Good morning!
Today is Shredding Day! We get to wear jeans! Woo-hoo.
I put together a pot roast in the slow cooker before I left for work. It shall be yummy! My husband had four servings of dirty rice last night, declaring it to be the best ever. There were no leftovers! I made blackened tilapia with creole sauce, dirty rice and fried okra. I don’t care what you say, that’s some damn fine eatin’! 
Later, guys…
It’s those long white pointy ears, isn’t it? 
I am full of grrrrrrr this morning. Stupit new computer is having problems. I think it is the HP wireless printer causing it to think it’s been shut down improperly when it hasn’t. Now I gotta pay the geek squad to fix it! :mad:
mgb, you actually think the rest of us READ all of this muck? It is to laugh.
Off to call Best Buy. 
Tupug
Yay! I just saw the weather report and we’re heading into 7 days of clear skies again with temps reaching the 70s. That will get the acacias blooming and that’s the first sign of spring around here. Most people hate them and/or are allergic to them but I love the scent. I can stick my whole face in them and not sneeze. My dog’s hips do much better when it isn’t so damp and cold too. If the bees come out then I know I’ll get loads of fruit when our trees bloom and hopefully they won’t bloom too early.
Nava I used to have an employee who heated up fish in the microwave to eat at his desk every day and he would stink up the entire department and the smell would last all afternoon. Finally the director stepped in and pointed out that it was a public building and just like we couldn’t smoke or drown in perfume, he can’t cook fish. We were 20 feet from where the public meetings were held and we smelled like a fish market.
Evening all. HRH is fast asleep - the MMP did it! I swear, I was sitting here at the computer, catching up on everyone’s news, when HRH walked up to me, said “up Mumma”, climbed up in my lap and promptly fell asleep! She even stayed asleep through the subsequent nappy/diaper change, pyjama change and transfer to her cot! Now let’s all keep our fingers crossed that she stays that way for the next 12 hours!
Karyn, I remember when I was 5 months pregnant, my boss decided to have smoked kippers for lunch, warmed up in the office microwave! I took 2 steps into the kitchen to get a cup of tea and promptly ran to the toilet, hands clamped firmly over my mouth to hold the vomit in! Ever since then (and my daughter is now nearly 2), the smell of fish makes me want to hurl!
I have started a new thread in IMHO, asking about Corfu - if anyone has been there (or knows anything about Corfu), please chime in!
Ugh. Sitting at the coffee bar waiting on my next class to start which won’t until 1:00. Today is my long day - I’ll get out at 8:45 tonight. Spent last night working at the bar during a poker game so I sat there reading about the bones of the skull and memorizing them until the game wrapped up and got up this AM to start it all over again.
Got to get going or won’t have financial aid to finish - then I’ll be forced to write a movie to provide the education. And I am not sure that puppet theater is going to cut it here!!
Catch you all on the other side of Lab!
Dotty I love fresh fish but other than shellfish I’ll only cook it on the grill outside because I hate the smell in the house. We had a housesitter once that cooked fish inside every day for a week and I almost passed out when I came home. I had to scrub the entire house and wash every curtain and rug to get the smell out. If we ever need one again I’ll pay them extra not to cook anything nasty smelling in my house.
If that’s not the best straight line to come along looking for a sexist <snark>, I’ll eat my socks.
So how many can you come up with?
Never mind - it’s too early to start a gender war ; )
Well, to give you an idea why that bill surprised me was that I was expecting it to be about $90. And then, during the summer, my bills run just under $20.
It’s just lovely not needing or having AC.
Put me down as another person full of GRRRRR at computer hardware. I had to gut my laser printer yet again to bring back the color. At least I’m getting good at taking out those 25 screws 12 cables and a spring to get at the lasers, then putting it all back together with no extra parts on the desk.
Stupid design lets dust get into everything, and the printer is designed to be built, not maintained. I think the humidifier is a co-conspirator, and what’s gunking up the printer is the minerals from our water that’s getting airborne. It’s almost enough to make me want to go back to those money-sucking inkjet printers.
Should be no surprise at all that DH is still unemployed. Also no surprise that the unemployment benefits this year are a lot less than they were last year.
We totally scored in terms of utility bills when we bought this house. The previous tenants had been growing pot in the basement and they messed with the meter to keep their bills down. We noticed it as soon as we got our first electric bill for $8.00 and called PG&E. They eventually sent a guy out who said that it wasn’t his job and he would send someone else. A week or so later another guy showed up, said “Hmm” a lot and decided that we needed a new meter. He never came back either. We wrote to them one more time and they didn’t respond so we filed copies of all of the letters we sent and the copies that the meter readers gave us and forgot about it. The highest bill we’ve ever had was for $28 and that was for December when we had a bunch of xmas lights up and I was using an electric heater when it wasn’t cold enough for a fire. Our summer bills are about $6.
Well, speaking of things that require fumigation… 
Gee, it’s snowing again. Hooray. Three cheers. We were hoping to take the goggies out for a hike somewhere fun but never mind THAT now! Guess the goddess says “Yeah, about that room you guys were gonna dung out today? DO IT!” Yes ma’am! Maybe I can talk Himself into walking the pups along the bike trail with me–Bear still pulls so badly I’d end up slipping and breaking a hip in this, I’m sure!
