I can make this REALLY easy for the newbies that aren't sure what to send..... Here's what ya do:
Grab a flat rate postal box, fill with chocolate (this could be anything chocolate, so use your imagination..CANDY-of course, chocolate scented lotion, bubble bath, candles, flavored coffees or teas, hot cocoa mixes...heck, even scratch & sniff stickers! Have fun with this one!), seed packs, garden goodies, even Christmas goodies -since this IS Christmas, and WHATEVER you think your partner might like! The best rule to follow is to just send a box full of stuff YOU would be happy to receive that pertains to the swap. :O) The point is to not spend tons of money, but to give things that you know will bring a smile to your partners face.
And, if you are still uncomfortable about WHAT, exactly, to send...you may (after contacting your partner to make sure he/she knows & approves) wait to send out until someone ELSE has received a box from their partner, and posted the contents. That way, you get an idea of what others are sending.
{{gwi:1309559}}
I hope that was helpful? :O)

Well, I'm off to go do some walking. I was up with contractions all night last night, and I've dilated a bit more, so I don't understand why things aren't moving along better. *sigh* I know the baby's just waiting for the "Right" time...but I'm tired & frustrated....starting to get a bit depressed. I've been bawling at everything all week long. :O(

And that's enough from me. LOL

I hope everyone has a great day today!

Um....it IS Wednesday, isn't it??

Hey Ladies and gentleman(Dan)

I just wanted ya'll to know I talked with perennialfan273 via email and he wants everyone to know he is sorry about what happened.
He MISUNDERSTOOD HOW the swap worked and the comment he made about the 'magtag guy' WAS just supposed to be a joke, albeit out of place at the time BUT in his defence he HAD NOT READ DAN'S POST BEFORE HAND.

I told him you all ARE a great group of ladies and gentleman (Dan) and that you all love Dan and is the reason you all jumped his betooty because everyone misunderstood his post.

He is willing to follow the rules and he understands there are rules and guidelines to follow and is planning a private email to Dan with apologies included.

I hope you all can except his apology as well and allow him back into this swap because he might can just add a little more humor to it as well.

He told me he would like to join, and I am sure if he does get brave enough to come back and post again I hope you all will overlooked the error of his ways and allow him entrance back into this group.
I know you all have hearts as big as well BIG and good as gold so please open your hearts back up and give the poor boy another chance.

Thanks ladies and gentleman(Dan)...

:) Fran

I've been lurking here a few days now, after being directed here to find out about Dan and Paula..What a tragedy.. I can't imagine, I gripe about my DH alot(and shame on me for it) but I don't know what I would do if he were gone...
I live in the same town as Dan but we haven't met yet. Poor guy!

Dan-May God provide you comfort and peace as you heal from this.

Wendy- I'd like to join this swap, but please be gentle with me, it's my first time!***batting eyelashes and blushing***
Maybe a more experienced partner to show me the ropes!

Heard this the other day:
"I may not be as limber as I once was but I make up for it in enthusiasm and willingness to try new things!"

that would apply to gardening also,yah?
-B
PS what does M.N.F. stand for anyway?

Welcome Brandy! I'm so glad you found us! MNF stands for Make New Friends :) And that's what we do here!

Fran, I'm sure that Perennial is sincere in his apology. No one meant to make him feel unwelcome. I would hope that he takes what was said as both the caring this group has for it's members as well as gentle reminder that we do follow guidelines for the swaps. I have no issue with him being part of this swap, whether I decide to join this one or sit out. Perhaps if Perennial got to know all of us better, he'd feel more comfortable.

Melissa, those are a perfect summery of what our swaps are about! Yes, the baby's waiting for the right time, but even the walking will be a great benefit to you, hon. Keeping all those muscles limber :)

And any newbies who wish are welcome to email me and I'll help guide them in their first RR :) Whether I join this one or not, I'm always eager to enabl... err... help newcomers! :)

Kathy

HI Perennial..we've all made mistakes and we've all apologized for them "patting you on the back"...c'mon over and have a seat at the table and I'll pour you some tea.."pouring in a big dollap of Bailey's Irish cream"..there that should help..."G"

Melissa, the baby is waiting for the right time..it's just not your right time...((HUG))

okay...I see Annette (playintheyard) hasn't committed yet..Annette..want some of my tea? "innocent smile"...come on in and play in the dirt with us..."S"

Welcome Brandy..it's nice to have you join us..just jump right in and tell us a little about yourself,..."pulling up a chair and passsing brownies around"

Brandy, I researched that before I joined. It means Make New Friends. I have found several here!

