Healthy Living Thread

[marcy]

Hi Marcy and all,

I am glad you had good talks with your mom. I am sure it was comforting for you.

We don't camp anymore. We sold our 5th wheel. Instead we go to Lake Tahoe a few times a year. We love it there and so do the grandboys.

Ryan is 13 now and 5'11" He calls me shorty, he towers over me. He is in 8th grade, one more year and he will be in high school. UGH.

Andrew will be 12 in October and is in 7th grade. I don't watch them, during the week anymore, being my daughter is home during the day. I really miss watching them though, but I see them at least once a week.

Please take care of yourself, during this very stressful time.

xoxoxox

Linda, spending time at Lake Tahoe sounds like a lot of fun. We are trying to sell our 5th wheel but the responses we get off Craig's List don't appear to be very "serious". LOL. I can't believe your grandkids are already 13 and 12 years old. Wow! That is too funny about "shorty". I get called "T-Rex" or "M-Rex" because my arms are so short. I bet you do miss watching them during the day. I really am having a melt down today. I had my uncle spend the day with my dad, Marty played golf so I was left to myself and I had to have my BFF come keep me company for awhile. Between her visit and supper I had about a bottle of wine - which is definitely not my brightest move, huh? Tomorrow I plan on being lazy and hopefully not doing much. Take care my friend and keep in touch.

Marcy

 

[marcy]

Marcy - just posting quick on my ipad to say how sorry I am to hear of your mom's passing. I'll write more when I get back from this trip and have better reception. Hugs to you my friend.

Thank you, Dee Jay! I appreciate the hug. Have fun on your trip.

ETA: Can you send me an email? My new laptop isn't pulling up your info. Thanks!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone!

I had not sister drama today. Of course I didn't talk to them.

My mom's brother is in town for a few days and staying with us so I lined up that he should spend the day with my dad. That gave both Marty and I most of the day to ourselves. Marty played golf. I did laundry and ran some errands. We ordered sandwiches for the family get together after the funeral. We picked up filet and veggies so Marty cooked all of us supper tonight.

I had a friend come visit me for awhile today and she and I started one bottle of Pino Griego. Supper led to my second bottle of Chardonnay. I was pretty much smashed by supper. Marty cooked and supper was great.

I hope to be lazy tomorrow and veg out. Of course, then I think too much but I'll try to keep busy.

I hope all of you are having a happy and healthy weekend. Take care.

Marcy

 

[marcy]

Hi.

I didn't sleep well and kept waking up thirsty. Weird. Like I drank a bunch of wine or something. Marty got my uncle off to the airport about 6:30 this morning. Poor Marty got up at 2:30 and never went back to sleep.

Today I was very, very lazy. I washed the sheets and made the beds again in our guest rooms. I don't know yet if we'll have anyone staying here for the funeral but they are at least ready.

I made pasta for lunch and we had cheese and crackers for supper. I made a small batch of chocolate chip cookies this afternoon. I had a hot one and might have another one tonight. Then I'd best freeze them.

Marty did some work today. He was kind of bored this afternoon and wanted to go take a drive but since it was already 3:30 we stayed home.

Take care!
Marcy

 

[deegee]

Marcy-I don't blame you for drinking a bottle of wine! Although the last time I did, it didn't end well and I haven't had any wine since. It's good to be ready for guests, just in case. Have you spent much time with your dad this week, or has he had family in to keep him company? I don't know what colors I am going to go with. The nice decorator lady suggested neutral furniture and rug, and add color with easy to change accessories. I like that idea! We've already run into a problem though because Matt doesn't think he can get the couch into the man room. We can get it upstairs to the man room, but can't get it in position to get it through the door. I guess I'll have to keep the couch downstairs and add other seating. It's neutral, so it will work.

We mostly hung around the house over the weekend. Yesterday I cleaned the house, Matt mowed the lawn, and we cleaned and trimmed the landscaping. Afterwards we thought, "What the heck are we doing?" We HAVE to get a lawn service, cleaning service, and a landscaper! We're too old for this nonsense. Apparently the people who had the house built loved working outside in the yard, and planted way too much stuff. I'm going to have a whole section removed and create an outdoor seating area instead. Food wasn't good this weekend, although I drank more than I ate. Still not good. We did a lot of work, so that has to count for exercise. The decorator lady comes tomorrow, so I need to look through some catalogs to flag things I like. Good night!

