Now I really did it :((

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

This is like catching up with a book. Lots of news today.

Scandi, yay for making it to the gym and feeling good about it. You certainly are keeping busy. Not much new on Marty’s job front; so far the project in LA is keeping them busy. If that falls through who knows what will happen. I am glad Marty wants to try the gym route; he would sure like his own gym but I don’t see who we get from point A to B without a major lifestyle change. I try not to worry but as most of you know; I don’t always succeed at that. I am so sorry to hear about your niece and surgery. I wish her well. My best friend growing up has scoliosis and she never had the surgery; in those days the outcomes weren’t promising.

Missy, you should have seen the countertop space I had at our last house. Not much so I guess any island looks huge to me. I have an island and lots of countertop space in this house and love it. That will be nice to go out with Greg on Valentine’s Day. I bet places are very crowded there. I am reading “Two Kinds of Truth” by Micheal Connelly. It’s a Harry Bosch story. My employees continue to amaze and amuse me; I am just trying not to let it get to me anymore. They will be so mad when we give them their reviews next month maybe a lot of them will quit. I found out today all 5 of them will have the same titles and it’s the lowest level in the room; not the highest. I have no idea where that puts me but not much I can do about it. I am so sorry the creams you are using are irritating not helping. That’s cool Greg with be teaching a class with a friend.

PierreBear, funny you mentioned that about eyes sprouting on potatoes. I was just complaining about them to Marty this weekend; so we must be buying the non death potatoes. Marty tends to buy organic but I don’t. It seems to spoil faster, not taste as good and is always more expensive. I do clean my produce well though. I’d be tearing the house apart if Marty hid some new jewelry from me. He only gets to put it up if I decide I can wait. Usually I can’t. That is nice your spoil your DH on special days. Have fun with your friends.

Jimmianne, this thread is moving fast. I am glad you get to delay your business trip. Nice you got full credit on your ticket. LOL to your fever was diamond fever. What are you thinking of buying?

Sunstorm, have a fun and safe trip. It’s hard getting organized and packed for travel. I am glad you found your passport.

Austina, sounds Colin and Marty could take lessons from Greg on cleaning up. Marty puts away most of it but then quits. His sawdust piles drive me crazy. I am a clean freak. I think Marty is kind of interested in one of the mattresses than you can adjust the head and leg area. Since it’s a California King maybe the 2 twin XL would work well too. We don’t bother to go out for special occasions anymore either. Marty likes to control his food so hates to eat out. I just informed him we were going out this weekend. Sounds like you have DSS. Ha Ha.

Junebug, I hope you are feeling better soon. Get well dust coming your way. I hope you won’t miss your old car too much after you get your Macan. The A6 I traded in for my Macan was by far the nicest car I ever drove and I can’t say I regret trading it in at all. Marty’s buddy at work was giving me grief today my Macan is so dirty it looks like a Volkswagen. It is filthy. Thanks for voting for me to get bling for my birthday; I’ll be sure to tell Marty. Ha Ha. That’s nice your brother is doing well and has done some work on his kitchen.

Hi Sharon.

I continued smiling to myself at work instead of letting my employees shoot up my blood pressure. Is that bad I am caring less about trying to help them? I am there for them and will help but I decided they have to ask.

Marty went to Apple tonight and decided he’ll reward himself with a new watch when he passes his test next month. I told him that’s a good motivator and besides he’d spend time playing with a new watch instead of studying.

I am working on laundry tonight including linens for our guest room. Marty’s sister is coming up this weekend to help him move out of his gym.

I ordered in pizza for supper. It hit the spot.
Take care.
Marcy

 

[missy]

Good morning girls and Happy Valentine's Day!

@junebug17 Junie, how are you feeling today? Hopefully you are feeling well. And that your dh is all better too. (((Hugs))).
I'm glad you had a nice visit with your brother and got to see your DD the other day.
As for the dark floors they are a pretty contrast but I prefer your light floors that you have at your beach house. So much easier to keep looking clean. Thank you for all your lovely comments re the renovation.

@Sunstorm bon voyage and safe journey. Enjoy!

@canuk-gal Sharon, I hope your mom is continuing to make progress and feel well. And that you are doing well and taking care of yourself. And though I am not watching the Olympics per se whenever I am around and there is ice skating on I catch bits and pieces of it. I love ice skating. Ballet and dance combined on ice. So beautiful. Thank you for your kind compliments re the kitchen reno.

@Austina I feel your pain re having big fingers. Those 2 carats don't go as far on us as girls with more petite fingers. Our poor dhs. Haha. It is nice that Greg cleans up after himself but OTOH he likes the place to be uncluttered and all and it can be a pain for me lol. He never nags me or anything but still I know. And I am not as good as him as keeping it uncluttered. Today is cleaning person day so he will be happy after she cleans and the home is perfect for about 30 minutes 4 cats and all what can one do?

Glad you enjoyed Pilates yesterday and hope your weather dries out a bit. It is still winter here though it is warming up today and tomorrow but getting colder again by Friday. Oh well.

@marcy I am glad that Marty's sister is helping him move from the gym and that he is studying for his test and that incentive is perfect. Bling for men.
Sorry your employees continue to amaze you in the worst possible way. And I hope they won't be too surprised at their less than stellar reviews. Though they don't sound self aware at all. Thank you for that book rec. Sounds intriguing and I am going to check it out. Thank you for all the kind kitchen love. The island is a different shape than I am used to and in Brooklyn we have such a nice long big island and the beach island is totally different shape. Hoping it is functional and will work well for us.
Yum to pizza

@CJ2008 hugs to you and hope your week is going well!

@PierreBear good morning!

@Scandinavian hello there! Healing hugs.

@Jimmianne hope you are feeling all better and happy to be home!

@LLJsmom (((hugs)))

@Calliecake Happy VD and hope the snow by you is melting away!

@rainwood (((hugs)))

Hello to anyone else I inadvertently left out. Thinking of you all. (((Hugs))).

OK a short but sweet Valentine's day poem for my sweet NIRDIs.


