Rob's Halfway House - #10

[Tornado]

We're celebrating my birthday a little early this afternoon, with our extended family coming over for cake! It's about the only day we can do it since my birthday falls in the middle of the week this year. And tomorrow's out because we'll be back up at Ipswich painting again, although I won't be painting this time. One parent of each family is going to look after the kids while everyone else does the painting. We're having a barbecue lunch up there afterwards too, so I've got to organise that today.

Songbird - I hope your performance went well. There seem to be a few people here at the HH who can sing. Maybe we should form a choir - a long distance one!

Jaclyn - I look forward to seeing it. It will be so cute when your flowergirls try on their dresses! Yes, most women in Australia still wear veils over their faces when they get married. I did.

Susie - Wow, a BD sleepover! What a good idea! Yes, I shouldn't worry so much about Little Man. I really upset him yesterday when he wouldn't tell me what had happened at school. I should have just shut my mouth.

[openfire]

Quick 2 second post to say how much I love my friends!! They are just so very lovely - we always have the best banter!!

Now I must go to bed! Gotta get up in a few hours....

See ya!

[older_twilight_fan]

Hello everyone~ TGIF....now that it's almost over.

Missp~ It's almost officially your birthday. Happy early birthday--I tried to share the Taycob love too in your honor

Lynne~ I hope you have a nice time celebrating your birthday early with extended family. I agree with Susie that it's kind of natural for Little Man not to recall specifically everything he did at school. And part of that could be his personality too. My daughter (turning twelve tomorrow) could talk non-stop for hours about what she did at school, whereas my much less verbose ten-year old son would give me a monosyllabic answer in response to my questions, and it's often like pulling teeth to find out his day was. I like the idea of us forming the long distance HH choir--too funny.

Sean~ How was your meeting with the job placement service group/or whatever they're called?

Ashley~ How was your GED exam, and when will you learn the results? Good luck taking the ACT exam soon. Do you have any idea to which colleges you're interested in applying? Good luck with that whole tedious process.

Caryn~ Thanks for sharing those pictures with us--that's so cool and I'm glad you had a good time. I think I recently posted this reponse to someone else, but sometimes we try to accomplish so much at home on our days off work, that it's almost a relief to go back to work.

Susie~ Have a blast at your Breaking Dawn Part 1 Viewing Redux--what a great idea.....and the French bakery/cafe sounds like the perfect way to start the morning. I didn't see Bridesmaids but heard it was hilarious--guess I'll have to put it in the Netflix queue. Speaking of the warm salt water for the colds....have you ever tried one of those Nettie Pots (sp?) for clearing out the sinus congestion? It personally sounds kind of icky, but I've heard many people who say they swear by them. This warm weather is really strange--it was in the 60's here today. The kids are already being hit with spring fever and many are wearing shorts to school. Everyone will have a very hard time dealing with the cold....if it ever actually turns cold. I'll probably pick up my BD DVD at Target too. It's where I've bought the first three DVD's, and I've been happy enough with those versions. I'm so glad you're taking advantage of the time off work to allow yourself some relaxation and rejuvenation time. That's great news the physical therapy sessions and exercises are helpful, and that you're already off your crutches! I had hoped your recovery might be a little less painful this time around.

Brenda~ That's good news that you received your certification and are working more, although I know that makes it more difficult to keep family time a priority too. Exactly what type of certification(s) is/are required for your field? Good for you trying to catch a little more shut-eye.

Grayce M.~ Glad to see you around the Halfway House. I'd love to have that gorgeous picture of Rob's bare back hanging in my bedroom, although hubs would probably have a little something to say about that.

Jaclyn~ I'm glad you had an enjoyable evening with your friends tonight, and bet you can't wait to see those adorable nieces try on their flower girl dresses tomorrow. Your veil sounds lovely. Most brides I know from here don't wear the veil over their face in this day and age, although I think it's kind of a neat tradition. Enjoy spoiling yourself with your mini facial tomorrow. I've never had one either....just pedicures and massages and I surely love those. I too love irises (or is the plural "iris"?) and my bridesmaids carried them in their bouquets and wore dresses that were a deep purple color. We look forward to seeing pictures of everything after your wedding. I think you'll be beautiful in a strapless dress as they're so classic and elegant.