Oh yeah, there’s a GD thread about Yo Yo Ma and the inauguration and recorded music that reminded me–the main theme of that piece they performed is a Shaker hymn called “Simple Gifts” that’s been heavily coopted by the pagan/Wiccan community, with new words to the same tune. I sincerely doubt this was unknown to those who vetted the performances and I just have to say with the “non-believers” name checked in the speech and such a well known pagan hymn used in such an upfront manner I felt so much more included than I’ve ever felt in any political milieu, ever. Even if they were clueless I don’t wanna know–I had sniffly tears all during that piece.
Speaking of sniffly tears, check out this video of a soldier returning from Iraq after 14 months–we always see the human reunions, this was the first time his dogs had seen him in over a year. Prepare the tissues!
I forgot another movie–Rigs, you gotta check this one out if for no other reason than it has Alan Rickman (and a stellar cast overall, BTW) in it. Blow Dry. It’s funny and cute and a real spirit lifter and it’s available on Netflix Instant Watch, yay!
I was pleasantly surprised at our bills for last month, considering how drafty this house is and how cold it was–our gas bill was $75 and the electric $125 (oil radiators running pretty much constantly!) which isn’t much higher than normal for a cold month. I’m still getting some weatherstripping, though. Heck, I might even install it! :rimshot:
Hi everyone. It appears that I missed some birthdays, so let me offer belated birthday wishes.
Snow here again. It’s supposed to be gone by this afternoon, but so far it’s doing a good job of sticking around.
Yesterday was my 23rd wedding anniversary. We celebrated quietly because it was a weeknight. We’ll do something this weekend. Money is tight anyway, so we’re watching our expenses.
Movies…hm. The last one we saw was on PPV. We watched *Mirrors, *with Kiefer Sutherland. It was alright.
Uncertainty still abounds in the office due to the whole regional reorganization thing. I’m sick of it, frankly. It’s been acknowledged by many, to include the bosses, that one co-worker and I are getting the pointing, feces smeared end of the stick in this deal. It sucks, but I’m trying hard not to dwell on it.
I stayed home today, mainly “just because”. I do feel a little ill, but I could have gone in. I just didn’t feel like dealing with it, is all, and decided my mental health needed an adjustment.
Other than that. not much else going on. The kids are in school, the hubby is a work, and my dog is at my side.
Karyn, I’m jealous. The heroin-dealing junkies who used to own our house messed with the water meter, but I guess none of them were handy enough to dick around with the hydro. Anyway, the city caught on real quick and replaced the meter within a couple of months (they’re only lazy if it’s something that’s costing us money, rather than the other way 'round).
Nava, I’m sorry you’re stuck with Hellish Tables Nonsense.
Speaking of Tables, I’m currently skipping a meeting to review the updated training plan that was revised after the last review session, and to ensure that we have captured any additional corrections so that we can schedule yet another review session to validate once more. Did I mention that they wanted to book a follow-up meeting to review and confirm all revisions to the revised document prior to Review Session #3?
To recap, here are all the meeting that have already happened or will be happening:
…and then they wonder why no work ever gets done around here. :smack:
Snow day!!! Sorta…
It was dry and overcast when we left for work, but within a couple of hours, the snow was falling. About 1030 or so, I talked to FCD, and we discussed bailing early. At 1130, we split. Getting up the little slope of our driveway was a challenge, but the car went safely into the garage, and we shoveled the drive and walkway. I let the doggies out, and Bernie had to lie down in the snow before going walkabout. Thankfully, she just went across the street to investigate the ditch, so I got her easily.
Class is cancelled tonight - YAY!! I hardly slept last night, and I was worried about staying awake on the ride home. Instead, I’ll pop some melatonin and snooze early.
I got my crap moved to my new cube, and everything is all set up, except for having the computers connected to the network. I couldn’t do anything anyway, which made it easier to bail 3 hours early.
Thus is my Tuesday.
Not to burst your bubble too much, but the tune’s also used for “Lord of the Dance” (no, not the Michael Flatley Riverdance thing!), which is a popular Christian song as well. To your point, though, because it’s been reused by different groups for different purposes, it’s a very inclusive song and means a lot to multiple groups. Plus, I just love the melody.
My dept’s admin assistant sent around an email today saying that we’re going to have a department pot luck. Great idea! We only do them occasionally and when we do, they’re lots of fun and everyone says we should do them more often. So I’m thinking great! Until I see the date… Friday. It’s Tuesday. You couldn’t give us more than 3 days notice? I’ve got something going on both Wed and Thurs nights. And tonight feels too early to make something for Friday. So I’m probably going to be That Person who skips out on the dept fun time because I don’t have time to make anything. :smack:
Posted two days in a row!!!
:: confetti ::
Lately, every time we start watching a movie at home, we end up nekkid, and then having to rewind later.
Just a mental image for you this Tuesday
taxi, why not make something ridiculously-super-easy for the pot luck? I’m a big fan of bean dip or hummus with pita wedges… either can be made in under 5 minutes with a food processor (OK, maybe it’s more like 7 minutes if you’ve got a cranky can opener like mine) and it actually tastes better if it’s made a couple of days ahead IMO.
It’s still better than being The Person Who Always Brings Two Bags of Chips or The Person Who Skipped Out Because They Have a Life. 
Someone call me?
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Just let the doggies out. It’s drizzly, and cold, and ick out there. I’m thinking I might bump the heat a few degrees, just because.
After I bleach my brain from BusDude’s post…