Happy Valentine's Day to all the sweet NIRDI girls
You are each more valuable than diamonds or pearls

I lovingly reach out to each of you and sing
Here's hoping this year to each of you will surely bring

Health, happiness, love and joy
May all that you wish for come true and more

Wishing all you the greatest love and sweet bliss
May all in your life go right and nothing amiss

May all the NIRDIs experience only happiness and no more sorrow
And may sweetness and love be with you for each tomorrow

I am sending so many hugs and kisses to the sweet NIRDIs
your kindness and love and caring so pure
Happy Valentine's Day to all you lovely ladies
and wishing you the happiest of days and much more

 

[CJ2008]

Good morning my lovely NIRDIs

This post will be short because since last night I've been feeling lightheaded and slightly nauseated. Not sure if maybe I haven't been eating enough - I doubt it - but I've been eating junky.

But I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day - love you guys <3

missy I did see that you shared more about Zella's story - looking forward to reading it more in detail.

Hugs everyone.

 

[missy]

Good morning my lovely NIRDIs

This post will be short because since last night I've been feeling lightheaded and slightly nauseated. Not sure if maybe I haven't been eating enough - I doubt it - but I've been eating junky.

But I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day - love you guys <3

missy I did see that you shared more about Zella's story - looking forward to reading it more in detail.

Hugs everyone.

Sorry you’re feeling queasy CJ. Feel better. (((Hugs))).

 

[PierreBear]

Happy Valentines Day to everyone as well! I’m saying no to the cupcakes still left over from yesterday in the breakroom. Not only did I eat way too many cupcakes yesterday but a mardigras Kings Cake was delivered to us at work and I had a slice of it too. haha… so I celebrated early but am looking forward to watching the Olympics with my single gal friends tonight. Galentines day… never heard of that until this year that they mentioned it. I need to keep up with the times! Hope everyone has a joyous day!

@Austina – Appreciate your kind comments on my hands. Parents always wanted me to play piano, which I did for 1 year and then “rebelled” wanted to play the flute instead. Who would have known that the best pay off for the finger size/length was actually for wearing jewelry, however, I think the ring gives a larger appearance as well since it has that border that goes around the stone. Not my intent as I’m a bit conscious with size (I think this will be the biggest stone in my social group) but I like how the border around the stone makes it a bit more interesting.

Fun that you got to try out some items at Costco. I’m sure that it looked great on your beautiful fingers but we all won’t say no to you going bigger. : ) Are you a halo type girl and would you go that route?

Good reminder on washing produce and fruits well. What’s your process? Do you wash it right when you get home and let it air dry and put it in the fridge? Or just wash it before you are about to use it? I’m guilty of not rinsing apples even before eating them. I better start there before even considering purchasing organic. Going to put this on my goal for 2018… wash wash wash!

@junebug17 – Bummer sorry that you aren’t feeling well. With the upset stomach was it something you ate? Hope you recover soon!

Good luck selling the car you are driving. We’ve had a good experience selling on craigslist to strangers surprisingly. I know what you mean about feeling sad about giving up your old car. We sold my college car 2 years ago and I thought we would get to ride it in one more time as the buyer would want to test drive it. Nope! He turned it on and said that’s all he needed. I guess expectations for a car only worth $1K is different but it felt like it was “worth” much more to me that it was hard to see it drive away!

Haha.. I’m not sure I’ve converted over to organic products yet. I was just thinking that I see so many people suffering from dementia and Alzheimer. It seems like our physical bodies are outlasting our mental capabilities. Maybe eating non-organic will align physical and mental?! Sorry that was morbid but it did cross my mind…

Thanks for the ring compliments. I never favored yellow gold when we got engaged. Overtime, I started wearing costume jewelry from Madewell/Jcrew that was brassy in color and really enjoyed the look against my skin tone.

Glad that your brother is doing well and is making progress on the kitchen. Looking forward to that picture and glad you got to see DD!

@marcy – Hurrah that you have healthy potatoes. Interesting that you say that organic does not taste as good. Do you mean that it’s not as flavorful or it has an off putting taste?

Yum for pizza to dinner. Also glad that Marty set up a motivator for himself. Does sweet Marcy get a motivator gift when Marty passes? : )

I think your attitude about work is appropriate since you’ve already tried the approach of being more emotionally attached and not seeing the benefits. Sometimes being more hands off will encourage people to grow up a bit and start taking more ownership? One would hope?!

@missy – Thanks for the valentines notes. Hope you and Greg are spending some special time together, NOT talking about kitchen reno and just enjoying each other. Perhaps another concert or a special meal?


@CJ2008 – Oh no… you aren’t feeling good either. Hope you get better soon and recover!

 

[rainwood]

Hi everyone! I won't even attempt to catch up, but am just jumping in quickly about buying organic. I try to buy as much organic as I can, but that isn't always possible so I consult the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen list that's put out every year listing the most and least contaminated with pesticides. Anything on the Dirty Dozen list I buy organic only and if that's not possible, I just don't buy. Anything on the Clean Fifteen I still try to buy organic if available but will buy conventional if that's all that's available.

This is the 2017 list. The 2018 list will probably come out sometime in March. I listed everything alphabetically so it's easier to find an item. They list by starting with the most contaminated one first so you may want to google the list to see it in the order they give it. I keep the list on my phone so I have it at the grocery store or farmers' market.

Dirty Dozen
Apples
Celery
Cherries
Grapes
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Potatoes
Spinach
Strawberries
Sweet Bell Peppers
Tomatoes
* Hot Peppers would be 13th

Spinach and strawberries are the worst.

Clean Fifteen
Asparagus
Avocados
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cantaloupe
Cauliflower
Eggplant
Honeydew Melons
Kiwi Fruit
Mangos
Onions
Papayas
Pineapples
Sweet Corn
Frozen Sweet Peas

Avocado and sweet corn are the cleanest.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[marcy]

Happy Valentine’s Day NIRDIs!