 

[marcy]

Hi.

Deegee, I think I can stand a glass of wine today. We’ll see what happens at supper today. That sounds like a great idea to go with neutral colors then add color with accessories. I know we have similar tastes in our decorating colors; it makes it easy to match and change things when you want something new. Will the couch go in to the man room at an angle or standing upright? That is too bad it doesn’t look like it will fit. It sounds like you should air a lawn, yard and cleaning service. Did you pick out some things for the designer?

I’ve decided having a funeral at a church is a major pain. The minister won’t open the coffin after the funeral; he wants it in the back of the church and open when people come in. The mortuary says “that is his wishes”. I am like WTH? Whose funeral is this? Then when we talked to him last week he asked if we wanted the other minister to help. My dad kind of said that’s okay but they want another $150 for her assistance. How much help do you need to run a funeral of an hour or less? So I said. No! Maybe that is why he is being obstinate about when and where we can have an open casket.

I am on bereavement leave this week but checked my work email. Looks like my team has had some issues. I will worry about them next week. It seems like I’ve been off work for a long, long time.

We had breakfast at a little diner this morning that was across the street from a Pella door and window store so we stopped there after breakfast to talk to them about French doors for our patio doors. Marty came home to work and I went and picked out 2 navy blue outfits to wear to the funeral. I also bought 2 new pairs of tennis shoes.

After lunch we went and looked at a hardware store and a glass company at their patio doors. Marty went back to work and I did my left lifts.

We are probably going to supper with friends tonight.

I went over to visit my dad this morning. He is doing things around the house. Some relatives will be arriving later tonight so hopefully they will keep him company and keep him busy tomorrow. I thought we’d all go to supper somewhere.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Wednesday kids!

Marcy, I *may* have had a little too much wine in Michigan on Friday night... Just sayin'! Fortunately I learn from my mistakes (in the shorter term anyway) and scaled it back a little on Saturday and Sunday. As for funerals -- amazing what they charge you for (and how much), isn't it? My friend's father passed away on Sunday and was burried yesterday (I believe a quick burial is part of the Jewish tradition... ?) and I understand that wasn't an inexpensive affair either.

Deegee, yes, you need cleaning people and landscapers! Life is too short. I am resisting getting a cleaning person for my current apartment becuase, well, it's a one bedroom apartment and I only work three days a week... but... when I get down on my hands and knees in the shower with Comet and a brush I seriously start rethinking my logic.

Food was bad over the weekend and I compunded it last night with some candy when I got home from the funeral. Today I think my boss and I are going to lunch, so who knows what that will bring. I also need to go to the grocery store, which is a chore I enjoy about as much as poking my own eyeball out. If I didn't run out of toilet paper on a periodic basis there would never be any food in my house!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Marcy - just posting quick on my ipad to say how sorry I am to hear of your mom's passing. I'll write more when I get back from this trip and have better reception. Hugs to you my friend.

Thank you, Dee Jay! I appreciate the hug. Have fun on your trip.

ETA: Can you send me an email? My new laptop isn't pulling up your info. Thanks!

Marcy, I *think* I sent you an email. When I upgraded my phone last time I lost contacts, but I sent the message to the email in my Hotmail account that had your last name, so I'm hoping that's it...

 

[marcy]

Hi.

Deegee, when Marty's grandmother passed away about 2 years ago I think her funeral was around $12,000. Just out of curiosity I looked at their price list that day and cremation was only a few thousand dollars less. How awful to gouge people when they are grieving and probably not thinking straight anyway. Sorry to hear about your friend's father. My cleaning lady is looking for more clients but of course the commute to your place is probably going to be a challenge. She is very reasonable though; she only charges $20 an hour though. Too funny that you *may* have had too much wine on Friday. I usually don't decide that until the next day and for some reason the thought of wine just kind of turns my stomach. Weird. I did completely LOL at your comment about how much you love grocery shopping. I am right there with you. I like it when it becomes a challenge to see how long I can go without going to the store. Marty doesn't find it so much fun though when he is eating shredded wheat for 3 meals a day and a snack. Some people can be so picky. Go figure.

