all connected in the county, so it seemed sensible to go to the one right next to the my workplace. Easy to drop off returns, close enough to walk to on nice days during my lunch break.
Attempted to change my address while I was checking out books. Ha. I work in a different city than I live in - even though it's only 7 miles away. (Urban sprawl in action...) Even though the entire county library system is connected, they still need me to go to a library in my city to change my address. But I could check out books with my card that still listed my address as a city 30 miles away. Huh? :P
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wow.. and I thought getting out of bed and into a chair on my own was a good thing.. *G*
you guys tire me out sometimes
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I got up at 4:30 and caught a 6:45 flight to Philadelphia. Changed planes in Philadelphia and flew on to White Planes. In White Plains I rented a car and drove up to Mt. Kisko (about 20 minutes away). Had a really good doctor visit with my Lyme specialist and got back to the White Plains airport in time for lunch. Flew to DC (got a fabulous view of the mall with the Washington Monument in all its scaffolding), ate dinner and then flew back to Knoxville. Long day, but I'm glad to be back home.
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that does sound like a long day. You got some nice highlights, though, like the view of the mall and the Washington Monument. I will see these things someday. I've never been to DC, but it's one of the cities on my List.
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Riki, I've been doing these marathon flights since September, but yesterday's was truly spectacular in what I got to see from the air. On the way to Philly, I saw the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and my childhood stomping ground on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I know what seat to choose to get the best view by now. When we left White Plains, we headed right toward Manhattan and I saw Central Park and even the Statue of Liberty. Sometimes it is cloudy and I miss these lovely views, but yesterday was exceptional.
The dissent into DC was right up the Potomac and we flew yards away from the Lincoln Memorial at a really low altitude. The Washingtonian sitting next to me expressed surprise that the aircraft was allowed to fly so close! In fact, it was the best view I have ever seen coming into the DC. The only thing that would have made it better was if it had been cherry blossom time! Even the Washingtonian said that the view never gets old, and it doesn't. Make that trip. You won't regret it. The last tie I was actually IN DC was the weekend before I came down with Lyme. The cherry blossoms were just coming out, but it was cold and rainy. Even so, there is nothing like it.
Aleta
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I bought a fabulous vintage wooden dresser yesterday at a thrift store. It's handmade, with dovetail joints and holes where there used to some rather magnificent locks on the drawers. It will look wonderful as a balance to the vintage treadle sewing machine I use as a tv stand on the other side of the craft room. I managed to carefully load it into my car by taking out the drawers to lighten it, and then walking it out the door and gently tipping it up and into the hatch back. Now, of course, comes the real challenge - getting it upstairs where I want to use it to store fabric instead of the ugly plastic tubs I'm currently. Keeping in mind, of course, that I'm not allowed to lift anything over 25 pounds, and that hefting anything over about 15 pounds leaves me whimpering for the rest of the day whenever I move. *sigh* But I'm cleaning it, polishing it, lining the drawers, and moving the darn thing into place anyhow, darn it. I think I'll wrap it in an old blanket, tilt it onto the stairs and put my back to it and push it up. That way, I won't really have to lift anything.
My new motto: If it's not AMA, it's probably not worth doing!
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Don't hurt yourself!! There's enough of IHD in hospital this week...
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I managed to escape from hospital Wednesday night!!!!
Today I managed a spot of retail therapy and lunch at Bella Italia in Norwich. Cheered me up no end. :clap;
Amazing what recuperative powers buying some clothes, make up, stationery and some pressies for my grankids does!!!! :laugh:
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One big accomplishment: Today I knocked on my Crazy Cat-stealing neighbour's front door and demanded my cat back. Again.
The whole time I was talking to her my heart was hammering. I don't like confrontation and I worry about everything but I knew it needed doing because my cat thinks she lives at #43 now!
The conversation went vaguely like this:
Me: I've come to get my cat. I haven't seen her for 24 hours.
CC-sW: She's asleep.
Me: I'd like to take her home. And then I'd appreciate it if you stop letting her in your house.
CC-sW: But you're at work all day.
Me: I haven't been at work for the last few weeks. I won't be at work for the next couple of weeks. And even if I am at work, that doesn't mean you can just let her in.
CC-sW: She just comes in.
Me: Well, put her straight back out.
CC-sW: But she climbs through the window.
Me: Just put her outside.
CC-sW: But it's at night! [the woman is a walking contradiction and should write a book on 'The Top One Hundred Excuses for Stealing Your Neighbour's Cat']
Me: That's not my problem. I'm asking that you don't let her in your house. I don't want her to be in your house. She has a perfectly good house where she has love, food, water, toys and companionship. In the winter you said you were letting her in because it's cold. Well, it's sunny and warm now ... *gesturing to the sunshine* ... I genuinely get really anxious when I don't see my cat - especially at night - and I'd like her to stop thinking that she has two homes.
CC-sW: *walks into house to get Dora whilst muttering loudly to herself* ... For goodness sake!
[because it's so rude of me to ask for my cat back and request that she stops letting her in]
CC-sW: *returns with a struggling cat*
Me: Hello gorgeous!
[talking to Dora, not CC-sW]
I carried Dora home (she wasn't struggling), and she's now all cosied up asleep on the landing. I'm going to attempt to keep her in all night, but it's going to be hard when she starts meowing in that strangled 'I want to go out, let me out, why are you so mean to me, I have places to go and people to see, of course I promise to come home tonight' way that girl-cats in their late teens pull off so spectacularly.
In other news ... yesterday I accomplished the tidying of our office and the throwing away of paperwork from a teaching position I had TEN years ago. Today I had my annual servicing from the boiler man. Tomorrow I'm having a spot of retail therapy with my Mummy. Now, I'm going to hang some washing on the line.
My exciting life.
;D
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Years ago we had a cat (Leisl) who came from the RSPCA and who never purred. I think she must have had a traumatic kittenhood. She kept putting on weight for no apparent reason. We carefully monitored her food and gave her the best diet food available. Both our other cats were of normal weight.
One day I had to go down to my neighbour, who lived next door but one to see if I could unblock her drain. She led me into her kitchen where Leisl was standing in front of five bowls of assorted delicacies plus a bowl of milk. I was gobsmacked. Elma (the neighbour) who was 94 years old thought she was a stray. Leisl was obviously doted on, so our family decided that we would cede ownership to Elma, but still be responsible for the vet bills. Leisl eventually died of kidney failure, and Elma died a few months later.
She was a strange cat. She never even purred for Elma who adored her.
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One big accomplishment: Today I knocked on my Crazy Cat-stealing neighbour's front door and demanded my cat back. Again.
The whole time I was talking to her my heart was hammering. I don't like confrontation and I worry about everything but I knew it needed doing because my cat thinks she lives at #43 now!
The conversation went vaguely like this:
Me: I've come to get my cat. I haven't seen her for 24 hours.
CC-sW: She's asleep.
Me: I'd like to take her home. And then I'd appreciate it if you stop letting her in your house.
CC-sW: But you're at work all day.
Me: I haven't been at work for the last few weeks. I won't be at work for the next couple of weeks. And even if I am at work, that doesn't mean you can just let her in.
CC-sW: She just comes in.
Me: Well, put her straight back out.
CC-sW: But she climbs through the window.
Me: Just put her outside.
CC-sW: But it's at night! [the woman is a walking contradiction and should write a book on 'The Top One Hundred Excuses for Stealing Your Neighbour's Cat']
Me: That's not my problem. I'm asking that you don't let her in your house. I don't want her to be in your house. She has a perfectly good house where she has love, food, water, toys and companionship. In the winter you said you were letting her in because it's cold. Well, it's sunny and warm now ... *gesturing to the sunshine* ... I genuinely get really anxious when I don't see my cat - especially at night - and I'd like her to stop thinking that she has two homes.
CC-sW: *walks into house to get Dora whilst muttering loudly to herself* ... For goodness sake!
[because it's so rude of me to ask for my cat back and request that she stops letting her in]
CC-sW: *returns with a struggling cat*
Me: Hello gorgeous!
[talking to Dora, not CC-sW]
I carried Dora home (she wasn't struggling), and she's now all cosied up asleep on the landing. I'm going to attempt to keep her in all night, but it's going to be hard when she starts meowing in that strangled 'I want to go out, let me out, why are you so mean to me, I have places to go and people to see, of course I promise to come home tonight' way that girl-cats in their late teens pull off so spectacularly.
In other news ... yesterday I accomplished the tidying of our office and the throwing away of paperwork from a teaching position I had TEN years ago. Today I had my annual servicing from the boiler man. Tomorrow I'm having a spot of retail therapy with my Mummy. Now, I'm going to hang some washing on the line.
My exciting life.
;D
Poppy I have a suggestion.
How about finding a kitten that needs a home and post it anonymously through your neighbours window! :2thumbsup;
Good ob this woman doesn't have her eye on Blokey!!!!! :o
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I got my laundry done, sheets changed, towels changed and machine set up for treatment. :2thumbsup;
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I survived a 10 hour work day teaching little kids. Pooped!
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Years ago we had a cat (Leisl) who came from the RSPCA and who never purred. I think she must have had a traumatic kittenhood. She kept putting on weight for no apparent reason. We carefully monitored her food and gave her the best diet food available. Both our other cats were of normal weight.
One day I had to go down to my neighbour, who lived next door but one to see if I could unblock her drain. She led me into her kitchen where Leisl was standing in front of five bowls of assorted delicacies plus a bowl of milk. I was gobsmacked. Elma (the neighbour) who was 94 years old thought she was a stray. Leisl was obviously doted on, so our family decided that we would cede ownership to Elma, but still be responsible for the vet bills. Leisl eventually died of kidney failure, and Elma died a few months later.
She was a strange cat. She never even purred for Elma who adored her.
I had a cat that did that. He was huge, but I couldn't figure out why. It turned out that he would go visit one of the neighbors, and during his visits, the neighbor would feed him all kinds of things. When I finally found out what was going on, I had to tell them that I didn't mind them letting him in for visits, because he was always a very social cat, but not to feed him like that, because it really wasn't good for him. They agreed, and he continued his visits with them. He'd hang out for a couple of hours, then decide he wanted to go home, so they'd let him out again. That cat has been dead now almost 10 years, but you can still see the path that he made between our house and theirs
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Hey I got up!!!! (9.am) :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
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Well done, Sugarlump! Every day, I regard that as a great victory!
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I have a ton of things that need to get done today! So far, I'm up and I've made coffee! :beer1; (we need a coffee cup smiley!)
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This afternoon I pickled my beetroot I have grown in my raised veggie bed this summer. I am now the proud owner of one whole jar of picked golden striped beetroot!!!
D'you reckon I should keep em for christmas???
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Yay! Sugarlump! :clap; :clap;
I remember the first year I grew enough jalapenos to make a whole jar! It felt like such an accomplishment!
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This afternoon I pickled my beetroot I have grown in my raised veggie bed this summer. I am now the proud owner of one whole jar of picked golden striped beetroot!!!
D'you reckon I should keep em for christmas???
As a beetroot fanatic and having a strange obsession about it (I think they're beautiful...), I must say that this is quite an achievement! I bet the jar looks splendid!
(Yes, I know I'm strange.)
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My horse Declaration of War romped home at 10-1 yesterday and made me a few pennies richer :beer1;
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10-1! Ripper!!!
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Today I cleaned my fridge out!!!
I have a thing about fridges and keeping them spotless (yeah yeah very ocd I know but have you ever looked inside someone else's fridge??!!!) :o
Life is too short to catch listeria!!!
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I've done laundry, gone to school to clean up from the parent picnic we had last night, taken a nap.... hmmm. Not much, I guess.
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
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Good ob this woman doesn't have her eye on Blokey!!!!! :o
*chuckles* ... I can just imagine that conversation. She'd be begging me to take him back after the novelty had worn off! Incidentally, CC-sW came to my house the very next afternoon and told me to collect my cat from hers. I got very angry but managed to remain polite. I think she may have finally got the message.
I accomplished very little today. I did manage to sort out my photos from our few days away (we stayed in Somerset which is very hilly when compared to where we live) and I went to the library, caught up with two hours worth of EastEnders and used the self-scanning machine in Tesco. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get to the gym because my belly is so HUGE after pigging out on food all week.
;D
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I sat on the couch and watched tv all afternoon, and that's actually an accomplishment because I actually got out of bed and was away from the computer
I'm still having trouble getting around. The stairs are hard for me, especially going up. With my hemoglobin so low, I need to sit after going up or down the stairs
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I sat on the couch and watched tv all afternoon, and that's actually an accomplishment because I actually got out of bed and was away from the computer
I'm still having trouble getting around. The stairs are hard for me, especially going up. With my hemoglobin so low, I need to sit after going up or down the stairs
Riki you have my sympathies.I know exactly how that feels. The sheer effort the stairs require. The breathlessness.
Every night used to stress me out, would i make it up the stairs to bed... halfway was the worst ... neither up nor down.
Used to exhaust me. And then coming down in the morning, i had two falls off the bottom step.
So we had a stairlift put in.
Now I whizz up and down in my chair and that was the best investment we ever made. I can go back for something I forgot and I can carry the washing up and down on my lap.
And I haven't had a bad fall since. :cuddle;
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I've been very tired lately but I did get a load of laundry done and hung on the line. Did a little work in the garden. That's about it for today.
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I managed to take a shower tonight. I don't think it's ever worn me out so much. Anyone who's familiar with spoon theory will know what I mean when I saw that it took at least 5 spoons to get it done
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It's a Bank Holiday here so we've entertained my in-laws. Sat through honeymoon snaps of Mexico and drank too much wine but everybody left us in a happy mood, even my MiL.
This was after a morning spent completely cleaning the house. As soon as they left I got the hoover out again because the state of my new rug (shredding) was making my head spin.
Tonight I will be mostly eating the food that's left over and soaking in some bubbles.
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Today I am going to make my christmas puddings!!!!
I have a whole heap of dried fruit and a bottle of berry Port and all I need now is to source six individual pudding basins from town
and I'm away....
Christmas is a serious business in my house! :urcrazy;
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I visited a town I've never been to before, on buses and severely disrupted trains, to have lunch with a friend. I spent vast amounts of money on stocking-filler style Christmas presents from a factory shop, two tops and a dress. In my defence though, the dress was one I've been wanting for a long time and it was on sale (£30 off) and it's not available online anymore. I was exceedingly happy to find it! Oh, and the credit card paid for it. Sorry Blokey!
