Now I really did it :((

[missy]

Good morning girls! And Happy New Year's Day!
Wishing you all happiness, health, love and peace in this New Year of 2017. Thank you all for being here and for sharing your lives and love and compassion and sending big hugs and lots of love to each and everyone of you.

Hi CJ, thank you and Fred sends lots of purrs and love right back at ya. Yesterday we took our annual NYE trip to an outlet in Long Island and spent the day shopping and then we went to my sister's house and spent a nice evening with my sister and parents and nieces. We left early to get home before midnight though and rang the New Year in our bed all comfy and warm.

I agree with you CJ. When you take the time and energy to purchase a gift for someone no matter how small it should be acknowledged and I just don't get people who don't appreciate it. It's OK though as you just have to listen to people when they show you who they are and learn from that and move forward and on in a positive direction. I am usually thankful when people show me who they are so I don't have to waste any more energy on them. Hope that doesn't sound cold but it has allowed me to surround myself with positive people who have good energy and who are kind, compassionate and just lovely people. (((HUGS))).

Thank you Marcy. Loofy is all better for now. Yay! And glad you got your astronomy blog completed!

Scandi, love the tranquil photo and the sea is a pretty nice alternative though I am sorry your original plans didn't work out.

Hi Junie, hope it all went well last night and that you and your dh enjoyed a lovely evening at home and that the kiddos are safe and dreaming peacefully right now.

Callie hope you and your dh had a wonderful dinner last night and rang the New Year in peacefully at home and that your sweet fur baby wasn't scared with the fireworks.

Jimmianne, good morning and happy 2017! You are off to a marvelous start with being Jewel of the week. Woohoo! May that long continue (beautiful bling for all the girls in this coming year).

From Brooklyn last night from the balcony. My friend M took this video fyi. Not me. I was fast asleep. Greg said he couldn't believe I slept through that noise. He said the finale sounded like a 50 megaton bomb and it shook our building. LOL I was tired I guess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRLcU7R-d9Y&feature=youtu.be


Adding some quick pics from last night. My sister has 2 doves who are super friendly and then there is their sweet cat Calvin. He was diagnosed recently with interstitial arthritis so he is having a tough time of things but still such a sweetheart. Love him and the doves too. Furbaby love rocks. Sorry for the grainy/blurry pics but I figured it was worth sharing despite the less than stellar quality.


And lastly our nieces entertained us last night with the violin playing and gymnastics. So talented.

 

[MarionC]

Missy, thank you for the fireworks!! Glad you had someone willing to stay up to film. Honestly, those fireworks with the city lights and traffic are just wonderful.
and from there I went to the Bea videos : )

That photo of you with the doves would make a wonderful painting. Marty?? hello Marty?

A very quiet day here. My "games" group is getting together for card games and pot-luck and I "opted out" ... so cozy here/in furry bathrobe in front of the fire/rain outside... that I plan to read, look on eBay and watch movies. I watched or re-watched every Woody Allen movie on Amazon this week. His inciteful philosophical dialogue makes me LOL. I may go back and rent the ones I haven't seen yet.
My friend who is having empty next syndrome after visiting her children in DC for the holidays came for the whole afternoon yesterday. It was so nice to have company to relax with without any pressure to entertain.

How is everyone this morning? Who stayed up as NIRDI representatives to welcome in the New Year?
How about eating Hoppin' John and collards? Is that just a Southern good luck thing or is it all over?



I believe that 2017 is going to be a great year for all of us. A happy new year to you all, and love.

 

[Calliecake]

Missy, I love the pictures from last night. So cute and it looks like your nieces were having a wonderful time entertaining everyone. Enjoy them at this age. It goes by so quickly, Haleigh called this morning to tell me she was making cinnamon rolls and she was eating frosting. I wish I could keep her little forever. We did our usual early dinner out. The past three years we have celebrated with friends and this year we went out just the two of us and had a lovely time. I hope you find something good while shopping today.

Jimmianne, I'm glad I'm not the only one that has decided to stay home today. I started reading a good book and also want to just stay home in my bathrobe. My husband is off this coming week so he was fine with staying home today. Your new stone is beautiful!

June, I had to laugh when you said you were still a work in progress. You are not alone sweetheart, you are not alone. I'm glad you had a happy holiday season. I know this year was a tough year and I'm hoping this year is much better for you.

CJ, I've come to expect to wait at least 15 minutes, whether it be a hair, nail or doctor appointment. I'm always plessantly surprised if I don't have the to wait. I guess maybe I'm getting more patient as I age or have just come to realize there are so many worse things in life and just being grateful that nothing worse is happening. I love the girl who does my nails and consider her a friend. I have told her if she needs to push back my appointment to just try to call me ahead of time. We have both helped each other out whenever possible. I needed to cancel an appointment when my brother was in the hospital. I felt terrible about it. Her response was that she would come in on her day off if that helped me. She texted me multiple times a week when things were looking very grim and I so appreciated her kindness. She is one in a million and I'm so lucky to know her.

Marcy, I hope you are having a great day. What are you baking today?

Hi Kristie and LLJsmom!

I have to tell you girls I thought of you all last night. The table next to ours was a table of five women. All we dressed up and had very pretty jewelry on. It was obvious a few had lost their husbands. They had the best time and were laughing louder than any other table. It was so nice to see that even having weathering some storms they all had each other and were loving every minute of their time together.

I'm so grateful that we all have gotten to know each other and have helped each other with whatever life throws at us. Happy New Year!!!

 

[marcy]

Delicious dessert.


Marcy

 

[marcy]

Happy New Year NIRDIs! I am hoping that 2017 is a fabulous year for all of you wonderful ladies.

