Healthy Living Thread

[Rod]

I'm glad the captive situation is over. But had to chuckle about work being a rest break.

Yes, you are cray cray for wanting to start another lake front project. I hope you have fun tonight at the office holiday get together. Friday is our office party. It's an all day, during the day event. We start the morning with Mimosa's. Then the founder of the firm takes us all to a really wonderful restaurant, they open just for us, called Eddy V's. It's simply a very amazing steak house, but with a modern flair. They take us there by uber as there's an open bar throughout and then wine with the meal. Then back to the office for Secret Santa and voila it's about 4 PM and everyone just goes home from there.

Sunday my boss is hosting a work gathering at his home, but it's very casual. Charlie will be in Buffalo, so I'll be going on my own.

Today was just a boring day at work. This time of year, hiring typically comes to a halt, so I have to find ways to at least look like I'm doing something. LOL

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Rod, that is cool you’ve been collecting ornaments so long. Pier 1 has some great Christmas ornaments; it is neat you collect them on your travels too. I started buying the Snoopy ornaments when I was a kid. Pottery Barn is pricey; that’s great you got 40% off the tree skirt. They had some reindeer dishes with little cute sayings about 10 years ago and I really wanted them but it was out of our price range at the time. When I decided to buy Christmas dishes that was the first place I looked. I ended up with the Lenox Holliday china. That’s nice they someone built up the Hyde Park area again. I thought tonight I need to get a few presents wrapped so there is something under the tree. Your all day work party sounds like a great way to spend a day at work. Such a deal. Good luck looking busy at work; I hate those days worse than being crazy busy.

Dee Jay, yay for escaping your captors. I know what you mean about going back to work to rest. Sometimes it’s the only break I get. I can’t say I am surprised you are considering selling the boathouse and buying another one to rehab. You certainly have a knack for that. Even Marty had to use a ladder to get to the top of our tree. Our last house had high peaks and vaulted ceilings in the the living room and den. We’d cut down a tree in the mountains so they were tall and definitely not skinny. When we went to artificial trees we bought a 12.5 foot tree and gave it away because we got new furniture and it just didn’t fit in our living room then. Now that we have a bigger house i wish we had that tree back. Now we have a 7.5 foot slim tree. It works though. I hope your party was fun and you got home at a decent time. I slept last night from 11 pm to 5:50 - what a treat. I managed to go right back to sleep until my alarm went off at 6:20.

I got all of my PA’s submitted to my boss. Out of 5; 3 of them are done. The 2 I submitted today may require some adjustments on my part; I’m too lenient; my boss is too strict so we have to dicker over scores. I highlighted the things on their PA’s that I either gave them pluses for or minuses. He’ll think I scored things too lenient. One of my employees has been out after having a stroke and I can’t officially submit her PA until her self appraisal is pushed through to me on the 19th. I made a fake PA so my boss can preview it ahead of time. I am going on vacation on the 20th and don’t want to mess with it when I’m loafing around. Like Dee Jay though preparing for the family Christmas those few days will be more work than work.

I stopped and had supper a Perkins tonight. I brought home a piece of apple pie that is calling my name right now. I was too full to eat it after supper.

Have a great evening.

Curby

 

[Rod]

Marcy, yummmmm to apple pie. We had one of Charlie's fabulous sugar cookies for desert, but I was till feeling snacky, so I had a dill pickle!

 

[marcy]

Rod, I can smell a warm sugar cookie right now. I have to ask - are the sugar cookies thin or thick? Are they frosted? Does he use a sour cream cookie recipe? Lemon? There are so many varieties out there. My sugar cookies are soft, thick and made with sour cream. I wasn't going to make them this year but they do sound good right now. I haven't made them for years because they were my dad's favorite cookies. Maybe I'm ready to make them.

 

[Rod]

Marcy, we use a sugar cookie recipe that is pretty simple, but really really good. We add lemon extract as opposed to vanilla. And we put sprinkles on them, not icing. They're kind of thick, but not doughy. I don't like a doughy cookie and these are just perfect and crisp.

Hey, I thought I'd post these two Emi and Eri under the tree this year:

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Rod, the kitties under the tree are absolutely adorable! Your work party sounds pretty fab... but I'd have to go home and take a nap after that LOL. I hope you get something cool from your Secret Santa!