Melissa, any news on the special delivery?????

Hello Again

First, I'd like to say thank you to Fran for helping me sort this out. For now though, I think I'm going to stay a bit on the quiet side. Normally I'm a very talkative, joking person but I don't want to take a chance that I may accidently offend someone again.

One more question, though. I don't really know everyone that well yet, but I've been hearing some talk about a baby via this forum. I would like to congratulate whoever this applies to (whether you're going to be a mom, aunt, grandma, uncle, dad, grandpa, etc.)

Thank You

M. Ryan

Ok so admittedly I got lost in masses of unpacked boxes yesterday.. but I've finally managed to climb out and get back on here! Making a weeeeeeeeeeee lil bit of headway.. good grief I have so much STUFF! I did manage to find the livingroom floor again so that's a good sign! :)

Perennial ~ Hi there and welcome back. I wasn't here initially when all the hoop-lah went down w/ the post but I'm sure everyone is completely understanding about the mixup. Dan may take awhile to respond as he's out of town visiting his fiancee's family, but he has a big heart and altho right now it's broken.. and emotions, understandably, were running high, I'm sure he'll understand and accept your apology. Welcome to the group, there's fantastic folks here and I'm sure you'll be welcomed back in a big way!

Dan ~ Again, you're in my thoughts & prayers hon..

Melissa ~ contractions are a good sign from what I remember.. LOL Goodluck sweetie! Cannot wait to see pics of this lil late bloomer! :P

Kathy ~ I'm sorry.. but just hang onto those seeds just another week ..lol I still haven't located my 'Gardenweb' boxes yet! :P

Another BIG welcome to Brandy and La Donna! I love seeing new people join in!

Alrighty.. a bit of trivia.. and up for grabs is a packet of Chocolate Daisy seeds! Supposedly they have the actual scent of chocolate! I'll be trying some myself in wintersowing so we'll see!

Question:
Nestle's theme is that 'they make the very best chocolate'. What did Nestle add to it's initial chocolate recipe (in 1875) to make them issue this statement?

Guess away!

Hugs,
Wendy

One of the most famous brands of chocolate in the world, Nestlé, actually began as a maker of condensed milk. Its founder and namesake, Henri Nestlé, was a pharmacist who, in the 1860's, developed a formula for children who could not breastfeed. That formula, farine lactée, was based on milk and cereal prepared through a special baking process. At around the same time, his neighbor and close friend, Daniel Peter (himself a successful confectioner), was looking to add milk to his chocolate. He was having the same problems Nestlé was having with his formula - how to extract water from the milk. It was not until 1875 that Nestlé and Peter successfully combined their products to allow Peter to create the wonderful phenomenon of milk chocolate.

hmmm...I feel a "once upon a time" chocolate story coming on...."pondering"

Well goodness Linda that was FAST! *props to the internet search..* LOL

You won! Congrats !! :D Email me your addy and I'll get those seeds in the mail to ya by Friday! :)

Ok hmmm.. I have more 'chocolate' themed seeds to give away... gotta find those GW boxes tho.. LOL

Hugs!
Wendy

HI Perrenial and welcome back! "handing you a Christmas cookie"..

Melissa (Hazelnutbunny) is having a baby and she's overdue so we're all counting...and waiting...and counting...and waiting...."L"

perennialfan273 your very welcome, I just hate for a misunderstanding to stop someone from joining a forum.
And yes, hazelnutbunny is just about ready to have her little bundle of joy (STILL WAITING Miss BUNNY!)
perennial don't stop posting, posting is how ppl get to KNOW you. Just make sure you READ before you post...lol.

Wendy/Dan I am almost committed to this on this month... I have intruded enough huh?

Kathy I do hope you are ok and everything checks out to be nothing more than a good scare!

