Daily Ooo's: February 25-26: Weekend Edition

[faerywings]

Last weekend in February! I usually have to fight with myself to get through January and February, thinking that if I can make it to March, I will have successfully escaped Winter.
This year, it hasn't been horrible at all. We had our windows open again yesterday to get fresh air inside and we broke 70* indoors and outdoors. Today we will only be in the 60's but still... crazy!
I know that we can still get cold snaps and snow in March, but it isn't usually too cold or too much snow. And it sure as heck nice not being miserable from the cold 24/7. :high5:


I finished 2 scrap LOs yesterday but am not where I wanted to be. I took a break at one point to go see what the rest of the family was up too since they were laughing so much. The 3 of them were playing pool and I joined in a game after that. I really stink, but who cares, right? I was on Gary's team and he is good. Then it got down to each team having one ball left and it was my turn. I got the ball in, then the 8 ball too. I was so excited that I jumped up and hit the ceiling with the pool cue. hahaha!!!

Today I have to either have to clean the house or start working on taxes. I should do both. *grumble*

...and Scott's Financial Aid... ugh.

Hope that al of you have fantastic days ahead!

 

[faerywings]

Nancy- sounds like the meet and great was so much fun! How awesome that DIL was able to get her stick signed. I bet all of the dogs were out and about in this weather and how fun for Luther to get to play. One bad thing about having the windows open was that Jaida barked at every darn sound she heard. *eye roll*

Trudy- how eerie it is to hear that it looks like Christmas by you but Spring by us. Did you end up with a lot of snow? Hope that DH made it home with no problems. "Enjoy" your celebration of life today. Not sure that enjoy is the right word, but I hope that you know what I mean.
Good luck on your diet when you get started. Hopefully, you don't end up with that keto flu too badly.

I will be absolutely devasted when my kids move out. I cannot imagine not seeing them every day. :Cry:

Rae- holy cow! That is awesome about the 14 lbs and even better to hear that you feel so healthy! That is fantastic!
We have Blacklist Redemption taped but haven't watched it yet. We binge watched Always Sunny in Philadephia last night with Caitlyn. OMG, that show is horrible and hysterical at the same time. I hope that Redemption is good, it will be interesting to see how Tom's storyline fills in.
Good vibes to Jen!!!
Any updates on how Bailey is doing?

Cindy- That was one of the best things about Saturn- no hassle, no haggling. Vent away!

 

[nancyr]

good morning - we just got back from taking Luther to the park. Not many dogs out but the temperature was awesome in the mid 50s going to the 60s. There were lots of birds singing and it was really fun. Yesterday was gorgeous. Luther and I got out for two good walks and temps were definitely spring like. Today is off to a Devils game but they are playing the NY Rangers and so there will be a lot of Ranger fans at the game. I just hope my team plays well! I read that the coach got a bit mad at the team at practice yesterday so maybe they will play really well. My DH and I will be going. It is an early start so I can get home to watch the Flyers and the Penguins play their out door game. Yesterday in Pittsburgh it was warm but today they should be cold enough to play outside!

Chris thanks so much for the twitter mention. I totally agree that birds and nature keep you more sane. Luther loved being outside and even took a nap outside. We did not have the windows open but I imagine Luther will be barking. Good luck with your chores.

Trudy I could not believe you were getting snow while I was basking in spring like temps. I hope you MG made home and that you did not have to venture out. Good luck starting the new diet. Again I am a terrible wife and I could not be making two dinners.

Rae so impressed by how well this diet is working and how you are not hungry. And the food sounds really yummy. I am like Chris how is Bailey doing? I can only imagine how busy you are with so many pets and your daughter.

Cindy buying a car used or new is not a fun experience but because my son is a mechanic and he knows the sales men he was able to get me an awesome deals and I know the cars will be working. Good luck and you can vent at any time.

Have a great day all!