Curby, I thought about buying a tree for my current space, but it would have to be about 12'. I also don't have a ton of storage to keep a giant box like that all year round. So I will live vicariously through you and Rod.

Last night was fun! I work with such a great group of people! When I got home though I had an email from the president of an association in a neighboring building that one of the units in my complex is being rented through AirBnB. I'm surprised we didn't catch it, but in the winter we just don't spent a lot of time out in the parking lot (which is how we realized the other guy a few years ago was doing this). So now we have to send a nasty "reminder" to everyone about the rules of the association. I am to the point that I would sell this place and go rent something in a New York minute right now!

I'm working hard to finish up two things for my boss today. He's a little irate about some things and I can't figure out if he's miffed at me or at the world in general and I'm getting swept up in it. Oh well; you can only do what you can do, right?

 

[Rod]

DeeJay, you are more than welcome to live vicariously through me (and I'm sure Marcy, as well)!

I don't often get a very nice Secret Santa gift. We have a $50 limit, which I never stick to. I picked our receptionist this year. I noticed she often has earbuds in her ears, wired to her phone. So I spent a bunch more than $50 to buy her a really nice pair of Bluetooth earbuds, with noise cancelling circuitry and the ability to answer phone calls, all contained in a rechargeable storage case. I try very hard to get someone a gift they'll really enjoy.

When I was president of the board of our condo, I found out one of my board members was renting his place out via AirBNB. I simply couldn't believe a board member would be in violation of our rules as short term rentals (and they don't get much shorter than AirBNB) were strictly prohibited by our by laws. I finally had to get him off the board and our association attorney involved. I so Don't Don't Don't miss condo living. Not for a freaking second!

I'm trying to work today, but not doing too well at it. Hence me replying during work hours. I'm really over work for this year. Yes, I am!!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Rod, your kitties under the tree look adorable. They want to open the presents. I can still taste your sugar cookies and decided I need to make some soon.
I hope you get a nice gift from your secret Santa. The ear buds you got the receptionist sound really nice.
I am sure you don't miss being on the board at your old condo.
It is tough to be motivated to work at Christmas time.

Dee Jay, twelve foot trees are awesome but they do take up a lot of storage space. The tall one we had was stored in 3 big garbage cans. We will definitely let you share our Christmas tree.
Glad to hear your party was fun last night. Oh no to having problems with someone renting out their place. It's like dealing with my employees.
Good luck with your boss; I hate those times when you can't tell what they are aggravated at and I'm always paranoid enough that it's me.

I did a marathon Christmas card session tonight. I still have to put stamps on them and write a card to the in-laws but them they are ready to mail. I love self stick envelopes.

A friend and I went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants for lunch today and ate too much. They are closing at the end of the month so we had to go have our last deep fried taco and sopas. My friend had beans and rice too; I am sure she joined me in having ice water for supper. It was good though.

Take care.
Curby

 

[marcy]

Here's a picture of one of the real trees we had at our old house. The star blanket is on the top of the back of a chair to kind of give you an idea of height.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy last day in the office for Dee this year kids!

Rod, those earbuds sound GREAT! Do you mind if I ask what brand/model they are? I'm looking for some new ones. What did you get? I hope it was something really good this year!

Curby, it feels good to get the cards done, doesn't it?! I always breathe a sigh of relieve when mine hit the mailbox! I should tell you how special you are BTW -- you are the ONLY person I bought a specific card for! But when I walked past that on the rack I just couldn't resist, ha ha.

I'm home... and contemplating a nap... I have to do my nails and pack for tomorrow's trek down to Missouri... but it's only 3:45 so surely there's time for a little ZZZzzzz first... right?!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids and Happy last day in the Office for Dee this year!

Dee Jay, I do feel special knowing I am the only person you picked a specific card for this year. I can totally understand why you'd think of me with that T-Rex card. It does feel good knowing my cards are almost ready to mail. Putting on the stamps tonight will be minimal effort. Woo hoo!

How was your nap? You can always pack later. I need to do my nails too. I picked up some OPI nail envy to see if I can help prevent my nails splitting from nail polish. I am still trying to get my dry hands healed before i start messing with polish again.

