Discussion:What's the Best thing that happened to you today?
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Discussion Forum Index --> General Chat --> What's the Best thing that happened to you today?
| 29 February 2008 | |
| Good night to all.
Wondered what the BEST thing is to happen to everyone today. For me, my daughter(9 years old) just gave me a foot massage. Her idea, and it was simply lovely! Hope you all are having a nice night. | |
| February 29, 2008 | |
| That sounds great! My son, also age 9, and I just had a wonderful discussion about things that were bothering him. Are we limited to one thing? There were so many good things that happened today. | |
| 29 February 2008 | |
| Would love to hear as many as possible.
Am going to try to take this extra day to count my blessings, as I sometimes get bogged down in the trivial details of life. The stars are beautiful this morning. Clear sky, glorious heavens, and no wind. Happy Leap Day! | |
| 29 February 2008 | |
| About 5:00am this morning, my 7 y/o daughter came downstairs and woke me up. She crawled into our bed and sat up patiently waiting. I asked what she wanted and she said, "Put your arm around me Daddy. I want to snuggle with you."
If that doesn't warm a Dad's heart, I don't know what does. Tom | |
Bottom Line (talk|edits) said: | 29 February 2008 |
| That's one of those priceless things you'll remember forever. | |
| 29 February 2008 | |
| I know BL, I know. She is so sweet. No matter how mad I might want to get at her when she makes a mess of the house, her room, whatever, when she says stuff like that, it makes it really hard.
Tom | |
Bottom Line (talk|edits) said: | 29 February 2008 |
| That's what little girls do. My mom said I had my dad wrapped around my little finger from the time I was born. | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 29 February 2008 |
| I talked to my grandson on the phone and he thanked me for his birthday present. It's a little sweatshirt type hoodie jacket affair. He wore it to school and several of his friends told him they thought it was cool. He said "It's totally cool gramma and it's warm and I like the inside part". Sounds like I'm a really cool gramma. PS, he's not much of a talker on the phone so he must have really like it!
Coolest comment from my granddaughter one day - she crawled into my lap and said "Gramma, I want to tell you sumpin', OK?" Me, "Sure", Her, "I love you". Melts a gramma's heart and on the really bad days brings such a smile to the face. I like this thread. We always have to remember that even when things are bad, hectic, stressful, there's something good to look at and remember. | |
| February 29, 2008 | |
| Another good thing that happened yesterday is that one of our legislative committees passed a bill about Safe Routes to School (a pedestrian and bicycle safety project) on to the next step. | |
| 1 March 2008 | |
| Well, I had a heart attack around 11AM. BUT, I survived, and I'm back at it. I'd call that a good day. Picked up 3 more returns in the ER. | |
| March 1, 2008 | |
| My girl scout cookies finally arrived :-) and I got a massage.
I agree, this is a fun thread and we should keep it going. | |
| 1 March 2008 | |
| Next, Crow will tell us he received his Accounting PhD in under 3 hours, graduated Valedictorian receiving the highest grade point average ever seen at that academic institution and was then appointed dean of the university. Shortly after, his posting here about Enron was discovered and he left quietly in the middle of the night leaving only a Post-It Note on his monitor saying "Well, it's off to med school!"
Whereupon months later Crow goes to med school, gets a degree in 4 days, graduates top of his class with the highest grade point average of any medical doctor in the history of mankind, completes residency in 8 days and does so well he his appointed Chief of Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. Sadly, his medical career is brought to an abrupt end after he accidentally drops part of a Dunkin' Donut in a patient's brain while performing arteriovenous malformation surgery and the patient is reduced to walking around saying, "Time to make the donuts."
Best thing that happened today: I woke up! Tom | |
| 1 March 2008 | |
| OH, I'm having the big one Elizabeth! Naww, it turned out not to be a heart attack. The doctor just told me to stop burning incense while I worked. I had almost smoked myself to death.
Tom: I had not gotten around to that yet. But, I have been called the Love Doctor by some of the ladies. | |
| 1 March 2008 | |
| The funny thing about the Post-It Note story: it actually happened. We had an employee quit after three hours. They left the note on their monitor and it said: "Please pay me for three hours. I quit!"
Psst: Crow's real name is Bill! I can't tell you where I got it. Super-secret sensitive government spy stuff. Pass it on! Tom Second best thing that's going to happen today: My daughter is going to sneak up on me later and wants me to be surprised! Can't wait! | |
| 1 March 2008 | |
| Dollar Bill, that's me. Tom: kids can be crafty, if she sneaks up on you at the right time, in the right way, you might be the one with a heart attack! She'll scare the living daylights out of ya. Good luck! | |
| March 1, 2008 | |
| Sneaking up on me is one of the things my boys love to do the most, especially after they come home from school. My youngest will hide right around the corner by my office and then after I've already seen his fingers or part of his head, he'll say, "Boo!" Of course, sometimes he catches me off guard and we both crack up because I jump so high. | |
| 2 March 2008 | |
| Two inches of fresh, clean, wet, snow. Pizza in the oven, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" for a movie. Church tomorrow. Niece sleeping over.
