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Post by auntkelly on Jul 24, 2022 22:27:46 GMT
I'm glad your son is doing better. I will continue to pray.
You must be exhausted. Hugs.
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 23, 2022 20:04:27 GMT
Congrats!
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 23, 2022 12:48:33 GMT
Canned black olives-I recently rearranged our pantry and found that there were about 15 cans of black olives.
The funny thing is, the grocery store we shop at has a wonderful fresh olive bar and we eat fresh olives often. I thought I was occasionally buying a can for a recipe I make every once in a while which calls for a 1/2 cup of black olives. I had no idea I had enough black olives to make the recipe a hundred times or so!
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 23, 2022 12:23:00 GMT
Paternal grandparents-Vesta and Ted Maternal grandparents-Mattie and Claude
My kids have traditional names.
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 23, 2022 12:06:18 GMT
I am so sorry. I will pray.
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 20, 2022 17:20:15 GMT
What is something you have bought that has turned out to be worth every penny you spent on it? I'll start w/ three things that come to mind: 1. My Brother P Touch desktop label maker that the Peas (you know who you are **GypsyGirl** ) recommended. When I ordered it, I remember thinking "Will I really use it that much?" The answer is "yes!" I use it all the time. I reorganized my pantry last week and I pulled off all the old labels I had applied to the shelves to indicate where everything goes and I applied new ones since I had rearranged things. The labels came right up and didn't seem to damage the woodwork at all. 2. My kitchen aid mixer. My husband bought one at Costco the other day to give our adult son for his birthday. A woman said to him "Someone is going to be very pleased. My husband and I got one for a wedding gift 30 years ago and it's still going strong." My husband smiled and said "My wife and I have been married for 32 years, so our kitchen aid has yours beat by 2 years." 3. Our boat. When we first bought a boat twenty five years' ago, we heard tons of jokes about the two best days of a boat owners' life. (The day they buy the boat and the day they sell the boat.) However, we've traded boats several times since that first boat and we have many great memories of time spent on the lake w/ our family and friends (and a few bad times too, but I won't go into that ). So what are some purchases (big or small) that have been worth every penny you spent?
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 20, 2022 15:50:34 GMT
I will say prayers.
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 19, 2022 17:23:17 GMT
I personally would not like having a lot of structure on a beach vacation.
If I were the one organizing the trip, I'd say "Bob has volunteered to make his famous homemade pizza for us on Thursday night. How about if we plan on grilling steaks on the last night of our vacation? We can just wing it the rest of the time."
I would only go on vacation w/ friends I trust to pay their share w/out having to keep a spreadsheet.
On most days, we'd decide at 4pm or so what we wanted to do about dinner. If the group wanted to eat in, a couple people would volunteer to go to the store and buy the groceries for that meal and some people would cook and some would clean up. The next time we ate in a different group would go to the store and buy the groceries.
I find that people are usually good about doing their fair share of the work and paying their fair share for the food. If someone wasn't doing their fair share of the work or paying for their fair share of the meals, they wouldn't be invited back.
Also, I would never travel w/ that many people for more than a few days,
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 19, 2022 14:34:35 GMT
I didn't realize there was a pepperoni shortage, because I seldom buy any. However, that probably explains why my husband's favorite frozen pizza has been out of stock for so long. (It's a frozen pepperoni pizza I buy at the health food store of all places!)
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 19, 2022 14:28:13 GMT
We haven't made plans for Thanksgiving yet.
However, if I was going somewhere that was an eight hour drive away, I'd definitely drive instead of fly. Airports are packed at Thanksgiving and there are often flight delays.
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 19, 2022 3:02:13 GMT
I’m so sorry.
