Healthy Living Thread

[deegee]

Marcy- I hate to hear Marty has been so sick. Is he going to be able to just rest for a few days before his trip? Sounds like he needs it. Glad you got some sleep in your spare bedroom. Matt told me he read that one glass of wine a day adds 15 minutes to your life, but 2 glasses takes away 6 minutes, and so on. So my thinking was that 3 glasses a day means you're up 3 minutes (plus 15 for the 1st, -12 for the 2nd and 3rd). He just shook his head and walked away. I like my thinking, so I'm going with that.

Zoe-I know what you mean about not being able to see. Colors blur so bad that everything just turns grey. People are just blobs, and they have no faces. Thank goodness for correction! My eye dr once told me that if I had lived many years ago before correction was available, natural selection would have taken care of me. The lady helping adjust my glasses this week told me they came out really nicely...for my prescription. Like I'm not self conscious enough already. This is why I wear contacts. Your dinner with your friend sounds great! I tried falafel and hummus a few weeks ago for the first time at a Mediterranean restaurant. It was yummy.

I need to get to bed. Why is it always Sunday night/Monday morning? We spent the day in KY with my family. It rained all day so there was no Sunday wiffle ball game. I'm not looking forward to this week. I'd give anything for a vacation. We had planned to go to the Outer Banks for a week in April, but I don't think it is going to happen because of Matt's job change. Boo. I have a very small window of opportunity for vacation because of this project, but Matt doesn't feel like he can be away for a week so soon after taking over. He's going to be out of this town this week, so I'm on my own. I stocked up on wine & newcastle brown ale. I'm set! Have a good Monday!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone! Happy Monday!

Deegee, tell Matt that I totally agree with your math on wine and how it can extend our lives. I am so excited. Marty is doing a little better but still coughing a lot. He should be pretty good by Sunday. It sounds like you are stocked for the week with wine and beer. I hope you and Matt can swing a nice vacation this spring. I am thinking of looking in to a little road trip over Memorial Day for us. I think that would be fun. Then again I have to compete with golf.

A friend of my parents has a daughter that works at the local library and told them about downloading free books from the library so they went down there today to get it set up for her. It's funny I was looking in to that myself but wanted to see the app and how to do it before setting it up on their iPad. They had to call me for the iTunes password. I think you can only keep the books for 2 weeks but I guess I'll find out what happened when I call them tonight. They'll probably take her iPad to the library now instead of buying the books from home.

I met Marty for lunch today and took 1/2 of my sandwich back for my lunch tomorrow. I made homemade pizza tonight. I bought the lean thin sliced ham and kind of bunched it up in pieces about the size of a quarter. That way they didn't burn and dry out. We put veggies on the pizza too. My super heavy dark surface cookie sheet makes the best pizza; they get really crispy on the bottom. Marty is going to cook some marinated london broil in the crock pot for us tomorrow.

DeeJay, how is the new job coming along? Do you feel like you never left Chicago? Are you all unpacked yet?

Zoe, I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed you'll be getting some calls this week from your resume packets.

Sharon, are you getting some nice spring weather? I know you will certainly be out there enjoying nicer weather.

Skippy, how are you and the twins? Have you been getting in any long walks?

Take care!
Marcy

 

[Dee*Jay]

Hey kids!!! Quick post before I pass out from exhaustion...

I LOVE my new job!!! Unbelieveably not quite unpacked yet (one wardrobe box of folded stuff and some office things left yet to get out), but I spent a long weekend in Aspen so that accounts for the lack of progress. If I just make it through tomorrow I will have four days to finish up and do A LOT of CPA homework. This working three days a week is AWESOME!

Marcy, I'm gald Marty is finally feeling a bit better. A friend's parents "borrow" books from the library electronically and they love it. The whole concept is a little beyond me--if the book is ELECTRONIC why do you have to wait to get it?!? I'm sure it has to do with a limited amount of licenses or something crazy like that, but hey, did I mention it's ELECTRONIC?!?

Deegee, add an exponent to that wine calculation and if we drink a bottle a day we will live to infinity! I like it! And LOL on the natural selection thing. (Only because we don't live ages ago in a wild environment and you weren't eaten by carnivorous dinosaurs or anything like that--then no laughing!)

Zoe, good for you for getting all your applications and stuff ready! What is thin and trim bologna? Is it a brand like Oscar Meyer? I went to the grocery store last night for the first time since I've been home and I bought all sorts of random things... It's a good thing the CB cooks or else I would be subjected to some truly odd meals if left to my own devices...

OK, I'm so tired I might fall asleep just typing here, so off to bed for me!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone!

Dee Jay, I’m in on your eternal life idea from drinking a bottle of wine every day. That is awesome you love your job. You can’t ask for something better than that especially with working only 3 days a week. You took a trip to Aspen this week? Sounds fun. I had the same thought about being on a waiting list with the library to download a book. I agree it is probably a limit on the number of copies they purchased.