My Snoopy art is finally getting shipped tomorrow.

We are going to the mortuary in a while for viewing. That will be AWFUL. Relatives are arriving today so we'll all go to supper some where tonight.

Marty had some bottles of sparkling water blow up in his refrigerator that has all our drinks for tomorrow (water, tea, soda) in it so he is down cleaning that mess up right now.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[deegee]

Marcy-that's definitely too bad the minister isn't being accomodating. When my grandmother passed away last year, her coffin was open at the entrance to the church and I was not prepared for it. I hope you can work something out if you want to arrange it differently. And I hope having visitors is helping your dad right now. Major hugs to you for tomorrow. I'll be thinking about you. I have had brown, gold, red, and a touch of sage green in my family room, bedroom and kitchen for the last 15 or so years. I pretty much want the same colors, but I want to substitute blue for red. Maybe teal, aqua, lapis...not sure. I want my house to be soothing, comfortable, and quiet and those colors remind me of the beach. The decorator's eyes lit up when she walked into my mostly empty house! Glad your art has shipped - I hope you absolutely love it! Is your knee feeling any better at all?

Dee*Jay-I'm totally with you on hiring help with some things. I'm feeling guilty because I hired a decorator to help with the inside since I'm so lousy at putting things together. I'll feel like a real bum also hiring a cleaning lady and a lawn & landscape person. Matt tells me to suck it up, we work hard, long hours to pay someone else to take care of it! A neighbor at our old house always made it a point to let a mutual friend know that he had seen the cleaners/lawncare people/landscaper at our house on a particular day. Grr. I hate being at the grocery store so much that I buy food for 4 meals (Mon-Thurs), and have no supply of anything else. Everyone who has come to visit me in my new house has commented that I have such nice big cabinets and nothing in them. Except Matt's junk food cabinet, of course, is full. He just spent $65 on junk food at the Amish market on Monday.

I didn't have any meetings scheduled for today at work, but that didn't last long. I went in early with the intention of leaving early (same as I intended to do yesterday), but I ended up not having lunch and working late (also same as yesterday). Apparently I need to take something for lunch that doesn't require the time to swing by the kitchen to microwave it for 5 minutes. Or even to get it out of the refrigerator, since I'm finding it hard to get to the kitchen at all during the day. Any ideas? It has to be healthy too. For breakfast I had Greek yogurt and strawberries, an apple at 3:45, and I'm making spaghetti for dinner. I had to go ahead and eat my salad because I was starving and couldn't wait for Matt to get home. Hopefully we'll walk later since it is very mild outside today. I might sack out on the couch though, which always messes me up with regards to exercise. Once I get that nap, I'm worthless for the rest of the evening. Good night all!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy birthday to me!

Marcy, hope you did OK yesteday with the viewing and the relatives. Your sisters sound like about as much fun as my brother. We'll just leave it at that! Is the Snoopy picture one that you recently got at the gallery? I think you got two pictures then, yes? Would love to see them once you get them hung!

Deegee, don't feel guilty at all about hiring people to do things. That why those industries exist! What about peanut butter sandwiches for lunch? Or at least a granola bar? When I was a full time realtor I always left the house with those two things in the morning because I could put them in the glove compartment and didn't have to worry about refrigeration.

Zoe, hope you're doing well and enjoying your new school!

Last night I went out with one of my friends and we had the most AMAZING appetizer things for dinner... along with three glasses of processco... and then I stopped and got a piece of chocolate cake on my way home... This morning's scale: 134. When I left KC: around 124. Crisis time!!!

 

[marcy]

Hi.

Happy Birthday, Dee Jay!

Deegee, I like your color choices and accent colors. Good idea to have colors to remind you of the beach. I am sure your decorator to excited to help you furnish and decorate your house. I didn't get my promised UPS tracking notice but hope to get it tomorrow. I hate to hear you were taken unaware at your grandma's funeral. My mom's sister-in-law had the same thing happen to her as well today. That was really the only thing I didn't like at the funeral. As a matter of fact my knee has been getting worse again from steps and doing too much running around so today was a killer for me. The church has was too many steps. I didn't get leg lifts done for about a week but have started them again. I keep Cheerios, nutrigrain bars and soup in my desk for quick lunches. When I taught school right after work I did what DJ suggested packed PB sandwiches. I left them in my car in my school bag and had instant supper.

