Everyday Chatting & Waffling {2026} Let's get to know each other!

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter.

I went to the 6am service, stopped at the store on the way home and picked up a few more things for the Easter baskets. When I got home, I put the lamb on to cook, then peeled and prepared the veggies. I always make an Excel spreadsheet showing me what times to start everything and put it up on the fridge so it all gets done exactly at the same time! In between the veggie prep and the time to turn them on, I had time to clean house and finish up the Easter baskets. Everything was ready when Steven and Nessa arrived. We ate a little after noon because they were doing a big family Easter egg hunt for all the little kids in Nessa's family at 3. Anyway, it was hot and delicious, which was lovely. We had a wonderful time, then they took off for the Easter Egg hunt.

Then Rand offered to do all the dishes and I took a much needed nap, after which we watched Cinderella with Lily James and then Beauty and the Beast with Emma Watson. THEN, I went to bed quite early, I was so glad to get a good night's sleep.
 
Yes, freeze-dried Skittles are a thing. We actually have a place in the mall that freeze-dries all sorts of candy (gummy bears, skittles, air heads, jolly ranchers, etc). Randy loves it when they sell off their "bloopers" for half price. LOL. I'm not a fan. I gave up sugar in 2019 due to my massive sugar addiction (yikes). So now that I don't eat sugar on a regular basis, when I do try a piece of candy, it just tastes like chemicals to me. Bleh!

The winning candy on the poll was actually a tie between peanut butter cups and anything chocolate. The cand with the lowest votes were black licorice and Peeps.

This week's question for the kids will be "does pineapple belong on pizza." LOL!
 
Peanut butter cups are my weakness. I did indulge in a few this Easter but kept the chocolate to a minimum. Some days when I feel like stress eating I could inhale a whole bag of M&M's (the family size not the fun size) :ROFLMAO:.

I <3 Peeps ..... one of the few people in my family that do. But now they have all these different flavors (even Dr. Pepper flavor), and my husband bought Rice Krispie flavored Peeps this year and really enjoyed them. I always want to do smores for Easter and use Peeps ... but this year we were rained out and don't have access to a fire pit at our new place.

Pineapple on pizzza .... let me weigh in on that one, my husband would say a big old yes !!! Pineapple and ham specifically. He was a manager of a local pizza chain many years ago and made "Hawaiian Pizza" as a special one a week and it was a big hit.

I just like extra cheese .... the more the better. I did have a cheeseburger pizza one time and it was pretty good, but I am pretty bland when it comes to pizza toppings. I will eat pepperoni (and even sometimes sausage); when that is only available at a party or something. But I like my cheese !!!

I'm very excited, I have an interview on Wednesday morning ..... the job seems very interesting and exactly what I want to do. I have the background, education, it's work from home, and the pay is very good which helps check all the boxes.

I am not going to get myself all nervous and worked up. I am just going to be myself, emphasize my strengths and the background that I bring to the table. In the past I have told myself in a way I am interviewing them to see if they would be a right fit for me, than the other way around. I always do my research on the company, and always have a list of questions to ask them. If it is the right fit, then it will all work out. If not, then I got some good interview practice and sharpening those skills for the right job to come along.

Not sure if I am going to spend the day scrapbooking or working on something else creative. I just don't want the day to go to waste.

Have a wonderful day everyone !!!
 
GOOD LUCK Melissa!!!

Pineapple on pizza. I can take it or leave it. Hubby loves it, but he loves anything on pizza. That man! He'll eat sauerkraut on pizza. We have a joint here that makes those. EWE! I'm a garbage pizza girl, myself. Everything EXCEPT hot peppers or anchovies. (or sauerkraut!)

Candy isn't a weakness per se, but I do love me some dark chocolate and Reese's Peanut Butter Pastel Eggs. They're the little ones that are like M&Ms but, peanut butter. They have a thicker chocolate shell. YUM! Those are my super-weakness! IDK, considering that Skittles are nothing but chemicals, freeze drying them doesn't sound much better. I think I'm good!
 
Melissa, good luck on your interview! Let us know how it goes!

Lynnie... I hear you!!!! LOL! Sugar, salt... it's allllll good! LOL!