I went to the mall tonight for supper then looked at crystal, dishes and Christmas decorations in Dillards. I didn't buy anything but enjoyed looking around. I also wanted to see the Angel tree they set up in the mall with paper dove ornaments. It's a fund raiser for our local hospice where you can fill out a dove ornament with a message to put on the tree. They ask for a donation but since I am on their "list" I get an ornament in the mail to fill out each year with a form to send in my donation. The lady working the table helped me find my dove ornament. I like to support it because it is a very nice hospice for a small town.

I am down to 4 more work days before my vacation starts. I am getting anxious.
Curby

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids,

Rod, I had to look at your kitty pictures again. They are so cute.

Dee Jay, did you arrive safely in Missouri?

We had snow all over the ground this morning with lots of ice. Joy!!! I was glad to get home tonight. Tomorrow is going to be in the 50's; then Saturday freezing rain with snow in to Sunday. Winter is here.

I got one of my packages from Verizon today to return my old cell phone for credit. Strange they didn't send both packages to me. I wonder if they only process one return at a time?

I need to do laundry tonight; my few thermal tops are worn now so I'd best get some clean ones ready for the weekend. I am so cold at work I've been wearing them every day.

Take care.
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Friday kids!

Curby, we did arrive safely in MO... but it took a long damn time to get here! My traveling companions have to stop for So Many Things. Something to eat. Something to drink. Now we gotta pee. Oh look -- an historic gas station; MUST see that! ARGH! Just fvcking DRIVE!!! I took over the car after the fourth stop. Needless to say that was the LAST stop before we Got Where We Were Going.

Currently there is much bustling around in the breakfast making process. Sister #2 is on a flight right now, slated to land about 11:30. Perhaps they will relieve me from my gift wrapping duties to greet her when she arrives, LOL.

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, glad you arrived safely in MO and took charge of the last leg of your road trip. Of course I'd be guilty of needing that bathroom break. How is your marathon gift wrapping going? Did you get a break when Sister #2 showed up?

I think I finished my shopping this morning. Picked up some Visa gift cards for my employees, some Amazon gift cards for the kids of a friend of mine and ordered a few things for the SIL for her Christmas stocking. She'll be arriving on late on the 22nd.

It was house cleaning day so Marty and I went to breakfast when our cleaning lady got here, then wandered around Barnes and Noble for awhile. I signed up for their annual membership to get a 20% discount then sadly realized I had a 20% off coupon in my purse I forgot I had. Phooey. We went to lunch then I heard how Marty's numbers were skewed for the day and that's why he hates to eat out. I'm hungry now and he's at the gym, I think I'm making myself popcorn for supper.

It looks like winter might be coming back to our neck of the woods this week. Maybe we'll have a white Christmas after all.

Off to eat a banana and see if I'm still hungry. I watched Despicable Me 3; it was okay but didn't have enough Minions in it.

Take care.
Curby

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

I did laundry and cooked and did dishes all day. I did wrap a few gifts. I made PB blossom cookies or Christmas Cookies Part Deux. We tested a few of them and decided they can be served to company. Marty unwrapped all the Dove chocolates for me; I do both milk chocolate and dark chocolate.

I woke up with a stiff neck that got worse as the day went on. I am using a heating pad finally hoping that helps. Phooey.

Is tomorrow really Monday?
Curby

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids. By this time tomorrow night I'll be so happy to be starting my 7 days of vacation (only 4 work days) but still 7 days off. Sweet.

I am stiff, sore and achy. I feel like someone beat the crap out of me and then came back for seconds. Marty would say it's the evil coming out of me. Hopefully tomorrow it will just be a memory.

I rescheduled my retinal exam from this Friday to next Friday. I had no desire to get up and be at the eye doctor at 7:30 am on Friday when I'm not going in to work.

Have a great evening.
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Curby, the evil coming out of you -- ha! I'm going to use that! Your cookies look delish. Are those like the peanut butter cookies that our moms used to make but with dove squares instead of hershey's kisses? Yum!!!

The weekend with the fam came off mostly without a hitch. There was of course the usual trauma drama, but nothing outrageous. You get three guesses on who was in charge of the drive home, and if you guess Dee, Dee and Dee you will be right, ha ha.

I've got a week full of stuff; lunches, dinners, a haircut, yadda yadda yadda. And then I head to NJ on X-mas eve to be with Sister #2. Another friend of ours is joining us too for a large part of the time that I'll be there, so that will be fun.

