Random talk thread!

[audball]

Brrr! That IS cold. And bummer on the oven, so sorry to hear that! I hope everything turns out ok.

I have to say, though, that I'd trade the 80s+ heat we have right now in FL for some super cold weather. It doesn't feel like December or that Christmas is in just a few weeks. Living in FL problems.

 

[TooPatient]

17 degrees and still falling...

I'm glad for colder winter. It helps the bugs. nice and warm inside. I have no intention of setting foot outside until at least Monday

Got a great repair guy who can get the part. I may try to do the repair myself if the manual shows it as easy. The twopieces of glass in the door just shattered while i was getting dinner ready. The two outer pieces are okay but we still can't use it until repairs or risk shattering them too. Got chunks of glass falling out from the inside pieces. Not sure how since i thought they were sealed in but I'm picking up glass.

Thankfully i had mostly stove top stuff planned for the next few days.

This is the third time the oven has gone out the day before guests. Twice with the brad new oven that came in the house and now th the new one we replaced it with. Washing machine once. Dryer once. Microwave once. Dishwasher 5 times or 6? Oven hood or. Kitchen plumbing a few times. Each when we had guests coming or on a big holiday.

 

[audball]

Gah. I think I'd kill for 17 degree weather. We hit a high of 86 today...it so doesn't feel like the holidays when it's just.so.hot outside. We haven't had a decently cold winter since the 09/10 year and because of that we've had rampant problems with fleas and other things because nothing has gotten cold enough to kill them off in several years. It's awful. Our poor kitty who NEVER goes outside, still has fleas and we have to give him medication all the time to fight them and keep him rid of tapeworms from eating at them. I hate the heat.

I hope you had a successful repair and that the {not so welcome} guest is nearly gone!

 

[TooPatient]

Warmer winters can be a problem! We've had a couple of warmer winters in a row so fleas and other things were getting worse. I can't imagine that many in a row. 86 in December just seems too warm!

Guest is gone.
She was supposed to call us when she left Canada. At 4:30, we still hadn't heard from her but finally got a call from her sister (DH's ex) saying that they were meeting for dinner at 5:30 and could she pick "A" up at 5:15. The woman had apparently gotten into town earlier in the day and spent the day around with a friend! I don't care. Glad she wasn't here, but a phone call would have been nice!
She did ask if she could possibly see our wedding pictures.... a little weird, but I'll show wedding pictures to anyone
She slept downstairs in our media room on the couch. Very comfortable couch so that wasn't too bad for her.
She insisted on taking us to breakfast/brunch. Figuring out timing, she decided to invite her sister too. So we just got back from brunch with DH's ex and her sister
Oh well.... She's only in town for a night once or twice a year. Easier to go with it than to argue.

Oven still has broken glass. I've got to figure out if we can buy the glass somewhere and put it in or if I need to have the repair people out. They are closed today so can't call until tomorrow

 

[TooPatient]

Looks like the internal glass is in a single unit. From GE it costs $70. Not bad. Have to call the repair place tomorrow and see if they have any in stock. The door is made of enough different parts that I don't want to try doing it myself so we'll have to schedule for repair. So we'll hopefully have it back up and going again by the end of the week for <$200.

Oh....
And our espresso machine sprung a leak this morning!
Have to take it in for repairs. If it is just a simple gasket they can sometimes do as we wait but after describing to the tech over the phone he thinks it is one of the internal gaskets or a line. That could be two weeks or more


Gah! Would all of my appliances PLEASE just quit breaking already!?!?

 

[audball]

Warm winters suck. I just need a reprieve! The heat in FL is terrible and the associate bugs is so icky.

Your guest really should have called! How rude. At least you didn't have to spend as much time with her, but still.

Bummer on the oven and the coffee maker! I hope things turn around soon.

 

[TooPatient]

How cold is it supposed to get there in the winter? I've never paid much attention to the weather anywhere but here except for the major events. I've lived here my entire life so generally just look outside and know how it feels. Don't bother much with the weather even locally.

Hopefully it cools off for you soon! The rest of the country seems to be cold enough that you'd think some of the cold air would make it your direction.

That was my thought about the guest too! At least our big plans for Saturday were to sit around the house and relax so it isn't like we missed out on other things. Her sister (DH's ex) got stuck sitting around her room (she rents a room in someone else's house) and missed a couple of things she wanted to go to and when she finally left to go to the end of one thing she got the call and had to rush out of the activity. So rude! She does this every time so it isn't a huge shock. She's also the sort to invite you out to dinner "my treat" only to somehow get you to pay in the end

The oven & espresso machine shouldn't be too bad. The oven part is on order from CA and will be in Thursday. They will bring it out and install Friday afternoon. Until then I'm just cooking on top of the stove. Last time it was the whole thing dead and it took a couple of weeks to get the replacement in.... This feels easy (and hopefully will stay that way!).