Songbird~ I hope you feel better and are able to nip that cold in the bud soon. I've heard Susie swears by her salt water gargle. That's wonderful news that your friend is "still" pregnant, and what a delightful surprise after they'd been trying to conceive for some time. When my Mom was pregnant with me (which was in the late 60's--way before the days of the routine ultrasound), the doctors actually thought she miscarried very early in her pregnancy as well. She continued to have some weird symptoms, and the doctors thought for a short time she might actually have some type of tumor....which turned out to be "me", when they finally heard a fetal heartbeat. The only conclusion the could come to is that I may have had a twin, but the other fetus wasn't viable and she miscarried. I hope you had fun singing at your fellow choir member's birthday party--what sort of songs is the group singing? That's a bummer that the BD Part I DVD won't be available there until March.

Marielle~ How is your weather--did you drive home in the snow?

Desiree~ I hope you had an enjoyable birthday. We miss your more regular posting, but understand how real life gets in the way, especially where little ones are involved. We're just happy to see you whenever you have a chance to check in with us.

[Chernaudi]

Hi everyone

Susie, Songbird & TracyMy meeting went better than I thought it would. It turns out why I didn't hear from my counselor earlier is that my previous one misspelled my email address, so I never got any email messages. At least they seem ready to help me find a job or something if I want them to help.

Jaclyn: I'm sorry, but I can really offer my services as far as helping out with your wedding. I can cook, but not that good with like cakes and what not. I can help out with fashion if I can see the items, but otherwise, I can only do makeup, and I don't know if I can be of use there. Sorry, but I can maybe help out on like dresses and stuff I can see them.

Marielle: I sent you a PM about my meeting and such. I'm not in urgent need of your help now, but I'd save it (unless things change) as a future reference.

Everyone: I also found some things at my mom's store that she said that she'll try and pick up tomorrow. I already got a thing of pork chops and I'll soon have another 1-2 things of chicken breast, along with some taco stuff.

I know that this is a short message, but after I got back from that stuff, I've done nothing but sleep until a few hours ago. So I haven't done too much today, and I haven't found much of anything new or interesting to write about.

Also, have any of you had plums or anything with plums in them?

I'll be back later

[Tornado]

We had a nice time this afternoon with delicious chocolate mud cake covered by curls of chocolate and chocolate covered profiteroles. Yum!!

Tracy - yes, I will lighten up a bit on him, and be glad when I can get something out of him. Otherwise I won't stress.

[Chernaudi]

Oh, and I just found this at the bottom of the page, but happy birthday Tonise

[marielle]

Hey everybody!!!

Just a quick message from me... I'm going to the shopping center in a few to have a look at a ski outfit for my bf and a pair of warm pants for me.
I got home safely yesterday but it's one big mess on the roads and public transport here in Holland. Just 2 inches of snow and the whole country os messed up...

I'll do a long post tonight...

[marielle]

Hey everybody…

Hello from a white freezing cold The Hague… I’m so happy that at least the HH is always warm and cozy…
Yesterday was a horror driving home. I got home safely but I almost hit a pedestrian, the stupid woman thought that a car could easily stop once the traffic light jumps on red and hers on green but they were synchronized so close to each other that I could brake on time while she just started to walk. Luckily I was able to steer bit.

Today my bf and I went into the city, I bought 3 new trousers… all a bit of that skinny model but I got a red one and purple and black,..

Now posts…

Sean, thanks for your pm, I’ll need more info when you are ready for it. It doesn’t kill having more people help you.

Songbird, how is it at your side of the country??? Did you get a lot of snow? I bet it was cold last night. They measured the coldest temp in 27 years… I was 1 year old back than!!
Are you able to ice skate?
I understand women could get intimidated by the men in a gym but you can also use it, all those sexy ripped guys, you will want to get in shape with them around…

Jaclyn, when do you have your Hen night? And have you decided on the flowers yet?

Susie, you get to see BD again!!! Big thumbs up… here in Holland it was still shown last week in regular schedule but I think it’s now out because the dvd release is near…
I loved Mrs Streep in that movie with Alec Boldwin. That was really funny.

