Hi everyone!

Back in town and checking in! Going to go back and review a few days worth of the thread and then go from there.

Trig- Is it this Friday coming up that you are going to Helen? I hope you enjoy it! The weather should be perfect for it.

Glad to hear your DD is feeling better. Seems like maybe she avoided getting sick by getting some extra rest. Smart girl!

Super well done on the weight loss that you have going on. Very pleased for you!!

Blue- So very glad you had such a wonderful time with your Boy-o. It must be so nice to see him thriving and growing in so many ways. I could just hear your pride and happiness!

BTW even though I hate realistic violence in movies, for some reason that doesn't apply so much to horror movies. Love The Shining and also the Sixth Sense, among others. Glad you got to show him a little REDRUM!

RE: the Dogger-- look into Rover. com. You could likely either have her at someone else's house, or even better, given her limitations, have someone come and stay at your house so she is in her familiar environment. We use Rover with good results.

The art show sounds great and a really nice way to spend a cold and miserable day. I am looking forward to hitting the holiday season craft shows! Also, added Ladies in Black to my watchlist on Amazon.

Jaz- How are you feeling from the statin so far? Any noticeable effects one way or the other?

Good on you for getting some walks in! And your roast sounded SO GOOD!

I'm so glad you like your dishwasher. May it serve you well for many years! BTW, I put a request in for that book (2A.) Sounds interesting!

GOOD ON YOU for getting applications in! You never take anything lying down. You are WOMAN!

Lori- As always you are leading the band with your exercise and movement. That is such a strength for it. I do it (walks or hikes etc) inconsistently or in spurts but I don't love it or crave it the way you do. I wish I did!

It will be nice to have a shiny clean detailed car!!

How cool about the banquet! Groundbreaking woman!

Promposals- I've definitely heard of them, with my kids being school age during that period. I always encouraged mine to go low key with that kind of thing and DS21 heeded that. DS17 hasn't taken a girl to prom yet so we've not had to contend with it, as Prom is only Jrs and Srs, and he went with a group last year.
DS21 definitely did do cute/sweet things but nothing expensive or huge.

ALL- Those of you taking COQ10, what brand do you use, and what purpose does it serve?

Also ALL- am I the only one who is still having to deal with TOM? Am I all alone on this boat?


••••••

I got back last Saturday night and then pretty much had to hit the ground running on Sunday. The fridge was quite literally empty- I should show you guys a pic. We don't keep a ton of stuff in there anyway but usually there is something on each shelf at least, you know- fruit for DS17, leftovers of some kind, etc. I looked at my DH and was like "Do you seriously not know where the market IS?"

I had to go shop anyhow bc I had a potluck to attend Sunday evening. I brought an app and a dessert. In the middle of that was the Ravens game- we won, yay! I think we are still first in our division, even though our playing is uneven.

The potluck was fine but honestly I was pretty tired. I felt a little disconnected, a little out of it. Had trouble focusing on it all after a while. Came home and collapsed to bed pretty early and slept well.

Today I'm taking a bit of downtime for the first half of the day. Watered the landscaping, did a load of laundry, that kind of thing. I'm babysitting for a couple of hours this afternoon. Today is a DD and a welcome one as I enjoyed a variety of food, drink and sweets on my trip to TX.

Picked up about five 4-hour shifts between now and when we leave for Amsterdam, from 4-8. I do love those 4-8 shifts. I get my whole day and then a little money in my pocket in the late afternoon/evening. DS17 has worked several shifts now and apparently will be scheduled about 3 days a week. I think that is a good amount of time, so he will have time for school work, friends, sleep etc as well. One of the days is Saturday. He said he would prefer to work Sunday over Saturday and he may be able to land that shift at some point- he needs to develop some seniority first. He says he likes the people he is working with.

Did I tell you guys that I reserved all of our lodging for our trip? We are using an apartment in Amsterdam that looks really nice. I worked out a discount deal with the owner that is a win-win for each of us- he makes a little extra and we get two nights free- by holding the apartment for the duration of the trip. Then we have another apartment in Bruges, Belgium, and will stay one night in Brussels, Belgium. Exciting!!

Not much else to report. Might take a short walk today but more than likely will hold off and then take a walk with my little babysitting babe to the park and back instead. Lovely day for it and she would enjoy it also. I'm also going to suck up my courage and drop a note in one neighbor's mailbox (the one who has the newborn already but also lives with her parents) and also stop by my other neighbor's house and give her a note to pass along to her son and his wife, who are expecting their first child. Just reaching out a feeler but without getting too all-in-their-face. It's sort of strange when dealing with neighbors who aren't asking for your services, but still wanting to promote my business!