 

[bcgal00]

Good morning, ladies. I spent the morning hanging out with family, checking recipes on pinterest with Jen and deciding on a few we want to make over the next week. We are going to make a cauliflower/chicken stock/ham soup that I can just add a bit of cream to to increase the fat. I'm not going to go on and on about it b/c I'll drive you ladies nuts, but....man, do I feel good. My hair is no longer falling out, I'm down 15 lbs, my sinuses are clear, my eyes are not very red (they have been for at least 25 years) and my energy is greatly improved plus sleeping better. I think my body has held onto a lot of inflammation over these past years.

I like olives, the little green ones with pimento and black olives. Olives are very salty which is good for me as I need lots of extra salt on my keto diet, so I stopped at a local gourmet shop and checked the fresh olives in their deli. They had olives I've never heard of. They had purple ones, red ones, about 6-7 different types, so I bought a small container of mixed olives and Jen & I tried them out last night. Wow...each olive had a different flavor and they were all so incredibly good. We both agreed. So now I'm going to have a harder time just eating the green olives out of the jar b/c these ones are just soooo much better. So guess what is a go to snack for me now? I'll be stocking up on these. I also got myself a really good quality of organic olive oil so am curioius to try it out and see if I notice a difference. Took my first tsp of cod liver oil last night and it was no problem (I was cringing expecting an awful disgusting flavor) and it was fine. I got a good quality lemon flavored one. I sure am going thru a lot of changes in my diet.

This wkend I need to finish up my overload from work and I'll take a break later and we'll take Taz to the park since the weather is cold but clear and the sun is out. Our snow from yesterday is already gone which is good. I'm ready for spring. I don't want to see 30 on the thermostat like I did yesterday morning.

Chris - I know what you mean about hearing them laughing and having fun so you had to go see what they were doing and join in. I hear Darrell and Jen chatting and laughing away and I have to go see what they are up to. I find I am taking a lot more breaks from work LOL. As for Bailey....she hasn't been doing well so hope that she gets back on track soon. This seems to be her life, she seems to somewhat improve for a bit and then backslides big time. It's heartbreaking and scary but we have to try to stay unemotional about it b/c this may go on for a long time, or even forever with her. So sad. The other sad news that I didn't want to talk about for a few days is that Beckham's shoulder soreness is cancer. So the poor guy is either getting a complete leg amputation, or chemo, or because of the amount of the pain that the vet says he has, euthanasia. His dad will keep me informed but I may not get a chance to see him again. So I was incredibly sad for a few days while I digested this news. I feel like his aunt or something, I care about him so much almost like he's mine. So, it sad and I can't think about it too much right now so that's the end of that discussion.

Trudy - celebration of life, I understand but hate that term. No matter how much you want to "celebrate" at these events, they are always sad too of course and often fake in the cheerfulness. But, in theory, a good idea to try to remember good things. If you start your keto diet, keep in mind it may be difficult if you've never been low carb/ cooking or separating meal item, etc. You can always take baby steps and try south beach or atkins or just lower your carbs as much as comfortable, increase some healthy fats, while keeping the calorie intake within reason. I've gone thru all that before so this was very easy for me to do but you may struggle...just saying. Don't be discouraged if you need to ease into it.

Nancy - have fun today and enjoy your spring-like weather. We're not quite there yet. Soon, I hope.

I'm getting to work now so I can hopefully put a big dent in this pile of work and then get outside later. BTW, I watched "Doubt" last night (first 2 episodes) and we enjoyed it. Will continue to watch that new series.

Have a great day, everyone.

 

[faerywings]

Good morning! How are the O-zies doing today? I slept really well last night. I woke up once, realized how darn tired I was and fell back asleep until 6.30. That is late for me LOL

It is really cold this morning, the temps have dropped back to normal February- 30's and it is windy. We had another warm day here yesterday near 70*. Scott and Leah took jaida to the park and there were tons of dogs to run around with. When they got back home, J stood there panting, then flopped.
When the T-storms came in, it was insane.For a couple of hours, we had non-stop lightning and some thunder. I didn't hear any downpours but we were watching TV, so it might have been pouring and I didn't know. I saw a bunch of photos this morning on FB that a tornado took down some small buildings at a local (non)zoo. It is basically an area of holding pens for animals. No animals were hurt so there is that at least.