;D
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Two posts in a row talking about Christmas! Have we all gone mad?
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Sorry, galvo, but I've been working like an elf on things to sell at a Christmas craft show for weeks now!
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Hell Galvo, my Christmas preparations started over a month ago. I even have a notebook just for Christmas 2013!!!
Booked a cottage. And started planning menus and activities. Done half of my Christmas shopping already!!!
Those six mini Christmas puddings are steamed and now stored away.
I'll make the cake next week!
In truth, I absolutely love Christmas and half the fun is in the planning!
But then I'm British ... and we always long for a traditional, white christmas! :ukflag;
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I've already started crafting for Christmas! Wonder who's going to be our "Santa Slave Driver" this year?! :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
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But then I'm British ... and we always long for a traditional, white christmas! :ukflag;
But we never get one (unless we live in the highlands of Scotland) ... *sigh*
I spent the morning at Hospital (in return for a free sandwich) taking part in research for diabetes. I was visited by vampires twice (and they took LOADS of blood), radiated once, made to go on a treadmill, had an ultrasound on my liver, weight/height/waist/hips all measured and had an ECG. Oh, and I pee'd in a pot before drinking some vile sweet glucose drink. I'm now walking around for the next six days with three different things strapped to me measuring my heart-rate.
Then I went to the cinema on my own and snarled at the plethora of teenage girls who were annoying me.
;D
(Oh, and in a few weeks I'll be sent all my gumpf and it'll include a picture of my skeleton ... WooHoo! I'm looking forward to that.)
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Woo-Hoo indeed! I trust you intend to share!!
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It would have to be some sandwich to get me to do all that!!!!
Like an amazing club sandwich or a smoked salmon one... :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
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I got up around 1 pm (went to sleep around 4:30 am), got dressed and went to Starbucks to get my caramel frappuccino. Then I came home played Farmville 2 on Zynga. Then went grocery shopping with hubby, John. Then came home, ate dinner, watched some tv. Then played Farmville 2 again. Came here and posted a newer picture of myself in that thread. And I'm about to go to Shutterfly to work on a photo book. And I'll probably get on Ancestry for a while too.
Anyway, considering I'm just coming out of a bad depression spell, that's pretty good for me!
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Managed to get a zero diastolic blood pressure reading on D to-day! I was waiting for the men with the wheelbarow, when the nurse tightened the cuff, and everything was hunky dory!
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That happens to me quite often when hooked up to dialysis machine with automatic bp monitor.
Alarm goes off and it reads Patient has no pulse!!!
Someone obviously forgot to tell me I was dead!!!
We use disposable cuffs and they usually only last about a month at a time before developing air leaks ... can't see how that saves em any money 8)
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I didn't do anything today except eat too many Oreo's. However, I did go to church this morning...so I got dressed. Does that count as an activity? :shy;
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Sure does!
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I managed to put away a whole Vegetarian thin pizza, with artichoke, mushroom, red pepper, leek and cheese topping, two big slices of garlic bread, a glass and a half of Prosecco and a small coffee last night.
It was wonderful ... but feel a bit "over" this morning. Need my dialysis.
But sometimes, just sometimes, it is good .... and worth it! :P :P :P
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good on ya! Sugarlump.
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Haven't been feeling well lately. So, I went to dialysis Monday and that was it!
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Sugarlump, you are my kind of girl. I could eat pizza every day and not tire of it. But, I am a "purist", cheese and extra cheese please.
I accomplished nothing but grocery shopping today, so I am $112.00 poorer now. It is too hot here and we are having humidity, very rare for Southern California, We are all suffering with it.
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Just achieving the grocery shop is no mean feat Jean!
it is very hot and humid over here :ukflag; Jean so I did an online shop for delivery Thursday
Good Old Sainsburys (saves me struggling carrying all that stuff, especially as I am not supposed to use my fistula arm for anything at moment til it matures.
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It's been raining pretty steadily for the last 2 days, so I haven't been able to take Hugo (my sparkly blue walker) out to show off to the neighbors. *L*
We did go see a couple of acts at the PEI Busker Festival on Saturday. I watched a really cute German guy fall off a 10 foot unicycle, while cracking whips that were on fire.
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I was able to get the dock apart and haul it and the float out of the water and to the house by myself, of course I did need a nap afterwards.
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It's been raining pretty steadily for the last 2 days, so I haven't been able to take Hugo (my sparkly blue walker) out to show off to the neighbors. *L*
We did go see a couple of acts at the PEI Busker Festival on Saturday. I watched a really cute German guy fall off a 10 foot unicycle, while cracking whips that were on fire.
i like the sound of firewhips!!!! wondder where you can learn to do that?"" :rofl;
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yes! Now hubby and our lil boy are back at school after 6 week break today i have given the house a much needed tidy, hoover and Steam clean. Have cleaned the bathroom and made veggie lasagne and dough balls for tonight. Having a rest now thank goodness our lil girl still sleeps for 2 hrs in afternoon. A nice break for me before doing the school run, will prob have to Wake Elena to get Andrew, she's overtired as my parents have been here the week and she doesn't like to take naps when they arc here. AM hoping she doesn t wet the bed as hasn't been for 4 hrs!
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It's been raining pretty steadily for the last 2 days, so I haven't been able to take Hugo (my sparkly blue walker) out to show off to the neighbors. *L*
We did go see a couple of acts at the PEI Busker Festival on Saturday. I watched a really cute German guy fall off a 10 foot unicycle, while cracking whips that were on fire.
i like the sound of firewhips!!!! wondder where you can learn to do that?"" :rofl;
no idea.. Germany, I guess.. he said he named the whips "Sigfried and Roy' because they were flaming. *L*
here's the link if you want to see the video.. it's public, so you should be able to see if whether you have facebook or not.. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10153185201520387&set=vb.588375386&type=3&theater
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Thanks for the firewhips clip Riki
That looked like fun! :2thumbsup; :2thumbsup; :2thumbsup;
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Didn't do much of anything today! I've been sick for a few days and slept for 13 hrs today. John (hubby) is working till midnight (everything after 4:15 is double time). But I did go for a drive for abt an hour just to get out of the house. Now I'm watching a movie through Amazon Instant Videos on my TV.
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I've been back at work this week. It was a bit of a shock to the system having to leave the house at 6.30am, do nothing but twiddle my thumbs all day and return home at 6.30pm. A couple of gym visits and cinema trips thrown in too and I'm exhausted now ... soon be time for an afternoon nap I think.
;D
We did buy some fish (for the aquarium) this morning to replace some that we've lost. My interesting life ... !
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not yet.. it's still early, though..
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We did buy some fish (for the aquarium) this morning to replace some that we've lost. My interesting life ... !
So, what kinds of fish did you buy? We want details! <grin>
Also, how did you manage to lose them? ... my aquariums have always been much too small for that to happen.
I am quite talented at losing things, but I've never managed to lose a goldfish in a goldfish bowl!
cheers,
skg
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I've lost my goldfish when they jumped out of the bowl - or were flipped out by helpful cat paws. Then I had to lose the remains right down the toilet!
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I actually "found" the goldfish we thought we had lost. They live outside in one of the small ponds Carl made. We thought herons had gotten them. Once they get to be 5 or 6 inches long, they show up for predators. But today I saw all five of them. There are lots more in the other pond, because one of the five we put in that pond was a male.
:2thumbsup;
But today, I did laundry, went to town to check on my father. His phone was "out of service" since Wednesday when I called him to see what he wanted at the grocery store. Still no connection today, so I had to check. When I told him that his phone wasn't working, he said that he knew it. I looked at it and he had inadvertently turned it off!!! Okay, I got that straightened out. Went to the PO to post a package to a certain someone in Ireland.
Then I did a couple loads of laundry. Got in the pool for 35 minutes of exercise, and after that, we went into Knoxville so Carl could take some night pictures along the river and downtown.
Now it is time to hit the sack. I'm tired!
Aleta
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Made my christmas cake today.
Needs time to mature with a little extra alcohol 8)
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I assume they died (they were Neon tetras) but goodness knows where their bodies go (do other fish eat them?). We only had one left and he seemed a bit lonely (although in the same tank we do have a red Siamese Fighter fish, about five Black Kuhli loaches and three X-ray tetras, but he didn't want to hang out with them) so we introduced six new friends. He's having a whale of a time with them now!
We stayed in bed till midday before reluctantly getting up and have done nothing but cook steaks and then eat them whilst watching an episode of Supernatural. Now the dishwasher is whirling and we're just vegging out on the computers. Lazy Sunday ... I have thought about mowing the lawn and planting some bulbs but decided I just couldn't be arsed.
;D
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I cleaned my designated PD room. Have my PD training nurse coming Thursday to do home inspection prior to starting training.
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I slept in, read the paper, fixed my printer by way of shutting it off and turning it right back on again. Now I need to do the other 30 things on my "Need to be done before next weekend" list. Yeah, right. If I manage anything, it's going to be to cut apart some more pallet wood into 3-1/2" by 4 to 6" chunks, faux-age it with coffee stain, and mod podging on all the vintage posters, ads, valentines and Christmas cards I printed to fit the wood scraps. (Google image search is a grand thing, isn't it?) Ah well, more stuff to sell is good too.
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Just getting out of bed today was an achievement.
Am so so tired after the weekend (need my dialysis badly)
Ate a boiled egg with toast soldiers and half a glass of apple juice.
Remembered to take my medication.
Did a couple of basic chores and sat down on sofa where I am now
A million things to do but no energy to do them :thumbdown;
Dogs have gone back to sleep in sympathy!
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I've been playing Animal Crossing New Leaf on my Nintendo 3DS probably a little too much. I was on it last night till almost 3am, and I played it all afternoon today. I didn't even take a nap after dialysis today because I needed to make some bells to pay off my house loan. *L*
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Yes, I actually did do something today. 3 loads of laundry, cleaned the front porch, vacuumed the living room and dining room, made dinner and then made cookies. Wow, tomorrow, nothing, absolutely nothing!!!
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I made three christmas trees out of felt and buttons to hang up for christmas... (been working on them in dialysis sessions) finished them off at home. ::) ::)
Only another three to go! But they are cute :clap;
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Today i got my haircut.
I have the tail end of a cold and am feeling quite rough, felt like cancelling but knew it would make me feel better.
Had a aromatherapy head massage along with my shampoo, trim and it DID make me feel better ;D
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I have 2 wreaths (One for Autumn and 1 for Halloween) that I just started working on.
Made my bed, did a load of laundry, did the dishes and set up my machine for a treatment!
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I got some of my Colbert ringtones to show up in the ringtone list on my iphone... now I just need someone to call or text me so I can see if they work. *L*
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Today we had the funeral for my Mum who died recently.
A tough day but it went well. A good send off for a lovely woman.
I was so proud of my two sons, carrying the coffin to the church and reading the eulogy.
,
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I'm so sorry for your loss, Sugarlump. :grouphug;
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My condolences, Sugarlump.
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I'm so sorry for your loss, Sugarlump. :grouphug;
Thanks moosey x
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My condolences, Sugarlump.
Thanks Galvo x
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Sorry about your mum, Sugar. I meant to say something on Fb but I'm not very good at getting online Mon-Weds. Many *huggles* ...
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Sorry about your mum Sugarlump. :cuddle;
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Sorry about your mum, Sugar. I meant to say something on Fb but I'm not very good at getting online Mon-Weds. Many *huggles* ...
Thanks Poppy she had struggled with Alzheimers for the past three years and hadn't recognized me for at least the last year, so it's been difficult but at least she is at peace now :flower;
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Sorry about your mum Sugarlump. :cuddle;
Thank you :cuddle;
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Sugarlump: I just saw this post! I am so sorry to hear about your loss! :cuddle;
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Sugarlump: I just saw this post! I am so sorry to hear about your loss! :cuddle;
Thanks :cuddle;
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After way too much thought, I decided to do Nanowrimo. Of course, the first day was over by the time I started, but I still wrote 3 pages. I've no idea what my word count is, though
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nothing doneh today and next 4 days will be the its 114f
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Stocked up on £25 worth of cleaning/laundry products so aa to collect 7p off per litre of fuel voucher to fill up the car!!!
That's a lot of cleaning and a lot of driving!!!! 8)
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Errands!!!! I hate them, but had no choice. Have to go to the orthopedic surgeon on Monday and they wanted a hand carried copy of the test for Carpal Tunnel, so went and got that, then return a blouse. I don't know about you guys, but sometimes I just cant make it back to the store and the item to be returned is collecting dust. Then one more errand, go and get the old blood work drawn. finally it is done, and by the way, so am I.
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Today I cooked (for the first time in about 5 days as have been feeling poorly)
I made shepherds pie and it was lovely :clap;
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A good shepherds pie is indeed lovely!
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Isnt it sad when you feel too lousy to cook and there is no one else who will do it for you? that is the pits!!!
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I made shepherds pie and it was lovely :clap;
Ah, but was it a real shepherd's pie or just a cottage pie? I only ask because I don't think I've ever had a real shepherd's pie but am happy to call a cottage pie a shepherd's pie!
And for what it's worth I LOVE shepherd's cottage pie! I'd probably love it with lamb too! I make a fabulous one (Blokey thinks it's The Best!)
;D
Today I have had my hair chopped (or, just tidied really) and am waiting for a coat of paint to dry in the living room so that I can give it another coat before the Tesco man gets here with my delivery. I don't think we'll be going to the gym tonight because Blokey's got to put all the tellybox stuff back together. He's also not going to be happy when I tell him that we need to remove the plug from the display cabinet before we move it (whose bluddy idea was it to thread it behind the big bookcases before we attached them to the wall?!)
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Back to work this week after my transplant. It went well.
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I got nothing done, but my plumber sure did. Woke up this morning to all the drains backed up. NOT a pretty sight. Fortunately, he could come in an hour. What is the first thing you need to do when you wake up? Well, you can't because all the drains are clogged!! He did a couple hours of work and with cameras snacked down the plumbing to the sewer - about 60 to 70 feet. Huge roots have grown into the drain pipes under ground and have busted through in a couple of places. He did a temporary fix (my bladder was grateful) and in a couple of weeks, he will be back to dig a ditch from the house to the city sewer lines, take out old drain tiles and lay new ones. Well, that doesn't sound expensive, does it?? I think I could take a 2 week cruise with that money. Oh well. $@%! happens!!! :rofl;
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I made shepherds pie and it was lovely :clap;
Ah, but was it a real shepherd's pie or just a cottage pie? I only ask because I don't think I've ever had a real shepherd's pie but am happy to call a cottage pie a shepherd's pie!