Scandi, I love your picture of the trees, the sea and the sun. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Rats the weather didn’t allow you to go to the mountains but the sea was a very nice replacement.

Jimmianne, I was so excited to see your gorgeous asscher was picked as the jewel of the week. Congratulations! LOL to hello Marty. I’d like him to paint our rings for us. He kind of rolls his eyes at that suggestion; like he thinks I’m kidding. Enjoy your relaxing day. That’s nice your friend came to visit yesterday. That sounds fun. I was up until about 1 am so I did see in the New Year for us.

CJ, did you go see the movie? I hope you had a nice evening. I totally get where you are coming from on people acknowledging a gift from you. Thank you notes are a sore subject around our house. I was raised that you send thank you notes for gifts. Marty won’t write a thank you note until I absolutely force him to write one. Ironically his parents are the first to complain if they don’t get a thank you note for gifts. It turns out his mom used to write his thank you notes for him. When we first got married I used to send his siblings and nieces and nephews birthday cards and Christmas gifts. We never got one thank you note for the gifts and none of his siblings ever wished him a happy birthday so I just quit sending them things.

Missy, your pictures are great. Calvin is a cutie and your nieces are adorable. Your friend’s video of the fireworks is wonderful. I am surprised you slept through that noise as well. I think it’s a good idea to surround yourself with positive, caring and kind people.

Callie, funny you mentioned you wish your niece could remain little forever. I was kind of thinking about how close I was to my nieces when they were young. I only see them once or twice a year now but I enjoy knowing them as adults too. They both live in Texas so it’s hard to catch up with them. Glad to hear you are relaxing today. That’s wonderful the lady that does your nails is so helpful and has become your friend. Very cool. I am making ribs and baked potatoes in the crock pot today. I put BBQ sauce on mine and Marty did a dry rub of garlic, peppers and onion on his ribs. We wrapped everything separate in foil so I won’t have many dishes. Sweet. Your description of those ladies out having a good time and enjoying each others company is heartwarming. It’s so nice for anyone to have friends you can count on going through life. I agree it’s been nice getting to know you ladies.

We had a nice time last night. Our dinner reservations were at 5 (since I didn’t make them until Tuesday) so we got in and out of there pretty fast. The place we went is called Little Bear and their signature dessert is called bear balls. They are so good; it is a ball of vanilla ice cream rolled in crushed Oreo’s. I’ll post a picture.

We got home a little after 6 and Marty finished watching some movie he recorded then we headed over to a friend’s house for game night. The first game we played required more skill, thinking and memory that I possess but I got better at it and ended up with the 3rd highest number of points. It’s one of those games where your collect cards, build things, buy things, etc. The second game was way easier and I was 2 spaces away from winning and someone got a chance card that you can move someone to a different spot so naturally they put me on the other side of the board. Then I got “blocked” in that spot so I lost. We had fun though.

We had some champagne at midnight then ventured on home. I was the designated driver last night so I drank water and only a few sips of my champagne.

We are watching football today. I am enjoying being lazy.

Marcy

 

[Scandinavian]

Good morning girls

Just wanted to say hello before I drown myself in work - again - already 2 conference calls this morning so far, lol.

Have you had a good holiday? Ready for the new year? Any new year resolutions? I only have one - get this house finished !!!

Hugs!

 

[Scandinavian]

Missy, (and anyone else ) could I ask you for some tips for non-meat protein sources pretty please?

 

[missy]

Missy, (and anyone else ) could I ask you for some tips for non-meat protein sources pretty please?

Good morning girls! I need to do a few things before I post properly but just checked in here and saw Scandi's request so Scandi here you go. HTH! And I am available (as always) for questions.
I will return shortly.


http://www.eatthis.com/lose-weight-build-muscle-with-complete-proteins


http://greatist.com/health/complete-vegetarian-proteins




I used to eat beans (black beans, chickpeas mainly) and quinoa. But I stopped a couple of years ago due to my POD because I read that beans can be inflammatory. I am thinking of returning to my mostly vegan diet again however. Right now I am a Pescetarian. I eat fish as my main protein source since developing POD. Would love to go back to the animal friendly beans so I am thinking about taking a chance re my face. Beans and quinoa are delicious and super easy to prepare!

 

[missy]

I'm back. I hope everyone enjoyed a good New Year's Day yesterday. I cannot believe it is already 2017. Wow.

Callie, hope you enjoyed a relaxing and peaceful day at home yesterday. Haleigh is such a sweetheart and I know what you mean about wanting to keep them at that precious age. As you know I did score some pretty purchases yesterday.
And you know how lucky I feel we are having found each other. You girl are the best. Nice to see other women enjoying a close relationship like that too. Did you get any pics of their bling?

Junie, we are all still a work in progress! And I think you are doing pretty great anyway! You are a delightful woman and so kind and sweet and lovely.

Marcy, the games you played with your friends on NYE sounds like so much fun. Wish we had friends who enjoyed games like that. I love playing games etc but Greg is not a big fan of that. Though he did play them when I was stuck at home with my broken leg so that was fun. Well at least as much fun as you could have with a broken leg.
That dessert looks delicious.
Hope you enjoyed watching football and being lazy yesterday. You deserve some R&R.

Jimmianne, hope you enjoyed a lovely day at home yesterday and enjoyed your reading and movies. I am glad you enjoyed the fireworks I shared and LOL I forgot about those old Bea videos. I texted the girls all new ones a few months ago but didn't get to send it to you I am sorry. It's harder re email.
I love Woody Allen movies (though not so much Woody Allen anymore sigh) and they are so New York. You will see soon enough.
Woody Allen movies and Seinfeld. Very New York City IMO. My favorite Woody Allen movie has got to be Annie Hall. Though I loved Hannah and her Sisters as a close second but there are so many of his movies I love. What is your favorite Woody Allen movie?