I spent most of the morning working on our taxes. Not done yet but the bulk of the info is entered. The medical deductions make my eyes hurt. :help:
I worry that I am doing it all wrong, but I love that Turbo Tax compares the last year's info with this year's. If I notice something is way out of whack, I can go back and back again to figure it all out. Or as best as I can. Tax-Language is a lot of mumbo-jumbo!
After I did that, I needed to switch gears and cleaned a tiny bit around the house.

Today I am planning on working a bit more on the taxes, then food shopping prep (yuck). The house needs some more dusting and I have to plan out my week.

Here is to having a wonderful and relaxing day!

 

[faerywings]

Nancy- I bet that your dog park was filled by the afternoon. I was outside for a bit yesterday and I noticed that my irises are already starting to come up. I love seeing the green, but it is too early.
Ah, the good old days of the Devils vs the Rangers- went there many times when it was at "Brendan Byrne Arena." *just dated myself terribly* ha!! I was one of the obnoxious Rangers fans. At least it makes for a fun and energetic game.
As soon as I saw that tweet about birds, I thought of you. I like that feed- World of Nature, they post some really neat stuff.

Rae- you are not driving us nuts with your diet and health "bragging." I, for one, am *thrilled* at how good you are doing and feeling. You should be happy and proud and I am glad that you are sharing that with us.
Question for you re: cod liver oil... I never heard of flavored oil, and my vet said that fish oil was better for Jaida's cartilage than the Flax Seed I am giving her. We tried fish oil mixed with her wet food but she hated it. Does cold liver oil have the same properties as "regular" fish oil? I would imagine it does but haven't looked into it yet.

I am sorry to hear about Bailey. Is he bipolar? For some reason, I thought she is, but I could be mixing it up in my head with Gary's cousin who is a recovering addict and is bipolar. Scott's best friend from kdg is back on heroin after 2 years of being clean. He finally had to cut all ties with her which was hard on him, but he couldn't keep trying to save her. It is really all so messed up You know that you and she have all the good thoughts I have.
Oh no, that is horrible news about Beckham. As hard as it must be, it does sound like euthanasia is the best option for Beckham. To me, it would be so much harder on him to have to go through that kind of surgery and recovery or chemo.I understand that you want to see him again and I hope that you get a chance to say goodbye. (Oh dear, I am choking up too...)
Hugs!!!!!!

Sharon-I saw online that there was a drunk driver that hit people at a parade yesterday in NO. I hope that you and your family/friends were not involved and how horrible for the people that were.

Better get going!

Extra hugs and love to you all!

 

[taxed4ever]

Morning gals... totally not here yesterday as the day was filled with running errands and then heading out to the service for our friend. It was a lovely tribute to a very wonderful man! Sadly the power was out in the whole town and so no mic and it was a packed house, so a bit hard to hear sometimes. But such wonderful things said about this poor guy who spent the last 13 years trying to recover from a horrible work accident. Another stroke finally took him and it was sad to see the photos of how he slowly got so frail. Anyway afterward it was like a high school reunion with so many that we haven't seen for a long time. Sad way to get together though. Later on we spent a couple of hours at some good friends house and had a great visit with them. Home for a very late supper and then watched a movie. Today is our 40th wedding anniversary and as long as the weather stays good we will try to head out to the city for a nice supper out.

Chris - Sorry to hear that your spring like weather has turned colder, such crazy weather patterns!! Whoa on the thunder and lightning that is insane!! Nice that you are getting some scrapping done, I am very far behind with so much here. You will be happy to have your taxes done too!

Nancy - Hope you enjoyed your very pleasant weather with Luther and your DH! Sounds like winter is back with you again today. :mmph: How was your game last night, I haven't even had a chance to see what the scores were for any of the games last night.

