Hey girls! Guess what??? I got my very own computer for x-mas!!! I've been trying to set it up for internet to be shared between computers, but I ran into some complications. :)

I hope everyone had great holidays, and will have a happy and safe new years!!

I'll DEFINATELY pop in tomorrow since I'm off work and catch up with everyone

Teri - Thanks SO SO SO MUCH for your Christmas card!!! :)

Jen - I'll get back w/ you tomorrow. I'm having internet/email probs, but hopefully soon I'll be able to chat w/ ya on AIM!! :)

Everyone else! Have a great day!

Oh.....and one more cool bit of info. My dad got a new monitor for his computer (so I could have the old one) and on his new one you can watch TV in the corner of the monitor while you're surfing online, it's THE coolest thing! I still haven't been able to catch Rick on in a while. Saw Rick F, but not THE Rick. :( BUT with my computer now being in my room I can watch TV while surfing the net. Hopefully I'll be doing more of that now. I think I'm gonna take a semester off of school and earn some extra $$$

Anyway I'll see you guys tomorrow! :)

Hey girls!
I don't know if ya'll caught Sunday Best, but they had some 'flashbacks' of Rick & Greg (& others) in Iraq. They're having a best of 2003 thing on there. The segment appeared about 10-15 minutes in. Also- Fox Magazine is doing a similar program- a best of. They will probably be on there too, but I'll most likely miss it (due to the time it's on- during our primetime here- I get to watch Sunday Best, but with Geraldo in between that & Fox Magazine, it makes it hard for me to see both....). Anyway....both shows repeat tonight/early tomorrow morning in case you missed them when they're first on. Hope all are well! :-)

Hey gals!!
Hope everyone had a great Christmas!! I think I've gotten another cold (it's fairly mild) so I'm just kicking back & taking it easy. We got a new sofa, 20" flat screen tv, and sconce lights for the main salon area of the boat, so we're actually living out here now too for a change- we used to spend most of our time in the back cabin. Yesterday we moved the computer stuff (printer, modem) in here & it's much easier & more comfy now to get on the computer. I'm using a bed tray in the recliner right now. I would have probably made a chiropractor pass out with the way I was sitting before, LOL. I got to catch Rick on Fox Report on Christmas Eve - I actually got home in time to see the *entire* FR program! I also caught him Christmas day & yesterday...I believe. Greg was reporting today about the mad cow disease in WA.

Jayel- I believe I missed the sculpture story Rick had, but the sculpture sounds really moving. I think I caught Todd that day (Dec. 18) on FR- he did look good. I missed the Lou Dobbs report about the illegals. I would have to say "it figures" about what you said about the UCLA study & how they recommended that non-citizens be allowed to vote in CA. Argh. It just figures they would suggest that. I say, "fine- then UCLA can host these people in *their* homes and pay for all their kids & healthcare, etc." LMAO- I saw the bit about James Rosen on F&F that day- about his mother & all. He *is* really funny. You know what? Blogger was *really* super odd that day (the 24th). Your post actually showed up twice- I thought mine wasn't there, so I kept retyping and then did a "copy" & paste, and posted again. And again. And again. When I finally scrolled down, I noticed that I had like 8 posts below Sherry's. I have *no* idea why it's posting that way but I wish it'd stop, LOL!

Denise- Girl, I meant to reply to your post before- I've been so busy the last week or so at work. I wanted to send an e-card too. That would've been nice to send a general holiday card 'signed' by all of us to Rick and whomever else we wanted to.

Sherry- About the Survivor winner, I was sort of surprised- I was more hopeful that Sandra would win- and was a little surprised that Lil didn't get it for the sympathy factor. LOL, OK- what did you do to blogger? Why is your post from the 23rd at the top? It was funny, 'cause on the 24th, I didn't think anyone had posted yet & then I thought I was losing my posts- they were all below yours- LOL! I hope you had a great time at your parents house! I can't believe your hubby has to work on Christmas Day! :-( Congrats on the "A's" for your classes! That's great! AND congrats on the 30.6 lb total weight loss! :-) I *will* get back down to my maintenance weight- that's my New Year's resolution. Once I get over this cold, I'm going to excercise and NOTHING- not even Krispy Kremes will sway me from budging from my plan! :-) I'm sorry to hear that your temp job boss is a jerk. That's so mean and uncool to reprimand people like that- in front of everyone and not even giving people a chance. I guess he thinks he's perfect.... hang in there! Hopefully (and would like to think "fortunately") that type of boss is rare- he sounds like he's on the extreme. LOL about thinking of me when you saw Todd on last weekend- I *think* I caught that- but I'm not sure- this last week's been a blur. We were more busy than usual last weekend (with getting the sofa & lights & stuff). He sure has been missing in action.