New Year's Day was a pretty day yesterday so we spent it outdoors.

We went to Bryant Park and enjoyed the shops there and I supported the local artisans by making a couple of impulse purchases. LOL I haven't made any New Year's Resolutions per se but I want to stop buying so much "stuff". Already failing at that but I do like supporting local businesses. How's that for rationalizations. Haha. And look at this awesome stocking we saw yesterday.




Yesterday my sister and her dh and my nieces went to Coney Island and did the Polar Bear club thing. They are crazy hahaha. Every year Mark does it but this is the first year the kids joined in...they were waiting for the kids to be old enough to enjoy it. I have the pictures to prove it and OMG I admire them but wouldn't do it myself ever probably.

Today it is a rainy grey and drab day. Not sure what we are doing yet. Tomorrow is a day filled with doctor appointments for me (one for Greg-his biopsy) so I am looking forward to the weekend already. LOL. Have a bright day girls no matter the weather by you and sending you lots of good thoughts and big hugs.

Sharing some pics from our New Year's Day. Nothing too exciting but just happy to be enjoying the day together.

 

[Scandinavian]

Thank you so much Missy, I really need to get better at incorporating alternatives to my diet!

And OMG - now THAT is a Christmas tree

You are the sweetest couple - even coordinated without being matchy-matchy

 

[junebug17]

Hi everyone!

Love the pics of Bryant Park Missy, that tree is so pretty and you and Greg look great. Your nieces are so sweet - and wow, your oldest niece looks so grown-up! Yikes, how did that happen lol! Love both bags, great choices. The doves are so beautiful! And Calvin is such a sweetie The view from your apartment is very cool, I love that you have the best of both worlds. Love that pic of Fred, so snuggly. And great shot of Bea, she's a beauty. I love diamonds lol.

Yes, both kids made it home safely, thank goodness that another NYE is over lol. Thank you for the fireworks video! I was able to see fireworks without having to my house haha.

Calliecake, I like your idea of going out for dinner on Christmas, I might run it by people for next year and see if they are up for it. My daughter said we should just go on vacation during Christmas and avoid the whole thing altogether lol! Right now it doesn't sound like a bad idea haha. Glad you had a relaxing and enjoyable NYE with your husband, imo the perfect way to spend the evening.

Love that those women were having a great time and enjoying each other so much! I'm so thankful to have met such a great group of women through this thread, it's so wonderful to be able to share both good and bad times with everyone, I know it has helped me so much this past year to have everyone's support and company.

Marcy, lol to people not wanting to pay for dinner I'll probably run into that too with dh's family if I suggest it! Sorry you ended up being so busy when you were planning on resting and recuperating. I hear you, it took me several days to recover, and you had more people than I did. NYE sounds like it was a lot of fun. That dessert looks SO good! Good for you for finishing your blog, I hope you can use some of the articles for your meetings.

CJ, I hope you had a good NYE - what did you decide to do?

Jimmianne, staying in by a warm fire, watching movies, and browsing the internet sounds like a perfect day to me Hanging out with your friend and not worrying about having to entertain sounds very relaxing and enjoyable , and easy too! I'm a big fan of "easy" these days ha.

Scandi, sorry the mountain trip didn't work out but it's great you were still able to get away to the sea. Beautiful and peaceful pic! Good luck with work, I know it's hard to get back into it after the excitement and fun of the holidays.

Not a whole lot going on here, dh and ds are trying not to be depressed about going back to work tomorrow lol. I'm just doing some odds and ends around the house and will probably run out to the store - I need to start putting the Christmas decorations away but I decided that can wait until tomorrow…or the next day

Hope everyone is having a good day so far!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Day 2 of 2017 – So far so good.

Scandi, rats for conference calls this morning. Marty eats a lot of protein too. He eats a lot of raw almonds, cheese and supplements protein for the day with those protein shakes that you mix up.

Missy, Marty will play games with me if I ask but he sure doesn’t go out of his way to do so. I love to play games and also put jigsaw puzzles together. Both are way cheaper than shopping online. Seinfield was a great show. OMG that your sister, BIL and nieces joined the poiar bear club. I am cold just thinking about it. I love your new photos. That Christmas tree is fabulous. Good luck with the doctor appointments tomorrow.

June, I am glad your children made it home on NYE without any problems. I’m with your daughter on just going on vacation over Christmas. No hassle; go somewhere warm; no dishes. Sounds fabulous to me. The strange thing about my family members who don’t want to pay for dinner won’t let anyone pay for them. Of course then there is the other few who always expect someone else to pay for their dinner. I’m not shy anymore about that – I’ll ask for separate checks please. I am with your DH and DS about not wanting to go back to work tomorrow.

I unwillingly went to the grocery store with Marty this morning. I made him buy me hot chocolate while we were there. Ha! Sucker. That will teach him to want me to go with him to the store. They even had little teddy bears at Starbucks that were quite cute. He just kind of ignored me when I pointed them out.

I have been working on laundry today including all the bedding in our guest bedroom. I spilled a big glass of water last night on the living room (naturally right over the electrical plugs in the floor). That was fun to clean up and added a big batch of towels added to my stack of laundry.

I cleaned out the drawer in the end table by my chair and cleaned out some of the cupboards in the utility room. Baby steps on cleaning out things, right?

I was looking on the Simply Sapphires website for some affordable yellow sapphires for earrings and almost made an offer on a pair of 6mm trillions. I can’t decide if trillions would look goofy as solitaires on dangle lever backs. They do have a pair of 5.5mm rounds. I can’t stop myself from buying jewelry.

