Earth Muffin's Mellow Coffee Shop

[NancysSummerSip]

Dec 17, 2023 17:25:20 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

Dec 17, 2023 15:46:41 GMT -5 busymom said:

Ok, I actually got all of the presents wrapped.  I just need to slip a couple of gift cards in with a Christmas card, and that'll be done.  I'm going through my grocery list, and realizing I'm still going to have to get several items for cooking & baking.  I need to inventory the stocking stuffers I've bought, to see what else I need.  I'm not going near any stores until probably early tomorrow morning.  Weekends are just too hectic so close to the holidays.

I was going to go today. I decided to go tomorrow afternoon, instead.
I made delicious Spanish rice with beans and cheese, for lunch.
So good!
I wanted to go out to breakfast, early this morning. But didn't have anyone to go with me.
I've been inside for so long, I may never go back out! (I wish.)


I bought the girls some new Christmas books. One of them plays music. Their parents ought to be thrilled. Haha! 🤣

I donated some scarves and gloves to the homeless shelter, today. I washed them last night, so they would be fresh. That ought to last about 5 seconds, before they're filthy. LOL At least they'll have some.

Rice, beans and cheese sounds like a good vegetarian dinner option, or something to do with leftover tacos. Yum.

[Sharon]

We finally got the go on the big upgrade we have been working on at 4pm today.  I put in 71 hours this week and 60+ last week.  The boss is working to try and get us some comp time.

[busymom]

We had pasta & sauce for dinner tonight.  We'll be eating anything but ham this week, since that's what I'll be making on Christmas Day.  

[TheOtherMe]

Dec 17, 2023 19:50:36 GMT -5 Sharon said:

We finally got the go on the big upgrade we have been working on at 4pm today.  I put in 71 hours this week and 60+ last week.  The boss is working to try and get us some comp time.

I hope the boss can get you and the others some comp time or a bonus.  That's too many hours.  

I hope it's over for now.  I used to work 70 plus hours from early February through April 15.  By early March, all I was doing was working, eating and sleeping.  Getting in a load of laundry when I could.  

[toomuchreality]

Dec 17, 2023 19:04:18 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

Dec 17, 2023 17:25:20 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

I was going to go today. I decided to go tomorrow afternoon, instead.
I made delicious Spanish rice with beans and cheese, for lunch.
So good!
I wanted to go out to breakfast, early this morning. But didn't have anyone to go with me.
I've been inside for so long, I may never go back out! (I wish.)


I bought the girls some new Christmas books. One of them plays music. Their parents ought to be thrilled. Haha! 🤣

I donated some scarves and gloves to the homeless shelter, today. I washed them last night, so they would be fresh. That ought to last about 5 seconds, before they're filthy. LOL At least they'll have some.

Rice, beans and cheese sounds like a good vegetarian dinner option, or something to do with leftover tacos. Yum.

By most people's standards, it probably isn't all that healthy. But by my standards, it's quick, easy and delicious. It's one of the few dishes, I actually use a pan for, which I consider cooking. BWAHAHA 🤣 It takes all of about 10 total minutes, to make from start to finish.
It's kind of like "heating" a hot dog on a BBQ and claiming you cooked. 🤣 But I enjoy it.

I think I'm going to "cook" again tomorrow. Then I'll take it for lunch, on Tuesday. It's one of DGD2's favorite dishes (mine too). She LOVES peas now, because there are peas in the "casserole". Seriously, I took some frozen peas to their house with me once, this summer. She got the biggest smile and was so excited, her eyes sparkled like it was Christmas. Talk about happy! She's currently 3 1/2 yrs old. If only I'd known it was that easy,to make her happy! 😊
Her sister lives on chicken nuggets and corn dogs. Refuses to eat any vegetables. Claims she hates all of them! On occasion, she'll eat an Uncrustable p-butter sandwich. But the 3 yr old won't.
Kids are funny creatures.

I'd have lost my mind, a long time ago, putting up with stuff like that.

My "little" brother also loves it when I make tuna casserole. The same thing my GD2 loves. There must be something special about those peas! LOL


I love "real" food. And I used to not mind making it, when I was in a relationship. Now, not so much.

I might wrap the beach towels I got for the girls, tomorrow. Since they have a hot tub, they use a lot of big towels. Well, big, if you're 3-5 yrs old.

I used to love wrapping gifts and making big fancy bows and stuff for them. But it's very time consuming, for trash. So I don't know. I'll see what tomorrow brings. And what my mood is like, tomorrow.

Only 6 more days, until my big day is here. I think DGD1 has a dance recital, Wednesday evening.
We'll probably go to dinner afterward. Like about 20 people. Oh, joy.


Have a great week, everyone!

[toomuchreality]

Yikes! I went to get the beach towels (lavender with unicorns and little flowers, on them) but I couldn't find them! I wonder what I did with them?
I found the squishmallow lavender unicorn slippers I bought - it just dawned on me, that the towels and slippers are coordinated. I sure hope they fit. I could only find 2 sizes, when I bought them, so I hope they are correct. But I doubt it. The squishmallow-ness might allow room though; if I'm lucky. And if they really like them, so they really want to keep them.

I straightened up my bedroom closet shelf, so it looks neater and I could be sure the towels aren't up there.

I have some big shopping bags in my bedroom, I need to take out to my car tomorrow. I hope I remember to take them out later, after I run errands, so someone doesn't break into my car, thinking they have gifts in them. I'll flatten them, if possible. But better for them to go out, when the car is inside my garage, so people don't see them.

I need to dust, vacuum and mop. Then I hope they come on Tuesday, so it's over with, rather than waiting until Thursday. I just want it done. Maybe I'll go get some wine tomorrow, while I'm out.
The liquor store is going to get busier every day, this week.
Alcohol is not sold in reg stores here. Only 3% beer. I don't care for beer. I wish I had someone to come have a drink or a glass of wine with me... I just thought of a friend, who used to live on the 2nd floor, of my bldg. Maybe she will come?
Or you all, can entertain me. 😁

[Opti]

Up. Scheduled to work a half day today. Did not get 4 hours sleep in a row, but I think did manage to get 4 hours sleep. It is raining now and has been raining since around 130PM or so yesterday. I don't know if I should just reach out to my boss and go in the afternoon instead of the morning or what. 

My last time I came in for the afternoon did not go well. Crazy as in angry unaware she is in NJ lady probably assaulted a fellow passenger. I got on the bus, and then at the next stop the bus pulled over. We were waiting for local police to arrive.   I think that cost me either 30 minutes or more. Since I worked a half day that meant work had less coverage for longer. And for me personally it meant I had to shave my lunch hours to make up for arriving later. 

Crap. Still raining steadily. Might slow down by the time I need to walk to the stop, but it will take hours for the sidewalk to drain. Sigh,

[Opti]

Oh, and bought Melatonin but forgot to read the instructions at late dinner time, so did not take it.     Did not occur to me that it might be a take with food kind of thing. Had late dinner because its exhausting doing anything while on not enough sleep. Poor Opti's adrenals. 

[busymom]

Good Morning Kids!  The sun has returned, which greatly improves my mood.  Unfortunately, our temperatures have returned, just for today, to "normal" for this time of year, which means I'm freezing.  Going to dig out my sweatpants before I venture out to do errands.

[Opti]

Freezing this morning here. I think actual temp might be 33/34? Windchill will make it feel colder like 30 degrees or less. Wish I had a long coat to replace the MK one I got at Marshalls. Those metal benches are cold! Might even get some brief snowflakes.

Wonder how the busses will be today. 4 warnings to read about the weather. One was about flooding near my first house. The other one is about the flooding near me. So one direction out of my area will be a no go until it recedes below flood stage. Which might be this afternoon.

Need to make breakfast and prepare. Not looking forward to today at work. 

[Sharon]

[busymom]

Good Morning Kids!  The sun is out, but it still feels cold to me.  I've got what feels like stomach acid this morning.  Too much going on between now & Christmas, so I suppose this is just my body reacting to the stress.  Oh well.  I'll see what I can get done, but it's going to be a full day.

[TheOtherMe]

My cheap drug company quit carrying the one drug I was buying through them.  I am switching to Good Rx/  Pharmacy said regular insurance went through this time.

[Icelandic Woman]

Hi Muffins!!!

It's my Friday!!! WooHoo!
I will be off for 6 glorious days!

50s through Saturday and then expecting some sNOw and 30s on Christmas but it doesn't sound like it will be a lot. Should clear by Tues.

Have a Merry Christmas!!!

