This Year is Our Year for Success!
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We are bracing for some very cold weather hitting today. The temp has already dropped 15 degrees since we woke up, and is expected to be in single digits by tomorrow morning, with strong winds making the wind chill feel even colder. Normally I would just stay home under my electric blanket throw, but this morning I have an appointment with my hand surgeon that I need to keep. I’m hoping he lifts the restriction on driving as that has been a real burden on DH.0
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My visit went well and I’m now cleared to drive. Yippee!!!0
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Many many people without power here. We lost power briefly this morning. Just long enough for DH to set up the generator and then it came back home. I was planning on working on the CROM accounts today but since I still do those on an old DOL computer (I don't want to learn a new program LOL!) I decided it was probably better not to have it on so I've been working on organizing shelves instead. I just don't feel like working today for some reason.0
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Maryanne, it’s Christmas Eve, so don’t feel guilty for taking a break from your endless to do lists! Organizing shelves is still productive in work, if you feel you must be doing something.
For several months now I’ve had a problem with text messaging one of my friends. My messages bounce back with a message saying my message was not delivered because call blocking is active. I’ve confirmed 3 times that I have not blocked this friend and she says she hasn’t blocked me. I went to my local TMobile store and asked for help. They confirmed that all of my settings are correct and that this number is not on my blocked numbers list, so they gave me a number for tech support and told me to call them. When I did that they were very helpful, opened a ticket for their the engineering team to look into it, and followed up twice, exactly when they said they would. However, the solution they came up with didn’t fix the problem. At this point, I’m inclined to think my friend has inadvertently blocked my number and she will need to pursue it on her end, but since I can’t communicate with her I’ll have to get a mutual friend to pass on the message. It will have to wait until after the holiday since it’s not urgent, but it is annoying.
It will be a pretty low-key holiday around here. DH’s sister is flying in Monday, so our holiday celebration will take place then.0 -
It was 8 degrees this morning; less with wind chill. Baltimore just isn't this cold. It's not something Baltimoreans are used to. LOL!
10s of thousands of people are without power in this are but luckily, so far, we're good!0 -
Merry Christmas, everyone!!!0
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DH’s sister was supposed to fly in from Denver today to spend the week with us, but after she got to the airport she found out her flight had been cancelled. Her bags however, did fly to Dallas and will somehow have to be returned to Denver. The earliest possible date Southwest could offer to rebook her was the 28th, 29th or 30th. She was scheduled to return on the 1st. Since there were many people in the line around her that had been waiting 2 days or more to get rebooked, she figured she wouldn’t be able to get on a flight until the 29th or 30th so in the end decided to abort the trip. I’m sure her mom will be disappointed, but I agree with her decision. Better to reschedule in a couple of months. Hopefully her luggage will catch up to her by then. Sadly, all of our Christmas gifts from them were in one of her suitcases. I shipped all of ours to them, so they got their gifts.0
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I’m sitting in Lowe’s parking lot using their WiFi while DH shops. We went to Comcast Friday, swapped our equipment and try to make an appointment for service to recon the outside wires to the house. Agent had trouble with his computer and could tell me when they’d come but thought it would be yesterday. We were running errands today so I went back to the Comcast store. The ticket was in the computer but it hadn’t attached to an appointment. First slot is next Tuesday afternoon. So we’ll be another week without service . I’m reduced to cruising parking lots looking for free WiFi. Most of the buildings on the island are closed or out of business after storm damage. So I only have access now and then. I’m downloading books and movies to get us through it. I’ll go to the library tomorrow for audio books and dvds. That will cover entertainment needs but not being able to check here or emails is frustrating.0
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DH’s sister was supposed to fly in from Denver today to spend the week with us, but after she got to the airport she found out her flight had been cancelled. Her bags however, did fly to Dallas and will somehow have to be returned to Denver. The earliest possible date Southwest could offer to rebook her was the 28th, 29th or 30th. She was scheduled to return on the 1st. Since there were many people in the line around her that had been waiting 2 days or more to get rebooked, she figured she wouldn’t be able to get on a flight until the 29th or 30th so in the end decided to abort the trip. I’m sure her mom will be disappointed, but I agree with her decision. Better to reschedule in a couple of months. Hopefully her luggage will catch up to her by then. Sadly, all of our Christmas gifts from them were in one of her suitcases. I shipped all of ours to them, so they got their gifts.
Yes, flying right now does seem to be hugely problematic! I just her bags get back to her!0 -
I’m sitting in Lowe’s parking lot using their WiFi while DH shops. We went to Comcast Friday, swapped our equipment and try to make an appointment for service to recon the outside wires to the house. Agent had trouble with his computer and could tell me when they’d come but thought it would be yesterday. We were running errands today so I went back to the Comcast store. The ticket was in the computer but it hadn’t attached to an appointment. First slot is next Tuesday afternoon. So we’ll be another week without service . I’m reduced to cruising parking lots looking for free WiFi. Most of the buildings on the island are closed or out of business after storm damage. So I only have access now and then. I’m downloading books and movies to get us through it. I’ll go to the library tomorrow for audio books and dvds. That will cover entertainment needs but not being able to check here or emails is frustrating.