I'm working today on getting my youth tour itinerary finalized. Just heard back from my Senator's office that there will be NO White House tours offered the week we are in DC, so I need to come up with an alternate plan for that. I was successful in getting our group tickets to the Holocaust Memorial Museum, though. At this point, I'm just waiting on two more historical sites to open up their ticket portal for our travel dates... then I should be good to go! Whee!
 
Well, I was researching the company in the evening before the interview and some things weren't jiveing. I went into my Facebook Job Seekers page and posted and immediately was sent messages from others in the group that the company I was interview for was a total scam company. After that I found all this information that backed up the information I was sent. To say the least I am feeling pretty devestated and defeated. This job search situation has been a tough journey. I try very hard to stay postive, but this wore my patience pretty thin. I decided to give myself some grace the rest of the week and pick back up on my job search journey next week. I am too emotional about it to jump right back in to it today.

CHIPS !!!! Oh my weakness. Something I got addicted to while going through chemo. Lays chips were always my go to for nausea. The nurses made sure they were always stocked for me. That, cola, and I would bring a big bag of Smarties candies that I would snack on while "the red devil" was running through my IV.

I bought a huge bag of Lays chips last night and my husband reminded me we already had some. I said "No you already had some, this is my bag! LOL!" And I bought myself a bag of Puff Corn. I can't eat pop corn since having my gallbladder removed in 2015, I can't digest it. I also have diverticulitis and pop corn is not something that jives well with that either.

I guess this free time the next few days is paving the way for working on my website/blog and getting some much needed scrapbooking done.

@breoni ... I loved touring Washington D.C. When I was in high school (9th grade to be exact), I was a majorette in the band and we were asked to participate in the Cherry Blossom Parade. Longest parade route I have ever marched. Literally !!! But to have the opportunity to see all the historical sites was right up my alley. Our hotel overlooked the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetary. That cemetary was truly something to see, the tomb of the unknown soldier ... it was so quiet there. To be able to see the Smithsonian Museum, the Lincoln Memorial, and all the other sites was this girls dream because I was big into photography and took a ton of pictures. I have always been fascinated with history in general so I really enjoyed going somewhere like that then just a beach or something.
 
I just realized that I need to make a spring siggy, lol!

Oh, adventures in food! Chocolate is my kryptonite. For some reason, hubby keeps buying my dark chocolate stuff and no milk chocolate. I like both, but edge toward milk because sometimes the dark irritates my stomach. My other weakness is licorice. I like the black stuff but it's hard to find, so I usually go with red vines. And I recently discovered Nerds gummy clusters. Ooh baby, so bad!

I have been bumping along, getting my blood drawn and going to medical appointments. I recently had a "well woman" one and that was so useful. We talked all about perimenopause and I needed that because my mom can't remember what her menopause was like. We are so different with respect to that so I doubt knowing would help much anyway. Tomorrow I have a regular annual exam. Now if I could only remember what I wanted to talk about!

School is going all right. I have 2 1/2 classes left until graduation, and it looks like I'll "get" to take the month of May off (no courses I need start then, plus I'm going on vacation). My youngest is hopefully going to graduate college in May (some grades are iffy). That is why we are going on vacation to Hawaii, to take them to see the place where they were born. Plus their 2 besties. It's going to be a break we all need!
 
@honeybee - what!!??? Oh no!!! At least you found out the position was a scam before the interview. Good for you for doing your research. What is up with people these days? Another resource that you might want to look into is to reach out to any local HR firms or SPHR groups... I've found that the HR folks always know when jobs are available. GOOD LUCK! Also, your time marching the Cherry Blossom parade sounds fun! I've only been able to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom a handful of times, and they're always so beautiful.

I'm still playing Tetris with our Youth Tour schedule to ensure that my entire group can fit as much as possible into the week, get fed, and still make it to bed on time! LOL! I've hit a couple of snags with some museums / sites not having availability for a group my size at a time that works in our schedule. But I've also made a few cold calls to see if we could create some new experiences that aren't typically offered, and I've had surprisingly good luck with that!

Next I get to try to finalize all of our flights (reservation was made last fall, but now I have to finalize the individual ticketing for everyone in our group). The airlines just announced ANOTHER price hike in checked luggage, so I'm trying to finalize all of that before the new charges are in effect. Grrrrrrrrr. The airlines are about to do me in with their new money-grabbing policies. Grrrrrr. (Want to know how I really feel about that issue?)
 