[busymom]

Good Afternoon Kids!  I've been working hard on Christmas cards today, to try & get them ALL out the door, so maybe I can enjoy some of the Christmas season.     There's still plenty to do, and our first extended family gathering is this weekend.

[Sharon]

I have sorta, kinda survived our huge upgrade.  I'm on call until Monday morning until 7am, but fingers crossed it will be quiet.  Then I have Monday and Tuesday off and desperately need that time to destress.  I have worked 19 straight days and several of those days were very long days.  Yesterday I learned that we are only one of 5 companies who use this particular software who have transitioned to the cloud.  

[TheOtherMe]

Here's to you not getting called over the weekend.  19 straight days of work is too long.  

[NancysSummerSip]

Hello to Friday and Happy Christmas to my peeps!

I have my housework and yard work done (I am running a dryer load at the moment). We do swim tomorrow and I will run/bike Sunday and Monday, as no pools are open and the kickboxing gym is closed until next Wednesday.

I am picking up a boatload of seafood for Sunday/Monday dinners; I think it will be chicken and dumplings tomorrow night. I am making a cherry pie for holiday dessert and a lemon/banana/blueberry crumb cake for breakfasts.

[busymom]

Wow Sharon, that work schedule is just CRAZY.  I hope you catch up on some rest this weekend.


I tried a new recipe for candy that I found, but it didn't turn out.  For some reason the white chocolate wouldn't melt properly.  I wonder if there's a trick to it?  The other two types of chocolate melted just fine.  

It's ok.  I've got an old family recipe for fudge I still have time to make tonight.

[busymom]

Merry foggy Christmas!  Yes, we've got fog here instead of snow.  That's gonna make travel interesting for some folks today.  

[NancysSummerSip]

Peeps! We have rain for the second weekend in a row! Yucky, but good for the grass and the garden. So glad I mowed last night.

I have everything out for the chicken and dumpling casserole tonight -- the recipe calls for a rotisserie chicken, but I stopped at the store so early this morning after practice that there were none, so I am thawing some chicken and will just season it and bake it, then chop it up. I will also make the crumb cake for breakfast tonight and stash it in the fridge.

[TheOtherMe]

Dec 23, 2023 9:13:38 GMT -5 busymom said:

Merry foggy Christmas!  Yes, we've got fog here instead of snow.  That's gonna make travel interesting for some folks today.  

Very foggy morning here also.  On my way to get my morning tea, I could not believe the number of people driving without their headlights turned on.  Nobody can see you until you are right in front of me.  

[Sharon]

I'm going to count this as day 20 of working.   I woke up around 12:30am and decided to check on some processes that run around that time, if they fail I'm guaranteed to get a call at either 2:30am or 4:30am.  They were running fine, so went back to bed and slept until about 8am.  At 8:30 my boss was on teams about an issue he found.  I was on teams with him and another team member for about 1 1/2 hours.

DD and I decided we are having a nice but simple dinner tomorrow.  I have a boston butt ham which I will cook.  Then we decided on carrot casserole, scalloped potatoes, homemade dinner rolls, and the families favorite jello.  I will make the carrot casserole and the jello, actually the jello is done and in the fridge.  DD will bring the scalloped potatoes and the homemade dinner rolls.

For dessert we are going to have several different small bar types of things for people to mix/match or whatever.  I just pulled lemon cheesecake squares out of the oven and will make pumpkin cake squares in a bit.  DD is bringing some type of bar that has m & m's

Mom isn't here to talk about needing mashed potatoes and gravy etc.  This way we can make things ahead of time then just put them in the oven and then on the table.

I'm still exhausted to my very core but something keeps telling me that I need to go see my Mom on Christmas day.  It's a feeling that I just can't shake but I'm so tired that I'm not sure I can drive that far and not fall asleep.

[busymom]

Hi Kids!  I've survived the first family gathering, but seem to have gotten heartburn.  I most likely got it from a heavily spiced cheese recipe that someone brought.  I am just plain exhausted, and hoping to get to bed early tonight, as there are 2 more full days here before I can take a day off.

[TheOtherMe]

Sharon, I know you want to see your mom for Christmas, but  please don't drive if you think you might fall asleep.

A dear friend of mine fell asleep on the New Jersey Turnpike and it did not go well.  She spent the next two years doing surgery after surgery,

Promise?   

[Sharon]

Dec 23, 2023 21:31:14 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Sharon, I know you want to see your mom for Christmas, but  please don't drive if you think you might fall asleep.