Well, my job today was certainly not in the same league as Dee Jay’s. I spent time in HR today and that took most of my morning. This afternoon I had several meetings then had to do my morning work. I still took off at 4 though because I skipped lunch and I wanted to go help my mom with her new ereader app. I don’t know how but the wifi button was turned off on their iPad so my dad was in a panic since he couldn’t go look at his webcams. I wasn’t able to logon on to the library to download a book but I called the lady who helped them at the library yesterday and she told me the basic password and I got in there okay. The app itself is pretty good. I set the readers so you can advance pages with a tap inside of sliding the pages so maybe that will work better. My mom has long fingernails and pretty curled up hangs from arthritis so she has a difficult time tapping on an icon or sliding a page.

Marty cooked London broil, rice and veggies for us for supper. We had some wine (woo hoo adding time to our lives) with dinner and some slow churned ice cream for dessert.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[deegee]

Marcy-my mom loves her library app. She puts her name on the list for too many books at a time though, and books end up getting zapped before she's finished with them. She has to put her name on the list again for the booked that got zapped. Sorry you spent the morning with HR. That's never too fun. I don't think we will be able to go to the beach for a week like we had planned, but maybe we can swing a long weekend. Sigh...I was really looking forward to renting a beach house and falling asleep to the sound of the ocean.

Dee*Jay-I like your thinking on the wine. I'm not going to run that by Matt because I'd probably find him banging his head against the wall somewhere wondering how on earth he got stuck with me and my completely illogical mind. Your natural selection scenario was exactly how my eye dr envisioned my fate had I lived in different times. Glad you're loving your new job! No bragging about the 3 days a week thing. I'm jealous.

I went nuts today and had my hair colored back to dark brown, and had it cut in a new style too. I asked for collar bone length and got chin length so that was a surprise. I was going for short slowly and was having 2-3 inches cut off each month. She must have got bored with that and decided it was time to whack it all off. I also asked her to layer the crap out of it, so now I have dark brown, chin length, heavily layered hair. I had cottage cheese for breakfast, a kashi meal for lunch, and baked tostitos, salsa, and a few Newcastle brown ales for dinner. Lily and I took a walk as soon as I got home this evening, and we had a scary run-in with a big, snarling, mean dog. Suffice it to say, I'm darn lucky the owner came running into the street and was able to grab ginormo-dog by its collar and drag it away long enough for us to skedaddle. I have a cut on my hand from Lily's leash and my hand isn't exactly straightening back out. Poor Lily is curled up in a tight ball on her mat. Pretty bad when you can't feel safe taking a walk on the road in your own neighborhood because people feel the need to let their ferocious dogs run loose. I'm off to bed. Have a great day tomorrow!

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks for keeping your fingers and toes crossed, Marcy! I haven't gotten any calls about interviews yet but I keep telling myself it's still a bit early. I'm glad you liked Skyfall. I agree that James Bond and Jason Bourne are pretty much the same person. I think James Bond is supposed to be more debonnaire (sp?), at least in the older movies. You asked if I cook. I can usually follow a recipe but I don't have the patience. Also, I'm always too tired after work to cook much of anything. I used to rely on pasta but we haven't had that in months, so now we rely on sandwiches or proteins that cook quickly (stir-fry chicken, minute steaks, those types of things). My husband likes making chili on the weekends, too. I'm always on the lookout for simple, healthy recipes, and we've found a few great ones.

Deegee, I'm glad you liked the falafel you tried. I keep dreaming of the ones I had last Friday. I might try making them this weekend, but I'd bake them instead of frying them in oil. It's too bad you might have to postpone or cancel your trip to the Outer Banks. I'm glad you and Lily are okay.

Dee*Jay, you had asked what thin and trim bologna is. Thin 'n Trim is a brand name of deli stuff. They have a few kinds of turkey and ham, and a bunch of other things. It's good! I usually don't eat bologna but I have a craving for it a couple times every year so I get a few slices. I'm so glad you love your new job, and working three days per week! That's awesome! I never understood the need for a waiting list for e-books either. I guess I hadn't thought about licenses but I suppose that makes sense. I'm SO behind the times. I still don't have a Kindle or any other kind of e-reader.

Not much new to report here. I stayed at my parents' on Monday because we had a school event, a book fair of sorts, and my parents live really close to my school. I live about 40 minutes away, so it's convenient for me to stay with them. My husband and I are looking forward to our trip to PA in a few weeks for my friend's wedding. We're not going for the whole week like we had originally planned but we're staying 4 -5 days. As much fun as it will be to get away and see my friend (whom I haven't seen in 5 years, since my wedding), I'm not excited to put on the bridesmaid's dress I bought. Oh well, I'm trying not to think about it.

 

[deegee]

Zoe-I've been thinking a bunch about that delicious Mediterranean food ever since I ate it! I am planning to drag Matt in there for dinner. Is not his usual pizza, burgers or wings, but he'll have to get over it. I hoe you have a great time on your trip. I once backed out of a wedding when I saw the bridesmaid dresses. It wasn't necessarily a vanity thing. It was more of a "I have a big chest and I refuse to wear certain things" type of deal.

