T. G .I .(ALMOST) F.

Howdy howdy. Hope you are all having a good week. It's been a busy one for me but I have tomorrow off so I can put off some of the stuff I was going to do tonight and sit on my butt and write some boring stuff in my blog.

I just heard an updated weather report and it is going to snow tomorrow. Oh happy day. We are expecting anywhere from 4-8 inches. It figures. I am just starting to see parts of the actual ground in my back yard now. We've had some fairly warm weather the last couple of days (50's) and some sun, which has helped a great deal with the melting. I can see most of the doghouse now and my picnic table is completely visible. The snowbanks on either side of the driveway have gone way down and it is no longer dangerous trying to leave the dooryard. The ground is still a bit frozen so it's not muddy out there yet and I actually hoping to hang my sheets out on the line this weekend but I guess that's going to be a bust. Thinking positively, at least the snow we do get won't hang around for long because it is bound to warm up eventually.

I really enjoyed Easter with my family. It was good to see everyone, including my niece Crystal, who is back home again after a short stay in California. She had moved there in mid February but decided she didn't really like the job she had so she came back home. Crystal is a bit of a gypsy and it looks like she is going to move around quite a bit. She's 19 and has no ties really so she may as well travel and have fun now.

George fit in nicely with the family, (I had no doubt about that) and my mother was very glad to see him again. My father had a little trouble remembering him from some 30 years ago but as the afternoon passed, it was all clicking into place. My brother was happy to see his buddy George again and first chance he got he cornered me and asked me how long this was going on. He wanted all the scoop then told me he's never seen me happier. He is right, I don't think the smile has left my face in weeks. Here is a photo taken of us the previous Saturday at Rose and Steve's house.


The biggest surprise of the day, however, was finding out that my brother and his longtime girlfriend have broken up. It was quite a shock since they've been together for around 6 years and seemed like the perfect match. I will miss Jacqueline a lot. She and I have become "sisters-in-law" even without them getting married. I hope we can continue our friendship.

The week has been fairly busy. I've got very little spare time at work as the orders keep coming and we've ramped up quite a bit in the last month. I took the doggie in for his pedicure this afternoon and spent a little time with Dr. Lesley, who LOVES seeing the Huntababes. She is pleased to see him getting around so well even if he can't see a darn thing. He was romping with a beautiful Cocker Spaniel puppy while we were in the waiting room and they were having a blast. He doesn't let his lack of vision stop him from having a good time and he's always smiling. The only thing he has a hard time with is jumping in and out of the car. He took a nice belly flop the last time he tried getting out of the car by himself so now I make sure I grab him before opening the door and I carry him in and out. I don't want him hurting his cute little face. Oh and since you asked for some pics of the poochie...here's some puppy love for ya!




Since it will be snowing tomorrow, I guess I will clean house. Not much fun on my day off but it has to be done sometime. I also have to get my haircut sometime this weekend. That's about all I have planned. The rest of the time we will play it by ear I guess.

I suppose I should get the dishes done now. Take good care and HUGS!

Easter Blessings

I just wanted to take a moment to wish each and every one of you a very Happy Easter. The sun is shining although it is really chilly outside right now. Hard to believe it is Spring. Hopefully it will warm up soon.

The past week went by pretty well. I found out on Monday that our orders at work have increased considerably so I guess we will be quite busy all summer long. Sounds good to me.

My manager decided it would be beneficial to production to set me up with a phone at work. Management doesn't allow an office phone on the production floor, which is where my computer was set up, so he made room for me in one of the offices and had a phone installed at my desk. I share the office with 2 other women who also work for Dave. I'm having a tad bit of a problem with one of them who spends an enormous amount of time on the phone during the course of the day and they are not work related calls. I was quite uncomfortable the first couple of days because I felt like I was eavesdropping on some pretty personal stuff but I have a job to do too and I need to be in there in order to do it. As much as I try not to listen, it is quite distracting. I purchased some headphones yesterday so I can hook up to my music. Hopefully that will help.

Yesterday George and I went up to Rose and Steve's house for a visit. It was their first time meeting George and we had a really good time. We'll be going back up as soon as the weather gets a bit better for some grillin and chillin. LOL
We left there around 7 and we both were starving so we stopped at the Tilt 'N Diner for something to eat. What an awesome atmosphere. The music playing is all 50's and 60's music and I was reminded of the movie American Graffiti. We had cheeseburgers and fries and chocolate frappes. This is up in George's neck of the woods and one of his favorite haunts so it was fun to finally be able to check it out. I can't wait to see more of the area. I've only been to the usual tourist spots up there.

Today we are having Easter dinner with my family at my parents house. I am in charge of dessert, naturally, and I made a pineapple upside down cake and a pan of brownies. The brownies were more of a back up in case I screwed up the cake. I did have a bit of an issue inverting it onto a platter. I probably should have let it cool a bit longer or greased the pan a bit more, but I managed to get the part that stuck back together with the rest of the cake. It's not like you can hide your mistakes with frosting...so I just patched it up. No one will care if it tastes good, right? LOL

I am anxious to see the look on my brother's face when he walks into my mother's house and sees George. He has no idea we are seeing each other and they haven't seen each other in maybe 28 years. He is going to be really surprised, I am sure of that.
I hope someone takes a picture of that.

