What are you up to today? This week?

[lmgervais]

Thank you for the explanation. I agree, if you are going to be a vegetarian, you have to do it in a healthy way and not just stop eating meat, while still eating lots of junk food.

[grazhina]

Not sleeping again. I slept a couple of hours and woke up with a sneeze. Couldn't fall back asleep. My brain just popped from thought to thought, I hate that.

For some reason I googled my high school and a page about Jill Biden, the VP's wife came up. Turns out she was in my high school class. I looked in my year book and she did look vaguely familiar. Turns out we both named our daughters born in 1981 Ashley.

I have some NEM work to do. I guess I'll do that now. I had a productive day planned, but now I don't think so. Phooey.

[woodland_miniatures]

I'm not sleeping either, but then, here it's only a little after 1 a.m., so I've still got a chance for tonight!

However, just opened the door to let his Highness out (he just HAD to, so he said), and was greeted with very, very strong eau de Skunk. Usually it's only this strong in the spring, when they are mating - apparently someone got upset out there tonight! Let us all hope that Koko still smells ONLY like a cat when he comes back in....

Edit: Well, that didn't last very long, thank goodness! Also thank goodness it's just a sweet, clean kitty who came in - no skunk!

[grazhina]

It's 5:18 in the AM here. I just finished updating NEM. I have to get my son up in 45 minutes, and DH too, he has an early doctor's appointment.

Anyone else here? I guess so. I think there's always someone here.

[Sherry]

I'm here, it's 5:11 my time. I was so stopped up I couldn't sleep. Have to work half a day today and not looking forward to it.

[grazhina]

Hmmmm my Greenleaf clock must be off kilter.

The men are up here at my house, and so am I. I ordered some books from various libraries here in Maine, entertaining mystery novels, Victorian interiors pix, and a book by a woman who used to be a kitchen maid in 1920's England and later a cook. I just reread her first book, and found out she wrote at least one more, which I've ordered.

[lmgervais]

I'm up now, too. Kids are starting to get up to get ready for school. DH is up with them, but he is so stuffed up and coughing so much that he will come back to bed once they are off to school. I've not been sleeping well the past couple of days, so I feel too tired to do much of anything.

[grazhina]

I wish I could fall asleep. My husband wanted to know what my problem was. I told him I only got a couple of hours. He went into his "I never sleep more than a couple of hours a night." Yeah right, he's been claiming that for the last 16 years, and he never, never falls asleep in his chair after dinner, an he's only resting his eyes, and he never, ever snores, either.

I got mad, so I can't sleep.

[KathieB]

Hmmmm my Greenleaf clock must be off kilter.

The clock adjusts for time zones. When you post at 4 am (ET), the time stamp on my copy of the message says it was posted at 3 am (CT).

[Syphon79]

Daphne, has anyone told you lately that you and your boyfriend are good folks? How many people will pull over to help others out in a weather crisis, not just once but over and over again, AND go prepared to make a difference to those less prepared? Not only do it, but not groan and moan about it, OR brag about it. Not many, I think! Not to mention fostering critters most consider vermin (me NOT included!).

I'm proud to be on the same planet with you!

Uh...think my mother begs to differ on that one! She says out of her three kids, I just had to be the troublemaker/smart mouth. Luckily she laughs when I just smile and point out that she & dad didn't have to have a third kid. Not my fault I was the end result of their romance getaway back in 1978 you know? :monkeydance:

It was a nightmare, and there were bad moments on Saturday (BF and I got cussed out several times when we tried to help). But guess it's all about the "do unto others as you would onto you" (think that's right). Like to believe that people in general are good and want to help...Plus, who knows when it'd be our turn to need help on the road come the next snowstorm?

You might think about getting certified and becoming a volunteer EMT. I did that when we lived in a small town that had only a volunteer service, and it was one of the most satisfying things I've done. I even went ahead and got certified as an instructor after I did the advanced training, and taught EMT-B classes to high school seniors until we moved. I don't know what the requirements are in your state, in Texas it's about 8 hrs a week for a semester and 150 hours of clinicals for the basic EMT certification. Another 8 hr a week class plus about 240 hrs clinicals for the advanced training, and Paramedics are rated about the same, and have the same training or more, as an RN. In fact in Texas, a Paramedic can take the state test and become an RN, although an RN is not allowed to take the paramedic test since they don't have the training for emergencies outside of the hospital setting. Something to think about!