Dee Jay, my sisters were remarkably well behaved today and tonight. Woo hoo. Sorry to hear your brother can be a challenge. Yes the Snoopy pictures are the ones we bought recently. We ended up getting 3 of them. I wasn't even drinking yet and I thought it was a good idea. I am very anxious to get them. I will post pictures once we get them hung up on the walls. It sounds like you had fun with your friends. Did you do anything fun for your birthday?

Zoe, how is school going? How many students do yo have?

The funeral went well and the minister did a wonderful job. The flowers all looked pretty. The slide show I made made all of us cry. I told Marty I did too good of a job on that. We had over 125 people there. My employees all came, that really touched me. A VP and a director from where I work came (they both know Marty well too) but I thought that was very nice of them. I saw cousins I haven't seen in years. We had a very brief ceremony at the cemetery and left before they took her to be buried. I will go back tomorrow to find it. Then about 25 of us came to our house for supper. It went well. We had sandwiches, chips, veggies and desserts. Everyone was spread around the house, upstairs and down. It was a nice evening.

My dad is hearing watching the Broncos / Ravens game.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[deegee]

Happy birthday, Dee*Jay! I hope you celebrated in grand style! I'm in crisis mode too right now. I have to do something or I'm going to be wearing jammies to work. We chatted with a neighbor last night while we were walking Lily, and he asked Matt why he was trying to take care of the lawn by himself - that it was making the neighbors look bad for hiring it done. I like my new neighbors.

Marcy-I'm glad things went pretty well today and your sisters mostly behaved. I'm sure the service was a great honor to your mom's memory. Will family stay in town for the weekend? We go next Friday to see our room done to scale in the program, and to pick out and order furniture. I'm excited about that. I've decided to order what I want, and if the current couch doesn't fit through the door upstairs, I'll try to sell it. Matt drew the door opening to scale, drew the couch to scale and cut it out and then tried to fit it through the scale door opening to determine the points where it will get stuck. Yep, I married an engineer.

Tomorrow we have an employee award luncheon and I'm taking a carload of people, so I WILL get lunch for once. My low back did an ugly pop yesterday while I was vacuuming the rug, which I have to do every day to keep ahead of the pet hair. I can finally turn my head, so my low back decided to hop in on the acting up action. I've been icing it all day, which makes it hard for walking around at work. Luckily I had no meetings so I just stayed in my office and got stuff done. I had a banana for breakfast, ham, couscous, veggies, and salad for dinner. We took a nice, long walk last night but my back told me I'd better stay in tonight. So glad tomorrow is Friday. Good night!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Friday kids!

Marcy, I'm glad everything went "well" yesterday, all things considered. And I am excited to see your pictures! New artwork is fun! I have a lot of art in storage right now and when I move and put things out again it will be like all new stuff, HA.

Deegee, I am right there with you on the jammies... I don't know where these pounds are coming from! Even yesterday, I wasn't THAT bad and I got on the scale this morning and it added another .6. WTF.

Yesterday my coworkers TOTALLY surprised me. Around 2:30 I got an email from my boss asking me to "stop by conference room 56D for two minutes now." Well, when I was at G0ldman Sachs, "stop by the conference room" was code for, "Baby, you're fired!" The whole way there I'm thinking, What Could I Have Done??? I come in on time... I'm clean and groomed... I don't kick or bite my co-workers... My boss seems to be happy with my work... WHAT??? When I walked in the whole department was there with cupcakes. They totally got me!

I also got a call yesterday from Jackson Hew!tt tax service yesterday to talk with them about a tax preparer position in the busy season, so I am excited about that. I know--who gets excited about a part time minimum wage job? ME, LOL! Unfortunately the woman I need to speak with is not in today but I'll give her a call on Monday and see what's up.

Foodwise, aside from the two mini cupcakes and one glass of birthday wine I had last night, I was pretty good. I also cleaned my apartment last night becuase I just couldn't take it any more. You should have seen the stuff that got sucked up into my vacuum filter. Yikes.