A dear friend of mine fell asleep on the New Jersey Turnpike and it did not go well.  She spent the next two years doing surgery after surgery,

Promise?   

The thing is it was never in the plan to go see Mom over Christmas.  Christmas day was supposed to be my day of quiet, no company, no on call, no nothing.  I also have Tuesday off and I wanted to make Tuesday be the same as Monday, nothing.  I just have this feeling of dread that I can't shake.  It's like if I want to see my Mom alive again I need to go for Christmas.  I haven't had a feeling like that since my last Birthday before my Dad passed away.  At the time of my birthday he wasn't showing any signs of illness etc, just his usual getting old decline.  But I knew in my heart that this was the last birthday I would receive flowers from him.  He passed away 5 months to the day after my birthday.

I will reevaluate things tomorrow and see how it goes.  If I'm still so exhausted I may push the trip out to New Years weekend, that is a 3 day weekend for us also.

TheOtherMe thank you for caring.

[busymom]

I agree with TheOtherMe, Sharon.  I had an Uncle who died when he crashed into a bridge many years ago.  The police weren't sure if he fell asleep, or if he had a medical emergency.


Even if God forbid something would happen to your Mom, your DD & grandkids would be destroyed if something happened to you.  As much as we would like, we cannot prevent a loved one from leaving us if it's their time.  You've been working a killer shift, so please get some sleep instead.  

[toomuchreality]

We usually get together on Christmas eve. This year, we're talking about getting together the Friday after Christmas.

Nothing has been decided yet, that I know of. I think we're waiting to see who is sick and how sick they are.

I hope that means 10.000 people won't have to be there, all at once. Maybe we'll be able to get together in single family groups. I'd much rather do that.

We'll see. At least It doesn't seem like I'm going to be sick, this time.

Oh, I found the beach towels, I had misplaced! They were in a dresser drawer. Hurray!

I have to go get button cell batteries tomorrow, for the books I bought, that play music. The book cost 74 cents. The batteries are $15.00, for that one book!
Holy moly! I hope the tunes are decent. I've only read the book. Haven't heard the tunes.

These are tiny batteries AG3 or LR41. I have to have 3 of them.
If the tunes suck, I'll put them in another book, that I know they like. (It needs batteries too. 😶) I'm not spending $30 on 6 batteries, to play Christmas songs. No way.

I'll buy some on ebay, cheaper!

[Opti]

The bus gods were kind this morning. I was able to pick up my prescription and do some minor grocery shopping too. I spent more than I planned, but some of it was necessary IMO like more zinc Redi-melts and the prescription. I bought more in groceries than planned as I had time and the list in my head was no longer valid. Quite a few things went off sale prices yesterday, so bought things I needed but possibly could have waited until January.

Hope to make my salmon cakes today or tomorrow and now I have smoked paprika to try in them.    I have been using very old red pepper instead in a tin. Cheap paprika seems to become useless within a couple years so I have not had any in the house for perhaps two years. Was on my mind because I tried to buy it on sale last week.

[Opti]

Dec 23, 2023 22:51:04 GMT -5 Sharon said:

Dec 23, 2023 21:31:14 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Sharon, I know you want to see your mom for Christmas, but  please don't drive if you think you might fall asleep.

A dear friend of mine fell asleep on the New Jersey Turnpike and it did not go well.  She spent the next two years doing surgery after surgery,

Promise?   

The thing is it was never in the plan to go see Mom over Christmas.  Christmas day was supposed to be my day of quiet, no company, no on call, no nothing.  I also have Tuesday off and I wanted to make Tuesday be the same as Monday, nothing.  I just have this feeling of dread that I can't shake.  It's like if I want to see my Mom alive again I need to go for Christmas.  I haven't had a feeling like that since my last Birthday before my Dad passed away.  At the time of my birthday he wasn't showing any signs of illness etc, just his usual getting old decline.  But I knew in my heart that this was the last birthday I would receive flowers from him.  He passed away 5 months to the day after my birthday.

I will reevaluate things tomorrow and see how it goes.  If I'm still so exhausted I may push the trip out to New Years weekend, that is a 3 day weekend for us also.

TheOtherMe thank you for caring.

Day of quiet sounds good after those many days in a row of working. I echo be careful as this is the time of year for accidents. Dixie Chick founding member just got killed in a car crash.