Teri- I'm sorry you missed the quake, but glad you're OK! :-) I think I was sitting at my desk at work- but didn't feel it. You probably just thought you hit a pothole, LOL! Glad your kids were ok & did what they were told. I've always heard that animals act oddly before an earthquake....but what if your pet is just odd all of the time? ;-p The candlelight service sounds like it will be (was) beautiful!

Jen- Of course we noticed that it's been awhile since you've posted! Girl, you need to post more often! :-) Sonoma & Napa are considered wine country- but maybe Napa is more notable? They had reports that people in Sacramento (northeast of Sonoma) felt it, but I don't know. I suppose it just depends on the type of land you're on. They have lots of minor earthquakes around the towns of Clearlake and Humboldt. He probably knows where those towns are. Sonoma isn't too far from where we are- maybe 30 miles? What kind of dog do you have? I meant to ask you that before, but keep forgetting.... the "Santa tale" was cute- LOL, I think I would've been like "I'm not *your* little girl, Santa!" LOL. That would actually be kinda creepy to me. It sounded like fun though- good answer in the end! :-)

Nan-Wow, I'm just amazed that you felt that quake so much being 300 miles away. Never underestimate the power of mother nature! I don't think anyone felt it in our office- no one's commented on it at all. Of course, our family duly called us that night to "make sure we were ok", LOL! I have to laugh because neither of us felt it. I know they worry, though. They hear "earthquake in CA" and it's like Pavlov's Response- they call to make sure we're OK. Kevin's son didn't feel it in Fresno, but then again, maybe he wasn't really paying attention- LOL!

Anyway.....so I hope ya'll are having a good after-Christmas weekend! I had a long weekend (4 day) and have another next week- our company was super generous this year and gave us TWO four day weekends in a row! Not sure if that will ever happen again while I'm there, so I'm soaking it up for all it's worth. Oh yeah- my stepson is supposed to be proposing to his girlfriend tonight- I'll let ya'll know what happens. They won't get married till he's done with school (another 4 years)- which is a smart decision considering everything that they need to work out/work on in that time.
Later!!

Just another quick postie! (disclaimer before I start writing away)- the vp of our underwriting dept opened up a couple of bottles of wine (white) for a little celebration....I've had about 2....working on three. MIND you though, these are SMALL cups. I'm not a white wine person- I prefer red, but this was pretty good. And I'm feeling pretty good- perhaps the *BEST* I've ever felt at work! ;-) LOL! Hmm....Rick in a leather jacket- sounds like a mighty fine sight! Doubt that I'll get home in time for FR though & I didn't set the vcr. There's always tomorrow or Friday though. I can't think of anyone that a leather jacket *doesn't* look good on. Anyway.....gotta eat my sandwich and get back to work!

Hey girlies!
Just a quick post to say HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!! I'm at work.....ick. Anyway, I wanted to send each of you e-cards but only have some of your email addresses here at work. I have Sherry's, Melissa's, Jen's, Leslie's, and Jan's- if you other girls check in, please email me- I don't want to leave anyone out! I can check my home email from here, but unfortunately I didn't import my address book from the old computer to the new one yet & I didn't import the old addy book to the sbc/yahoo email. So......
If all else fails, EVERYONE HAVE A VERY MERRY AND SAFE CHRISTMAS!! ;-)

Hey Teri! Did you feel the earthquakes??? It looks like there were 5 earthquakes around your area between 11:15 and 11:45! It looks like the biggest was 6.4 at 11:15 & all the others are aftershocks between 3.3 & 4.0- that's the largest I've seen in awhile around here in CA! Be careful what you wish for- now look what you've done! Just kidding! But *seriously*, I hope you're all OK.

Nan- did you feel it?? I'm thinking you may be too far south & west to have felt it.....there's been reports that people here felt it (at the SF Federal bldg), but I know I didn't feel it myself.