Been "one of those days". At two o'clock the thing I was most thankful for was that my son did not want to go to a birthday party. (Too windy, he said) | |
| 2 March 2008 | |
| My husband and I are both getting over our colds - we saw sunshine and warm although very windy skies today:) | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 2 March 2008 |
| Got up this morning, couldn't bear to work at the office or on the new house. Entertained the idea of catching an interisland flight to Maui - cost was prohibitive so we drove to Hilo. Stopped at Waimea at the local Sack N Save and bought the stuff for lunch. We were going to go to Laupahoehoe point which is spectacular, and have lunch, but we missed the turn off. So we found a cool place at a park in Hilo on the water. It was a wonderful, warm, sunny day - no rain which is unusual in Hilo, the rainy side of the island. And we may have found the perfect sofa for the new house. Tomorrow back to the office. Could have only been made better if we would have seen whales, but I don't think they travel to that side of the island. | |
| 3 March 2008 | |
| Son loves Wiggles. Get's a grown man (he does not know) to say "Cock-A-Doodle-Doo" back to him. | |
| 3 March 2008 | |
| Glad your kids are still cute and lovable. My adorable 14 year old alien child boy wanders around watching crazy you tube videos of rejected cartoons <ok, some of them are funny> and saying about every three minutes in a poor accent "I'm Rick Jamesssssssssssssssssss b$%ch"
And the little turd doesn't even know who chappelle or Rick James is. he is an idiot, but he's my idiot. Or I shall call him my rick james. | |
TheTinCook (talk|edits) said: | 3 March 2008 |
| I've got a bud who teaches middle school and he's plotting a very special place in hell for Chappelle just for the Rick James bit.
Of course, I was young enough for the Austin Powers trend, so I should probally just shut up. | |
| March 3, 2008 | |
| Just walked the dog, and with the waning moon not even up yet, saw a zillion stars! Beautiful, peaceful, humbling... | |
| 3 March 2008 | |
| I played golf on Sunday. I drank lots of rum and coke. I did not feel guilty. | |
Death&Taxes (talk|edits) said: | 5 March 2008 |
| Most days the best thing that happened was what didn't happen, like last night driving home from Philly on Route 70, twenty miles through the Pine Barrens, without meeting the Jersey Devil or the Manchester PD, which stakes out the last five miles as a speed trap to catch the unwary. Like today, going upstairs and not falling down them on my return, or not slipping in the shower, or burning the toast, or burning daylight either. No angry customer had planted a bomb in the car when I turned the key.
I used to think that if I made it through the second turn of the bobsled course at age 85, I would live forever but the longer tax season goes, the more I want to wrap my mouth around the shower head and drown myself. | |
| 5 March 2008 | |
| awwwww. Don't do it, DT. Think of the water that will be wasted until your wife gets home and turns it off. | |
| March 5, 2008 | |
| Okay guys, this is supposed to be upbeat.
Best thing today -- I got several "vacuum" kisses from my youngest son! | |
Phil Moody (talk|edits) said: | 5 March 2008 |
| Found a penny in the hall.
Heads up of course. Yes, I will report on 08 tax return. | |
| 5 March 2008 | |
| Natalie,
back in school those things gave us hickeys. lol. So far, the quiet sweet sound of nothing. Later today will be the booking of my flight to sunny florence, south carolina via myrtle beach for an extended weekend guy/brothers trip for golf and frolicationing beginning April 17th. Already have my end of may trip to florida scheduled. flight booked. | |
Death&Taxes (talk|edits) said: | 5 March 2008 |
| Pam has our yearly trip to Foxwoods to play bingo reserved already, both the morning and evening session the Sunday and Monday after the 15th. We stay in Mystic, CT. It is a 'her thing' that she would do with her late father. My late wife and I would have a picnic on April 16th, which to me is the only holiday that matters. | |
Bottom Line (talk|edits) said: | 5 March 2008 |
| What part of FL Fred? | |
| March 5, 2008 | |
| Okay Fred. These are from my 5 year old, and I can assure you no hickeys were involved! He just puckers up his lips and makes a funny noise. | |
| 5 March 2008 | |
| I wish you all the best. Your commentary makes me smile after I have spent the day talking in circles with my boss about what tax conduit he wants for three entities that just became SMLLC's (were filing as 1065's). I miss the camaraderie & sense of completion busy season provides, but not the long hours.
The best thing that happens for me to day is that I get to head home to a loving husband and dinner on the table at 5pm. | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 9 March 2008 |
| Woke up, sat on the lanai with husband and just talked, fed the little yellow birds and told Willy (the cat) they were not her breakfast. Then went to our new house where husband is almost finished installing the cabinets, the kitchen is looking great. Drove to work, stopped to get a little breakfast to go and now I'm working. The sun is shining and I can see cats and woosles in the brush across from my office even if I can't be outside. Oh and one more thing we were finally able to remove the heavy quilt from the bed at night because it's warmer. | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 9 March 2008 |
| And one more thing - we don't have Girl Scout cookies here, but the bakery has the greatest cookies that are like chocolate chip cookies but made with Heath bar chips instead. Outstanding!!! | |
| 10 March 2008 | |
| Well, it wasn't the best thing at first, but I will share a story with you that wound up becoming the best thing that happened all day:
The wife wanted Italian food tonight. So I made Pasta Cabonara for the first time ever. I got the ingredients and she had a craving for my homemade garlic cheese bread, which takes about an hour from start to finish. I get started on that and she cuts the bacon for the carbonara. As the bread is cooking, I start the bacon and sauce for the carbonara and somewhere along the line, I bump the burner on the stove up to medium high on the bacon. Needless to say, at some point while I am still tending to the bread, smoke start filling up the house and I don't notice. All of a sudden the smoke detector goes off. Now mind you, we have ours hooked up with a national security company that's supposed to call us first before anything else. I pull the bacon off the burner, run over to the control panel, cancel the alarm, not once but twice, but in the background I hear a strange noise coming towards my home and it has a familiar sound. It's SIRENS FROM A FIRE TRUCK! The security people then call and ask if we are okay. I tell them yes and they tell me, "We called the fire department, we will cancel them." I said, "Please do." Now we live 2 minutes from the fire house. So they are on their way with no fire anywhere in sight, but I've got a three alarm people fire in the house with the 7 y/o daughter crying because of the smoke detector alarm, the wife screaming at me over the smoke all over the house and the fire department coming and, of course, I just have to jump in and yell back telling her to go outside and wave them off because there is no fire. She yells back, "NO WAY! That's your problem! I didn't burn dinner!" I run outside and the truck is pulling up to my front door right as the alarm is canceled! Now all of us are ticked off, dinner's ruined and we aren't happy. My daughter goes upstairs to take her bath and she comes downstairs and asks sweetly, "Are we going to have our treat?" (Our treat is to watch "Hannah Montana" and eat popcorn or a snack of some type to end our day). I said sure, but only if Mommy does it with us (my wife almost never does). So I then call everyone together, we all stand there and I apologize and so does my wife and my daughter says, "The next time you two yell at each other, you need to come talk to me and I will help you figure it out, okay?" We then sit down have ice cream and watch "Hannah Montana" as a family. That is the best thing that happened all day. It didn't start out that way, but in the end, I still am grateful I have a beautiful wife and a beautiful little girl who is smarter than us. Tom | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 10 March 2008 |
| Tom didn't you just burn up a burner on your stove with popcorn? Me thinks you need to be voted out of the kitchen and doomed to the office to prepare taxes for the rest of your life. Listen to the little one, she sounds like she's got it together.
