Achren, sorry meant to add another “hello” to my last post. Guess I’m just so excited about being here on my own with ten phones to play with.
Birthday cake sounds like a good idea though, did they tell you how much you can get away with round here if you bribe them with cake or pie?
Let’s see, here …
Welcome, Achren! And Happy Birthday! Us likely-to-be-gypped December babies need to stick together. 
Swampy, you tell The Sick that I’m coming to beat it’s ass. How dare it mess up your week.
Haze, where in NJ are you? Not that I really have any time this week for a mini-Dopefest, I’m just [del]nosy[/del] curious.
I forgot to give the roundup of presents I got this weekend … but it wasn’t that interesting. Mom bought me lots of jammies, because she knows me oh-so-well. 
And all my aunts and uncles gave me cash. (Although there was an amusing moment when everybody handed my cousin Jason empty envelopes and then accused him of “hiding” the money and asking for more–my family’s wacky, I tell ya–and that’s without telling this year’s rubber chicken story.) Bro and SIL gave me a Target gift card because as SIL said “I can’t even pretend to know what you want or need.” We’re very open and comfortable with the fact that we can’t really buy presents for each other because we just plain don’t get each other. Aaaaand … I got a very nice fleece coat that will soon hold all the cat hair in the house. And a leather purse that is probably very expensive. And a wallet that was probably less expensive. And a check for an obscene amount of money from Dad, because it’s finally occurred to him that he’s not going to be able to take it with him, so why not make sure Bro and I don’t actually inherit anything?
Today at lunch, I go to the toy store. I’m excited. Toys for everyone. My favorite part is when the cashier asks me how old my kids are, and I say “Oh, most of them are in their late twenties.” 
Drae I told the sick what you said and it’s quivering in its germs.
I’ll be good once the head stuffiness is gone. Makes it weird to talk on the phone cause I can barely hear what’s being said. What??? What??? What??? HEE!
Remember I said I was all pukey on Sunday? Know what looks real gross when it’s puked up? Chewed up asparagus. Real nasty lookin’.
Wow. Hitting Control = on a Mac repeatedly makes the font increase to gigantic proportions!
My friends and I aren’t exchanging this year - one will be unemployeed after Jan 1st, and the rest of us are just having a tough time financially. But I will probably drop by the Dollar Tree and get them each a little something. And I need to pick up what I’m surprising myself with: a new microwave.
Are you getting one of the models that will have your food heated before you’re done entering the numbers?
I have one of those. I believe the feature is called “Express cook”, but my last microwave was at least twenty years old, and I had to enter all the pertinent info, and then press start. Now I press 1 and suddenly everything’s started up, and there’s nothing I can do … except learn how to use the damned microwave, of course.
Achren, happy belated birthday! Your dad likes Jane Austen movies? That is so cool.
nah - I’ll go for a reasonably simple model - all I need are a built in turntable, a digital keypad, 5 or 6 power level settings, and a full power that truly is full power. I figure I can get a good one for between $75 and $100
Good morning everyone!
Welcome Achren and Happy Belated Birthday.
Draelin, I like your family already. I hate sweating over the gifts thing. I’m so worried that everyone will like what I buy. Every year I think about just buying gift cards for folks, but then I stop myself, because I’ll feel bad if they can’t unwrap anything. Stupid, huh? :rolleyes: I wish my parents would give me a big check. But they won’t. You know why? Because I’d use the money to pay down bills instead of spending it on myself. They don’t understand I consider being able to pay down my bills a huge gift. Oh well.
I like crawfish etouffee. We used to have a kick-ass Cajun restaurant around here, but they really went downhill. The owner just seemed to stop caring about service and quality, so we quit going there.
Swampy, I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better.
kaiwik, it’s good to see you in here again! However, you CANNOT leave us hanging with a statement about “fabulous” news. You must return tout sweet and inform us. We’re nosy and have a need to know. 
Hi Magic! It’s okay; I haven’t sent out a single card this year. Probably won’t get to it either. I have one that’s going with a package that I need to mail out TODAY, but that will probably be the extent of my Christmas card exertions.
I finally got the tree decorated. It took me until 12 freakin’ 30 last night; but it’s decorated.
I need to get going with my work now. The boss came in with a tasker last night and needs some numbers crunched this morning. Funsies!
Please, bear, I’m trying to ignore the dizzy-pukey feeling here, and you ain’t helpin’
Doing absolutely nothing is one of my favorite hobbies. You still have a little work to do, we hobbyists don’t allow trips to the gym or bank. Massage, on the other hand, is allowed when you’re doing nothing.
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Adorable. Too bad you are already taken. I have a lovely daughter. Wait…she’s taken at the moment, too.
Welcome, Achren! And happy belated birthday from another December baby!
Jahdra, vicodan always gives me really strange dreams.
It appears that a road trip to Huntsville is going to happen on Friday. I’m not sure if the player’s dad will be riding with us or not - if his other group doesn’t pan out he has a seat with us. This will be an up-there-and-back trip; no hotel stay. I just can’t afford a hotel room right now on top of gas and tickets and food.
I’m excited! This will be my first road trip this season.
Swampy, I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better.
Drae, I’m in Allendale at the moment. It’s about an hour away from NYC, I think. Do you ever have occasion to go into the city? ::hopeful::
Can I get your address? I have some kids looking for a house to egg. . .
Ahh. I know where Allendale is. I do occasionally go into the city, but usually only when I have a very good reason.
But visiting a Doper is a very good reason, in my book.
I’m sure your kids are welcome to egg kaiwik’s house if you’re willing to pay for the transportation. How much to Alaska?
Back from shopping. Time to clean. I think I’ll leave the laundry till Thursday and just try to beat everything into shape and do lots of cooking. I’ll make fritatta and goulash. And some more of those truffles. The last ones evaporated in one day at work. One day. There were about thirty, and eight people working. Plus a whole box of cookies that took one and a half days.
You’d think they never got fed.
I’m still trying to figure out how you wound up married to SexHusband instead of me…
IF you were my IRL wife, there probably would not be a gastric bypass big enough to handle the weight I would have been anyway.
It’s a quiet MMP all right. :dubious: I am up and caffeinating. Everyone has been walked and watered. I do back to back overnight shifts, then a day off. I got a Christmas card from the ticket reps at the RBC Center(Redneck hockey, sponsored by the Royal Bank of Canada ).
kai, my leg just gave out and started hurting. It is a bit better now that I have been off it for a few days. Maggie gets blood tests every year for Addison’s disease. She had elevated liver level, so they did the liver function test.
Happy Birthday, Achren!! I have never had etoufee. Wal*Mart has crawfish in the freezer, though.
rosie. Greensboro? that’s not too far from me. We can needle QD about the underwear. It’s like Nava’s car and rigs’ paper, we nag because we care.
Taters, if my card are late, I’ll just tell everyone “Happy Orthodox Christmas!”
SCL, Our booster club is doing a trip to Atlanta and Columbus, but I don’t think I’ll go, since the trip cost almost as much as my season tickets. 