 

[deegee]

Dee*Jay-Doesn't the fact that your coworkers got you make you feel so loved? I have a coworker who works in the evenings during tax time with one of the tax services. I think he does something with them all year, but mostly at tax time. He loves it! My sister is an IRS agent and they have free taxpayer service days that they all have to do, and she absolutely hates it! I think it's her whole job she hates though.

Marcy - where do you plan to hang your new paintings? I can't wait to see pictures. I'm excited now that I"m in decorating mode! I found an inspiration picture with the sectional I'm thinking of ordering. It has my inspiration colors too. I'll have to post it from my phone - I don't have tapatalk on my ipad.

Hi Zoe - I hope school is going well!

An employee in our office won the Department of Administration Employee of the Month award for September. There are about 800 employees in the DOA, and our agency is just one of the many agencies covered by the department, so it's a pretty big deal to win. You get a cash prize and everything. We went to the luncheon at a local restaurant, which happens to be a sports bar but is one of my favorites. I took a car load of people, and it was so nice to get out of the office and actually have lunch for once. I had Greek yogurt and strawberries for breakfast, a turkey sandwich and some of the restaurant's homemade baked chips for lunch, and chicken and noodles for dinner. I just finished a snack of some very tasty grapes. My back is feeling worlds better today, so we walked a little over 3 miles tonight. As I mentioned before, our walk is so much more difficult now because we moved into the mountains. These hills are kicking my *bleep*! We need to get back in our habit of walking every evening so that I'm not sucking wind so bad. Long walks regularly help me to lose weight and maintain it more than anything else, and Lily Pie loves her walks. She makes friends (people, dogs and cats) everywhere we go. I'm off to read a bit before bed. Good night!

 

[deegee]

Here's my inspiration pic with the sectional I had planned to order. These are the colors I'm thinking of too. Plain, but soothing to me.

 

[deegee]

Inspiration pic.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Saturday kids!

Deegee, I LOVE that sofa! And using neutral big pieces with the ability to accessorize with color is totally the way to go. I can't want to see how everything turns out!

I woke up around 7 and listened to the last hour and a half of the lecture I was SUPPOSED to listen to last night (but I am a lazy slug and didn't do it...) and then went to the gym. I swear to god I am becoming Jack Nicholson in As Good as it Gets when it comes to being OCD about noise. I moved machines today REPEATEDLY because either something right around me was squeaking or grinding or people were talking WAY TOO LOUD. I even had my ear plugs in. WAY in. I'm surprised my brain didn't explode from the pressure of me jamming those SOBs in there so far! The key I think is to go to the gym EARLY on the weekends. I guess I should have worked out when I first got up and did the lecture later, but live and learn.

Tonight I am going out to dinner with my friend who's in town from NY. It's my birthday dinner so who knows what badness will ensue!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Forgot to say, I found a tube of that Joseph Frieda (sp?) blonde shampoo under my sink last week and I've been using it (because we all know Dee can't throw ANYTHING away!). I don't know what's in that magic stuff but not only is my hair taking on a golden glow, my grey is 90% gone too! I really didn't have much grey to begin with, but I was starting to be able to pick it out in the mirror without poking around in my hair looking specifically for it. Not any more baby! I love this stuff!

 

[marcy]

Hi.

Deegee, I love it that a neighbor told Matt he was making them look bad taking care of his own lawn. That is pretty funny. The last of our relatives left this morning. How fun to see your room done to scale. I am glad you are getting a new couch; we often find once we get some new things in a room then we want to upgrade everything. Yes, Matt is an engineer all right. I am glad your back is feeling better. I am down to pretty much sweats and jammies myself. Tomorrow is laundry day! We will probably hang the 2 pieces that are a set over the TV and the longer one over the stairwell; and then move the one on the stairwell somewhere else. I am sure Marty has it all figured out. Your couch and colors look great! Congratulations to the employee who won employee of the month. It sounds like they really do some nice things for them as well. It sounds like you have such a pretty place to walk at your new house.