Rae - What sad news about Beckham! Poor puppy!! I teared up while reading about it too! I really hope that you get to say good-bye to him if it comes to having to put him down. Truly heartbreaking! Tragic that your niece is also going through this rough patch! We deal with similar circumstances with my sisters one daughter, you just never know when it come. Sending you lots of hugs my friend!1 :hug: I am also so happy for you and your weight loss we will never get bored with hearing wonderful news!! Keep on sharing please!!

Sharon - I heard the news about the crash at the parade and instantly thought of you and your family!! Hoping that all is well with you ray:

Ok I need to hit the shower and get some breakfast going for the two of us. I hope that you all have a special Sunday!! :wave:

 

[nancyr]

good morning - what an evening we had. The Devils Rangers game was early so we were gone to my DIL by 3:30. My son was going to take Luther for an afternoon walk as the weather was just spectacular but with threatening thunder storms in the evening. So we get to the Rock and my son calls my DH to say that Luther was limping badly and just stopped. A neighbor saw Luther in distress and gave them a ride to the house. Charles was upset and could not decide if he should take Luther to emergency so my DH took the train home while I stayed at the game. After the Rangers took a 2-0 lead I thought I should have gone too but glad I stayed at the Devils took a 3-2 lead in the 3rd but lost in OT. During the game my DH texted to say that Luther was calm and no evidence of any thing so they gave him doggie aspirin and he just rested. So I could at least enjoy the game. But what a bummer for my son and Luther. I really think it is the harness that my DH uses and how much Luther pulls him on their walks. Well this am Luther is not limping and I took him on a very small walk and he did fine. We will see how the day goes. Even my DH this am said he was not going to use the harness - duh! - at least for today. I got home and watched the outdoor hockey game and the Penguins were good! But the best game for me was the Columbus Blue Jackets winning 7-0 of the Islanders. So I will be watching more hockey today. Today the Blue Jackets are playing the Rangers so I hope the Blue Jackets did not use up all their goals. I will be scrapping during the games.

Chris amazing weather. We came out of the Rock after the game into a major rain storm. I was soaked by the time I walked to the car. Yuck. And I could not go home the way I normally do as the underpass was blocked by water. Today is freezing and really strong wind. But I saw forsythia in bloom on the walk. Way too early. I can't imagine how many medical deductions you must have! Good luck on finishing and planning for next week.

Rae that is such sad news about Beckham. What terrible choices to have to make. He seemed like such a sweet dog and I know you and Taz loved having him. And sorry about Bailey's relapse. But on the good side I love hearing how well you and new diet are doing. I am so happy for you! Seems so strange to me to hear you are adding good fats to your diet. Seems so contradictory to lose weight that you would add fats even if they are good fats!

Sharon I too saw online about the crash into a Mardi Gras parade! I hope it was not one of the parades you were involved with. Drunk drivers!

Hope everyone has a great day!

 

[nancyr]

Hi Trudy glad that you got to spend time with friends. And Happy 40th! that is quite an accomplishment!

 

[bcgal00]

Good morning, ladies. I will be off the computer most of the day so I can focus on work. I didn't get much done yesterday. I got distracted by other things (cleaned out my pantry of foods I know I won't eat now so Jen has a big huge bag of food for Bailey as her and Darrell are going over to see her this afternoon and I'll stay home and work. The other reason I didn't get much work done was b/c Beckham's dad brought him over to see us so we could say goodbye. He is in too much pain for them to linger over this, that euthanasia is the best choice for him. We were all crying but it was good to have the visit to hug and kiss him and spend a bit of time. He was so happy to be here and kept wanting to go downstairs with me (as him and I would go in my office together while I work). He was doing his happy bark at me and snuggling up against me. It was hard but so worth it to have that visit. So the rest of the day I just puttered and watched TV b/c I couldn't concentrate on anything, the tears kept welling up. No matter how often that happens, it never gets any easier. Today is a better day, I am accepting and know that it is the best thing for him with the pain. He is loaded with painkillers now. His owner is going to spend the week loving him, feeding him steak and chicken and treats and just giving him the best couple of days he can. He asked if I can put together a folder of photos for him as I've taken so many this last year and when him and his wife are ready, they will enjoy seeing them and remembering.