Missy, thank you for the really nice Valentine’s poem. As always - it is spot on and perfect. I really enjoyed the Teddy Bear Valentine too. Yay for having a clean house for 30 minutes today. Sometimes that is all I get too but it’s great while it lasts. Every time our house gets cleaned I do an inward sigh when Marty goes right for the bacon the next morning. I’m like “NO!” Not on the clean stove. I am glad Marty came up with a reward for passing his test. An Apple watch hits him both on his watch side and tech side. He admitted last night if he got a new watch now he’d mess with it instead of study. I am sure you’ll adapt to your new island. I was like a little kid at Christmas the first few times I made something like lasagna or made cookies. I had more space than I needed.

CJ, I hope you are feeling better tonight.

PierreBear, we had a King’s Cake at work yesterday too but I didn’t try it. I love cupcakes. Good for you resisting them. I hope you have a fun time at Galentine’s Day. I totally get the concept of our bodies physical and mental capabilities having a same past due date. My poor mom’s body quit on her way before her mind did. My comment about organics is it seems to spoil more easily so you have a lot of waste with it and I don’t think they taste any better for the price. Also because of the spoilage the non-organic seems to be fresher. I think Marty did set up a good motivator for his test and trust me when I get to Denver I am going to do some damage to our funds. I have many possible upgrades I want and there is always the danger they’ll have a new sapphire I can’t live without. I am hoping setting my employees free will result in them growing their wings. So far I still want to bang my head on my desk.

Rainwood, thanks for the list on organics. That is helpful.

Our high wind warning turned in to a wind alert today. We had gusts in the 70’s and sustained winds over 40. I decided to keep our trash in today and wait until next Wednesday to put the trash can out. I noticed as I was leaving over 1/2 of our neighbors did the same thing. People who put their trash out already had the trash cans on their sides or down the street. I didn’t want to run to Nebraska tonight trying to find our trash can.

Poor Marty is getting sick. He is coughing and his chest hurts. Then he tells me he feels better having me for his Valentine. I was going “awe” then he sends me the emoji of the little smiley face getting sick. The brat. He said it was too sickening sweet for him. He did send me flowers and candy at work.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[junebug17]

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Thank you all for your well wishes! They worked, I'm feeling much better today - stomach still just a little off and not much appetite but by tomorrow I should be back to normal.

Missy, I love your poem, thank you so much for those beautiful words! I saw a pic of the backsplash in othe other thread and it looks gorgeous! Love how it breaks up the white, great contrast. Hope you and Greg enjoyed your night out.

Marcy, I'm sure I'll love the new car and dh is right, I'm going to have to get a new one at some point so might as well do it now. Lol to your car looking like a Volkswagon! I'm glad to hear you're working on your employess not raising your blood pressure. I don't think it's bad you're worn out trying to help them and I think it's a good idea to step back and see how they do. A new watch sounds like a good motivator for Marty!

CJ, so sorry you're not feeling well and I hope you're doing better tomorrow.

PB, hope you had a nice time hanging out with your girlfriends, sounds like fun. Dh just got over something similar, so I think I picked up some kind of bug from him. I agree, yellow gold looks beautiful with your skin tone! My cluster ring is yg and I like switching things up. Hmm, good point about organic foods, I really don't know much about it and should read up on it.

Austina, hope Trump's policies won't affect your ability to move here How fun you tried on a 2 carat at Costco and lol to telling Colin you need bigger! I totally support that decision lol. Hope you're not too sore from your Pilates class.

Hi rainwood, thank you for the info on organic produce, very helpful! Hope things are going well.

Hope everyone has a good evening and a great day tomorrow!

Eta - Marcy, we were posting at the same time! Wow, those are some strong winds, good idea to keep the can in, you would definitely be going down the road looking for it. Aw to Marty sending flowers and candy, and that sweet comment, he's a romantic at heart! I'm sorry he's getting sick, this seems like such a bad winter in terms of people coming down with colds and flu. I will be very glad when this winter is over.

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Marcy I love the snoopy and flower gift. So pretty! I am so sorry Marty is getting sick. Ugh. Like Junie said it has been a challenging winter for many. Wow to your galentines day and those sustained winds. Oh my. Thank you for all your lovely comments on the poem. (((Hugs))). Hope work continues to go well and that you remain Zen. It is a good coping mechanism.

Rainwood thank you for that helpful list. I keep forgetting what is OK and what isn't and will add it to my phone like you have. Thank you!

Junie so happy you are feeling almost all better and I hope your dh is better too. Thank you for your sweet words. (((Hugs)))

Pierrebear we had a lovely VD. How was yours? Our next cultural event is the ballet in another week or so. Looking forward to it. I love the ballet. I never heard of the Kings Cake but it sounds yummy. Haha hard to resist all the yummy temptations. But you have to live a little right? Enjoy. As for the organic info I appreciate it. I think of it like this. It is worth being extra safe vs sorry and you cannot undo the damage so I say buy organic and if you cannot swing it do without vs buying non organic. Rainwood has swayed me though I usually buy organic anyway now I will *only* buy organic for fruits and veggies and such. Speaking of prohibitive lists OMG you should see the lists of food I should avoid for anyone with skin issues. I would starve quite honestly so I am not going to be able to follow that prohibitive list. Life would not be fun or enjoyable IMO so

What is your next cooking class project?

CJ how are you feeling today? Thinking of you and sending hugs and more healing vibes. Hope you back to 100% and that you had a nice Valentine's Day with your dh and fur babies.


We had fun yesterday. Greg got home from work a bit after noon and we went strolling in the neighborhood as it was in the 50s and sunny. A beautiful day. We went out to lunch at my fave vegan restaurant and yummmm food. And then we visited some of the neighborhood rescues and pets. Good food, good weather, furry babies and my dh. The perfect day IMO.

First up Pearl. A white persian. OMG what a personality but I wanted to clean her face. Oy. She is the pet store's cat along with Twix who I am sharing photos of below.

Pearl is under a year.


Her brother Twix. He is about 16.



Twix and Pearl are super friendly and Twix wouldn't get off of Greg haha.
Climbed right on him and stayed there the whole time we were in the store.





One more of Pearl. What a face dirt and all.



My handsome Valentine sweetheart.