Tracy, I was really freaked out by the idea of driving through the snow but then I remembered I had done it before in much worse weather, so I just did it and took it easy…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TONISE!!!!! I hope you have fun today,…

I’m going to shut down the laptop soon… I feel a headache coming and I should take it easy on the laptop time,…
See you all tomorrow…

[Songbird]

Jaclyn, sounds like a good time with your friends. I love Chinese!! When I was younger, I wouldn’t touch the stuff, but now it’s one of my favorites. What’s the difference between a mini facial and a regular one? The only facials I’ve ever had are through Mary Kay parties, but they make your skin feel so soft! Love it! Hope you enjoy it! The movie Bridesmaids is HILARIOUS, but Susie is right…the scene with looking at dresses is over the top disgusting! That makes sense about the dress…I’m sure you’ll ROCK it though, strapless or not! And you can pull a Bella with the shoes…practicing before hand.

Sean, I agree with Jaclyn…even if it’s not a job you really are thrilled doing, it would be money….better than nothing. Plus, for some weird reason, it’s easier to get a job while you already have a job. So if you could get ANY job, even at a fast food place, you could be looking for something more in your interests and would stand a better chance of finding something. My husband and I both have university degrees (my husband has the equivalent of a Masters) and we have worked as stockers in grocery stores, at McDonalds, I currently work a few hours in a warehouse, and my husband has worked in a window factory. You do what you have to do to pay the bills and hope something better comes along, which it always seems to. I’m glad to hear that it was just a mistake that was causing your problems with the group though. Perhaps now you’ll get more out of it! And plums are great! They can be pretty sweet if they are ripe, but can also be really tart if they aren’t. The skin is usually pretty tart. The darker the skin, the sweeter they will be.

Tonise, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! The nice thing about an international group like this is that your birthday starts sooner somewhere (where Lynne is, for example) and ends later somewhere else (anyone in California?), so you get an extra long birthday to enjoy! Live it up!!

Susie, I’m so jealous that you are seeing BD again!! Have a great time and enjoy your sleepover! And a French bakery?? Good for you, spoiling yourself! I gargled with salt water this morning. It does seem to have reduced the swelling in my throat…or SOMETHING did. I’ll have to keep it up. I actually miss the snow, if you can believe that. Wyoming is a lot like where you are…when my dad called yesterday morning, he told me it was in the upper 20s there, and had gotten up to the lower 40s a few days before…for once, it was colder HERE than it was back “home”. That almost never happens.

Caryn, it’s so good to see you, even briefly! You were very productive from the sounds of it! I finally got my Christmas tree down on Thursday (have I mentioned I HATE Christmas lights? They are the biggest pain in the patootie! I think it took me over an hour to get them properly wound up, not in a big wad) and then I got my husband to put it all away in the shed and we got rid of all the old paper (newspapers, junk mail, advertisements) in the recylcling bins. So I finally got some cleaning done…it needed to be done, but it sure is exhausting!

Lynne, Happy Birthday to you, too, since you are celebrating it now! What’s a couple of days, right? Our performance was actually kind of a disaster, but fun. We SHOULD get a choir together here. Just for fun. Mmmmm…..mud cake!

Tracy, Bridesmaids is HILARIOUS! The one scene is totally gross, but the movie over all is soooo fun! I LOVE Melissa McCarthy in it. She totally deserves the Oscar nomination. She was brilliant! My friend swears by her nettie pot, but I’ve read you have to be careful to use only boiled or distilled water because a few people have died from just using tap water that contained some kind of bacteria. What a great story that you were the “tumor”. I had never heard of something like that until it happened to my friend this week. So wild! In my choir, we do a pretty wide range of songs. Right now we’re learning Adele’s “Rolling in the deep”. Before that, we did Caro Emerald’s "Night like this” (which I highly recommend looking up on youtube, since I’m pretty sure she’s Dutch and you won’t have heard of her). We also sing Bonjovi’s “It’s my life”, Queen’s “Somebody to love”, we have a Sister Act medley, we have a couple of Dutch songs, “Ice Queen” from the band I can’t remember the name of now that Marielle was talking about...just a lot of different stuff really.
Last night we did Ice Queen and we were supposed to do “Homeless” (Paul Simon) but the performance didn’t go so well and we ended up not being able to do it. And then one of the members changed the words of a Dutch song, Het Masker (Nick en Simon) to fit Wijnand (birthday boy).

