Aiming for the GHGs (Official)

[sherrydorlando2]

MOrning Ladies:
Feeling better again today. Lots to do.

[newmoose]

Happy Hump Day!

Our internet was out here at work until about an hour ago. It sure throws a wrench in things. We had about 50 or so kids ready to take the PSAT and others ready to DECA testing. It is also picture day, so another unusual day.

I am so busy teaching for a coworker that I have barely had time to breathe.

I hope you all have a great day!

[pepper]

Howdy!

newmoose , from yesterday’s comments, I really prefer things where people interact. That’s one of the things I enjoy about classes — everyone talks to each other. I could go to a festival by myself and there could be 10,000 people there but no one interacting with people they don’t know. That gets very lonely.

We’re moving the Marketing department to my division. Yay! Something else to do! 😁 I’ve been quietly pushing it for several months, so I’m glad it’s happening. We’ve had that one department sort of hanging out not reporting to anyone. The good side of that is that they don’t need a lot of managing. I just want those employees to be “grafted in” to the company.

I’m going to vote at lunch today, I think. I agree with GG — I wish there were a way to stop seeing all political ads once I vote. While we’re at it, I don’t want to hear the 2 weeks of fundraising from our local public radio station if I’ve given already. If they can put a man on the moon, why can’t they make this happen?

Have a great day!

[gadgetgirlil]

Happy Friday Eve!

Grrr at the garbage folks. Per the village website, garbage needs to be to the curb by 6am. I got to the rental property at 5:50am and they had already come by for the garbage and recycling. I usually put it out the day before but everything is messed up with the massive pile of gravel blocking part of my property. So I put the big bag of trash that already had the required sticker on it in my car and drove it over to the next street where they were just starting to pick up. I put it next to someone else's bin. I did check later and it was collected. I will need to do something different next week to get my recycling bin taken care of. I will have to ask my neighbor about putting my bin on his property on Tuesday. I'm sure he will be fine with it as he has asked to use our parking lot in the past for special events. I just wish they would finish up with the massive storm sewer project. The roads are a mess and this has been going on all summer.

Labs went fine and I've noticed that this semester the students are very engaged during lab. I've changed things up from last year and it seems to be working. Now we will see how they do on their exams next week. I will have open labs on Friday, Monday and Tuesday. I really don't want to have to fail anyone who is actually showing up to class and trying their best. The two students who haven't made an appearance since 10/2 are a different story.

We are having our friends over for lunch on Saturday. BBQ carryout and homemade cupcakes with buttercream frosting! I need to get to Trader Joe's tonight before I come home so that I have everything so I can make the cupcakes tomorrow night.

Have a great day!

[V]

Morning

I was so tired that I don't remember MG waking me up from my nap. I'm still tired. And cold. And I have a headache. Bleh. I did not get the roses transplanted.

YMV voted. I still need to figure out if I'm voting early or waiting for election day. And I too wish that the political ads could stop once the voting is done in my house. It would encourage me to early vote.

[newmoose]

Good morning!

Third place in trivia, which was good considering it was on horror movies (Wes Craven and John Carpenter movies), which I know next to nothing about. DH was helpful, but he doesn't watch horror movies either.

GN tonight at the local BBQ place. I hope they have all the food this time, as they had run out last time we were there--right after they opened.

I have meetings to go to today for senior transition. I hate that my roster got turned upside down and I am not involved with many of the students that I "raised" for the last three years. This meeting is where we talk about what the students plan to do after high school and all of the opportunities afforded to them. Transition was my baby before Covid turned things upside down.

I hope you all have a great day!

[sherrydorlando2]

Good Morning Ladies:
I am better again today and I got haircut yesterday; groceries and meds; dropped off an Amazon pkg. and laundry all caught up. Today is floors and flowers. Counting all of my steps. I'm not losing anything, but still doing more exercise and size/shape is down.

[pepper]

Howdy!

Trump is coming to town today. Ew. I’ve voted now so it all needs to stop.

I’m planning to take a couple of yoga classes over the weekend. I need to go clothes shopping 🤮 but that is no fun at all. Maybe I’ll bake a pie or some bread.

Have a great day!

[gadgetgirlil]

TGIF!

We had a thunderstorm roll through overnight. Quite the light and sound show at 1:00am. I'm dragging this morning.