I better get going. Enjoy the day everyone!

Lainie

Hoppy Easter

Recap On The Weekend

I've survived the weekend, well so far anyway. It was a busy one for sure.

Dinner with Eric and Jessie went well on Friday night. We had a good time catching up, had a fantastic meal of lemon chicken, wild rice and green beans and watched one of the Duece Bigelow movies. We didn't stay too late because Eric had to get up early on Saturday to take one of the first exams he needs to pass to get onto the police department. I haven't spoken to him yet about how that went but I will call him later today.

Last evening I went up to Tilton to meet George's daughter and family. We had another wonderful dinner, (steak, mashed taters and peas) and viewed a slide show of their recent trip to Disney World, narrated by almost 4 year old Calissa. There were more than 400 pictures to see and Calissa did a great job of telling me everything they did and everything they saw. She crawled in my lap as soon as I sat down and never left it the whole evening. She's quite a character, very much a Disney Princess and Drama Queen. She asked me my name around 10 times and still couldn't remember it so I told her she could call me whatever she could remember so I became Auntie Ann. She's such a cutie. Her 2 year old brother Alex was more interested in playing with Grampy but I did get a hug when we left and he was blowing kisses from the window. I think all went quite well.

I have so much housework to do today. Playtime is over. I already got the laundry done and will start on the bathroom in a couple minutes.

It's kind of cloudy outside but not snowing or raining. It looks like it wants to do something though. We had a little snow yesterday but not enough to bother with. I really hope winter is behind us now.

OK time for me to move my butt and haul out the cleaning materials. I hope everyone's had a nice restful weekend.

Hugs
Lainie

Quiet Day

We enjoyed a sunny day today, even if it only made it to 40 degrees. No complaints, but I think we are going to have some more rainy weather over the weekend. Again, I won't complain. The rain will help wash away all the dirty yucky snow that is piled up along the roadways.

It hasn't been very busy at work the last couple of days so the time has dragged on somewhat. This is my short week, however, and I will certainly enjoy the next three days off. I want to get my taxes done this weekend, in fact, I am going to make an appointment right now before it gets too late. OK that's taken care of, 9:00 tomorrow morning.

I finally was able to get in touch with the Vet yesterday and Hunter is not going to have to take Supplemental medicine for his thyroid. What a relief that is. I know that medication would have to be administered daily and it can get quite expensive. They are going to keep an eye on his thyroid but the additional blood work has come back with normal results so that's one less thing I have to worry about. He's adapting quite well to his blindness and seems to be healthy otherwise. He's so darn lovable, it would kill me to see him sick or suffering in any way.

I'm getting hungry so I suppose I should fix something to eat. There are plenty of leftovers in the fridge, and I don't even have to get groceries this week. Sorry about the short post. I guess I don't have that much to blog about today and I am kind of boring myself. LOL Have a great evening!

Sunny Sunday

Finally...the sun is shining and the rain has stopped. It looks nice outside but the wind is howling. Looks like the rain has done it's job in decreasing the snow pack some anyway. Lots of areas around the state are under a flood watch but as far as I've heard, they're just keeping a close eye on all the vulnerable areas.

I've been feeling a bit better each day although yesterday I was pretty groggy and lethargic when I first got up. I'm still taking the cold medicine but backed off on the cough syrup since my cough hasn't been keeping me awake at night. There is a light at the end of the tunnel I think.

It's been a fairly busy weekend for me. Friday night George came over for dinner and I made Chicken Parmesan. Sara dropped by and decided to stay since it is one of her favorite dishes. It also gave her some time to talk to George and she thinks he's "wicked nice". She also tried to get the goods on her mom, asking him what I was really like as a teenager. (I was a goody goody) LOL
Sara left around 7:30 and he left around 10. It was pouring down rain here but apparently was snowing up at his house. The roads weren't the best and he probably should have left earlier but he made it home in one piece.

Saturday morning I woke up late and it took me awhile to get my act together. I had a 'therapy' lunch date with two of my girlfriends at 1pm and I didn't want to miss that. LOL We get together about once a month to gab and eat and gab some more. It's something we recently started but it's great fun and a good way to keep up with each other. It's amazing how all of our lives are somehow intertwined, even now. I have known Elaine since high school but I have known Heidi since we were both 4 years old. Elaine and Heidi weren't really friends back in high school but are friends now even though they weren't introduced by me. We all worked for the same company at different times and know a lot of the same people so we have plenty to talk about.

After lunch I had some errands to run and then headed home. George called, said he was bored and asked if he could come on down. He showed up around 4:30 with a movie and an empty stomach. I wasn't hungry but I went with him to the local sub shop and had a beer while he ate. The place is usually packed on a Saturday but with the terrible weather, I guess everyone decided to stay home. We ate, then came back here and watched Perfect Strangers, a movie with Halle Berry and Bruce Willis. It wasn't bad and had an interesting twist at the end. Because he had an early appointment this morning, George left around 9. I was going to go to bed but decided to pop into chat instead. Was good to see a few of my buds...but as usual, chat bores me quite easily and I didn't stay long.