I'll post more later.....

EDIT: There's been even *more* aftershocks reported- I get earthquake emails for 3.0's & above- I've gotten 15 so far..... and those aren't even including the minor minor aftershocks. I'll bet there's been hundreds of those (like 1.0 to 2.9).

Hey gals!
Dang- I *knew* I should have set the VCR- just ran out of time. I set it yesterday, but didn't watch. Oh well! Tomorrow I'll set it. Good thing is, that Cavuto repeats at 10 PM my time :-) Looks like he was on in the first 20 minutes, which is even better- I think I can make it up to 10:20 (I hope!!). Green sweater AND green shirt, huh?? That is really.....weird- I mention it yesterday & lo and behold.....maybe he's checking out the old blog, LOL! J/K!

Jayel- Thanks for the Rick sighting & ratings! Fox is still kicking butt- YAY! ;-) I agree- it'd be nice to see him with the troops again, but then it can be very dangerous. I hope they all stay safe! You know, I was thinking the same thing- that it would have been great if Rick had been the one to do the rat hole thing- but still, it was interesting to see that video. Gave a great perspective to the whole situation of how they got Saddam. Thanks for the compliments on the cross- it really does look very impressive in person. I can look up through the back 'window' or hatch and see it at night. Reminds me of more of the true meaning of Christmas.

AH- Thanks for the Rick update too! :-)

Teri- I got the package yesterday- finally! Only took one week to go from the Monterey area to the SF Bay area- I could have done the whole trip on foot in that time, LOL! Oh well, it *IS* a busy mail season.....

OK- need to get back to work! Hopefully I'll get home in time to catch one of Rick's reports on Fox Report or one of the later shows......Later!

Hey Gals!
Nothing like Saddam's capture to get everyone to come out of the woodwork! ;-) It is *truly* a wonderful day!

OK- I've posted some pix of our boat with the lights (and the giant cross). You should be able to click here lights. There's only 5 pix up of the boat- they're the last two. If that doesn't work, go here Myst of Avalon, click on 'pictures' and then 'Excalibur'.

Jayel-I think I woke up too late to see Rick ;-P Oh well! I thought it's great that he's keeping in contact with the soldiers too- those will be priceless contacts that will last a lifetime. I agree- he needs more sweater choices, lol! How about a nice forest green? ;-) I agree- the capture is going to drive some people absolutely crazy.

Sherry-Glad you had a lot of fun in NY- sorry you had to cut it short! Ground Zero must have been tremendously moving (in a bad way); I'll bet it was very sad to see. Christmas Story! One of my favorite holiday movies ;-). I've heard the DC metro is *much* better than the NY subway. I'm with you- it's an *awesome* day to be an American and I'm *so proud* to be! :-)

Teri-Hopefully the package will be here tomorrow- I'll keep you posted (lol, literally!). I told my hubby- he's very proud of his light job! ;-) Sounds like you may have gotten "Elemental" or "Parallel Dreams"- McKennitt's earlier cd's - they're all pretty good, but I tend to listen to the Visit, Mask & the Mirror, and the Book of Secrets the most.

Ellen!- So good to see you posting- don't be a stranger! :-) I'm counting down the minutes to Survivor - 3 left! I know not all dems will be disappointed that Saddam was found, but I know there are some out there who will find a way to turn it against Bush. I'm glad that you see it as a good thing- and I'm sure there are many many others who see it good too. Although I'm a conservative, I have to applaud Lieberman for much of what he said today about the find.

OK- Survivor's on, hubby took more pix for me to download, and get the laundry out.
Later!

OMG you guys I JUST got up! This is the best news in the whole world! When I switched it to FOX I nearly flipped a lid! OMG......I just can't believe it. This gives me so much hope!

We got a new computer, a Dell, on Friday. Our old computer shot craps and died on us. So it's nice to be back online.

I'm gonna go watch the new, and then I'll be back later. I still can't believe the great new! I just hope I'm not still asleep dreaming or something. LOL

Hey gals,
I keep checking the Fox site- I've got FNC on & keep hitting refresh to get all the stories- I just can't get enough over this- OH HAPPY HAPPY DAY!!!

One of the new stories they put up was "Reporter's Notebook: Troops Vindicated" written by Rick. Here's the link (you shouldn't need to be signed in to read this- it's on the opening Fox site page). Reporter's Notebook: Troops Vindicated.

