Afternoon, all.
I have to say, I’m glad I’m married, taxi. To be sure, there have been some very large ups and downs in my marriage, but we’ve worked through all of them. I wouldn’t give up my husband for anything. We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary last January. We’ve been together for 23 years.
Feeling sort of meh and icky today. Don’t know why. I’m making pulled pork for dinner. I put it in the crockpot this morning.
Well, off to do some things.
Ellen, where are you? I need support. I’m just about to go meet Mr. Lissar so we can talk to our priest about RCIA, and how the priest who’s running it thinks neither of us ought to be able to join the church. We want his assurance that he’s in charge of us, and not this clown.
After that I spend a quiet evening cooking chicken and chili and spaghetti sauce and getting ready to bake tomorrow.
Oops. I just got an order of name badges, went to put them with the other labels, and guess what I found? Another box of name badges. And a box of tent cards, unopened. Good grief. Apparently, it’s literally out of sight, out of mind for me. At least I hadn’t ordered more tent cards yet. The good news is that Office Depot sends everything, even a single pen, in gigantic boxes, so now I have the perfect box for the white elephant exchange. Speaking of which, I set up an appointment with 1-800 Got Junk? (I love that name!) to come and get everything that doesn’t fit in that box, so I have until Sunday to get everything in a big pile for them. Then I have Maid Brigade coming next Wednesday, and at last, I will be civilized. Then I can buy furniture! I never bought anything, because this was only going to be temporary. That was in February 1999.
Jahdra, what is this 1-800-Got-Junk? Oh boy, have I got junk. You would not believe how much junk I have got. I would love to have someone come and take it away for me. I was considering having a yard sale, but by the time I rent tables I wouldn’t make any money.
Mr. SCL just called - he’s going to stay up at the cabin again tonight, so I’m all alone. Well, except for the cats. One night sleeping by myself was enough so I’ll probably invite Yogi in to sleep with me tonight.
Now I want chicken and dumplings, but my debit card still hasn’t arrived so I don’t have the money to go get some. Bother. It’s been two weeks now - where is the damn thing? I’d hate to have to go back to the bank. The bank really doesn’t want me to have to go back to the bank until I calm down about their last fuck-up. So my card better arrive tomorrow.
Wow! I just got kisses from the 5-toed chair sloth. That is very rare - she is not a kissin’ kind of cat.
Go to 1-800-Got-Junk? and see if they have service in your area. You call or schedule online, they come, you point at what you want taken, they give you the price, and then they haul it away. I have an appointment on Sunday, so I’ll report in and let you know how it went.
There’s not one here 
but let me know how it goes anyway, please.
Hi guys! I’ve been lurking and not posting. I’ve been feeling kinda poorly the last few days. I talked to HR at work - I’m eligible for up to 6 months of 100% short term disability - and I’m gonna take it starting Monday. I just have to take the form up to work on Monday (or maybe Friday.) I have a dr appt this Friday, and I’ll get him to sign the form then.
What a great relief off my shoulders. I used my last sick day this past Monday, and I wasn’t sure how I was gonna keep working while on treatment.
Re: chicken and dumplings - I use canned refrigerated biscuit dough. Yum! (Or as Swampbert calls them - whomp biscuits!)
Those people will get used to bi-weekly paychecks, BertyBear. It’s always fun figuring out which months will have the “extra” checks!
I’m off to fix some lemon-pepper-rosemary salmon and wild rice. And broccoli with cheese sauce. I’m hungry.
Ice is our friend. I’ve been icing down my face since I got home. Sure feels good!
See, these folks have been used to weekly paychecks. We should have switched everybody over to biweekly three years ago when most everybody else went biweekly but due to the bitchin’ and moanin’ it didn’t happen. This time it happens no matter what. Heck, before I was gettin’ paid twice a month (24 times a year). Not that it made any big deal diff for me to go to bi weekly (26 times a year). Though I do like knowing that every other Friday money magically appears in my bank account. Oh, and we do give folks the option of getting a paper check over automatic deposit. Some folks don’t have checking accounts. Some folks can’t have checking accounts. These are the ones weeping and wailing the most over biweekly checks. It’s ridiculous though to keep up two separate payrolls.
