Hey gals!
Thought I'd get my 'weekly' post in while I still have my sanity & a bit of free time. Work has been *very* crazy- I can't wait for these renewals to over & done with; I'm tired of getting pummeled and still not getting anywhere- BUT I also know I can only do so much and just try to do a good job and focus on that fact. Thanks for all the congrats on passing my test! :-) I think I was still wiped out by that too in the last couple of weeks. It's just been a l-o-n-g March. I ended up not going to Fresno last weekend- I thought I'd be better off staying home and relaxing, so I did. It was actually the first time in nearly 4 years that my hubby & I have been apart for a day- I know that sounds really strange, but it's true. It was nice to have time to myself, and even though I could have taken up the entire bunk, I noticed that I slept in my normal spot- LOL! Anyway.....

Teri-You're welcome for hooking you up to KNEW- glad you can get that one good! :-)

Jayel- I'm going to try to post more, but will still probably be here & there till I get through the dreaded Clinic policy renewals. Things should settle down by May. OH! I *did* get to see Rick on the H &C on Friday- that was a nice treat to a long week! :-) I missed the Fox & Friends spot- I figure it was on before I got up or he was on when I was away from the TV (i.e., shower). Thanks for the tidbit about the 18 lbs though- how funny! "All muscle"- good answer! :-) I think that the Richard Clarke book is going to backfire in the end- today they were saying that families of 9/11 victims were offended that he'd come out with his book just before the hearings. And I agree that Jim Angle's interview with Clarke is driving the others (CNN, et al) crazy- I'm sure Fox is really a thorn in their side now! ;-) I caught Rick's report on Fox Report on Thursday (same day, I'm pretty sure) about the Iraq Oil For Food Program. LOL, I would have thought I'd have picked up on the purple/lavender tie since those are some of my favorite colors- I guess that just goes to show how 'slow' I am as of late. :-p It sure is good to see him on there. I'm thinking Todd's back in the States since he hasn't been reporting from Iraq. It looks like they have another 'crew' there now.

Jan-The "say what" clip about the sleeping bag was hilarious!

OK- gotta get some stuff done around here before I become a sloth for the rest of the day. :-) It's part of my 'preparing for Monday' ritual, lol! Hope everyone is doing great & had a great weekend!

Hey Gals!
I thought I should check in since it seems like it's been awhile....yep- it looks like it's been a little over two weeks! I passed my broker/agent licensing exam- and I'm soooo relieved! I was studying night after night for that thing, and had serious doubts of passing (since I failed all but one of the practice tests! ;-p). That whole thing just kinda wiped me out for awhile. Last weekend we cleaned & took more stuff to storage & spent Sunday reorganizing the storage unit. We pulled his son's stuff out & we're driving it down to him in Fresno tomorrow. I'll be on the ex wife's turf then....lol! Hmmm.....what else....oh yeah, work has me held hostage again. It's renewal time for a big bread-winning group of policies (which are brokered by a preferred broker, meaning that they are just a *little* important). Here's the thing: they're all manual processing (I'm working off of 4 different programs) which means it takes a lot of time just to do ONE renewal quote, and I have 53 of them to do still (I've only gotten about 20 done this week- most is 7 in one day). Here's the kicker: there are four of us that are responsible right now. The underwriter went on maternity leave, my supervisor has been out twice this week (incl. today), and my manager was out all week. So....that leaves me to deal with the 100+ manual 4/1 renewals. Needless to say I'm a bit peeved which is why I'm doing this right now instead of working on the renewals ;-) This broker has talked about service issues with my manager, but when I've been given this book of business, PLUS all of Riverside, San Diego, Ventura & Orange, plus another preferred broker....gee, I wonder where all my time goes?? OK- enough of that.**steps off from soapbox**