YAY!!! THEY GOT HIM!!!!
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the tv this morning! Kevin wanted to put it on the music station -figured it'd be better for the ongoing sinus headache than the news- but I insisted on Fox!;-) I just can't believe it- I'm so overjoyed right now. I'm really hoping & praying that this event will stop all the horrible ambushes and such going on over there. God bless our troops!!

Hey Gals!
Just lost my post, so I'm starting over.....
Well, it's official: I work with the Grinch. My manager & another co-worker were going gung ho putting up lights & stuff early yesterday morning. My manager went to Walgreen's & got more garland & a few extension cords. I have swag lights around the outside of my cubicle and garland & lights on top of my cabinets :-) My manager & another manager put garland around the hallway areas (which would be on the outside of the miserable coworker that sits behind me). So, a bit later, I hear the bad-attitude-miserable-co-worker tell one of her buddies, "I don't know who put that up there, but I'm going to find out and take it down." While I bristled at her comment, I wryly smiled to myself since I knew who it was- our manager. So now there's a decorating contest between the 5 units in underwriting and my manager really wants to win (I do too). I told her about what the other girl had said and she said, "whatEVER"- LOL!! It was so funny. People there just know what a poor attitude this girl has- it's no secret. So now I have the decorating bug & got a 1 ft fake tree & mini ornaments at Walgreen's for home (which my cat duly knocked down and scattered the ornaments everywhere while we were out). Kevin put up an 18 x 10 ft cross of lights up on our mast- because of the meaning of Christmas; but we also came up with the idea when we heard about these far left libs who want to take the real meaning out of Christmas (you know, the whole changing "Christmas" to "winter" thing). So we're going to have a cross up on the mast & icicle lights going around the bow of the boat. Our marina has a deal this month where if you put up lights,they pay for your December electric bill- I didn't know about that till today. I'll take some photos & put them up on my site (I'll post the link here). Although a *small* portion of me wonders what could happen by having it up there..... you know how people can be.

Jayel- It's been raining here quite a bit this last week or so. Unfortunately it's playing havoc with my sinuses- I've basically had varying degrees of sinus headaches the last week or so. Not bad unless I'm moving around a lot & bending down a lot (as was with today since I was cleaning & putting up decorations, etc). I got to see Rick a couple of times today- that's always a treat when I can catch him on there. Greg's been on a few times today too- is it just me, or does he look like he's gotten a haircut in the last couple of days? Thanks for the ratings- Larry King didn't even make it, huh? I checked out the site that you posted (www.numbersusa.com) and signed up for the email newsletters. I haven't sent the fax yet but I plan to. I checked out the report cards, though- pretty bad for a lot of them!

Teri-Girl, as of yesterday I still haven't gotten the package yet :-( I think my post office is horribly hopelessly behind. I asked them Thursday & they said they didn't have anything for me- maybe Monday?? Our box has been very empty this week- more so than usual. I suspect a hang-up somewhere along the line. It's weird- they're saying that Arnold took away the DLs to illegals, but then when Sean Hannity interviewed him (they had it on H & C last week) he sidestepped the question when Hannity asked him about it. Savage was talking about it on his radio show & said that Arnold didn't completely take it away- it seems to me that there's going to be some amending to it. I know...it's so frustrating.

I found out something this week- one of my co-workers is in the CA National Guard and is most likely going to Iraq pretty soon. It's weird- I know ya'll may have known someone who's been sent somewhere, but this is the first for me. I don't know him really at all, but he seems like such a good natured guy & it's kinda sad to hear that he will have to go. He seemed to take it in stride though- as I said he's a good natured kind of person. My supervisor said that he told her that he'd be gone for 18 months. I told him that our prayers will be with him and with all the others over there too.

Anyway.... need to take the contacts out & check on the laundry. I'll check in with ya'll tomorrow!

