Hi, Aussie. I'm from Wisconsin, like Sue. But so very much NOT like Sue at all. Yogi and I are email buddies (Hi, sweetie!), and I know lots of other MMers, too.

I love Surv, ANTM, ER, NYPD Blue and Angel (yes, I am in mourning for David Boreanaz and crew). I am going to tape Kingdom Hospital tonight because I am Stephen King's bitch. I even sat through all of Rose Red, if you can believe it.

There is a Mr. HH and two HH spawn, Squirrel and Beep. Yogi turned me on to yoga, though I had started doing it several years ago while in physical therapy, and I love to scrapbook and cook. I work in marketing for a company that builds expensive toys for rich people. And that's about it.

And I agree about the wedding thing. Be the "bitchy" bride that wants everything her way - it's your turn to shine.

Not to get political, but so many wedding "rules" are silly. Where you can go, who can do, what day of the week, the fees for the license, etc. Blah. As long as it's under your deity & with the person you love, you go! Beach, mountain, chapel, laundromat. Whatever floats your boat.

Actually, there was a sad article in this week's Village Voice about the whole who decides who's married/not & being an American. Made me start bawling. Again. (Aussie, not sure how much news you get of ours, but there's been a lot of drama about same-sex marriage & law over the last few weeks)

Edit...remember how last week or so I mentioned how many boys are stinky? Last night's Queer Eye just reinforced that. Hee.

skagirl I just read the article. You're right, how sad!!! And frankly, I just don't understand what all the fuss is about. Are heterosexual spouses any less married if gay couples are allowed to be legally married? I'm all for minding my own business. Life is hard enough, just taking care of all the day-to-day problems that face me and my family, without worrying about how other people manage their lives.
Princess Peachy, I'm so glad Little Aussie's better. There's nothing worse than when something is wrong with your kids.
And Ricci, I'm with those who say you should have your wedding the way that you want it. I got married in my mother's home. Birdman is Catholic and my family is Baptist. My mom and my mother-in-law both said "I don't care what religion you pick, as long as you're not just married by a justice of the peace!" So I let my fingers do the walking and picked out a Reverend from the yellow pages!!
Apparently it worked out okay, because we celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary last month. So stand firm Ricci, this is yourday!
And Dodo, don't give up hope on finding Mr. Right. There are a couple of guys I know that I would just love to introduce you to. They are both funny, warm and absolutely wonderful people. So they're out there, you'll just have to keep looking. It sounds like you're on the right track.

I love talk of weddings. When Mr. JDG and I decided to get married, I shocked myself at how into it I was, because I am not a girlygirl nor do I like to plan things or to be the center of attention. We had ours at an inn in NH that was a package deal, with a planner that organized everything. We were living in Africa the year before we got married, and I had my dress made out of an Indian Sari, and it cost me aout $80 dollars. It was pale gray with silver lame stuff. I took it to a tailor with one of my sundresses, and she copied it with the fabric. The Best Women dress were under $25 dollars, found on sale at an LLBean outlet store. I liked them so much, I bought one for myself! But the important thing was that it was a great day, and everyone, including me (I wasn't sure I would) had a great time. I will always remember the my husbands smile during the ceremony. His happiness was radiant! Ah weddings. The funny thing is my family still jokes about it being all about me. I by no means was a demanding bride, so I guess that is what makes it funny.

OHH! I used to bitch & moan excessively about crazy coworker but eventually got used to her...but she is up in some drama right now! Boyfriend problems, screaming in the hall...oh!

BTW now that my ankle is better (no, I didn't trip out of a "vip" lounge this weekend by skipping a step that I thought was one but was 2 & totally sprain it with a healthy bruise & swelling) I'm going back to the gym in the next day or so and next Thursday...I'm going to beginning yoga at my gym. Just for Yogi! When? Why, 8 pm on Thursday. Right splam!Blam! on one of my 2 favorite nights of TV.

Oh, and Aussie I know lil'Aussie will be a-ok. If I can fall the number of times I have/do, and I am still a somewhat disfunctional...I mean, fully functional adult-type person, he'll be fine!

Hey Heidihug, I met a woman from Wisconsin last Saturday night. Some people in our street just moved into their newly built home, and invited everyone in the street for a party. We've lived here for 18 months, and only really know one lot of neighbours, so it was nice to meet the rest of them! This woman comes from Madison, and is married to an Aussie and has lived here for over 10 years now. It was great to meet her. And now we have two septics living in the street! (Sorry... couldn't resist that one - for any new posters, it's Aussie slang for Americans - Yanks : Septic Tanks).

Yes skagirl we get all your news here, and have heard all about the great debate on same sex marriages. I think nobody should have the right to deny people wanting to make a commitment to each other; whether they are straight or gay should just not come into it at all. I have quite a few gay friends and most are in committed relationships and I totally respect that. I cannot believe what Bush is saying. By the way, your president is intensely disliked here, and so is our prime minister for backing him in the Iraq war. Voting here is compulsory, so roll on the next election!

JDG you lived in Africa? Wow! That's one place I never got to. What was it like? Would you agree with the description that it is the birthplace of humanity? Peachy once described it as that in an interview.

Little Aussie continues to improve, although the throwing up developed into quite a head cold, so he is still a bit off. I just freak out about knocks to the head area, Mr Aussie reckons that if I could, I'd make them wear helmets! Well, if it would help....

As if the intense heat of 10 days ago wasn't enough, guess what the weather bureau is predicting for the next couple of days? A cyclone. In your language, I think that translates to a hurricane. So far it's just very windy, but that's nothing out of the ordinary, so hopefully it won't intensify. Will keep you all posted, and if I'm not here tomorrow, it'll mean the bloody power's gone off again.