I found my Valentine's Day dress that I haven't worn in a couple of years lol so decided to wear it yesterday. Very "heart"y dress lol. Terrible photo taken by our cleaning woman but sharing it anyway because the dress makes me



and lastly look at these sweeties. OMG by the time we got back home both of us were covered in cat and dog hair. My favorite type of hair.
Labradoodle and Boston terrier. The labradoodle he was super sugar sweet. The boston terrier was quite the attention princess though and was not pleased when we paid attention to her brother.



Oh cannot leave out the food. So good. I wish we had more vegan restaurants in the neighborhood.
Greg's dish


my dish


That's all for now. Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's day and sending love and heartfelt hugs to you all.

 

[PierreBear]

Had a good Vday with my gal pals so thanks for asking. We watched the Olympics and think we enjoyed the women’s grand solum the most and the speed skating was fun to watch too. Pretty amazing athletes out there! Keeping it short today as it’s a busy day at work but wanted to say hello friends and have a great Thursday!

@rainwood – Thank you for sharing the dirty dozen list!!! I’m emailing it to myself right now so I can pull it up for future references at the grocery store. May I ask if you personally do it for health reasons, taste, lifestyle etc? I think I need more of an emotionally connection to get myself to do it while I’m at the store. Not sure why it’s so hard for me to commit.

@marcy – Sorry to hear that your mom passed with physical limitations. Both situations seem very difficult, weaker mind or weaker body. Look forward to your future sapphire! Are you still planning on doing a 5 stone with sapphires?

Booo to your DH being sick but how sweet of him to send you flowers and candy. What a keeper! Oh and thanks for sharing your flower photo and couldn’t help but notice the pictures in the background. Bears and snoopies.. I know what that is! : )

@junebug17 – Ohhh I didn’t know you had a cluster ring. How fun! Do you wear it as a RHR or switch it out with your e-ring? Yes, agree that it’s nice to switch things up and get excited to wear each piece again. It’s funny that I’m wearing my original e-ring today, which is much smaller in size and the stone doesn’t meet PS standard and the workmanship isn’t very delicate compared to the recent OEC yellow gold ring BUT I’m still enjoying it. When I have the two rings side by side, it’s easier to pick the OEC ring but when I’m wearing it solo, it still brings plenty of joy.

@missy – Kings Cake is to celebrate Mardi Gras and it has really colorful icing. There is also a plastic baby hidden inside and if you find it, you are in charge of picking up the cake for next year. Very bizzare type of cake but fun! It’s actually really sweet and not something I LOVE eating but it’s hard to stop in general.

Haha I know what you mean about lists to follow. Sometimes I enjoy having something so black and white so there isn’t confusing but other times it just feels so restricting! I can only imagine you layering in things to be careful with your other medical conditions. We are cooking with grains next week. Risotto, quinoa, wild rice, farro… looks like one sweet dish too coconut purple sticky rice with mango. I’ll try to remember to take photos!

Hi Pearl! Look at her multi color eyes! Meow! Greg and his pink shirt and your cute dress! Meow meow!

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies

Sorry I didn’t check in yesterday, I woke up feeling really spacey. I spent the day resting as I was quite dizzy. Feel ok today though, so just one of those passing things.

I could really tell I’d had a few weeks off Pilates, my muscles were feeling it yesterday

I want to get a wipe and clean up Pearl’s face @missy, yuk, I clean Dottie’s eyes daily. Twix is cute and obviously thinks he’s a parrot sitting on Greg’s shoulder I do like seeing men wearing pink, and Colin also has pink shirts and polos and suits them too. You are such a happy, handsome couple glad you enjoyed your Valentine’s Day and thank you for the lovely poem.

How sweet of Marty to send you flowers and candy @marcy, I hope he’s feeling better today. I’m going to WF in September if you want to come we can ogle bling together as Colin won’t have the slightest interest Hope the high winds haven’t caused you any problems.

Hi @junebug17 glad to hear the healing vibes worked their magic and you’re feeling better. We just have to hope Trump’s plans get vetoed or we’ll be stymied

I don’t know if I reallllllly want an ACA @PierreBear, but I’m really interested to see them IRL. I’m not sure if I’m just getting swept along seeing other people’s, although I do love sparkly things, and I adore my marquise, so hopefully my visit in September will help me decide. Of course, I won’t pass up the opportunity to try on as many as I can

Hi @CJ2008 hope you’re feeling better today.

Hi @rainwood hope all is good with you.

Hope you’re doing better too @Jimmianne

Nearly the weekend

 

[CJ2008]

Hi guys

thank you all for thinking of me (((hugs)))

I woke up middle of the night and when I went to the bathroom and I sat down (it was actually to write a note, not to use the bathroom) I had a pretty uncomfortable almost painful feeling lower left abdomen. Wanted to add that I was kind of doubling over from the discomfort. And it didn't go away right away. Still there now although more subtle.

Quick consult with Dr. Google said that it could be diverticulitis. Or IBS. What makes me suspect something a little more than just IBS is the lightheadedness and nausea.

But will keep an eye on this. Still feeling off. Again, just a slight dizzy feeling, bloating, slight nausea. It does seem to be better than yesterday.

But I need more energy to respond properly and I will look to do that tomorrow.

Have a great day and again thanks for thinking me. <3

 

[MarionC]

CJ. Im concerned about you.
Please check in here so we know how you are doing, and go to a walk-in clinic if it does not resolve very quickly.

 

[missy]

CJ. Im concerned about you.
Please check in here so we know how you are doing, and go to a walk-in clinic if it does not resolve very quickly.

Add me as another concerned one CJ. Thinking about you and sending healing vibes and good thoughts your way. Hope you are resting and feeling better. (((Hugs))).

 

[junebug17]

Missy, your Valentine's Day outing with Greg sounds perfect. You both look terrific. Those kitties are adorable and I love how Trix took such a liking to Greg, really cute. Those pooches are so sweet too. Thanks for sharing your day with us.

PB, glad you had a good time with your friends. Thanks for explaining what a King cake is, it's interesting to learn about traditions in different parts of the country, and it does sound like fun! I wear the cluster as an alternate ering, just to switch things up sometimes. It's so nice you have a pretty ring to wear and enjoy while you're waiting for your OEC ring. I'll bet it's lovely. And you also have that amazing 5 stone too, which I love

Austina, so sorry you weren't feeling well today, I can sympathize and I hope you're feeling better soon. Take care and rest up. I agree, I would love to see an ACA in person - even though it would probably kitll me to have to take it off. Hmm, dh goes to Houston on business occasionally...the wheels are turning lol.