Have a fabulous evening.
Marcy

 

[Scandinavian]

Good morning girls and happy fabulous new year!

We are so lucky, you know? We have a whole new year ahead of us to do stupid things and wonderful things and buy stupid wonderful new bling! 365 days minus 2 = 363 days! So lets do this, to steal a slogan from Nike (?) What do you want to do this year? I want to finish with the house building project so that we can start the next project, lol. The summerhouse desperately needs some work, lol.

I have no idea where to start!

Marcy, I just can't forget about that woman and the computer! So weird that she did not deliver it before she left. I agree with you completely, make her deliver it because it kind of sounds like it is broken already... Re people who do not want to pay for dinner - I know a few of those too lol. So weird. Someone *is* paying for dinner even if you are eating it at my house... lol. Same people who always invite themselves to us instead of the other way around, I think.. And then you have the people who always insist on splitting the bill in half even though I have had way more to eat than them, I prefer those people. Not because of the money, but because it can be a lot of work here to get the bill separate for all if we are a big group. I'm ranting now, so I'll stop. I do love you and Marty together though. The whole hot chocolate + teddy bear at the grocery store story made me laugh! You are so cute together.

Jimmianne, I keep thinking about that new ring of yours! I want one too... But I have to be a "good girl" this year, at least until the house is finished... Grrrrr to building and all the money that it costs. The constructor actually wants about USD 150 000 *extra* for the roof!! Hello??? How is it even possible to be that much over budget?? I do hope your French adventure was not this frustrating, lol. But don't get me wrong. I do *love* getting the new house together and I can hardly wait to show you the pictures when its done! Back to your ring: How is your love story developing? Are you in love with it now/still? I really like the clean setting. Perfect for France / a travel ring IMO. How is the horse doing? Just realising that you have more than one horse...

Are your furbabies scared of the whole New Year fireworks thing? Here, a lot of pets have a big problem with the fireworks and a lot of people flee the cities to avoid the noise.

Missy, how are you sweetie? You have so much going on with Greg's biopsy and your toe and everything. I'm sure the biopsy will be fine, but tons of dust just to be sure. Will you be working tomorrow? It sure is fun to return to work, I promise... NOT. LOL. Your nieces are ever so adorable!! And they are starting to look so big! Soon they will be ready to go bling shopping with you The feral feeding stations that Greg makes are amazing!! Please tell him! It is always better when such things are made from the heart instead of store bought, and when they look store bought as well, hey you can't beat that! Sometimes I really do want an "American" Christmas tree. The ones we have here looks like an American tree that has been through a very difficult night in front of a firing squad.. lol. I actually made quinoa to go with our fish dinner yesterday - baby steps

There is just no snow here now!! It has rained away and melted and frozen to ice. So dark outside. Not fun at all. Even in the mountains, it is hardly enough snow for skiing. Grrr. Stupid weather. But fingers crossed it will get better soon. At least it is not so cold, just barely turning the green grass white from frost at night.

CJ, you are too kind and sweet as always! You will never tire me with your stories, lol. I do think they could have called you to let you know they were running late, but like Callie, I kind of expect to wait a little. That is why I often book morning appointments before work, not such a delay when I'm the first customer that day, lol. As I try to teach my DD, you can catch a lot of flies with honey Or good planning... lol. So just SMILE and the day will mostly turn out OK Re gifts - you are kinder than me - if people don't appreciate getting gifts, I just stop buying them..

Rainwood, you always take such nice pictures! When are you traveling again so we can have some more??? LOL and just kidding, you know that Like to have you home and posting Are you having a good new year so far?

Callie, eating out sounds wonderful! I love eating out too, also with friends, saves me from a lot of hassle The story about the ladies is heart-warming and full of hope. Shows that friends really make a difference in life and that life is a lot about what you make out of it. Oh - just got an email from DH that he managed to get a scratch on the car when backing out of the garage this morning. How is that even possible?? I take back everything I just said about life being what you make it to be, lol, I'm not worthy of that "quote", I just got really annoyed at him for not being more careful

June, I'm with your daughter! Lets book a NIRDI+families cruise for next year! Sail away to the Caribbean and relax our way through Christmas and NYE! Good plan, yes? Thank you for the nice comments re my picture! It is very pretty there, so not very hard to take pictures, lol. I'm not putting away the Christmas decorations until the 13 day of Christmas - a benefit of living in Scandinavia lol

Gotta go! Hugs!

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!


Junie, I am sorry your DH and DS are sad about returning to work but yes I get it. The holidays sped by (as usual). I think we can safely leave our Christmas decorations up for another week no? That is my thought anyway. We have left our tree up at the beach house and it will stay up till we return and not sure when that will be. Though Greg will be making a separate trip to feed the feral feeding station.

Aww thank you Scandi, what a lovely compliment and right back at ya! And thank you for the good luck dust! Much appreciated. The weather is matching the mood of the day. Rainy cold and dreary but I am going to hold a sunny perspective.
I have a good idea. How about come to the USA for an American Christmas (and Christmas tree). You have almost 12 months to plan...and your house should be finished by then so a good way to celebrate with all the NIRDIs. We can have a NY Christmas!

I also make the earliest appointments that I can and try to beat the rush of the day. However with some of our health care professionals they are still behind at the first appointment of the day. Don't ask. Today is one such day. I fully expect to be at the doctor's office with Greg for at least a few hours despite having an 8AM appointment. Fun fun fun.

I hope you get snow very soon and that your house project is almost complete and that you can start on your summerhouse project before summer.

Hope your work day is going smoothly!