Cruising parking lots for wi-fi. What a picture that paints. No Starbucks or equivalent I take it. Will the library have wi-fi?0 -
DH has suddenly decided his snack of preference is monterey jack cheese (replacing blueberry yogurt - why? - who the heck knows). So I sort of amused myself this morning by hitting a bunch of stores and looking for different varieties of that along with searching for sugar snaps and veggies to steam. Fresh veggies are sparse in all the stores. I was just trying to remember the last time I saw a fresh wax bean, for example. I did find sugar snaps I hadn't seen before at a store I'd never been to before (Aldi's). I'm almost hoping they aren't good as it's one strange store and particularly irksome that it has no self checkout.
I'm heading out shortly to take Jack for his weekly acupuncture appointment (which pet insurance covers to my utter amazement) and then will get back to work. Clients are pretty quiet this week thank goodness. The end of the year is usually madness until Christmas day.0 -
I’m in the library now. In a comfortable chair, looking out at the water view behind the library. I have a stack of DVDs and a couple of audio books to check out for the holiday weekend. I’m charging my phone and checking emails. I don’t know if I ever mentioned I love Jeopardy. My brother has been calling me from SC and tuning in Jeopardy. He brings the phone over to the tv so we can hear it. He had to go out last night so he called me early and I got to listen to the news too for the first time in a week. We have Apple Car Play in the truck so it came through the radio when my phone was plugged into it. The sound quality was better than just the phone so I think we’ll listen to it in the truck until I have Comcast back.0
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Helene, what conditions did your find in your home? Any flood damage, etc? I hope you get your Comcast connection back soon. I’m sure it’s challenging without internet these days. You are finding creative ways to cope, for sure!0
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I’m in the library now. In a comfortable chair, looking out at the water view behind the library. I have a stack of DVDs and a couple of audio books to check out for the holiday weekend. I’m charging my phone and checking emails. I don’t know if I ever mentioned I love Jeopardy. My brother has been calling me from SC and tuning in Jeopardy. He brings the phone over to the tv so we can hear it. He had to go out last night so he called me early and I got to listen to the news too for the first time in a week. We have Apple Car Play in the truck so it came through the radio when my phone was plugged into it. The sound quality was better than just the phone so I think we’ll listen to it in the truck until I have Comcast back.
Now that's a TRUE jeopardy fan. I saw a couple of the celebrity rounds - never heard of most of the "celebrities" but I did tell DH that Wesley Crusher was on LOL!0 -
Wishing all of us a happy and healthy New Year! I’m posting this early as I have no intention of staying up until midnight (although some of my neighbors typically set off fireworks every year, which wakes me up)!0
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I heard no noises either night. Truly unusual but I'm not protesting!
Our office is closed today but I'm working away. It's a grey day but not that chilly.0 -
True to form, my neighbors did set off fireworks at midnight and woke me. Luckily, I went right back to sleep when they were done. Gotta love melatonin!0
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I finally have Internet and TV again. Most of the utility poles needed to be replaced. The power company cut all the old lines and cables and strung new. Cutting the cables and dropping them to the ground is what caused the cable outage. Comcast had to run a new cable from the pole and bring it to the house. The tech was nice enough to come inside and activate my modem, cable boxes and set up my remotes. What took home 15 minutes would have taken me half a day. He lives in Miami but was brought over to help with the big job of restoring services. Some of my neighbors are still out.0
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Helene, that’s great news! That was really nice of the tech to do that for you. I’m with you — it would have taken me a long time to figure it out, too.
I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions, but I have decided to try to make a couple of improvements. Over the past year I’ve gotten into some bad habits and I want to try to replace them with better ones. The first area I want to improve is to resume doing exercises that strengthen my core and decrease my back pain. The one that helps the most is planks, but I wasn’t really able to do them for much of the past year. I believe my elbow is healed enough now to be able to hold my weight, so I have begun working on building up my time in a plank position again. So far, I’m up to 45 seconds doing a plank on my forearms. I may not be able to do it on my hands as I don’t have full extension on the elbow yet. I may never have full extension. I’m close, but I don’t know if I’m close enough to do a plank on my hands. I’ve always found the forearm position harder anyway, so it may not matter.
The second area I want to improve is my housekeeping. I’ve gotten way too lazy about some of the housekeeping chores that I used to do regularly. I’ve never enjoyed cleaning, but it’s a necessary evil so I just have to do it. I’ve decided that I will assign myself one chore per day that I will do except for on Sunday. DH does all of the vacuuming and mopping, so that leaves me bathrooms and dusting, as well as laundry. We both clean the kitchen areas anytime we cook, so that area at least stays in pretty good shape. Of course, there are always odd jobs that need to be done less frequently, but I’ll work on getting into a routine with the basics first then add others as needed. Now that I’m not restricted in how much weight I can carry or force I can apply, I have no excuse for not doing what needs to be done.