CJ, oh no you feeling sick too - I do hope you're better tomorrow and if not maybe you should get checked out.

I'm feeling much better, but still not 100%, this bug seems to be lingering a little - stomach still a bit off and no appetite. Dh said it took him about 4 days to feel normal so I'm sure it just has to run its course.

We're driving to SC on Saturday with Zoe and staying for the week. It will be nice to get away. Our main reason for going is to bring back a TV to NJ lol.

Have a good night everyone!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Junebug, I hope you and your DH are feeling better today. Marty is worse; I hope he’s better by the time he gets home tomorrow because I don’t want to catch his crud. The flu has been pretty bad this year. I am getting excited for you to get your car soon. Sounds like you can arrange a trip to Houston as well. I think Brian Gavin is in the same building as Whiteflash but I don’t know if they have a showroom. Have a nice trip to SC.

Missy, chocolate and wine seem to be more of a coping mechanism for me - oh and pretty rings. i am very glad I only have one more day of work this week. It sounds like you had a fabulous afternoon yesterday. Thank you for all the terrific pictures. You and Greg are the cutest couple and I love all the rescue fur babies. Your dinner looks delicious.

PierreBear, i am glad you had a nice time last night. My 5 stone ring is hopefully going to be with some of the sapphires my sister finds but only if they are super nice. If not I’ll probably go with Whiteflash. I may have them make it anyway if I get some decent sapphires. Yes, my desk at work has pictures of bears and Snoopy everywhere. I also have a ruby red slippers magnet - it’s my reminder there’s no place like home. I am glad you are enjoying your original ring too. Can you post a picture of it? I’ll look forward to hearing what you cook next week in the grain family.

Ausitna, I am glad you are feeling better, being dizzy is kind of scary. I might consider a trip to Houston in the fall. I really want to go tour Johnson Space Center. That would be fun to meet at Whiteflash. I love my ACA but your marquis is awesome and can hold it’s own against any pretty diamond. I didn’t notice any problems with the house and the wind.

CJ, I hate to hear you are still feeling so bad. I hope you get better soon. Hugs to you.

Jimmianne, how are you doing?

I’ve been chilly every night this week and keep cranking on the gas fireplace. I’ll probably regret it when my gas and light bill shows up. But right now it feels good.

Poor Marty has no appetite, has a headache, his chest hurts and is very achy. He even passed on his strength training tonight. I think his body is telling him to knock it off for a few days.

I watched the movie The Proposal tonight. It’s a cute girlie movie. I like Sandra Bullock movies.

Have a great Friday.
Marcy

 

[MarionC]

June, I’m glad you are feeling better and hope you are 100% soon. Nice to know you will be in the Carolinas. Have a good trip!

Marcy, please tell Marty to Be Well Soon and not give you his germs.

It is supposed to be 78 degrees here today. Then the 30’s at night, followed by a week of rain. Let’s just say I’m not too impressed.
The daffodils are just about to bloom. That part is nice. When i used to ride my horse into the back woods I would find old homesteads where there was nothing left but some rubble and a field of daffodils that escaped from the gardens.

Good day, dear NIRDIs

 

[missy]

Good morning girls! Happy Lunar New Year!

Junie how is your week going? Hope you are feeling even better today and like you said just like your dh it will be over soon but just has to run its course. Thanks for the kitty love. And hugs and love to your sweet Zoe. I am glad you are going to SC for the weekend and bringing back a TV is as good a reason as any. Breaks up the routine and the weather should be improved over our forecast for the weekend. So glad Zoe is joining you...Enjoy and safe travels!

Austina how are you feeling? I hope you are back to feeling 100% too. My goodness this winter is taking its toll on everyone. Hope Dottie is feeling well and please hug her from her Aunt Missy. OMG LOVE LOVE LOVE your kitchen. It is totally opposite my normal "style" but I LOVE it! I don't know if I would ever move if I had your delicious kitchen.

Marcy yet another thing we have in common. Not wine per se but give me some chocolate and peanut butter and I am a happy camper. Stress eating helps. Well not really but at the moment while I am stuffing my face it does. YAY it is Friday and you are almost to the weekend. Bye bye for a few days frustrating employees. Any weekend plans? Poor Marty! Sending him lots of healing vibes and good thoughts. Hope he is feeling lots better today.
I love Sandra Bullock. She seems like a lovely person. I think I saw the Proposal. I enjoy her movies. Glad you enjoy them too.

@CJ2008 how are you feeling? Thinking of you honey and sending you lots of healing vibes and gentle (((hugs))).

PierreBear thank you for explaining what a King Cake is. We need a Queen Cake for the NIRDIs! OK so let's vote...which cake should be our "Queen" cake? Should it be encrusted in Diamonds or chocolate or gold?







PB, Your next cooking project sounds yummy. And yes please if you can I would love to see photos. Your cooking skills are impressive.

Jimmianne me too. Unimpressed entirely with this weather. It was in the 60s yesterday and going to be snowing soon. And then back to the 60s Tuesday/Wednesday and back to freezing again after that. Cuckoo weather. I do love daffodils. So pretty. Hope all is going smoothly by you.

So lots of mishaps. Not enough backsplash despite having ordered more than enough as suggested by the manufacturer. Fridge not built in right. And so on and so forth. Greg is heading to the tile place in Brooklyn and then down the shore to meet Darren at our house and give him the extra backsplash. Thank goodness they had the same lot from what we originally got. Because marble varies! Fingers crossed it goes OK. It is pouring and Greg has a lot of traveling to do and 3 conference calls for work throughout the day so everything is resting on a thread today. I am a bit stressed but thinking good thoughts it all works out. And my eyebrow skin keeps getting worse. Constant irritation/pain/itching and I am a complete loss as to what to do next. I am just venting and please don't feel you have to comfort me anymore than you have. I am OK- just dealing with a real pain in the eyebrow.