Marcy, glad Marty bought you Hot Chocolate yesterday at the store. Yummy! Sorry about spilling the water near the electrical stuff but at least it wasn't some sticky colored drink/substance. That is my forte. Spilling the most messy hard to clean up substances. Fortunately Greg is quite adept at cleaning up my messes.

Good for you for starting your cleaning and organizing. Baby steps are the best way. Well with all that talk of game playing we actually stayed in and played a card game yesterday. It was fun and Greg enjoyed it so yay. We almost tied (however I did win by 8 points just saying ) which is sort of amazing because when we play certain games together we often almost tie. Funny and weird. More than a few times we actually tied (exactly tied) playing miniature golf. How weird is that LOL.

I hear you about the bling buying. It is a disease we all have and sapphires rock so do let us know what you decide. Not sure about the trillions either. Hmmm. I have a big bling thought in my head and I am trying to resist! Leaving it up to fate and I have a feeling the decision will be taken out of my hands this week which is none too soon. LOL.


Have a great day girls and (((HUGS))).

 

[MarionC]

Did I hear someone mention a NIRDI cruise?!

Missy, your cats are hilarious. It's obvious that they believe "cats rule" and I'm sure they think you play cards only to amuse them.
Your day does sound like something to get through. I hope there are some bright spots on this rainy day and that all goes well.

Marcy I am shocked that Marty would ignore you when you show him bears!
I have an idea. You should carry a rabbit with you secretly the next time you are out, put it on [the starbucks] display - and see if he takes a double take.
Although maybe this is a terrible idea - you don't want to rile up the rabbits.

hugs to everyone. I've gotten sidetracked here getting ready for my trip [!] -cleaning barn & house, & building a new covered run for my small dogs so the hawks can't get to them - and don't read through back posts as carefully as I should to respond in detail.

One thing DID stand out...LOL
big bling?!

 

[azstonie]

YES to NIRDI cruise, one of the Viking River Cruises! They are the best ones, not one of those drink and eat til ya barf cruise ships

 

[Calliecake]

Not a fan of cruises. Too many germs!

 

[MarionC]

Not a fan of cruises. Too many germs!

Callie, that made me laugh.
ugh. never thought of THAT.

 

[missy]

LOL yes the kitties are Jimmianne. You are right. They rule our roost. LOL big bling you know exactly what I am talking about girlfriend.

Callie OK that seals it. Holiday NY trip for the NIRDIs in 2017!

Kristie see above.

The biopsy this AM went OK and Greg has stitches which come out in 2 weeks. Biopsy results in about 10 days. Thank you for your good wishes and thoughts everyone. Hope everyone is having a good day. (((HUGS))).

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Scandi, I’ll look forward to your house being finished this year. That is so true that even if someone eats at our houses we still paid for their dinner. I bet dinner at a nice restaurant including wine would not cost us anymore than what we spent for the meal we cooked at our house. And there would be no dishes. That is a total win win in my book. Marty and I are easily entertained so I am glad we can amuse you as well. LOL that returning to work is so fun. I swear today I felt like I needed retrained. I had a hard time getting organized and then got a new project dropped on me about 1:30 and there went my afternoon. Oh no to being icy there. We are getting snow through Thursday this week – how much we’ll get remains to be seen. I’ll try to get a picture. My new camera is being ignored. Darn that your DH scratched his car. Marty put a big old scratch on his pickup last month. He had tools downstairs and carried them back to his shop in the garage in a storage bin. The saw was hanging out the side and he scratched his truck. He said at least he kept it away from my car. I wanted to point out he was dumb to carry it like it was but thought it was best to keep my Captain Obvious comment to myself.

Missy, of course it’s fine to leave the tree up. We still have our tree up and the lights up outside. I hope your appointments went well today. I hope Greg isn’t too uncomfortable with stitches and sending good wishes for good results from the biopsy. How is your toe doing? Knock on wood that my spills are usually just ice water. That’s good Greg is good at cleaning up spills. Yeah that you won at cards. That is cool you and Greg will tie at miniature golf. Great pictures of the card sharks and I love your captions. Too funny.

Jimmianne, a cruise? I hear the stars are fabulous from a dark, dark ocean. I know – how rude that Marty wouldn’t buy the bears I pointed out to him. You gave me a great idea though to order another Killer Rabbit and pack it around in my purse. What would be really funny is to set it somewhere then let him do a double take and have it gone already. I could really amuse myself with an extra KR. I bet you are getting excited for your trip.

Kristie, thanks for the recommendation for a Viking River Cruise. A guy at work swears by them too over an ocean cruise. Marty sure wants us to take one someday.

Callie, I don’t find a big ship that appealing either. Germs would be on the top of my list too; way too many people. To me it is like a huge mall at Christmas time, crowded and no place to escape.

I was a space case at work today. Kind of distracted, found it hard to get back to my routine and just didn’t want to be there. My new employee started. He seems quite nice.

My chauffeur took me to work so I had a nice warm vehicle to get in to when we left today. We only have about 2” of snow so far. They are forecasting up to 9” by Thursday evening with wind chills well below zero. If I want a ride tomorrow I am going to have to get up early; we’ll see how that works out. Marty has a conference call at 8 so we’d need to leave a little after 7 so he’d be home in time. Cold or sleep. What would Brian Boitano do?

Have a fabulous evening.
Marcy

 

[Scandinavian]

Hmmmmm so no cruise re Callie. And we would never go without you sweetie! So how about a nice resort...?

Missy, your cats are just too good to be true! And so are the pictures + capitations of them! Fantastic!! Glad the biopsy is over for now. I never have the patience for stitches, so I have a tendency to just take them out myself when it looks like I have healed ok - I heal fast, thankfully. Your evil plan of getting us all to New York might work.. careful what you wish for..