Hmm...this is really tempting Sherry. Been toying about switching careers anyway (doing web stuff isn't as much fun anymore). I'll check what are the requirements here in VA and delve further. Will see where it goes -- thanks for the pointers everyone!

[sparklepuppies]

My sister is also a vegetarian, and never liked hardly any veggies growing up. Unfortunately for me, they were all the ones I dind't like, but I had to eat them! Anyhow, she eats more vegetables than she used to, but she eats a lot of cheese and beans too. We have found in cooking for her and her family (all 5 are vegetarians) how to be more creative in cooking and thinking of subs for different foods.

[SnOw WhItE]

....having a rough week with the passing of my grandpa

[Sherry]

I'm so sorry, that is always hard to deal with. My condolences.

[SnOw WhItE]

Thankyou Sherry.

[woodland_miniatures]

So sorry, Kim. It is so tough losing someone you love.... :monkeydance:

I'm about to try my first excursion into the world of gluten-free baking, going to try a GF pizza dough mix. It looks like it's about the same as a regular pizza dough - add yeast, water, oil - just that the flour isn't wheat flour and it calls for an egg. I assume the egg is to help with the rising? We'll see....did get some wonderful provolone to put on it, and will pile on some mild sliced onion, red bell pepper, crimini mushrooms, and black olives - oh, YUM!!

Although I have flirted with vegetarianism several times over the last 30+ years - and learned a lot along the way - I do still eat fish, white meat poultry, and rarely red meat. The red meat just doesn't taste good to me anymore, and I don't know if that's because I've gotten so used to a low-fat, low salt (cardiac) diet that breaking that diet just doesn't sit well anymore, or what. I do tend to eat a lot of rice and beans, and LOTS of fresh greens and fruit. It's a good thing, too, since I've recently found out I'm both lactose- and gluten-intolerant. Cheese and yogurt are all right, but oh, mother, what happens to me when I drink milk or eat ice cream....

If it ain't one thing, it's something else!

[woodland_miniatures]

Well, the GF pizza was only so-so. Toppings and sauce were terrific, the crust was only sorta okay. So I "salvaged" the toppings and dumped what was left of the crust; I'm thinking I'll maybe make a sauce with the cheese/mushrooms etc. and have it over rice or polenta....

Looks like I'm just going to have to get used to not being able to have bread for sandwiches or yeast dough for pizza - SIGH!! Wonder if the GF brownie or cookie mixes are any better??

That day when I'm standing on a street corner drooling and begging for a sweet roll or a donut is getting closer!

[Sherry]

Yesterday was a long day. DS2 brought his wife's car over to get checked out, nothing wrong $130 later. So they decided to take their taxes to get done, so we babysat until about 8pm, when he called to say that his car wouldn't start. DH went over to help, and it looks like it just needs a new battery. So DS took my car and DH will go put a battery in his car today and see if it will start, then return it to him. I have to work, so somehow in there, DH will have to come pick me up. I hate cars, especially when they won't do what they are supposed to! Anyway, we are starting out today tired, and I'm sure DS is just as tired and aggravated.

[heidiiiii]

Six more weeks of winter..Yuck!

I am having a bad month..that is all I am saying..hehe So that means I will not be doing much of anything today. I was planning on just relaxing but I did get a few things done. Cleaned up the ribbon board above the phone. Fred tossed alot of business cards. We found out that we did not just have one gift card but two $25 gift cards to our favorite steak place! WooHoo! See..good thing happen when you clean.

I finished up our friend`s taxes..printing out everything from the computer. I do not understand it. This is the second person that has asked me to do their taxes for them online. I keep telling them that it is easy as pie but they will not listen. So I made both of them sit here and watch every single step..I am priming them. Because next year..I will say NO.

I put a bunch of my pictures I have scanned online onto the external hard drive. I think I had better buy my own. Chelsea has this one filled to the brim. So that will be HER hard drive. I am going to shop for my own. Then we can plug and unplug when we need to put things on it.

Yeah, I am going to take it easy today. Nothing worse then bloat.

[KathieB]

Heidi, Big Lots had a 4gig HP jump drive for $5 when we were there Sunday. Wouldn't this work as well as an external hard drive for storage?