Hey Gals!
It's been very quiet here this week! 'Course, who am I to talk? It's been almost a week since I've left a post...;-P Anyway.....OOH~ I *did* get to see Rick this morning on Fox & Friends. I missed the beginning; it was the voice I recognized, which I thought was funny~ I think because it was so early in the AM, and I was trying to figure out what to wear, and then all of a sudden it hit me: hey, that's Rick's voice! LOL (well OK, maybe you had to be there). I think I caught him around 5:05 PST, and then again at 6 (PST). What sucked about the 6:00 one was that I was trying to get my left contact lens in and it was burning and then hubby was standing in front of the TV. I saw the last minute or so and that was it- but hey, can't complain! Ah, the simple pleasures in life! I'm really surprised he's still over there- it's been what, 3 weeks? I was just wondering if they'd sent him back to NY since he hadn't been on for awhile. The dinner dance was nice- I liked last year's location better, though. Fortunately I wasn't really hungry (there's a new one) and I didn't even *touch* the desserts which is a miracle for me. Especially when they had 3 kinds of cake and a whole host of other goodies.

**stepping onto soapbox** I *knew* this was going to happen- the CA drivers license for illegals sounds like it's just going to be tweaked a little instead of totally taken off the board altogether (as Ahnold said he was going to do). Now it sounds like they're talking of making it so illegals can get insurance which of *course* makes the illegals getting CA DLs *OK fine & dandy* now. NOT. Then there's Ashcroft who is saying oh, gee, let's just make the illegals here now LEGAL. WHAT????? People are going insane and trying to drag me with them.... **stepping off soapbox now**

Jayel-Thanks for sharing the Ray Kelly poll- that's really cool that he has the highest approval rating of any official in NYC. I caught Rick on Saturday AM but not on Sunday- I woke up about 5 minutes after he was on (or at least I think, judging from your post).

SherryHave fun on your trip! Let us know how it was when you get back! LOL about sending a LevenGal to Jeff to warm him up! It's nice seeing him report more too. I caught just a glimpse of Adam when I got in last night.

Jan-Girl, I hear ya! I was just telling my hubby the other night that I really like Christmas but people suck- especially mean and rude people. Don't work too much! And don't be a stranger here- we miss your posts. And that goes for Ellen, Leslie, Melissa, and any other missing LevenGals I might be leaving out. Where are ya'll?? Hmmm.... what is it about us liking our guys more ruffled up? I was thinking that this morning when I saw Rick- his hair looks super short and too....neat. I miss the skanky boonie hat & the rumpled up Rick, LOL! I've heard that Love Actually is really a good movie- I want to see it, but will probably wait for it to come out on DVD. It has a lot of good people in it- I love Hugh Grant & Liam Neeson.

Denise!Of course we haven't forgotten about you! Been wondering what you've been up to, though! I hope you're having a great holiday season too! How sweet about your best friend's baby- think of the stories you both will tell her when she's older about things you guys used to do. BE SAFE there in Columbus! I hope they get whomever's doing that soon- how scary. The incident with your co-worker is definitely a little too close to home!

Teri- It was good talking to you the other day! I'm *definitely* a Camelot fan (and for the record, I mean the *old* Camelot- not the "Kennedy Camelot"!)- actually any of the Arthurian legend stuff I *love*. Ok- anything Celtic, Irish, etc..... My post office is lame this week. I still haven't gotten the package- it *better* be here today- as a matter of fact, I've only gotten one piece of mail- a credit card offer no less, since Monday. I'd say someone's sleeping on the job there, LOL! I'll let you know when it gets here.

For those of you who may be wondering what the heck "Mysts of Avalon" is, it's the group I set up on MSN so that I can post pix easily. I've also made it so you can leave messages if you want- one caveat to it though- you have to be a member. I thought I set it up differently, but I guess not! So, if you want to be a member on there too, just leave me a message to join. But PLEASE don't stop posting here- I *LOVE* this blog to death and love the company. This is just an invitation for anyone who wants to check it out. Also, you can post pix on there too by setting up your own photo album (let me know if you have trouble & I'll check the settings). For those of you who know the FNCC MSN site, they have a similar set up- anyone can set up their own photo albums on there. I think it makes it nice & easy to share pix with everyone. Anyway, the site is here: Myst of Avalon.

REALLY need to get to work.....chat with ya'll later!