Marcy, for new employee!! But sure difficult to get "in the flow" again - sigh..

Jimmianne - trip - YIPPI - exiting! Do the birds really take small dogs?? Not very nice of them.... grrrrr... You are so clever for building a running track!

Kristie, Viking River Cruises, have not heard of them, will look them up.

Now - 3-2-1 WORK (I'm at the office, but have spent the morning changing offices - again! )

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!
My first day back to work after a few weeks and I have butterflies in my stomach because of the new EHR system that I have promptly and completely forgotten how to operate. I guess one never gets too old to get nervous about work and that Sunday night feeling never completely goes away either. Even when one isn't working Mondays anymore. Sheesh.

Scandi, I am sorry you had a hectic morning changing offices and I hope things calm down and the rest of your workday/workweek goes smoothly. Glad you enjoyed my photo captions Scandi and Marcy. The thing is, I make these nutty captions (or shall I call them catshuns ) and then I can never find the photos on my computer again should I want to. But luckily I don't mind taking more cat pics when I need to and they are usually willing models.

yes that is my evil plan and you are so right. I better be careful what I wish for...when Greg has lots of NIRDIs to cook and bake for I am going to have to be very nice to him. Well that's a small price to pay.

Callie, Ha I have heard about germy cruises from another NIRDI before. I have been lucky as I went on many cruises when I was younger and never had an issue but yes that is a potential disaster. Norovirus I believe it is called. Not fun.
Let's all (and all our loved ones!) stay healthy this year please.

Marcy, How much snow do you have now Marcy? I am glad your chauffeur was able to help you out yesterday and my vote is to let him take you to work today even though it is earlier than usual for you. Safety above all else. And maybe if you go in earlier you can finish earlier? Just a thought.

Here's another thought.
I take awful videos and crappy pics do you know that? I took a video or 2 of Bea and well they just don't do her any justice. How do some of the PSers and vendors (hello Grace who takes the most awesome videos ever) do it? I mean the iPhone is a good camera so I cannot blame it on that.

So the weather is going to start getting much colder by tonight and then through the beginning (at least) of next week. Winter has made itself known. Stay warm girls and have a good Wednesday.

 

[MarionC]

Marcy, I'm glad you like the killer rabbit idea. Buying an extra one never occurred to me - brilliant idea!

and seeing the stars from a cruise ship-wow. I once camoed out in the Rockies and could not even comprehend the number of stars there actually are. You are making me think it might be worth the germs and crowd to see the stars like that again!
My parents did the Mississippi River cruise one time and really liked it. So a NIRDIs river cruise??? We would have diamonds instead of stars - not too shabby!

Scandi - why did your office get moved? Annoying to have to spend time doing that instead of getting down to the real work.

Missy, I thought your Bea videos were excellent, as good as any I've seen.
You would laugh at my latest video - there is nothing to see as I just used the phone to record Puff talking in another room. He kept saying "get away" "get away" - probably what his former caretakers said every time he tried to land on them to bite. lol
Have a great day today!
Sorry to hear about the cold weather.
The buds for Spring are on the trees here - in NY too?

 

[missy]

Thanks Jimmianne! You are too kind. And yes the cold weather is upon us. I wanted the weather to be nice for your visit so now of course I am fretting. But don't worry about that OK. Let me do all the worrying. I am pretty good at that.
No buds on our trees yet sadly. We have a bit longer to wait for signs of Spring here. Winter is just beginning for us.


I edited my post above re the Norovirus as I just remembered that was the issue with small spaces. IDK why it seems more common now than when I used to cruise but it definitely does seem more rampant. And it is the second most common virus after the cold. So not that far removed from reality. Cannot wait for spring when we can go outside more and stay away from the small space viruses. Just another reason to love the nicer (i.e. warmer) weather!

My favorite cruise ever was my Alaskan adventure. It was an amazing cruise and a trip of a lifetime and one day Greg and I are going to share that adventure together I hope. Greg has never been on a cruise and I think this would be the perfect first (and maybe last lol because not sure he will like cruising) cruise. This is the best way to see all of Alaska IMO as long as there is plenty of land time too.

Not wanting to leave it on that before I say goodbye and get ready for the day so I will share another pic of Bea.
Here she is in the Apple store when Greg and I visited the store last month. She is taking a bite out of the big Apple.

OK adding one last pic because all this chat about cruising and Alaska has made me sentimental about our Alaskan cruise. I took it with my best friend Tom. My sister and my other best friend C joined us. A great trip!

Hope everyone takes a big delicious happy bite out of the day today and that 2017 is off to a good start for all.

 

[missy]

Just had to share this. A friend shared it with me and I thought it too beautiful not to share with you girls.

For some reason PS won't allow me to share the link. Sorry.

1. The most important person in your life is the person who agreed to share their life with you. Treat them as such.

2. You might live a long life, or you might live a short one — who knows. But either way, trust me when I say that you’re going to wish you took better care of yourself in your youth.

3. Stuff is just stuff. Don’t hold onto material objects, hold onto time and experiences instead.

4. Jealousy destroys relationships. Trust your significant other, because who else are you supposed to trust?

5. People always say, ’’Make sure you get a job doing what you love!’’ But that isn’t the best advice. The right job is the job you love some days, can tolerate most days, and still pays the bills. Almost nobody has a job they love every day.

6. If you’re getting overwhelmed by life, just return to the immediate present moment and savour all that is beautiful and comforting. Take a deep breath, relax.

7. Years go by in the blink of an eye. Don’t marry young. Live your life. Go places. Do things. If you have the means or not. Pack a bag and go wherever you can afford to go. While you have no dependents, don’t buy stuff. Any stuff. See the world. Look through travel magazines and pick a spot. GO!

