Yep, definitely on "ignore".

Well DD2 and I had a communication breakdown. She said she wanted toast with the egg in it. I asked if she wanted Frog (French) toast. She said no - she wanted the bread with the egg in it. I made her lighthouse eggs. Apparently that wasn't what she wanted. So now she is crying and refuses to eat while DD1 is demanding minute steak. Minute steak is misnamed BTW. Anyhow, I thaw out two minute steaks - one for DD1 and one for me because she says she only wants one piece. I put her minute steak in fromt of her and she says "is this all there is?" so now I have to rethink my breakfast. DD1 sure enough sucks down her minute steak and noe DD2 says she wants steak. They split the second piece and I ate lighthouse eggs which, by now, have been condimented with peanut butter, strawberry yoghurt and Oreos. Oh well.

I hardly ever eat what I think I am going to eat any more. I always get leftovers and the DDs get mine. This is okay but I just need to remember to make them healthier things to reject.

Minute steak for breakfast???

Well I have both and I can't really see much difference but these were minute steaks.

Good afternoon everyone. I've just gotten in. This thread just explodes doesn't it.

Hi Nams, Pio, Todd, Jen, Luna, 2Much, Believer, Myrta

hehehehe

I sure hope I didn't miss anyone.

I am glad to hear that Myrta and Stan-ley are doing great. That is some good news. On a personal note, I have always been somewhat the pariah of MB but lately I feel even more pariah-er (or is that pariahish?). A while back someone told me to totally let go. That is what I have been trying to do. I think I am mostly there. I don't have a crystal ball to see what is going to happen. But it doesn't matter ehat happens either and I don't mean that in an apathetic way. I either need a new marriage with gemela or no marriage with gemela. Our previous marriage no longer exists in my mind. Anyway, that's my moment of self-reflection gone. Now I am off to drill holes in my bathroom mirror. I should be able to increase the useful volume of the medicine cabinet by 23.846% if my calculations are correct.

A perfect plan extremely well executed and now I can use the bottom shelf of my medicine cabinet. Our medicine cabinets have a sliding bar inside that should be on the top and out of the way. Unfortunately when they installed them, they just turned them any which direction that was convenient at the time leaving most of the bars on the bottom. As such, you cn't put anything there because the bar knocks it off or jams it up whenever you close the door. So:

1) Dremel with cutoff wheel to cut off the backs of the rivots holding the post bracket to the mirror back.
2) carefully pry off bracket.
3) measure three times the correct location of the bracket on the top of the door
4) set the drill stop for 1/2 mm and drill two 4.5mm holes in the miror back being very careful to not go to deep and break the mirrot.
5) tap the holes with a 5mm x 0.8 thread to match the bolts I would use.
6) cut off the bolts to 1mm and chase the threads
7) drill out the bracket holes to 5.5mm to allow the bolts to pass
8) using 1/8" ratchet and socket, install the bolts through the bracket in the upper part of the door.

Most importantly, I got to use power tools as well as my metric tap and die set. Can it get any better than this? I think not.

OK, even before the morning pleasantries I have to address Pio's exfoliating. I agree whole heartedly with kiwi - EW!
You know, Pio, that real men get their exfoliating done in a spa don't you?

Isn't that an oxymoron? real men - spa?

Actually I never bothered with my feet until right before I left the USA a couple of weeks ago. I went into Walmart and sat in the bubble chair. The woman looked at my feet and said OMG! I felt strange in that chair amongst all those women. They kept asking me for decorating ideas. EWWW!

I'm trying something new this morning to see if I can extend the useful hours in the day.

First, get up at 4:30 after taking half an hour for reading. Get up, exercise, check email. Make lunches. Get OS off to school. Wake up other two boys, monotor their arguments. Try to keep my tounge when YS puts on two sets of clothes to "make it easier" when he has gym. Keep middle son from ripping YS a new one because he thinks this is a stupid idea. Middle son LOVES to argue with YS in the morning, I think it's part of his wake up routine.

Repeat one million times "Do you have your shoes on & teeth brushed?" Repeat 500,000 time "Are your backpacks ready to go with homework & lunches?" Repeat 2 million times "You need to hurry up!"