The part about your daughter reminded me of an argument my husband and I had years ago, in a van with seats on either side of one of those engine cabinets which our son was sitting on (he was about 3 at the time), after we each had our very important say, there was a very pregnant pause and our son said "And that's the truth, Pfttttttt." (ala Edit Ann from Laugh In). Hard to keep a straight face after that. It was a very beautiful day here in Kona today. Hope everyone else had a great day at work or play, whichever worked. | |
| 10 March 2008 | |
| Action,
Yes, I did burn up the burner on the stove. Two weeks ago as a matter of fact. That was due to metal fatigue from overuse of the popcorn maker. Cute story about your son. I remember Edith Ann from Laugh In. I also loved the two old people on the park bench, played by Artie Johnson and Ruth Buzzy. Favorite scene. He is sitting next to her and says: "Do you believe in the hereafter?" She says, "Yes, yes I do." He says, "Then you know what I am here after!" She then starts smacking him away as he tries to grab her. Nice day here in the DC area. I got one return done and that's it. It's now 2:15 am and I am off to bed. Tom | |
| 10 March 2008 | |
| Well tom, at least now I know why it takes an hour for you to make garlic bread. lol. Excellent story btw. One of those things that really sucks when it happens, but gets funnier and more embellished as it is told over and over again.
Natalie, I will behave. No pucker up and strange sound comments. ;-) BL, going to be starting in Tampa/St. Pete/New Port Richey to visit big brother. My daughter may join me. She will hang and go cruisin the clubs with her cousin while I do stuff with brother. He is in the final stages of divorce after 20+ years. Hopefully, she will be moved out of house by the time I get there. going to play some golf and try to get my bro out a little bit, maybe help him wreak a bit of havoc like he used to do in the old days. Some good ol therapeutic man stuff. Then, drive to the other side to West Plam Beach area for a few days. Pops is out that way and he really wants us to visit, so we are going to try. Nothing planned. going to schedule a few things, but basically as we get started each morning, we will let that special day guide us. | |
| 10 March 2008 | |
| Best thing today? I worked out a "Martha Stewart". Feds agreed that I can stay under house arrest till the end of tax season, then turn myself in for a 4 month vacation! | |
| March 10, 2008 | |
| Tom, sorry for all your problems, and I do think your wife should consider banning you from the kitchen (or at least the stove area).
But more importantly, will you share that garlic cheese bread recipe that takes an hour to make. I'm salivating as I type this request! | |
| 10 March 2008 | |
| Why not?
Here you go everyone! Homemade Garlic Cheese Bread 1 Loaf French Baquette (Large loaf, not skinny) 5 cloves garlic ½ teaspoon water 1 tblsp. Unsalted butter ¼ tsp. Kosher salt ¼ tsp. peppercorn melange (I prefer peppercorn melange over straight ground black pepper, but your choice) 7 tbls. Unsalted butter softened (basically 1 stick of butter. Use the one tblsp. above; the remaining butter you use here. First time I used two sticks of butter. That was fine as well. That translates to 1 tablespoon in the pan + 13 tablespoons for the paste. If you do this, double the other ingredients above, except the bread and cheese. Makes for more buttery garlic flavor and keeps vampires away longer) 1 package 4 or 6 Italian blend cheese Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Horizontally cut French bread in half and place on aluminum foil. Take the 5 gloves of garlic and using a rasp grater (okay, you can use a garlic press), grate until finely minced. Add to a cold non-stick frying pan. Add the ½ teaspoon of water and one tablespoon of butter. Over low heat, constantly stir garlic and butter until a paste is form, but do not overcook. This should take 10 minutes. Remove paste and add to a bowl with softened butter. Add ¼ tsp of salt and ¼ tsp. of pepper and fold together. Spread on both halves of bread and place halves together (one on top of another). Roll in foil and place in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. After removing from oven, let cool for a couple of minutes and remove foil. Separate the top and bottom halves, laying them side by side. Bread will (most likely) be soggy, so to dry out, put bread back into oven for ten minutes without foil on baking sheet (even if bread isn’t soggy, I still do this anyway). Remove bread from oven. Turn off oven and turn on oven broiler to high (I've used low as well because my broiler causes the bread to burn). If top rack is too close to top of the broiler, move down one slot in the oven (of course, use an oven mitt or oven glove to do this). Spread cheese evenly over the two halves of bread. Put back into the oven for no more than 2 minutes under the broiler. It is done when cheese is melted and turning a nice golden brown. But be careful not to burn the bread! Remove from oven and place bread on cutting board face down and slice. By doing this, you don’t remove the cheese. Serve immediately. You can thank me later. Tom | |
| 10 March 2008 | |
| could you please share the recipe for popcorn, Tom. I hear you are a wiz in the kitchen, what with making popcorn with one hand, donating your kitchen to the fire department with another. Do the firemen get to deduct the cost of the popcorn if they all jump into a common pool? | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 10 March 2008 |
| Tom at what point do you call the fire department? You didn't include that part | |
| March 10, 2008 | |
| Tom, I'm thanking you NOW. Altho I think my arteries clogged a wee bit more just reading the recipe. Can't wait to try it on the Monday Night Football crowd on spaghetti night. Thanks for taking the time.