Dee Jay, I did totally LOL at the thoughts you had when they called you to the conference room. I am glad they only wanted was to wish you a happy birthday and have some cupcakes. I will post pictures of our art when we get it. The tracking notice indicates a Monday delivery. I am sure you do miss having some of your art and things in storage. How exciting to get a call from Jackson Hewitt for preparing taxes. Sorry to hear the noises at the gym were bothersome - I hate noises. Crunchy food, popping gum, tapping fingers – and once I start to notice them then it makes it worse. I bet the gym is very busy on Saturday morning. You should develop some weird crazy lady talking to yourself act so people will just “leave” you alone and move somewhere else. I hope you had fun going out with your friend from NY. How fun to use some Joseph Freida blonde shampoo to highlight your hair. I used that for a while. I quit using it when I got a perm because it was drying out my hair but I like how it made my hair look.

We met my aunt and cousin for breakfast before they took off for the airport. My dad came back to our house and brought over cards for me to see and brought the book from the funeral home. I made copies of the book for my sisters and my mom’s siblings. Then I wrote a ton of thank you notes. I am done with them now except for one address I need.

Marty took me out for lunch and then we went to see my mom’s grave. That was rough.

I washed our bedding and towels this afternoon but didn’t get to clothes yet. Tomorrow could be tense if I have to go anywhere before I get some clothes washed. I don’t think wandering around a store in my PJ’s would be a good idea.

My knee is bothering me again tonight. Rats.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[marcy]

Hi. I was mostly lazy today. Which was not good for thinking but it was ice not to be trying to accomplish a lot of things.

We got up about 6:30. Marty played golf. I worked on laundry and bought a few groceries. We had lunch and drinks at the golf course. This afternoon we watched Olympus Has Fallen. It was pretty good. The storyline reminded me of a Vince Flynn book.

We had chips and salsa during the movie so we just had some pasta and raw veggies for supper.

I go back to work tomorrow after being out of there for 2 weeks. So much has happened since then in my life it seems like months.

We are having a cold front with rain moving in here. Autumn must be near.

I hope you had a great weekend.

Marcy Back to Work Tomorrow.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday kids!

Marcy, I hear you on autumn being around the corner. I feel like I've missed an entire summer with this crazy CPA thing so I am really looking forward to a season--any season!--where I don't have to study!

Yesterday was Bad with a capital B. I was doing OK until I went down to the party room to study... met two of my new neighbors... had two budweisers, which resulted in a mid-afternoon nap, and a bunch of doritos. AND THEN a friend and I went out for Mexican food. Ug. I felt like someone needed to roll me home after that.

Today was supposed to be the day I got my score on the fourth part of the exam but since I pushed it back I'm just sitting on the sidelines of the on-line CPA forum watching everyone else wait for theirs. One one had I wish I was getting mine today, but on the other I know I wasn't ready (and am STILL not ready!) so pushing it back was clearly the right thing to do. Damn it will be good to be done though!

 

[deegee]

marcy - I can't wait for autumn. It was 94 and extremely muggy outside today. I can do without that! Yes, we do have a beautiful place to walk. I feel like I live in a state park, complete with wildlife, lots of trees, grass and hills. The lots are large and wooded, and some of them have amazing landscaping. When we sit on the deck in the evening, we hear crickets, tree frogs and the occasional owl and we see nothing but trees and stars. Love it! I hope work went okay today. I'm sorry to hear your knee is still acting ugly.

Dee*Jay-You practically have missed summer with all the studying you've done! I feel like my whole summer was thrown off by us moving and I feel like I'm not settled. A big part of that feeling has to come from us getting rid so much furniture when we moved and my house being mostly empty now. I kind of feel like I'm hanging out in someone else's house. What is this magic shampoo you speak of? I'm going to have to look that up.

Work today was frustrating from the get go. If I hadn't forgotten my cell phone on my desk when I ran out for lunch at 3:30, I would have wouldn't have gone back. Darn it! I went to the eye doctor after work to order a new pair of glasses. My spare pair has not turned up since we moved and I figure they're crushed in the bottom of a box marked "Christmas" or something. I wear contacts, but I'm so blind that I absolutely have to have a pair of glasses with me at all times, and a pair on my nightstand. I forgot to put the one pair I currently have back in my purse the other day after wearing them at home and almost got into trouble at work when my eyes decided to get itchy and watery, and my contact lense folded over on my eye. I wouldn't have been able to drive myself home if I wouldn't have been able to get it back in. Yikes! Food was okay today. Greek yogurt and strawberries for breakfast, the roast beef from a roast beef sandwich at lunch, and I made taco salad for dinner. I'm going to treat myself to a Newcastle Brown Ale and then hopefully get myself to bed early tonight. Goodnight!