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, I hear that a lot of Marty about the evil coming out of me. He thinks he is funny. Yes those are the PB cookies that have Hershey kisses on them; I use milk and dark Dove squares though. I was thinking of digging some out to eat tonight but I'll resist.

Sounds like you've got the drive home covered. Drive it like you stole it, right? You'll make it in record time. You do have a lot planned for this week and weekend. Let the good times roll or at least the alcohol flow.

We got our order from Kansas City Steak House today. I picked the 6 oz filet wrapped in pepper bacon for tomorrow.

I am baking oven fries and a little steak for myself for supper. Marty was going to grill but went to meet a friend down at his gym.

Tomorrow is going to be nice so I am going to run errands and pick up some groceries for the crowd on Sunday. I plan on ordered our chicken and ribs for Sunday and send Marty and my SIL out to pick them up on Saturday. Ha!

Off to finish dishes.
Curby no work for 7 days

 

[Rod]

Morning All,

I hate the notifications for the forum. If you don't open or reply to the last notification you receive, you don't notifications of any new posts forward. So, my last notification got buried and I'm just now getting a moment to say hello.

DeeJay, here's a link to the earbuds I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077MBSSGR/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 She now has them and simply loves them. I got a chance to listen to them and they sound great.

So, Friday was our holiday luncheon. It was superb as usual. They take us to a high end steakhouse and the food is terrific, to say the least. Then we came back to the office and did the Secret Santa exchange. The person who had my name, bought me a gift certification to one of my favorite restaurants downtown, where they have the best Ramen Noodle soup - EVER! Then as the gift part wound down, my boss got up and presented me with a new Nikon D7500 DSLR, which is a brand new camera I've really wanted. I have now already sold my previous Nikon D7100 but the recipient doesn't know he's getting it. More on this in a bit. Finally, as I was leaving the founder of the company called me into his office and gave me a check for $1,000 as just another thank you for a great year!

Got home Friday night, turned on the laptop and wham, it wouldn't boot up. It's only 4 years old, but has been a horrid device since the day I bought it. And it was a top of the line Asus, when new, but has had the screen replaced twice and of late was having turning on or worse, shutting down. So, given I got the bonus check and sir Charlie was in NY with his family, I spent the night researching laptops and got up Saturday morning and went and bought a top of the line HP Spectre X360, with SSD storage. No old fashioned hard drive on this puppy. Uber expensive, but oh so fantastic.

Sunday evening was my bosses holiday open house. It was a great time. And here's the end of selling my camera. The guy who sits next to me in the office wanted to know what I was going to do with my retiring Nikon D7100. Turns out he's been looking to get a Nikon DSLR. I told him what I was going to sell it for and he told his wife he wanted to buy it. She thought this wasn't a great time to spend the money, so he had texted me Saturday morning that he wasn't in a position to buy it. Fast forward to Sunday night and his wife pulls be aside and says she vetoed the cameras, so she could buy it for him, without him knowing. So I sold it to her and he has no clue he's getting it.

I had an eye doctor appointment yesterday. Seems my peripheral vision has changed, so I have to go back to have a Field Vision test to ensure nothing is going on. The test won't be until January 15th, so now I get to worry I may have early stage glaucoma. It wouldn't be the end of the world, because glaucoma, while not curable, is highly treatable and doesn't cause loss of vision anymore. Still, it's something to be worried about.

I think I forgot to meniont I had to have prostate surgery in April. I've had issues there since I was in my early 30s. Of late, it had become quite enlarged and I've a biopsie twice now, plus I had been living on antibiotics continuously fighting an infection. Like for 2 years. So they finally decided I had to have a Turp. The healing was slow, but I've been off antibiotics now for 6 months, so that's a good thing and there's no cancer there either.

I'm at work. In body only. I'm just finished with this year and just occupying space at the moment. When I get off work tomorrow afternoon, I'll be off until January 2nd. YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!

I hope everyone's holiday plans are going great.