Just a couple more days and I'm DONE with this quarter
So ready for it to be over!

I have big plans -- including a long hot bath and a day of nothing but lounging and sipping tea and fresh espresso.

 

[audball]

It only gets cold if we get a front. We do get them semi-regularly from December-February, but any front only gives us chilly-cold weather for up to 3 days. And then it's back to warm. It's frustrating beyond belief. It also tends to cause lots of extra colds because despite being here my whole life, mine (and most people's) bodies can't handle the constant wide temperature swings every few days.

I'm glad you're guest is gone and despite her rudeness that it didn't interrupt your weekend plans!

Early congrats on finishing another term!

We have gotten our wedding pictures back I just haven't had time to sort through them and decide what all to post here. I'm off work from 12/23 through 1/1 so hopefully I can get on that while DH is at work during my break.

We also got our Christmas photos back this morning so we've got to get to ordering our Christmas cards so we can get them out!

 

[TooPatient]

Temperature swings would be awful!

Yay for pictures!
Can't wait to see them!

Crazy times ahead!
18 credit hours (2 math & 2 engineering classes) winter quarter
16 credit hours (4 engineering!) spring quarter (may up to 17 and take yoga again)

10 credit hours summer quarter -- because they changed the "cultural diversity" requirements so now the classes I'd taken to satisfy that don't count It shouldn't be too bad. Both classes will be online. One will probably be world music and the other a class on how to communicate in a multi-cultural work place where people are from different countries/religions/etc.

I'm not too upset because I've been taking summer classes and I may be able to transfer a few more credits. It is also a great way to boost my GPA a little. Working + school for the first few years (not to mention the court stuff to get "A" and then DH's health this last 5 months) means an extra little boost isn't a bad thing!
Still (hopefully) starting my last couple of years at the University fall quarter.

 

[audball]

Whoa! That is quite a load! Best of luck in your upcoming terms!

 

[TooPatient]

Thanks!
I'm ready to be DONE already. Just a bit more to go!

Promises to be an exciting new year ahead

 

[audball]

I bet! You'll get there!

I hope 2014 brings lots of happiness in our first year of wedded bliss!

 

[TooPatient]

A year of firsts as married!

Are you planning anything special for Valentine's Day?

We don't celebrate it, but I'm trying to take advantage of it being close to my b-day by having an early b-day special thing when all of the Valentine's specials are going.

 

[TooPatient]

Espresso machine is fixed

Drove it to the repair shop (in the coffee supply store we bought it from) and the technician was able to fix it in about 10 minutes. It was such an easy fix he didn't make us stick it in the waiting line -- which is great because they've got a three week turn around time right now!
He even just charged us for the parts and no labor!

I wish every appliance repair was so quick and painless!


Oven repair tomorrow!!!

 

[audball]

A year of firsts as married!

Are you planning anything special for Valentine's Day?

We don't celebrate it, but I'm trying to take advantage of it being close to my b-day by having an early b-day special thing when all of the Valentine's specials are going.

Probably not anything more than usual. We normally do cards and some candy and spend some extra time together.

 

[audball]

Espresso machine is fixed

Drove it to the repair shop (in the coffee supply store we bought it from) and the technician was able to fix it in about 10 minutes. It was such an easy fix he didn't make us stick it in the waiting line -- which is great because they've got a three week turn around time right now!
He even just charged us for the parts and no labor!

I wish every appliance repair was so quick and painless!


Oven repair tomorrow!!!

Woot! That's awesome!

 

[wakingdreams53]

Hope I'm not interrupting you ladies! Since it's really just the two of you

Considering my lack of wedding planning or jewelry buying, there's not much for me to reply to on PS anymore lol. Sorry you hate the heat Audball! I'm in FL too, but it's pretty convenient to be able to leave the house in shorts while the rest of the country is snow-covered.

I hope your appliances stay working TooPatient! That sounds ridiculous! Sorry if you've already mentioned it, but what are you in school for? I just finished this semester and taking a winter break class starting Monday. How's DH doing?

 

[TooPatient]

Hope I'm not interrupting you ladies! Since it's really just the two of you

Considering my lack of wedding planning or jewelry buying, there's not much for me to reply to on PS anymore lol. Sorry you hate the heat Audball! I'm in FL too, but it's pretty convenient to be able to leave the house in shorts while the rest of the country is snow-covered.