I had planned to stop by the furniture store to order my couch after work, but the interstate was closed for a wreck, as usual, and I didn't make it before they closed. My awesome coworkers guided me to a little mom & pop furniture store with lousy hours and amazing prices located in a dinky litle town. They keep their overhead really low by being only being open 9-5 Tues-Sat, and I don't think they have many employees because we've only dealt with the owner so far. His price for the sofa is $300 less than the furniture store where we usually shop. No brainer! He seemed to really listen and only suggest fabric swatches that were more me than when I worked with the interior designer at the other store. She had some crazy ideas. I had yogurt and kashi crunch for breakfast, a hamburger with no cheese or mayo from Wendy's for lunch (I was in a really big hurry), and a chicken burrito from Taco Bell for dinner. It was a fast food kind of day. We have another big meeting with board members regarding our project on Monday, so we have a Friday deadline to get finished with our current document. We're pushing it...let's hope and pray we're ready. We're at a point where any slip in schedule will throw us off big time. Lily and I didn't walk tonight. I'm kind of afraid of meeting up with the snarling dog again. My hand is still sore from yesterday. Have a great day tomorrow!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone!

Deegee, I think I’ll go sign up for a library card next week when Marty is out of town. I will see about catching up on some books including the Sue Grafton books you recommended. Sorry you won’t have time to spend time at the beach. I sure miss Pebble Beach (or any beach for that matter). We don’t have many in Wyoming. I haven’t told Marty yet our “theory” on living longer through alcohol but I am sure he’ll think I’m nuts when I tell him. Your new hairdo sounds really cute. Do you like it? I hate to hear about the nasty dog on your walk. Poor you and Lily! I am glad you are both okay. I hope your hand gets better. Does the new furniture store have the same Flexsteel couch you want? Saving $300 is certainly a bonus.

Zoe, I will continue to send mega PS dust your way and keep everything crossed I possibly can. I know it takes time to find a new job though. I am not the patient kind. Oooh there is a surprise, huh? I hear you on cooking easy meals during the week. We ate out a lot when Marty worked where I do. He often had to stay late at least until 6 or later so by then I didn’t want to cook and do dishes so we’d eat out. Now that he is home or out of town we eat at home more often. I like to try and cook a big batch of something on the weekend then have it for lunch during the week. One of my favorites is a lite lasagna. I use the 2% cheese, 96% hamburger, 1% cottage cheese and the pasta / sauce aren’t that bad. 1/12th of the pan is about 320 calories. It feeds us for 4 meals each. I am glad you guys are going to get away for a few days. I hope your bridesmaid dress isn’t too bad. Did you get 12 Dresses or whatever that movie was? It was about the lady who had been is dozens of weddings and had all of these horrible dresses from them. It was kind of cute.

I spent most of my day doing updates – no meetings or updating my notes. I am thinking of getting a larger size hard drive iPad and taking my 16g to work. The 3rd gen is on sale at Best Buy – 32g is about $385 and 64g is about $465. Decisions, decisions. Marty thinks I am nuts to not just use my iPad at work and home but I want to keep them separate plus I don’t want to carry it back and forth.

I met Marty for lunch at the golf course. We paid for his year of golf and renewed our social membership. We ate a sandwich at their café then I headed back to work. We went to supper tonight. I had a $20 gift card and today was ½ price bottles of wine so our bottle of wine cost $2.00. It was cheap and extended my life. What more can a girl ask for than maybe a new diamond on the side? I brought home ½ of my steak and will have it for supper next week while Marty is traveling.

Well, my batch of laundry is crying for me to come move it to the dryer.

Take care!
Marcy

 

[marcy]

Hi. It is almost Friday. Woo hoo.

I met a friend for lunch today. Marty wanted me to bring him lunch so I invited him to join us. It was a gorgeous day here. Probably in the 60's. Marty sat in the deck for awhile but said he enjoyed it so much he had to come back inside so he'd get some work done.

Marty made tacos for supper. It was nice to have dishes done before 6:30.

Have a great evening.

Marcy

 

[deegee]

Marcy-I do like my new haircut. It dried so fast ths morning! I need to play with it over the weekend to figure out how to style it. The furniture store guy only carries 2 brands of sofas, and one of those brands is Flexsteel. He has a very nice showroom with lots of different models. I'm hoping Matt will be able to pick me up a little early tomorrow to go order it. Yay! I need to go get a library card too. I buy too many books. Glad you had a nice, warmish day today!

We got a lot done on the project today and should be okay for our meeting with the board members on Monday. I had yogurt and kashi crunch for breakfast, a grilled chicken pita for lunch, and Matt brought home homemade pepperoni rolls for dinner. One of his coworkers made them and they were delicious! I ate half of one with a salad. We only walked a mile before it started raining. We stopped by the grocery store for fruit, veggies, and a bottle of life-extending wine. I thought I saw the brand Dee*Jay has about 200 bottles of, but by the time I decidd to get it Matt was already through the line. Next time. Have a great Friday!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Friday kids!