And for what it's worth I LOVE shepherd's cottage pie! I'd probably love it with lamb too! I make a fabulous one (Blokey thinks it's The Best!)
;D
Well technically it was a cottage pie because I made it with minced beef! but I think you get a stronger flavour with beef than lamb! And I added carrots and a little leek
and the potato topping has to be golden brown and crunch. And I put HP sauce on mine. I love it :clap;
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You know now you need to explain carefully the difference between cottage pie and shepherds pie. Please!
As for me today I managed to dust and vacuum the living room ( first time it has been touched since before Christmas. ) and make a great dinner. Pork loin roast, roasted potatoes, corn and garlic breadsticks. Tomorrow will be pulled pork sandwiches. I feel tired all of the time, but I am beginning to think it is mostly in my alleged mind.
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You know now you need to explain carefully the difference between cottage pie and shepherds pie. Please!
Shepherd's pie should be made with minced lamb (hence the shepherd in the title) and cottage pie is usually minced beef. However, the terms are completely interchangeable and I usually say I'm having shepherd's pie regardless of what meat is used!
Sugar, I put carrots, onion and peas. My MiL doesn't put ANYTHING extra in it. Mine is far superior. And yes, the potato should be brown and crusty! I opt for tomato ketchup and lashings of gravy with mine.
;D
Tonight we're having a slow cooker meal. The aroma has been tickling our tastebuds all day. Yum. I've had a really lazy day, interspersed with needing to wash the two day old bed linen (because Qyzy-Qat managed to wee on it - we think he's ill; it's usually his way of telling us, pesky cat!) and vaccuum the floors downstairs. We've been in our 'lounge wear' all day. Rebels. It's nasty wet weather outside though and we got drenched at the footie yesterday when a mini-hurricane stomy type thing managed to sweep through part of England. It was fun.
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You are sure right about the grim weather. Rain, rain and rain although talk of snow overinight (just a little)
Dragged my partner into town to Debenhams as last day of sale and an extra 20% off everything...
Bought winter coat (smart) very posh designer label black dress (classy) and some wonderful silver shoes (sparkly)
all for under £100. Very chuffed about that :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
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Yesterday I got the dishes put away from Thanksgiving! :rofl; That really was a chore as most of them went behind other things in the buffet. Today was a cooking day. I put a pot of beans on this morning, then made a batch of cookies and a corn pudding for a covered dish lunch today. After getting home from that I whipped up some sweet cornbread to go with the bean soup. Yummy. Cooking makes me feel so domestic.
I also put together my lunches for the week. I fix up salads in quart jars. I really dislike preparing lunches for school, so doing the whole week at one time takes some of the sting out of it. They really last quite well.
While putting away the Thanksgiving dishes, I had to move some silver out of the way. Carl got to polishing it and I must say that things are quite shiny in the dining room now!
I also did three loads of laundry yesterday and changed the sheets and towels today and got them washed. Busy day.
I would love me some of that shepherd's/cottage pie. There is a historic "English" settlement not far from here where they serve a good shepherd's pie (although it could be cottage). Now I am hankering some. Snow in the forecast for tomorrow. I wish it would come a big one and we could call school off. Carl has his three year transplant clinic tomorrow, so he will be out of school for most of the day. It is hard to believe it has been three years.
:2thumbsup;
Aleta
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There is a historic "English" settlement not far from here where they serve a good shepherd's pie (although it could be cottage). Now I am hankering some.
I hope they do Yorkshire pudding, Fish & Chips and the classic British curry too!
I'm at work ... *ssshhh* ... having a much needed break from noisy teenagers.
;D
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I went to a Diabetes forum to-day, and have been inspired to undertake regular exercise and eat my vegies! I have just completed 30 minutes exercise in 38 degree (100f) heat and do not feel like vegies.
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Sounds like a hamburger and chips moment to me!
(Exercize does have a habit of making you really hungry!)
Meatloaf in the oven tonight (with mashed potato, green beans and lashings of gravy.
Shall I lay an extra plate Galvo??? ;D
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Yes, please!
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Made green pea soup with bacon, smoked sausage en tomato. My own fusion concoction which is absolutely delicious, and it's atrocious outside, and my K+ is way too. The nurse is coming in a sec to bring my increased amount of Tinzaparine. I'm very impressed with their service this week
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Oh! Cassandra! That soup sounds so delicious! Hope your K settles down.
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Made green pea soup with bacon, smoked sausage en tomato.
Ooooh, yum ... that sounds divine!
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41 degrees again to-day! Same yesterday! Same to-morrow! I've had it!
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I'll trade with you, Galvo... if you don't mind trudging through a foot of snow..
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Or high winds, never-ending rain and flooding everywhere in England? Might need to bring a boat if gets any worse! :boxing;
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We had the high winds here last week, Sugarlump.... they must have jumped across the pond to you...
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Apparently this bout of weather has stretched across the Atlantic from you and is now circling around and round us. They have had to bring in the Army to help out in worst flooded areas. It's crazy
crazy weather!!! I need some sun :urcrazy; but snow would be a break from the endless rain :waving;
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Took me about an hour to find this link by digging into the past on facebook.
http://earth.nullschool.net/
its the wind systems, I think? Live. Spin the globe and check out where you are (and compare to the antarctic, there's some wind down there).
xn
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I finally bought a dishwasher!!! And it is being installed today.
My wonderful partner has removed the cupboard and :urcrazy; drawer to the left of the sink and drilled a hole for the pipes in readiness ... but there is just one problem!!!!
What do I do with all the stuff that was in the cupboard and drawer!!!! Now stacked on my kitchen table.
What sort of stuff you ask?
Dog food, cat food, dog brushes and shampoo,bird food, fat balls and a load of product instructions and guarantees!!!
And don't even get me started on the contents of the drawer!!!
It's my junk drawer. Every kitchen has a junk drawer. But where can i put the junk now???
I have 4 other drawers, one for teatowels and potholders, one for kitchen tools, one for cutlery and one for foil, clingfilm, plastic freezer bags and ecowaste brown bags....
I need a new kitchen :urcrazy;
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:rofl; Oops
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put the tea trowels in the linen closet and put the pot holders next to the cooker. But if the linen closet is upstairs that would be an inconvenience so you could throw out the stuff in the junk drawer, clean it up good, and put your tea towels in it. However!!! You will have a dishwasher, and not only does it wash the dishes but it dries them, too. So you won't need the tea towels.
If you don't want to eat standing up, all the stuff on your tables will have to be put somewhere. I suggest that you pack your pots and pans tightly in the bottom cupboard and put the dog and cat food and the warranties and such stuff in there with the pots and pans. LOL.
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put the tea trowels in the linen closet and put the pot holders next to the cooker. But if the linen closet is upstairs that would be an inconvenience so you could throw out the stuff in the junk drawer, clean it up good, and put your tea towels in it. However!!! You will have a dishwasher, and not only does it wash the dishes but it dries them, too. So you won't need the tea towels.
If you don't want to eat standing up, all the stuff on your tables will have to be put somewhere. I suggest that you pack your pots and pans tightly in the bottom cupboard and put the dog and cat food and the warranties and such stuff in there with the pots and pans. LOL.
Can I hire you for a week to reorganise my house!!!
You are right about the teatowels though...good plan :clap;
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But where can i put the junk now???
Could you get rid of the dishwasher; it would free up enough space for a cupboard and a drawer.
;D
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But where can i put the junk now???
Could you get rid of the dishwasher; it would free up enough space for a cupboard and a drawer.
:rofl;
Yesterday I accomplished more than I have in weeks, which only means more than nothing. I walked my younger son into his school (after Gwyn dropped me off at a friend's house in the neighbourhood, we didn't start off from home) First time I've done this since before the meningitis. I briefly talked to his teacher about catching him up on homework. Then Gwyn picked me up and we went to the doctor's appointment. He dropped me at home about 10:30 and in the afternoon I made lunch, did a sink full of dishes, started up a huge load of laundry, slept a fair bit, and in the evening we all went to watch Aidan compete in a speech contest with his debate team. They lost, but Aidan couldn't stop going on about how much fun the whole experience was. We always said he'd be a politician, he is quite the charmer, so perhaps this is just the start. Considering their instructors only suggested they enter this contest a few weeks ago and they only picked a topic early last week, I think they did magnificent work up there.
Side note: Their topic was whether modern music was a bad influence. Aidan asked for my help with his speech, so we had some wonderful discussions about the importance of freedom of art. I did something I never thought I would do - showed my eleven-year-old the video of a hologram of the late Tupac Shakur singing Hail Mary at Coachella 2012. (Check it out if you want: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGbrFmPBV0Y) Plenty of offense to be had there, from the harsh language to the frequent pop-up adverts to the $10million spent on this 5 minutes of entertainment! As we viewed it I think Aidan watched my face more than he watched the video. He seemed to be wondering "Are you sure this is OK, Mom?"
Today I am paying for that minimal bit of exertion from yesterday. Taking it easy now, but tomorrow I have non-stop activities from 10AM-10PM and Gwyn will be off in London on his own. :sos;
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I had such a setback with my recovery today, for no reason that I could suss out, I hardly had the energy to get out of bed let alone accomplish anything. I managed the dishes and to empty the wet laundry into a basket to put by the door. (Our dryer currently resides in our garage and I couldn't even muster the energy to get there.)
We had to go to a parents evening tonight to hear how Dyl is doing and it turned a draggy, depressing, water-logged day positive. Dylan has two teachers and they both were raving about him. They said he is respected in class for working hard and having the intelligence to solve problems, but, and I quote "He's also a lad". They both agreed that you would never guess that he'd only been at the school since the beginning of the year, and amazingly they said he loves to joke around but knows when to stop. (Does he??!! This was news to his parents!) These are the types of compliments that are routinely paid to Aidan, but for years it's seemed like some crazy pipe dream to ever think we'd hear Dylan described in such glowing terms. :yahoo;
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I hope you're feeling better soon, cariad. I can only imagine how much you miss being able to haul wet laundry out to the garage. :P (My dryer was down the steps and out to the shed. Ugh.)
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Feeling pretty accomplished already and doubt I'll be good for much more today. Woke up and my husband was in a mood (Yay! Let the fun begin!) I felt a sore throat coming on last night, and it came on full force this morning. Made the tea, coffee and sandwiches and we were off. Gwyn needed to be nearly an hour away by 9AM which left me without a car in the freezing rain. He dropped the 3 of us outside Dyl's school at about 8:20 and they don't even open the doors at Dyl's school until 8:45. We walked halfway to Aidan's school, then much to Aidan's relief we turned around and walked back. I saw Dyl off and then trudged through the rain back home. It's only about a mile, but the cold and damp certainly didn't help my energy levels.
On the way back I saw someone throw what looked like a pen out her car window. As I got close enough to see it lying in the middle of the road, I could see it wasn't a pen. It was a home pregnancy test. Whatever it said, I guess it was the wrong result. Life is filled with these weird moments.
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This won't sound like much, but it's the most I've managed since the year began:
Dropped Dyl off, Aidan bikes to school these days. Dropped by the tea room where I'm working now to get a copy of the menu to study. Arrived back home, suited up, armed myself with chemicals and attacked the tip that our bathroom has become. Got all but the walls/floors clean. Did some washing of delicates in the newly cleaned sink. Stripped all the beds and washed and dried the sheets. Emailed the owner of the tea room, went to Aidan's school for some sort of fair they were holding where they made items out of recycled material and then sold them to earn money for charity. Wow! I thought I was scared at Mbare. (The largest open market in Africa, and an experience we feel lucky to have survived.) Children were wandering the room, shoving their wares at unsuspecting parents such as myself, using whatever emotional weaponry they had at their disposal. I am not sure how I avoided buying anything except Aidan's work, but my Aussie friend was certainly not as strong nor determined as I was. She walked in with £2.50 and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they got her to write a check.
I escaped somehow, ran into Aidan's form tutor and said I needed a word about his marks for the past term. Something isn't right there, we'll discuss later in the week. Collected Dyl, brought him home for an hour, put some laundry away, and dropped him at choir practice. No idea what we should do for dinner but I haven't felt dizzy nor nauseous all day so I think that's a victory!
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cariad, that's a big day! Fair wore me out, just reading about it!
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Giggles :rofl;
I am off to Norwich to do some shopping and buy my partner/carer lunch (after winning an incredibly long shot at 33-1 at Cheltenham) and because he deserves it!!!
I am enjoying a good spell when I actually feel like shopping :bow; long may it last!
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cariad, that's a big day! Fair wore me out, just reading about it!
Cheers, galvo!
I am off to Norwich to do some shopping and buy my partner/carer lunch (after winning an incredibly long shot at 33-1 at Cheltenham) and because he deserves it!!!
I am enjoying a good spell when I actually feel like shopping :bow; long may it last!
Sounds like a perfect way to spend your lucky winnings! And a burst of energy to go with it, even better. :yahoo;
I cleaned around the house and reported to work for three hours. Very slow day, but I think I've got the hang of the coffee machine. Hopefully I'll be fully proficient before the warm weather and rush of tourists hits our town.
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Coffee is always good cariad!
We bought a Tassimo coffee pod machine in John Lewis's sale and it took me more than a month to work out how to
get a cup of coffee out of it!!!! :rofl;
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Bloody 33/1 winner! At the moment I can't pick my nose!
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@ Galvo plus two third placed horses, and today another winner @ 14-1!!!! I am on a roll :bandance;
But I wish I could accomplish something called sleep. It's 1am and am wide awake and frustrated...
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I have made my birthday cake, in the shape of a handbag and have almost finished decorating it! Not gone as well as i'd liked but not bad for a first attempt :)
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Popped into town this morning to have a look round the market and buy some veggies and meat.
Came back did a little bit of housework, washed the kitchen floor and then baked some
really good bacon, cheese and spring onion scones ! Gosh where has all this energy come from :boxing;
Three months ago getting out of bed, dressed and eating breakfast was enough to tire me out!
It is great to realise how much better i am ;D
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We went to Costco today. It's been a long time and we were out of some basics so I was expecting a jaw-dropping bill. It came out to just under £300, so nowhere near as bad as I feared. Also, we got our annual rebate back from them, and they will give you cash for it if you don't want to spend it in the shop. We had intended to use it in the warehouse, but forgot so cashed it out on our way out the door.