Smiles to you all from Princess Peachy.

AussieGirl, I lived in Dar es Salaam, which is by no means the birthplace of humanity. Out in the bush I can understand how you could get that feeling. Truely a wonderful place to travel, certainly a must if you like watching animals.

We watch The Daily Show the day after. Monday's show the showed a clip of a report asking Kerry "Is God on America's side?". They didn't show the response, but how do you answer a question like that? "I don't speak for God." or maybe "My God is on my side, I am not sure about yours."

Oh, that sounds beautiful. So much of the sari material I've seen is just exquisite. A woman at my church when I was growing up was from India, and she had the most gorgeous saris.

The Chieftains concert last night was brilliant. They are one of the finest groups in music today, and they give a great concert, with lots of humor, excitement, and shear musical wonder. Their harper played a piece written by a great Irish harper from 300 years or so ago that made me weep, it was so beautiful. They included some local talent in the program, too, a Scots piper and an Irish dancing-school group (I think they always use some local talent in every city they perform in).

Your wedding sounds absolutely lovely, JDG. No wonder Mr. JDG was so radiantly happy, he was clearly marrying a lovely woman with a unique blend of superb and sensible taste. Personally, I love fabrics from India. I've gone over to Jackson Heights in Queens to buy saris to use in various ways in my home, and I've been known to wear a salwar kamis - what a practical garment that is! And who wouldn't love a $25 dollar dress from LL Bean? Classic style at a good price! I'm sure everyone looked terrific and felt comfortable.

Now I want to hear about suctionprints wedding, because I'm sure with her fabulous sense of humor, it was something! And how 'bout you Heidihug? And Hildy? Especially you Hildy as you enjoy weddings - yours must have been much fun. Unless of course you overindulged in that open bar you claim to be so fond of. Heh.


Hurray for you skagirl - Way to take care of your sweet self!!! Believe it or not, it will help you a great deal with your balance - though the fact that you also like to indulge in a bit of alcoholic revelry might make even yoga less effective in the balance area ;) Also, your nutty co-worker needs serious intervention. Good Gravy Marie - Tell her to do some yoga! But just not with you.

Batten down the hatches, Aussie Girl! The last hurricane I lived through sent three towering Georgia pine trees crashing through my house. We had twelve huge trees down on a half acre of property. I felt like I was living through the bombing of London, but it went on all night long. We had no basement, nowhere to go, so I ran from room to room with Little Yogi in my arms to avoid the crashing trees. Wheew! Made it through that one, but Lord, what an experience! Stay safe and dry, my friend. You are in my prayers today!

First of all, and apologies for not doing so earlier: Boo to strikes! I hope that this one is resolved quickly and fairly, and I am indignant that it distresses two of our Meet Marketers.
Second of all: Weddings, you ask? I looooved my wedding! (Did you ever notice that you rarely hear men sitting around talking about the details of their wedding day?) The house I grew up in was right next door to the little country church I attended, so we were married from the church in a lovely, music-filled traditional ceremony, and then walked right next door to my parents' house, where there was a big tent set up in the field next to the house. It was like an elegant picnic. We had picnic-style food, kiccked up a notch: Dry-rubbed barbeque chicken (cooked right there by a local guy who made the best chicken,) tomato/basil/mozzarella salad, tossed greens, lots of chewy crusty good breads, etc. My parents grew the flowers, and my mom and I did the arrangements. My poor sister made most of the tablecloths and napkins, b/c I'm a snob and didn't like the material of the rental linens. I had my sister as an attendant and she wore a plain sage green linen sheath from a local store--no irisdescent taffeta to be seen on the premises. (And you'll be pleased to hear that I paid for it, draadje.) I had my dress made and it was not hugely ornate--No train, beading, etc.--but I loved it and I still do. My college roomie lent me her antique lace veil, which was gorgeous Oh, and I think I kicked off my shoes pretty early in the proceedings. Bare feet are the best for grass dancing!
The field borders a pond, so a friend who worked for a local conservation club cut little walking trails through the woods so that the guests could wander off and enjoy the scenery. (And canoodle, as things turned out.)
We just served beer and wine and soda/waters, but the beer was a delicious Vermont microbrew called Magic Hat, donated by a friend who works there. I don't believe I overindulged. Oh, and we had chocolate cake.
Okay, I apologize for yammering. But you did ask!
All these wedding sound so very cool, and so individual. More, please!

My wedding? Hmm. It was interesting in that:
- I found out that I was pregnant a month before our wedding day. Talk about jumping the gun. And I thought it was just the stress. Ha.
- I got my dress for $75 at a going-out-of-business sale for a bridal boutique. My veil was $40 and my shoes were $25. Everything fit perfectly two months BEFORE the wedding, but of course, at my last fitting I had an unexpected tummy. Alterations and a girdle helped.
- Mr. HH's friends thought it would be great fun the NIGHT BEFORE THE WEDDING to kidnap him and then call me at 1 in the morning and tell me he was in the HOSPITAL. Hilarity did NOT ensue. Furious pregnant bride + "joke" = very unpleasant situation for Mr. HH's friends for quite some time. OK, I still have not forgiven certain players in this fiasco.
- As if that was not enough, Mr. HH's friends hid the marriage license at the church before the wedding. HH's father was not impressed or amused. HH was close to a major blowup. Needed a drink. Could not HAVE a drink.
- The wedding itself was lovely, white and pink roses, attendants in knee-length simple pink dresses, men in black tuxes. Short service, sun shining through the enormous stained glass windows at my parent's church.
- The reception at a nearby hall was very nice, a whirlwind of friends and relatives, great food and lots of beer for all. Except me.
- I drove to our hotel because Mr. HH had had too much beer. Sigh.
- We had a wonderful honeymoon in northern Wisconsin at my parent's cabin. A week of no TV or phones, just us and the woods. And no Mr. HH's friends.