Today is the review for next week's exams. I have my stuff mostly put together but still need to do a little bit more this morning.

pepper's comment about clothes shopping reminds me that at some point I need to go bra shopping. The girls aren't what they used to be and my ancient bras could use to be upgraded. I'm picky about bras as I only like front-closure styles and none of those damn molded cups. I remember decades ago going to a high end department store and actually getting a bra fitting. Do they still do those?

News items about the tax rates/standard deductions for 2025 has got me thinking about the tax planning that I'm going to do over Thanksgiving weekend. Since I'm retiring in May 2025, I have the opportunity to stash even more pay into my 403b at the university before I leave. I just have to balance what I need in terms of net pay versus maximizing the 403b. I do the maximum deduction for the HSA. Good thing that I'm a CPA

Tonight I bake the cupcakes! You are all welcome to swing by around 12:30pm tomorrow as there will plenty to share

Have a great day!

[newmoose]

Good morning and TGIF!!!!!!!!

This working all week is hard!

GN was really fun. I don't know if we will do anything next week, since it is Halloween.

Monday is WF's birthday and a Pittsburgh Steelers (her favorite) game on MNF. I think we are going to go out to watch the first half and celebrate.

Fall is really showing off here. I really thought we wouldn't get much of a color show with the hot, dry summer and then the hurricane winds and rain, but it is about as beautiful a fall as I can remember. It's just really late coming on. I need to take pictures and post them on FB.

Time to get to class! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

[sherrydorlando2]

Good MOrning Ladies:
Five of us going out to lunch at a prissy place and I'm having lemon/blueberry ricotta pancakes (1/2 now and 1/2 tomorrow). They are devine. Got some stuff done yesterday. Will mop this afternoon.

[pepper]

Howdy!

I wish I could get a pedicure between now (6:52 a.m.) and my 8:00 a.m. yoga class. 😁

I have plans to bang on my fiddle later. My bow re-hairing and repair are finally done, so I’ll drive across town this afternoon to get it. I was talking to the bow lady yesterday about the violin I just got and asked her if she knows the story behind it. (It’s roughly 125 years old.) She had me take pics of the front and back so she can send them to her mother who acquired it a year ago (or several years ago - she wasn’t sure) and set it up. It would be cool to know its background.

Have a great day!

[gadgetgirlil]

Hello weekend!

Cupcakes are baked, just need to make the frosting to finish them up.

Missing several students at yesterday's review including one that really needed to be there as he is likely to fail the course if he doesn't turn things around on these upcoming exams. I will get the written exam pulled together tomorrow. Just like the first exam, I'm pulling questions from the worksheets they have done as well as including the 20 questions that I went through on yesterday's review. I consider those 10 points (1/2 point per question) the equivalent of curving the exam and/or giving extra credit.

Even though this semester is still crazy busy and overwhelming, I do feel that things are going better than last fall. The students certainly have been far more engaged in the labs. While I do see some texting going on in class, mostly by those who are not performing well, it isn't as obnoxious as last fall. The students all seem very respectful unlike a few last fall that always seemed to be yanking my chain. So I'm taking this as a win and feeling good that I'm ending on a better note than last year.

I finally had a chance yesterday to reach out to a different insurance company about the policy on the rental property. They came back with a quote that is $1,700 less than what I'm paying. I had a huge increase this year with the current company. I'm going to get the policy switched as of 11/1. The current policy had renewed 9/15 but I was too overwhelmed in September to deal with shopping around.

I also realized yesterday that I have a limited window of opportunity to max out my 403b contributions. I got the form in to bump up my contributions starting 10/31. Did some more number crunching this morning and realized that I can take it even higher for November and December's checks so will submit yet another change form. For 2025, I will have a very large % taken out so that I can get to the maximum allowed per year with the catch up contributions considered. My 5/31 paycheck in 2025 will have 3.5 months worth of salary since I elect to take my 9 month contract over 12 months. When you retire/resign, your last paycheck has to include all the future payments still due to you. That would be a massive tax withholding hit.

One of my Thanksgiving weekend projects is doing a lot of number crunching for our 2024 and 2025 taxes. Everything has changed now that DH is taking SS and is on Medicare. And of course 2025 gets crazy with me retiring. It is good thing I'm a CPA and like these kind of number games!

Have a great day!

[sherrydorlando2]

good Morning Ladies"
Yesterday was fun and relaxing and accomplished stuff.....so can't ask for more. I'm off soon to a charity tea at a church with some friends. Then, I need crescent rolls and hotdogs from store to make
"mummies" for book club Wed. I have some sliced black olives for eyes and or mouths.
Hope you have a great Sat.

[newmoose]

Good morning!

Home football game today, so tailgating with our friends and, hopefully, a win. We are playing the number 1 team in our conference and they are undefeated. If we can win this one it will be huge.

With all the golf stuff and work, we have opted to get Jersey Mike's subs for the tailgate. Neither of us have had the time or energy to cook and plan one of our more typical tailgates.

DH has golf again Sunday-Tuesday. This is the tournament his team hosts, so a lot more work. He spent all day yesterday working on marking the course so that he could go to the football game. I may see him a bit after today, but am not counting on it.

Off to get dressed for the game!

Have a great day!

[gadgetgirlil]

Greetings!

Very nice time with our friends yesterday. Delicious BBQ and of course, my cupcakes. Those cupcakes are the first thing I have baked since July since I have been so insanely busy with the semester. I'll do some more baking over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Going to take care of a few errands this morning and then go for a bike ride before I put together tomorrow's exam. Cool day but then it is going to get in the 80's for Tuesday and Wednesday. Crazy weather!

Have a great day!

[pepper]

Howdy!

I had a really nice yoga class yesterday morning. This morning I need to go water the community garden plots before it gets too hot. Will summer never end here?  Bonus from the heat: My little garden here at home has some okra that’s ready to pick. Okra loves the heat, apparently.

I had some nice violin playing time yesterday. I am sooooooo glad I got the new violin. The sound is about a million times better than my previous one, so it was worth the money.  I’ve been going back and forth all week about spending the $. I drive myself nuts sometimes.

There’s a Dillards on my path to pick up my bow, so I told myself all I needed to do was go in and buy a pair of black pants. I found the one pair of black pants in my size, and a silky black T, so I have something new. I swear, my work wardrobe is about as pathetic as it has ever been. Everything in my closet is worn out.  Much of it isn’t even worth taking to Goodwill; it just needs to be thrown away. Maybe I’ll do some of that this afternoon.

Have a great day!

[sherrydorlando2]

Good Morning Ladie:
The tea yesterday was just beautiful. More than l00 there and each table was a different theme by the ladies. The imagination just boggled my mind. Plus there was a school concert band and lots and lots of door prizes. We didn't win a thing, but we got a cute artificial flower arrangement from the table as a gift as well as a matching candle. Afternoon well spent with friends. Today is brunch with my neighbor. Her knee is better, but she is not good at doing what she is supposed to and not nearly where she needs to be this long after surgery....but she has had 3 major surgeries in just over a year, so maybe that is the cause of some of it. Mopping the downstairs will be my afternoon plan along with bills and a nap. Another night of up from 2 to 6 am...pfft.

[newmoose]

Good morning! (I did start this in the morning! HA!)

Our team won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have now beaten two ranked teams, so hopefully we will be ranked next week!

We had so much fun with our friends. One of my GN friends came to play with us. The weather was perfect and the campus was glowing with fall colors.

I am going to the local sports bar to watch the Packers game. DH is off with the golf team today, but will be home in time for dinner. I hope they have some of the Cajun specials left at the bar. I am ready for some gumbo! (Speaking of okra.)

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

[V]

Morning.

Friday I got out with G & YF for a run on the country road by G's house. We went farther than I cared to go (over 3 miles), but we finished it. Then picked up a customer appreciation day donut (for our guys) and hot cider from the cable tv company that is locally owned. We also got company branded spatulas. They do this every year.

Saturday YF & I went to Manhattan for my massage. We stopped at a local coffeeshop chain and then went to a new local yarn store. I had seen a pullover pattern on FB and splurged on it so I needed some soft new yarn to complete the project. Because I don't have enough projects around the house already. I found a lovely locally dyed and spun yarn that is like working with buttah. Then we went to a taphouse for lunch. The bowl had veggies, rice, and roasted chickpeas with a tahini sauce on top. After that, Best Buy so I could replace the iPhone case and screen protector and HyVee for stuff we cannot hope to get locally at our WalMart. All told, it was an expensive but lovely day out. I started playing with the yarn the moment I got the groceries put away.

So Deck Guy installed new railings on the front porch last week. He would have known that the railing for the ramp would be installed on the incline. Rather than figure out how to install the post upright (90*), he cut the railing and installed the post on the slant. I didn't even see it for a full day. It was one of those "something is wrong here, but my brain cannot process how it needs to be so it looks right." When I texted to complain about the wonky setup, he told me of another client who is stuck with the same setup. I texted her to ask, but then started looking into how it could be fixed properly. I sent him the info on how to fix it and expect that he will be back this week to get it straightened out.