Sharing a backsplash (in progress) photo here in case you missed the Backsplash thread.




Have a good Friday girls!

 

[PierreBear]

Happy Friday! Some challenges at work but I’m holding strong and trying to stay positive and looking forward to the weekend. Going to a new brunch place with our running friends after our run practice on Saturday so that should be a good time. Looking most forward to just spending time with DH since he got back from travels yesterday. Ok ya’ll be safe and have a wonderful day and weekend!

@Austina – I’m there with you. I’m curious about the ACA but I’m not truly a diamond fanatic where I have a loupe and other tools where I will want to look at the stone so I don’t think I would ever pay the premium. I like the idea of the ACA because it generally guarantees a good stone and that upgrade policy gives you a peace of mind. I’m an OWD fan and think all my purchases will be going through them now to be quite honest. I’ve worked with BGD and it wasn’t an ideal process though the end result still turned out fine. Happy to support you in whatever you choose and still excited for your bangle!!

@CJ2008 – I’m sorry gosh that you aren’t doing well. Yikes… Does it mean you will have to do a colonoscopy? Yes please keep us posted on next steps. Could it be passing a kidney stone or something?

@junebug17 – Have a safe drive and too bad it’s not in the new car yet! Count down!! Zoe is your cat right so she travels well? I wish I could take my cat around. Speaking of IBS, I’m pretty certain my cat has it and that’s why he needs special expensive food. haha….. my little cat prince.

@marcy – Awww I like how you decorate your office so well. I always find it bizarre that some people don’t do anything to their work space. It’s my favorite part to see what is meaningful to others to make that connection beyond just coworkers.

Oh my original e-ring isn’t anything special and when I posted the GIA specs (cut grade was only very good) on PS everyone said to consider re-cutting it. We went with a local jewelry store and honestly it was pretty much one of the first stones she showed us and she said “it’s something I would suggest to my girlfriends” and we felt comfortable with it. Would have done it very differently if given a re-do but it’s of the past and it was perfect for that point of time in our lives. I toyed of the idea of transforming it into a pendant or something but after asking DH, he wants it to stay as is… he’s a romantic and traditionalist at heart. But I am starting to fall in love with it again despite the imperfections and think of it as my casual and dress down ring. If I could have made changes, I would have done the plain shank 6 prong Tiffany look to wear my shared prong wedding band with the e-ring. I have a matching wedding band but it just looks too messy paired together for some reason. Share some photos of your bling please!

Here are the pictures compared against the OEC. Very interesting that e-ring color H does make the L look yellow in comparision.





Ahhh sorry Marty still isn’t doing well but hopefully the weekend is all that he needs to get over it and back into the routine of things. Did Marty like the girly movie too? : )

@Jimmianne – Can’t wait to see some daffodil pictures!

@missy – Ooohhh that middle golden one looks exquisite! For me though it’s all about taste. Which one can Greg make hehehe….

The backsplash looks great! Wow it’s really coming all together. Very exciting!!!! Glad they can get more tiles from the same lot. Can they make the changes to the fridge? Sorry to hear the eyebrow still isn’t feeling well. Keep holding strong my friend!

 

[missy]

PierreBear! I will ask him and maybe we can have a bake-off and taste off. Haha.

Your rings, both of them, gorgeous. yes side by side I see the "yellow" tint of your L next to the H but it holds its own and then some. Those chunky monkey facets and their soft beautiful colorful glow. Makes my heart go pitter patter every single time. Have I told you how much I love your OEC ring?

And as for your original ER not being perfect it is perfect in that your dh chose it with love for the love of his life. You. And that makes it perfect in my book. And now you have 2 gorgeous gorgeous rings. Lucky girl!

 

[missy]

OK so as requested here are some of my bling pics. Bea (LVS1) next to an IVVS2.
Do you see the color different? Both GIA and both OECs. Bea is above the I in the photos.

 

[Calliecake]

CJ, Please contact your doctor immediately. It could also be an ovarian cyst. I had one the size of a grapefruit and had to have surgery. It’s very dangerous if they are large and rupture. It was also very painful.

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies

Oh poo to not having enough tiles @missy but phew to be able to getting more from the same batch. We did the same when we did the bathroom, calculated the quantity and added 10% but were still somehow short
Poor Greg having to sort it out with such a hectic schedule, you really did hit the jackpot finding such a priceless gem. Hopefully you’re on the homestretch now and it won’t be too much longer till it’s all done.

Thank you for your kind words, I finally got my dream kitchen, it still wows me even after 4 years, and I know you’ll be as happy with yours as I am with mine.

I’ll always vote for cake and diamonds

Roadrip @junebug17 and @marcy Seriously, we’ll be in Austin 12th-24th September, if you really did want to meet up at Whiteflash. Enjoy your week SC @junebug17 hopefully the weather will be kind to you.

We have been to the Space Centre in Houston @marcy, but it was several years ago, and not as big as Kennedy SC, but interesting nonetheless. I can remember crashing the shuttle every time I tried to land it in the simulator I hope Marty has a restful weekend so he can recover and get over his lurgy.

@PierreBear there’ll be room in the car for another passenger Your ER is so pretty and I can see why you’re falling in love with it again. I’m not particularly colour sensitive, so your new diamond doesn’t look that tinted to me, and I think because of the facet pattern, it’s showing as a ‘softer’ colour, rather than yellowish. Of course it’s new y/g setting is bound to reflect colour on to it too. When I had my y/g trilogy diamonds reset in to platinum, I couldn’t believe how white they looked.

The weather is ridiculous everywhere at the moment @Jimmianne , it was freezing this week, and today, brilliant sunshine and reasonable temps we’ve also got Daffs ready to bloom, a sure sign spring has nearly sprung!

I hope you’ve managed to get a Drs appt @CJ2008, pain is an indicator that something is wrong, so please get checked out xx

Hi @Calliecake hope all is well with you.

I’m ok, I’m convinced every time my body is fighting off something, I get this spacey thing, and it soon passes.

Weekend plans? We’ve got friends coming for dinner tomorrow, so that’ll be fun.