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 18, 2022 17:10:44 GMT
I agree that the police response was horrific. However, as I understand the report, there is a good chance many lives would have been saved (despite the despicable police response) if the broken lock everyone knew about had been fixed and the wifi signal within the school had been stronger. How tragic that the PE teacher saw the gunman jump the fence, reported it immediately, but teachers may not have been notified immediately. Even worse, a faulty door lock that everyone knew about gave the gunman easy access to his victims. I hope this is a wake-up call to school administrators that we need to take a serious look at basic safety issues and make basic repairs which will keep our teachers and students somewhat safer. I may be dreaming, but I would like to think that state and federal governments will provide funding for these basic repairs. Those are all things to consider. But if he hadn’t had the gun and a desire to kill people it would have all been prevented. People can’t leave that out. Absolutely. I'm all for reforming our gun laws. I think the response by the police was horrific. I think we have a mental health crisis in this country which needs to be addressed. However, I also think teachers and students should have the tiny bit of added protection that locked doors and a working public address system offers. My aunt is 96 years' old. In 1959 her second grade class at Poe Elementary in Houston, Texas was playing on the playground when a man approached her holding a brief case which he claimed contained a bomb. He eventually detonated the bomb, killing six people. My aunt survived, and I don't think she was ever given enough credit for how many of her students she got out of harm's way with her quick and calm thinking, but it was by far the worst thing that ever happened to her, and I know it haunted her. I don't wish that kind of trauma on anyone.
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 18, 2022 14:23:00 GMT
Even worse, a faulty door lock that everyone knew about gave the gunman easy access to his victims. He could have just shot out the lock though yes? This is what the report says: In violation of school policy, no one had locked any of the three exterior doors to the west building of Robb Elementary. As a result, the attacker had unimpeded access to enter. Once inside, the attacker continued into the adjoining Rooms 111 and 112, probably through the door to Room 111, and apparently completely unimpeded. Locking the exterior and interior doors ultimately may not have been enough to stop the attacker from entering the building and classrooms. But had school personnel locked the doors as the school’s policy required, that could have slowed his progress for a few precious minutes—long enough to receive alerts, hide children, and lock doors; and long enough to give police more opportunity to engage and stop the attacker before he could massacre 19 students and two teachers.
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 18, 2022 13:49:56 GMT
I agree that the police response was horrific. However, as I understand the report, there is a good chance many lives would have been saved (despite the despicable police response) if the broken lock everyone knew about had been fixed and the wifi signal within the school had been stronger.
How tragic that the PE teacher saw the gunman jump the fence, reported it immediately, but teachers may not have been notified immediately. Even worse, a faulty door lock that everyone knew about gave the gunman easy access to his victims. I hope this is a wake-up call to school administrators that we need to take a serious look at basic safety issues and make basic repairs which will keep our teachers and students somewhat safer. I may be dreaming, but I would like to think that state and federal governments will provide funding for these basic repairs.
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 18, 2022 13:13:48 GMT
I like L'Oréal double extend, which is also a tube mascara. It's one of the only ones that doesn't give me racoon eyes. If I need waterproof though, I use the Dior Show in waterproof. I had tried every expensive brand of mascara ever made and always ended up w/ raccoon eyes, so I was very skeptical when my daughter told me about double extend. I thought there was no way a drug store brand was going to be the answer to my problem, but happily, I was wrong! It’s the best mascara by far for me. And it’s cheap!
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 16, 2022 14:16:15 GMT
How many of you are like me and very much see certain colours as being for certain seasons? Such as…I never wear dark reds, purples etc in the summer. I know people do and it looks great on them but it feels wrong to me 😁 Likewise I don’t wear orange shades in winter, nor pinks, lilacs, yellows or any pastel shade. The exception is a good true red which I will wear any time. I’m very traditional. I wear pinks in the summer and reds in the winter. I like fun colors on other people’s nails, but it’s just not me. I know it’s silly to think that red and pink are the proper colors for nails since nobody was born w/ red or pink nails, but I can’t help myself. I’m old. 🤣🤣🤣
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 16, 2022 13:58:19 GMT
Over Memorial Day, I went on a girls’ trip with five other women. I did not know that one of the ladies’ husbands had tested positive for Covid before she came on the trip. She notified everyone else and they said “We’re all vaccinated and healthy, go ahead and come.” I honestly don’t think they meant to exclude me from the decision making process, I think I was just overlooked.