Of course I forgot to set my clocks ahead one hour, but that's ok since I have nothing but housework planned for today. Since I've been sick, I haven't done much around here and it is starting to show. I would really like to muster up enough energy to wash my kitchen floor today. We shall see if that actually happens.

It will be a short week next week at work and that's a good thing. I have Friday off and I have to get my taxes done. Friday night George and I are having dinner with Eric and Jessie and on Saturday night I am going to meet George's daughter Nicole and her husband Matt and their two kids. She was very sweet to extend an invitation to me via email the other day. I was very surprised, and impressed. George had no idea but apparently he's been talking about me and she wants to meet me. It should be an interesting weekend.

Ok I guess I should get my butt in gear and get something done around here.

I hope you are all having a good weekend and those of you who have been or are still sick...I hope you're all feeling better.

Hugs
~L~

Mid Week Update

I've heard from some very reliable sources that this cold will hang around for 3-4 weeks. I am hoping that is not the case because I will go completely crazy in that amount of time. I am feeling a bit better, however. The fever is gone but I am very congested. I just need to keep this from turning into bronchitis and I will be happy.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday I was feeling pretty lousy. Sore throat, fever, chills, my entire head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. I got up from the sofa a few times and felt dizzy. I had no appetite but forced myself to eat the chicken soup I made and I ate it for 2 days. I think it was good...I couldn't taste it and by Saturday I couldn't smell anything either. Today my appetite has come back a little and I was able to taste the food I did eat. I have been coughing a lot and blowing my nose when I am not coughing. I've gone through a whole box of Puffs and had to stop and pick up some more tonight on the way home, along with some Halls Cough Drops and some Alka Seltzer Cold Medicine. I'd been taking the Tylenol Cold but someone recommended the Alka Seltzer so I'll try that. My house smells like Lysol and Vicks...and I've been hosing down my work station with Lysol all day too. Monday night was not a good night for sleeping since I was coughing my head off for most of it. I called the doctor on Tuesday and got some cough medicine with codeine (mmmmmmmmmmmmmm). I went to sleep around 8 last night and woke up at 4 this morning feeling a little groggy but rested. I will do the same tonight.

George called me on Saturday and said I sounded miserable. I told him I was near death and probably contagious so he should stay away, but he insisted on coming by to make me soup or fluff my pillows or just hold my hand. I told him to wear a mask and rubber gloves and bring juice and I will let him in. He was so sweet. He made me tea and held my fever ridden aching body against him and I told him, "You know, all these macho man heroics aren't gonna get you any sex" and he said, "Darlin...all that coughing and blowing your nose isn't turning me on so don't you worry about that one bit." As long as we got that settled.

So...about George. We met in high school when he started coming around the neighborhood one summer with his friend Al who was friends with my brother Dave and my cousin Bill. He was really quiet, kind of shy, and never said a whole lot but had a huge loud laugh. I think he was stoned most of the time. He definitely had that reputation but he didn't 'look' like the other potheads I knew about in school. He was clean cut and a bit geeky, and always came by riding his 10 speed. I was hanging around with a large group of kids from the neighborhood and we always met after supper either in my back yard or in the back alley behind my house. The guys would play basketball and the girls would sit on "The Wall" and giggle about the boys. Soon George and Al were coming over almost every night and sometimes we would all walk down to the park and just hang out. When the weather got colder, we still would meet at the Wall and sometimes we'd hang out down in my parents basement to get out of the cold. Almost every weekend in the winter we would spend the evenings down in the basement listening to music and playing cards. Some of the guys and girls would sneak away into the corner and make out. Apparently it was in this corner that George received his first kiss...from me! What a tramp I am. I had no idea I was his first kiss until he told me last week. Anyway, we seemed to have our 'moment' then it passed, and we went on to meet and date other people (I even dated his older brother for a short while) and remained friends. We worked for the same company for several years and still partied together as a group, went to each other's weddings and welcomed each others newborn babies into the world. Eventually I lost touch with most of them. The last I had heard about George was he had 2 kids and was living up North somewhere. Imagine my surprise when out of the blue he called me a couple of weeks ago. He is separated now and he has 3 kids, all grown and 1 living at home. He works as a Manufacturing Engineer at an electronics company up North and talks and talks and talks. LOL Who knew? It's been nice having someone to go to dinner with and to just sit around the table and talk to someone who actually participates in conversation. We've had a good time reminiscing and hanging out together the past couple of weeks and it's hard to believe 23+ years has passed. Well except now we can hear each others bones crack when we get up from the chair. He's kept in touch with many of the people in our group and I have been in touch with several others over the years so maybe with a little effort we can have some kind of reunion this summer and get the whole gang together again. I think it would be great fun.

I suppose I should get myself in the kitchen and make something to eat. Seems I gave the cook the night off so I'm gonna have to do it myself. What was I thinking?

Stay warm