Kevin, you should change professions to stand-up comedian. | |
| 10 March 2008 | |
| I didn't call the fire department. The security company did. Our alarm system and smoke detectors are automatically connected to the security company who in turn call us first (supposedly). If no answer, they call authorities. They called the fire department first, then us.
Belle and everyone, be sure the butter/garlic paste isn't runny. It must spread like icing. It's only the third kitchen accident ever in my life, by the way. The other was I lit cognac on fire for a steak au poivre cream sauce. Nearly melted the microwave. Tom | |
| March 10, 2008 | |
| Well, that sounds much better than the frozen stuff at the store, Tom. | |
| 10 March 2008 | |
| Belle,
the new football league cancelled their season and MNF won't be for a few more months. Just thought you should know. | |
| March 10, 2008 | |
| Fred, but the draft is in late (as in after the 15th) April :-); after I get back from golf camp in Arizona.
WHAT new football league - did I miss something? | |
| 11 March 2008 | |
| Blonde moment. lol. Hey, I didn't know either until I read the article about them possibly cancelling their season. Was supposed to start in April. 6 team pro league. | |
| 11 March 2008 | |
I won the Lottery! Do I have to pay taxes? And I don't even remember buying it:)
ITALIAN SUPERENALOTTO 2008
PREMIO DEPARTMENT
EDIZIONE DEL INTERNET
VIA GARIBALDI 35
21000 ROME
ITALY.
Attention:Ref No:/SL-IT/081142
Batch No:SL/08/6181
We are pleased to inform you of the final announcement that you are one of the winners of the ITALIAN NATIONAL SUPERENALOTTO DRAWS,with ticket number: 27511465896-6410 with serial number 4204-777 drew lucky numbers 5-21-23-34-61-72 held on the 21st February, 2008. You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of 1,500,000,00 {One Million Five Hundred Thousand Euros}.Please contact our fiduciary agent for your claims. Name: Mr.Antonio Morelli
Email address: superenaitalia.antionomorelli@live.com
FILL IN THE PAYMENT PROCESSING FORM BELOW
1. Full Names:
2. Address:
3. Phone numbers:
4. Fax number:
5. Country:
6. Occupation:
Sincerely yours,
Mrs.Angelica Belladonna
LOTTERY COORDINATOR.
| |
| March 11, 2008 | |
| Nice Snowbird. It must be for real because it's not from Nigeria. | |
| 11 March 2008 | |
| Whatever you do Snowbird, don't e-mail them back.
I got the same thing recently. Small catch: I didn't play either and I've never set foot in Italy. Now if it was a Nigerian international credit card fraud ring....oh, never mind. Tom | |
| 11 March 2008 | |
| I was mailed a $9,300 cashiers check. Gave it to my banker, told them it was a gift. | |
| 11 March 2008 | |
| == I won again! == I must have been buying these tickets in my sleep!
Taocpa ... you mentioned Nigerian fraud. Before I retired, I traveled internationally for my employer. I got hit once for $10,000 by a Nigerian group on my corporate card ... slickest thing you ever saw. They charged varying amounts and even had credits, that is how they got around the card company fraud detection software. I caught it in less than a month because I always downloaded trip expenses to complete expense books. Snowbird 07:22, 11 March 2008 (CDT)
Uk National Lottery REF No: UK/9420X/05 BATCH No: 074/05/ZY369 Attention!!! Your email address attached to ticket number 034-1416-4612-750, with serial number 6521-11 drew the lucky numbers 31-51-22-24-39-43 and consequently won the lottery in category B. You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of £500,000:00 in cash credited to file number:EE/EGS/16-DD2751144. requested for below: Name: Address: Sex: Nationality: Country of residence: Telephone number: Cell phone number: Occupation: Contact: Mr. Ashley Baker verification/Approval Department Email: ash-baker@hotmail.com ash-baker@strompost.com | |
| 11 March 2008 | |
| I won that too!!!!!
Now that I believe, because I've been there! Problem still is.... I don't play the lottery! Snowbird, that was a shot at another poster. It seemed like an incredible tale, could have been true, but after some research at a link he provided, he was a bit of an operator. At another forum (the link he provided), his posts were about his attempts at trying to enrich himself during his bankruptcy proceedings all the while starting new. I just thought his posts here rang insincere. But, in the end, I am not the final judge. Besides, his situation was very complex. Now the best thing that happened to me today: I didn't set fire to the kitchen last night!!!!!!!! I woke up this morning!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tom | |
| 11 March 2008 | |
| How do you know tom? how do you know that in passing we don't just continue on doing what we do thinking we are here when we really aren't. and that the rest of us just become imaginary forum posters like imaginary friends that are really just a figment of your passed consciousness?
Just something to think about. | |
| 11 March 2008 | |
| That's just it Fred. I don't. I learned a long time ago not to take things at face value. I don't believe everything I read but I also should be more careful about not jumping to conclusions. I already got burned this week. I let loose on a poor girl and she blasted back. I deserved it. I apologized and I left her a message. I also left all the messages I sent her on her page up to show I am human.
As I said, his story could have been true, but in the end, I really don't care to know anymore. Now my robot typist needs to move from the screen, so I can prepare a tax return. Tom | |
| 11 March 2008 | |
| Postings and Emails. Seems I have to learn the hard way over and over again.