Well, I am caught up again. It has been a crazy couple of weeks with caring for my brother. Today we went to help him and I don't think he is going to be able to stay on his own much longer. He had a couple falls and was in the hospital again and they released him after they stabilized his meds but he can barley look after his immediate needs never mind keep his place tidy, health care sucks these days!

I am working on some of my recent trips so reliving some fun moments, just in time for another adventure. My son from Calgary is taking me to Victoria BC for my 65th birthday. I am getting excited!

Hopefully I will get caught up by end of summer with my travel books.

Well until next time, happy scrapping!
 
@AJsRandom ... Menopause (or any form of it pre, post, peri) ..... it all sucks !!! I have gone through menopause twice now. Not fun. Everyone's experiences are different. Maybe write down some things you have noticed for your doctor, or keep a running track of issues from now on. Sometimes we tend to forget month to month; so it is best to track issues. Something "useful" I learned on my cancer journey. Girllllll ... I documented EVERYTHING !!! ;) And I am totally jealous of your trip to Hawaii. At this point I just want to travel somewhere.

@breoni ... thank you for the tip, I will definately look into local HR firms, etc. I am learning so many new things during my job search; it surely isn't like it used to be. I miss the good ole days when you took in a chronilogical resume, filled out an application, and interviewed face to face ..... now you're selling yourself and competing with tons of other people. And don't even get me started on the AI aspect of job searching either.

@Route66 ... sorry to hear that your brother is having problems being on his own. It is tough for them to accept that loss of independance. My cousin is going through this with her mother. She is unable to care for herself or get around either in addition to her having Alzherimer's. Her mother was always an independant person, ran her own business for years as a beutician, was always on the go. Now the frail woman we all see before us is tough to accept. I wish you all luck with the transfer of his care. He is lucky to have you to ensure no matter what decisions are made that are made for his best interests.


I am just chilling here at my desk watching "The Masters" while I scrapbook and work on my calendar/planner for the next week or so. I always make time to look it over so I know what is coming up or when I am available just in case something needs attention. I am absolutely loving my digital planner on One Note. I can having it on my laptop, my phone ... and I can change it if I need to as the months go on. Not locked in like I would be with my paper planner. (Yes, I have one of those too, just as a back up) My life is probably about to get hectic again, so I have to know my schedule front to back and inside out.

My mother got a phone call from her family doctor and he wants her to see a Hematologist. Her mother had Leukemia and I think that my Mom unfortunately is headed down the same path. So, as a family we collectively decided for her to see my Oncologist/Hematologist instead of the one they were sending her to. I trust my doctors with my life and I know I wouldn't be here without their incredible care. I want my Mom to have the best care, so as the oldest daughter I made the final decision. And I know eventually Mom is going to have to stop driving; and I have no problem taking her anywhere she needs to go. We are just going to take things one day at a time right now. So keep her in your thoughts no matter what journey she is about to take.

Hope you all have had a wonderful relaxing weekend ..... catch up with you all sometime this week.
 
@honeybee -- good luck with the job hunt. I used to teach resume writing waaaaay back in the day. Now the resumes are only a place to tag key words for when AI scans resumes to see if they should advance or not. It's a completely different process now, for sure. Good luck with that and with your mother's appointment. Cancer sucks.
 
Hi all. Just popping in to say hello! I've been home the past two days recovering from a small procedure that ultimately didn't really tell us much. The only thing I accomplished in the past 48 hours was finishing the latest season of Bridgerton. LOL!
 
Hi everyone! Years ago I used to be quite active in the waffling chat, and I'm back haha. :)

@honeybee - I'm sorry to hear about your mother's struggles. It's a huge blessing that she has you nearby and able to help her!

I skimmed some of the previous posts, and thought I'd chime in - I love pineapple on pizza, especially with hot peppers! I'm a pretty creative pizza eater though - I'll do saeurkraut too. Just no meat or cheese lol. All the veggies (and some fruits) though!! A few years ago we went to a pizza place out of town that had Chicago style pizza, and I got one that had all kinds of veggies along with pineapple and extra hot peppers. Absolutely heavenly, I dream of that place!