Taz and Noel (the cat) are getting along fantastic. They follow each other around and Taz is no longer leaping and lunging, trying to get him to play. He is starting to understand thats not going to happen. They both laid on the couch snuggling with Jen last night. The little bugger put five claw holes in the back of my lazyboy chair that was in mint condition....ugh. But...that's what cats do so I can't do much about it other than there is now a blanket covering it so hopefully it won't get worse. This morning he sat in the kitchen window for 1/2 hr watching the birds at the feeder on the porch. That's his fave spot now.

Today Jen is going for interview #2 so hopefully she gets the job....fingers crossed.

Chris - crazy weather, eh? I keep looking at our bushes and hope not to see any buds coming out yet b/c our weather too keeps fluctuating. I got Nordic Ice (I think thats the brand name) of cod liver oil lemon flavored which I don't mind at all. Also, Carlsons has lemon flavor too and both were recommended to me as high quality. There are other flavors too. The quality is the same as non-flavored. I take a tsp at dinnertime. Much better than the pills which always gave me a terrible after-taste. With the flavored one I get a few little burps over the next 30 minutes or so but its no big deal, just a bit of lemon taste. I was surprised how easy this stuff was to take. I was scared it would be so gross I couldn't do it. So, no more pills for me. I'll stick to favored CLO.

Trudy - too bad the power was out but sounds like you had a lovely celebration of your friend and then enjoyed catching up with other friends that were there.

Nancy - hope that Luther is ok. Keep him a bit quiet for a few days if you see it bothering him and if not better, get it checked. Better safe than sorry. I know that Bruin across the street from us (lab that Taz plays with) tore a ligament last year and was told to limit walks and playtime for a few weeks....so you never know. Just keep an eye on him.

Sharon - I too hope that the parade wasn't anything to do with your daughter's parade. Hope all is well.

Time to get to work, I have 40 files to plow through today so hope that I can at least get 25-30 done and then finish up tomorrow morning. Have a wonderful day, everyone.

 

[bcgal00]

Oops....almost forgot....happy anniversary Trudy! Hope you two have a wonderful dinner together!

 

[scrapinmom]

As for the weather, this has been a fantastic winter...my DD says we will have a horrible summer...I so hope not. Last summer was awful. The humidity has been high so even the colder days were warm!

We are in Mardi Gras mode and I am exhausted. Our parade was yesterday. We got out to the parade route at 9:30 am and had lunch (for brunch) and headed to the float. Unfortunatly, due to a breakdown on the parade that runs before us, we were delayed for 2 hrs and 15 min. So we stood on the float waiting for updates. Our delay impacted the parade after us and they altered our route. We have an after parade dinner that was planned and of course all the food sat under warmers for hours. Our float finished at 5:10 and were were float 14. Float 37 finished as we were ready to leave the dinner, because we were physically too tired. We got home at 9 exhasuted and went in the hot tub and went to bed. I don't think I have ever felt so sore.

I skipped the parade tonight because I know I have to help mow the lawn tomorrow and I can't do both. Lawn comes first. oh well.

The crash at Mardi Gras was tragic. We were no where near the area and I heard 23 people were injured and in the hospital. The guy was 3X over the alcohol limit. So sad. As usual (and I hate to say this but I live in this town)...the grandmother was shocked and said he has such a good boy (but she only saw him 1x a year) So far only one other incident happened where a guy shot off a fun in a Port a potty and the bullet injured a guy on the parade route. The other night we were watching and saw 2 people get hauled away by the police for public distirbance. It is all alcohol related. So sad.

I am officially too old for Mardi Gras!

Happy Aniversary Trudy!
Rae- hope Jen's interview goes well and prayers for Bailey. After holding my dog while the vet euthanized my senior dog last year...I know how it is. Heartbreaking.
nancy- sorry to hear about luther. prayers for him as well