Pic added to show the issue.

[pepper]

Howdy!

We’re supposed to get our first measurable rain since Aug 4 on Halloween. Yay-ish!

The food bank got a lb of gorgeous radishes from my garden yesterday. I wish I had more radish seeds because those are so easy to grow. After I picked them I planted beets where the radishes had been. My parsnips have finally taken off. The carrots have decided to not even try.

All that happened in my “pantry plot,” i.e., everything that grows there goes to the food pantry. In my for-me plot, I’ve still got the previous gardener’s plants in there. I’m torn between pulling them up vs letting them stay until they die off for the winter. There’s some kind of weird Asian bean plant that no one can figure out how to cook, plus it isn’t producing. There are also a few odd pepper plants that I know nothing about. My initial plan was to give all that grows from his plants to the food pantry, but the only thing producing is a couple of pepper plants. I’d rather have radishes and parsnips. We’re finally about to get cooler weather and rain, so now’s a good time to make a change.

Bossman is on vacation until a week from today. Yay!

Have a great day!

[gadgetgirlil]

Greetings!

This is week 10 of the semester. Students have until Sunday evening to withdraw from classes and take a "W" instead of an "F" or "D". I likely will be reminding a few students of this deadline, especially the two that haven't shown up for the A&P class since 10/2. Next week registration for the spring semester begins. The registrar is trying something different with the combined lecture/lab classes since historically there have been issues with having people in labs and not in lecture since the co-registration feature often breaks. But since we got rid of all the people who knew how to build courses in our course management system, we currently are missing 3 sets of key courses on the schedule: microbiology, anatomy and my course! Oops.

Today's exam is all set to go. I have the copies and the key. Parts of the exam are exactly like prior worksheets, parts are a bit different. If students bothered to study over the weekend, they probably will be just fine especially if they have been attending lecture and lab and have earned all those points.

Before I went to campus, I rode 20 miles. It was a cold but lovely morning to meander around suburbia. The fall colors were great! I also got my errands done so I'm in a good place to start the week.

The giant mountain of gravel that was blocking my mailboxes at the rental property is now greatly diminished. I will be able to put out my recycling bin at its normal location tomorrow and it should get emptied Wednesday morning. Still looks like it will be several weeks before the road is back to normal. I think they were targeting the end of November.

Have a great day!

[V]

Morning.

Yesterday was not productive at all. Today I will call to get dirt and rock delivered for the yard and MG's fence project. The pickets in our wooden fence are leaning and that allows the cross members to fall out. There are currently five that are down with no hope of just being set back in place and several more that are in a precarious position. He knows that I like our perimeter fence and will figure out how to shore up the posts.

I swear that I cannot start a knitting project without restarting it a minimum of 4 times until I figure out what the pattern is calling me to do. I didn't like the look of the lifted increases it called for on the pattern. There were holes left in the fabric and I didn't always get the right spot lifted every time. So I'm reworking the pattern to come from the other angle and make them a decrease. I have no idea if it will work the way I envision it, but we will see. Even if it doesn't, the extra swatch will be useful in getting my rhythm and tension back.

[newmoose]

Good morning!

Week 11 of our semester starts today. It should be week 12, but missing 5 days messed that up. We still haven't learned what we will be doing about making up the days. Will our semester be shorter? Will we have to come back after Christmas and finish it up? What about EOC SOLs? I think I will email the superintendent and see what he thinks will happen.

I had a great time at JJ's (the local sports bar). I ended up sitting with friends I hadn't seen in quite a while. I ate a cup of delicious gumbo and, later, had half a debris roast beef sub and fries. The other half will be my lunch.

DH got home, cold and tired, and just wanted dinner. We tried a new pizza place in town. We had salads and a pizza--with lots more leftovers. It was really good, but it's not going to replace our favorite place in town. There's also another new pizza place in town that we would like to try, but it was not open yesterday.

Today is WF's birthday. I am going to take her to watch the Steeler's game for a bit, and celebrate. I need to stop at a local bakery and see if they have any pies or tarts for her.

The bell has rung and I have "wasted" another planning period getting my mind ready for the day.

I hope you all have a great day!

[sherrydorlando2]

Good Morning Ladies:
I didn't go to brunch yesterday,,,,,I had the wrong date or day. It will be today. I did get in an extra long walk and a trip to grocery store for a few things plus my mummies.