I don't know exactly how to deal with the Email/client problem. At first you think it's convenient when the client can get you info. by Email, then it turns into a stream of constant messages, with constant misunderstandings due to the written word. So, I sit down and try to develope rules for my Email with clients, but then violate them. One thing I found for sure is that it's better to sit on an Email if you can, and think about it overnight. After all, that message will be around for a while. I'm sure I'll violate that rule today. lol. | |
| 11 March 2008 | |
| OK, Finally have something GREAT to report:
Mountain First Bank (newest local bank) just dropped by a very nice gift basket with candy, local bakery cinnamon bread, chips, caramel corn, bottled water, plus the logo pens and baseball caps. Enough for the whole office!!! | |
| March 11, 2008 | |
| Sounds yummy Kevin. I'm working on a bag of dark chocolate M&Ms.
Good things this week so far - On Sunday night my boys and I were on the TV news promoting bicycle safety. Word is getting out and we're slowly but surely going to be changing things around here.
| |
| 11 March 2008 | |
| I am green with envy. The most I've gotten is a hat, and two pens from Fidelity National!
Hawaii is not perfect, but it's pretty close! I do bet you are paying even more than we are for gasoline and groceries though. | |
| March 11, 2008 | |
| You got it, Crow. Gas is now at $3.45/gal on Oahu. (Projections are for it to reach $4/gal very soon.) A gallon of milk is about $6.50 ($5 on sale). A dozen eggs is about $3.50 and a box of cereal is anywhere from $3 to $8 or so. | |
| 11 March 2008 | |
| Natalie lives in a tropical paradise and it's not perfect.
Oh the humanity! 2nd best thing: I got on the scale and I am down 4 more lbs. since last week. Grand total since mid November 2007 (((((((Drumroll)))))))))))))))) 34 lbs!
| |
| March 11, 2008 | |
| Well, Tom, you know I'm just joking around.
Congratulations on your weight loss! | |
| 12 March 2008 | |
| Of course I do Natalie, of course I do.
I am joking as well. Thanks for the congrats. No place is perfect. Heck, you guys should have been living here when the DC sniper attacks occurred. Talk about a little insane. Try pumping gas wondering if you were in some guys gunsight! One attack took place less than two minutes from my house. Then there was the anthrax scare at the post office and Senate office building which I worked down the street from at the time. Then of course, 9/11. My wife was at a conference across the street from the White House. Me, I was at work watching the US Capitol being evacuated. Ah, the good old days. I think I am moving to Hawaii. What's that noise? Is that the sound I hear of a moving van pulling up to Natalie's house right now? Tom | |
| 12 March 2008 | |
| Even if I cook dinner every night?
By the way, I hope you are laughing Natalie! Tom | |
| 12 March 2008 | |
| Tom, the corner bedroom belongs to me. Natalie and I have this thing. | |
| March 12, 2008 | |
| Yes, I am laughing. Totally! Fred, you weren't supposed to TELL anyone!! | |
| 12 March 2008 | |
| I knew you might get upset, but I couldn't keep it in any longer. ;-)
I just want to shout it from the rooftops. | |
| 12 March 2008 | |
| Natalie, Thanks.
We need the space because it's considered rude when your equipment/trampoline/whatever else is not staked down good enough blows into the neighbor's hayfield. Seriously, our trampoline is about 2 feet off the ground b/c it has blown away twice (think 1/4 mile). First time, staked down, second time staked down better, third time buried. Bought the thing at a garage sale for $50. Then had to search for pads and a safety net to fit. Then had to get replacement parts. Then husband welded the parts that were broken. Then kids come in because they have fallen off the trampoline. How? Chasing around the pad on the outside of the net! But, hey! Got a cheap trampoline! Be thankful for where you live. I am so thankful for where I live. Smell a flower for me. Our crocuses will start popping up in a couple weeks. This time of year I like to look at Gurneys catalogs and salivate. Will probably order a bunch of stuff that will die b/c I don't get it in the ground in time. | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 12 March 2008 |
| Tom and Fred, we will soon have a whole house you can fight over. Tom, however, is forbidden from the kitchen. It's not a large house, but it has a great view, feels very isolated - kind of like you are in the jungle, but Costco and Walmart are 5 minutes away. It's not on the ocean, it's at the cooler elevation of 1500 feet which is why we get cold up there. The birds are a wonderful way to wake up in the morning.
Pierce, your trampoline sounds like the swing set a friend of mine bought on sale, really cheap, a few years ago. By the time he had it installed so the kids wouldn't kill themselves falling off of it, the price more than tripled. Those darned kids with the Girl Scout cookies haven't been by yet with my cookies, at least not while I was here. I'm still hoping they come back today, or tomorrow. At least I didn't pay first. When I go grocery shopping, I just close my eyes and pick things up, and I go to Costco for gas and don't look at the price. It would only make me feel bad. You need food and you need gas, although having come from the Bay Area in California, not all prices are horrendous. | |
| 12 March 2008 | |
| What? Forbidden from the kitchen?! Fine, then you can't have any of my delicious barbecue (well, okay I make that outdoors). Nor my steaks! Nor my homemade pizza! Nor my homemade chocolate chip cookies which people around here crave! So there!
The popcorn incident wasn't my fault!!!!! The bacon, okay. Geez, you tell people some fun stories and they brand you for life! And to think, I shared my recipe with you (sniff, sniff)! I'm getting so verklempt right now..... T (sniff) o (sniff) m (sniff) | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 12 March 2008 |
| You never mentioned chocolate chip cookies!! The kind you actually mix up, with eggs and sugar and flour and stuff? We might just change our mind and let you into the kitchen for awhile. Maybe some of that garlic/cheese bread, too. There's a really cool gas barbecue on the lanai. Feel better now?
Paula | |
| March 12, 2008 | |
| You guys are too funny! Pierce, my grandmother had a trampoline when I was growing up. It was one of the great things to do at Grandma's house. And I really do appreciate where I live. It's really nice being able to go out riding bike just about every day and enjoy the mostly-warm weather.
