Healthy Living Thread

[marcy]

Happy New Year!

Deegee, it will be rough going back to work after being off for 2 weeks. You’ll be excited to get your walls up at work. No more Killer Rabbit staring at you. I am sure you are an awesome aunt. It sounds like you have a lot of fun with your nieces and nephews.

Hi Dee Jay!

Last night we met some friends for dinner then went to a bar downtown. I was the DD so I drank water all evening. They had a ball drop at midnight with fireworks so we went to that then came home. Marty was laughing at me driving his trucklet. It was actually the first time I drove the trucklet so I was really slow and careful. It was funny.

Today we had my dad over for homemade soup. He was here most of the day and watched football games.

We’ve got about 4 inches of snow on the ground. Strange, it’s like winter or something. Of course it looks like other parts of the U.S. are getting more snow than we got.

Laters,
Marcy

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy 2014 kids!

Curby, yah for driving the trucklet and not having any mishaps! As for snow – Squaw’s got pretty much none… Good thing I don’t ski any more or this would be miserable! I don’t think there’s been so much as a flake since I arrived here, but they are getting absolutely dumped on in Chicago. The CB said they got about a foot so far and another 6 inches on the way. I’m not sorry to be missing that!

Deegee, a.k.a. Aunt A! Did you get anything good at the mall? My friend and I had a big shop around Reno yesterday, but it was all stuff for her new house. I didn’t mind though; actually I prefer to shop for house stuff over clothes or things like that. I hope you and your nieces have a marvelous time!

Last night we walked over to a bar about 15 minutes away and had a nice meal. Our plan was to stay until new years but about 10:30 we were like, ENOUGH, and we came home and put on our jammies. Rang in 2014 sitting on the couch – HA! This morning my poor friend had to go to work by 7 to do something, and I expected her home early but it’s after 5 and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of her…

I ended up talking to my mother today about my grandmother’s stuff. What an enormous PITA my mother is. Everything is SO MUCH FVCKING DRAMA. Whatever.

And the tax place asked me to submit my schedule through April 16. LOL! I was like, yah, let me get right one that. The sad part is I am closing and moving smack in the middle of tax season so my availability won’t be as good as they would like, I’m sure.

OK, off to find something to nibble on. I was really good today in anticipation of some sort of dinner out, but damn, I’m hungry!

 

[marcy]

Dee Jay, I was very excited to get the trucklet home safely. It isn't much larger than my car. I heard Chicago was getting at least a foot of snow. Your NY eve sounds fun and relaxing. Sorry that dealing with your mom is such a PITA. I hate dealing with people who insist on turning everything in to a drama. One time we were at DQ and we see an elderly couple pull up and he gets out of the car and just comes in. She struggles to get out of the car, is using a cane and finally gets in the store. Neither of them were talking and both of them looked very unhappy. Pretty soon she comes around the corner with napkins and straws and sets down in a booth on the right side of the restaurant. He comes around the corner with their order and gets angry right away because he wants to see on the left side of the restaurant. I guess her knee needs one side to get out of and his hip needs the other side. So they get in a big fight right there and are screaming and yelling at each other. He finally gets up and goes to set with her with the final phrase "why is everything such a g*d da*n travesty with you." They never said another word to each other while they ate their supper. We often use that line now when we are joking around or when we are talking about some "drama" person we know. It's funny that incident has stuck with us for so long. I do feel your pain as you probably remember that my sisters can be real "jewels".

We just rented "The Internship". It was pretty good.

Do I really have to work tomorrow?

 

[marcy]

Happy Thursday (or Monday or whatever day it is)

Work was very busy today and it felt like Monday. I met a friend for lunch and we wandered around Hobby Lobby then headed back to work. I made quick leftovers for supper and think I'll try to read some tonight.

Dee Jay, it looks like the snow is piling up in Chicago.

Deegee, are you getting snow where you are?

Laters
Marcy aka Curby

 

[marcy]

Happy Early Saturday morning.

It is cold and snowy here. We went out for supper then did lots of shopping. We got some Christmas decorations on clearance. A big stuffed Snoopy and an abominable Snowman, some Peanuts figurines and Marty got tools. Then we went to the craft store and I got some Christmas tree fabric for napkins and Marty bought stuff for his poker table. After that we went grocery shopping. After taking care of stuff I didn't set down until 9:30. My legs are talking to me right now.