Snakes do they still have those Country Cottage take outs in Columbus? I loved that. Good chicken 'n dumplin’s and beef tips and rice.
Dear MBG Peon Who Calls In Sick At Least Once A Week:
Didn’t you [del]promise[/del] threaten to quit earlier today? All payroll is going biweekly after the first of the year.
Your red swingline was confiscated. Only management is allowed to have red swinglines. You will get your standard issue black swingline (one of the ones where the staples stick a lot) sometime within the next three to six years.
We switched from weekly pay periods to biweekly in one of my previous jobs. There was lots of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. But I didn’t really see the difference. Yeah, there’s one week at the beginning where you don’t get a check, but then after that you get a BIG check. If you can’t make the BIG check last for 2 weeks when you were making the regular check last for 1, well… then you’ve got problems.
I just had one long honkin’ day. But I’m home and I’ve eaten and the critters are fed and I think I’m finally winding down.
Got my van back - they couldn’t find anything wrong with it. So I guess it’s back to the tire guys…
Is it Friday yet? <sigh>
Pointy-haired Bear, unfortunately Cottage Kitchen has gone the way of the dodo, and I miss it. They made wonderful stuffing!
Mr. SCL got into an argument with the weedeater at the cabin, so he came home. I guess that means the weedeater won. I don’t mind him coming home (Yogi does!) but I wish he’d give me a little notice before coming in the front door and having me try to remember where the nearest large blunt object is. Somehow I don’t think throwing a cat at a burglar would do much good. Wait…let me think about that a minute…4 feet, equipped with claws - one head, equipped with teeth… . Might not be a bad idea after all.
Sigh the good things never last long do they Snakes.
FCM I was wondering if it was your tires. Just kinda sounded like it might be from your description.
Rebo yay on the short term disability. That’s what it’s for. Does 100% mean you’ll be getting your full regular pay? Cause that’d be uber jake.
We shall see how the chicken stuff turns out. I am breaking in my new ginormous pot. I made dumplings from scratch, and layered parsley into the dough. That was because I have too much parsley. It’s really a simple chicken soup type stew thing, yes?
As soon as it’s done I’ll eat some, ladle out the rest to freeze, clean the pot out, and transfer my spaghetti sauce to the ginormous pot. I want to put chopped tomatoes, red wine, and zuchinni (I’ve still got lots) in the sauce, and I’ve run out of room. The chili is black bean/ground beef/chipotle peppers/poblano peppers. Should be good.
I am insane. Why am I doing this?
Zoos, I was going to talk about zoos I’ve been to. In Germany, I’ve been to the zoos in Stuttgart and Berlin. I’ve been to the zoo in Mexico City. At the other end of the spectrum, I’ve been to the zoo in Lansing, MI (although not in a long, long time). Also, there’s the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, which I go to a couple times a year. It’s very nice and gets bigger and more interesting every year. Oh, and I’ve been to the Brookfield Zoo outside Chicago. I’m probably forgetting at least one. I’ve always had fun at zoos.
Lots of pretty birds in your pics, Meeks. The farmer behind my friend’s house used to have peacocks. They would come up to people’s back doors and porches and leave…ermmmm…mementos. Also, they were very loud. Now there are just cows. It’s kinda freaky to be sitting in a suburban backyard and suddenly hear mooing. At least they stay behind their fence.
Good luck with the RCIA stuff, LiLi. Check your e-mail. I get the impression that the rules (or interpretations of rules) are very different from parish to parish.
I’m really really tired. Another exciting 10-hour day and a bit more to do this evening. I’m hoping and praying that this week will be the worst of it, because I sure can’t keep up this pace much longer.
Just had a bit more French toast casserole (still yum). One more serving left.