And the final area I need to improve is my diet, but I don’t think I’m ready to go there yet. Maybe after I get these other areas under control I will feel ready to tackle that one.
This is a gift basket I made for a baby shower for the daughter of one of my grad school friends. I filled it with diapers, socks, diaper rash Creme, baby wipes, and baby washcloths. I made diaper babies using some of the diapers, washcloths, and socks. I’ll wrap it in blue tulle and tie a big bow on it with a rattle tied to the bow. I ordered the rattle from Amazon and it won’t get here until tomorrow. This friend and her daughter have very expensive taste. Her gift registry was filled with very pricey items. For example, there were lots of very cute onesies and sleepers, starting at $30 and up. I just wasn’t willing to spend that much money for 1 outfit. I put together this entire basket for a little over $50. I hope they will appreciate it.
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I finally have Internet and TV again. Most of the utility poles needed to be replaced. The power company cut all the old lines and cables and strung new. Cutting the cables and dropping them to the ground is what caused the cable outage. Comcast had to run a new cable from the pole and bring it to the house. The tech was nice enough to come inside and activate my modem, cable boxes and set up my remotes. What took home 15 minutes would have taken me half a day. He lives in Miami but was brought over to help with the big job of restoring services. Some of my neighbors are still out.
YEAH!!!!0 -
Pam - good job on the resolutions!
I don't think I'll ever get into housekeeping. It just needs done over again.
I have started back on my diet right after Christmas. I just did way too much binging the last 6 months of 2022.
That's a really neat baby basket! If they don't appreciate the effort, shame on them!0 -
I really felt back on the wagon this morning as I had my "typical" Saturday diet breakfast - saute'd onions and peppers with 1 egg and 1/3 cup southwestern style egg beaters (which I have to go to a certain store to purchase).
Then I had my "big salad" (with protein) lunch.0 -
Pam, that basket is adorable. It so creative and full of practical items. I don’t see how they couldn’t be impressed with your gift. I need to work on diet for sure. I’ve been stress eating since the hurricane. And we’re in so much better shape than many of the island residents. DH has been trying to clear out the storage room on the first level. The flood water tipped and scrambled up everything in there. A lot of the stuff will end up in the trash. A bunch of DH’s tools got rusty so he’s cleaning them up and getting them back in shape to use. We have a bunch of his better tools in the foyer. Once we get downstairs cleaned up, we can decutter that area of the house.0
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Thanks for the kind comments about my gift basket. I am pleased with it and I hope the recipient will be as well.
Not much going on here. I’m staying pretty consistent on doing my exercises for my back, only skipping about 1 or 2 days per week. I need to research and add in some exercises for my hips as I’m frequently waking up in the night because the hip I’m lying on is hurting. I think it’s from tight muscles, so I’m hoping adding some targeted exercises and/or stretches will help with that. I’ve been less consistent with the improved housekeeping, but I’ll keep trying.
Funny story for y’all. One of my nieces lives in NYC and works as a wardrobe technician in TV, film and theater. Her TV and film work has been on hiatus since November, so she returned to her Broadway contacts and picked up temp work on a couple of shows, including one called “The Piano Lesson” starring Samuel L. Jackson and John Washington (the sun of Denzel Washington). Her job is to get the actor or actors she is assigned to in and out of their costumes during the performance. So last week was the first time she was dressing Sam (as he prefers to be called) during one of his changes and had to tuck his shirt into his pants. Not wanting to be perceived as groping him, she was being a little tentative in tucking in the shirt. He started laughing and said to her “Girl, just get in there!” She texted her mom afterward and said “Samuel L. Jackson laughed at me today!” She certainly has some unique perks to her job, lol!0 -
Pam - good luck with the exercises.
I made need to look for some for my neck. I got my hair done today and the shampoo was excruciating. Never happened to me before.
Broadway stars need someone to tuck in their shirts? Wow! That is funny.0 -
Maryanne, during performances, the wardrobe techs are responsible for stripping off the current costume and getting them into the next one, along with all accessories and making sure everything is arranged as it should be, so that includes tucking in their shirts as necessary. The performers are told to raise their arms, step out of the dress or pants (as the case may be), then whatever direction is needed to get the next one on. The performers don’t zip, button or tuck anything. It’s all on the wardrobe tech to get them dressed and back on stage in the allotted time — sometimes 2 minutes or less. It’s actually a pretty involved process. In addition, the wardrobe techs are responsible for cleaning and maintaining the costumes as well as making repairs as needed. They even wash the underwear they wear under their costumes.
Here’s a link to an article that describes the process: https://dramatics.org/costume-quick-change/
And another: https://playbill.com/article/watch-5-wild-quick-changes-backstage-at-broadways-aladdin-and-aint-too-proud0 -
What a fascinating job. How did she get interested in becoming a wardrobe tech?0