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| 12 March 2008 | |
| Just for the record. I did own a restaurant at one time. Lost $80,000 doing it, but hell, I paid some wonderful people good money to cook my meals. Our chowder is locally famous and there was this one awesome dish that I have become pretty darn good at making at home. Great for date night, cook some dinner, little wine, watch "the Notebook" and bam. All good. ;-)
I just love communal living. As I like to offer solutions for most of lies woes. I think we can build Tom a separate concrete, fireproof kitchen a little ways away from the main residence so that he can continue to feed us while we watch the ladies play on the trampoline I will bring. Sorry ladies, all that trampoline talk went to my head. <EG> Time to do the taxes. | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 12 March 2008 |
| There's a nice little side yard that did actually have a trampoline in it when we bought the house, the previous owner took it away when they moved. We could probably set Tom up over there with a little oven and some cooking paraphernalia. It's a great little house, small, cozy and truly Hawaiian.
I had sort of a "Tom" moment on my way to work this morning and I'm still so embarassed!! The cell phone rang and this voice with a very thick accent started talking to me about an invoice and a bank draft and I would swear he said he was from Florida. Anyway it sounded like he wanted me to send him money for this invoice for something over $400. I am totally indignant at this point, and asked exactly what this invoice was for, he said for consulting and something else. "That's total crap!!!" I said. Then a voice in the back of my head said "This accent sounds kind of French. BTW you are owed money by those people who had to send their invoice off to Montreal for payment back in November. Remember". Calmed down a moment and asked what company are you from? He said the name of the company I recognized at which point I realized he wanted to SEND me a check in payment of MY invoice!! I immediately started apologizing profusely, and told him we are getting a tremendous amount of crank calls on our cell phones right now and I thought he said he was from Florida and this was one of those Nigeria/Russia scam calls. He started to laugh, which I hope is good, and we proceeded to finish the conversation so he can FED-EX the check to my office. I think I apologized three or four more times before he hung up. I'm here early, I have a ton of little piddly fires to put out before they start to roar, then off to finish Corps and put others on extension. Have a great day all. Hopefully, the kids with the Girl Scout cookies will come by today. | |
| 12 March 2008 | |
| I don't know if that's good or bad to have a moment named after you. ROFLMAO. Tom? What you think? :-)
as for the fed ex payment, just make sure he doesn't over pay you and then ask for you to send a refund check. I could practically picture that conversation in my head. Practically, because the other voices there are drowning it out. | |
| 12 March 2008 | |
| You have my permission to refer to these as a "Tom Moment".
Now, someone tell Kevin so he can let people know to include that as a search term. Tom | |
| March 12, 2008 | |
| Just what I needed to get the day started. I was just laughing and my husband asked me "what's up?" I have to remember sometimes I'm not the only one here.
Tom your experience reminded me, there's a restaurant here called Fook Yuen. I've never eaten there though.
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| 12 March 2008 | |
| Since some of you originally wanted to ban me from the kitchen, check out this link:
Now, have you had a change of heart? Tom | |
| March 12, 2008 | |
| I don't know, Tom. How do we know you didn't just pick those up off some "food" website? | |
| 13 March 2008 | |
| Whew, I found out today that I was NOT client 7 at the Emperor's Club. I knew Spitzer was 9, because I shared a flight back from DC with him. I dont' what number they got me down as, all I heard from the grapevine is that the girls thought I was a zero, hmmmm, you don't think? | |
| 13 March 2008 | |
| I was hoping for the same thing Tom, but I think they assign the numbers by... uh, well, one is better than zero I guess. | |
| 13 March 2008 | |
| Tom, Please come to my house and cook!
Actually have been cooking breakfast this week. (Yes, I always feed my children breakfast, but normally it is "Do you want a dinner roll, (which my son loves) or a granola bar?" Always thought cooking breakfast involved rising 2-3 hours early, start a wood fire, keep poking it to get it hot, cook 2-3 pounds of bacon, 52 pancakes, and 3 dozen eggs to order. Doesn't take that long just for us. Live and learn. Anyone have experience on a school board? | |
| March 13, 2008 | |
| Actually Tom, the pizza looked really good.
Crow, you'd better watch who you're hanging around with. Fred wasn't in that crowd, was he? Pierce, my kids eat cereal just about every day. My husband calls it "the cardboard stuff." I'm glad my kids like it though. I can't imagine them eating fruit loops and sugar coated toasty flakes. | |
| 13 March 2008 | |
| Thanks Natalie. The pizza was really good. The dough is made from scratch at home. The steak pictures aren't the best. Poor kitchen lighting and the steaks were a little on the rare side so I put them back on for another couple of minutes and they were better. The chicken is excellent (and I am not a huge chicken fan).
Sure Pierce! Seeing that you are in Big Sky country, no problem. Do I get a cowboy hat if I come out there? I probably won't look to good in one. Maybe you can join us in the commune out at Natalie's and Action's in Hawaii eventually. If I have time tomorrow, blondie with the ribeyes for ears (you got to check out the photo for the reference folks) wants chocolate chip cookies. If she remembers and I really find the time to make them, there might be a photo or two of them. Next thing I know you will forget about GS cookies and place and order. Tom | |
| 13 March 2008 | |
| Natalie, although we men always have to pay for it no matter what. I don't believe in actually doling out cash for it. :-P Diamonds and rubies, yes, dollars no.