Deegee, is your hair curly or straight? I’m glad you like your new cut! The mean dog thing is terrible! The CB and I are going out for Mediterranean food tonight. Good for you for finding the sofa you want at a better price—I love it when that happens!

Zoe, I bought a Kindle a long time ago when they were still expensive—I think I paid $249 for the most basic one… and then I promptly got an ipad and never used it again! If I downloaded half a dozn books to the Kindle it’s a miracle.

Marcy, the washer and dryer in my apartment are driving me CRAZY. The spin cycle on the washer shakes the whole damn place, not to mention make this loud repetitive THUNKING sound, and the dryer squeals like a there’s a cat stuck in there. I put in a work ticket with the front desk today so hopefully it will get fixed quickly because I can’t bear to be in the apartment when it’s running!

I have been very bad about my CPA stuff this week, and spent ALL of yesterday getting this place in order. It looks pretty good now, with a couple of small exceptions, so I have no excuse not to work on some homework as soon as I get done with this post. Plus, I did everything on my “To Do” list today, so I feel pretty good about that too.

What I DON’T feel good about is getting on the scale this morning. I’m up 6 lbs, back to 130.2. I promptly took my wide a$$ over to the East Bank Club and reinstated my membership…ACK!

 

[zoebartlett]

Happy Friday!

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday and I think he wants to go to a Brazilian steak house for dinner. We haven't been there in a few years so we're looking forward to it. It's one of those places where they have some sort of special signal you give to the waiters which lets them know if you're ready for table-side service. They bring several kinds of meat over to you and cut whatever portion you want, and you order sides separately. There's a salad bar, too. The food is delicious! Other than dinner tomorrow night, we don't have much else planned. I WILL go to our clubhouse gym again, beginning this weekend! I've been really bad about exercising over the past month or two.

Dee*Jay, I've never used an iPad but I like them, from the few times I've seen them in action. They're not meant to replace laptops though, are they? I surf the web, download things, and type a lot of documents (mostly for work), and I wonder how practical an iPad would be. Hopefully your washer/dryer will be fixed soon. That would be annoying to deal with.

Deegee, good luck with your presentation on Monday!

Marcy, it sounded like you had a nice day with Marty and your friend.

Anyone have any good books to recommend? I'm reading a book right now that's not great, so I'm hunting for something else. What authors do you love? I like Sophie Kinsella, Lisa Scottoline, Jodi Picoult, and I also enjoy John Grisham and Sue Grafton, although I haven't read anything from them in a few years. I'm hoping to branch out a bit and try something new. I pretty much stick to fiction but I don't like science fiction or fantasy, or very violent suspense books. Any suggestions?

 

[marcy]

Happy Friday and woo hoo it’s the weekend day!

Deegee, I am sure considering cutting my hair shorter a few inches. I am glad you like your new do. Have fun figuring out how to style it this weekend. Did you get your sofa ordered today? How exciting! What color fabric did you get? That’s nice you got in a mile on your walk before it starting raining. What brand of wine did Dee Jay recommend? We had a bottle of life extending chardonnay with supper today. Nice you have your project done at least through Monday. We finally slowed down a little today at work which was nice for a change.

Dee Jay, if you have 200 bottles of wine I’m on my way. I am sure I can find your apartment from the pictures you posted. How awful the washer and dryer are giving you fits. I wonder if they’ll have to brace your floor or something to keep the washer from hopping around so much. Ours makes a lot of the thunking noises but we shut the laundry room door and don’t hear it over the TV. I notice it kind of shakes the floor but so does our surround sound and Marty’s hyper foot / leg shaking. No wonder I drink, huh? Okay, it’s a lame excuse but it’s an excuse. That is great you have your place mostly setup and finished a lot on your to do list. How was the Mediterranean food? Yay for going over and starting up your club membership again.

Zoe, the Brazilian restaurant sounds really good. Marty likes one that he goes to in Brazil and I guess they have the same one in Denver. He says we need to go try it sometime. He said the salad is almost stupid they have so much food on it. Have fun. Tell your husband happy birthday for me. I will chime in on your iPad question to Dee Jay, I use mine a lot but I don’t like to type on it a lot. Mostly because I am not very good at typing on it. Marty types on his quite well though. It is very similar to a netbook. You can easily do email, Facebook, surfing the internet, posting on Pricescope and work on documents. I have the iPad version of Office and the Mac iPad version of Pages on my iPad. I am like Dee Jay in that once I bought an iPad I just read books on the Kindle App rather than use my Kindle. Have you read any of the Janet Evanovich books? They are often LOL silly and quick reads. There is a series of about 17 of them now. I like Michael Connelly, Vince Flynn, Stephen King and Tom Clancy but they are probably more violent than you’d like.

We were in the 60’s today but cloudy. I heard thunder at work but the storm only brought us a few drops then moved on. I was hoping to see a nice thunderstorm from our new house.

Marty heated up the rest of our London broil and some potatoes and veggies in the oven for supper. We split a bottle of chardonnay and we had slow churned ice cream.

We have a busy weekend. Eye appointments, family dinner and Marty has golf planned for Saturday and Sunday. Then he heads off on a trip. He may be gone the next 3 weeks.