Long story short the woman whose husband tested positive took a test the night she got home from the trip and tested positive. One of the other ladies tested positive. Everyone else, including myself tested negative and remained healthy.
However, I couldn’t visit my aunt who is in memory care for two weeks because I had been exposed to someone with Covid. It broke my heart because I am the only family member who visits her regularly and I know how to calm her down when she is confused and upset. It broke my heart that I couldn’t see her for two weeks, and I felt her health visibly deteriorated during those two weeks.
I’m just telling this story because I think people sometimes forget that just because someone isn’t high risk doesn’t mean that being exposed to Covid isn’t going to negatively affect their lives.
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 14, 2022 13:20:46 GMT
I think your broker’s remark about never calling him when the market is up is condescending and it would irritate me. More importantly, if you are ten years’ from retirement then I think you have a legitimate concern about this market and whether you should be reallocating some of your retirement funds. (If I remember correctly Warren Buffett announced a few months ago he was mostly getting out of this market and waiting on the sidelines until things stabilized).
My kids are in their late twenties and they have plenty of time to ride out the highs and lows of the markets. My husband and I are retired and therefore more conservative with our investments. For example, my husband and I put stop losses on most of our stocks so that if they drop more than a certain percentage, they will automatically be sold. We didn’t need that type of protection when we were in our twenties and thirties, but we need it now that we are retired. Our portfolio is more conservative overall than it was twenty years’ ago.
We have two different brokers since we retired. (As a retiree, I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket). One of our brokers sits down w/ us every quarter to go over our portfolio. The other one lives in another city, but he calls us periodically to suggest changes to our portfolio. My husband and I sometimes call our brokers w/ questions and they are always respectful, even if they don’t always agree w/ us.
If I were you, I’d look for another broker with a solid track record who is more sensitive to the fact that you want to retire in ten years. You don’t want a broker who is overly conservative, but you also don’t want a broker who has a “one size fits all” mentality.
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 12, 2022 15:32:39 GMT
My husband and I love to listen to nonfiction books on road trips. Some of our favorites have been:
Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larsen. (If you love history, architecture, technology, ferris wheels and/or serial killers, you will love this story).
The Great Bridge:The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough. (This book has it all: romance, political corruption, great visionaries, tragedy and triumph! I'm determined now to go back to NYC and walk across the bridge).
The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home by Denise Kiernan. (This book tells the story of the building of the Biltmore and the family who lived there. My husband and I both thought it was fascinating and it inspired a trip to Asheville to see the Biltmore for ourselves).
Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough. (This might be our very favorite audiobook. It is definitely one of the shorter audiobooks we've listened to. It's about the very privileged and interesting childhood of Theodore Roosevelt. I've recommended this one to several friends who don't particularly like history or biographies and they have all liked this one).
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 12, 2022 14:58:58 GMT
I just read November 9 by Colleen Hoover. I usually like this author's books, but I did not like November 9. Judging from the reviews on Amazon, most readers think this book is romantic. I think it romanticizes disturbing, deceitful and creepy behavior by males towards women.
I also read True Crime Story: A Novel by Joseph Knox. This was a murder mystery which reads like a true crime novel. The author even inserts himself into the story in a very unflattering light. The novel dragged at points, but overall I thought it was a good read.
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 4, 2022 4:35:57 GMT
Congrats! He’s darling!
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 1, 2022 15:02:49 GMT
I’m so sorry you are going through this. You will be in my prayers.
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Post by auntkelly on Jun 30, 2022 18:04:27 GMT
I think this family treated you poorly and I hope you find a better position with a family who values their nanny on a personal and a professional basis.
When my kids were young my biggest priority was quality child care. It was on my mind constantly when I was pregnant with my second child. There is no way I would have casually said to my nanny “oh, I won’t need you for two weeks. Oh actually it turns out I won’t need you for six weeks.” I paid my nanny when I was on maternity leave w/ my second child for six weeks and it was all agreed to by both parties weeks before my second child was born.
They might have treated you well in the past, but it sounds like they are the type who will always do what is best for them without regard to other’s circumstances. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if you never hear from them again.