Hey gals!
I was starting to wonder where everyone was! Although there are still quite a few still missing.....where are ya'll? I hope the missing gals are doing great and are only missing due to hectic holiday preparations.....check in soon - we miss ya'll! I am completely utterly uninspired and unmotivated here at work today. Must be the cloudy weather & the fact that it's Friday, LOL! Hehehe- actually, I'm *very* caught up (comparatively)- the most I've been since over a year ago. It's nice, but I'm also wise enough to know that it's only a temporary state. I'm just soaking it in for all it's worth right now. No better day to feel that way than on a Friday! ;-) Ya'll are welcome for the link to the "Thanks" thing- I just did a Rick search in the Fox site & that came up. I got to see Todd on FR last night- got home in the nick of time- about 10 min. before he came on with his story. I can't believe (well, ok, maybe I *can*) that the UN wants some control over the internet. How lame is that.

Teri- I hope you're feeling better!! Did you try zinc tablets? LOL, you know, after I fell, one of the first things I said (once I could breathe again) was, "Dang- my grandma does stuff like this- I'm not supposed to!". I'm tellin' ya though- I'm a lot more wary about going down stairs now than I used to be. It's almost like I'm afraid of falling- even when there's plenty of light. Today's much better though- a little quicker. Merlin was great- I bought the books too, lol!

ah- Thanks for the Rick report! :-)

Jayel- Thanks to you too for the Rick alert! :-) I haven't set my VCR since I've been back- may start again next week. I was wondering if Rick would end up in Iraq too....guess we'll have to wait & see. It's nice to see more of Jeff Goldblatt, even though that story is soooo sad. I hate to think & say it, but it's not looking good. Poor girl. I saw him in the knit cap this morning too and thought the same thing- not very flattering, but somewhat better on him than others.

Sherry- How exciting to be going to NYC! How cool would that be to see one of the FNC people when you went by the studio? So that's less than a week away, then- I'll bet you can't wait.

Nan- Happy belated birthday!! We need to get a birthday page or something so we can all know when to send b-day greetings. I'm horrible at times with trying to remember who's is when- and that's just with my family, LOL. I invariably end up missing one or two during the year. I'm about done with shopping- there's a couple of things that I decided my sister could use & then we need to get something for Kevin's sons and his parents. That's the toughie- we're thinking a Safeway/Randall's giftcard since she has everything under the sun anyway. Not very exciting, but useful. Know what ya'll mean about the libs & Bush- never seems to matter. And YET, they always say *we're* worse when it comes to playing the blame game. HUH? Did I miss something? Did ya'll catch H & C last night with the people that put out that lame calendar of bimbos (oops! I *meant* women) against Bush? I was so irritated and yelled at the TV, Kevin just laughed- he said they just proved how ignorant they are. True....but still. We could do very well without these kind of people. Ankle's doing better- still a little sore, but not anywhere like it was. Kaiser (for those who don't know who Kaiser is, it's one of our main HMOs here in CA) said that it could be 4-6 weeks before it's completely healed.

Well, I ended up deciding to go to the "dinner dance" holiday party at work this year after all- it's tomorrow. They had it at the Ritz Carlton the last few years, but this year they're having it at the SFMOMA (San Fran. Museum of Modern Art), which I'm not crazy about because I really don't get into modern art. Samantha was so sweet- she brought in shoes & a wrap for me since I didn't really have anything to wear (last year's & prior year's stuff is too small now....maybe next year!), and she helped me come up with some ideas. I'll take a pic & put it up on my msn groups page so ya'll can see if you want. I haven't been wearing any makeup due to the whole contacts thing, so it's been awhile. Hopefully I won't look like a pre-teen trying on mom's makeup, LOL!! ;-p

Hey Grrrls!!
I don't know if you've come across this on the Fox site, but thought I'd share. Giving Thanks. Adam's and Rick's thanks were cute and funny. Haven't had a chance to check out all of them, I just skimmed through.

I'll have to write more later- but wanted to share the above.