I'm about to head out on a 10-hour road trip this morning. My son is going to prom in Ohio - gotta love long distance relationships! We've been there a few times already to visit, and looking forward to going again. I'm mostly excited to relax in the AirBnB and eat yummy food!
 
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. We were able to get her in yesterday to the Hematologist and they ran a lot of blood work. 9 tubes of blood to be exact. My mom made the funny comment if she wasn't already anemic she would be after this. LOL !!! Now we are waitng for the other two tests to come back and tell us if it is Leukemia or not. The doctor did but her on some Iron and Ferretin suplements and she has to start monthly B12 shots like I get because hers is so low. It will help so much with her energy, and I made the joke that maybe it would help with her memory issues too and she could remember all her grandkids and great-grandkids names. She has 6 grandkids and 6 great-grandkids. So, it is a lot. ;)

Lots to do today ... have to head to the grocery store and pick up a few things before two of the grandkids come over later. Now that my daughter has gone back to work I get to watch RJ and Hazel more often. The other night we made "bunkers" for the kids with pillows and blankets; they thought it was the greatest thing in the world. I surely love them coming over, but they wear me out.

I haven't felt inspired to scrapbook much lately. This week has been so crazy. Hopefully I will set aside some time later this evening or on Saturday morning if I get up early and don't sleep in.
 
I managed to complete an album!!! Sound the trumpets!!!! LOL!!!! I finally completed the high school graduation album for the youngest nephews. I've made one for every kid in our family as their grad gift (printed through Shutterfly). Since this was the youngest nephew, I had the most pages for him. When he was in middle school, he would call to invite me to take him on a photo shoot so I could make pages for his book (he had several older brothers, so he knows what's up). Ha. I swear I had enough layouts to make him a two or three-volume series, but I narrowed it down to my favorite 110 layouts. Our daughter stopped by and I showed her the album and she got all emotional, so I took that for a win! It's been ordered and should arrive well before his graduation. YIPPPPEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
breoni said:
Melissa, good luck on your interview! Let us know how it goes!

Lynnie... I hear you!!!! LOL! Sugar, salt... it's allllll good! LOL!

I'm working today on getting my youth tour itinerary finalized. Just heard back from my Senator's office that there will be NO White House tours offered the week we are in DC, so I need to come up with an alternate plan for that. I was successful in getting our group tickets to the Holocaust Memorial Museum, though. At this point, I'm just waiting on two more historical sites to open up their ticket portal for our travel dates... then I should be good to go! Whee!
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I am sure you know everything there is to know about the great places in Washington! We loved our tour of the People's House (thepeopleshouse.org), which is a whitehouse experience and is very well done! I also think Mount Vernon is spectacular, but it is a ways out of town. Loved Ford's Theatre. I assume you are all walking the mall. The WWII memorial is amazing. I think this is the first time we have walked the whole mall and seen the Martin Luther King Memorial, the Roosevelt memorial, constitution gardens, etc. Sometimes we are in a hurry and we skip the best of the sites.
 
@Carla minicooper452: Carla, When I see pineapple on pizza since the "Inside Out" movie came out, I think of Anger saying "Congratulations, San Francisco, you've ruined pizza! First the Hawaiians, and now YOU!". This happens when he discovers the pizza in San Francisco is topped with broccoli.

@breoni , Shana, let us know what you end up with on your final itinerary. I think you should make them walk the whole mall and see all the monuments. It doesn't cost anything and it will wear them out... no shenanigans!

Great job creating an album!! Wuhoo.

@honeybee, Melissa, I am so sorry that the job did not work out for you. I wish I could offer some encouragement, but the work world seems turned upside down. The best thing is networking. I went to university with Molly Wendell, one of the leading networkers in the country. She is fabulous. She has a great book called "The New Job Search." She is promising to start a pod cast soon and that will be wonderful. She is so dynamic.

Keep us posted on your mother... that's a lot to go through after everything else you have had on your plate. At least you have a group here to chat with!!