Have a great and healthy weekend.
Marcy

 

[deegee]

Yay-Friday!

Dee*Jay-my hair is curly, but I get it straightened once a year. It was bra-strap length last month and chin length now. Cutting so much off and layering has made it realy wavy. I flat ironed it this week, but I'm going to play around with it tomorrow to figure out how to wear it wavy. I feel so free from all that hair! Glad you got your to do list done today. I'm sure you'll hop right back into the CPA stuff next week, right? I hope they get right on fixing your washer and dryer. How annoying!

Zoe-I have never been to a Brazilian steakhouse, but Matt has and he loved it. Have fun! I had a Kindle for a year or two before I got an iPad. I use my ipad for everything, and my husband has taken over my MacBook Pro. I bought a keyboard for the ipad because my hands don't always work well with the touch screen keyboard. I have not missed my laptop at all, but I never used it for more than surfing the internet anyway. I started reading the JD Robb "in death" series. There are a bunch of books and I started from the very first one written in 1994 or 1995. I'm up to books written in 2009 now. I also like the Janet Evanovich books, as well as Sue Grafton. I think I've read all of those that are available so far. No deep reading for me!

Marcy-I wasn't able to leave work early to go order my couch today, but we have that on the agenda for tomorrow. Yay! The fabric I picked out is a warm beige with chocolate brown legs. The beige is probably a lot like yours! All of the fabric samples I took this time are just different shades of beige. The nice owner guy didn't try to push weird stuff at me like the designer did at the other store. I appreciated that! I can't believe Marty might be on a trip that lasts 3 weeks. Yikes! I sure hope not. Matt is trying to get volunteers from his department from any of the offices to do a 6-month stint in the UK. He has had only one taker so far and needs several more. So far I'm loving my shorter hair. I highly recommend it!

We worked really hard today to get our document completed by the end of the day. 2 members of the team weren't there, so the rest of us pulled extra duty. We should be ready to go on Monday. Whew! I went out for Chinese with some friends at lunch today. I had my usual Chinese vegetables. Is it bad that I go there so often that the owner knows my name and noticed that I got a hair cut? We stopped for dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the way home, and I had a chicken burrito, rice and beans. This has been a lousy week food-wise. Matt is thinking he's going to have to travel again next week, so next week won't be any better! Have a great Saturday!!!!

 

[marcy]

Deegee, that would be funny if we picked the same fabric for our couches. It is nice dealing with a salesman who is not pushy. That is awesome you like your hair so much. Mine is still top heavy so I definitely want more layers. My hair comes down to my shoulders right now. I think a few inches cut off would be good. No one can ever see my earrings. So Matt isn't having much luck getting some people to work in the UK for 6 months? It is rough to be away from home that long. Marty should be home at least for the first weekend. I don't know about the second one. His company encourages their employees to come home on the weekends. Of course if he was overseas I am sure they would frown on that. Is Matt feeling better about his promotion?

I am going over to my parents tomorrow morning to pick up their old laptop and have my mom pick about 6 books to download. They are going on a vacation for about 10 days to 2 weeks. My mom asked me to show her how to do email on the iPad. I wonder if a keyboard would work for her?

Laters
Marcy.

 

[deegee]

Marcy-I meant to look at the color name on my swatch before I turned it in but I forgot. It's probably wheat or camel or something like that. I like things like couches, walls, floors to be neutral, but then I like to add colorful pillows, rugs, and other things that are easily replaced. My hair was so long that I hadn't worn earrings in a long time. Why bother? After I read your post, I decided to pull out my diamond studs, and I had to re-poke the holes. Ouch! My ears are sore today. When I first dry my hair, it looks a lot like Lisa Rinna's, but then I flat iron the sticking out parts so that they're straight. I haven't gotten up the nerve to wear it flippy yet. To answer your question about Matt...he got in the car Friday and said "I hate my new job." Not good. I feel bad for Marty traveling so much of the time. Hopefully he will be able to come home on the weekends. We are working with an outside consulting company who is helping us with our project, and the consultant assigned to us told us the last time he was in town that he has spent 10 nights in his own bed so far this year. That would be miserable, I think. I love my keyboard for my ipad. I bought a logitech keyboard that connects magnetically to the ipad to be a cover. You pull them apart and fit the ipad in the slot for the keyboard, or you can keep them apart which is what I do for reading. The keyboard sure seems to help me if I'm going to type much. Your mom might like a keyboard, but my mom didn't care for mine. I don't think she types much on her ipad though.

Yesterday and today have been gorgeous days. I think everyone in the neighborhood has done yard work, mowed their lawns and washed their cars. I met a bunch of new neighbors out walking yesterday. Lily and I are outside enjoying the day today, and I think we'll head to the park in a little while. Matt made the observation yesterday that everyone is outside wearing shorts on a 60 degree day after being cooped up all winter, but on a 60 degree day in September, we're bundling up and complaining about being cold. True! I ordered my couch yesterday. Yippee! Now I have to wait for 5 weeks for it to come in. When I finally make a decision about something, I want it right then!!! So far today I have had a cup of greek yogurt and a banana. I told Matt that we were done making excuses, and we were going to get back on track starting Monday. I have been lazy about tracking food the past few weeks, but I'm determined to get back with it. Have a great day!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone!