8. Don’t take life so seriously. Even if things seem dark and hopeless, try to laugh at how ridiculous life is.

9. A true friend will come running if you call them at 2am. Everyone else is just an acquaintance.

10. Children grow up way too fast. Make the most of the time you have with them.

11. Nobody ever dies wishing they had worked more. Work hard, but don’t prioritize work over family, friends, or even yourself.

12. Eat and exercise like you’re a diabetic heart patient with a stroke — so you never actually become one.

13. Maybe this one isn’t as profound as the others, but I think it’s important… Floss regularly, dental problems are awful.

14. Don’t take anyone else’s advice as gospel. You can ask for advice from someone you respect, then take your situation into consideration and make your own decision. Essentially, take your own advice is my advice…

15. The joints you damage today will get their revenge later. Even if you think they’ve recovered completely. TRUST ME!

16. We have one time on this earth. Don’t wake up and realize that you are 60 years old and haven’t done the things you dreamed about.

17. Appreciate the small things and to be present in the moment. What do I mean? Well, it seems today like younger people are all about immediate gratification. Instead, why not appreciate every small moment? We don’t get to stay on this crazy/wonderful planet forever and the greatest pleasure can be found in the most mundane of activities. Instead of sending a text, pick up the phone and call someone. Call your mother, have a conversation about nothing in particular. Those are the moments to hold onto.

18. Pay your bills and stay the hell out of debt. If I could have paid myself all the money I’ve paid out in interest over the years, I’d be retired already.

19. If you have a dream of being or doing something that seems impossible, try for it anyway. It will only become more impossible as you age and become responsible for other people.

20. When you meet someone for the first time, stop and realize that you really know nothing about them. You see race, gender, age, clothes. Forget it all. You know nothing. Those biased assumptions that pop into your head because of the way your brain likes categories, are limiting your life, and other people’s lives.

 

[LLJsmom]

Good morning NIRDIs! Saying hi before off to fight my morning commute. Have a great day everyone! Thank you for keeping this thread alive and kicking. Even though I don't post much, I am thinking about you all. My good friend enjoyed a river cruise in Germany. Small cruise with gourmet fancy food. Ships make me feel trapped. But it's been many years since. Love all your kitties Missy. It's nice of them to let you and Greg live there. Marcy and Marty, I don't know what to say. Don't piss off the rabbits? Everybody, hi! Gotta jump into the commute. Have a great day!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Scandi, our snow is piling up. I am guessing 7 inches so far. Rats for changing offices again. Of course I always say moving cubes is the only time I really clean my desk.

Missy, I hope your day at work went okay. I know you’ll figure out the new system. Tell Greg when I come visit I would love a piece of his apple pie. I can taste it now. Funny I did get to work before 7:30 and arranged with my boss to leave 30 minutes early but that didn’t work out. I was really busy, worked through my lunch then Marty texted me at 4 and asked if he could finish his workout then pick me up at 5. Hopefully tomorrow won’t be that busy. Rats that cold weather is coming your way. Great picture of Bea and your Alaskan cruise. There are some wonderful thoughts and points in the list you posted.

Jimmianne, I think that extra rabbit would be great. I did that once with a remote for our Dish receiver. I kept switching channels on Marty. He figured it out pretty soon though mostly because I don’t have a good poker face. The stars from the mountains out here are incredible for sure. I enjoy just looking at them. I need a recording of Puff saying “get away” to play at my desk. Good plan.

LLJsmom, I am always nice to the rabbits except for when I take my bears away from them.

Funny but true story – my new employee is going to move to my boss’s department. I had him a day and a half. Our director told my boss this morning there is a hiring freeze on now for at least a few months. My boss only had 2 employees in that department now so it’s really difficult if one of them is sick or on vacation. I have 5 employees and to be honest if they’d get their work done in a reasonable time we wouldn’t need another employee. So management decided to move the new guy to that department. If that department is strong it helps my team anyway.

We’ve had constant snow for about 24 hours now; not heavy but constant. It’s icy and cold out there. I sure enjoy having my chauffeur.

Have a great evening.
Marcy

 

[Scandinavian]

Good morning girls

There is snow!!! Just about 3 cm but still!! It's white Can you tell I'm a winter kind of girl? LOL

I love summer, don't get me wrong, but the last part of fall weather can be... boring; dark, cold, wet, icy. Much better with light white wonderful snow Starting to get cold though, about -15C (+5F) here today. Brrrrr...

Missy, the picture from the Alaska cruise is fantastic! Love the light And btw: If I had your hair - or yours, Jimmianne! - I would never ever never wear it up - not even for going to the gym, lol. The list is nice - except... DIAMONDS ARE NOT STUFF How did you do with the new EHR system? Getting back to work mode is --- hard. Not difficult, just hard, lol.

Jimmianne, ready for your trip?? LOL to Puff. Such a perfect work companion at any office! Re moving offices, they are hiring more people, so some of the departments are growing, so everybody has to "shift three doors to the right", if you know what I mean. So - lost my chair also. Grrr.. Got a new one that is better. Hah! But the office was not very clean.. so I'm staying at home today. Yesterday, I stole a large corner office with views of the city, but that is going to be shared by two people, and I'm not a sharing offices kind of person.. so I had better move my *ss before anyone gets any ideas.. LOL. But I'm sure it will be nice and clean by tomorrow.

Marcy, off course you lost your new employee... A personal driver is nice I like that too DH usually drives me to work and pick me up after work every day - my office is on the way to his and that way we only have to pay for one parking space, which is ridiculously expensive.. Like half of a small apartment, lol.

Ciao!