That was 17 years ago, so I guess it doesn't matter how serenely you start your life together, it's what happens afterwards that counts.

I liked hearing all the details. Of course pink is an exceptionally tasteful choice of color, Heidihug ;) And I had to laugh about Mr. HH's friends - I think they were having a little trouble letting go! I met a really nice couple from Alabama once, and they told me about how after he and his wife were first married, his friends would come over after they had been out drinking and watch TV in the bedroom with he and his wife. In fact, the said friends would all climb on the bed together. When Mr. Yogi and I laughed (quite hard, in fact) at this story, the man and his wife both assured me that it was reasonable for his friends to do this. He said, "you see, the missed me. I had been with them for years," and his wife nodded in agreement. My heart had to melt for them all. It had a sweetness.

I was not so sweet to Mr. Yogi. He was among the first of his friends to get hitched (those Italian American boys will stay home forever!) So his friends used to call every single Friday and Saturday night after we had gone to bed. Who calls at 2 AM? Yeah, they missed him, but I was not amused. Ugh. Drunk "boys" calling my apartment at 2 AM. Ugh.

I can certainly see why you like weddings, Hildy. What a sweet event with everyone in your family doing their part to make it special and unique. It was sort of a party built with everyone's love in your honor. It must have been a memorable day for everyone who attended.

I'm not looking forward to watching Survivor tonight. I think it might upset me a lot to see Sue so distraught. I was thinking about it today while I worked out, and my heart rate jumped from 110 to 186. (I wear a heart rate monitor when I work out. Because I have a heart condition, it gives me more control.) So I just focused on Ellen, who is a surprisingly good television host! Go Figure.

Sounds like a great concert Tracey Bee!

I had posted earlier but the kooka server ate it. I also thoroughly enjoy the wedding details! They seem to reflect a lot of people's personalities or are just humorous.

Yogurt you're right about Ellen. I by chance saw the first few episode which were painful and then caught it during the next vacation day - like Columbus day or so. In a month she had really improved as an interviewer and host. And she seems to have a blast doing it and seems to love her staff. It's fun. And some of the guests have really let her go with the flow. Plus peachy was adorable on the show.

Tracey my dad is a huge Chieftans fan. Their extensive catalog makes for an easy stocking stuffer - and they had one disc out a couple years ago that was different, I think guest singers, and was great. They do invite local dance troupes and the like to open all of their shows. Glad you kids had a good time. I hope you weren't out too late.

Tracey Bee if you like Irish and harp music, have you heard any of Loreena McKennitt's music? She has a hauntingly beautiful voice and plays harp too. One of my favourites of hers is a song called "Snow" from "To Drive the Cold Winter Away". Incredibly beautiful. She lives in Canada.


Re saris - my mother has heaps of them, being from Sri Lanka. Lots of beautiful material. She doesn't really wear them much anymore, though when we first arrived in Australia nearly 40 years ago that was all she wore.

JDG did you travel a lot around Africa? How long were you there? And re the question "Is God on America's side?" - that is unbelievable. How can anyone answer that? IMO that is precisely the problem with many countries today, so many of them think that God is on their side, and that justifies war, and 9/11 and so many other atrocities. I was recently sent an email to join a group that was started in the US called Mother to Mother for Peace, with the slogan "I will not raise my child to grow up and kill your child". A brilliant idea, I think. The idea is to match up with other mothers around the world, Muslim, American, whatever - and get to know them and their families. I have been matched with a wonderful woman in Washington state, who also has two children, and our two eldest children are corresponding by email. I think it was initially only meant to match up American women with Muslim women, but apparently they are matching up many, many mothers all around the world. The power of email.

Hildy sounds like a wonderful wedding in a little country church, very romantic. And how convenient to have your parents house right next door for the reception. I can just picture it in my mind. I love weddings like that, informal and lots of fun.

Heidihug I don't blame you for being furious at the 1am call the night before your wedding. I don't know why they thought that was funny. Men at buck's parties sometimes seem to just get right out of hand. But I'm glad the wedding itself was nice. Mr Aussie's buck's party was a week before the wedding, and he a bunch of mates went camping for the night. When I asked him the next day what they all did, he said he "drank a bottle of bourbon and slept with a black bitch". Of course I was speechless, until with a smile he explained that the bottle of bourbon was one of those little ones like you can buy on planes, and the black bitch was his best friend's dog who insisted on sharing his tent.

skagirl more details of Peachy on Ellen please. We don't get that show here.

Princess Peachy xxxx

Wow, this has been one horrible week for me. I haven't even had the time to see you guys!! First, Sunday night my beta fish died. He was only about 4 months old, but he had been really ill for a long time. My mom and I had a burial "at sea" for Bob, aka, put him in the creek beside our house. Then on Monday, I flunked a major test in my senior history class. And that brough my grade down to a B, which is horrible because I'm in the running for Validvictorian. Then my horrible luck with men just got so much worse. I'm happy to hear about all these lovely weddings you've all had! No one in my family has married since 1999, and I wasn't even invited to that one. I'm hoping that I can find someone who cares about me that much sometime . Yay for Thursday!! I hope something good happens, I could use some cheer right now.

pretty, what a crappy week. Hope the show didn't bring you down!

Aussie, the peachy appearance was on the Just Peachy thread. Check a few pages back!