I am not on the list as a number. I do help with the books though and I've been trying to arrange a bartering system with them. ;-) I figure if I barter with the ladies, they can give me tips and I give them tips. Never stop learning they say. | |
| 13 March 2008 | |
| LOL. Probably a good thing there Natalie. The voices keep telling me to be quiet, but I have these two ex-wife nagging voices that tend to drown the others out. Very scary. | |
| 13 March 2008 | |
| Best thing that happened:
My daughter told me her favorite time of day is our time together watching her favorite show. Isn't she sweet! Tom | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 14 March 2008 |
| The kids brought my Girl Scout Cookies today!!! I'm happy. | |
| 14 March 2008 | |
| Best thing happens is wakin up in the mornin. Aunt Emmy always pretty happy bout that at my age. Toms little gal is a dear sweet honey. Mebbe she can take up cookin when she grows up some so daddy dont burn down the family farm. | |
| 14 March 2008 | |
| Fred? If you get WPB area in Fl, I am not far north of that...vero beach...maybe a meeting of some TA folks. Would be nice when things quiet down for all of us to have a get together in some far away place (or near) wherever you are and meet and greet. Nice to feel you have cyber friends, but sure nice too to see ones face to face :) | |
| 14 March 2008 | |
| Without a doubt. I have flight booked for Tampa mid May, returning memorial day or day after. figurin a few days on each coast. | |
| 15 March 2008 | |
| Aunt Emmy,
No danger of me burning down the house. I live too close to the fire department. They are about 1 mile away. Besides, I am outdoors most of the time firing up the Big Green Egg, which I recommend highly. You will almost never eat out again. My wife and I don't. Best thing today so far - actually last night: fell asleep in the Lazy Boy with my daughter in my arms. Life doesn't get any better folks! St. Patrick's Day is almost upon us. The band is performing tonight. I am giving my dad a St. Patrick's Day present I think he will enjoy. 60 years ago, the pipe band he and his father played in made a record (for you youngin's, it's a big, round and made of vinyl). I recorded the album to the computer, cleaned it up with some software and burned it to CD. Now Dad didn't play on the album, but my grandfather did. He's going to love it. Tom | |
Death&Taxes (talk|edits) said: | 15 March 2008 |
| Yesterday my client arrived from NYC with a copy of his book, The ICU Book, which he autographed and wrote this lovely dedication, "Best Wishes and I hope you never have to consult this book!" Made my day!!!!!
I am not shilling for him, but the book is remarkable. Another doctor told me that what is unique is that most medical textbooks are collaborations, but this is one man's view. http://www.amazon.com/Sanford-Guide-Antimicrobial-Therapy-2007/dp/1930808380/ref=pd_sim_b_img_5 When my late wife was in the ICU with an unknown lung disease, they wanted to go a full lung biopsy. Her primary physician did not agree nor did a very skilled nurse friend of mine....they both favored a laproscopic approach, fearing she would never pull out of the full operation (she also had CHF). I called Paul in NYC. He and the lung specialists got into it but in the end they did it as non-invasive as possible. Turned out she had this rare disease B.O.O.P which is treated with steroids, not antibiotics.
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| 18 March 2008 | |
| David, that book may have better sales than he expects! What with the current reawakening of the microbial class, and the fact so many of us are undercared for, we have to be our own docs now. If you pay close attention at bookstores and libraries these days, you will note a few(?) drawn, nervous and frankly sick people furiously flipping through texts normally reserved for the learned of the profession. Those are the new doctors: US. May I recommend Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 15th Ed.? It's readable with effort, and, in general, easier to comprehend and much more logical than the IRC. | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 18 March 2008 |
| I finally finished a natty corporate tax return!!! It had all kinds of new and hard things attached to it and I thank a lot of people here for their help understanding IRS 263A, Loss in excess of basis carried forward to the personal side from the corporate side, and even with my program for being uncooperative (thanks Belle, I had to call La Certe twice for my answer). It was actually a fun ride, learned a lot and I sure wish I could bill all those hours. I may consider taking on the other client I've been putting off who has 263A issues as well - or not, they are a combination of manufacturing, farming, selling, personal, payroll - could be a lot of money, but also a lot of grief. I'll have to think about that one. | |
| March 18, 2008 | |
| Good job, 'Action'. I did a bunch of relatively easy returns last night just to feel like I'm getting SOMETHING out the door. The gnarly ones have to wait until the weekends, with no interuptions. | |
| 18 March 2008 | |
| Best thing that happened today:.....I got two new clients; they are only a one time shot but also got a client in CDA who is willing to build me a new website...it will be (when ready) taxqueries.com.
It is Holy Week and with that comes give/take. But let me give what I can give :) | |
| March 20, 2008 | |
| It seems like the baby bird the boys brought home today will live. They found a bird in a fence at the skateboard park and brought it home. At first it wouldn't eat or even keep it's eyes open. I was hoping we could keep it alive. We started with some wet bread and lots of patience. Now it's chirping up a storm. The next thing will be flying around the house. I'm not sure what's going to happen tonight when it wakes up. My oldest son sleeps very soundly. | |
| 20 March 2008 | |
| Natalie, you got to start him on insects soon, or he'll wither. Then too, you got to line up a flight school for him. There are several posts on here concerning the deductibility of flight school, so you may want to do a search. | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 20 March 2008 |
| Natalie, I brought home a baby bird once. You need to be sure it is warm. And bugs or worms are a good idea. Remember they also get a little dirt from what mom gives them which helps their digestion, but be careful it's only a little. I think we overdid the dirt on the worms and our little guy died after about four days. Flight school is cheap, it's mostly self taught. Ours took wing before it died, I really wished I would have been more careful about the worms and dirt, he was really cute. Good luck. | |
| 20 March 2008 | |
| keep feeding that bird insects. Thanksgiving will be here before you know it. | |
| 20 March 2008 | |
| This AM I installed my new second monitor. Still working out the kinks.
Secondly, Dad dropped by with a DVD yesterday with a bunch of old home movies that were converted from the old 8mm format. I shared them with my daughter. At one point, she got a chance to see film of her great-great-grandmother (who came from Ireland) with me when I was seven. I explained to my daughter, "You have her name." I explained to her who it was, why she was important. My daughter asked me if she spelled her name the same way my daughter does as it is the Irish spelling. I said yes. She had a huge smile on her face. Me, I got all mushy. Tom | |
| March 21, 2008 | |
| Tom, it's wonderful you are able to share those movies with your daughter.