Hey to everybody else.
:) Fran

Wooooo Doggie! Is this gonna turn into another history lesson, like the TEA stories did?? :O) Linda ALWAYS tells a good yarn.....Uh, I mean....."story loaded with historical facts". Yeah..that's what I meant. LOL
I'm sure the Bailey's has NOTHING to do with how she warps...uh, I mean REMEMBERS...the facts.
Yes...nothing whatsoever....

Hmmm. So milk chocolate was actually baby formula? So it really IS good for you! I knew it! :O)

So...Miss Linda....Tell us the story of WHITE chocolate, would you? I'm curious. And how DID the idea to include nuts in chocolate come about??

I'll be working on it so give me a bit.."L"...I have to "research" the facts.."G"

Wendy..it deals with chocolate....ROTF!!

A little bit about myself huh?**accepting cup of tea**
I've HEARD about those brownies!!LOL!!

I've got three boys ages 18,13,and 6. I've been married for 20 yrs.
I have three dogs-one Irish wolfhound and two weenie dogs. Can't forget two cats-one with a plastic/rubber fetish(650.00 to remove plastic toy from cat belly!!) he runs off with my plastic baggies and has been known to leave seed trails in his wake,bad-bad-BAD-KITTY!
I work part time for the airlines and LOVE gardening!
I'm a seed snatching,baggie hoarding,dirt encrusted,lavender infused, forty something girl!
-B

Yes, Linda & Fran...I'm over due. OVER DUE OVER DUE OVER DUE. Thanks for rubbing that in. While you're at it, why dontcha just give me a paper cut and rub some lemon juice in it? LOL!

Seriously...I think I'm gonna be pregnant forEVER. Certainly feels like it. UGH.

Hi Brandy! Nice to have you here! Feel free to enjoy the tea, but I'd avoid the brownies if I were you. I think the "secret ingredient" changes with Dan's mood. :O) And he makes it look SOOOOO innocent, too! Just like powdered sugar on top! Or mint leaves. LOL

HEY! To everyone else, too! I don't mean to not say hi to everyone, I just have trouble following all the posts. LOL I'm easily confused.....

Perennial, welcome back,I have found my foot in my mouth many a time so just chew slowly. you will love this group. dan usually makes us special brownies and has the best sense of humor in the group you will love him. we ladies especially enjoy having you men to pick on. Linda is usually passing out baily's. Bunny answere my e-mail please. waddle on over to the computer. hugs carol

Who needs the "telly"? Now this is entertainment! You guys are too hilarious!

My grandson keeps wondering what's so funny what is it that has me snorting and sniveling - yeah I do have a tendency to snort while ROTFL -ing. Tee hee

La Donna

Alright, Melissa, I had your house cleaning frenzy today. So it's time to get ready :P There I was just kicking back all day, trying NOT to hear the wind HOWLING outside (long story behind that one, maybe I'll tell it someday. You'd think that someone who can't handle the sound of high winds wouldn't live in Oklahoma, right?). Reading a book, long, hot bath. I was just pampering myself. Then all the sudden this afternoon I decided to scrub the house from top to bottom! And seriously, I had no thought about doing all that today. My plans were to just relax, rest and baby myself a little. I even put dinner in the crockpot early this morning so I wouldn't really have to fool with cooking, despite that I was off work today.

So, there ya go.. I had your cleaning/nesting frenzy, so let's have that baby! :P~

Ya know, that's only SUPPOSE to happen if I'm the pregnant one or with close family members and friends. LOL, so Melissa, if you ever doubted our friendship..! :P

By the way, hello to all the newcomers!

Kathy

Hi All! Remember me?!? LOL

Dan, I am so sorry to hear about Paula, I sent you an email and know you are out of town right now, take care.

Wendy! I sent you an email also, I just seen tonight that you haven't had internet, let me know if you didn't get it.
How is Josh doing? How are you?

HI to everyone else, I haven't had much computer time since I started working : ( I do love my new job though! It is a bit stressful, and VERY busy. I'm working about 47 hours a week (gotta love that overtime! Esp. in todays economy!) But by the time I get home, spend some time with the little guy, who BTW is going through the "Tantrumatic Threes" have dinner and get him ready for bed, I'm pooped!