Deegee, how exciting to have your couch ordered. It will be here before you know it. We decorate with the same colors; the furniture, floor and walls are basic neutral colors then we add a splash of color here and there to spruce things up. Ouch to poking through new holes for your earrings. I hope your ears feel better soon. You were probably going “thanks for bringing that up, Marcy!” I sure hate to hear Matt just flat out hates his job. I remember that well with Marty; I feel bad for him and you. At the family dinner last night someone asked Marty about traveling so much and he said he isn’t minding it so far but he reaches a point when he just wants to be home for a few weeks. Only being home for 10 nights in a year would be awful. Your keyboard sounds perfect. I like that it’s magnetic. Marty has the apple one and I think it hooks through Bluetooth but I am not sure since I’ve never played with it. That is so true about how 60 degrees in the fall seems cold.

We were in the 60’s here today but had a chilly wind. They have a winter storm / blizzard warning out for us Monday night in to Tuesday night with a forecast of 8 – 16 inches of snow with wind. Aak!

Marty met his golf buddy for breakfast today then came home and packed. After he left for the airport I went over to my parents, picked up some cash and put gas in the car then picked up groceries. I had a 20% off my total bill coupon that expired Tuesday so I bought quite a few things. With Marty being gone I didn’t need much food but I got things for the freezer.

I’ve been catching up on DVR’d Top Gears today. I got laundry done and thought of washing sheets and cleaning out extra bedding that I want to give away but my motivation was seriously lacking when it came to that chore. I did run my silverware tray through the dishwasher and washed everything in that drawer.

Have a great evening!
Marcy

 

[marcy]

Here is Marty's poker chip bar. Man cave almost complete.

 

[zoebartlett]

Cool bar, Marcy! That's what Marty's been up to, building the bar? He did a great job.

Deegee, I'm glad you ordered the couch! I love furniture shopping.

Hi Dee*Jay!

I have nothing really new to report so I haven't posted in a few days. Same old, same old going on here. I had a doctor's appt. this week and was told that I've lost just about 18 lbs. since mid-December or right around New Year's. I guess that falls within the recommended amount per month, so I'm pleased. I don't look or feel different, and my clothes still fit the same (I tend to wear things a bit loose anyway).

We finally saw Lincoln this weekend, and we went to that Brazilian steakhouse I mentioned last week. The movie was just okay, I thought, not great. The food, however, was awesome. I got sick afterward though, but I think it was just because the food is a bit more flavorful than I'm used to at home. I'm blaming it on the spices (it wasn't spicy by any means, just...smoky, maybe, or something...). We just hung around home on Sunday, catching up on shows we DVRd. We've gotten into Bones, too, so we're plowing through season 1. Overall, we had a great weekend!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Zoe, congrats on losing 18 lbs!!! And even though you don’t think you look different, I bet you really do. I read somewhere that 10 lbs is a full closing size, so you’ve lost two sizes! I’ve only ever been to a Brazilian steakhouse in Brazil (or maybe it was Argentina—I can’t remember) and it was marvelous!

Marcy, how did Marty make his bar?! It is a table with poker chips on it and then resin poured over it, or something else? Did you get any of the bad weather? I looked at the weather map this morning and was like – YIKES! We’re having a total white out (especially up on the 40th floor of my apartment and the 56th floor of my office, but at least it’s not TOO cold or raining/snowing.

Deegee, I’m running a load of clothes in the washer now and it seems better (although I haven’t gotten to the spin cycle yet), but OF COURSE the dryer wouldn’t make the terrible squeaking noise while the maintenance guy was here, so we’ll have to see what that sounds like now… As for the last time I had earnings in any holes except the bottom ones… hmmm… I can’t even remember!

I just finished some chicken salad and pita chips for dinner. I’m going to have a glass of wine… or three… and do some homework. And my nails are looking a little shabby, so I should do them too. That’s the problem with the no-chip manicure—when your nails grow out at the cuticle it looks like hell!

My days are a bit screwed up because the SEC is coming to visit our office next week so I am off tomorrow and Thursday, working Friday (since they come on Monday) and then off for the weekend. I can’t figure out whether pretty much every day feels like Friday now, or if none of them do!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone! Happy Snowy Tuesday evening.

Here is the perfect wine glass for us – you know to help save our lives. http://i.imgur.com/3xyjnB5.png

Zoe, thanks for the compliment on the bar. Marty did a nice job on it. Congratulations for losing 18 pounds. That is terrific. I am glad you have a nice weekend. Sorry you got sick from your delicious dinner. That is too bad. I hope you are feeling much better now.