One of my classmates at Georgetown is doing his thesis on Survivor and reality television, and, as part of his research, is conducting a survey of Survivor viewers about their responses to the show:

NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Martha was found guilty on the perjury & obstruction & lying!
I am pouring out some homemade lavender sauce with a wild mushroom base in the street to pay homage to my discriminated Polish sistah. Oh no!!!!!!!!!

alykatblue, you might want to take the email out of the post above. it's usually a good way to get spammed.

AussieGirl, I lived in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for 3 years, working as a guidance counselor at an International School. I visited about 8 other countries while there.

Hi guys. Well I've just lived through another cyclone (hurricane) here. Gale force winds, very heavy rain, trees and power lines down etc. And we lost power for over 18 hours. Lovely! Actually though, it wasn't too bad. They said it was a category 1, and I've lived through much worse in past years. But I am getting tired of no electricity and all the food in the fridge going off. It's getting expensive to have so many blackouts. The surfers sure loved the wild seas and massive waves though.

pretty in pinki sorry to hear about your bad week. I hope the weekend has been better for you.

skagirl where's the Just Peachy thread? You mean to say there's a Peachy thread I don't know about? Or do you mean the TWoP Jeff Probst thread?

Well, I've got a house inspection here in a couple of days so much go finish off the cleaning. Cya!

Aussie, that sounds terrible!! Hurricanes don't sound like my cup of tea. I've never lived in a place where we would expect to get one, but still. Yes, the weekend has been better for me, although I'm not sure how it could be worse. I went shopping and got a Orlando Bloom shirt. *sigh* Orlando just makes it all better...
JDG, what other countries did you visit?

Aussie, sorry for my mistype - I meant the Jeff Probst thread right here. He's actually been on the Ellen Degeneres show a couple times now. But definitely scroll through the thread - cute stories.

We are not in a hurricane, but our hint o' spring is gone. Rain, snow-like rain, back down to 35 degrees F. Sigh. What a cruddy pooh Monday.

We've got the same sloppy weather skagirl has, but I'm hoping it's the last gasp of winter. Especially since I just got a great Eileen Fisher black silk sleeveless ballet dress (wholesale! From this Spring's line!) and I can't wait to wear it. Even if it does require me to actually shave my legs. (Sorry, TMI, I know.)
Aussiegirl, sorry to hear about the cyclone! We get a couple of hurricanes that bash their way up the coast each year, and I've sat through quite a few storms, but never a direct hit, which is alway scary.
At least my snowdrops are in bloom--very appropriate, given today's weather....

Oh, the weather here is just beautiful!! Sunny, no clouds, and a balmy 74 F. First nice day since the begining of November. You can tell spring is coming when you see people mowing thier lawns for the first time in months. Glorious sun, how I've missed you!! My 6th period English class actually convinced our teacher to hold class outside. It was wonderful. I'm sorry to hear that so many of you are getting crappy weather. I'll try to find a Fed Ex box big enough to send some sun down to you!!

Okay Hildy what's a snowdrop? I think you mentioned crocuses or something the other day too, please explain for us here in the Antipodes. Your dress sounds great! Where are you going to wear it to? The ballet?

Pretty glad you're having some nice weather there - doing lessons outside under a tree sounds just like the way it should be. Whereabouts are you? We're still having very hot weather here, it's usually cooled down somewhat by this time of year. My mother in law is arriving here in a couple of weeks from Montana, she'll be coming from snow etc to this heat, although she was here through a summer 8 years ago, so she knows what to expect.


ska I read the JP thread a couple of months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. There are some very funny posters there!

Well waiting for my Survivor episode to come on tonight - the one where Sue quits (it's a bummer I know all this before even watching), so have to go.

BTW where are Yogi, Dodo, and Co?

AussieGirl, snowdrops and crocuses are early-blooming spring bulbs. Snowdrops are white, crocuses are usually yellow or purple. Snowdrops especially will sometimes come up right through the last snow cover.

One of the benefits of living through a long, snowy, cold winter is the joy of seeing the spring flowers appear. It's really quite wonderful.

Hi Gang at Meet Market
Thanks for the beautiful links to spring flowers Tracey Bee. It really gave me a lift. I have yet to see any bulbs popping out of the ground in NYC, but now I will start hunting for them. It is one of the great joys of spring. The parkway on Park Avenue is filled with tulips around Easter time. It's quite a lovely sight. But nothing quite stirs the heart like the first crocus of spring peeping out of the frozen lawn, the promise of nature's richness and profusion just around the corner.

Since last Thursday, I have been dipping myself in vats of aniseptic to try to get clean after Surivivor, Apprentice, and Diana's tapes. Yuck, really. I feel like Lady MacBeth, except my spot is completely engulfing my body. Yuck.

I did see Hidalgo this weekend. Disclaimer - I love uplifting, fun entertainment. Hidalgo is really swashbuckling good fun. I took Little Yogi and his best friend, who is home for a period of time before being sent away to Pennsylvania. It was so happy, the four of us all together watching the horses race and the swords flash. A good time was had by all.

Today is Mr. Yogi's birthday! We are having lunch at Aquavit - love it. Fabulous Swedish inspired modern cuisine - very unique and delicious. Today, we are sitting in the cafe, though, because we want Swedish meatballs, and they only offer them upstairs in the cafe. I have never had Swedish meatballs, so I'm very excited. I hear that they are delicious, particularly this amazingly talented chefs version of them. Maybe we will have some Aquavit to go with them - that's some potent stuff to celebrate with, though!