Hugs - Rod

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Rod, glad to hear the lady at work is enjoying her earbuds.
Congratulations on getting the new Nikon DSLR you wanted plus a nice bonus. That is awesome.
Oh no that your laptop quit working. Your new one sounds nice. I was thinking you'd say you got a Mac since you have Apple phones and watches.
That is a very cool story about that guy getting your older Nikon as a surprise from his wife. He'll be so happy.
Your parties sound really nice and fun.
I hope they find what is going on with your eye and get it fixed. I hear you about vision problems being worrisome. I have a scar on my retina and a retinal edema in that same eye so my central vision is shot; I lost color and depth perception as well. I am improving but probably it won't ever go away. I see wavy lines with that eye. Joy! I have to go get a 3D retinal image every month and use eye drops every night.
I remember you had surgery and had an infection. That is great news you've been off antibiotics for a while and fabulous news there is no cancer.
You have a nice long vacation. I enjoyed my first day off but I am sad my vacation is 1/7th over already.

I started my vacation wildness last night by staying up till midnight to finish a book. Then I slept in until after 8 this morning. We spent money like drunken sailors today. First stop at a supermarket liquors store. They charged us $477 to get out of there but $150 of that was a bottle of Glenfiddich (scotch) Marty was drooling over. He said he wouldn't mind finding that under to tree so I said fine you can get it. It is under the tree by the way.
Next stop was Sams and they charged us almost as much as the liquor store but we bought all the meat and other things for our Christmas dinner on Sunday.
We rounded out our shopping at the grocery store this afternoon. Tomorrow I think I'll stay home - mostly because we are getting snow tonight.

Take care.
Curby

 

[Rod]

Marcy, how on earth did you get a scar on your retina? I'm sorry you've got permanent vision loss. I hope I won't have a bad vision test, but if I do, I'll figure out how to deal with it.

I do love Mac's, but since I use all Microsoft products for work, a Mac just doesn't make sense at this point. Plus, Mac's are so frigging expensive that my new laptop does all a comparable Mac can do, for literally $hundreds less. Win win for me!

I have literally 2.5 hours to go and I'm out of jail for the rest of the year! I'm so ready to be off. I'm sorry you're now two days into your week off. Time off goes so fast. Work goes on and on and on and on.

I imagine the Scotch Marty got will be great. I'm not a hard liquor guy so I wouldn't appreciate the difference at all. I had to laugh about you wrapping it and putting it under the tree. I joined a Kick Starter campaign for a watch out of Maryland last summer. It promised a really elegant, but understated design. A great movement, with the Maryland flag on the rotor and would come with a real watch winder, all for $287 if you were one of the first to pledge. The campaign was successful and was fully funded, so my card was charged and I completely forgot about it. Out of the blue, it came yesterday and Charlie let me look at it for 5 seconds, then wrapped it and put it under the tree. LOL

Other than having to pick up the cake and lobsters in advance of Christmas, we're completely done. We have no more shopping left to do at all. I'm sure I'm getting an Apple Watch band for my Apple Watch (which I'd like to get) as I saw a charge on our card from the Apple Store yesterday! I had actually met Charlie at the mall for lunch. We have this kiosk where they have real crystal cubes, but inside there's an etching of a photograph you send to them. I ordered one of the kitties for a gift for Charlie and it was ready to be picked up yesterday. I'll take a pic on Xmas and post it. It's simply too cool for words and comes on base that rotates the cube with led lights underneath. It's the one gift I know is going to really excited Charlie!

That's about it for now.

Rod

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Rod, I hope your vision is okay. I knew my vision was screwed up for a while mostly because I couldn't see little things, I was having problems reading and I was seeing wavy lines. The retinal scar has been there since they started taking the images of my eyes about 15 years ago. The optometrist said it could have been caused by trauma at some point or looking directly at the sun. Since the previous time he saw me (about 1 1/2 at that time) the scar had flattened out which he said is something old scars do. That day I failed both the depth of field test and the color test (where there are numbers or shapes in different color dots). He said they couldn't fix the scar and basically ordered me new glasses. I went back the next day to talk to him again because primarily I was freaking out I'd fail the vision test for driving. I asked him some questions but still basically was told that's the way it is. Marty had an appointment later that week and he told the doctor how upset I was and worried so he called me back in to do a 3D retinal scan and that's when he found the retinal edema. Kind of irritates me that it took Marty to get him to explore further. Now I have to go in monthly for a 3D retinal scan and he put me on Llevro eye drops; that are used after cataract surgery to help reduce swelling. The tiny bottle costs $349 before insurance. Holy crap! The drops are helping to pull the fluid out and my overall vision is improving but the central vision will never be right. I have 2 gray, fuzzy spots right in the center of my vision in that eye. The retinal edema is a mystery. They can be caused by diabetics and high blood pressure but since my right eye looks fine and my veins don't show either of those conditions it's hard to say what happened. My depth of perception is pretty hosed up; maybe that's why I hit curbs and break things all the time. He told me to take good care of my right eye.