Dee Jay, Marty bought unfinished cabinets, built a base to add height then put oak on the top, trimmed it and glued the poker chips down then poured resin over them. Yes we did get a lot of that nasty weather. It is blizzard conditions here with lots of drifts and whiteouts. They sent us home from work about 2 today and I just barreled through the drifts on our side street to make it home. When my friend came home about an hour later she couldn’t find an entrance in to the neighborhood that wasn’t blocked by stuck vehicles. I guess we have about 10 inches but it’s hard to tell since the snow is coming down sideways. I bet that is weird seeing whiteout conditions from that high up. How much snow did you get there? I bet it is weird adjusting to your new schedule.

The storm started here yesterday afternoon. The wind knocked over a tree somewhere that kept dropping the power over this part of the city. I managed to get homemade pizza baked for supper between power outages. This morning it was snowing lightly then so I did go to work. The 2 blocks between here and the main road was bad but I made it. Thanks goodness Germans know how to build cars that go through snow. About 2 today you couldn’t see across the parking lot so they sent us home. That trip was awful. Deep snow and drifts on the road, whiteout conditions made for a long commute. I actually came home down a busy road that goes by the mall since I thought the roads would be a little clearer. The worst part was getting to my house. The road I came in on was really drifted – I went in on the left side since no one was coming and just gunned it. It wasn’t easy but the car kept going. Our street was pretty drifted too.

The power outage last night really did a job on our modem so I was unable to connect to the internet on anything except my iPad. Which made absolutely no sense since everything is on the same wifi network. I tried all the steps they suggest online again this afternoon so I finally called our provider and they were able to trouble shoot it and reset out modem. I have access to the world wide web again. Yippee!

Since I was home I made homemade soup for supper. I dialed in and did a little bit of work. I was doing dishes when Marty called me and I spilled some water all over the floor – grr. The first mess on my kitchen floor. It was water out of the pot I was soaking so it wasn’t soapy but it wasn’t clean water either. I wiped the cupboard door down with a pledge wipe and the floor and mat with some warm water. Most of it went on the cupboard and floor mat.

Marty is off to Brazil next week. Then Atlanta the week after.

Take care!
Marcy

 

[marcy]

Hi!

3 Days down - 1 to go.

I got up at my normal time and debated whether to drive to work or not. There was one set of tracks down our street. I watched a few trucks going down the road to the north of us and finally saw a car go through it; it made it through so I put on my boots and left for work. I didn't have any trouble. The sun was out today so even though we had a high of about 17 today a lot of the snow melted.

We caught up at work today even though we were down 2 people and needed to get our work done from yesterday and finish everything through Monday. We were all busy but we got it done. The eye doctor's office called and said my glasses were in so I left work about 4 and went to pick them up. I think I see better for distance, the close up is about the same. Too early to tell.

I had leftover soup for supper. Easy cooking and dishes.

Marty gets back tomorrow. Yippee!!!

Take care.
Marcy

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Thursday kids!

Marcy, it sounds like you were really worked over by that storm! It's cool and rainy here, but nothing terrible. I really love Marty's bar--what a clever idea! Did he see that somewhere or come up with it on his own? I just love creative people!

I actually worked today because of the SEC visit next week, and I think I will go in for a few hours tomorrow morning too. Yesterday I Went To The Gym. WOO HOO!!! I rejoined the East Bank Club, which is actually attached to current apartment building via the underground parking garage, so I have no excuse not to go, LOL. My IT band is a little sore today, but other than that I feel OK. Yesterday though, I had coffee too late in the day (went to lunch with a friend at a place that does breakfast all day) and I was wide awake half the night. Ack. So tonight I am diving right into my homework and then off to bed early.

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone. One more day! Sweet.

Dee Jay, glad you didn’t get the snow we did. What a mess! Marty came up with the design for his bar. He was going to put golf tees on the top but decided against it since they are an uneven height. Since he is going to get personalized poker chips I suggested he put his old poker chips on the top. I thought they’d be a good fit for his man cave. Woo hoo for going to the gym. I hope you sleep well tonight.

Something woke me up about 5 am. Kind of startled me then I realized it was something falling off the roof – probably ice and snow. I couldn’t go back to sleep after that.

We were very busy at work today. One of my swing shift ladies was late and it is very unusual for her not to notify me if she is going to be late. I finally text her and called her but didn’t hear back. I went down to HR to see if they had her contact information and got her husband’s cell phone number when I got a text back from her. It was from her husband who said she’d rolled her car and was on her way to the hospital. I have not heard yet how she is doing. I hope she’ll be okay.

Marty got home this afternoon. He’ll be heading to Brazil on Monday.

Take care!
Marcy

 

[marcy]

I talked to my employee. She is sore, bruised and cut but they didn't find anything major with her injuries. She hit about a 2 foot snow drift on a rural road and rolled her car one and a half times. She ended up on the drivers door. They had to cut her out and flew her to the hospital in a helicopter. She doesn't remember much of anything. She said she feels very lucky to be alive.

 

[zoebartlett]

Marcy, I'm glad your coworker is okay! What a scary thing to go through.

Dee*Jay, we have a little gym in the development we live in, and although it's not attached like your gym is, I feel like I don't have a good excuse not to go. Having said that, I actually haven't been in quite a while. I need to though. This weekend, I promise.