I hope your appliances stay working TooPatient! That sounds ridiculous! Sorry if you've already mentioned it, but what are you in school for? I just finished this semester and taking a winter break class starting Monday. How's DH doing?

Come play with us! We love random talk about anything and everything!

What are you in school for? Winter break class?!? I didn't know they did those! What are you taking?

My oven is up and working better than before! Same guy who fixed our dishwasher (3 times) so he knows us. Does nice work!

I'm eventually getting a bachelor's in aeronautical engineering and another bachelor's in computer engineering. I will (hopefully) be transferring to start at the university in fall.
The local college (formerly a community college) charges a lot less so I've done all prerequisites here and will be doing upper division transfers. Taking something like 120 lower division credits and another 15-20 upper division credits with me.
I'll graduate from the local college with two associate's degrees this summer (possibly spring quarter, but may have to do a couple of online in summer since they changed the "cultural diversity" requirement).

 

[wakingdreams53]

Hope I'm not interrupting you ladies! Since it's really just the two of you

Considering my lack of wedding planning or jewelry buying, there's not much for me to reply to on PS anymore lol. Sorry you hate the heat Audball! I'm in FL too, but it's pretty convenient to be able to leave the house in shorts while the rest of the country is snow-covered.

I hope your appliances stay working TooPatient! That sounds ridiculous! Sorry if you've already mentioned it, but what are you in school for? I just finished this semester and taking a winter break class starting Monday. How's DH doing?

Come play with us! We love random talk about anything and everything!

What are you in school for? Winter break class?!? I didn't know they did those! What are you taking?

My oven is up and working better than before! Same guy who fixed our dishwasher (3 times) so he knows us. Does nice work!

I'm eventually getting a bachelor's in aeronautical engineering and another bachelor's in computer engineering. I will (hopefully) be transferring to start at the university in fall.
The local college (formerly a community college) charges a lot less so I've done all prerequisites here and will be doing upper division transfers. Taking something like 120 lower division credits and another 15-20 upper division credits with me.
I'll graduate from the local college with two associate's degrees this summer (possibly spring quarter, but may have to do a couple of online in summer since they changed the "cultural diversity" requirement).

Yay! Thanks Oh wow, sciency-mathy engineering, I love meeting the girls in those classes. I usually know the guys and they seldom even see a girl! Good luck to you! That sounds like a huge load!
Yes! I'm allowed to take up to 4 credits during the intersession -- Dec 16-Jan 3-- I'm taking a 3 credit Film class to fill up my electives. I'm taking 18 credits in the Spring and studying all summer and hopefully will be completely done by August! Getting a BA in Liberal Studies-- its a bull degree, but better than no degree!

And good about your oven! I can't imagine it being cold out with a malfunctioning oven! I used to keep it on in the winter as a cheap way to heat the kitchen (kinda ghetto).

 

[TooPatient]

Cool that they allow you to do a winter break class! I would have loved to do lighter classes over winter break instead of adding them on top of heavy quarters. My "electives" were all math or engineering classes so not much "fun" but I did have to take 2 quarters of Spanish (the "cultural diversity" requirement USED to include these as an option) and a couple of quarters of economics (humanities).

There are usually a few girls in the classes so that is nice, but I did take 6 quarters at a private technology institute where I was the only girl in the class and one of only 3 registered in the evening program.

A degree is a degree! I've seen jobs hiring where the only requirement is a bachelor's in something. I've also seen people come back to school and get another degree in a different area but be able to skip most of the "general ed" classes and even any sort of math/science they'd taken for their first degree so they can finish the second in just a few quarters.

 

[TooPatient]

I can't believe it has already been two months since the wedding!
I can't believe it has only been two months since the wedding!

Audball -- Hope you are wrapping up the last bits of stuff at work and ready to RELAX and enjoy your time off!

 

[TooPatient]

Done with thank-you cards from the wedding!
I don't know why it was so hard to sit down to do -- we only had 4 to send.

While I was at it, I also did a condolence card for a friend who lost his brother plus three Christmas cards. (even though we are Jewish and don't celebrate, we have several close friends we send cards to wishing them a merry Christmas)

That plus taking DH to the neurologist made for a plenty full day!

Oh -- Good news (I suppose?) from the neurologist. DH does NOT have MS, Parkinson's, brain tumors, arthritis, or any major autoimmune disease. His brain MRI came back looking as good or better than the average person 20 years younger than him. Not even the little white spots that tend to show up in some percentage of healthy people (like 10% at age 35 and increasing percent after that). The only possible exception is a cyst around the pineal gland but he assures us this is very common and is almost always not a problem. He wants another brain MRI in 6 months to a year to make sure it hasn't grown, but assuming it remains the same size (as they almost always do) we can just ignore it (with an MRI after a few more years just to be certain).