Marielle, glad you made it home safe. It always amuses me here how everyone freaks out with just a bit of snow. We’re so used to it back home. I remember when I first got over here and I was living with my in-laws and it snowed, and everyone was just amazed that we had gotten a LOT of snow. And I looked and it was only a couple of inches, about what we’d get in an hour or so in a storm back home. I took pictures and put them on my website (when I had one) next to one of “a lot of snow” in Wyoming. Anyway, I wanted to go out because it was Koopavond and my in-laws tried to tell us we couldn't POSSIBLY go out because of all the snow. I was like... "Um...if I stayed inside every time we had this much snow on the ground in Wyoming, I wouldn't be able to leave my house for about 9 months of the year. I think I'll be ok." But it really does shut everything down here! It wasn't too bad here.. I think we got over an inch, but a lot of it melted off today. I haven't been ice skating since I was...15? And that was not my most stellar experience ever. My husband refuses to even try it, so I don't suppose I'll find out any time soon if I am capable anymore.

Have I mentioned I LOVE cinnamon rolls? I made some this morning and they are so lovely and sweet and gooey. Happiness!

Our performance last night was…an adventure. It was in a town about 15 minutes away, so not far, but of course, you have to go on the highway and it snowed yesterday, so everyone was a bit edgy about driving, etc. But first off, our director apparently had the wrong address and never showed up. She didn’t have any phone numbers with her to ask for the correct address. So she just never made it. Then, we were about ready to perform when it was discovered that the person responsible for the CD with the accompaniment had forgotten to bring the CD. And her husband couldn’t bring it because he had to stay home with the kids. And they live on the opposite end of town, so it was a 30 minute drive from their house to the performance point. So they had to have someone else’s husband drive over to the person’s house, pick up the CD and drive it to us…about 45 minutes. Whoops. And one of the songs is a cappela, and the director of course has the tuning fork. So without the director, we had no beginning pitch. We tried to get it by feel, but it was a disaster and we just decided not to do it. So, we sing our first one, and then a guy comes up and announces that he’s leaving because his wife had had a stroke at some point in her life, which affected her hearing or something and she can’t handle music/noise. So she had had to leave the room for the first bit of music, but it was in a hall and the only other place for her to go was the café part, which was closed. So we had to stop the performance so Wijnand could say goodbye to them and see them off before we could sing our other number. Then on the last number, which we had adapted to fit Wijnand, there was a line that only the men were supposed to sing, and one of the women belted out the first half of before she remembered she wasn’t supposed to sing…everyone laughed of course, it was really amusing, but not very professional sounding and of course it was really embarrassing for her. Over all, I’d say it was not the best performance ever. But it was fun.
My husband is driving me CRAZY today. He's usually pretty mellow, but he is snapping about EVERYTHING today and I'm about to smack him. Well...he just apologized, so I suppose I have to forgive him...at least he realizes he's being a grumpus. Maybe it's the weather?

[missp]

Hi, Y'all!! Thanks for all my B'day well wishes and RobCrack!! Between the Lex, FB, and texts and calls from non-tekkies... I am feeling the LOVE today! I have a trip to GiGi's planned this afternoon for a cupcake... or two! We are having Mexican for dinner and Dairy Queen for dessert. Then, some of us are going dancing at a local watering hole later tonight. One of our fave bands - The Booty Shakers are playing. They do a great mix of 70's and 80's! Somewhere in there, I may venture out to the Verizon store and check out the possibilities of an iPhone. So... it's been and will be a great day!

I am sooooo sorry I stink so badly at keeping up with the mega posts! I actually really did have every intention of coming in last night and doing a catch-up post, but I nodded off at the keyboard somewhere between FB and here! So... it didn't happen! But, I have read all of your posts and want all of you to know how truly BLESSED I consider myself to have Y'all in my life!

I am off to put another load of laundry in to dry! Have a great afternoon!