I finally ordered a toaster from Costco online. £65, but it's a beauty (Dualit) and should last years if not decades. We have been living without one until yesterday when it arrived. I used it for the first time this morning, and oh my word, I had forgot what real toast tastes like. We had just been using the cooker, which heats it, but dries it out so thoroughly and is such a pfaff in the end that it was rarely worth it. Next up, a De'Longhi kettle to replace our broken (SOMEONE dropped it) Russel Hobbs.
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We went to Costco today. It's been a long time and we were out of some basics so I was expecting a jaw-dropping bill. It came out to just under £300, so nowhere near as bad as I feared. Also, we got our annual rebate back from them, and they will give you cash for it if you don't want to spend it in the shop. We had intended to use it in the warehouse, but forgot so cashed it out on our way out the door.
I finally ordered a toaster from Costco online. £65, but it's a beauty (Dualit) and should last years if not decades. We have been living without one until yesterday when it arrived. I used it for the first time this morning, and oh my word, I had forgot what real toast tastes like. We had just been using the cooker, which heats it, but dries it out so thoroughly and is such a pfaff in the end that it was rarely worth it. Next up, a De'Longhi kettle to replace our broken (SOMEONE dropped it) Russel Hobbs.
I lust after a Dualit toaster as they do one in turquoise to match my kitchen walls!!!!! :P
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On Friday I made four tablecloths and from the left overs I then made two tea towels.
Then I made a dress, finished it yesterday (and it came out great!!!)
Today I cleared out the corner of the bedroom to make space for new shelves: all my gear has to come home from uni and I have no space for it so I bought ikea storage cube type shelves, and am waiting for some kind of handyman to materialise and assemble them for me.
Basically I spent the last five years too busy to think, now there's stuff just in piled in corners and shoved into drawers. Finally I can get some of it organised.
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Yesterday I worked, then did a big grocery shop, made still lemonade for the boys (they miss it and it is freakishly expensive to buy pre-made here.) If I let them, they would guzzle the entire 2 litres straight away.
Our micro died! I have never seen a microwave break down, and this one was only 1.5 years old. We bought it from Costco, so I have hope that they will stand by their merchandise. They usually automatically extend the warranty on their electronics and appliances by quite a long time. It is finding the receipt and/or original box that will be the trick there. Oh well, it was only £50, but £50 I would like to put toward a new micro.
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Yesterday I worked, then did a big grocery shop, made still lemonade for the boys (they miss it and it is freakishly expensive to buy pre-made here.) If I let them, they would guzzle the entire 2 litres straight away.
Our micro died! I have never seen a microwave break down, and this one was only 1.5 years old. We bought it from Costco, so I have hope that they will stand by their merchandise. They usually automatically extend the warranty on their electronics and appliances by quite a long time. It is finding the receipt and/or original box that will be the trick there. Oh well, it was only £50, but £50 I would like to put toward a new micro.
I have a pink plastic folder where I stuff all receipts for major purchases, electrical equipment and suchlike. I know when something breaks down the receipt will be in there somewhere! :cheer:
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I have a pink plastic folder where I stuff all receipts for major purchases, electrical equipment and suchlike. I know when something breaks down the receipt will be in there somewhere! :cheer:
Well, Little Miss Organized! :)
The micro made a loud 'pop' sound this morning when I was seeing if it had sorted itself out. Alas, no. I *do* tend to keep all Costco receipts, and I suppose I could call the manufacturer (Sharp). I think we'll invest in a better model next time.... and probably keep the receipt and box forever. :P
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I have a pink plastic folder where I stuff all receipts for major purchases, electrical equipment and suchlike. I know when something breaks down the receipt will be in there somewhere! :cheer:
Well, Little Miss Organized! :)
The micro made a loud 'pop' sound this morning when I was seeing if it had sorted itself out. Alas, no. I *do* tend to keep all Costco receipts, and I suppose I could call the manufacturer (Sharp). I think we'll invest in a better model next time.... and probably keep the receipt and box forever. :P
You can stick your tongue out at me tomorrow :rofl;
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I have a pink plastic folder where I stuff all receipts for major purchases, electrical equipment and suchlike. I know when something breaks down the receipt will be in there somewhere! :cheer:
Well, Little Miss Organized! :)
The micro made a loud 'pop' sound this morning when I was seeing if it had sorted itself out. Alas, no. I *do* tend to keep all Costco receipts, and I suppose I could call the manufacturer (Sharp). I think we'll invest in a better model next time.... and probably keep the receipt and box forever. :P
You can stick your tongue out at me tomorrow :rofl;
I'll keep the offer in mind!! :laugh:
Today my sweet neighbour came into the tea room. She is a regular there and she has had some awful health issues (breast cancer - had the full chemo/radiation and lost all her hair. She's probably only in her early 30s, too.) Anyhow, she's getting standard treatment, but also altering her diet to try to combat it. I guess she has found evidence that cutting out dairy will improve her odds. She has obviously worked very hard at this - she orders tea, no milk, asks if there is any dairy in the soups, refuses all of our (amazing) cakes except the one dairy free one. Today she ordered scrambled eggs and I just happened to ask the chef if there was any milk in it. There was, so I told her and she switched to fried. She made me feel like quite the heroine for this simple gesture.
I also was able to translate an American family's food request into British and when the younger girl left her mobile behind, I ran up the road to find them and they were quite grateful. A man that I could swear was South African turned out to be Canadian, and he settled our long-standing debate on how to pronounce 'Nanaimo' (as in the dessert, named after the town). They are using a new carrot cake recipe - tastes great but doesn't keep its structural integrity very well, so we felt we couldn't sell the last slice. The baker has more or less gone off cake for life, so I got to have some and bring the rest home. The males got hold of it and it was gone in a flash.
I took Aidan to the bank after work and officially opened his first bank account for him. He will get practice in managing his own bankcard when that turns up in the post next week. I found out I could get a savings accounts (no bankcard) for Dyl, so will take care of that next week.
Ah, and to top off the day, Gwyn just came stumbling out of the garage holding a Sharp microwave box. We're on our way, Costco! :cheer:
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That sounds like a real profitable day :laugh:
I've just 'helped' hubby to work, put my half full batch on reheat. (So handy that that's poss. At training I was told never to do that, but I always do it with 30 liters cos the noice of the machine bugs me, and no probs so far) Washing machine on with last (I hope) holiday cloths.
And decided to take a Diazepam cos I incredibly excited to meet everyone tomorrow.
:yahoo;
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Forgot to mention that on Monday we'll fly to Portugal with my machine for the first time. There's quite some supplies to take of which quite a few will go in the one 'normal hold' suitcase we booked, and the one additional medical supplies suitcase accompanying my machine which I'll take on board.
Next time we'll book 2 suitcases.
:urcrazy;
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I want to go to Portugal one day - seems everyone I know here has been! One of my Welsh nephews lives with a Portugese woman, and I wouldn't be surprised if they got married one day soonish. The other Welsh nephew is currently living there, so obviously it must have its charms.
Got Romeo vaccinated! Or rather, started him off on his vaccinations. Naughty previous owners did not keep him up to date on his jabs, although I could swear they claimed they did. I asked the vet to check that he'd been fixed (he has) as I started to worry that they had been untruthful about other stuff. :rofl; So we have to start his vaccinations over again, but the expense was not bad at all, and its all paid. At least we can board him and not have that worry in the back of my mind all weekend. (Don't think the boys would survive if something happened to that cat. They were moaning the whole way to the vet about how hard it was to see Romeo so scared and said they felt like bad owners. I told them if they thought this was hard, try taking a trusting little baby in to the pediatrician for those endless newborn jabs!)
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:rofl;
You are a bit hard on those boys Carriad (wink) ;D
Love, Cas
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Arrived at work at 7:10 AM and slogged through a regular teaching day until my 1:45 annual gyn appointment. That doctor talks, and talks.... Got out at 3:05 and went to sit with my dad at his nursing home for a while, then back to school by 4:15. Left school early (all the kiddoes had left) and drove into the city for a wedding rehearsal. The couple didn't contact me until Monday for this wedding. Wedding rehearsal was over at 7:00 (they were really disorganized and I had lots of staging to help them with). Then home for a bite.... I'm tired. It is a good thing I can sleep in tomorrow.
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Forgot to mention that on Monday we'll fly to Portugal with my machine for the first time. There's quite some supplies to take of which quite a few will go in the one 'normal hold' suitcase we booked, and the one additional medical supplies suitcase accompanying my machine which I'll take on board.
Next time we'll book 2 suitcases.
:urcrazy;
I thought medical supplies are supposed to travel free?
When I went to Italy I had a plastic see through huge bag of filters n medications n line sticlkies n epo in a coolbag and was allowed that free as EXTRA hand luggage to my big shoulder bag and my handbag!
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:rofl;
You are a bit hard on those boys Carriad (wink) ;D
Love, Cas
Builds character! <-----(All-purpose excuse for questionable parenting decisions.)
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They sre great boys Cariad :2thumbsup;
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Today I bought three lots of fabric. patterns, boning, zips, net overlay and underlay for petticoats and other stuff for my wedding dress and 2 bridesmaids dresses which my clever sister is going to make for me.
I am so chuffed i found the perfect toning colours :bandance;
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What colour is it going to be?
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Pale and shimmery rose pink 8) calf length and flowers in my hair!
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Pale and shimmery rose pink 8) calf length and flowers in my hair!
You'll look stunning! :cheer:
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Vacuumed most of the house.
I don't do it often enough, with two dogs and two cats things get a little 'hairy' around here. You don't see much of the white hairs from the dogs, but they are there, a lot. But the long hair black cat is obviously all over the place. Susie decided she wants to be an inside cat. This winter got pretty cold and even tho I keep a couple of baseboard units on the the two car garage for the cats, it still got down into the mid 30's so I started to let the 'Girls' inside. Turns out they like it in here. Alley stays out most nights now that it isn't cold, hunting I guess. Susie curls up on top of a stack of my PD boxes, better view of the room. Susie goes out once or twice a day to do her business then is sitting right next to the door waiting for my to let her back in.
Alley will be sitting at the door waiting for me every morning when I get up. Funny girl, she has to step on my toes every time she greats me. I haven't had any other dog or cat do that. Bones puppy stands up and noses my hand like a Thank You every time he comes back in. They each have their own personality.
I'm not done with the living room yet, break time is over for now.
Take Care,
Charlie B
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Great post, Charlie! I love animal stories!!
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We are trying to recreate Diego Rivera's The Flower Carrier so I spent yesterday looking for 'costuming' at charity shops. Found a pair of capris that Dyl can use in the photo and then I will be able to wear them over summer as they fit me perfectly.
Today I bought 10 quid worth of paper flowers from an art supply shop, then came up with a better idea that's free, so those will be going back tomorrow. I have these round cotton wool pads that I bought a million years ago, and no matter how many I use, I never seem to come any closer to using them all up. It is so weird! Anyhow, since the flowers are rather featureless and impressionist in the painting, I got the idea to use food colouring to turn these cotton wool pads different shades of pink, red and purple. I think once they dry out it will be perfect - may have to put them on low heat in the cooker to get that done. I actually got to throw an empty pack of these things away, it was so exciting!
We also have been trying to sort through all of the endless crap piled in our garage and storage unit. Today we found a red ball gown that I can use in the photo (and then donate or sell onward as I doubt it fits me any longer) We also found juggling balls, a diablo, and a plate spinning set so the kids can practice their circus skills. (Aidan is going to bring his unicycle in to class as I don't have any idea how to teach him to ride it.) I found our old double light saber which still works, despite being a bit worse for wear, and loads of other Star Wars toys that the boys were chuffed to get back. An old suitcase had all of my missing summer clothes in it, so now I have my wardrobe for our August trip to France sorted.
It's basically been like a mini Christmas, without the stress, cold, and enormous bills! :yahoo;
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Well, overall I got the world by the tail and the wind at me back, on a straight road. :bandance;
Ha, I suppose I could find a small complaint or two if I dug hard enough. ::)
Regards complaining though, if a purchased product gives a problem, I will write that company, and generally am very successful getting responses.
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Brought out the material to 'pack' some 'O' size gelatin capsules. Had run low on Burdock herb capsules, and Ginger capsules.
Another person uses the burdock to help control blood sugar, I use the ginger for vertigo related control, and the burdock for kidney related issues .
talker
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Dyl and I have inhabited the painting The Flower Carrier, photos have been taken and printed out and will be handed in tomorrow. As usual, it was a family effort, and while we probably could have got the angle a bit truer to the original, all told, I am amazed at how close we got to Diego Rivera's vision. What's more, aside from a straw fedora for £3 at a charity shop, we were able to use all items and clothing that we already owned.
Oddly, I do feel like I have a special connection to that painting now, like I know what it feels like to be there, if only for a brief moment in time. Things like the weight of the basket and the discomfort of the pose will be on my mind whenever I look upon that artwork again.
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Dyl and I have inhabited the painting The Flower Carrier, photos have been taken and printed out and will be handed in tomorrow. As usual, it was a family effort, and while we probably could have got the angle a bit truer to the original, all told, I am amazed at how close we got to Diego Rivera's vision. What's more, aside from a straw fedora for £3 at a charity shop, we were able to use all items and clothing that we already owned.
Oddly, I do feel like I have a special connection to that painting now, like I know what it feels like to be there, if only for a brief moment in time. Things like the weight of the basket and the discomfort of the pose will be on my mind whenever I look upon that artwork again.
I think this was an awesome assignment!
I had a fruitful Mother's Day. We went to Lowes to buy flowers and returned home much poorer. Then had a wonderful chat with my daughter. Afterward I planted most of the aforesaid flowers and then showered off the traces of potting soil and grime. Then I went for a visit with my dad. After that it was into Knoxville for a book club meeting followed by dinner with friends. Yes, I'm feeling like it was a very good day.
Aleta
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Wow, Aleta! Sounds more like a week of activities to me!
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Rescued a baby bird today, requiring full family participation.