I was looking forward to joining this month but there are just not enough hours in the day and I am way behind! I sure do miss the days of unemployment (except for the paycheck part! LOL)

Kathy, I hope everything checks out for you, that is pretty scarey!

Deb, I am renting my house out in Michigan right now, for the same reason, the economy is too bad to sell. The first renter had an excellent reference from his previous landlord where he had lived before. He stayed there for 2 months and gave me some story about his Dad being sick and moved out, I found out later that he just wanted to move in with a girlfriend. He left the house a mess AND there were cockroaches in it! Only after TWO months! The new renters said they thought it must have been eggs in his stuff he moved in, they were all babies, she bombed the entire house. Ther are really good, they have done a lot of yard work, and cleaned up some huge limbs that came down off a tree and have no problem fixing little things if needed, BUT, they are late on the rent EVERY month, I always get it, but in the mean time I have to pay the mortgage and wait to get the money from them, very frustrating! I did a lot of research on leases and there are several that you can download online. I took what I wanted from each of them, checked the laws for Michigan, and made my own. I covered everything (I think) except for ONE thing, and for the life of me, I can't remember what that is right now! I would be happy to email you a copy of it if you want just let me know : )

Nice to see so many new faces around here! I know you will all love it here, it is a great group of people, but yes, the brownies and tea can be dangerous! hehe

Well gang, I don't have time to address each of you I'm sorry. I've got to go check the other threads, I think I am in trouble with Mama Fran, and I better go take my lashings! LOL

Vicky

Oh Vic, you silly goose!

Kathy, are you feeling ok still? All that cleaning didn't wear you out or anything did it? Get some rest girlfriend!!!

Oh Bunny, I not wubbin' it in weally I not. Smooches!
According to MY doctor's with my last one I was with child for almost a year!
NO Joke. They gave me a due date of June 5th that came and went, then June 20th, that came and went, THEN sometime in July, THAT CAME AND WENT then the END of July....THEN.... They gave me Aug 5th. THAT passed TOO, THEN they said ok we are giving you until the 15th of Aug. IF you haven't gone into natural labor we are taking it because something is wrong and we don't want to take any chances. DUH HOW LONG IS SOMEONE POSED TO BE WITH CHILD??? BUT
FINALLY on Aug 13th it happened! He was 10 lbs 3 oz!!!!
YES, THEY LEFT HIM IN THE OVEN TOO DANG LONG!

I KNOW not something you wanted to hear but imagine how much I WAS READY FOR IT TO BE OVER WITH!
And Hubs is birthing huh? Ok, I am VERY IMPRESSED, he is a VERY brave man!

Ok ya'll I am still lurking and waiting on an answer from the too Hosting this to confer on an answer to I question I asked to see if I can join :)

:) Fran

okay Perrenial, how about some info from you?.."handing you another tea with Bailey's"..here you go, bottom's up!

La Donna, yes, there's some mornings I don't drink my tea until I"ve read the posts! I've wiped tea off my screen wayyy too many times.."L"

Fran, I'm feeling fine, aside from this horrible cold or whatever thing Cliff came down with that he oh so generously shared with me! It's a horrible congestion thing. My throat is sore. Woke up with it this morning.

Wendy, hon, several folks are looking for you on the SeedX conversation side. And I need your new address if you could email it to me?

Vicky! So glad to see you! I was wondering how the new job was going!

Kathy

HI Vic! Good to see you back!

okay, well I guess I should take down my fall decorations...my neighbors are starting to look at me a little more strangely than usual. I mean what's the problem with some orange leaves and some really cool spider lights???...."poking spider light with finger"

Ah, don't feel bad Miss Linda! We saw a really cool trick the other day. A neighbor of ours left up all his spider webbing on his front porch, and then just strung Christmas lights through it! It actually looks really neat at night, all shimmery and stuff...! LOL I think he also had some pumpkins still up, but they were painted red & green, so it was kinda hard to tell WHAT they were, exactly....
So just slap some santa hats on those little spiders of yours, I'm sure they'll look fantastic! :O)