We are almost out the door. I've had time to catch up on this thread, ever so important, get the boys off to school, & exercise. I think the key is getting out of bed at 4:30.

The boys have left the building!

I had to move my alarm up to 3:30 to get in the exercise. Other than that, I like your plan. I replaced the VHS in the garage with a DVD/VHS. I tried it this AM and I really like the difference.

I took the DDs out for lunch just to do something different. They wanted to make cookies so I had to go to the store to buy butter. Butter is not something we normally keep in the house and for some reason it just bothers me to use half a tub of margarine in one go. Now we have four sticks of Danish butter which, naturally, is metric butter so there is no way to convert it to English units without the scale. Didn't Jimmy Carter promise to convert us all over to the metric system? Yet another of his failures as president.

To tell the honset truth, Fridays I always (okay I've only had three so far without WW) get a little depressed. Okay - really depressed. It is not that I miss gemela. I'm not thinking "gee I wish she were here". I don't know what it is. I guess it is just the only day of the week I have any free time. I'm really sad. Worst part is I can't be sad in front of the DDs and by nighttime, it goes away so I am stuck with not being able to be sad like I want all afternoon. I don't like Fridays very much.

Why is it that metric tires hold more air but metric cans hold less coke?

For me, Fridays used to be full of promise. Starting in childhood I would get excitied on Fridays thinking about the endless possibilities of what I could do with my free time. Now, I still look forward to them but I do wish for someone to spend my free time with.

I'm sorry to hear they make you sad.

Pio, are you in SA for the long haul?

Keep in mind that my Friday is the equivalent of your Sunday. Tomorrow is the first day of the work week.

For me to get any real benefit of being in SA, I need to be here a minimum of 3 more years and 8 years more would see a huge increase in benefits. If I stay here even longer, my DDs will be able to go to practically any boarding school in the world at essentially zero cost. Our schools here only go through 9th grade. So, at that time, we will make the choice whether DD1 goes to boarding school or we leave and put her in a school back in the USA. I have a long time before I have to make that decision. Boarding school sounds odd to me but can you imagine the benefits to a young girl entering college? At the end of the day it will be her decision.

For me, I have a job with very low stress, excellent work hours, endless opportunities for the DDs, well above average schools (all teachers have masters as a minimum and many have PhDs), a world class golf course, a retirement package I couldn't match anywhere else, and zero opportunity for a female relationship should I divorce. So, looking at the bright side, I'll never be cheated on by another woman besides gemela.

Yeah, it's hard to remember your Fridays are our Sun. Sundays are a bit melancholy for me too.

Zero opportunity for a female relationship? Is that assuming local female relationships only? No expat community?

Well a local girls would end me up in a Saudi prison (or worse) and getting involved with an expat would mean adultery. So my options are basically celebacy.

I can't imagine celebacy would be an appealing life choice if you were to D g.

Might want to consider some ways in which you would be able to find another partner should it come to that.

When I thought I lived in a secure marriage I "knew" I'd never want to be involved in another relationship, until my kids grew up & were out on their own, should I end up a widow. Never considering I'd be D. Never say never.

I want a partner but certainly a better model than the last.

Maybe this is all so new it's hard to think beyond the lifting of the pain you've felt for the past year. It won't always be so one way or the other.

Gotta go. No substituting again today so to the pottery studio I go!

I'll be back later. Take care Pio. BTW getting up at 3:30 to exercise? Fagetaboutit.

Well if G and I D, I guess it will be two years before I think about another relationship. I am really pretty screwed up right now. I wouldn't want to carry that into another relationship - should it come to that. Besides, I still have the HPV to consider. To paraphrase Truman, "the bug stops here".

Thank you Piojitos..for your good wishes again. Indeed we are doing really well. It has been very good lately.

Dont consider yourself a pariah of MB, because you are not. There are many marriages that come to MB and still dont make it, whether they do all plans available and talk to the Harleys. I think you KNEW from the start that yours will not make it. Am I wrong?

Anyways, I am sure you will do great finding a suitable mate,after you get divorced and start dating again. Just concentrate in making your daughters happy for now. They should be your main concern, nothing else. Let Gemela think about the big mistake she has done with you, not working for you and the marriage. Because you are a keeper!@!

Take care

Myrta