Well, my poor bulbs might be having second thoughts after the past day and a half of raw, blowy snow. And I hear that this yucky weather is going to continue all week long. WTF? We have an intensely cold but not very snowy winter and now, when it's very nearly Spring, Jack Frost is having a laugh at our expense? I tell you, the Weather Gods and Goddesses have very whimsical senses of humor.
Yogi, was Viggo as deliciously snackable in Hidalgo as he was in the Ring Trilogy? That movie sounds like fun. I'm sorry to hear that Little Yogi's friend is heading to Pennsylvania--I hope that LY is able to process through his emotions without too much pain. And you guys surely know how to celebrate the important things in life! Aquavit for a birthday celebration! What fun! Did you get Mr. Yogi a pink iPod for a present? A Mets season ticket?

Viggo was darling and heroic, just as he should be, the delicious man. The only problem was he mumbled a bit when he talked, so sometimes he was difficult to understand. Any ladies (or gentleman, for that matter) that would enjoy a little fantasy of being rescued at the hands of a very sexy Viggo from a vertiable army of evil Arabian bandits, then this little film will bring hours of viewing pleasure and give you some nice material for those little fantasies. Yes, it was a pleasure!

I am ashamed to say, I did not find a nice gift for Mr. Yogi. Luckily, he is very easy going about these things. He had no wishes, desires, or suggestions, other than sleeping late this morning, which I facilitated for him. I offered to giv him a party or to buy whatever his latest electronic desire is. I would like to take him to a store with me - it's easier and that way I buy him something he likes. I was at a loss. I think this is my first gift free occasion ever. You see, he already has a season ticket to the Mets. What more could a man want?

This fickle weather. Snow-be-gone! I want a crocus!

Must ... sleep ... now ... *thonk as head falls on desk* ... *zzzzzzzzzzzzz* ....

It's icky and cold and foggy here, and the sky is this weird beige-grey color. Five or six more hours of sleep and then a nice warm bowl of soup would be so nice ....

yogi, you've never had Swedish meatballs? Oh, the horror! They're wonderful, I hope you enjoy them at Aquavit. The head chef there is supposed to be brilliant. (I have to say, though, I make a pretty darn good Swedish meatball, myownself, from my great-aunt's recipe. If you're ever in Minneapolis, I'll make you some!)

We had a freak, out-of-nowhere snowstorm yesterday during the middle of the day. The windows in my office's common area look out over downtown; I looked out yesterday at lunchtime and downtown was completely invisible. It was total whiteout for a while, and no one, no one, had predicted it. Messed up traffic something awful, and there were several accidents. Fortunately, it was well over by afternoon rush hour.

I love winter - good thing, given where I live - but I always enjoy seeing the spring flowers. My favorites are the lilacs - there's an enormous group of old, large lilac bushes in a park near my home that becomes a riot of white, lavender, and purple flowers every spring. And they smell so very beautiful.

Hi! I'm here; I just haven't posted much between taking care of real-life stuff and the server glitches...yay for the new speediness! And I'm so sorry to hear about your cyclone experience!

What RL stuff? Mainly everybody's favorite--taxes! I've found an accountant who seems very nice and specializes in creative professionals, so now I'm just frantically reordering copies of bills and statements of just about everything from last year--phone, cell, cable, credit card, bank, etc., because it didn't dawn on me that I'd need to save anything until August, when my temp position went perm as long as I was willing to be an independent contractor; before this, I've always just banged out a 1040EZ in about 10 minutes, you know? Anyway, $138 in past statement ordering fees altogether. OUCH. Let this be a lesson to save EVERYTHING! This year, thankfully, I've not only saved every bill and receipt but have them categorized in a big accordion file so I'll be set for next year.

I'm also in a real quandary about what to do about my job situation. I am honestly IN DEBT working here, but it was the first permanent thing I could find in two years. But the salary isn't that high, and the independent contracting situation means no paid time off, so there was a good six week stretch starting with Christmas where I only got a full paycheck once due to all the holidays, a snow day, yadda yadda--I had to borrow money from my parents just to make it through Jan & Feb even though I'm working full time. And then to top it off, last Thursday and Friday I was late due to hellish transportation snafus. Thursday there was a big fire on the street where I catch my bus so it was blocked off, so it was trying to figure out A. where it was rerouted and B. where it was stopping, both of which were completely random and arbitrary; then when I finally got to Union Square, all 4/5/6s were running on the local track and completely backed up. The next day the buses were fine, but the train stalled for 20 minutes between 14th & 23rd and then went express to 59th, which meant I had to doubleback. And my boss was really snippy and short with me all day as a result, which REALLY pissed me off because I apologized and offered to make up the time and that should have been the end of it. I'm a professional with 10 years' experience who has given him extremely good service for laughable pay and no benefits for 8 months because I'm scared shitless of being unemployed again; furthermore, legally, I am working these hours as a courtesy to him. If he wants to demand that I be here at and for a certain time, legally, that means I'm an employee and am misclassified.

But he's been a lot nicer this week, which is how he usually is. But still--for my own sanity, I need to move on, and therein lies the rub. I have my real estate license all set to go, and the Voice has a lot more ads looking for agents this week, probably because 4/1 should be a busy rental time. BUT--who knows how long it could be before I make my first commission? Once I start, I'll definitely be better off than I am now, but in the meantime, I'll have no income and it'll be just like being unemployed and I could wind up losing everything. So it's like a catch-22...I have the means to make more money and be happier, but I have to lose money to get there. At first I was thinking I should save money as a cushion, but honestly, I don't make enough to where I can save!!! Any suggestions?

And I'm not even going to get into possible zoning technicalities about where I live rearing their ugly head AGAIN after they were supposedly resolved last fall. I don't think anything will really come of them, but it still makes me uneasy just in case, you know? I swear sometimes my life needs to come with a life track!!!

Dodo, bubbe, you sound as crazed as I do. What with the work, questioning, debt, etc. If I wasn't sorting through my own ulcer-inducing craziness, I'd be a much better person!