@AJsRandom, Ane, I didn't know your children were born in Hawaii! One of mine was, I was married to a Hawaiian at the time. Two of my children were half-Hawaiian. The marriage didn't last, but my love of the islands did :)

@Route66, Karen, I am so sorry to hear about your brother. You have been through the wringer this last year! My goodness, hopefully things will perk up!

@kelley, Welcome back, Kelley. Glad to see you chiming in and catching up. You don't look old enough to have a son going to a prom. More like a son in a pram!!
 
FormbyGirl said:
@honeybee, Melissa, I am so sorry that the job did not work out for you. I wish I could offer some encouragement, but the work world seems turned upside down. The best thing is networking. I went to university with Molly Wendell, one of the leading networkers in the country. She is fabulous. She has a great book called "The New Job Search." She is promising to start a pod cast soon and that will be wonderful. She is so dynamic.

Keep us posted on your mother... that's a lot to go through after everything else you have had on your plate. At least you have a group here to chat with!!
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Yeah, I surely have been through the ringer with my health, then issues with the job searching, and now my Mom .... it never ends. But at least life is not boring.

My mom starts B12 shots on Tuesday .... her bloodwork all came back and it looks okay. I don't see any alarm or worry about Leukemia; but we will wait for official word from the doctor. I personally just think she is very anemic and her family doctor wanted her to see a hematologist because they could do more for her than he could. Hence, the injections and any iron infusions she may need. She is very lucky her family doctor is very thorough and now her seeing my oncologist/hematologist ... they are thorough as well and I know she is in very good hands.

It is weird to go up there with her and NOT be the patient ... now I am on the other end. And I am okay with that; I did my time. LOL !!!
 
Thank you all for your Washington DC site suggestions. Yes, we absolutely see ALL of the memorials. I'm also hoping to get group tickets where we can go to the top of the Washington Monument. We also tour the US Capitol and meet with our elected officials and their staff. Some years we are lucky to get a White House tour, but this year is not one of those years. We spend part of a day at the Smithsonian Museums. We also tour several other museums including Planet Word (a museum about language), the Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the US Army Museum. We will tour Mt Vernon and go see the Friendship Arch, a gift from Beijing to DC. We will also check out the newly opened American Dream Museum. I've also just confirmed a tour and activity at the Hirshorn Museum of Modern Art where the kids get to be creative and make something. I have tickets for a musical at the Kennedy Center, and we will cheer on the Royals when they play the Nats at Washington Baseball Stadium. We will see the Sunset Parade and Silent Drill Corp at the Iwo Jima Memorial, and we will watch the Changing of the Guard at Arlington. I also have a leadership skills class scheduled. I still have two more open spots on our itinerary that week, so I'll be working on filling those in today.
 
Oh, and I had to share... on Saturday, Randy and I drove down to Wichita so we could take photos of my youngest nephew and his squad before they headed off to prom. I was surprised when they asked to meet at 11 a.m. (prom started at 7 p.m.). I was doubtful that those teens would wake up early enough to get dressed and meet in the morning, but they all wanted time to go fishing that afternoon. LOL!

When we arrived, I learned that my nephew's squad consisted of him and 12 of his buddies! Egads! However, they were amazing and willing to do whatever I asked. They were all dressed up and the accessory of choice this year were snazzy shoes and large, flashy watches. Three of the boys drove cars borrowed from family members, so we needed to have several shots that features those vehicles. I also made sure to get individual shots, and then family shots for those boys who had family members present.

Two hours and about 2,000 photos later, we had the photo shot wrapped up. I then spent all Saturday night and most of Sunday editing photos. But my nephew had the link of pictures to share with his friends by supper time on Sunday, and they've already been sharing them on their social media platforms.

My nephew gave me the best compliment... he said how much his friends liked the photos, and they appreciated how easy and fun the photo shoot was! Awwww! I will be sure to create a layout of this fun group. A couple of them had some crazy suits (one wore a flamingo print and another had a leopard print suit). LOL!
 