 

[CJ2008]

Hi NIRDIs this is in no way a full catchup but I hope I caught the most important things!

First, thank you all for thinking about me <3 I am OK. It was a couple of days of nausea and dizziness and just moments of real discomfort. But I am doing pretty OK today. So I am ready for pizza. Yay. (this is what I find exciting the most nowadays - pizza.)

june I have my moments too, trust me. And lately I notice i am definitely more forgetful. :/ Sorry you were not feeling well either.

missy thank you for so many nice words about me (((hugs))) and you are SO right about the quality of friendships that is important. I'd rather have one or two solid friends I know I can trust with anything than 20 that are superficial.

Loved Zena's story Missy and yes the power of social media is amazing. How is she doing? Any updates on the integration with the kitties?

Mousey is doing great. Speaking of FB, sometimes I wonder if her FB page could be working against her. Like people see that she's safe maybe there's no urgency and it doesn't pull at their heartstrings. I don't know.

One thing that you guys might find curious, I know I did...people from Mousey's page want to send her cards and toys. The first time someone asked me I was taken back, but I see it's a "thing" because other people with pet pages post updates showing the cards and toys their cat received.

marcy I hate things that require me to have my credit card on file. Some stores - like Walmart - when you shop online - they don't even ask you if you're OK with them storing your card. So I go in each time after I buy something and delete it. Maybe you can add a section on your employees' Review titled "Making Yourself Look Bad" so you can give them at least one section with high scores! Men and lecturing...yes. I get it. You totally don't want to bring one of those on. Ooooh Only The Brave - will put on the list. Have you heard of the Purple mattresses? Supposedly they're very good.

pierre I am PC all the way. although I like my iPad but only because it's the right size. Not because it's so great at anything. It's basically just a screen for Internet for me. I miss driving a manual sometimes too. I had kind of a hard time going to an automatic it just didn't feel like driving to me. Sounds like you had a blast with your DH. <3

I try to buy anything where I bite into the skin - organic. Spinach, strawberries, etc. I don't do it all the time every time but I try.

I've always found VD to be a bit silly too. And I am so not a lover of typical romantic things. But for me it's just an excuse to spend time with DH either going to dinner or a movie or whatever. But we never do it on the night of. Too crowded.

Arrgggghh you said the word I was trying NOT to think about! (you know the one) I haven't gone to the doctor because I am better as of right now but yes I imagine if I went they would say I should do one.

austina awww Dottie is introverted now I like her even more <3 Mousey is doing good.

sharon so glad your mom is doing OK. Hope it continues for her.

scandi what you said about working is so so true. When I fall off the eating clean wagon I can still look OK if I keep the working out. Even if I gain weight. I'm still active, I'm still moving, it's easier to get back on track. But when I stop working out...whole different story. That's where I am at now - again for like the second time in the last couple of months - and I need to pull myself out of this funk. argggghh So sorry to hear about your niece's surgery. Hope it all goes well.

hi rainwood! So nice to see you hope you're doing great

hi jimmianne thanks for checking in just to ask about me <3 Hope you're feeling better too.

ETA calliecake sorry I had missed your post. Yes that's actually one of the things I had run into in my research...and I have also been feeling like a weird tightness. I didn't mention it but yeah. I am better now so I am really really hoping it's just bloating. But I am keeping an eye on it for sure. Hope you're doing good. And thanks (imagine wavey guy)

OK guys that's it for now.

Hugs to you all and enjoy your Friday night.

 

[MarionC]

CJ, I’m glad to hear things are better. I do hope they continue to stay that way!
I think we must always be fighting some bug, but luckily most of the time we hardly notice.
I’m feeling much better too.

It would seem practical to have Greg make all three cakes...just saying...

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Jimmianne, I will definitely tell Marty you sent him good well wishes and to keep his germs away from me. Warm weather and rain sound nice to me. And daffodils blooming soon? Those are months away here. I am glad you are feeling better too.

Missy, I will give Marty your get well wishes. I was thinking about the wedding in the Proposal and I swear some of SB’s lines were about the same as her wedding in While You Were Sleeping. I will watch most of her movies if I find them in the guide. I am definitely a stress eater too. Marty is planning on moving out of his gym; his sister is coming up to help him. I hope he feels up to it. What are your weekend plans? Your queen cakes look delicious. I am sorry the renovation is not going as smoothly as you hoped but wow your kitchen is looking fabulous. I really like your back splash. Great pictures of Bea and the Bea-wanna-Bea (ha ha).

PierreBear, oh no to challenges at work; I hope you escape from it all this weekend and rest up. Enjoy brunch with your running friends and I know you’ll be glad to have your DH home. I love your original ring. It looks perfect to me. I think that is so cool your DH wants you to keep it the way it is; it makes it very special. I know this could get me kicked off PS but the best measure of gem or diamond performance is the eye and you can find stinkers with the best certificates and true beauties without any certs. I do see a color difference between your RB and OEC but the OEC looks very white. Your hands are lovely and you have long, skinny fingers.
I agree it’s nice to see the little things that give someone’s office or desk a little piece of home. I have all sorts of things up in mine. I have a double wide cube. I have a Whiteflash calendar, a Snoopy calendar, a big panoramic poster of the Milky Way, lots of personal pictures, teddy bears and Snoopy’s, knick knacks and still squeeze in my computer and TV for work purposes.
Marty didn’t have to suffer through the girlie movie; he was in LA. He’ll just put on his headphones when he’s home or go to the man cave and watch something else.

Hi Callie. Are you getting all of this stupid snow, cold and wind too?

Austina, I am so happy for you having your dream kitchen. The one complaint I have about my kitchen is I miss the huge pantry I had at my last house. Our cupboards go up so Marty get’s the 2 top shelfs. I’ll keep your WF time frame in mind. My niece will end up working in mission control so we can get a tour from her so we really want to go do that sometime. I’ve been to Kennedy SC and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’d be crashing things in a simulator too. Thanks for the well wishes for Marty. Glad to hear you are getting some spring weather too. Have a wonderful time with your friends this weekend.