I know the price tag on Macs would make anyone pause. You can get fully loaded Windows PC's for way less. I was hesitant to go to Macs but I sure am glad I did.

Woo hoo for getting paroled today. You have a nice, long holiday. Sweet.

That is pretty cool about the watch showing up. Too funny Charlie snagged it and it went under the tree.

Glad you have your shopping done. I often "find" hints for gifts I'm getting from charges on our cards. I'm too paranoid not to ask if Marty charged something so he knows I saw it but I only know where he bought something. I definitely want to see the crystal cube with the etching inside. That sounds really cool. That would be something neat to get Marty sometime.

I woke up about 4 am with a shooting pain above my left eye. I am pretty sure it is sinuses so I got up early. I made homemade biscuits for breakfast and Marty even ate 2 of them. We watched Dunkirk and had lunch. Now I am going to brew up another batch of cookies. I think 3 types are plenty. My niece is bringing some sugar cookies so that makes four kinds.

Laters,
Curby

 

[Rod]

Marcy,

I'm sorry about the eye situation you've got. For me, I don't have any sense anything is wrong. I was just having my annual eye exam and then he got me worried at the conclusion. I hate having to worry about stuff. But if there's something wrong, hopefully it's not major.

I spent a lot of time reading reviews and at the store comparing the Macs and the HP I ultimately bought. My HP is in some ways faster than the Mac and is all SSD Storage like a Mac. The 4K Ultra screen also is pretty incredible on this puppy!

I'm pretty sure he got me a band for my watch. The charge is exactly the right price for one. I got him one too a couple weeks ago!

Have fun backing cookies. We've got two kinds Charlie baked and they're both really great.

Less than an hour now! Woo Hoo!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Friday kids!

Rod, I'm eagerly awaiting pics of your new watch, as I'm sure you're eagerly awaiting receiving it, LOL.

Curby, doncha love those mystery pains? NOT! Hope you're doing better.

Yesterday didn't pan out like I'd planned (although didn't really HAVE that much planned). My friend that I was supposed to have lunch with called me at 9 am and said his car was stranded in a parking lot up in the 'burbs as it wouldn't start after dinner the night before. Well we spent all damn day retrieving it (the tow truck guy left us sitting in the parking lot for an hour and a half, not exactly what I'd call "be right there". Then we had to get it to the Cadillac dealer and there was all sorts of paperwork involved. We finally did have lunch, at which time we were both hungry like bears, and after that I came home and took a nap!

Today I need to ge a couple of small thngs done, but nothing major. I coullllld clean the bathrooms, but we'll see...

 

[Rod]

Morning Ladies,

I slept till 8:30 this morning. What a luxury to sleep in on a Friday morning! Charlie's at work, till 11, then when he gets home, we're going out for lunch to a little Greek place. Tonight is Sushi with our Friday night Sushi couple, then nothing much planned till Xmas Eve dinner with my brother and SIL.

DeeJay, your day yesterday didn't sound like much fun. Don't make today less fun with bathroom cleaning! LOL

I hope I'm not being too nosy, but I don't see you mentioning CB of late. Is there still a CB? Don't answer if you don't want to.

Have a great day. I'm sure going to!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Thanks Rod. I hope there is nothing major with your eye. I admit I really freaked out for a while; I have tiny cataracts on both eyes too but nothing worth worrying about for years.
Looking forward to pictures of your new band. Marty spent money at a Calendar place and Bed, Bath and Beyond yesterday. Darn I wouldn't know what he got at either place.
Glad you slept in today and have fun at your weekly sushi dinner.

Dee Jay, I do hate those mystery pains. It's like this started in my shoulder, then moved to my neck, back of my head and then the front. See it is the evil coming out of me. Today only my knees hurt and that's not surprising since I'll be walking and standing so much.
You did have a hectic day yesterday. I hate car trouble - it's right up there with mystery pains. Hopefully his Cadi is still under warranty. I was already worrying about 3 years from now when my Macan will be out of warranty. Do I keep it and risk bankruptcy to fix it or suck it up and trade it for a higher car payment (They always seem to go up).