So..... now we're off to a rheumatologist.

DH is feeling better but is still in great pain. Lots of swelling, shaking, numbness, etc still to deal with but it is less than it had been.

 

[audball]

I can't believe it has already been two months since the wedding!
I can't believe it has only been two months since the wedding!

Audball -- Hope you are wrapping up the last bits of stuff at work and ready to RELAX and enjoy your time off!

Thanks! Things have been busy and I'm sooo looking forward to being off work until the new year after Friday!

 

[audball]

Done with thank-you cards from the wedding!
I don't know why it was so hard to sit down to do -- we only had 4 to send.

While I was at it, I also did a condolence card for a friend who lost his brother plus three Christmas cards. (even though we are Jewish and don't celebrate, we have several close friends we send cards to wishing them a merry Christmas)

That plus taking DH to the neurologist made for a plenty full day!

Oh -- Good news (I suppose?) from the neurologist. DH does NOT have MS, Parkinson's, brain tumors, arthritis, or any major autoimmune disease. His brain MRI came back looking as good or better than the average person 20 years younger than him. Not even the little white spots that tend to show up in some percentage of healthy people (like 10% at age 35 and increasing percent after that). The only possible exception is a cyst around the pineal gland but he assures us this is very common and is almost always not a problem. He wants another brain MRI in 6 months to a year to make sure it hasn't grown, but assuming it remains the same size (as they almost always do) we can just ignore it (with an MRI after a few more years just to be certain).

So..... now we're off to a rheumatologist.

DH is feeling better but is still in great pain. Lots of swelling, shaking, numbness, etc still to deal with but it is less than it had been.

Woot! Nice to check those off the to-do list. I felt so much better once ours were just out of the house. I'm glad your DH is feeling a bit better! Now we just have to hope they can figure out what's actually going on and fix it!

 

[audball]

I've had my pictures back for a few weeks, but things have been so crazy I haven't had time to put a thread together yet! I know I'll have loads of free time on my hands when I'm off work during the weekdays next week and DH has to work so I PROMISE to get to it!!

 

[TooPatient]

I've had my pictures back for a few weeks, but things have been so crazy I haven't had time to put a thread together yet! I know I'll have loads of free time on my hands when I'm off work during the weekdays next week and DH has to work so I PROMISE to get to it!!

I can have patience! (okay.... so it is good practice at being patient!)

The days leading up to time off of work were always hugely crazy and stressful for me. So much to get done before being gone!
You're almost there!!!
One more day to go!

 

[TooPatient]

The rheumatologist is a great guy (worked with him before) who really knows his stuff. DH has had so much testing and blood work done that he will probably be able to help without ordering anything else. The neurologist suspects it is one thing (connective tissue disease) but a rheumatologist knows more about the area and should be able to confirm (or not) and suggest what to do from there.

The best thing is that he may have pain/shaking/etc but it isn't any of the super nasty stuff that can cause long term damage or deterioration of major organs and other stuff in the body. Basically it is unpleasant but isn't likely to get worse over time.

 

[audball]

*fingers crossed*! I really hope this doctor can finally get your DH some relief!

 

[TooPatient]

Are you going to frame any of your wedding pictures to have at home?

I got a couple of frames to put photos in -- one to have on my desk at home and one for DH to have at work.
He would rather have a digital on his desk at work (okay! I can load it up with all sorts of great pics!) so now I've got two frames (4x6) for home. Probably put one on my desk as planned and maybe the other sitting over the fireplace along side the picture from A's 13th b-day.

I'd been thinking of hanging the framed ketubah on the big open wall in the living room and hanging a few wedding pics on either side of it. But the big open wall is the one next to the stairs and now I'm wondering if it would look goofy or tacky or something to have that as people come up the stairs into the living room. I mean it would be up above so you could see it over the half wall from the living room so it wouldn't be like hanging them in a staircase or something.

Anyway....
Framed in the living room for all to see?
Framed in the office or bedroom for just us?
Stick to just the two 4x6 frames and call it done?

 

[TooPatient]

Pictures of the big wall with the stairs. One looking from the kitchen towards the front door shows how people have to come up to the living room. The other is from the living room towards the wall. Any pictures would be high enough to line up nicely to see from the living room.


ETA: the big space on the wall that is visible from the living room is 7.5 feet wide and 5 feet tall.
Now I'm worried our ketubah & a couple of pictures would look small and out of place....