FRAN~ THAT IS NOT WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR!!!! *sigh* Again with the lemon juice. LOL My daddy loves to tell me how his big sister was pregnant for 11 months with her first one. (gee, thanks dad) I did go over 3 weeks late with Aubeni, she just wanted to be born on my birthday. :O) She was also 9lbs, so I REALLY don't want a repeat of that. Ow. She was also born in less than 30 minutes, and I bled too much, passed out and scared the beejeebees out hubby (who delivered her by himself). She also had a stuck shoulder, that hubby had to wiggle around.
All in all, that was a scary labor.
Adora just came in 15 minutes, with no problems whatsoever, which made hubby happy. I'm hoping this one will be like that. :O)

Kat~ Ya know....we're only a 200 miles from each other, so why not just come on over and clean my house? LOL
Boil some onion & drink the juice for that sore throat! (ugh, I know!!) Or just take some warm honey & lemon (with a splash of vodka). That helps, too. And I know you know that, so why am I reminding you?? :O)

Vic~ Don't work too hard! We miss ya! :O)

Oh, Adora just came in here...butt naked. She's 2, and potty training, but wears pull-ups. So, I told her "Go get a pull up, young lady! You can't run around nakie!" She took off running to the bedroom, to get the pull up, and in a few seconds, I hear her start crying. She comes back in here, still nakie...and tells me she's hurt. She turns around, and on her behind, across one entire butt check is a large red scratch! Then, sticking her hiney in the air, she says "Kiss it!!!"
Uh...I"m both wondering HOW she did that, and how I can get out of kissing it. LOL Luckily, I spotted her stuffed bunny on the floor, picked him up and had HIM kiss her boo boo. :O)

Just wanted to share that with ya'll. Thought you might need a laugh this morning.
I'll quit rambling now...gotta start my daily walk & I'm thinking of finding a trampoline to jump on.
I had another friend ask me yesterday "Did you try jumping jacks, yet?" LOL! So I might just try some today. Very gentle ones.
Maybe I'll just jump on the bed, instead. Have a pillow fight while I"m at it. Get the kids involved, that way hubby can't blame me. :O)

Hazelnutbunny - 15 minutes?!? Does that count as labor, LOL? You mentioned that your husband delivered one of your babies. Do you deliver your babies at home? Even if I hadn't planned on epidurals, my doctor wouldn't have made me deliver in the hospital, since I was considered highrisk - gestational diabetes with two of my pregnancies, and when I had my last two, I was considered "old". They actually had a term for women over 35 that were pregnant, but I can't remember it now. I just remember being a bit offended. To me, if I was young enough to be pregnant, I wasn't OLD!!!

Anyway, I hope that all goes well with your delivery, and that it happens soon.

My 2 year old has done the same thing as yours, but fortunately, she was dressed at the time, LOL! I just love how innocently they ask, with full confidence that you will oblige, and make it all better.

Bonnie

okay everyone, Dan called me a little bit ago. He and his family are heading back on Saturday and should be home on Sunday. He'll be on and off the boards, lurking more than anything....keep him in your thoughts and your prayers.

oh, and he told me to tell everyone thanks for the kind words and support.

Please let Dan know he is our thoughts and prayers. I am a newbie here (only one swap) but see how much he is loved here.

Well, I mentioned that my home made item will be unique with very few unusual side effects??? Well.... being a teacher, I had to try it out on my students first.

No one died. no violent reactions (or at least any evident by the end of class....) one one student started turning brown from the ingredients and I had one that begged to be baked!

Ok, enough goofing off. They LOVED the death by chocolate brownies. Hmm... who am I gonna get for a partner? (evil laugh starts to well up..)

I am off to school. My science club is selling poinsettia plants for a fund raiser. We grew 500 of them with the ag department. They get 1/2 we get 1/2. My night to man the sales tent. They are going fast.

Mark, I think I'm re-assurred by the fact of no one dying and only one student turned brown..."backing slowly away"..."G"

Ah, Linda...If you wash 'em down with enough tea, you'll be juuuuuuuust fine.

I hope.

Dan, take care of yourself and pop in when you feel up to it.

Bonnie, it's called "AMA" advanced maternal age, I know all too well that phrase! LOL I was classified that too : )

Vic

Good Morning All;
I just had to pop in and laugh out loud at HNB saying she is afraid she will be pregnant forever. Since this is number six and the oldest is still in grade school, she has been pregnant forever. Your choice, girl!!
diene

True, Diene! Very true. LOL I have been pregnant for at least 6 years of my married life, and nursing for at least 4 years.
Wow, thinking about that puts it all into perspective.
I kinda feel like a breed mare! :O)

It's that fluffy tail bunny...lol he just can't resist it! lol :P Any contractions today??

I just logged into my email box and o.m.g...... there's over 800 emails in there TO BE READ! *whimper.... between Josh's hospital stays, the move, the no internet from the move... and good ol' Freecycle emails... wow...... *sighh

Linda who's lookin' for me? I'll email you later today w/ it. I think I have a trade or 2 that got sidetracked when Josh went in the hospital..*looks shamefaced.. and I need to filter thru all those emails first to find them!

Good news tho I finally found my garden web 'boxes' w/ allllllllll my seeds! yahoooooooooooooo! So I'll be posting another game for a prize later today.. gotta find a HARDER question this time! lol

Fran ~ did you say you were wanting to join? If so by all means join in! :)

Hugs all,
Wendy

"AMA"..yeah, I was called that too when I had my daughter in 1990 at the age of 36. I thought Shhesh...couldn't they come up with a better term?...like "mature mother"...??.."L"

DOn't feel bad Wendy..I still have boxes in the garage from when we moved here two years ago...no sense rushing things..."L"

OK...I'll join...You talked me into it Wendy...hehe
That was easy wasn't it....HAHAHA

Oh wait, does that make me easy? Oh for pete's sake Linda will you please pour me a LARGE glass of tea and pass me a brownie?

:) Fran

OK, I can't stand it! I'm in! I can hear the chocolate calling me over the miles.

I had taken today off to recover from the kidney stone removal yesterday of the stone that ended up not being there so I decided to go chocolate shopping for my partner. Everything is ready to be packed up as soon as I receive my partner's name.

I had a wonderful day today and I just had to share. A day with no pain is a good day for me. I enjoyed shopping for my RR partner and messed around with my seeds and lists all day. It was perfect!

So to end it all on a good note pass some tea and brownies my way!

"whipping brownies out of the oven and setting up tea cups"...Bailey's anyone?.."adding dollap to mine"

Mmmm Linda! me me me!! :)

Proudgm ~ Bless your heart! That is no fun procedure! I'm so glad you will get to join us!!! :)

Fran ~ Welcome to you too girl! :D *puts away the handcuffs n chains... glad I didn't have to resort to THAT! :P

Mark ~ I just may have to cheat the system and make you MY partner so I can get some o' those death by chocolate brownies!!! *mouth's watering here... lol

hmm.. no bunny tonight... could it be??? MAYBE she's in labor finally! *fingers crossed!

So.. I found my livingroom floor what, yesterday? WELL now I've gone and lost it again! Darn if it isn't covered up again w/ boxes! Maybe another week of this and I hope I'll be done!

So how's everyone else? huh huh? I'll try to drum up some more participants because the cutoff day to join is Sunday. We need to get this swap on a roll! I know Dan had requested previously for everyone's addresses but in lieu of recent events Dan is going to quietly step out of this swap and take some time to heal. Please do keep him in your thoughts & prayers! If everyone could please email me your addresses before Sunday that'd be great!

*big hugs to everyone! I'll post a new game tomorrow evening so be sure to drop in! :)

~Wendy

I have seriously gotta chocolate craving now... *rummaging thru the old Halloween candy.... LOL

I am glad you put away your torture tools Wendy, Am REALLY glad you weren't wheeleding that Sword! HEHE

Did you find anything good in that chocolate bag? If not it seriously time you replenish the stash!

I hope you get the homefront situated soon, moving is NO fun when you have to find places to put everything you have accumalated over the years, amazing what you end up with ain't it? Some things you find you wonder what the hey? WHY do I even have THAT OR what did I KEEP this FOR???? It is a good way to clean out things though isn't it?

Hummm, maybe Bunny is at the end of the baby trail tonight. I hope to hear soon we have a baby to welcome this Christmas season! BABY, BABY, BABY!!! Maybe she figured out she REALLY IS tired and is finally getting some much needed sleep...which is good too.

Ok, well, off to go check out more postings...

:)Fran

Hi everyone,

I'm in. I just did the secret santa seed swap and had a blast. Doesn't take much!! :)

A little about me:

I read on this site a lot, but do not post much or get too involved. I have learned more than you could imagine over the past few years.

I live in West Virginia and have since I was 7 years old. I know some have opinions of this state as "hillbilly" or "redneck" and while some of that is true, most is not. Although I still see things that shock me. That's another discussion :)

I am 31, have a 4 year old son whom I absolutely adore. I was not supposed to be able to have kids and he was a surprise and blessing. I am lucky to be able to stay home and love remodeling,gardening,and spending time at home.

I was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year. It's rare and something I have to deal with until it's big enough to be removed, if it comes to that. Bad as that sounds, I honestly don't give it much thought unless I have to. I will admit it took months to get to that place. I have made life changing decisions since the diagnosis and my ways of thinking about things are different these days. Sometimes these life changing events are just that, life changing. Enough of that kind of stuff now.

I realized how much I loved gardening this year. I wrote earlier how much I read on gardenweb and can't tell you how all of you inspire. I plan on getting a hoophouse up this coming year. I grew lots of yummy food and had beautiful flowers this year and hope it's even better in '09.

Anyways, enough about me. This sounds like fun.

Andrea

Hmmmm... wonder if all our suggestions worked for Melissa. Hopefully no word here will mean I'll be getting a phone call soon! Lots of love and good energy coming your way, Melissa!

Welcome Andrea! This is a wonderful group to enjoy! I'm sorry to hear about your medical problem, but am very happy to see someone who accepts and keeps enjoying life! That's really what it's all about, ya know? Not letting it take over and living life to the fullest! Good for you!

Wendy, you mean the GW boxes weren't the first ones unpacked? I'm shocked! I mean you can live without clothing and dishes, but GW?! LOL!! I'm glad everything is going well on the new homefront! We surely missed you!

Dan, hon, we're with you and miss you. The place isn't the same without you. You're in my prayers.

Mark, I'm tempted to join just in hopes of being your partner and getting some of those brownies!

Linda, I need tea, lots and lots of tea. Cliff gave me this whatever it is that he caught and now I'm all congested, stopped up, coughing (though not as badly and he is) and feel horrible! Got any Chai Spice with a dollop of something to either make this go away or make me not care that I have it?!

Kathy~ Getting ready for work

Morning All,

I'm N toooo :)

Hey neighbor Andrea where R U in W VA? If U don't mind sharing. I go by Bluefield twice a week.

I think miss bunny has had that babeee:) any one know if its a gal/boy?

Suzi

Mornin' all! :) I am sitting here munching on a Hershey bar in ya'll's honor.. (or so I tell myself..LOL)

Kathy ~ there was a constant state of panic on the side until I did see my GW boxes in the gajillion places I'd stuffed boxes! *whew! ! ! I'm sorry you've got the cold funk goin' on... that is NO fun.. I've been fighting it a bit myself but so far I'm winning! I've got some Georgian Muscadine Wine we popped the cork on last night and WOW it is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo GOOD!!! C'mere I'll pour ya a glass and I promise you'll forget whatever ails ya! :)

Fran ~ You shush about that sword!!! LOL sheesh almost everyone had forgotten!! ROTFL :P

No Bunny yet huh? Well I am betting there's a new lil bundle of joy over there.. dangit I wish she lived closer so I could go over and cuddle it too! :)

Suzi ~ Welcome!! :)

Andrea ~ Welcome to you too! I'm in GA so I know ALLLL about the redneck jokes! :D

Well the kiddos are slowly crowding my space and that's my cue to feed the hungry mouths. (this chocolate bar is MINE afterall!) We've got a small town parade to go to this afternoon and it is COLDDD out there! Hope everyone has a wonderful day! I'll be back this eve w/ another game for some lucky winner!

Hugs,
Wendy