The china pieces I ordered arrived today too so I got them washed up tonight.

We are having friends over tomorrow night for dinner. I am making lasagna. We will probably watch the NFL playoff games.

It looks like a great weekend to stay home.

Here is our new door greeter for Christmas.

Marcy

 

[deegee]

Dee*Jay-sorry to hear dealing with your mom is a PITA. I just don't get the need some people have for drama. Matt's mom thoroughly enjoys starting rumors and turning everything into a crisis. I just don't get it. I absolutely hate shopping for clothes. I am about as anti-fashion as you can get. I'm all about comfort. Unfortunately it's hard to find comfortable AND cute. I always get frustrated and end up in either the home section or in purses. Are you back home now?

Marcy-your greeter is too cute! I didn't really hit up any after Christmas sales. Now that I have all Christmas stuff down and put away, I'm remembering I need to go shopping for a family room rug and accessories. My room is pretty bare. I am so lousy at picking stuff like that out! Your story about the elderly couple was really sad. My parents still hold hands everywhere they go...I can't imagine them ever acting like that in public OR private! We got about 5 inches of snow on Thursday. It fell really fast, like in about 2 hours. We were starting to get worried.

Do I really have to go to work tomorrow? Ugh!!! It's starting to get really windy outside and the temperature is falling fast. It's been raining, so we're expecting a "flash freeze" again tonight. We had the same thing happen on Thursday with the rain and sudden temperature drop. We have had a line of cars parked in front of our house because they can't make it up the hill to their houses. Two people told us they came down the hill sideways, and one guy slid off into our back yard, barely missing one of the brick posts at the end of the driveway. Matt slid out of the neighborhood on to the main road on Friday. This is West Virginia-everything is on a hill! I'm not ready to go back to work, but I am ready to start eating better and exercising again. I have a craving for a salad and a bowl of fresh fruit. Matt is out oft ow fort he next few days and we haven't been to the grocery store in weeks. I guess I'm going to have to break down and go tomorrow after work. My nieces and nephew opened every single cabinet door and searched the fridge and freezer. When they found no food, they asked what we were going to do when we get snowed in on this hill. I told them that I have a whole home natural gas generator that automatically kicks on when the power goes off and a fridge full of beer. I'll be warm & drunk! Have a great Monday. Ugh!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday kids!

Curby, love the door greater! I got a little pink and white striped sock monkey the night we stayed in Reno. I call him Blackjack Monkey. (There *may* have been alcohol involved… !) And LOL about "why is everything such a g*d da*n travesty with you"! The part that often kills me is that my mother asks me what to do, I tell her, she does something else entirely, and then she’s p!ssed off AT ME. Wha…???

Deegee, I don’t know that comfortable AND cute exist (well, except for my elephant jammies! But I can’t very well wear those to the office, although I was sorely tempted to wear them shopping yesterday!). I am back home, and ironically I spent 15 day in a ski town with not so much as a flake of snow from the sky, and I landed to 18” of the nasty white stuff!

Today is SO FRICKIN’ COLD. Many places are closed, and my office even made it optional to come in, but I only live 4 blocks away and I am able to walk 2-1/2 of those inside so I bundled up and braved it. Honestly, I may not be the most efficient employee today (given that I am still trying to straighten things out with my grandmother’s life insurance policies, etc., but I am here if anyone needs me!).

Yesterday the CB and I went over to the new place and did some measuring. I have to on top of things in terms of what to do with at least the small existing bathroom before I move in. That really won’t be a terribly complicated job as long as I have people lined up, but I don’t want to wait until the last minute. Then we did some other running around, including stopping at Pier One where I bought eight gifts to put away for people for next year. What can I say – the holiday stuff was 75% off!!!

 

[marcy]

Happy Monday Eve. 1 Day Down, 4 to Go.

Deegee, I am with you on shopping for clothes. I am going to be a bridesmaid in August and need to start looking for my dress. I don’t want short sleeves so I know that will limit what I can find. That is so sweet your parents hold hands everywhere they go. I would hate to be one of those totally unhappy people. There is a lady at work that would find a way to complain about winning 10 million dollars. She is always unhappy and grumpy. What’s the point? Life is just too short to be miserable. 5 inches of snow in 2 hours is a lot; it sounds like it got quite icy there too. You guys are set to ride out any storms with heat and beer. I can’t think of what else you need. How are your parents doing?