I hope you find a new job that you love and at which you are treated professionally.
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Post by auntkelly on Jun 28, 2022 11:58:59 GMT
I hope you and your dog love California.
It will be such a blessing for your brother and sister-in-law law to have you with them.
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Post by auntkelly on Jun 28, 2022 11:50:45 GMT
I love the idea of the anticipation of walking through the park and catching glimpses of the cathedral through the trees, and then suddenly there are no more trees and you see the cathedral in all its glory.
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Post by auntkelly on Jun 27, 2022 13:45:19 GMT
Thanks for all the great suggestions!! My younger son (20 yo) with autism & ID had a complete meltdown with both of us out of town, and his group home had to call the police (they didn’t take him, thank heavens), so I am heading back early. I’m posting from the plane. ☹️ Anyhow, I did cram as much as I could in the 1.5 days I was there. Our hotel was on the corner of Canal and Royal, so we walked a lot in the French Quarter. We had dinner the first night at the Creole House and then lunch at Acme Oyster yesterday, followed by a Hurricane at Pat O’Brien’s. I was so upset by what was going on at home that I sent my Dh to dinner without me last night (it was a business dinner), but he brought back a muffuletta from the Cochon Butcher because they ate at the restaurant there. Central Grocery is still closed and they were only selling their cold muffulettas at the liquor store next door, so we passed. The hotel literally had a Cafe Beignet next door, so we got beignets there instead of Cafe Du Monde because the line was so long. They were yummy, but I can only eat so much these days, so only managed one. The food was amazing, overall! I hope to get back here someday when younger son is in school (it is summer break), or in a day program. Thank you again for all your advice. It really helped us choose what to do in such a short period of time. I did get my steps in! I am so very sorry you had to cut your trip short and I hope your son is doing better now that you are home. I hope you get to return to New Orleans someday soon.
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Post by auntkelly on Jun 27, 2022 13:27:23 GMT
In general, I think it is nice when siblings are in the wedding party.
However, there are lots of valid reasons why siblings are sometimes not included in the wedding party.
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Post by auntkelly on Jun 26, 2022 15:24:37 GMT
Thanks to admin for giving us this great space to go when Two Peas shut down. I'm so glad we are still thriving after all these years.
I do miss some aspects of the old board. Scrapbooking and message boards were so popular at the time, new members were always signing up and joining in. The board moved so fast that every time you refreshed your browser there would be a few new threads on the board. There were so many new posts that threads would quickly fall off page one. The more needy peas were convinced that they were "thread killers" who were so unpopular that when they posted on the thread, no one else wanted to participate. Therefore, the thread ended up dying on page 2. The nice peas would try and assure the needy peas that they weren't unpopular thread killers. The nice peas tried to convince the needy peas the board was just moving so fast with so many new threads, that some threads just naturally died a quick death on page 2. It had nothing to do w/ the last poster's popularity.
I can't help but wonder, if years from now, when the last two Peas are still alive, if they will continue to communicate on the Two Peas Refugee board instead of just texting each other? Can't you just imagine it? One of the two remaining peas will start a thread entitled "Seeking Tried and True Asparagus Recipes." The other remaining pea will answer "I don't like asparagus but here is my Aunt Sallys tried and true recipe for Broccoli Salad." The other pea will answer, "If I had wanted broccoli recipes, I would have asked for them. Instead, I asked for asparagus recipes. If you wanted to exchange broccoli recipes you should have started your own thread."
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Post by auntkelly on Jun 25, 2022 14:08:32 GMT
It's just more evidence that he was only thinking of himself right up until the end. He could have cared less that Gabby was dead. The only thing that mattered was how her death impacted him and how the world viewed him.
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Post by auntkelly on Jun 23, 2022 15:17:00 GMT
It seems like if this has happened twice, maybe she should give up competitive swimming. I know it would be devastating for a world class athlete to give up their sport, but drownings happen so fast. Even lifeguards don't always recognize what is happening until it is too late, which was almost the case in this instance.
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