Lloyd's cataract surgery went smoothly. He was starving afterward, so we stopped by the Creole restaurant for raw oysters (a dozen each!) and boudin. He joked that this meal contained all of the food groups, if you count red sauce as a vegetable. :lol:

Tomorrow I'm heading to Columbia with NJ. She had some medical tests to face down and needs moral support as well as a designated driver. That's after taking Lloyd to the eye doctor for day-after-surgery follow-up. And on Thursday I see the periodontist for some deep cleaning. NJ will return the designated driver favor. Sounds like another medical marathon. Had hoped we were done when the new year began.

[grazhina]

Six more weeks of winter..Yuck!

Did you hear PETA wants to do away with Punxatawney Phil and make them use a robotic groundhog instead?

Weird scenarios started going through my mind at the thought of a robot groundhog.

[Muriel]

Well my car went in for its MOT today. (The Ministry of Transport test (more usually: MOT - an initialism rather than an acronym) is an annual test of car safety, aspects and exhaust emissions which are applicable to most vehicles over three years old in the United Kingdom if they are used on public roads. From wiki!) It failed. Something to do with suspension, and the license plate lamp bulb was broken. £113 for the suspension thing and £9 for the bulb. Also put it in for full service at the same time and said we needed a new (I think) alternator belt quite soon, but not critical yet, £64. And a new pollen filter £29, also not critical. Happily (for just this reason) I got the MOT done while the car is still in warrenty and so the suspension thing was covered. Didn't bother with the pollen filter at the moment - don't suffer allergies and it can wait until after the wedding expenditure! So paid for the new belt thing, thought i'd save some labour costs if they do it now rather than undoing everything again to fit it in when I bring it in especially. Will pick it up tomorrow. They normally hoover the front when you bring it in, even for just a little check, so hoping with a big service they might have hoovered the dead leaves from when we transported the christmas tree in the back seat! Our flat is quite a distance from the car, so the hoover doesn't reach :lol:

[Sherry]

Seems like all we've done lately is spend $$$ on cars, Muriel. When I got off work at 1, we went to take the battery off DS's car (sitting in a parking lot) and took forever to get it off. DH is very smart about a lot of things but doesn't know squat about working on cars. All the bolts were so corroded they wouldn't move until he'd bought more wrenches, skinned knuckles and dropped every tool at least once because his hands were so cold. Then to the store to buy a new one. Then put the new one on and it wouldn't start. Came home, called our mechanic and he said it had to be the battery, to clean all the connections. So back to the parking lot. All of this in 20 degree weather and wind blowing, by the way! Cleaned everything and it started right up, so DH is meeting DS halfway between towns to deliver his car and get mine back. I stayed home, I'm frozen, coughing, and my chest hurts.

I hate cars, actually. Such a waste of money from the time you buy them to the time they start needing repairs, which is about the time you make the last payment on them!

Gonna take a hot shower to warm up, and rest til DH gets home!

[Muriel]

Yes, they are very frustrating Sherry! But I do like the convenience of them (especially living in a little village in the countryside), so gotta put up with the nuisance of them.

Hope your husbands hands are better very quickly!

[Sherry]

You're right, they are a necessary evil. Especially out here where people have to drive 50 miles to buy decent groceries or clothing. And one per family is just not enough. I keep saying I'm going to get rid of mine and then I do without if for a day like I did today, and I can't wait to get it back. But the last couple of cars we've bought cost more than the first house we bought! I never thought anyone would pay 30-40k for something to drive to work!

Anyway, I'm sitting here trying to get warm, and hoping everyone gets the right car back to the right house with no more problems! The infuriating thing about all of this is that DS is getting ready to trade in his car, and had to spend $100 on a battery just to get it to the dealer's lot!

[Lynette Smith]

In Utah we have a small rodent like animal called a pica (pika?) In the fall they gather piles of something looking like a pile of hay. Some years, when the winter is really bad, the pica piles are three feet tall. I don't know that this correlates to how soon spring comes, but it is a reliable indicator of a severe winter.

Somehow I don't think the pica heaps are very big this year; we are extremely low on our snow pack and the sure sign of spring will emerge: public service announcements to conserve water.

Meanwhile, I went and got a high tech watch to help me keep track of calories burned, heart rate, percentage of maximum heart rate, etc., except I lost the instructions within four hours of it's purchase.

I spent 3 hours holding both William and Alex, while watching the Biggest Loser. Does the mild ache in my abs from rocking them for 2 hours count as any toning exercise? :lol: