Marvellous March 2016

[treegirl]

Hi all -

So sorry to be MIA!! What a time. Just as I was getting on the plane (for a 5-hour flight) I got a message from a friend that said 'Did you send this?' I had time enough to say 'no' - whatever it is , don't open it. Then as I got off the plane, I was stunned to see that the virus-laden message had gone to over 100 of my contacts. Thankfully, only 4 opened the link it contained, but still, what a mess for me and for them. I feel terrible. And mad. I've been vigilant about my email - I change passwords on a regular basis, don't download things from the web into emails, do all the updates when required, everything. And still my account was hacked. UUUUgh.

So the first few days of being away were totally consumed with finding out if my email account was clear, if my computer was virus-free, how to move the contacts to a different email server so that I could apologize safely and give them a new email address. Grrr. I just finished the last batch of apologies. Technology! Don't these hackers have something better to do with their lives?!!

OK, enough grousing. We are in a very pretty place, though one filled with tourists and lots of shops. I find that I can hardly deal with unfamiliar cities anymore! But we are close to water, so that's a very wonderful thing, and I am grateful. The place where we are staying has meditation and yoga classes, so I may take my first yoga class tomorrow morning! I was able to 'check out' a yoga mat and take it to my room - bonus.

Pauly - sorry about the allergies, good luck! Lav - screen duty already? Goodness. Star - SO sorry you had such a bad bug...I remember a couple of years ago when I had that - really horrible! Dill - congrats on the volunteer position! They are lucky to have you.

Tomorrow is a busy day, I am accompanying HB for some of his work. But I hope that now I can be in better touch. So grateful to be able to post to you all ---- Happy Thursday to you ---

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Quick check in. Just really tried and woke up with my alarm. Enjoying my coffee. HAve a good one.

[Lavande]

Good morning friends, happy Thursday

Sitting with my granddaughter today, fun!
Glad we get to spend some decent time outdoors this week.

Cyn, sorry about the hacker
I have even had my Facebook account hacked, ridiculous.
I hope you get to enjoy your trip a bit & the yoga too!

Star, have a good day!
Same to you Dill & Pauly!

Lav

[dill]

Cyn, I don't blame you a bit for grousing! Such a pain! I think most people are getting savvy about email scams and wisely don't click on embedded links in emails from friends that seem odd. Unfortunately, not all of us have worked that out yet. So sorry for the irritation and aggravation you had to face. It sounds like you are the IT person in your relationship. Does Mr. Tree get involved with those types of hassles? Here at our house it is Mr. D that manages those types of things. I'm glad you are near water. I think any vacation must include a body of water! LOL!

Star, it sounds like you were really in a deep sleep. I never need an alarm to wak up in the morning anymore. I just pop awake between 5-6:00. It's been that way for years.

Lav, so once again we were on the same wavelength yesterday! Ha! I got the car cleaned on the inside and Mr. D power washed it. Of course then it rained!. Have fun with your granddaughter!

Hi Pauly!

I have to get and MMR immunization to do the hospital voluteer job. It turns out I have no antibodies for Mumps which means I never had it nor was exposed to it I guess. I did have measles tho, I remember that! Anyway, I don't mind having the vaccination.

Let's all have a great Thursday!

[Lavande]

Dill, just wondering -
is the hospital making you pay out of pocket for the TB testing & MMR? I have a friend here who just told me this week that she's decided not to take a volunteer job working with seniors because the organization (not a hospital) won't foot the bill for all that stuff.
My son & DIL both had to pay for their own background checks to volunteer at my grandson's school. Of course my daughter just paid for all this stuff before she started her PT program. Everything is so darn expensive anymore

I had a fun day & we did spend a good deal of time outside. It was very nice driving my clean car today as well, haha!!!

[treegirl]

Hi all -

Dill, Mr T and I have completely separate computer things. He has a Mac laptop, and 2 (count them) iPads. Up until last week, I had 1 PC laptop, but just before leaving on this trip I bought an inexpensive little laptop ($175!) so that I had something small to take with me when traveling. I just can't get into the tablets and pads. I like a real keyboard, and I'm always doing business, so I need the full Microsoft Office Suite. So that's what I'm using right at this moment. I couldn't use it until Tuesday when I got the all-clear from my computer guy. He actually was able to install something to get onto this computer remotely so he could download all the virus-protection and anti-ransom-ware stuff that I needed before starting to use the computer. So it goes!

Dill - I hope that all works out with your volunteer stuff. Sorry that you have to get tests and innoculations, but I guess it's safest, right?

Pauly - how goes the allergies? I have been suffering too, and finally took an Allegra but it didn't make a dent. I may have caught HB's cold that he brought along to this trip. I feel sorry for him - he's got a big job ahead this weekend, and he's not feeling too great. I have to stay well to take care of him!

Lav - so glad that you're having great granddaughter time. The weather is cooperating! I hear from my dog sitter that the pups are out sunning themselves on the deck.

Star - hope you can get some rest this weekend. Do you have fun plans? Grilling? What are you reading now?

I'm hoping to go to a yoga class at 7 AM tomorrow - we'll see. I couldn't go this morning, as HB needed some help getting it all together to leave the hotel at 8 AM. I'm kind of glad I couldn't do it - the weather is quite windy here (like up to 35 mph) and since it was a water-side session, it looked from my room like the participants were going to blow away. I'm hoping that tomorrow's is inside!

Thinking of all, and wishing you a happy Friday -

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Rain, rain and more rain here. However, I have been working so it really doesn't matter too much.

Lav, your clean car and spending time with your granddaughter sounds like a life well lived! Cooking anything new lately?

Dill, you are lucky your husband can take charge of the computer stuff, not at this house, I get to figure it out! I had the mumps as a kid and remember how much it hurt, so glad I don't have to get another shot anytime soon. I think you will enjoy the volunteering and it will be well worth it. Someone I know retired and is feeling bored and isolated, not that you are, but what a great way to get out and be helpful and be with people. On your terms, too.

Cyn, I do have fun plans this weekend, we are traveling to the desert and spending a week with family, so looking forward to getting away. Actually a cookout is already planned for Sunday afternoon. I just finished reading an old favorite, The Shellseekers, I read it about once a year, and the book is starting to fall apart. I love the story, the way the characters are drawn, and the fact that it is set in England. For my trip, I have about 10-15 books downloaded for free from Bookbub, so will have alot to choose from. Plus, my tradition is to try and buy a book at the airport bookstore, but we will be there so early (flight leaves at 5:30 am and the time changes) that I may net get to buy one. Are you reading anything good right now? A think a 7 am yoga class sounds lovely. What a great way to start the day, hope you get the opportunity to go to a class that early!

Busy day at work, so grateful to be AF! Hope Pauly is doing well. Have a great Friday.

[dill]

Hello All,
Lav, the hospital is picking up the tab for all these tests and for the vaccinations. I would probably walk away from the job if they expected me to pay for it! I think it's ridiculous that your son and DIL have to pay for a background check to volunteer at the school. I can't believe that that is even required! As far as I know, that is not the case in my state. I know the teachers have to pay for fingerprinting as a condition of employment. I think the schools should pick up the tab on that. Oh well.

Star, how wonderful to have a week off and to visit with family! I have never spent any real tme in a desert, just have driven thru. I read the Shellseekers years ago. I loved that book.

Cyn, I know what you mean about needin a keyboard. I have an Ipad but we bought a blue tooth keyboard and case which really makes it much easier. I never got used to the onscreen keypad.

Hey Pauly.

Let's all have a great af Friday!

[Lavande]

Good morning friends, happy Friday

Cloudy here with a few drops of rain earlier, no big deal!
It's heading to the mid 60's today, not the 80's of the past two days. No one was prepared for summer weather in early March anyway!
YB is off today to get ready for a trip to IL with the college basketball team. This will be the last time for this trip if he actually goes through with his retirement plan this Spring, ha ha! No big plans for me, just a trip to Curves then some house cleaning. I seem to be up to my ankles in dog hair around here, ugh.

Star, enjoy your trip next week, sounds great
No new cooking for me this week but I have pinned a few vegan recipes that I will be trying out soon!

Cyn, I hope you are enjoying your trip & holding on to something so you don't blow away, LOL
We have so many desktop & laptop computers around here, it's not even funny. We have 4 iPads between the two of us, ha ha. We were just talking about consolidating them this week ~ not an easy task. I need one computer just for my embroidery software & machines. We will get it figured out.

Dill, I had a pretty bad case of mumps when I was on 4th grade, remember it well!!
The child safety laws here in PA are pretty intense but the predators are still able to bypass them unfortunately. My grandson is in cub scouts now & all of the adults handling the troop had to pass background checks, including my son. None of this stuff was thought of back when we were raising our kids. It just seems to be a completely different world now.

Pauly, are you OK?

Have a great AF day everyone!

Lav

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

I am off work for nine whole days, whoohoo!!!! Last night we ate a quick bowl of clam chowder (no meat in honor of lent) and went to the mall to pick up a few things for our trip. I slept well and have a list of things to do today, including laundry that will probably take all day. The weather will be warm and then rainy, so I will have the windows open and smell that wonderful spring rain smell. Love it. We leave tomorrow morning and I am probably going to take my computer, I could not imagine my email unchecked for a whole week. It would be bad. I feel firm in my AF life and although others will have drinks, I am going to go to the store and get my diet Sprite, some tea, and do whatever I want to do, not caring what others do. So there. I am at the point in my life where I do what I want to do, period. It feels good. I enjoy feeling healthy and being AF is a big part of that.

Lav, Dill, Cyn, have a good day.

Pauly, I think I read you are in a difficult way, but please don't hesitate to talk to us. We love you and part of being here is support in our entire journey, not just the easy times. We are here for you if you want us to be.

Have a good one.

[Lavande]

Darn, just lost my post..........

Good morning everyone!

Star, enjoy your vacation, sounds nice & well deserved

Hello to Dill & Cyn!

Pauly, let's get back on plan now, OK?
I know from personal experience that AL never improves a low mood or bad situation. We fool ourselves into thinking it does but it backfires every single time. Hit that tool box & adopt a zero tolerance policy toward AL. Moving forward with a clear head is a much better plan :hug:

I think my daughter & her family are coming to visit today. The weather is nice enough to put some burgers on the grill so that's what I'm going to do.
Have a great AF day everyone!

Lav

[paulywogg]

Morning friends,I know I should have checked in but I was sorta sideswiped by drinking,I couldn't believe that it was happening to me again and that I had put myself in that position, I guess there was a lot of build up leading to it that I just didn't stop and recognize it, worries about Bobbi,she found out her bf cheated on her while she was visiting down here,works gotten terrible, worries about a future president that people are seeming to make race a fight again,and yes my allergies just pissed me off and wore me out,I got sick of feeling sick daily yet scared to take anything cuz those meds have caused relapse in the past,too anxious to cope on them,maybe its all excuses,maybe I wanted to drink,I dunno,I didn't feel like it until the very second I did it,hello Lav,Cyn,Dill,Star,hope everyone has a nice weekend

[dill]

Yeah, 'cunning, baffling and powerful'. We all know! Glad you are back, Pauly.:hug:

Nice weather here at the moment. Granddaughter is here and we are about to do a little fishing.

Lav, Cyn, Star greetings and happy af Saturday.

[Lavande]

Good Sunday morning friends & welcome to daylight savings time, ha ha!

Looks like a cloudy day for me, rain to move in later this after noon & tomorrow, oh well.
YB left here before 5:30 this morning for his trip with the college basketball team. Could be gone up to a week depending on how the team does. So it's just me & the dogs & chickens, oh joy.

Dill, how did the fishing go? I love spending time outdoors with the kids

Pauly, I read your post & the first thing that came to mind was 'Let it go'. I had to learn the hard way too that we just cannot control all the events in our lives & certainly not the people involved. Drinking at them does nothing but harm us in the long run. We give away our personal power & inner peace when we reach for the bottle.
Sounds like Bobbi's boyfriend is a real tool. Being strong & present for her will serve you both. I know your work situation is less than desirable, maybe it's time to move on. Have you put together a resume that maybe you can send to some new salons? We all want to see you in a more comfortable situation :hug:

Hello to Star, have a safe & wonderful trip!
Hello to Cyn too!

I am going to be busy all this coming week with extra childcare. Looks like I will be picking up my granddaughter late Wednesday afternoon & bringing her here for two nights. Then my grandsons will be staying over Friday night. I will need a vacation after all this, LOL

Have a great AF day everyone!

Lav

[paulywogg]

Morning friends,Lav,you're right,I drank at things that I have no control over! I went back and read my posts from Tuesday and I don't pick up on a bad attitude that I used to get before relapsing, I don't remember anything about that day standing out,I guess I just learned that I have to be on guard all the time,even though that gets exhausting but still better than drinking and having to cover my tracks,hello Dill,Cyn,Star hope we all have a nice Sunday