Gotta throw some more laundry in the washer and hang up some of the clean and then I have to finish cleaning up data…I’ve ever so close to being done with the big annoying input file. Yay.
I’ve read everything and feel like I should say more, but I’m too tired. So, hi everyone!!!
Off to be productive-ish.
GT
LiLi, the e-mail I sent you bounced. Send me e-mail (gardentraveler at gmail.com) and I’ll try again.
GT
LiLi - you’re doing this so you won’t have to cook until next year! I made some chili this past weekend. I usually buy a seasoning packet, but I forgot to get it at the store, so I tried to wing it. Blech! I gave it to my “starving” child. He liked it! (“He won’t eat it, he hates everything.” “Hey Mikey! He likes it!”)
I cooked a chicken this weekend, too. I froze a bunch of stock, and used the chicken in a King Ranch Chicken casserole. It was pretty good.
Yep, Swampy, 100% of my full pay. Totally jake! It’s the only way I could swing it financially. My boss is out of town on vacation, though. So tomorrow I get to tell the “temp” boss. I’ll call my real boss when he gets back and explain things.
While we’re on the subject of paychecks, I had a little paycheck adventure of my own today. Namely, switching my checks over to direct deposit. Once I had the appropriate form printed and filled out, I had to take it to the payroll office - which of course wasn’t actually ON campus, but in some obscure location downtown. (It was the same way at RPI. Coincidence? I think not.) I misunderstood the address numbers, so it took forever to find it. Once I did, however, it was quick and painless. It’ll be nice to have that done automatically. I did notice something odd though, on my way out. The third floor of this building consists entirely of Dartmouth College offices like Human Resources, Payroll, Endowment Administration, etc. And there was a men’s room, a women’s room, and … a shower. Yup, a unisex showering unit, such as one might use to bathe oneself. Suffice it to say, I was thoroughly confused.
Sounds like it’s a former chem building. Colleges do this all the time just to confuse people…
Got your e-mail and wrote you back, LiLi.
I think I’m about done with my monster file. I believe all the junk is cleaned out of it. Just need to check a couple of minor things tomorrow and decide whether to drop a few more records and then I’ll be done!!!
Yay! 
Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!
Then there’ll be an output file to tear apart, but I’m currently pretending that that doesn’t exist.
Back tomorrow…
GT
A former chem building … in the middle of the downtown business district?
I made pulled pork for chop-chop tonight. It was quite yummy, and there are sufficient leftovers for tomorrow. Even better!
Rebo, I’m glad to hear the disability pay thing worked out. Being sick and worrying about finances is just a bit much to deal with.
I have direct deposit. I’ve had it for years. My check is deposited like clockwork every other week at midnight Wednesday night. Direct deposit is the only way to go.
Swampy, for those of your employees who can’t have checking accounts; why can’t they have a savings account instead and have their checks deposited in those?
We’re down to one computer for a couple of days. Well, really we have another one here, but it’s the daughter’s laptop and she needs for her metric buttloads of homework. Anyhoo, the second computer has been taken in for an upgrade. New motherboard and a couple of other things. This is a much cheaper route than getting a brand spanking new computer. It’ll run better, have more room, and be better for gaming, which is uber important in the hubby’s and son’s frame of thinking.
Nava, I noticed in another thread where you mentioned that you played WoW. We were avid WoW players, but burned out on it when we ran into either folks who apparently have no life and took the game way too seriously, or annoying kids. We ran with a very good guild for awhile (about a year), but it ended just dying out. We’ve quit for now, but are talking about playing again when the expansion pack comes out.
The hubby is currently at our neighbor’s house helping him install a wireless router. This will be interesting as they’re using a Mac as the main with the upstairs PC being the second. I really think they should do it the other way around, but what do I know? :dubious:
I guess I’ll check to see what’s on the ol’ boob tube now. There doesn’t seem to be much on, but maybe there’ll be something good on at 9:00.
kai, haven’t seen you around for a couple of days. Hope everything is well.