I dug out glasses for Sunday. Our dinner number is down to 18. I will have Marty and his sister get our table expanded tomorrow and haul dishes out here for me to pick which ones I want. I did 4 plus dishwasher loads of dishes last year plus hand dishes and I don't intend to do that again. No plates for rolls, disposable bowls for salad and regular glasses instead of stemware. That should all help. People do offer to help me with dishes but I OCD about how clean dishes should be in my dishwasher and no way no how do I want my china or my mom's dishes touching. It chips too easily that way.

Off to finish some laundry and start my rolls.
Curby

 

[Rod]

Marcy,

18 for dinner? Yikes, that's too much work. LOL I'll take our Xmas Eve dinner, in a great restaurant where I have nothing to do, but order and eat! We're going to one of our all time favorites, which is on Tampa's River Walk and has the best grilled oysters on the planet.

Charlie got home about 11:15 and we went out to a new burger place, called Burger-Fi. For fast food burgers, they were fantastic. It's across the street from our favorite Starbucks, so we went there for coffee and sat under the century old oak tree and enjoyed the pleasant breezes.

We're home now watching a holiday movie on Lifetime (I think we've seen EVERY Hallmark holiday movie ever made thus far) until it's time to head out to dinner.

 

[marcy]

Merry Christmas Kids!

Rod, I bet your Christmas Eve dinner was awesome between a fabulous dinner and fantastic view. My day was fun but hectic. I think everyone had fun. I ate WAY too much sugar. It sounds like you and Charlie had a nice holiday weekend. Did you get your band? What else did Santa bring you?

I ate way too much yesterday including sugar. I was very hyper when I went to bed. Luckily I feel asleep.

Marty and his sister are at the gym. We are having leftover today instead of huge steaks.

We definitely have a white Christmas. Lots of snow this weekend and today. It's pretty but COLD.

Santa was good to me. I got a Snoopy Persona charm bracelet with 5 Christmas charms; it's a adjustable style so I got the rest of my Snoopy charms on it and think I'll actually wear the bracelet now. Marty also got me 6 little Minions dressed as different Star Wars characters. I got some fuzzy double layer socks that I am sure will be on my feet before the end of the day and some pieces for my Snoopy Christmas village. I was spoiled.

I hope you are having a fabulous Christmas.
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Merry Christmas kids!

Curby, you weren't spoiled, you were just treated like the princess that you are! Would love to see your new bracelet!

Rod, are you wearing your new watch? And what about the new band for your apple watch? Pictures from you too please!

And you are correct... the CB has left the picture. It was a very amicable parting, and I even picked out all the furniture for his new apartment, but it was time to move on. I think we will remain friends. And I have launched myself back into the world of online dating. What an adventure. I swear, this time I am going to write that book!

I'm in Jersey City with "sister" #2. Flew in yesterday. Last night she made a fabulous meal and we polished off a bottle of prosecco, and bottle of red, and some chocolate martinis. We may not be blood, but we are kin, LOL. Today we opened presents, including a bunch of thing for my furry nephew, and then went for a long walk on the freezing waterfront. Brrrr... but it was nice to get out. Now we're back, sitting on the couch huddled under our blankies. I'm thinking some hot chocolate and nap may be in order!

 

[Rod]

Merry Ho Ho Ho!

Marcy, a sugar day sounds fun!! Your gifts sound like Marty shopped good and I'm glad you're happy!

DeeJay, your post popped in just as I hit send. I'm sorry to see CB is history, but that just means someone perfect is just around the corner for you.

Dinner last night was simply wonderful. We had a great table with a view of the river and a lighted Christmas boat parade went right by as we ate. The food was amazing as always and we started with the roasted oysters, which are so so so good.

We got up this morning and fixed a nice breakfast, then opened gifts. Charlie just loved the Crystal with the kitties in it. We've decided to return the spinning base and get one that still lights up, but doesn't move. I'll take a pic when we've got it lit up and post it. Otherwise, there aren't many returns. He did get me three long sleeve shirts that are too large I'll have to return. And he's going to exchange the Apple Band for a different color. Otherwise everything was a hit and fit great.

We're now waiting for my brother and SIL to arrive. I'll steam the steamer clams as soon they arrive, then we'll have our lobster dinner soon after.

I hope everyone is enjoying a great Christmas and your holiday dinner is terrific!