Good to see you, Raeanne! We had a wonderful trip. DH and I joined up at the spa for the 12 days to use the private therapy pool, sauna, hot tub, and steam room. It was heavenly; they even served us freshly squeezed orange juice! Let's see, I took a National Park/Island tour of Antigua, swam at Malibu Beach in Barbados, walked into town in Tortola, took a spice tour in a Best-of-Grenada day, and went whale-watching in Dominica (pronounced Dom-en-eeek'-ca ....like the Singing Nun's song!!) I saw more whales in Dominica than I did in Alaska, so that was fun. We saw a sperm whale and her baby right next to our catamaran...our captain showed us the first spout of water (momma), followed by the little spout of water (baby imitating momma!), so we followed the spouts and found them! So cute, I felt one with nature, ladies; you would all have been very proud of me! LOL!!! Back at work, my director is now flying back to the UK. He gave me rave reviews and did not flinch when I asked for a promotion! He promised to get it done if at all possible this year. With complications, he promised to get it completed next year. Fine with me; as I was ready for an argument like I got from my last director. He told me he cannot run the department without me and has suggestions for a few years down the road of transferring me up to higher management levels. Not sure I want that at my age, but the money sure looks good up there, especially as I still will no longer have to manage people...been there, hated that!!!! OK, gotta run some more metrics on 2007 data. TAKE CARE, EAT HEALTHFULLY, AND NEVER NEVER GIVE UP! DeeMarie

Good early morning. BJ, I meant to tell you that I also hope everthing works out for the best with Baby V and he ends up in the most qualified and caring hands, although he couldn't ask for better ones than yours. Talk about heroes - you and your family are definitely role models for sharing your home and love. I love coming here. I've gotten to the point where I don't want to read the news or gossip columns online or on tv, or see where the latest tropical wave is off of Africa (I'll prepare soon enough, I know the drill.) I know that none of our lives are perfect here, but it's such a great place to come and share our celebrations and sadness. Hope I'm not being too corny - blame it on the early hour - ha. Milkdud, what is a rebounder - is it like a trampoline? I need to find something that will firm up my middle section - legs and my upper body are improving, but the jelly belly and thighs could definitely use some extra toning. (lovely description, huh.) Going to walk in a few minutes and then having lunch with new neighbors I have met since starting my exercise routine. Just an added perk. I couldn't find my Weight Watchers one point chocolate cakes, so I bought some No Pudge chocolate brownie mix, where you just add the no-fat vanilla yogurt. All I could find was the plain, so I added some vanilla extract, per the instructions. OMG, were they good. I had one brownie for two points (my husband ate 3!) I didn't tell him until afterwards that the secret ingredient was yogurt, or he never would have come near them. I've never cooked with yogurt before, but I still have large container of it, so if y'all have any recipes to share, please let me know. Enjoy your day. I hope it's a good one for everyone. Jan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NHSuzanne! YAY! It's your birthday! I hope that your family finds a way to make it very, very special for you! We love you here and are glad to hear your stories, detailing your outings on your baby, Sweet Pea. Hope you have some time today to spend doing something for YOURSELF, since your recent time has been so devoted to your DH. Cheers to you, sis! Have a great b-day! It's been quite a year! Marci~ Thanks for the cool picture! Very appropriate! Brekky: 1/2 bagel (but I'm going hunting for Marci's brand Monday!) 16 oz latte, n/f milk, s/f vanilla Snack:: Bag of pretzels: 220 cals Coffee w/ cream Late lunch at 3:30 (service went long): Lots of roasted veggies and a tiny piece of roast pork left over from the other night Dinner: (went to a housewarming party) About 6 rice crackers with homemade hummus - delish! Small square of phyllo-covered spinach something 3 sausages (small cocktail type - "Danger!") Lots of cucumber slices Dessert: The icing off of a 2" serving of chocolate cake Some red grapes Water, water, water, water! (Lots of wine flowing at this party, but I did not go there-stuck with spending my calories on food instead of wine and this morning, I'm glad I did that!) Going out to brekky with my family, then I hope to finish laundry and scoop my house into order! Also, my teen kids babysat twin boys all night for the house-warming couple and I hear them stirring, so before brekky, I have to return the boys to their parents! So fun having boys in the house tho'! Maddie~ (((((LOVE AND HUGS!))))))) Special thoughts going out to you and your kitty today---and every day. And tell Rog to GO SUCK A LEMON! Raeanne: I resorted to printing a cute photo I had of the housewarming couple and framing it, then wrapped it in a ribbon and DH brought along a bottle of Berritage wine for them. I love your idea of a Feng Shui basket, but you're right, it takes a certain kind of person! That would be a great idea for the holiday exchange HERE though---something with a Feng Shui twist! DeeMarie~ Miss you, love you, can't wait till you're back! And I'm never giving up---! Tikanas~Hope your finger is healing nicely. Be careful out there! Everyone have a RELAXING Sunday! Mind your menus!

Maddie~ Forget about the rant...nhsuzaane is right..We ALL have had rants here. It helps just to type away and press "post"--very theraputic. Plus, let yourself enjoy the support. And now, I'm going to have a little rant of my own... Maddie, On the job...I have no doubt you like (maybe even love) your job, but there is way too much "job" and not enough of you. Start looking for another position. Even if the auditors find you need more manpower, the company still has to find the funds and get the authorization for it; that could take a long, long time. Right now, it's not a priority for them to help you even learn your job...why would they be motivated to get help for any time soon? Start job hunting now. And BTW, you don't have to find a job at what you went to school for---find something you LIKE---what happened to your auctioning dreams? Or real estate? When we toured that KY mansion together, you really impressed me with your vision on property renovation! You would be a gem in the customer service end of a high-end real estate biz! And you know so much about the history of KY! And---you take on WAY too much in all of these jobs you've had. Take some time and find a job that fits YOU. Enough of this Super-Woman-Set-Me-Up-For-Failure-Cr@p. You are a very,very nice person, but you are taking on too much---because you're TOO nice! You do not have to save the company---just find a job, work as hard as you can, follow your job description, and save money for pleasure vacations and retirement, and BE YOURSELF! Maddie, everyone enjoys being around you. I loved every single minute I spent with you. Your humor, your easy smile, your warmth, and your perky red-headed personality should land you whatever job you want. Please ask yourself if what you're doing is really what you want to be doing...or is it just what you trained for and you don't want to "waste" that $ and education. Perhaps this is why you choose jobs that are so difficult. Do you really want to be doing what you're doig??? People change over time and maybe you should think about your OTHER talents and find a "fun" job to do for a while-one that take advantage of your PERKY personality, your persuasive manner, and natural good looks-instead of your brain! There is nothing wrong with *NOT* having a brainy job! Look at meeeeeeeeeeeeee! I CAN FLY! (and feel like Peter Pan half the time!) Sorry this is so long, but I really think you deserve to be happier. It makes me sad to think your employer doesn't appreciate you or give you the type of working experience you deserve. If the last person was miserable and now you're miserable, buy a paper at lunch and start LOOKING for a new job...try looking in the customer service ads...or real estate! Everyone here will write you a reference, I'm sure. Love you and want you to look forward to going to work! -Beege