Hi Deegee!

Not much new here, as usual lately. We're getting ready for our trip to PA, and next week we're going to see The Book of Mormon with my parents and family friends.

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone! Happy Weekend!

Zoe, I love your tulips especially when we are so spring deprived around here. I bet you are looking forward to your trip. It's always fun to get away for awhile.

Work was hectic but after running around like we are on fire all week it seemed slow pace today. I was done with my stuff by about 3. Marty was still working when I got home so I made a casserole for supper with veggies and a dinner roll. We had some slow churned ice cream for dessert.

My sister and brother-in-law are coming visit tomorrow for supper so I have to pick up the house. Marty has some work today so we'll probably have a low key weekend.

The lady I work with who was in a car accident said there isn't a square inch of her body that isn't sore but she is counting her blessings today. I picked up a get well card for her on the way to work today and had our division sign it for her.

Marty is changing out our receivers right now because the one downstairs is newer and will run our 3D TV and the one we've had for about 10 years has to be wired differently. See it has begun - moving the nicer stuff downstairs to his man cave. He says they are actually the same thing just the one he bought for the basement is only about 6 months old. We are going to rent Top Gun in 3D as soon as he gets everything set up.

Hi Dee Jay, Deegee, Sharon and lurkers!

Marcy

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Saturday kids!

Marcy, I’m so glad the lady you work with is OK—that’s scary! And when I first read your post I thought you meant you made a casserole OUT OF veggies and a dinner roll! I was like, Damn, that Marcy is a miracle worker in the kitchen!

Zoe, when I was visiting my friend in NY we were going to see The Book of Mormon, and somehow we got distracted (translation: we went to brunch and the free flowing prosecco turned it into an event that lasted all day!) and never made it. I can’t wait to hear your review!

So I went go the gym this morning and had a hard workout—it was great! Plus, I get to the gym through the parking garage and it’s like a car enthusiasts wet dream down there! This morning there were three 911s, a Targa, a Maserati, a Vantage and a Bentley. And that was just in the row I walked down! But the time I even got to the front desk my heart rate is elevated from going past all that find performance engineering!

Today I AM DOING HOMEWORK. Do ya hear me world? I AM DOING HOMEWORK!!! No distractions. No excuses. No nothing but debits and credits... starting NOW!!!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone!

Dee Jay, how is your homework coming along? I have to credit you for taking the time to debit that time from your day. BAD!!! As for making supper out of nothing - I am a quite clever that way but I only get by with it because Marty will eat almost anything when he is hungry. One time he and a buddy had been playing some silly computer game all day and I didn’t really have anything in the house to feed them so I made them Kraft Mac and Cheese and frozen fries. They LOVED it. That must be typical guy food for computer games. Yay for going to the gym and how cool to see that many amazing cars in one place. I followed a Tesla home the other day. Marty wanted to know if it had local plates on it; I said sorry I was too busy checking the car out to look at the plates.

We got up about 6:30. I made pancakes and bacon. Marty can’t have breakfast without dead pork. We had some grapefruit. We split some leftovers for lunch then had way too much wine to drink this afternoon. A friend of mine came by this afternoon and the 3 of us finished one and about a ¼ bottle of wine. My sister and brother-in-law are coming for supper. They found a meat-cutting place near their house so are bringing steaks from there to cook on the grill. Marty is going to bake assorted seasoned veggies in the oven. For dessert I made brownies that I will top with slow churned vanilla ice cream, cool whip, strawberries and chocolate sauce. I will send the remaining brownies home with them to give my cute little nephews. Brownies are one of those things that the amount you get just doesn't warrant the calories in them. Sadly they are tasty.

We had a busy morning. Wandered 2 grocery stores, a liquor store and Lowes. We got out storm door finally which Marty installed this morning and it looks great. We picked an off white and it looks like it was custom installed with the trim on the house. We also picked up a natural gas grill. We had them put a gas valve on the patio when they built the house and finally got a natural gas grill today. Holy BBQ the prices on those things have gone up since we bought the last one. Now we had 2 gas grills to get rid of – we inherited the in-laws when they moved plus have the one we had at our old house. Marty had to run back to Lowes to get another part of the adapter / hose to hook the grill to the gas on the house. My parents have their grill set up that way and love never worrying about running out of fuel.

Tomorrow is laundry day and getting Marty ready for his trip to Brazil.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone! We had about 6" of snow last night. The roads were closed to Colorado this morning but they opened the roads by 11 and Marty made it to the airport okay. He is on his way to Brazil.

We are expecting 8 to 12 more inches of snow tonight and tomorrow. Then a few more inches of snow on Wednesday. Yuck!!! I am sick of this weather.

My new glasses need tweaked because the nose pads are too tight. I put my old glasses on tonight. They feel much better. I drove by the eye doctor on the way home but they didn't have any parking by the building and I didn't want to walk through a bunch of snow and ice to get there so I'll try during my lunch tomorrow.

I hope everyone had a great day.

Marcy