 

[marcy]

Hi.

Dee Jay, you have spent most of your summer studying. How wonderful to have the end in sight though! Glad you had fun meeting some of your new neighbors.

Deegee, it definitely sounds like you live in a state park and how I envy that view of the stars. We are seeing rain clouds here today. It cooled off and rained a lot today. I think it took me about 3 months to start feeling like our new place was our home. Yep, my knee was pretty awful today. I finally took Advil tonight. Sorry your day was so frustrating. I know I couldn’t drive without my glasses either. I keep thinking of trying contacts again but it is so dry in Wyoming they stick to my eyes.

I went to work today and while the day seemed long it was a nice change to get back to a routine. My team did a great job while I was gone so I didn’t have any messes to clean up; just needed to update my notes and weekly summaries with things I missed.

Food was good: cheerios, strawberries, leftover steak cut up for a sandwich, baked lays, 8 oz. Coke, baked raviolis, veggies and a roll.

It’s 8:25 here and no UPS truck yet. Rats. I want my Snoopy pictures.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[marcy]

They are here! (TV reflection but you get the idea). I'll take better pictures when Marty gets them on the wall.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Deegee, I'm not sure what color your hair is but the "Go Blonder" shampoo by John Frieda (I may have called it Joseph Frieda before) is what Marcy and I have used. After a couple of washes I really do notice a difference. I usually wash my hair first, leave the shampoo in and finish the rest of my shower, and then rinse out the shampoo last. JF also makes shampoo for brunettes and redheads, but I've never tried those.

Marcy, I LOVE the pictures, especially the one on the lower right! When you used the shampoo did you use the conditioner too? My hair is pretty normal and boring and I didn't notice it really getting too dried out, but I got the conditioner and would use that about once a week. I would just use it, no shampoo for that shower, and also leave it in the whole time.

I was pretty good foodwise yesterday, although I did have an extra snack pack of kettle chips in the evening becuase I stayed at my office until about 9 doing practice questions and I was either hungry or bored, not sure which, LOL. I am going to meet a friend of mine from G0ldman Sachs after work but he has a wife and three kids at home so I'm guessing it will just be for a quick drink and not dinner. Fine with me because I really need to go home and work on this not-for-profit accounting stuff some more. It seemed relatively simply but I keep missing questions so obviously I've got to look at it more carefully.

Then only one more chapter, but the last chapter in every section is the "catch all" for the stuff that doesn't go anywhere else. Think in terms of a dozen totally disjointed topics thrown at you one after the other. Super.

 

[deegee]

Marcy - Love the paintings! I need the one on the lower right for my office! I hate to hear your knee isn't feeling any better. I have plenty of exercise recommendations for back/neck/shoulder/wrist/leg but I've got nothing for knees. Matt's parents moved from Montana to Cincinnati a few years ago and they never have a completely dark sky being so close to the city. It's always a little hazy, and you can never see the stars. Matt is hoping his dad didn't sell his nice telescope from their time in Montana so he can buy it from him. If it is already sold, I told him you had some recommendations.

Dee*Jay - my hair is brunette but I have a lot of natural highlights. People always think I get highlights done, but nope, just plain old color on my roots. Maybe that shampoo for brunettes would help bring out the highlights more. Your friend with the 3 kids at home may want an excuse to get out of the house for an evening and hang around for dinner!

I was a complete bum today. The combination of being mad all day at work yesterday and going to the eye doctor afterwards triggered a bad headache, so I stayed home and hung out with the pets today. They don't let me stay in a bad mood. I'm at the hairdresser right now with dye on my roots. I need a trim, but she scalped me back in April and I haven't asked for a trim since! I may work up the nerve, but I'm going to stress "shape up the layers and NOTHING off the total length". Still trying to get it past my chin. Matt brought homemade pepperoni rolls home for lunch today, and I'm not sure what I'll make for dinner. Like I said, I'm a total bum today. Have a good evening!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Wednesday kids!

deegee, the blonde version of the shampoo may work great for your hair then! Make sure you get the one that SPECIFICALLY spays "go blonder" though because I think there is antoher blonde version too. And if you find your hair a little dry just get the conditioner (or probably use any conditioner really, if you don't already) and I think that would take care of it.

