Hi Everyone! This has been my first chance to log on since that day. Thank you all for your kind words..it really does help. Here is the update on the naughty tree. That night my DH and I went to Lowes and bought a second stand, this one doesn't pivot so you have to be pretty darn good at getting it straight the first time BUT it came with 8 screw "thingees"...bi leveling so if the trunk is crooked the 8 will get it at both levels. It seems to be working. I got up at 4am on Thurs to re-decorate with the remaining ornaments and I have to say it looks better the second time around! Funny thing it took me another 4 hours to redo it. As for hubby and I going to store for app's for the party, that didn't transpire since he worked right up til the start of the party on Friday evening. So on Thurs am I went to the grocery store for the fixings and of course there was a HUGE storm coming early that afternoon and that is also the day grocery stores change sales...so it was crowded with people buying food as thought we would be socked in for years by snow and the thursday die hard shoppers..what a mess! To top it off I had a ladies luncheon to attend late morning to early afternoon. That part was fun! Friday was utter chaos. NO help from DH, kids were in school, so no help there. When the final hours came around, stuff was shoved here there and everywhere, but the house "looked" clean and the food was good. Some people didn't show so we had lots of leftovers. The rest of the weekend was dedicated to cleaning up. My feet were killing me and I am so happy to be back at work sitting on my tush for 8 hours. Tonight I have to find some stuff that I stuffed who knows where. Thank you again for your support. Happy Holidays to all. Heidi

Hi Steve, I do love the TV (great sound, picture as nice as my analogue TV downstairs with only regular cable ... both could use digital cable for a clearer picture, wonderful remote, very pretty TV but so SHINY the black that I can see my reflection... wish my TV stand was wider and taller) but I do not like the pedestal look on my Night Stand (2.5" on each side hangs and to me is distracting in the pretty bedroom) and I am seriously thinking of taking it back (but upset that the sneaky salesman has on the slip that LCD's are not returnable when he made me sign the screen without reading anything and then the person came to bring it to my car and I was very sick and when I asked to see the slip before signing, he said it was everything we discussed) and buying the 26" white Sharp LCD that swivels that was only $30 less for so much less screen with only the added swivel feature... but is in white and will not overpower the bedroom I feel. I just would have to order it from Target.com and have to pay about $26 in shipping to me and then back (UPS $26 around the sales guy said who I spoke to online at Target.com today) if I do not like the off-white color that has some gray in it. It has wonderful reviews but the Toshiba had better reviews and the reviewers are right about the sound quality on the Toshiba... it is very nice and I love the TV but it is TOO black for my bedroom and too big to me. I was sick all day and now not sure what to do. It is a beautiful TV but really stands out in my white room and I wish I could just put it in the family room an buy a white TV for my bedroom that is smaller despite the smaller picture. But my TV in my family room is only about 7 years old (Black Hitachi.. 27" that cost me $199 and looks nice to me.. heavy but not as heavy as my 14.5 year old 25" Samsung TV was). Maybe I can negotiate a deal on the extended and the 26"... I sure wish PC Richards would have the Sharp TV in white. Maybe I can ask if the can order it that way for me?

Re the conversation, I think she likely had much that was important to say, but we're just looking at a still picture, not the conversation, and discussing as we would that nightmare of a dress Heidi Klum wore to the Emmys. Re appropriate: Big prints are in for all ages. Peplums are in. Women her age who are very soft, not just untoned, wear sleeveless and don't get any guff. I used to dread conferences with a large coterie of menopausal ladies. I didn't mind wearing a sweater indoors, but when they demanded the air conditioning be down so low that my nose wouldn't stop running, I was most offended. So, any of you who have been through that, can we please have some compassion for a woman who has to look calm and cool under the extremely hot lights of television? Age inappropriate would have been if she'd been wearing the matching mini-skirt, which I'm sure was made. Dark pants and a Summer top are perfect for the transitional season. She probably had a jacket for when she wasn't being roasted like a rotisserie chicken. Her outfit is the epitome of what is meant by "office casual" or "dressy casual". Something we've discussed at length because it's so hard to get right. It's the right dress code for a chat show. Edit: I've looked at the video. They're not leggings. They're straight leg pants. I didn't see anything wrong with the way the pants fit her, and we've all agreed that the peplum wasn't well fitted or flattering. There's a lot of fabric and structure in that top, and the pants aren't plastered on for all that they're fitted. I just don't get what the big deal is. I guess some people don't like a first lady with cleavage, but when larger ladies show cleavage nobody gets on their cases. It's not like she's wearing a spaghetti strapped camisole.

Im happy - that doesn't mean it's something serious. I had that happen a few yrs back when I had a new battery put in at W. (it was just next to my bank where I took out $s for it and I was afraid to attempt driving/turning it off again to make it to Auto Zone or somewhere.) W charged to do it (AZ doesn't) and they didn't connect it tight enough. I had a local guy (tire shop) come here to jump it again and he saw the problem. that was another 60.00$s. He tightened it and it's been fine for 2 yrs now. Batteries don't last much more than that here because of the heat. I always appreciated having them come to me. they don't do that anymore, that was the last time for me. too many people moved out here now I guess and not enough guys there to send out to people. my regular mechanic has jumped in to help me this way tho. last 2 times, he even came to get my car to fix and returned it to me. God bless him! I know my car is in for a few more trips to him before summer. I also do plan to look for a newer one. a Honda crv I think. gonna limit myself on make/model to keep from so many decisions, options in cars to look at. and maybe 5-8 yrs old. mine now is 20 yrs old. plan to keep both at least for a time. the old one will be fixed up and usable - until it's next major life support needed. my mechanic is also on the 'look out' for me - cause he too will be the one working on it. I don't want to be out there looking too soon because of eye problems. hard enough with all the traffic out there and trying to drive a new fangled vehicle you're not used to. I have cataract surgery coming up this spring on the left eye and will wait til after that to look for the newer car. I have asked my mechanic if he could put the big front end of my buick onto a Honda crv... ha! every time I think of not having that big front end of it in front of me when on the crazy roads here, I get a pit in my gut... and every time I get into a newer car with no front end, I get a sickening feeling in that mid section. even in my sister's truck! I did drive a corolla for 10 yrs back when but I've had this one maybe 7 yrs now and am used to seeing that big front end (and hood ornament) in front of me. in my younger yrs I had a vw and a pinto. what was I thinking? have someone check your battery connections.