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

LLJsmom, it's funny because I always feel like you are here even when you aren't posting but that might be just because we are chatting anyway and yes you are right LOL. We are lucky the kitties let us live here. But I have to add Francesca is such a hog in the bed! OMG she keeps pushing into me and by the time I wake up she has taken up my whole sleeping space and I am more towards the middle of the bed. Hope work is going OK for you. I know your busy time of year is coming up soon. We are always here for you and I am excited to see what bling decisions you make in the coming months.

Marcy, thank goodness for Mr Marty being your willing chauffeur and glad to hear the snow is not crazy though it is steady and 7 inches is a lot. Has it stopped yet? We are getting some of the white stuff here tomorrow I believe. Sorry you ended up staying extra at work yesterday but at least you accomplished a lot and boo to working through lunch. Of course we don't get an official lunch break but I always try to take a short break to eat during the day or else I get cranky. Let's just say that yesterday was quite challenging. Not fun and as I predicted I forgot everything. Well, almost everything and we still cannot e prescribe. Frustrating and a little bit overwhelming yesterday and I only had 4 patients show up. I cannot imagine what today will be like because my schedule is for 12 patients. Fingers crossed it goes smoothly. And oh no to your new employee already moving positions at work. Glad you have a good attitude about it and here's hoping your department stays strong and that everyone does their job properly and efficiently.

Scandi, Boo to changing offices but yay to snagging a corner office for yourself with a lovely view if even only temporarily. And even better yay to working at home. Glad you have some pretty snow finally! Though I know you are hoping more for 30 cm vs 3 cm you might just get your wish this winter as we still have 2 months left. You are right that the end of autumn can be quite dreary weather wise and for me just the anticipation of winter and the shorter days gets me a bit sad. I have noticed now that the days are definitely feeling and getting longer. I got out of work last night and it was not yet completely dark, woohoo! About work yes it was challenging yesterday and I am mentally and emotionally drained right now. As Marcy wrote if only people did their jobs properly (I am talking to you administrators) it wouldn't be as impossible to do ours. And thank you for the lovely hair compliment. Please believe me you don't want my hair. It is the (one of them anyway as I have many these days LOL) bane of my existence.


And thank you all for your concern and good thoughts re my toe issues. Here is the update. Skip ahead if you aren't in the mood to read a long boring explanation.

Yesterday I went to work early as did my girlfriend (D) who is a podiatrist so she could evaluate my toe and foot. She's a good friend. She had to do some minor cutting and wasn't sure why I got that blood thing caught underneath my toe but she removed it and also cut some of the nail as she felt it was going to start digging into my toe (separate problem). I never had any toe or nail issues before I broke that leg so I feel sure it is related. When I fractured my leg the big toe nail on that foot stopped growing for over 8 months and then when it started again BAM I started having issues. So there you go. That darn Pilon fracture is still haunting me to this day. Oh well. My only real concern is not getting my leg plates infected because OMG that would mean trouble so that is why I get a bit anxious when my toe and nail start causing issues and bleeding. I have been faithfully soaking it every day in Hibiclens to hopefully prevent any infection. It would be so lovely not to have to think about this issue so often but I am just thankful my girlfriend is willing to do what she can. I am still searching for a podiatrist locally however as it is not always practical to wait till I see her at work since she only works a few times a month there. And she lives pretty far away. Anyway hopefully this will heal without incident and I can stop thinking about it and stop soaking it every single day after it heals. But for now I must continue to be diligent and soak and apply betadine and antibiotic and bandage it when it is in a shoe and let it get air when I am home. The fun continues.

Speaking of my friend I will share a peaceful photo of a fun time I had with D apart from work (which believe it or not can be fun sometimes but not as of late). We visited the Botanical Gardens right near me. As you can see the weather was much milder then and oh so pretty with the flowers and greenery and such.

So it has gotten quite cold here and snow is on the way. Brrrr. Going to wear my heavy winter coat today with my hood. This always poses a problem for earrings. I don't want to lose them but I don't want to go without them but I certainly won't leave them in my pocketbook because that feels too risky. I recently lost an empty jewelry box (thank goodness it was empty!) in my pocketbook and I was sad about that because it was such a pretty box too. From Julia B. And I was so careful but somehow it disappeared and it never left my sight so go figure. Anyway that is my bling dilemma for the day. I feel naked without earrings but don't want to lose one or both and when I wear a hood that is a greater risk. What to do what to do. That should be my biggest problem of the day. And I know I will end up wearing my earrings anyway. I live on the edge.


OK girls I am off. Have a great day and please stay warm and happy and hope to chat with you all soon.

 

[MarionC]

Marcy, it's cozy to think of the snow piling up at your place. Can you get snowed in and "leave the world behind" until the storm is over?

Missy, I woke up thinking I should ask you if it's crazy to travel North in January. Then I read your post about living on the edge LOL and had a duh moment. I lived in Buffalo for 28 years, and now feel silly thinking "how will I go walking for 5 minutes in that weather up there?! haha
What about a passport neck pouch under clothes for transporting earring to work?? That's how I carry my $$ and jewelry to France [and now to NYC].

I am so sorry about your toe. It's good that you are very conscientious about taking care of it, as some might not do as well. Sending toe-dust...the sparkly kind [ ] for a complete recovery for your annoying, worrisome, dear toe.

LLJs I concur. You ARE always here, even if you don't write.

Hi Callie!


Scadi - I love that you said yay for snow with all the happy faces. I love it too. We are supposed to get some this weekend. I get the feeling you will see more snow there than we will here in the Southern US this winter. Do you do any cross-country skiing there?

Hi June : ) Happy New Year. I imagine you are getting that winter blast of cold air? It's all about the weather today!