I was talking to Gwyn in the kitchen when he noticed Romeo zip by in the panicky way cats do when they suspect they're doing something wrong. Gwyn asked, 'Is that a bird?' and pulled a baby sparrow out of the corner. Showed the kids, put it in a box with a cloth from the garage. I researched wildlife rescues centres and the nearest one was over 30 minutes away and on the far side of Coventry. Bar none, Coventry has got to be the worst city in existence to drive. I can get instant sympathy from anyone here just by saying "I had to drive around Coventry today." My driving instructor told me it was home of the Suicide Roundabout but he couldn't tell me which one it was, and certainly any one of them could be a solid contender for the title. I really did not want to go bombing over to this remote town, and I had already had a glass of wine, but Gwyn was in no condition and the person at the wildlife rescue place said that the bird would die if it were left on its own because it was too young.
I've been to these sorts of places before, so I told the kids they were going to ask for a donation, so the boys each brought a few pounds (Dyl enthusiastically, and Aidan somewhat begrudgingly). Surprisingly, when we got there they showed us through to the back, the kids were delighted because they had baby foxes there, and they checked the bird over, said its leg was not broken but I think there was a bit of blood on its wings, and invited us to visit sometime in the future for a tour. The older man said "You'd be surprised what we have here." Since they were so polite and did not pressure us in the least for any funds, I gave them a few quid and let the boys keep their cash. The drive back was marginally easier but only because the roads were so empty. Boys are going to be knackered tomorrow but at least they have an heroic story to tell their friends.
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Made it through work. I am never supposed to be left alone in the shop, but I sort of was today, and I was not at all happy about it. The chef was there, but she doesn't know how to make the drinks, nor take orders (yes, that part is easy, it's just knowing what questions to ask without having to stand there for minutes at a time reading the menu). As annoyed as I was to have no backup in place, especially as I had about 5 tables walk in at once, I managed and now am enjoying that accomplished/exhausted feeling.
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Found an awesome recipe for strawberry bread and a friend brought us strawberries yesterday, so, into the kitchen I go, SOON!! After all, it is only 2 PM and I just finished breakfast. Bob and I both had the flu and it was rather nasty, The Dr. sent us cough syrup with codeine in it and that works quite well, except that I cough for half an hour afterwards. So, from all the coughing, I have a terrible headache and the blood vessels in my nose are all leaking, so each nose blow produces, rather ugly stuff. Plus, of course, my back aches all the time. Wait, maybe I will go back to bed and make the bread tomorrow.
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Strawberry bread? I am intrigued... please share recipe and results with us :thx;
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Sugar, yes, strawberry bread.... awesome. So I use a large measuring cup and slice up 3 cups of strawberries. then add 4 beaten eggs and 3/4 cup of vegetable oil. In a large bowl, it's 3 cups of flour, 2 cups sugar, 1tsp baking soda,2 tsp of cinnamon, mix well, add the berries and stir to combine. Into 2 bread pans, which you have greased, and into the oven at 350 for 45 to 50 minutes, sometimes longer. I also add a couple of serving spoons of sugar to the berries. I have made this twice now and it is just amazingly delicious. I let it sit in the pan for about 15 minutes, take it out and let it cool. Well, unless my hubby manages to smell it and then it get cut and buttered almost immediately, hahaha.
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Oooh, that bread does sound interesting. Wonder if it would work with raspberries as we have a cup of them in the fridge that are too soft to eat.
Went to work, strangely calm all day, did not get overwhelmed at all. Stood in the *pouring* rain waiting for Dyl at his school, got home and immediately changed into pyjamas and chucked soaked clothes in wash. Made crepe batter with our sour milk, had a glass of wine, called the Electoral Registration office to see if Gwyn had registered to vote (he had, so I sent him off to vote for our MEP). We had fried eggs in crepes for dinner, followed by melted chocolate with Kelly's clotted cream and strawberry ice cream (the best store-bought ice cream around) in crepes for the boys (only had enough batter for two crepes left).
About to sit down with family to watch Strange Hill High. Where is that thread about television that you don't want to admit that you adore....?
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Survived my first day back at work after a week off. The day just refused to go smoothly and I didn't sleep terribly well last night. I am trying something new, only drinking wine at weekends (if I can pass it up - I just so look forward to my glass of red each night). I know alcohol is terrible for sleep, and I am so diabolically sensitive to everything that I know even my glass or two is largely responsible for my frequent inability to sleep through the night.
We are planning a joint birthday party for the boys in July, with an Independence Day theme. Aidan's best friend's mother offered to help me plan it. I hope she realises what she has just done: I almost always take people up on offers of help unless it's something ridiculous (like when my overworked, pregnant friend who already has 3 kids offered to come over and clean my house when I was ill. True story.) I'd like to get to know this boy's mother better as our kids are inseparable, and I'm always up for making a new friend.
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Ooooh, how I would love a glass of wine, or a margarita. It has been over two years now - drat that Lyme!
I had a busy day. After eating my own breakfast I went to my dad's nursing home to feed him his breakfast. He is unable to do so on his own and my brother and I are taking turns feeding him as we are far more successful in getting him to eat than the nursing staff. After leaving there, I swung by the Print Shop to pick up some printing for school. BUT, on the way, I cut corner too closely and jumped a curb. When I got out of the car to inspect the situation (at the print shop) I found that I had not only scuffed up the rime, but chopped a chunk out of the tire!
I drove to school where Carl was working. He didn't want me driving the car as he was concerned that it might blow. So we went home for lunch in the truck. Then Carl drove me over to my dad's again so I could feed him lunch. After that, we went to school and picked up the car to take it in to have the tire replaced. Then it was back to school. We are having to pack up all our personal belongings (35 years of accumulation), before we sell the school on July 1. After a couple hours of work at school, we picked up the car, then went home for dinner. After dinner I went to feed my dad again (did I mention that my brother is our of town for a few days and I'm in charge of all the meals until his return?)
When I got back from feeding Dad, I made a bee line for the pool for some "relaxing" exercise. My Lyme disease has flared up and I can't get too strenuous, but it is lovely to exercise at a leisurely pace.
Tomorrow I have a meeting in Knoxville for lunch so Dad will just have to allow the nursing home staff to feed him. I'm sure he will be VERY hungry by dinner time.
Aleta
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I cleared out my IHD inbox! Finally!
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WTW, I'm really sorry to hear that your Lyme disease is still bedeviling you! It's so hard for me to believe that you have been battling this for over two years. I'm glad you were able to get in a swim; you certainly need some relaxation!
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WTW, I'm really sorry to hear that your Lyme disease is still bedeviling you! It's so hard for me to believe that you have been battling this for over two years. I'm glad you were able to get in a swim; you certainly need some relaxation!
Yes, MM, it has gotten quite bad lately. I knew that stress was a big no-no, and experienced the results first hand. When we were getting my dad transitioned into Hospice, I was really stressed and WHAM! That pesky Lyme came roaring back. My doctor had switched one of my antibiotics to penicillin back in February and I had noticed a gradual decline. Then I was knocked right off my feet by the stress. I couldn't walk from the family room to the bedroom without being totally winded.
I'm still very weak. I emailed my Lyme doctor and he switched me back to Ceftin, but I may have to go back on the IV in order to get back to where I was. I will probably never be rid of the Lyme.
Amazing what havoc a tiny little tick can wreak.
Aleta
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I'll probably never be rid of the Lyme.
Really? :o I mean, is it really a possibility that you'll never be rid of it? I don't even want to imagine that. Has your Lyme doctor ever mentioned that you may have to cope with this for years to come? This combined with the stress of having to go and feed your dad must be really difficult. I'm so sorry. I hope you can engineer some stress free time for yourself. :cuddle;
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I bought a lovely long lilac dress today, for Ladies Day at Newmarket (have a little lilac fascinator too) and a wedding a fortnight after.
It makes me feel like a million dollars which is all that matters! :cheer:
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I bought a lovely long lilac dress today, for Ladies Day at Newmarket (have a little lilac fascinator too) and a wedding a fortnight after.
It makes me feel like a million dollars which is all that matters! :cheer:
That sounds wonderful! I love getting a new frock that makes me feel beautiful! Good on you!
:2thumbsup;
Really? :o I mean, is it really a possibility that you'll never be rid of it? I don't even want to imagine that. Has your Lyme doctor ever mentioned that you may have to cope with this for years to come?
It is a very strong possibility, MM. Lyme spirochetes have a way of "hiding" in hard to reach crevices (bones, joints, organs like the brain, heart, etc.) where the antibiotics can't reach. Then when the immune system is under stress, they come out to play again. The hardest thing has been going fro a basically VERY healthy person one day, to someone who is chronically "ill." I'm still fighting the little buggers and I may get lucky. But truthfully, many people with chronic Lyme just have to keep it in remission as best they can. I would be very happy to have my energy back and lose the headache. But, if August gets here when I see my Lyme doctor again, and I haven't reached those goals, I'll be going back on the IV antibiotics.
Even so, I try to stay positive. That sure beats the alternative. :clap;
Aleta
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Have had my three year old granddaughter to stay all week!
Just keeping up with her is hard work, especially as she awakens at 5.30am most days!!! :(
But we have managed horse riding,bike and clothes shopping,zoo,more horse riding and baking cakes so far!!!
Wish I was three again!!! ;D
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I worked a closing shift at work. Arrived at my usual time and my coworker was feeling rough so I offered to stay later so that he could go home early. He was extremely grateful even though I told him that it benefits me since I was forced to take the past 5 days off, it's nice to have the chance to recoup a bit of salary. It was really slow today until he left, then a party of 5, a party of 4, and a party of 3 all walked in at pretty much the same time. They all wanted coffees and cakes - this takes ages. Somehow I muddled through with a bit of help from the chef, and everyone was brilliantly understanding about it all. I also paid the baker £75 cash for a cake for my boys' party in mid-July, so one less expense to worry about.
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Baked a ham today in treacle, mustard and brown sugar. Absolutely scrummy! ;D
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Tell me about how much energy 3 year olds have! We had 14 of them in our class last year.....it wore me out!
I have managed to go to the nursing home twice today to feed my dad breakfast and lunch (I'll go again to feed him dinner), have done three loads of laundry and gone to the grocery store.
Uh, and took a long nap! :shy;
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Aleta
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Four hours of ok dialysis, coffee with a friend, made salad for dinner and read a chapter of my book...
I usually fall asleep after dialysis so feeling well impressed 8)
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I peed in a cup. :yahoo;
My urologist wanted a sample at the office the other day and I laughed at him. So he sent me home with a cup and said I have to have it back to his office within 1/2 hour of filling. So I got up this morning and held it while I got dressed, then I did the deed, got it the car and drove to his office as fast as I could. The receptionist looked at me and I said "Here, it's hot off the press".
I feel like I really got something big done today. :2thumbsup;
[This story could only be appreciated on a forum full of dialysis patients]
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:clap; :clap; :clap;
That would probably take me all week! ::)
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Went to church this morning, read a little, continued watching my marathon series of "Grey's Anatomy" on Netflix and decided I didn't feel like doing anything in the least bit productive all day; all without feeling guilty.
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Four hours of dialysis, and afternoon nap and ate chicken and rice for dinner...
I have written a shopping list for tomorrow!! :o
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Worked my usual shift, collected Aidan from home as he was convalescing due to illness and brought him to street dance, purchased wine bags and thank you cards for all the teachers we have to thank in the next two days, plus thank you cards for the party attendees. Ordered takeaway. Gwyn has a midnight deadline at work and we are both still recovering from whatever stress-induced illness we had yesterday. I am taking apple cider vinegar twice a day in an effort to kill off this cold quickly, and yet again my cold has all but vanished in a day. As soon as Gwyn walks through the door with Aidan we will all sit down to a divine curry before Gwyn heads back to work.
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Worked my usual shift, collected Aidan from home as he was convalescing due to illness and brought him to street dance, purchased wine bags and thank you cards for all the teachers we have to thank in the next two days, plus thank you cards for the party attendees. Ordered takeaway. Gwyn has a midnight deadline at work and we are both still recovering from whatever stress-induced illness we had yesterday. I am taking apple cider vinegar twice a day in an effort to kill off this cold quickly, and yet again my cold has all but vanished in a day. As soon as Gwyn walks through the door with Aidan we will all sit down to a divine curry before Gwyn heads back to work.
You have an interesting life flow. As I do at times, read through your posts, up to listing page 36. The apple cider vinegar mention did get my attention. So see my blog post on it.
http://www.thetalker.org/archives/8/honegar-bragg-energy-balancebodyelectrolytes/
Of course I 'talk' on many things, as my blog entries will show, and why the moniker 'Talker'.
Hugs if you and all accept them.
Be Well
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I love to see the differences in language.
'Takeaway' most likely meaning 'takeout' to many of us.
You are not hard to understand at all as I enjoy regional dialect differences. There are many persons well educated in language dialects that can tell within a few miles where a person is from simply by listening to their pattern of speak and the actual words/phrases used in the English language.
Curry does sound good! Nothing here in mid-Missouri but a couple Asian and a mexican place.
Sometimes I have to break down and actually get a dish dirty and fire up the stove/oven/BBQ, however the mood strikes.
I didn't get the ditch weed-wacked today. But I started to, got about half way thru and gave up.
Will have at it again in a day, or two.
I tired way too easily.
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Attended a wedding in Manchester amidst thunderstorms and heavy rain but had good time.
Now the long drive home (and more thunderstorms forecasted) :bow;
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Attended a wedding in Manchester amidst thunderstorms and heavy rain but had good time.
Now the long drive home (and more thunderstorms forecasted) :bow;
Shame it had to be during the wedding. Come to think of it, my friends attended a relative's wedding yesterday and I bet they had the rains for it too. We had just got inside from our weekly open market shop when there was an almighty crack of thunder that made all of us jump. I loved it, love a good rainstorm (and this was a beaut) but I couldn't help but think how lucky we were that we had chosen to hold our kayaking party a week earlier. Glad you had fun, hope the drive wasn't too treacherous. :)
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You have an interesting life flow. As I do at times, read through your posts, up to listing page 36. The apple cider vinegar mention did get my attention. So see my blog post on it.
Aw, thanks! Never been complimented on my 'life flow' before, I love it, very cool phrasing. Your writing style is delightful.
http://www.thetalker.org/archives/8/honegar-bragg-energy-balancebodyelectrolytes/
Of course I 'talk' on many things, as my blog entries will show, and why the moniker 'Talker'.
Hugs if you and all accept them.