Hey Gals!
Well, I'm back. Hope ya'll had a great Thanksgiving! :-) I have to say it's been a good, albeit surreal vacation- not at all how I thought it would be. It's really nice to be home, but can't help but feel a little depressed that it's over. It's always very hard for us to leave family, especially when we only go back once a year and we never know now how much longer our elderly relatives will be around. It's always really hard for me to leave, but after the first week back, it subsides. It was made especially harder this time due to things going on on my side of the family. Kevin had a cold before we left & I caught it on the first Tuesday after we left (which meant I had it for most of our time away- I'm at the tail end now). Fortunately it was a managable one, no bedrest needed. Just *a lot* of kleenex! ;-P A week ago Friday while we were at my in-laws, I was coming down the spiral staircase they have (aka "the death stairs"). I turned out the light upstairs and started down. tt was darker than usual, but as I was more than halfway down, I didn't bother going back up to turn on the light. So....when I was on the 2nd step from the bottom, I was *sure* I was at the bottom and.....hit air and then the floor. On my ankle. The very same one I sprained almost 20 years ago. I called out to Kevin & he had to carry me to the couch since I couldn't get up; it hurt soooo bad. If I hadn't have been able to bend my toes I would have been certain that my foot was broken. We iced it down immediately and I think that helped, although a week later it's still swollen, so I'll probably be making a trip to the Dr. tomorrow. The real thing though that was really surreal was about my sister which explains *A LOT* of what had been a mystery for some time. I can't really talk about it here, but if I'm able to ever get on AIM and see ya'll, I'll fill you in. I'm still reeling from it; I'd never in my wildest nightmares would think that this could happen. The good news is that she is doing better and that so far she is on the right path.

Onto lighter subjects, we had a good Thanksgiving (despite everything going on), and I'm sure I gained 10 lbs from this vacation. I'm going to fiercely start and hold to my Weight Watchers diet starting now. It was warm in both places- 80's (which is warm considering it's Nov.). TX was nice (Leslie, I waved North to you!)- it was quiet and relaxing. We're starting to think more about what we'll need to do when we retire there. I caught Rick on Thursday morning, I believe. I was surprised to see him in Jerusalem again, especially during the holidays but world events don't recognize holidays and being with family. I got to see snippets of Fox here & there when we were at my dad's & then last week at my mom's. Well, my replies will probably pithy, but will try to check in more this week.

Sherry- congrats on the weight loss!! :-) I usually use the Clairol Natural Instincts- the Nutmeg one is good for dark brown. That's normally my color of choice, and it only lasts for about 27 shampoos. Good luck on the exams! :-) Hehehe- funny you should mention work- I've been bad: I checked my work email from home tonight- I think I had 120 new emails- I got it down to 25. Not bad.... now I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed regarding my in box at work...ick. My mom made me two large "memory" albums- it completely blew my mind- I was very emotionally moved internally (I say internally as I didn't break down outwardly as I could have). I'm sure my facial expression showed the surprise and gratitude though, and I certainly told her how very much I appreciated it.

Jen- Good Lord, girl- I hope you're doing OK now after that scare in the OR! I'll have to listen to your audiopost! How cool is that?! It sounds though, from Sherry's post that you had the surgery done; I hope you're on your way to a speedy recovery!

Teri- Loreena M's Christmas one is really good. One of my favorites on there is "Snow". I'm gonna have to go to my site & see what the deal is....I'm a newbie to the MSN groups thing. I'll check it out & let you know. Yep- illegals are just that: ILLEGALS. Like *I* could get a license in another country? I think not. The line *has* definitely got to be drawn *somewhere* and these folks just don't get it. Frustrating, isn't it. Hope you're feeling better!!

Jayel- Rick in MIAMI??? Wow, usually Orlando Salinas (sp?) covers that area. How surprising! I've heard the book "Arrogance" by Bernard Goldberg- I know they've had him on here & there on FNC, but I think our morning talk show folks had him on too. It definitely sounds interesting! Sounds like the Rick sightings on Weds. (26th) were good ones. I was at my mom's then and was *itching* to turn the channel to Fox (she had on a local news show). No Todd these last two weeks?

Nan- LOL @ the Laurie Dhue background- I always tell Kevin his "girlfriend" is on- I kid him and tell him that I know he has a secret crush on her, LOL.

MELISSA!! Yay! I'm so glad to see you posting! :-) We missed ya around here- don't be a stranger!

OK- I need to get ready for bed....it really is nice to be home again, and my kitty is very happy to see us again. *sigh*- I guess the perfect song to summarize the way I feel is "Gold Dust" by Tori Amos. If anyone's heard it, you'll know what I mean. I just can't believe that 2 weeks have flown by this fast. I've experienced so much raw emotion in these past two weeks so forgive me if I sound a bit out of sorts at times. I'm sure I'll think of other things that happened during the vacation- I'll share as I remember. Hope ya'll are doing well - forgive me if I overlooked anyone.