Dee Jay, Blackjack Monkey sounds fun. Alcohol involved? Well, that’s just more fun. You’ve got to love that your mom asks for advice then never follows it. I have a friend like that so I just quit answering her – I just say why? You never listen to me anyway. Welcome back to the cold and snow! 18” is a lot of snow – I bet drifts are amazing around town. I think you should wear your elephant jammies out. I see people out in PJ’s more often than you’d think. How could you pass up Christmas gifts for next year at 75% off? Getting the bathroom at your new place done right away is a great idea. That is a very important room.

I hit my snooze alarm twice this morning and finally forced myself to get out of bed. It was -6 at the time and in my humble opinion that is far too cold to get up and go to work. When I was leaving Marty was in his shorts, t-shirt and bunny slippers (his work clothes) and I told him to bundle up before he leaves for the office.

I spent most of my afternoon working on performance appraisals. I have 2 more to go. Luckily I don’t have any tough ones to write this year.

I bought fast food tacos for supper since Marty has a lot of work to do and didn’t want to take time to cook and I didn’t want to be in the kitchen until 7 so fast food it was! I loved being done before 6.

We are getting in the 30’s here tomorrow. I can hardly wait.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[deegee]

Dee*Jay-we had a conference call with a vendor in Chicago today. He said everything was pretty well shut down. I can't imagine you walking a few blocks to work! I whined about walking across the parking lot to my car. I even parked closer than usual. Gifts already? Argh! And I think you'll have your new place renovated and decorated before I even get one picture bought!

Marcy-I do agree that it is too freaking cold to be getting up and out to work. It's -2 right now and very icy. Every public school in the state is closed tomorrow because of the cold. I think I'd cry if I had to be in a wedding. I don't like wearing short sleeves, even in the summer. Do they make bridesmaid dresses with turtle necks & long sleeves? Thanks for asking about my parents. They're exhausted from running back & forth to the hospital so much. Dad has been having some issues with the treatments. I sure hope the dr can prescribe some appropriate meds to help.

I made it through a whole day at work without collapsing or taking a nap. Woo-hoo! I had a slow start because the office of technology did updates to our systems while I was out and all of my accesses got kicked out. They had to set everything back up for me, and then I spent the rest of the day getting individual program settings back to where I had them, and trying to remember what I was working on 2 weeks ago! I didn't have breakfast because I didn't have anything to take, a cup of chili for lunch, and piece of leftover pizza for dinner. My mom sent a text asking if I had food in the house. She made me promise to go to the grocery store. Have a great day tomorrow! Stay warm!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Curby, I think I would rather poke my own eyeball out that be anyone’s bridesmaid at this point in my life! If I added up all the $ I’ve spent on bridesmaid dresses over the years I would have my renovation half paid for…

Deegee, in my infinite wisdom I decided to go over to my friend’s house to trade gifts last night. He’s only four blocks away, and two of those I walked through the underground parking garage, but those last two were BRUTAL because the wind was in my face. Fortunately the wind was at my back when I walked home, but WOW.

After resolving to eat better I had a dinner that consisted of a pasta appetizer and a LOT of pizza. Someone needs to wire my jaw shut and lock me in a closet until Easter!

 

[marcy]

Happy Tuesday!

Deegee, I hate to hear your parents are worn out running back and forth to the hospital. That is always such a hassle. Even in our small town you can’t find parking places and have to walk to get there. My dad always did valet parking but I didn’t want to have those kids driving my car. Maybe I should have let them and my car wouldn’t have been sideswiped on the street. I hope the doctors find a way to help your dad with his treatments. I don’t want to be a bridesmaid either; my friend that is getting married could be my daughter but she really wants me to be her bridesmaid so I hated to turn her down. I definitely want to find something with at least short sleeves. Stay safe and warm. Is Matt out of town this week? Marty should be home at least another week then he’ll be back to his whirlwind world travels again.

Dee Jay, did you save all your bridesmaid dresses like the girl in the movie? That was a cute movie. I so agree being a bridesmaid is not on my top 10 list of things I want to do but I am a sucker for doing things for my friends. I am sure you spent a lot of money on dresses over the years. I will be anxious to hear all your renovation plans and progress. Your walk last night sounds very COLD! We got in the 30’s here today. I hardly needed a parka.

I finished my performance appraisals this afternoon. I took up residence in a conference room with my laptop so I got a lot done.

I made oven fries and patty melts for supper. Then I cleaned up my mess in the kitchen. Our cleaning lady is coming tomorrow so I need to get things picked up tonight.

My dad was going to buy a new car today but decided not to after he sat down and figured his expenses. He has a truck and my mom had a car. I don’t know why he wants both of them but I guess he does. I am very relieved he decided to wait because I think he’d be left with only $400 to $500 a month for food, gas, extras, etc. My mom always did their budget so I know he’ll struggle for a while.

Laters,
Marcy

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Wednesday kids!

Curby, my bridesmaids dresses have pretty much gone the way of the salvation army! I do however have a slew of prom and homecomming dresses in my grandmother's basement somewhere. You should see my prom dress from my senior year -- peach tulle as far as the eye can see. I will always think of 1988 as the year I went to a dance impersonating Glenda The Good Witch!

Last night the CB and I had pizza. But this time we went for a medium instead of a large -- HA! After that we spent some time trying to decide on two more bathrooms for the new place... starting with where they should even GO. A 2800 square foot blank slate sounds good until you actually have to DO something with it!!!

Warmer here today; I think we're up to FIVE!

 

[marcy]

Happy Tuesday!

Dee Jay, impersonating Glenda the Good Witch. At least you didn't pick the wicked witch. I am not anxious to be wearing a bridesmaid dress but at least there will be alcohol and that will certainly help. You are having a heat wave there getting up to 5 degrees today. Is your new place 2800 square feet on one floor? Our main floor is about 2100 square feet. Designing everything will be so fun. Marty likes to layout house designs in Autocad. Getting enough bathrooms is certainly a good place to start.

Work was fun until one of my employees IM'd me "can I talk to you?" Then I was in HR for a while. It is going to be a long rest of the week. Tomorrow I get to go to a safety class. I took it online in our eLearn classes but they can't find my records so I have to go take that class again. The corporate office set me up with my given name instead of Marcy so I actually have 2 emails and I would be your money the class records are under my full name. Oh well, these classes will only be boring not hard.

We went out for supper tonight then spent $$ at Office Max and Menards. I had steak, salad and baked potato for supper. We needed toner for our ink jet printers and paper so I used a 20% coupon for that. Then Marty bought more stuff for his poker table at Menards and picked up a 1/2 price Woodstock to go with out Snoopy decoration outside. More holiday decorations.

We stopped by to see my dad. He is now going to lease a Hyundai Sonata. The dealer offer to play him $6500 for his car and his lease will be about $216 a month for 3 years. He plans on putting that money in savings and taking his payments out of there. That puts him at almost 2 1/2 years so I guess that works. Does anyone know how good of a car the Sonata is? It appears to have okay to good ratings online.

Well take care. Wish me luck at work tomorrow.

Marcy

 

[deegee]

I just wrote a big reply to everyone and darn it, it disappeared when I hit submit. When will I learn to write it somewhere else and then copy & paste it? Argh!

Today has been a wild, eventful day. Widespread power outages in the next county (where we use to live), gas leak at a school down the street, 2 big water main breaks in town flooding the streets, a lady at work went into labor (thought she looked ready to pop this morning), another lady fell in the restroom and hit her head on the porcelain sink, fire dept & ambulance showed up-she has a concussion. Now we're under a State of Emergency because there was a toxic chemical leak in the river that is a major water supply source. We're not supposed to use tap water for anything but flushing toilets and putting out fires. Boiling it will not take care of the toxic chemical. It happened at 10 this morning and they didn't issue the alert until 6 tonight. Nice. And I was at the salon earlier for my monthly root dye and trim. My haircut lady was showing me her red, swollen hands and trying to figure out what she had been exposed to. Now that they have issued the alert, I hope she went to the hospital for treatment. All schools, restaurants, daycares, universities...places that absolutely have to use water in 9 counties were ordered to close immediately. Grrr this whole day.

Marcy-I hope work went okay this week.

Dee*Jay-you are officially nuts (In the nicest way, of course) for going out in that ridiculous weather to exchange gifts. I refused to stop at the grocery store on the way home from work, even knowing dinner would be popcorn & beer if I didn't stop!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Thursday kids!

Curby, yes, the new place is 2800 square feet on only one level. Also with thirteen foot ceilings, so the volume of space seems huge, especially coming from this current 800 square foot low-ceilinged apartment! As for retaking your class, I feel your pain. I am in continuing education hell right now… I think the Sonatas are very good cars based on what I’ve read BTW.

Deegee, WOW about the water! And about everything else that happened! I should have stopped at the store on my way home tonight, but it simply did not happen. (Surprise! NOT!!!) And yes, going out in the -40 wind chill was truly a wacky thing to do. What can I say; it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Today I had to be at H & R Block from 1-8. I was also working on something for my “real” job that didn’t heat up in terms of the necessary involvement of other people until almost noon. Plus I am on a mission to clean out some of the paperwork in boxes that I moved to, and back from, KC. Somehow I went from having all the time in the world this morning to barely making it in the door at HRB by 1! This tax gig is either going to be great or terrible… I haven’t decided yet.

And I had to have a conversation with my mother about a particularly nasty aspect of my grandmother’s estate. My mother behaved VERY well. Almost like a fully rational human being. I had to check my phone to make sure it was actually my MOTHER I was talking to! My brother’s involvement in this part comes next… it will be interesting to see how that goes.

Food was good today only because (a) I have nothing left in the house, and (b) I had no time to eat. Oh well, I’ll take what I can get!

 

[marcy]

Happy Thursday!

Deegee, I usually type my post up in Word. Whenever I lose a post it’s always a long one. Your day sounds pretty awful. I hope the lady that fell is okay and how awful about the contaminated water. Your poor hairdresser, I hope her hands get better. I’d have beer and popcorn for supper too. So I assume no showers right now, either?

My day at work was not the best. I attended a safety class that took an hour out of my morning and met a friend for lunch; both of those were my highlights. Work is just plain going to be ugly for a while.

I brought home window food again and we had wine with it. A friend of mine walked over here for a glass of wine with us so she and Marty drank a bottle of red and I had more Chardonnay than I intended. Her husband picked her up when he got off work and then Marty and I had a quiet evening after that.

Well, I am off to see if the northern lights are out and then get to bed.

Yay, tomorrow is Friday!
Marcy

 

[marcy]

Happy Friday!

I am glad the weekend is finally here. I made ravioli, veggies and rolls for supper. We've been watching Monk tonight. I should be working on laundry but there is always tomorrow.

Deegee, I saw an article they still don't know how bad the water contamination is there. How awful.

Dee Jay, did it get above freezing there yet?

We have warm-ish weather but high winds. Fun!

Have a great weekend.
Marcy

 

[deegee]

Dee*Jay-I have a coworker who works at H&R Block in the evenings after work during tax season. He loves it. Our new house is 2800 sq ft with most of it on the first level. I absolutely love the high ceilings! I visited a friend over Christmas who has a beautiful home, but I felt so closed in with the standard height ceilings. If can't wait for you to get in it and get stuff done. It's going to be fabulous!

Marcy-our water situation is just bad. No tap water for showers, cooking, brushing teeth, cleaning, washing hands -nothing! We had to go to work today. It was funny because we all felt really gross, and we all looked really bad. Lots of hats and ponytails. All meetings were cancelled out of respect that nobody wanted to be in close proximity to anyone else! All sinks and drinking fountains were blocked off. All we had in the restrooms was hand sanitizer. As I've learned from this week, don't always assume you'll have water tomorrow for laundry! I overheard a conversation today where the lady said she had been putting laundry off and is now going to have to buy some undies & socks since we have no idea when we can use the water! I am so sorry to hear work is going to be lousy for you for a while. That really sucks. Did you see the northern lights?

Matt and I thought about heading South for the weekend, but I've been sick all week with a virus going around at work and I think he may be coming down with the flu. We may have to drag our stinky selves to the doctor tomorrow. We can't stay with my parents since we're sick right now. Hotels in areas not affected by this have opened some rooms for showers. The closest one is about 1.5 hrs away. We may be taking a road trip to take a shower! The lady at work who went into labor yesterday had her baby-everyone is safe and sound. The lady with the concussion is on bed rest. My employee who I always referred to as my problem child also has a concussion. I took my former department to lunch on Wednesday. My problem child hopped out of my car at a red light to mail a letter. The light turned green and he whacked his head really hard hurrying to get back into my car. He came back to work today but left early. He was not quite all there. What an eventful week! Have a good weekend!

 

[marcy]

Happy Saturday!

Deegee, you and those around you have had a lousy week. I checked the latest news on the water situation on line. It sounds like they still have no clue how long the restrictions will be in place. How awful for you and everyone there. Nth at is nice for hotels to offer showers. Are you and Matt feeling better? I hope so. We didn't see the northern lights. The geomagnetic storm was not as strong as predicted. Rats.

Marty got a work call at 6 today. It was like old days. Ha! I tried to sleep for another hour but never succeeded. We went out for breakfast, drove my car through the car wash, then came home. I made cinnamon rolls. We pretty much had them for lunch. I froze them in individual baggies for the Marty break room.

Tonight we have my company holiday party. Don't ask me why it's weeks late, it always is. They have dinner, drawings for prizes and 2 comedians. It should be a nice night.

Tomorrow is the bridal fair that I am going to with my friend who is getting married this summer. Can I drink before I go?

Laters
Marcy

 

[deegee]

Marcy-I just watched the latest news conference. They are satisfied with the level of the chemical in the water, so now they will begin flushing the systmem which will take several days. Still no idea when we can use our water! We definitely have a long week ahead. How was your office party? And yes, going to a bridal fair is a great reason to drink. I didn't even want to do that when I was the one getting married!

Warning-vent: The scary thing is that they had to create new testing protocols because none existed for this chemical. Seriously-this plant is one mile upstream from the water supply intake for 300,000 people and they had no idea what to do with the chemical when it diluted in water. Unbelievable. And when I saw "they" I mean the plant, the water company, government people. They're all shocked that this happened, but there was no plan in place whatsoever. The tanks hadn't been inspected in over 20 years, there is no alarm system in place-the information that is coming out is flat out scary. Thank God the chemical was an irritant and not deadly. Sorry for the rant. I need a hot shower, I need to do laundry, I need to run the dishwasher...

And speaking of a shower, we have been nuking bottled water to bathe with. Matt mentioned he'd like to rig up something with a bucket so you could let the water pour over you. One of his Facebook friends later posted a picture of just that. I'll try to post it. Pure genius! Have a good Monday!

 

[deegee]

Desperate times...

 

[marcy]

Desperate times...

Where is my "like" button?

 

[marcy]

Hi!

Deegee, your makeshift shower is brilliant! I don't blame you for your rant about this chemical spill and the lack of preparation on how to handle it. Even better - maybe figuring out a way to prevent it in the first place might have been a GREAT idea. As you said though luckily it's not something that was life threatening. Hopefully they'll get the water safe to use quickly. Will your office be open tomorrow?

The holiday party was fun last night. Food was basic buffet fair but not bad. They had a comedian and a hypnotists comedian as entertainment. The hypnotist was kind of amazing. He had 10 people come up on stage with him and he had them out in no time flat. He had them say or do silly things. We had a chance to win some nice door prizes but sadly the 40" Samsung TV and assorted iPads were not to be mine.

We got up about 7 today. The bridal fair was okay but rather boring. We stayed about 2 hours and all had to get home in time for the football game. My team advanced to the division playoff game.

Marty cooked steak, rice and veggies for us for lunch. I am not real hungry but will have something snacky for supper.

Laters,
Marcy

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Sunday night kids!

Deegee, the CB just said, "Yah, those poor people are basically camping without water." He was mighty impressed with your "shower"! If (god forbid) you ever get in this situation again the outdoor stores (do you have REI or Dick's?) should have useful options too. Forget the solar option and just put in hot water. http://www.amazon.com/Coghlans-9965-Camp-Shower/dp/B000VNITQS/ref=sr_1_2/177-9044741-6028855?s=outdoor-recreation&ie=UTF8&qid=1389581707&sr=1-2

Curby, it's about 40 degrees here but crazy windy. I can hear my patio furniture moving out there on the balcony. Slightly scary considering I'm on the 40th floor; if one of these chairs went over it would surely kill someone. The only mitigating factors is that anyone falling off my balcony would go down onto the pool area (and I doubt anyone's down there at this time of year!) and there is a 3 foot high glass partition so the furniture would actually have to life up and over that to fall.

Yesterday was action from the word go!
8:30 pick up keys to my new place so I could meet the demo guy
9:00 demo guy (he was on time -- one of my main criteria for a tradesman)
10:00 look at backsplash tile in the Merchandise Mart design center ($6,000 backsplash... someone please get out the smelling salts...)
11:00 do a showing at one of my listings (and they liked it so they are coming back for a second showing!)
12:00 lunch at Big Bowl (I have never had their Asian chicken salad before )
1:00 head out to Ikea in the 'burbs (where many hours were spent... )
4:00 go to Lowe's (totally unproductive visit)
5:00 head back to city (translation: sit in completely stopped traffic for no good reason whatsoever for two hours)
7:00 dinner at Eatily, which just opened in Chicago (a thoroughly disappointing experience; those people need to get their act together)
10:00 collapse in bed

Today was a bit better, but there was a trip to my real estate office, a visit to my tax office, a trip to the grocery store, and a much needed nap! The CB and I got stuff for dinner but since we had lunch so late (like 3ish -- mostly because I refused to get out of bed until after 10!) we never go around to eating again.

I have made an *interesting* kitchen decision... I'm going with Ikea cabinets. The Consumer Reports evaluation put them at #4 (right behind three custom cabinet companies -- and the XH and I used custom cabinet company #1 [i.e., the MOST expensive possible option] in our last kitchen), and after looking at EVERY SINGLE cabinet from here to Tahoe and back I seriously love the Ikea ones the best. My hesitation at first was if I would have a hard time when I got to sell because the snobs will turn their noses up at an Ikea kitchen, but frankly fvck 'em. It will be an Ikea kitchen with absolute top end appliances (a six burner Viking stove is seven grand from god's sake!) and very esoteric stone (I'm thinking calcite Bianca quartzite at the moment). If that's not good enough for someone, well, I guess they can buy something else.

And the CB is lobbying for a small airstream trailer brought inside as the master bedroom, but I am holding firm and saying only if we can convert a vintage London phone boot into a shower in the guest bathroom!

(Yes, we're a little crazy. )

OK, off to peruse another 10,000 pictures on Houzz...

 

[deegee]

I wish that shower was mine right now! My bathroom ceiling is so high, it would take some major work to rig something up. We're just pouring bottled water into a pan, microwaving it, and then heading to the shower with our little pan of hot water. But hey, how many people do you know who bathe with Dasani? We're swanky people, yes we are! I hope my animals dont think they're too good for tap water after this is over.

Dee*Jay-we sooo may order something like that to have in case this ever happens again. I'm quite exhausted reading about your day. You've got some serous plans for that new place of yours. Have you closed on it?

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday kids!

Deegee, I don't close until Feb. 3 but I have to have my ducks in a row immediately at that time so I can get everything I want done before the lease on my current apartment is up on March 19. At the very lease I need the existing bathroom redone, a new hot water tank installed, and a washer/dryer put in. Everything beyond that can wait if absolutely necessary, but those things are a MUST! I'm also trying to line up the demolition guys for Feb. 6 (and beyond) because some of the things that need to happen will be easier to visualize once the walls are down.

Curby, I forgot to comment on your team advancing to the playoffs... The admission that there was a bad call against Pittsburgh in that last game doesn't seem to do us any good, so I'm out of it for tthis year.

It's almost *warm* here compared to last week!

 

[marcy]

Happy Monday!

Dee Jay, I bet the wind is howling 40 floors up; we are having high winds too at least through Friday. Semis are turning on their sides on all the highways around here. That would be awful if some chairs fly off your deck. You were very busy on Saturday. Holy cow! Ikea has some very nice cabinets. You have to stick with what you like. That is too funny to use an airstream as the master bedroom. I like it. Closing day will be here before you know it and that is good idea to begin demolition and remodeling as soon as you can. I agree that was a bad call in the game with Pittsburgh. Yay for warmer weather there; we are above freezing but wind chill is still dropping it in to the teens.

Deegee, I have bathed and done dishes with bottled water before myself. It’s better than nothing, huh? Of course it was camping out in the wilderness when we were out of water. I think I’d rather have the power off than not be able to bath. Let’s face it though; I am a big baby either way. I like my modern conveniences. Makes me want to keep our RV, stock it with food, fill up the water tank and tap off the propane bottles.

I barely got to work on time today. I played snooze alarm twice then left at the last minute. On the way to work I quickly decided it must be “drive yourself to work as slow as you can day”. I passed 3 cars on the outer loop road I take before I hit traffic (and to be fair based on where you ladies live “traffic” isn’t really traffic here) and started switching lanes to get by the people participating in the “see who can go slowest race”. I had to speed coming home just to feel better.

We went out for supper. The bar had ½ price appetizers for happy hour so we ordered Italian nachos most of which we immediately devoured. Then I ordered a calzone and could barely eat any of it. I am stuffed. It is such a bad idea to go out and order lots of food when you are hungry.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Deegee, I read that you guys have water again (or will very soon)!!! If you don't post for a while we'll just assume you're taking a week-long shower!

Curby, I have gotten into that dangerous snooze button game ever since the first of the year. I used to get up around ten to 7 but now I have the alarm set in a way that with two snoozes I get up at 7:07. The killer is I'M AWAKE... I just don't want to get UP!

Last night I went to a new place with one of my friends for drinks and we split three appetizers. They were all OK but not GREAT. I would certainly go there again, but I'm not exactly busting down the door to get a table.

Today I am wearing my favorite new skirt. Feel free to judge at any point, but I got it at the Goodwill store. I REFUSE to spend real money on bigger clothes, even though I have moved from a 4/6 to a 6/8, and the other day I was at Goodwill so I got four new skirts for $20. It cost me more to clean them than I paid for them! I think skirts might be the only thing I can reasonably buy there though because I need petite in tops/sweaters/pants but for some reason I can go "regular" in skirts. And they have racks and racks of jeans but I can't even imagine the misery THOSE would be to try on in that scenario with no consistency between brands in terms of size, and again I have to get shorter length.

 

[deegee]

Still no water-day 6. They're working by zones, and only have water back for 35,000 out of 300,000 people. I live 10 minutes from Charleston, and I'm firmly in the Not Safe zone. We didn't start smelling it at our house until Sunday, and it now so strong it is nauseating. I have a rash around my hairline on my face & neck from being at the salon and having my hair washed with contaminated water the day it happened but before they issued the order. If I didn't have to go to work, I probably wouldn't mind the whole not being able to shower so much. I just feel so gross, even with my daily Dasani bath.

Dee*Jay-I need to go from a 4/6 to a 6/8 too, but I refuse to buy bigger clothes! I wear the same 5 pairs of pants over and over. If I can't do laundry very soon, I really might be wearing pj bottoms to work.

Marcy-it's been weeks since I made it to work on time. I hate slow drivers, especially in the morning. On the curvy, 2 lane road part of my commute this morning I was behind a lady who kept hitting her brakes for no reason. I'm rather short tempered right now. She's lucky I didn't ram her! I am not an outdoors person...no camping for this chick. I hope work is going okay.

Have a good day tomorrow!

 

[marcy]

Happy Wednesday!

Dee Jay, I do the same thing with the snooze button. I don’t really fall asleep again I just don’t want to get up. Strange it doesn’t happen on weekends when I am not going to work. I not judging on your skirts, I had on relaxed fit jeans on Saturday that were certainly not relaxed fit; they were almost painful. I am really struggling to find the motivation to eat smart right now.

Deegee, the restoration of water at your house doesn’t sound promising. I hope your rash isn’t too bad and gets better. I am NOT an outdoor person either; even with our campers I never really enjoyed camping. Hopefully they will get your water back very soon. Work was okay, tomorrow will be fine but Thursday and Friday will be a powder keg. Hopefully by next week things will settle down as we start a new path.

We had a few inches of snow last night. This morning was “pull out in front of the red Audi on icy roads” day. I was using such colorful metaphors on them.

I took cottage cheese and frozen peaches for lunch (to help make up for the ton of food I consumed last night) and quickly ended up at the vending machine. I did eat the cottage cheese but those peaches were GROSS. I got some chex mix and had part of a coke plus crackers.

I left roast cooking in the crock-pot and since I was hungry from very little lunch I ate more than I should for supper. This MUST stop.

Marty is off to New Jersey for a few days so I will only eat leftovers and that should help cut down on extra portions and the food bill.

Laters,
Marcy Curby