I had so much fun with my friend last night! When we were at G0ldman they put the "big shots" in interior offices and the lowely middle managers like me (and my friend then, although he's a managing director now) were at the windows, but in cubes instead of real offices. This guy and I shared a cube wall and we had a blast together. Funny because he was generally a quiet nose-to-the-grindstone sort of guy, but we would get to laughing together all the time. And he's got a wife who is just lovely and three fab little girls (although the "little girls" are growing up now -- time sure flies!!!).

This morning I came in early to start working on the last chapter of this section. An hour in and I only finished 11% of the lecture and 5% of the homework. ACK. The pace better pick up or I'll be doing this part for DAYS. Double ACK.

 

[deegee]

Dee*Jay-I may have to try that shampoo at least once. My hair is light brown right now, so the go blonder might be a nice touch. When I had my hair straightened last year, it turned my hair strawberry blonde, which was actually kind of cool for once. Although I went from dark brown to strawberry blonde - might have been too big of a step for poor Matt. Glad you had a good time with your friend. In our building, all offices with very few exceptions are cubes. Mine has higher walls and a door, but it's impossible to have a private discussion with an employee without everyone hearing. We chat amongst ourselves during the day, which has made our group pretty close.

Unfortunately my bad mood didn't go away yesterday and I went in with a scowl this morning. Of course, it is regarding this blasted project and transistioning out of my old job. We had a meeting this morning with key people on the project, the director and deputy director. The other manager who is being pulled and I were extremely honest in this meeting, and it felt good to get some things out. I was in a little better mood afterwards, but the day was crazy and I feel like I got nothing done. I made myself take a full lunch from 3:30-4, and I made myself leave at 4:45, so I only worked an extra 45 minutes today. I had yogurt and a banana for breakfast, one of the homemade pepperoni rolls from yesterday with some pizza sauce for lunch, and I plan to make spaghetti with whole grain pasta and salad for dinner. I am trying really hard snack on either fruit or raw veggies in the evening. Matt has that darn cabinet full of good stuff - it's so hard! Have a good evening!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone.

Our monsoon season continues. I got out my fleece jacket this morning.

Dee Jay, I am definitely picking up some more JF. I think some lighter blonde hair would be fun. I will try your method of leaving it on in the shower and use the conditioner once a week. I didn’t think my hair got too dry but the lady who gave me a perm said it would dry my hair out. After getting that perm I didn’t use it because you never know how some chemical will react with something else. I am going with straight hair now so why not get it more blonde? How exciting to be on the last chapter. Definitely double ACK that it is a hodge-podge of information and is taking a long time to get through it. I am glad you had fun with your friend. How fun you guys had a cube with a window. I am locked up in a room with no windows.

Deegee, I do what they call quad sets for my knees that seem to help. My left leg is just so darn crooked and out of alignment that it is just plan temperamental. I have been trying to lay off Advil but I don’t think that is a good idea yet. I remember you mentioning before how great the stars were in Montana at Matt’s parents place. I hope they still have their telescope for him. Sorry to hear work has not been fun for you; I am glad you voiced your opinion / concerns in your meeting. At least you felt better getting some of those thoughts out in the open. We have mostly cubes at work. Our floor has a shortage of offices so me and another manager actually have cubes with out employees instead of our own offices. It makes it very difficult to try and talk to someone about any issues or concerns. I have 5 employee so all 6 of us are in the same office in cubes.

We were busy at work today so my day went by quickly. My dad was coming over for crock pot roast tonight. He didn’t stay long but he is bent on cleaning out his house.

Marty made some kind of hot sauce out of peppers today so the kitchen was kind of a mess when I got home. He never rinses his dishes so I am trying to get everything rinsed and soaking and I cut myself pretty bad with a knife. Aargh!

I had tomato soup for lunch and that tasted great on a chilly day.

I will try to post pictures from tap a talk of the new pictures on the wall.

Take care.
Marcy