Yogi hope lunch was all that & a bucket of meatballs!

You know, I think that's kind of the key to it. When only one thing is going wrong, even if it's fairly major, it's easier to deal with than when life turns into the equivalent of a pound-the-gopher game, even if it's all fairly minor. It's just easier to think and focus.

On a lighter note, I do really like that Bumble & Bumble Deeep Treatment--my hair's still pretty fried, but it definitely helps calm it down. I've used it twice so far.

Anyway, best of luck with your craziness!

Hi all! I posted a while back about the wonderful wedding details but apparently the server ate it. It sure is depressing with all this soggy snow around. Bleah.

So perhaps "M.M. Idol" forum would be more appropriate, but I just don't "know" any of them! Here is my story: I had always, pre - TwoP thought that I would make an excellent survivor contestant. Even up until Heidi I held that belief. However when she embarrassed herself for un-teacher like comments I felt that the show was not for me (although I do love camping and outdoors!). Anyway, i still love reality shows and so on and always think I would be better then whomever I am watching (for instance Mad Mad House!).

Well this weekend, in my graduate courses I found out how shabby a contestant I would be! We were all to give a 2 minute speech in front of each other (sans podium, mic, paper or other). It was filmed and then played on the Big Screen. everyone was then to critique you. When it came my turn, in front of 28 people and 3 professors...I totally forgot what I was going to say! It was pretty bad. I will admit that I am lack any confidence with that group as being the youngest and least experienced of all of them. But with the Camera on and the pressure. I could not do it. ANTM I would faint! Am. Idol, I would cry! I am not a reality contestant.

Long story short, fortunately the most outspoken and eloquent speakers in class normally were pretty bad as well. We all had another round on Sunday and it was a little better. Best yet, it is over!

Dodo - can you be a part time Realtor?

Happy Birthday Mr. Yogi!! I hope your dinner was wonderful!
I too absolutely love the spring flowers. We just moved to our new house last June and I had to leave all of my crocus, daffodils, tulips and iris at our old house. I took my little lilac tree though!! My sister bought it for me two years ago, it didn't bloom at all the first year, but last year it had about seven or eight flowers. I was so thrilled!! And they smell so heavenly! My mom has a few lilac seedlings she started for me, so this spring I'll get them planted and hopefully before long I'll have a wall of lilacs all across my back yard.
I'm sending very good thoughts your way on the employment situation Dodo. It's got to be scary thinking about taking the plunge and knowing that the money's gonna be extremely tight for a long while.
I can't wait to see Hidalgo! I absolutely loved the Rings trilogy. I thought they did an excellent job on the movies. Of course, I read the books when I was young and I loved them. In fact, when Birdboy was small, we lost our electricity once and I started reading them to him by candlelight. He just loved it! For one whole summer I read a lot of the classics (Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Treasure Island etc) by candlelight to him. It really got him interested in reading, and his grades in school were fantastic because of it.

Dodo We've just been there with the no money situation. Mr Aussie just started a job after a period of unemployment (during which we were not even eligible for any social security, due to having a little money in the bank), he's had to buy a whole heap of things (van, stock and tools), and has been doing the job for over 3 weeks now. Turns out he won't be paid for another 2 weeks. We knew that it would be awhile before we saw any money, but decided that in the long run we would be better off. We wouldn't have been able to do it without the little bit of money we had though. Is there anyway you could borrow enough to keep you going till you start to make money? It sounds like it would be worthwhile to get you out of your present situation, that just sounds untenable.

Yogi how was your dinner? And did you enjoy the Swedish meatballs?

Ricci don't let that one bad time making a speech put you off. You can overcome fears of being inexperienced and young etc, and I reckon you'll do just fine next time. We've all had times like that, but thankfully, that doesn't mean it will be like that next time.

Birdlady that was interesting to read about how your son got interested in reading. We tried for ages to get AussieBoy into books, but all he was interested in were Nintendo magazines, and technical type books. Until Harry Potter. That changed everything! He read them all, and has now read all the LOTR books and is currently reading The Hobbit. It's great that you took the time to read to your son by candlelight and helped develop this love of reading.

jennblevins hope you got some sleep! And Tracey Bee enjoy your spring flowers.

Saw Survivor last night, must say that I thought Peachy handled the whole issue very sensitively and with compassion. A lot of men might not have been so sensitive to Sue's experience (ie some of the ASS cast) but Peachy struck me as responding to her, and her anger, very delicately and with understanding. I did read somewhere that he said in an interview that around Day 21 he felt at his absolute worst in all the years he's hosted Survivor, so that would be around the time of the next episode. I guess all these unexpected departures have caused a few headaches for TPTB.

Hope Spring springs very soon for all you snow bound people, and that autumn really does visit us soon down here in the Tropics.

Princess Peachy xxx

Hi Gang at Meet Market!
Mr. Yogi's birthday was a grand success. Our little group had a wonderful lunch - Swedish meatballs are absolutely a heavenly food. Really heavenly. They were served with lingonberries and a cucumber salad. There were also whipped potatoes, which I did not eat, but looked yummy. I started with chantrelle mushroom soup. We all had an aquavit - mine was infused with vanilla, pear, and black pepper - delicious. Mr Yogi's aquavit was infused with horseradish - amazingly tasty with the Swedish meatballs. For desert, they made a Swedish birthday cake, called a princess cake. It was almost like a pudding consistency with a small cake layer on the bottom, a layer of raspberry preserves, the pudding type pastry (etherial!) and then the type of icing you have on a petit four - in emerald green! I told the waiter the cake looked like it came from Oz!
Wish you could have been there jennblevins. If the soup didn't revive you, the cake surely would have!