breoni said:
Thank you all for your Washington DC site suggestions. Yes, we absolutely see ALL of the memorials. I'm also hoping to get group tickets where we can go to the top of the Washington Monument. We also tour the US Capitol and meet with our elected officials and their staff. Some years we are lucky to get a White House tour, but this year is not one of those years. We spend part of a day at the Smithsonian Museums. We also tour several other museums including Planet Word (a museum about language), the Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the US Army Museum. We will tour Mt Vernon and go see the Friendship Arch, a gift from Beijing to DC. We will also check out the newly opened American Dream Museum. I've also just confirmed a tour and activity at the Hirshorn Museum of Modern Art where the kids get to be creative and make something. I have tickets for a musical at the Kennedy Center, and we will cheer on the Royals when they play the Nats at Washington Baseball Stadium. We will see the Sunset Parade and Silent Drill Corp at the Iwo Jima Memorial, and we will watch the Changing of the Guard at Arlington. I also have a leadership skills class scheduled. I still have two more open spots on our itinerary that week, so I'll be working on filling those in today.
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I WANNA BE ONE OF YOUR KIDS!!! OMgosh......... that just sounds amazing! I am certain that I didn't fully appreciate everything that I saw and experienced on my trip to DC in JHS. Oh, it was wonderful and I do remember it, but I'm sure I didn't really, truly appreciate it. I do remember one particular side trip that we took to Gettysburg that I'll never forget because it had that light-up map that told the whole war and lit each part of the war as it happened. Very powerful. I'm sure it's much more so now that they can do things with computers.
 
LOL... awww... thank you. I do have waiting list for chaperones. It's currently out through 2046. LOL! And yes, this trip is life-changing from some of the participants. My member cooperatives hand-select students from their communities based on interviews, essays, and/or video submissions. I already have all the students' photos, so I'm using them like flash cards to learn all the names. But they will only meet each other on our first day of the trip. So there are a lot of nerves in the room. I bring in fun speakers and activities while we are all still in Kansas, so we have already started those lifelong bonds by the time we board the plane the following day. I make the roommate assignments based on their interests and I have many students end up being college roommates, as well. And I've also had several students meet on youth tour, and then get married after they graduate college. It's the sweetest thing. I consider myself to be a stepping stone for these kids as they figure out what path they want to pursue during their transition from high school and beyond.
 
FormbyGirl said:
@kelley, Welcome back, Kelley. Glad to see you chiming in and catching up. You don't look old enough to have a son going to a prom. More like a son in a pram!!
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Thank you so much for the welcome back! LOL I'm actually 45. I did have all my babies young, starting at 21. My "baby" is 18 now. But to be fair, my profile picture was taken in 2024. :)
breoni said:
Oh, and I had to share... on Saturday, Randy and I drove down to Wichita so we could take photos of my youngest nephew and his squad before they headed off to prom. I was surprised when they asked to meet at 11 a.m. (prom started at 7 p.m.). I was doubtful that those teens would wake up early enough to get dressed and meet in the morning, but they all wanted time to go fishing that afternoon. LOL!

When we arrived, I learned that my nephew's squad consisted of him and 12 of his buddies! Egads! However, they were amazing and willing to do whatever I asked. They were all dressed up and the accessory of choice this year were snazzy shoes and large, flashy watches. Three of the boys drove cars borrowed from family members, so we needed to have several shots that features those vehicles. I also made sure to get individual shots, and then family shots for those boys who had family members present.

Two hours and about 2,000 photos later, we had the photo shot wrapped up. I then spent all Saturday night and most of Sunday editing photos. But my nephew had the link of pictures to share with his friends by supper time on Sunday, and they've already been sharing them on their social media platforms.

My nephew gave me the best compliment... he said how much his friends liked the photos, and they appreciated how easy and fun the photo shoot was! Awwww! I will be sure to create a layout of this fun group. A couple of them had some crazy suits (one wore a flamingo print and another had a leopard print suit). LOL!
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This sounds amazing!! I love that all of them were so into it that they were willing to do a 2-hour photo shoot!! My boys are definitely not into the pictures anymore. They want a few, but we literally spent about 10 minutes total haha! Also extremely impressed by hour editing 2,000 photos that fast!
 
Kelley, I use Adobe Bridge to batch edit. I have learned to go through my images quickly and select just my favorites... then I focus on editing only those. It saves a lot of time by being able to copy all the edits from one image and apply them to multiple images. I just completed a layout of my nephew showing off his brother's car. LOL! You can see it here: https://forums.gingerscraps.net/media/revved-up-for-prom.804093/
 
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