Be Well
I visited your blog, fascinating stuff. I love alternative remedies, and apple cider vinegar and tea tree oil are my two mainstays. I used to drink oolong tea for eczema as well (thankfully that problem seems to have resolved) and my mother is always sending me supplements, with varying degrees of success. I saw that you read a book on the benefits of sodium bicarb, I would find that really interesting as well. I know bicarb is supposed to be beneficial to kidney patients so I should probably experiment with adding that to my supplement regimen.
Delighted to receive hugs and offer some back to you. :grouphug; :)
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I love to see the differences in language.
'Takeaway' most likely meaning 'takeout' to many of us.
I think they exclusively say takeaway here, but I could be wrong. I try to only use language that will minimize the risk of starting off a conversation about my accent. I have adopted pronunciation that I never thought I would just because it spares confusion and time. I now pronounce the first syllable of mocha to rhyme with rock rather than smoke. It's stopped sounding weird to me, which is worrying. There are a few that I will not waver on: herb will not be pronounced with an h sound, but the one that comes into play much more frequently is 'pecan'. I cannot stand the pronunciation PEE-can, it sounds faux-Southerner coming out of my mouth. It has always been puh-CAHN to me and I've tried to assimilate but I can't. Also, the way they butcher Spanish loanword pronunciation here is almost insulting (see 'macho' and 'nacho' for proof).
You are not hard to understand at all as I enjoy regional dialect differences. There are many persons well educated in language dialects that can tell within a few miles where a person is from simply by listening to their pattern of speak and the actual words/phrases used in the English language.
I think that is true of the UK but not America, it would be more like within 50-100 miles in America unless you are in our largest cities where there will be a difference between a Brooklyn and Long Island accent, for example. Most places there is not enough variation from one town to the next to provide the proper linguistic clues.
I took linguistics many many years ago (the proper hardcore Chomsky stuff, not just cultural linguistics which I've studied much more extensively). My linguistics prof marked me down for how I translated the word 'bank' into IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) because I used the symbol for the long A sound. I questioned her on it and she immediately said 'say it'. So I did and she said 'No' and told me I was actually producing a slightly different sound. I found that fascinating the way she had such a trained ear for it.
Curry does sound good! Nothing here in mid-Missouri but a couple Asian and a mexican place.
I'd go mad!!!!
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Watered what few plants I have in what passes for a garden spot. Two cherry tomatoes, one orange, one red, a few 'volunteer' tomatoes which must have come from over-ripe ones that I just cast aside and leave last year. A BUNCH of 'volunteer' watermelon, a few of them are obviously sugar babies, small very dark skin round like a ball. But a couple more that I'm not sure what kind of watermelon, round and light skinned. And two of the huge yellow-flesh melons from seeds I saved from one of last years 35 pounders. I was too lazy to water last year. Drug the hose out maybe 5 times, and it was a pretty dry summer. I was surprised the melons did as well as they did. So this year I'm thinking I'll water and see what happens. It's been pretty dry already and I've started watering last week. Not over day, but two or three days, soaking the ground around each plant and a ways out under the spreading vines also. Enough so that in a couple of days I can still see the soil is still moist under the vines.
Weathermen have been calling for afternoon thunderstorm off and on for over a week. Not a drop here. Today is high overcast, which most days burns off shortly after 10, not today. Hearing a lot of thunder high up in the clouds. Sounds like it is rolling clear across from horizon to the other. An occasional flash. All bark, no bite. And not a single drop of rain.
Cool, finally. Last week it was in the 90's with humidity about the same. Sweltering. Like living in a sauna. Glad that I upgraded the A/C years ago. When running the condensate line runs a steady stream of water that it pulls out of the air. I should rig a long hose out to the garden. lol, I'd have to install a small pump to push the water that far.
Today would have been far more comfortable day to mow the yard, rather than a few days ago when we did. I tried to tell the Wife, but you know how that goes, trying to tell a woman anything. It takes more than just a few minutes to mow three acres of yard, in the heat.
I better quit now as that last comment might stir up some of the natives in here. lol
Take Care All,
Charlie B
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Ha ha, It finally rained. I was using my little weed-wacker tiller killing a few weeds in the bald areas of the front flower beds and these huge fat rain drops started in, soaked my shirt before I could kill the motor, set it down and dash into the garage just 20 odd feet away. Dash, as if, as slow as I am cause my legs do good just to carry my broad behind around with these painful knees. lol
So it looks like I'll have to wait an hour then get back at it again. It's so dry, by then you won't be able to tell it rained at all. This probable going to make the grass grow and she'll be on me again in a couple days to cut it!
Great!
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I got some laundry done, did the dishes and baked a pie! That's a lot for me!
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Today I sorted out the freezer which I like to do regularly but need help with lifting drawers out! I like to see what I have got, what needs eating up or throwing away, what I need to stock up on...
like ice!!! or hash browns 8)
We ate defrosted and heated carrot and coriander soup for lunch and had cherry and apple crumble also defrosted and reheated for dinner (after a mortadella salad) :P
Sainsburys brought my grocery delivery and I am hoping to try Ina's shrimp cocktail salad for Saturday. She is becoming quite a hit in the UK now, but Drew and I like to have a giggle over the different American pronunciations like Erbs for Herbs or argula? rocket over here.... and the kind of mock french accent she has!!!
I do like her cooking though I am hoping for one of her books in my christmas stocking!!!
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First of all I gave myself my weekly Epo-injection half an hour after breakfast and shower
(I still have to prepare myself mentally for my Epo-injections to "uncurl" my legs (and my mind) afterwards again
because I still get into a terribly nervous state about it every week, because of my needle-phobia... but I am slowly getting there...
... then I travelled to another part of the city to buy my special drinking water
and then I travelled to another part of the city to purchase my ground-coffee-beans
from one very reliable (Arabian) special shop where I can be sure, that no chemicals are added
to my freshly ground quality coffee-beans, which I buy only there for my cup of coffee in the morning.
I also studied a bit for my next exam and hopefully I get it over with soon...
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So far nothing. Planned, nothing, guilty, oh heck no. I have been trying to keep up with the llaundry and ironing. It is not to be accomplished
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Please don't criticize yourself and please don't be too hard on yourself, Jean.
In ESRF we only can take each day as it comes and some days are much worse that others...
I send you my best wishes, Kristina.
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Always thoughtful Kristine, thank you. I do the best I can and that is it.
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I am asking father christmas for a laundry fairy this year :bandance; pleeeeeeeeeeze
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Always thoughtful Kristine, thank you. I do the best I can and that is it.
Thank you Jean and please take care ...
... autumn can be very dreary on a rainy day....
and sometimes our condition makes life a little harder to take through this season...
Please take care and I send you my best wishes, Kristina.
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We arrived home late last night from Massachusetts. This morning I picked up my father's cremains from the funeral home (where I learned it may take up to 2 weeks to get the death certificates!!!), did the grocery shopping, then home and started the laundry from the past week. Made a week's worth of lunches and waited for our new wireless to get hooked up.
In the afternoon I was catching up with email.
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Oddly enough I FEEL as tho I worked like a mule all day. Made a little trip to the store, made Italian wedding soup, made the bed, cooked my husband his daily egg and cheese omelet, and one load of laundry and cleaned a bathroom, made dinner and cleaned up. Oh wait, now I see why I am so tired. Maybe I should make a list at the end of every day to keep track of my activity.
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Oddly enough I FEEL as tho I worked like a mule all day. Made a little trip to the store, made Italian wedding soup, made the bed, cooked my husband his daily egg and cheese omelet, and one load of laundry and cleaned a bathroom, made dinner and cleaned up. Oh wait, now I see why I am so tired. Maybe I should make a list at the end of every day to keep track of my activity.
You should! You certainly sound as if you had a very busy day!
Best wishes from Kristina.
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I became a grandmother for the third time!!! Baby Jacob born at 4am weighing 6lb 3oz ;D
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Congrats Sugar
:yahoo;
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I became a grandmother for the third time!!! Baby Jacob born at 4am weighing 6lb 3oz ;D
Congratulations to the happy parents and Sugarlump!
Best wishes to all from Kristina.
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Today I travelled to my favourite shopping-district to buy myself a new sweater/pullover for the coming winter-season
and I feel very lucky, because I could not find anything suitable in any of the "ordinary" sweater-shops there,
but I found two of the best quality new cashmere pullovers, which were costing me only a few pennies, in an ordinary Charity Shop!
It must have been my lucky day, because these two pullovers just came in a few minutes before I entered the shop...
... and they are not only brand new but they are also my size 8 and not only fit me perfectly, but they are also very cosy to wear...
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Wow that IS lucky indeed!
Today I nearly finished painting the staircase with non-slip paint (3 half steps per day) , and finished oiling 1 windowsill in the kitchen., I'm well impressed with myself.
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Wow that IS lucky indeed!
Today I nearly finished painting the staircase with non-slip paint (3 half steps per day) , and finished oiling 1 windowsill in the kitchen., I'm well impressed with myself.
That IS very impressive, not only because of the smell the paint causes,
but also because it is certainly no fun but is one of the works that has to be done...
You sound as if you are renovating your place?
Best wishes from Kristina.
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Yes we are, thanx Kristina, any lucky finds today?
Love, Cas
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Today I travelled to my favourite shopping-district to buy myself a new sweater/pullover for the coming winter-season
and I feel very lucky, because I could not find anything suitable in any of the "ordinary" sweater-shops there,
but I found two of the best quality new cashmere pullovers, which were costing me only a few pennies, in an ordinary Charity Shop!
It must have been my lucky day, because these two pullovers just came in a few minutes before I entered the shop...
... and they are not only brand new but they are also my size 8 and not only fit me perfectly, but they are also very cosy to wear...
When I was teenager I came home from school one day to discover my father had done the laundry and put my favorite cashmere sweater in the dryer. Needless to say, it shrank to a size smaller than my hand and I could no longer wear it. Here was the maddening part; up until the time I had gotten that sweater, my father had never helped with the laundry before.
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:banghead;
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My Mom did that to me too. And it had been so pretty too, pale blue cashmere. Anyways, no I didn't do much today except go to the kidney Dr and discover that the foot that has been extremely painful since August is in fact, not a bone spur, but, gout!!! Well, not really gout, high uric acid. It makes me happy because a RX is on it's way to me from the pharmacy I sure hope it works. Oh, and my eGFR was 16 two months ago and it has gone back up to 21, yippee!!!
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Hello Cassandra and Jean, I am very sorry about your bad luck with cashmere pullovers... and I am very glad Jean, that your GFR has gone up to 21 again and hopefully your good luck with the GFR continues...
... Today I was preparing myself all through the morning to "get into the right mood"
and be able to give myself my necessary Epo-injection ... and I have finally succeeded...
... Then the postal-delivery of my new pair of "cosy-shoes" has arrived, which is a pair of shoes,
that can be artificially widened with special straps, whenever my feet are swollen-up again,
which is due to my low haemoglobin-level I am battling with at the moment...
...and I look forward to go for a long walk to try out my new pair of shoes in the afternoon...
... and with this new pair of shoes I can hopefully continue my daily walks
despite my continuous swollen feet at the moment...
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Hi Kristina I'm glad you got your 'special walking shoes'. Just wondering, is your iron high enough?
Love, Cas
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Got up early (it was yucky cold and foggy) and did the supermarket run whilst still quiet!!!
Topped up the stores for a week or so and bought some christmas jumpers for my grandkids...and pink smarties!
Exhausted now. Have tail end of a cold which is taking it's toll on me. >:(
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Hi Kristina I'm glad you got your 'special walking shoes'. Just wondering, is your iron high enough?
Love, Cas
Thanks Cas,
I have to check-up tomorrow about my last blood results to find out about my iron...I think it is still low...thanks for reminding me...
... I had to sort-out my faulty telephone-line during the last seven days, because our street was being worked on
and somehow the land-line telephone got disturbed, stopped working as a result and I could not get on the computer either...
... Strangely enough, "in the old days" the British Telecom-engineers got onto a faulty telephone-line straight away,
sorted it out and repaired any fault instantly, but these days it takes almost a whole week for British Telecom-engineers
to sort out and repair an emergency... I was quite surprised about this lack of enthusiasm...
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Hi Kristina I'm glad you got your 'special walking shoes'. Just wondering, is your iron high enough?
Love, Cas
Thanks Cas,
I have to check-up tomorrow about my last blood results to find out about my iron...I think it is still low...thanks for reminding me...
... I had to sort-out my faulty telephone-line during the last seven days, because our street was being worked on
and somehow the land-line telephone got disturbed, stopped working as a result and I could not get on the computer either...
... Strangely enough, "in the old days" the British Telecom-engineers got onto a faulty telephone-line straight away,
sorted it out and repaired any fault instantly, but these days it takes almost a whole week for British Telecom-engineers
to sort out and repair an emergency... I was quite surprised about this lack of enthusiasm...
kristina, I'm in the USA and they take a week before coming out to fix our land line, too whenever it's gone down. Makes me feel as if we are being punished for not using the latest technology that they assume everyone else uses. I don't care what they say, I still like using a land line.
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How interesting, PrimeTimer! Perhaps we are being punished for remaining old-fashioned and still using a land-line
and not "keeping up with the Jones" by refusing to use every penny on the very latest technology ...
... I shall also keep my land-line and won't bother about anything else either...
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Today I finished my christmas shopping!!! Feel quite chuffed 8)
I hate last minute shopping in the crowds so plan well in advance, use the internet for a lot and it's all done and dusted.
Just got to get Drew to wrap them all up for me (he is neater than me ::)) :santahat; :santahat;
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Today is the very day...
I shall either pass or fail my exam this afternoon and I am already a little nervous ...
... But I have "convinced myself" that if I fail my exam this afternoon, I shall try again ...
... After all, I am not doing too well with my very low kidney function at the moment... (no dialysis started yet...)
... and because of that fact, my concentration ability might be a little bit challenged right now ...
... But I shall give it my very best all the same this afternoon ...
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:bandance; I can hardly believe it, but I have passed my examination with Distinction :bandance;
... Now I feel completely exhausted and need a rest or perhaps a little holiday....
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Why
:yahoo; :yahoo; :yahoo;
:cheer: :cheer: :cheer:
CONGRATS Kristina!!!
Enjoy the rest of the day, love Cas
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Thank you Cassandra,
I did enjoy the rest of the day and I thought it was a pity that I could not celebrate such a special occasion with a little glass of Krimskoye ...
... Special occasions are "usually" celebrated with a glass of bubbly Krimskoye from the Crimea,
but I did not feel that I could risk drinking a little sip of Krimskoye because of my being pre-D...