One day, I will surely show up at your door for a serving of your Great Aunt's version of the Heavenly Meatball, Tracey Bee. In fact, I may just make a special trip to the Minn. area for dinner one day - After all, some of my most favorite posters live up there in that region! Maybe we could convince Heidihug to bring some of those special cookies with the Divine frosting with us for desert? Oh, yum. And suctionprints can bring the funky drinks. And Babalu can just bring her sweet self. And I'll bring something fabulous from NYC. Caviar? Smoked salmon? What fun! I honestly don't think I have ever been to Minn., but since Mary Richard's hung her hat there, it must be a great place.
I'm tossing my hat in the air right now in a sort of Minn. style salute...

Or you can all come visit me in NYC - I'm sure we can find something to eat here. Heh.

My heart really goes out to you, Last Dodo. I think your boss' attitude to your being late on only two occasions was pretty unreasonable, but your probably such a good worker, your boss has come to depend on you very much. I sincerely hope you find a good situation. When I am having money worries, it really weighs on my mind terribly. I will keep my fingers crossed that you can break into that real estate market very, very soon. And while I'm at it, good back-to-work thoughts sent to suctionprints as well.

How frustrating that the server ate your wedding post, Ricci as inquiring minds want to know the details. Also, as far as the speech making is concerned, I agree with Aussie Girl, everyone gets better with experience. I'm sure you found that to be so with your teaching. I certainly did. Now, whenever I teach something for the first time, I relax knowing that each time I do it, I will get better, so I can detach a bit from first time mistakes, and relaxing helps me do a better job.

I wish someone would read to me by candlelight, birdlady. It sounds lovely. What a lucky son to have a mom like you.

Queer Eye was a shout out to our very own ska -ting- girl! Did you have costumes with sequins and sparklies? I would like to get me some of those. Heh.

Aussie Girl, I'm located in Rainier, Oregon. It's a small town on the river. We have Longview close to us, just across the Lewis and Clark bridge. We're fairly small, only about 400 people in the high school, which evens out to about 100 per class. Which reminds me, OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) is doing a feature about Rainier School District!! It's about how the budget cuts and failing levvies have affected rural schools. We are a prime example: barely any funding since our main source of taxes, a power plant called Trojan, shut down, talk of combining schools with our closest neighbors, Clatskinie, who's in the hole worse than we are. We've shut down three schools within our district in the last five years and we've been talking about cutting sports out all together. Unless someone wins an 18 billion dollar jackpot and donates it to the schools sometime soon, we're sunk. If you want to help us out at all, contact me and I'll give you our Target donation number. Email's in the profile.
Happy birthday to Mr. Yogi!! I'm glad you had fun!
Still sunny and warm....all week I think they said!

pretty I wish I could help you mate, I think it's terrible that education gets so low a priority with funding. We have much the same situation here. When the 2000 Olympics were coming up here, we lived in the State (New South Wales) that it was being held in (Sydney). To help pay for it, the Government decided to cut back hugely on health and education, among other things. So for children like my oldest son, funding that should have been allocated to him for teacher's aide support and special needs etc, was diverted to the Olympics fund. Ditto for our hospitals. Not to mention things like the appalling state of our roads (we had had literally 6 months of non stop rain in 1999) and pot holes everywhere. And when we saw many millions of dollars go up in smoke with the wonderful fireworks display, I couldn't help thinking how many people were disadvantaged by the funding cuts.

Anyway, enough of my whinging.

Sounds like you are in a nice part of Oregon. That's north of Portland, right? Isn't that where Mt St Helens is? Forgive my geography if I'm wrong. I loved Oregon, my favourite part of the US.

Yogi glad you had such a lovely meal. Sounds delicious! But somebody is going to have to explain to me what an aquavit is. Vitamins in water??? The mind boggles.....

Aquavit is an amazingly potent alcoholic beverage, Aussie Girl, with origins in Scandinavia and probably specifically Sweden. Perhaps because it is also clear, it reminds me of the grain alcohol that was so popular at southern colleges and frats, mainly for mixing with koolaid and getting the freshmen woman drunk. My first introduction to aquavit was at a very posh, very old restaurant in Stockholm when I was eighteen. I went on a business trip with my father, so it was me and about six middle aged gentlemen in dark suits. We were taken down to the restaurants private cave, but instead of housing a wine cellar as one would expect, they housed stores of aquavit, so clearly aquavit is no grain alcohol. Like brandy or cognac, it has wide and various types and qualities, and it's quite delicious and smooth as silk when the quality is good.

I always thought Oregon had rainy, overcast weather like Washington State, Pink One, yet the weather sounds lovely from your description. Did you know that Oregon is frequently mentioned in top ten list for best places to live in the US? From your descriptions, I can see why. Boston and Minn areas are also frequently mentioned on those lists. NYC is not. Mr. Yogi was surprised by that. I wasn't.

Thanks, everyone, as usual for the support and well wishes!

As far as doing RE part time, that would be an ideal situation, if it's possible. But because I work 9:30-5:30 M-F, I don't know if I would be able to have enough time to devote to both, or if either employer would go for the reduced hours. Like, if I asked my boss here if I could reduce my schedule, he might just let me go and replace me with someone who could work fulltime; plus, independent contractors aren't entitled to unemployment. I'm also afraid of interviewing and not sounding like I want to be fully committed to being an agent--which I do, eventually; I just have concerns.

Another thought was starting around the beginning of the month, once my rent was paid. That would give me a full month to come up with my first commission. With that line of thinking, I'm thinking May 1 might not be a bad time; taxes will be out of the way & I could try to save what little I can.

Definitely needs some more thought!