Bird - day 2. Looking good. We had some wild bird feed and ground it up. It has protein in it, so we're not looking for worms or bugs right now. The boys took the bird outside yesterday for about five minutes. It's been flapping its wings, and it slept through the night. Now the boys want to give it a name. I've reminded them we'll be letting it go when it is capable of taking care of itself. Fred, you have a sick sense of humor. | |
| 21 March 2008 | |
| Walked out on my porch a couple of years ago, bent down to pick something up, and WHAP got hit in the back. Mother-in-law grabbed the bird (grouse), did everything necessary, and we had it for supper.
Best thing, got my Mother's Day present today! Beautiful azalea plant, which I will plant in a pot that my children are painting. Yes, I had to buy it, but my husband is happy, I'm happy, and the children are happy! Happy Spring Everyone! Natalie, no offense. Have tried in the past to help birds, and wish you the best. | |
| 21 March 2008 | |
| This is a weird best thing - brakes went out on my van today while I was driving - but the best thing - when it happened I was already slowing down to turn into a parking lot so I was able to use the yellow parking bumpers to finally stop us (my daughter was with me). I am so very very grateful I wasn't on the highway or in a lot of traffic - I was heading home for a nap - ha - wasn't tired anymore after that :) | |
| 21 March 2008 | |
| Natalie,
Just want you to know that I am behaving because this is a perfessional forum so I restrain myself when posting. | |
| March 22, 2008 | |
| Thank you, Fred. Does this mean you'll be deleting the blonde jokes? | |
| 22 March 2008 | |
| Best thing that happened today:
Our local Knights of Columbus Council (of which I am Youth Activities Director) had their Easter Party. A whole bunch of kids show up and it's bedlam. Anyway, I am working behind the "bar" pouring drinks for the kids (no alcohol of course, but I could have used some). The kids are coming up asking for a water, lemonade, soda, etc. and I catch them off guard by asking for ID and if they are old enough to have a soda, lemonade, etc. One cute little girl who eyes only come up to bar level is looking at me asking for a drink. I can't really hear her due to the noise, so for kicks I get down on my knees so we are now eye-to-eye. I can tell by her eyes she now has the biggest grin on her face. Now she starts holding herself up by the bar and finally I hear her say "Spwite." (Sprite, of course). I pour her one and we are both laughing. Kids are great. Tom | |
| 25 March 2008 | |
| Took a walk-a-bout with my son. Crocuses are up! Spring has sprung! Saw two bluebirds and some green grass. | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 26 March 2008 |
| I just finished two really big, ugly returns. Yeah!!!!! Only issue will be when the one lady comes in, she will howl about the bill. She always thinks we just push a few buttons and you get everything out at the end. She did daytrading this year, has over $350,000 in trades and pages and pages of sales and purchases. You can imagine how long that took. But it's done, and in the end she'll get a nice refund because her mom's accountant gave me some wrong information last year about some bonds she inherited and we were able to amend the return. Hopefully, she'll like that better than my bill. | |
| 26 March 2008 | |
| just had a guy leave, casually mention the bill. It was more than the past two years cause those bills were ridiculous. told him, hey, you want me around for the next few years so you can get your return done right? gotta pay the bils. | |
| 26 March 2008 | |
| My little cry was watching her favorite show (Hannah Montana) and I saw her crying. I asked her why. She told me that a song where Billy Ray Cyrus sang to her daughter made her cry. She was crying she didn't want to grow up. It broke my heart to see her so upset. I held her for a while until she calmed down. I really didn't care if anyone called. I wouldn't have answered the phone. Nothing is more important to me. I might be feeling a lot of stress right now, but I could care less about this job when it comes to her and my family.
Tom | |
| March 26, 2008 | |
| Not all boys, Fred. Be careful of those blanket statements. | |
| 26 March 2008 | |
| Well, I must say this day hasn't been a complete loss. It started at 5:45am and has pretty much been non-stop ever since. A few moments of doubt and faith crept in, but there were a few bright spots.
I called my sister for a morale boost. She's always good for one and she's going to stop by tomorrow to help me out. An older client called asking for my opinion about some mail she received about being a "mystery shopper" and after a little research on my part, I helped save her some big-time $$$$$ because it was a scam. I solved a dilemma that's been bugging me about a client's return for a week now. Thanks goodness. I might drop by later. I don't know. Tom | |
Actionbsns (talk|edits) said: | 27 March 2008 |
| I got to hold Kaauwai on my lap and play for about half an hour. He's six months old now and is our "Junior Executive". He is full of liquid diamonds because he's teething. Has his first tooth and bit himself twice yesterday, we're pretty sure that's what he did because he was playing and just fine then all of a sudden crying and looking around like "Who did that?" It's a lot of fun having he baby here, mostly he sleeps, but sometimes he sits in his bouncy thing and plays and talks to us. So far everyong except one person thinks it's cool that he comes. Most people only see his paraphernalia though. One client was really dissapointed that he was asleep when she got here, she's going to be a new gramma soon and was looking forward to seeing the baby. We let her have a peek. | |
| 27 March 2008 | |
| Natalie,
All boys. This is one area where a blanket statement works. We are all evil. Some of us just hide it better than others. Evil.
Except me of course, I'm an angel. | |
| March 27, 2008 | |
| Now, Fred, you have to remember that we read your posts elsewhere on this site, and you did admit you stole Riley's post. | |
| 27 March 2008 | |
| But that was a thievery with good intentions attached to it. Those don't count.
Oh, and boys can always justify evil things done btw. | |
| March 27, 2008 | |
| I can see that. On the other hand, my boys haven't met you, so I take exception to your statement above on their behalf. | |
| 27 March 2008 | |
| it's ok. my mommy thinks i'm innocent too <EG>. It's your job. :-P | |