... I feel extremely lucky that I did not suffer from any "ESRF-brain-fog" during the exam
and I am still completely over the moon about this wonderful result despite my precarious kidney-situation...
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:bandance; I can hardly believe it, but I have passed my examination with Distinction :bandance;
... Now I feel completely exhausted and need a rest or perhaps a little holiday....
Congratulations and well done x :clap; :clap; :clap;
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Today I started to tackle sorting out the understairs cupboard!!! I maybe gone some time ... :P
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Thank you Sugarlump. I am still very exhausted and still recovering from all the exams...
(I must have put my whole energy into getting through the exams and must have lost a bit of my typical former exam-enthusiasm...)
... but I am already making new exciting plans for new studies and new adventures...
... and please don't work too hard whilst you sorting out the understairs cupboard...
... I know from own experiences that sorting out cupboards is a neverending process...
Best wishes and kind regards from Kristina.
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Kristina, You DESERVE a reward for your studies and success. Even with 'our' kidneys it is possible. You simply have to stay true to the old "All things in moderation." It is NOT that you cannot have, only that you cannot have near as much. Depending on your body size and type you may only have a little sip, maybe an ounce. But you need not totally deprive yourself of the reward that you have so worked for and earned. Enjoy, just not too much. I know you have the self control you could enjoy even a small glass (shot cup size) tasting/taking only the smallest of sips so to enjoy every single drop, rather than gulp a whole brandy sniffer down in one huge swig. Relax, take your time, you've more than earned it.
Jean, Gout, ouch. Been there, still stuck with it. Also have calcium still climbing. Over 11.2 so far. You will learn to identify those foods containing purine, plants aren't so bad but the animal and seafood meat containing it are far more likely to cause the problems.
Dr's started me on low dose steroid, prednisone, 5MG 3X daily, seems to help so far. But I am gaining weight again. Next month it cuts to 2X daily. I hope the weight gain stops then. After that it is only once a day, hopefully I can slowly drop all this, and maybe another 30. It would sure be neat to be under 200 again. Haven't been that light since about 7th grade. I'm 6 ft and solid, don't look fat, but I weight it!
Good luck!
Take Care Everyone,
Charlie B
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I have emerged from the understairs cupboard!
But really chuffed with my small achievement!
We now have three rows of shelves and need storage boxes, all labelled and it's easy to get in and out and find things.
Clearing out clutter and getting organised makes me happy 8)
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:bandance; I can hardly believe it, but I have passed my examination with Distinction :bandance;
... Now I feel completely exhausted and need a rest or perhaps a little holiday....
kristina: Congratulations on passing your exam! What a HUGE achievement! Perhaps you can celebrate by treating yourself to (another) new cashmere sweater or special tea if you can't have the Krimskoye. However you choose to celebrate, surely you will enjoy knowing that you have achieved something you had worked hard for. That must feel pretty great!
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Thank you very much Charlie and PrimeTimer for the encouragement.
I did take a little rest, but it did not last very long
because of the upheaval caused by my recent starting with "D",
which has been a huge change. Pity about the "no" to Krimskoye,
but perhaps there is a chance one day in the future ...
I am still very happy about passing these exams just before starting with "D",
but in a strange way passing these exams almost seems to be many years ago now.
Sugarlump, I am very glad that you have sorted out the understair cupboard
and that you have organized three rows of shelves. Well done!
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Well over a year ago the VA gave me a Health Buddy. My BP cuff is plugged into it so two a day I take pressures sitting and standing. Also enter morning weight and blood sugar reading. My BP cuff died so I haven't been reporting. I did send them an email telling them the cuff died and I needed a new one.
VA Nurse called this morning, asking why I haven't been reporting for the last NINE days. Told her no new cuff yet. She said to start reporting, just leave out the BP.
OK.
Little later the guy called, he had order my cuff early last week, hoped I would have had it by now, if not here in another day or two, call him.
OK.
Looked outside the front door, UPS had left it there. Who knows when. We don't use the front door.
I plugged it in and took my pressures, pushed the buttons and reported.
Back to my regular routine.
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:rofl;
I bet you'll get your second cuff tomorrow (when you use the front door that is)
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Already have TWO other second cuffs. One came in the mail, I picked one up while I was at the VA. BOTH are wrong, no 'port' to plug the Health Buddy into it. No way to manually enter readings into the Health Buddy, so I didn't bother to take readings. Probably should have just to keep my PD Log. I got lazy.
So I have two spare units.
One with a medium cuff.
One with a Large cuff.
Anyone need one?
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Hello Charlie, thanks for the offer but I don't need any cuffs and I am very sorry
that it has become so complicated.
I send you my best wishes and good luck from
Kristina.
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I have been very keen to start with my regular walks again and went for a longer walk today with my husband.
I had a little giggle when we passed by the local butcher just round the corner, who advertises selling grouse, partridges
and pheasants... he certainly "has arrived"...
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Kristina, congrats!!!! Sugar, you sound like me. It is the beginning of the new year and all messes must be cleaned up. I did my pantry and my sock drawer, but I am afraid that's it for awhile. LOL!!!
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Hello Jean, you have made quite a good start to sort out your pantry and the sock-drawer.
Take great care and best wishes from
Kristina
P.S. I better get my "tin-hat" first thing tomorrow morning, because I practically live in the French-quarter of London
and they are "at it" with "Je suis Charlie" and there might be a predictable back-lash from the "others" coming along ...
... I just don't understand why they can't just get on with each other and get on with their life instead of all this ?
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Kristina, congrats!!!! Sugar, you sound like me. It is the beginning of the new year and all messes must be cleaned up. I did my pantry and my sock drawer, but I am afraid that's it for awhile. LOL!!!
i have done my cutlery drawer (bought a new inset) and its all straight.
Getting there, the dialysis patient way, one drawer at a time!
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Well done Sugarlump!
You do sound as if you have a little more energy these days?
Good luck wishes from Kristina.
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Today the plumbers and the electrician came round to alter plumbing and electrics for home dialysis machine in spare room.
Time to go :2 weeks and counting!!!! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
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Really exiting!!!
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I can't wait!!!!
All we need now is delivery of machine, water softener, chair and a trolley (bet it's not the tea trolley variety with tea and buttered crumpets!!!!)
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Today the plumbers and the electrician came round to alter plumbing and electrics for home dialysis machine in spare room.
Time to go :2 weeks and counting!!!! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
I am very happy for you, Sugarlump!
... And I do remember how very much you had hoped for a chance to do home-dialysis !
I keep my fingers crossed and send you my good luck wishes,
Kristina.
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Not having to go to hospital at least three times a week or be fussed about with by nurses....and all that stuff.
TBH I didn't mind the first few years, as I was still passing a fair amount of urine and a lot fitter. I could take it in my stride but after two failed transplants,
going back on dialysis a third time was hard. I was poorly, I had poor access that was a major problem and I seriously considered stopping.
To go home finally, and do dialysis in our time, in my own house with someone I trust ... is a relief.
I am very lucky to have a partner prepared to train and very able with machines and needling... I think it will make a big difference to how I view my dialysis.
I am in control of all that happens now, and that's a good feeling! :bandance;
How's your dialysis sessions going Kristina? What's your centre like?
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.
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Well done Sugarlump, I am very happy for you that things have now sorted themselves out so well...
... and I do hope, that everything keeps just like that and that you won't have problems again... fingers crossed!
... To answer your question: I am pleasantly surprised about my d.......-centre...
... and I have no problems with the nurses, as I feel well looked after. All the nurses are careful and hygienic...
(they always disinfect their hands and they always take new gloves from the disinfectant package and wear them),
whenever they "touch" my catheter (which they disinfect as well) ... and because of all these precautions,
I feel quite save about things as they present themselves at the moment...
...Of course, I would be so much happier if I would not need any d......., but as things are right now,
I do need d....... as it is my new life-line and the nurses assist me
as much as they possibly can to make this whole new experience more "endurable"...
Thanks again and best wishes from Kristina.
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Today I had a bath!!!
Might not sound like much of an accomplishment but I have a kranky left knee at the moment
that really hurts like hell when I bend it. So getting in and out or bath is a feat in itself (but worth it) ::)
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Today I had a bath!!!
Might not sound like much of an accomplishment but I have a kranky left knee at the moment
that really hurts like hell when I bend it. So getting in and out or bath is a feat in itself (but worth it) ::)
Since starting with d......., I am regularly dreaming of having a nice bath again...
with beautiful classical music ... and nice refreshing herbal bath-salts...
Hopefully there might be a chance in the future... Whilst hoping for the future,
I try not to think about it too much at the present...
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Today I had a bath!!!
Might not sound like much of an accomplishment but I have a kranky left knee at the moment
that really hurts like hell when I bend it. So getting in and out or bath is a feat in itself (but worth it) ::)
Since starting with d......., I am regularly dreaming of having a nice bath again...
with beautiful classical music ... and nice refreshing herbal bath-salts...
Hopefully there might be a chance in the future... Whilst hoping for the future,
I try not to think about it too much at the present...
Kristina have they spoke about a fistula? Is this an option
You generally get a much better dialysis and you can have a bath again!!! ::)
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First day back at class, for Chi Kung, and walked back through the park.. Hb has dropped to 10 so not feeling as bouncy as I should. Its freezing, with snow in the north, here in the UK:)
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No snow here but freezing too!
Low hb makes you feel the cold more (I was 10.3 last week) bbbrrrrrrrr
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Today I had a bath!!!
Might not sound like much of an accomplishment but I have a kranky left knee at the moment
that really hurts like hell when I bend it. So getting in and out or bath is a feat in itself (but worth it) ::)
Since starting with d......., I am regularly dreaming of having a nice bath again...
with beautiful classical music ... and nice refreshing herbal bath-salts...
Hopefully there might be a chance in the future... Whilst hoping for the future,
I try not to think about it too much at the present...
Kristina have they spoke about a fistula? Is this an option
You generally get a much better dialysis and you can have a bath again!!! ::)
Hello Sugarlump, the doctors and nurses have not mentioned that I should have a fistula,
because my current dialysis-sessions are "only" meant to make me much stronger for my transplant ...
... I was told that with "the utmost strict hygienic measures being in place", my chest-catheter should be adequate...
I have also noticed that all the nurses and doctors at my dialysis-centre are extremely hygienic and their medical care is very impressive.
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Somehow the "cold" I have had since Mid November has managed to plug my ears up. So far I have tried everything I know, including wax removal kits and flushing and flushing with warm water. So far, no results. Anyone have any ideas? So, it's kind of slowing me down, but I am still doing things the dialysis way, one at a time, so, on to the silverware drawer. You all have a good Sunday.
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Hello Jean,
I don't know if that could help you in any way,
but in the few months before I finally started with dialysis,
I had constant flu-symptoms and as soon as I started with dialysis
all these strange symptoms suddenly vanished...
I do hope you are feeling better soon and I send you my
kindest regards, Kristina.
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Oh, Kristina, I sure hope not. I get to see the neph in about 3 weeks, and other than this terrible fatigue, the running nose and the ache all over, I feel pretty good. Thanks for your input tho. I remember when my GFR went down to 16, I felt really bad and was vomiting once a day. Now that it came up to 27, those symptoms went away. This is so darned scary.
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Hello Jean,
I do hope your nephrologist assits you soon to sort out the cause of your symptoms.
Perhaps you could bring your neph-appointment forward to "get on it" a little bit earlier?
Sometimes it is difficult to figure out, what exactly causes our symptoms,
because it could be anything from a food-allergy to an intolerance to a certain medication or a cold...
I do wish you all the best to get diagnosed and treated soon.
Best wishes and good luck from Kristina.
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It's not about what I accomplished today but rather, what my husband accomplished. He's the one doing dialysis. His monthly labs came back looking pretty good again and he's feeling pretty well. His neph calls him a "star" and said she wishes all her patients labs looked as good as his. Good news, indeed! But, that isn't the only thing he accomplished today. You see, he's been doing dialysis for nearly 17 months now in which about 14 of those months have been at home (HHD). He also works a full-time day job. I am specifying "day job" because 5 nights a week he is up late at his "second job" aka home-hemo dialysis. I am so proud of him, he's my inspiration! He is what makes me tick. He has endured so much and yet, keeps going. We celebrated his good labs with a special dinner. Nothing fancy, I am not the greatest cook but, knowing that he is doing all he can to stay healthy and share his life with me is what makes our "dinner time" together so special. I am truly in awe of him and what he accomplishes motivates me to push myself a little more, too. No matter which end of it you are on (patient or care partner) every little bit helps!
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It's not about what I accomplished today but rather, what my husband accomplished. He's the one doing dialysis. His monthly labs came back looking pretty good again and he's feeling pretty well. His neph calls him a "star" and said she wishes all her patients labs looked as good as his. Good news, indeed! But, that isn't the only thing he accomplished today. You see, he's been doing dialysis for nearly 17 months now in which about 14 of those months have been at home (HHD). He also works a full-time day job. I am specifying "day job" because 5 nights a week he is up late at his "second job" aka home-hemo dialysis. I am so proud of him, he's my inspiration! He is what makes me tick. He has endured so much and yet, keeps going. We celebrated his good labs with a special dinner. Nothing fancy, I am not the greatest cook but, knowing that he is doing all he can to stay healthy and share his life with me is what makes our "dinner time" together so special. I am truly in awe of him and what he accomplishes motivates me to push myself a little more, too. No matter which end of it you are on (patient or care partner) every little bit helps!
That is really lovely to read :flower;
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It's not about what I accomplished today but rather, what my husband accomplished. He's the one doing dialysis. His monthly labs came back looking pretty good again and he's feeling pretty well. His neph calls him a "star" and said she wishes all her patients labs looked as good as his. Good news, indeed! But, that isn't the only thing he accomplished today. You see, he's been doing dialysis for nearly 17 months now in which about 14 of those months have been at home (HHD). He also works a full-time day job. I am specifying "day job" because 5 nights a week he is up late at his "second job" aka home-hemo dialysis. I am so proud of him, he's my inspiration! He is what makes me tick. He has endured so much and yet, keeps going. We celebrated his good labs with a special dinner. Nothing fancy, I am not the greatest cook but, knowing that he is doing all he can to stay healthy and share his life with me is what makes our "dinner time" together so special. I am truly in awe of him and what he accomplishes motivates me to push myself a little more, too. No matter which end of it you are on (patient or care partner) every little bit helps!