On a lighter note, came up with the following mondegreen this morning for "Sunday Morning" by No Doubt when I was only halfway paying attention:

Actual lyric: You came in with the breeze on Sunday morning...
Mondegreen: You came in with Febreze on Sunday morning...

Awww, yogi, you're the sweetest. But you already know I think that.

Hi to friends old and new. As yogi mentioned, I live in Minnesota and I've actually met suctionprints! (Nice job on the transit strike blog, s.p. - and very thoughtful comment, TraceyBee.)

Yogi - there used to be an Aquavit restaurant here. I wonder if the chef has relocated? He's an African-born Swedish man (black but adopted by Swedish parents) named Marcus Samuelsson (?). I am going to visit you in NYC - I hope for TARCon, but that depends on Mr. Lu's schedule.

AussieGirl and Ricci and The Last Dodo and other "new" friends - I've enjoyed getting to know you by reading your posts. I figured it's time to introduce myself to you! I'm a mid-level bureaucrat, so I'm pretty boring, really, but I love to read and I love my husband and my family and my two cats and snorkeling. And I love my old friends skachickie, who's the whootiest whoot, and Hildy.

Dodo that's a great lyric revision
BabaLUUUUU! mad crazy props over to you, just because!
Aussie, glad to hear our government isn't the only one which makes questionable budget cuts that hurt a lot of people. Speaking of, there's a piece on Salon.com from a DOD insider (worked 20 yr Pentagon) who retired early in disgust at the current admins reason d'war. If you're not so much pro war you might want to check it out (definitely worth sitting through the 20 second ad).

Oh and computers? Grrrr....if my computer wasn't my only method to complete my work, it would have been smashed in one zillion billion pieces today. Bad computer. BAAADDD. I have affirmations on my printer to remind it not to do bad things, especially when deadlines approach...might need to get some for the hard drive.
Have good evenings, all y'alls. all.

Thanks for the sympathy, Aussie Girl. I definitly understand how you feel about the funding, it's horrible how governments can do that to education and health systems.
Yogi, usually Oregon does have about the same weather as Washington State. In fact, it's suppose to be quite nice all week. But contrary to popular beliefs, it does not rain here all the time, and it's not always cold. Summers are usually nice, with 90 degree temperatures a lot of the time.
Dodo, I'm loving the lyrics!! skagirl, I'm feeling you about the computers. Grr.
Hi to Babalu!! Hope everyone's had a great day!

Hi Babalu and welcome to our little group here. And please don't worry -you don't sound a bit boring! In fact, I'd say that out of all of us, I seem to lead the most boring life. I'm not currently working, just a stay at home mum (yes, that's how we spell it here) and not much else happening in my little old life. But I too love chatting here with all these great people.

pretty you're right about the lovely summers in Oregon - it was 90 every day when I was there, except in Coos Bay where it suddenly dropped to 62 - brrrr. Did I mention that I love Oregon? Yeah, I know I did, but I really do. I would like to live there one day.

ska I hope your computer is behaving itself now.

Hey Gang at Meet Market!
Hugs to Babalu! Can't wait to do it in person, when you come to NYC. Doesn't matter when, this is the city that never sleeps, so if TARcon doesn't work with Mr. Lu's schedule, we'll just celebrate and feast another time. (But as I do sleep, you will have to continue any feasting and celebrating after midnight without me.) As any RL friend of mine can tell you, I am always ready to help a friend with all aspects of celebration, relaxation and rejuventation. I can't wait to see your beautiful self!

Marcus Samuelsson is indeed the fabulous chef at Aquavit. He interviewed that he learned to cook from his Swedish grandmother. I loved that! I told Mr. Yogi yesterday, I think he is one of my most favorite chefs. Even though I have eaten at his restaurant many times, I still find his flavors delightful and his menu always includes something fanciful and new. He manages to keep it fresh and new without being fussy and overdone.

Miss skagirl - I hope that your computer is cooperating with you today. I find computers completely mystifying, so I am of no help. I tried to clean information off a computer once to give it away and ended up completely trashing the hard drive. It's very depressing, but that's what I get for talking trash about computers for all those many years. (Whilst everyone else was writing their thesis on computers, I was still holding on to an old electronic typewriter. I felt that computers were warping the soul of academia.) I believe that the computers remember and hold a grudge against me. And no, I'm not paranoid, why do you ask?

Enjoy your beautiful day, Pretty in Pink. Drink in a little sunshine for your buddies at the Meet Market!

Welcome, Babalu! And look forward to meeting you eventually!

Speaking of NYC and TWoPCons, there's going to be an NYC TWoPCon next Thursday where Sars, Miss Alli, and djb will be doing readings. Actually, come to think of it--yogi, do you go to the TWoPCons? Because I don't think we've ever met--would love to actually meet you!

Yogi, that meal sounds fantastic! I really should go to more interesting restaurants. Mr. Blevins' parents will be in town next week so we will probably eat out some more, but we usually end up at places like Red Robin. And I'll probably end up cooking for them some, too, which has been making me nervous for weeks, because Mr. Blevins' mum is a great cook and her food is very different than mine -- heavy on meat, light on spice. I'm not sure what I should cook that they'll enjoy. Also, it turns out my tiredness and desire for soup was really the first twinges of the flu, so I stayed home from work yesterday and now I feel 300% better.

pretty in pinki, I used to live sort of near you! I found the weather in Salem to be different than the weather in my (current) part of Washington -- it rained less often in Oregon but the rain was heavier when it did. Of course there are exceptions, like the time it rained for the entire month of November.

Dude. Of course they do. Just like copy machines remember when you make snide remarks about the smudges they left on your Annual Report, and jam spectacularly when you're in the middle of a copy job consisting of 10 copies of 27 double-sided pages that you need for an important meeting that started five minutes ago.