I've caught Todd a few times this week in the AM before I go to work. Fox decided to throw a curve ball & repeat Fox Report instead of Cavuto (only I didn't catch it until it was almost half over- which is about what I saw yesterday when we got home from work). BUT.....I *did* get to see Rick's report about the speed detector things. It was good to see him on again, it's been awhile. I haven't been able to catch him all this week and I don't know what tapes have what on them anymore so I haven't set the VCR. I think I have some shows from January that I still need to watch yet (from when we were on vacation). LOL, pathetic, huh? ;-) Anyway....I didn't set it today, and I'm sure he'll be on a lot today with the anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq & all. I'm bummed I haven't caught him so much (since he's been on while I'm at work!) but at the same time I'm too pooped to give it too much worry. I *am* thinking I picked a bad weekend to go to Fresno, though.....I'll be there's going to be a lot of coverage & past footage highlighted from last year. You gals will have to post about it and that way I can experience it even if vicariously. I wrote Rick an email some time ago- oh!- it must have been on last time I posted- 3/2, 'cause I know it was the day he was on Fox & Friends. I'm sure he got a ton of email and probably had to read & (do whatever) with it instead of replying. He's one of the best though with replies, but I've heard Mike Emmanuel is also very gracious with replies. It sounds like Studio B was really good yesterday!

Teri! At long last the care package got here (yesterday)! :-) Thanks much!

Ellen- I think I tried checking out the Baghdad Cam a couple of times but it wasn't working for me. Keep meaning to go back & naturally, keep forgetting to.... You can lurk sometimes! :-) God knows I've done that more & more lately. I haven't forgotten about ya'll, it's just been hectic & sometimes I'm just lucky enough to be able to get in & read what's happening. Give my congrats to Jamie on her new baby! I like the name she chose and he sounds cute! Congrats on the Rick reply! I agree, I rather like the 'lowercase leventhal' nickname- it's just not the same with the caps in the right places, lol! ;-) I think it's so nice that he takes the time to reply as he does.

Jan- Hmmm...now that you mention it, maybe I've been lazy as well as busy. I think busy just ends up making you lazy at some point- or at least that's my theory.

Jayel- As always- thanks for the ratings info! Fox is *still* on top! :-D It always feels good to know how Fox is doing in comparison to the 'others'. It sounds like Rick probably took a well deserved 2 weeks off after he got back from Iraq. Can you imagine how much it takes for anyone over there (our troops, reporters, etc) to decompress when they come back? That reminds me, they had Rich Galen on the morning radio talk show yesterday that we listen to on the way in to SF. He's over in Iraq doing something with the State Dept. I *think* (my memory isn't so great these days)- he's been there awhile and took a break home & went back again. He said that you learn to look for things out of the norm- unattended suitcases on the street, even a Tide box is suspicious. He said that as they were driving, his son told him that he doesn't need to look up at the overpasses, that no one was going to do anything. He never even noticed that he was doing that until his son told him. I'm sure being there for a time & coming back here makes you look at things a *lot* differently. Rich Galen was there when that 1000 lb bomb went off, but he said his hotel was about two miles away. I was hoping he'd make an appearance on Hannity & Colmes (as he has done in the past)- he knows his stuff. I LMAO about the thought of Rick baking- not in a *bad* way, it's just that the image doesn't quite fit. It was ironic that you mentioned Geraldo talking about the news in Pakistan- he *did* show up on Hannity & Colmes last night talking about it. I know Geraldo's intelligent & risk taking, but I just wish some of the other Fox guys (ahem, Rick, Todd, etc) would get a chance to discuss these things too. I'm sure there's extenuating circumstances as to why Geraldo seems to get the stories- it could be that the other guys have other stories going on or stuff in their personal lives and may not be able to just take off at minutes notice. He also has a lot of seniority- not that I'm becoming a Geraldo fan, but just giving some reasoning (benefit of the doubt). It's been nice to see that Todd has been able to cover the Iraq situation. I would imagine that he'll be coming back Stateside before too much longer.

ah- I haven't seen The Passion yet, but it definitely sounds like it touched everyone who has seen it.

Nan- It sounds like we're going through hostage situations- I think we need to be liberated. Bring on the Fox guys! (Namely Rick, Todd, Shep -for you!). :-D It's funny, every job seems to have its "hell time". For you it's tax time and for me it's the end of the year & March/April, but not for tax reasons- massive renewals. I *think* I'll be passing near your area (I'm ashamed to admit that I can't recall where you live :-s) BUT, I *will* wave hello to you in the general area! I haven't been in Fresno for 10 years- and that was just passing through it. That's great that you got to meet Sean, if he was closer to SF, I would have gone. Since he was in San Jose, it was just too far to go. I think it's great that he's been able to do the book tour and to meet his fans.

OK- *really* need to get to work. I'll try not to be so much a stranger, but know that I will at least get to check in & read if nothing else. ;-p
Take care, everyone!!

Hey Gals!!!
Hey Sherry! Oh....yeah.....I saw Rick on F&F this morning & he looked.....**GOOD**! Weren't the jeans something? ;-) I was very taken aback-didn't expect to see him on. It was funny, cause I heard his name but hadn't turned around to look at the tv yet & expected him to still be in Iraq- so, imagine the surprised when I heard "in the studio back from Iraq" and turning around at the same time! :-D Anyway, yeah, it was a sorely needed eye treat! :-D

Jan- you're so funny, lol! Isn't it funny how we sometimes forget what they were even talking about? Glad I'm not the only one who has that problem! :-) Glad you had a great time skiing. Hmmm....I kinda like that idea you have for CA- just make sure they *do* let us "sane" ones know well enough ahead of time! ;-) You completely made sense on the people getting tortured thing- I think we *may* try to see it in the theatre, it's just that we're more "DVD people" than "theatre people"- you don't have to be annoyed by the guy behind you that doesn't shut up or the insensitive person that keeps kicking the back of your seat. I guess I'm just a homebody! ;-p I've heard that The Passion is *excellent* though- my stepson's fiance's parents have seen it twice already & were talking of going a third time this past weekend.

ah- Thanks for the good exam wishes!

Jayel- Hey- you were right about Rick since he showed up on F&F this morning! I remembered seeing a report of his on Sunday's Fox Report. In fact, he had a segment & then Todd did (or maybe the other way around). THAT was an eye-opener- he was talking about how much ammo the troops have confiscated in Iraq. I was so amazed at just HOW MUCH it was. I had *no* idea that Steve Harrigan was so tall! Six foot eight?? I was thinking more FIVE foot eight, lol! ;-p . About the whole Haiti thing- I just can't (well, ok, maybe I *can*) believe that they're trying to pin this all on us (that we 'kidnapped' Aristide)- first we aren't helping now we've kidnapped him. Some people are & will never *be* happy with anything we (the US) do. Thank you too for the exam well wishes!

Nan- GREAT to see you posting again!! :-D Glad your hubby's knee surgery went well & that he's up & about again. That's so great that you got to meet Hannity! I noticed that he's in AZ this Friday- at what could have been my alma mater, ASU. I don't think he's made it up this way as of yet; we'll see what happens. I think he did last time though. That's such GREAT news about your dad!! I remember hearing about the liver regenerating on its own before, but had forgotten. I think that's so amazing. We'll be continuing to pray for his health and continued healing. Thanks for the well wishes for the exam! I *really* need to start studying- I have a week and 3 days to study. I agree that SF has lost all contact with the home planet, and that phrase made me laugh! But then I had to cry 'cause it's *so* true..... Yep- too many laws that are voter approved seem to fail in 'certain' courts....what happened to the majority vote?

Teri, how did you manage to get sick again?? Girl, you gotta take better care of yourself & lock the kids up when they're sick, lol! J/K!! I hope you feel better soon! Let us know what you think of Savage's books once you've read them- I still need to read the newest.

Sherry- Hope you're doing better too! I think I had a faker cold last week- it seemed like it was starting up- scratchy throat, tired, achy....but never really progressed. It also could have been allergies for all I know- there's a LOT of pollen coming off the trees out front of our bldg. Dang! 60 in MD?? in February?? Mmmm Todd's goatee- say no more! :-D I'm glad he's growing it back too- is it just me, or does it seem a little more gray this time around? (Not that there's anything wrong with that- just an observation). I take the real deal test on 3/12. I scheduled it for the morning since I tend to be more brain dead in the afternoon. Plus I'm going to leave work early that day, so it worked out perfectly. LOL!! NO ONE bought the Geraldo media pass! I'll just betcha though that if it were Rick's it'd be GONE. Of course, it'd probably a battle of the LevenGals for it! ;-p

OK- gotta get to work. I'll chat with ya'll later!