CJ, I am glad you are doing better but it sounds like you still are pretty miserable. I am still worried about you. I would almost do anything to not see a doctor but it sounds like you might need to make an appointment. I’m with you and Missy, good friends are priceless and sadly are very hard to find. That is a valid point about people seeing Mousey is safe and loved makes them less likely to want to take her home. I tend to look for places to shop that take Pay Pal, I prefer to use that. I am totally laughing about your suggestion to add a section to my employees appraisals “Making Yourself Look Bad!”. I could start with “Nailed it!” I definitely don’t want to give Marty any reason to lecture me. I have not heard of purple mattresses; is it an online place?

It seems like so many of us are sick. It’s been a nasty season for flu. PS Get Better Dust coming for all of you.

Marty is tired and cranky plus still feels bad but he said he is better than he’s been all week. Poor guy sat on his plane for over 2 hours before it took off. It left 2 hours and 11 minutes late. He won’t land in Denver until about 9:30. Then he has to drive home. I am VERY glad the cleaning lady isn’t coming tomorrow because I’d hate to tell him “honey, you have to get up early tomorrow”.

I had a case of the jitters last night so didn't sleep well. The wind was making all sorts of noises outside and on the roof. Then I had a call at 10 pm from "asterisk" which I answered and no one was there. I googled it and of course the first thing that pops up is someone is hacking your IP phone system. Like I'd know how to prevent that or do something about it. I finally watched some Minions clips on YouTube to amuse myself enough to fall asleep.

I warmed up some leftover pizza for supper then went to our astronomy club meeting.

We aren't getting snow today but that wind is bitter cold.
Have a fabulous weekend.

 

[marcy]

Naturally I can dig up a picture or two of some of my jewelry.
First my EC. It's a 1.21 E med blue


Next my Kentucky Blue Sapphire


And my yellow sapphire

 

[MarionC]

Marcy, gosh I love your rings. I don’t know how I could choose among them. Do you have a favorite? Or do you love all your children exactly the same.

Yes, so many are sick! I think I got lucky, mine was very mild. As your doctor, I suggest perhaps a boatload of chicken broth with lemon juice & hot sauce in it for Marty ...then perhaps followed by a shot of whiskey? Does he like those kinds of things?
Bea-wanna-Bea. Very good.

Sorry about your weather : (

 

[missy]

Good morning girls! Happy Caturday Saturday!

Marcy I LOVE all your rings but your emerald. O M G T D F. THUD. All of them GORGEOUS. And I am not even a yellow sapphire fan but yours has changed my mind.
Hope your astronomy meeting was fun and hope Marty is home from his trip and resting and feeling better.

Austina I love your dream kitchen and see why you love it too! Our Brooklyn kitchen is my dream kitchen and I guess I shouldn't be greedy because there was no way we could make the beach kitchen our dream kitchen. It is not big enough. But hopefully it will be good enough when the project is complete. I think I choose the diamond cake too.

CJ so glad you are feeling better and hope that continues. I am glad you didn't rush to the doctor and I don't think you need to as long as your symptoms are improving. It does not sound serious to me. BUT if anything changes yes I am onboard with the other NIRDIs and would urge you to see a medical professional. Hope you are finding relief! Thanks for all your support and caring especially over the past month or so. It means a lot to me. (((Hugs))). I am not FB savvy though I have an account. I get stickers and stuff like that from friends but I don't really know what to do with it so basically I just ignore it. FB is a good tool for me and that is about it. I am not on it often. I am so glad Mousey is continuing to thrive under your love and care and attention. She is so lucky she found you!

Jimmianne I will have Greg get right on that. 3 cakes for my NIRDIs. And when you get here they will be waiting. Beach house vacay.

So I have an endocrinology appointment this AM. The MD I am seeing is 72 years old and I haven't researched her credentials like I would generally do because I just haven't felt like it. The new derm gave me her number so I could look into my high TPO levels and she was the only endo who accepts my insurance who I could get such a prompt appointment with but well you know what that might mean haha.

From the research I have done about the thyroid and enzyme levels etc any TPO level let alone high means there is definitely (not maybe) an autoimmune thyroid disease happening. I will see how today's appointment goes and if necessary I will see an NYU endocrinologist after this visit. I wasn't going to keep this appointment but at the urging of my sister and dh I decided OK fine I will just go. I am still tired of going to the doctors as you can imagine.

Yesterday Greg took care of getting the rest of the backsplash to Darren and then had 3 CCs lasting 3 hours, 2.5 hours and then 1 hour and he couldn't make it home b/w calls as they all ran so long. So he came home after all the calls and after making a check list of everything that still needs to be completed at the beach house in the kitchen. Darren is coming back today to grout the backsplash and I think Phil is coming back to add trim etc to the fridges and other miscellaneous stuff. Still much needs to be done and I think our GC and his wife are clueless since the GC's wife said she thinks everything should be complete by Tuesday so no one is scheduled after that. Ummm no. :roll But I am letting Greg my (GCDH haha) handle it all. Thanks for following along with my kitchen journey all of you who have taken part and helped me along the way. ((((HUGS)))).

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Leaving you with pics of swans in our backyard at the beach house yesterday. Greg said swans are rare to see in our area. Aren't they pretty and don't they seem to be enjoying themselves? Beach party.






and haha look at all 4 kitties just relaxing with us last night when we were hanging out in the living room just chatting. One happy warm family. The kitties seem so innocent in photos but I assure you they are not.

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies

@marcy, what beautiful rings, your ER is so elegant, and wow, the colour of your sapphires, I love the settings too. Hope Marty is feeling better today and not being a grouch Poor man having to sit on a plane going nowhere, it’s so frustrating.

Glad you’re feeling better @CJ2008 Please take care of yourself.

Hi @Jimmianne Hope you’re having a good weekend.

Awww you should name the swans Greg & Missy, did you know they mate for life?

Sounds like Greg had a hellava day yesterday @missy poor chap. I hope the Dr appt went well today, did she have any helpful suggestions? I can well understand how fed up you must be with all these visits and no resolution

Aww to the pusskats all chilling together

I’ve been busy today, prepping all the food for this evening, just a little more vacuuming to do, then I’m done.

Hope you’re all having a good weekend