Hello PrimeTimer,
I am very glad for you both that you are doing so well and I do hope it continues for a long time to come !
You both sound very well suited to each other and that is very rare to come across ...
Best wishes to you both and good luck from Kristina.
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:grouphug; :grouphug; :beer1;
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Picked the winner in the Grand National at 33-1 feeling very chuffed and celebrating with an extra half cup of tea!!! :wine; :wine; :wine;
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Well done Sugar! The Grand National regularly reminds me of the time when I was in hospital and watched the film "Champions"...
Watching this film really gave me lots of inspiration to try and recover as quickly as was possible and I eventually did...
... My husband and I watched a bit of the Golf-Championship at "Augusta"... Augusta is one of the most beautiful golf-courses
and I am dreaming to travel there one day and watch the Championship ...
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... I always wanted to learn how to play the piano, but I only could start with it later in my life...
To be true, I only started with it after being diagnosed with end-stage ESRF (pre-D) and I thought it is now or never...
But because of my medical situation and the unpredictability of it, I could not ask a piano-teacher to teach me
and so I was on my own and had to find ways how to learn and play the piano completely on my own ...
... But at least I had a wonderful sounding piano to start off with and I also learned to tune it myself...
(this was a rather long process with a few catastrophies i.e. broken strings etc.,
but I persevered and there are no problems now (touch wood !)...
... I also had to learn from scratch how to read music, also on my own and yesterday after all this time,
I experienced the sweet success of being able to take on a brand-new score and play with both hands at the same time
from a brand-new score I had never seen before...
and it sounded so beautiful on the piano ... :cheer:
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:clap; :clap; :clap;
(I am musically tone deaf sadly)
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(I am musically tone deaf sadly)
Dear Sugar,
I am so sorry that it was suggested to you that you are "tone-deaf" !
That is so unfair and some teachers “in the old days” were allowed
to suggest such a terrible thing to their unsuspecting pupils ...
I am saying this because I have met a few people who also thought they were “tone-deaf”
and then they realized much later that "tone-deafness" does not even exist...
because we all react to the rhythm of our own heart-beat, for example...
... The only thing that might exist is bad music, but that is something everyone has to find out themselves,
because everyone has a different taste in music and what’s “bad music” to one person
might be “absolutely divine music” to another person...
Please do re-think where this terrible suggestion, that you are “tone-deaf” stems from
and please give yourself a chance !
If I can be of any help in any way, please let me know.
Best wishes from Kristina.
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@Kristina
I do find a lot of music (that other people enjoy) harsh and screechy to my ear. The only music I really enjoy is soft low male voices like Bryan Adams, Ed Sheeran and James Blunt which doesn't grate on me.
I don't come from a very musical family so maybe lack of exposure at an early age has something to do with it?
My eldest daughter had piano lessons from about 8 years old, and subsequently, again from an early age, a piano, passing all her piano exams and my eldest son plays the guitar quite well,
again from an early age. Maybe exposure to music develops your musical ears at an early age?
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Kristina, you really impress me with this piano thing and all the things you taught yourself. Congratulations to you. Me, personally, I could seriously not carry a tune in a bucket.
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Hello Sugar,
I have problems with some composers as well, like for example with Gustav Mahler ... and have tried very hard to comprehend his music...
... but it always comes over to me as being very unsettling and confusing ...
... and whenever I think there is a little melody in Mahler's music to "feel at home with" (like for example the beginnings of a Viennese Waltz),
his music changes completely and instantly again ... and so it goes on and on... ad infinitum ...
... In an effort to understand the composer, my husband and I listened to all of Mahler's symphonies whilst they were being performed
by Mahler's best interpreters (conductors) at the Royal Albert Hall and we came out of each concert feeling unsettled, confused
and also a bit frustrated, because we could not comprehend and then we thought that Mahler is not quite for us ... not at the moment ...
... and I have been wondering if Mahler's music touches sensitive listeners as unsettling and confusing
because it is connected to the terrible mental and physical abuses he experienced as a little boy ...?
... I have listened to the singers you have mentioned like Bryan Adams, Ed Sheeran and James Blunt
and I can understand that their voices don't "grate on you", as you say...
... I always liked the voice of Maria Callas and I feel that her voice expresses her deep feelings, her despair, her deep thoughts etc.
... but there are also people who think her voice "grates" a bit...
... It is very good of you that you gave your daughter the chance to experience music at an early age and that your son plays the guitar quite well...
... I don't know if exposure to music develops our musical ears at an early age ... ?
... When I was in kindergarten (nursery school) we had an enthusiastic kindergarten-teacher who taught us to sing beautiful folk-songs
and she also taught us to play the recorder at a very early age... and later I became an enthusiastic solo-singer in our school-choir ...
P.S. Callas's voice is at its most beautiful when she sings : Maria Callas - Angelica nővér - Senza mamma...
... most expressive because she sang it after she had lost her own child...
Best wishes from Kristina. :grouphug;
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Kristina, you really impress me with this piano thing and all the things you taught yourself. Congratulations to you. Me, personally, I could seriously not carry a tune in a bucket.
Thank you Jean. ... To be honest, my learning to play the piano helps a lot to put up with the distress of being in ESRF ...
... and my piano-learning also helps me a lot to keep a little distance to my three-times-a-week of "you know what" ...
... and it also helps to create for my mind a little rest from all the different ESRF-distresses...
Piano-playing is a wonderful distraction and it keeps the mind occupied with positive ideas ... which helps a lot to keep a balance...
Thanks again and best wishes form Kristina. :grouphug;
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Kristina, you really impress me with this piano thing and all the things you taught yourself. Congratulations to you. Me, personally, I could seriously not carry a tune in a bucket.
Hello again Jean,
I was just thinking about how many things can still be explored whilst we are in ESRF...
...My most important hobby is to learn how to play the piano whenever I feel well enough...
... and there are many other IHD-members with most interesting different hobbies...
... We also have professional members like Zach who directs his films...
... and there are so many different things that can be done despite being in ESRF...
and everybody has their own talent in whatever particular field ...
... Our talents only want to be figured out to get a chance and be explored further...
... and exploring our talents in whatever field certainly helps us to take our mind off a little from "you know what"...
Best wishes and good luck from Kristina. :grouphug;
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Today was Bike to Work Day. Biked in 9 miles with stops at two pit stops for snacks and coffee. Bought a bike share membership last month, so I used the heavy bike share bike which you have to dock every 30 minutes. The great thing about bike share is I can then Metro/Bus to dialysis and not have to deal with my bike.
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That's a clever idea (with the bikes)
We have a similar scheme in London but never seen it elsewhere.
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That's a clever idea (with the bikes)
We have a similar scheme in London but never seen it elsewhere.
It's getting more common now. Various US cities have it. Ireland seemed to have adopted it in the larger cities, Cork, Glasgow and Dublin. We were to rushed to use it.
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as someone with serious, unfixable fatigue issues due to a failing sole kidney I make sure i stop blaming myself for all the undone projects I can't finish.
I focus on what I want to accomplish that will help me maintain health.
Yesterday, and today I will sleep as long and as late as I want, enjoy all the books I can haul home from the library, spend hours on the net for the pure mental pleasure and education of it. ( Like Riki---what a time stealer! but hey, PubMed is my friend)
I decided money was for buying what I needed, no more "frugal to the max" I don't choose the cheapest anything anymore.
Before a major life shift in 2009 I had a zillion high energy manual-labor-required projects, and now am having to remind myself I don't HAVE to do a dam thing today if I can't. NO more shame over stacks and piles of materials (tiles, wood, building supplies, great salvage, garden stuff), no more worry over completing house interior..the cottage is liveable just as it is. While I admire the energy into all the Home Fixer TV shows, nothing is going to happen here like that.
I am in a town of 10,000 Victorians, which is charming visually, but means there was no economy after WWII to build new, so believe me 100 year old houses are smelly and inefficient for modern life, often having no electrical outlets in many room..but they still are used as apartments and rentals, lots of indoor pot growing too.
what I see are 1932 cottages where the young bride and hubby moved in back then and they NEVER fixed or updated a thing after..so at 90 when they pass the houses need everything. Cheap to buy..but oh boy.
So while I have plenty of GOOD INTENTIONS to finish…stuff stays piled where I left it 6 months ago…I just dust it as I pass by. <grin> and go read a book
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I'm right there with you Muddy!
Since I'm recovering from major surgery, I'm quite pleased that I was able to do a bit of ironing (but not lifting the ironing board).
Plus napping and reading. Let's not forget that!
Aleta
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I am having a wonderful lazy Sunday, pottering about in the garden, checking on my raised veggie beds and instructing Drew to tie up roses and top dress some plants and we are painting the patio furniture, a sort of seamist blue...I just do the easy bits!!!
It's important to take time to smell the roses, to chill out, to just enjoy doing nothing. Feet up now having a coffee.
I love Sundays (more so for the fact no dialysis!!!)
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Here in London we have lots of sunshine which creates a wonderful Sunday and we may go for a walk ...
... Later I shall try to learn a new piano-melody by Friedemann Bach (my favourite of Bach's sons,
he was such a sensitive and true artist, long before artistry was thought of or even invented...)
... I also love Sundays and Mondays because they are no-D-days ... :waving;
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1. I managed to get out of bed this morning.
2. I read the news on my monitor (big font for old farts).
3. I put some water on the veggie plants. Cantaloupe looks like hell. Squash is progressing. Chard is getting big.
4. I did some bench presses at a sissy weight. Wife will beat me if I don't. I'm 76, why do I have to do these masochistic exercises?
5. And she is starving me to death, I've lost 33 lbs, can't keep my pants up. Come to think of it, I've been accused of the before.
That, Folks, was my day.
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I actually COOKED a real dinner.. tada!!!
on another site my secret ID is "MeNoCookGurl".. because after 3 ingredients I get confused and wander out of the kitchen with a cheese stick in my hand and earnest intentions to try again later.
well..what made this easier is I had already washed and chopped a pound of mushrooms. [prep work will stall me anytime]
So once I had the little tub of sour cream in my hand at the store it was easy for the brain cells to connect and say" Mushroom Stroganoff"
I raced home and with a leap and a bound to the laptop I found a vegetarian recipe and while it had flour NOODLES as the platform for the meal knew I had a matching pair of yellow and green zuchinnis… I quickly cut them in half, and made MANY long narrow slices of them..faux noodle hape..microwaved them (usually I steam everything 'cuz I live in deep in hippie eco-land and can't be caught with a microwave plugged in)
and while they were 'cooking" [ 'nuking' as the hippe-vegan-raw-foodies say] I use the "magic bone broth" I keep frozen in ice cube shapes, as the sauce flavoring, added the sautéed 'shrooms & scallions, then popped all in the bone sauce + sour cream, and in 2 more minutes I had dinner.
I am so proud I almost took a picture of the plate. My brain was thinking "noodles" as I saw i special tool that takes the veggie like zucchini, and pushes it thru a pattern cutter, and you get long very skinny curly vege..perfect! gotta find me this toy….
here is ONE version: Stainless Steel Vegetable Peeler Spiral Slicer Curly Kitchen Tool http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/151666297301
her is another: [ more parts to break tho] PADERNO SPIRAL VEGGIE SLIVE- http://www.bing.com/images/search/?q=Paderno+Spiral+Vegetable+Slicer&id=3F02A07FD5C2E49904DE8B5BC0FAF846DFD2BEEE&FORM=BRQONH
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Hello MuddyGurl,
Crikey, you have been very busy !... and many thanks for the useful links to these vegetable-cutters, it is very much appreciated ...
... I "usually" wash and peel my vegetables and then I grate them very finely manually on my nutmeg-grater...
When my vegetables (especially root vegetables like carrots etc.) have been so finely grated on the nutmeg-grater,
it usually saves me a little time in cooking them...
... It just goes to show that we all have our different ways to cook our food and it is fascinating to exchange our experiences...
Best wishes and bon appétit,
Kristina. :grouphug;
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Today I baked 24 cheese and chive straws. Very yummy :P
It's a tough job but someone has to eat them!!!!
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Today I baked 24 cheese and pesto straws. They tasted great!!!
I am practising my cheese straws in readiness for my grandson Jacob's Naming Ceremony on 14th.
Am looking forward to that, have bought him a giraffe zoo adoption for a year and a very noisy shape sorter!!!
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Sugar do you make your cheese straws with puffpastry? They do sound deli
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No Cassie, I make them with flour and butter (I use 6 oz flour to 2 oz butter) salt and pepper and cheese (any variety, any quantity!!! ) And a little bit of mustard.
You can either mix it up by hand or in a food processor.
Roll it out and cut into thin sticks. I have been experimenting with 8 inch long ones which are much better for munching on!
14 minutes on 180C apprx.
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Thanx Sugar I'm gonna try them, well today I think
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WENT TO BAPTISIM OF MY GREAT NEPHEW. VISIITED WITH FAMILY AFTER. HAD SUPER WITH RELATION. DID VERY LITTLE WOMENS WORK ACTUALLY NONE. WAS INFULTRATED YESTERDAY, VERY PAINFULL BUT DON'T LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IT.
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Bar some housework (as in turning washing machine on and making coffee)I've done very little
I'm sorry for your infiltration Blake, I'll shut up about that now
:angel;
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I've been trying and trying (ok, not all that hard) at making Sundays a complete and total day off. Darn laundry...
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Well ......I got my woman's work done...... empty dish washer and straighten array a bit in kitchen..........so far I have rest of day off.
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Went to work, got a 3 1/2 hour run in, and reinstalled all the electrical plates I had taken off for the painter at the house.
I need a rest !!!! :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
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Due to too many people skipping appts the VA Hospital now sends letters telling me that it's time to CALL in to make an appt for whichever Dr or clinic I'm due.
Got a letter last week, tody finally remembered to call in. Dr is booked solid til March 28. Good thing I'm not in any hurry!
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YESTERDAY, I copied a bunch of music on-line. My tinnitus constantly ringing in my ears makes it a bit difficult to concentrate, reading, driving, etc. I burn my own CD's of favorites which vary week to week. I am often expanding my music library, mostlyl from youtube postings and using a web based converter from whatever video format is on youtube to mp3. I have another converter I use to change mp3 to wav to burn into CD as the player in my truck is to old to use mp3's on a memory stick.
http://www.youtube-mp3.org/