Laurie

Thank you Laurie. Thanks for the kind words. Your such a sweetie. Aw thanks, Joe. You too!

Hey, we all have our moments... I am GLAD you're back - you add something unique here and I was truly sorry when you said you'd be away. Cheers! And Merry Christmas to you! Peace on Earth - Good Will Toward Men Right?

I do junk food once in awhile. My absolute downfall is Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (one of Klaus' favorites, too!). I just joined a gym last week, though, and I go on my lunch hour at work. This conveniently forces me to pack a nice healthy sandwich, maybe some yogurt & a granola bar and I graze on the lot all day at work. If I get fast food with my son on the weekends while we're out running errands, he almost always picks Subway, and that's not too bad. As far as what's around the house, we do have an occasional package of cookies or chips. It's just not all the time and I try really hard to choose reduced fat cookies, baked (not fried) chips, etc.

Thanks for sharing that, Talon. And Ziggy that is a beautiful tattoo. I have a lot of pride in my country and especially our volunteer armed forces. I think it's sad that they don't alway get a fair shake, or the thanks they deserve. We are remembering our troops through a sales rep at work. He belongs to the St Andrews Society and they are gathering up items for soldiers such as magazines and paperbacks you've already read, little personal items such as baby wipes, deodorant, toothpaste, socks, silly string, anything a soldier could fit into their backpack. I brought a big box full of books and magazines and plan to bring more.

Oh, and I loooooove Dan Brown's stuff. Outstanding! I also read "The Devil Wears Prada" - that was fun.

I read about a book a week - WAY too many to list here! But of course I love to gab about books and learn about "undiscovered" authors in these little exchanges. Right now I'm reading "Speaks the Nightbird" by Robert McCammon. Very engrossing - I've kept the lamp on too late many a night with this one! I picked it up at the library because there's an endorsement from Stephen King (my hero) on it. If it's good enough for Steve, it's certainly good enough for me! Anyway, it's set it 1699 and it's about a witch trial. As for movies, I don't really get to watch many. The last one I watched was "The Departed." Pretty good. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any I want to see at the moment...

Well, I've never heard of a fruit that they can't have. Does that narrow it down? LOL I think the important things are to make sure the fruit has been cleaned, don't let them eat banana peel, and no apple seeds. Some fruits are definitely more nutritious than others, so try to go with the "super" fruits when possible. (For example cantaloupe or orange over apple.) And grapes should be a treat - I give Klaus one grape per day when I have them in the house. Anyone else? Did I do ok here? Thanks

Aloha to you too, and we look forward to hearing about your trip when you get back...

Those mesh-like rubber ball or sphere things are great to hang and stuff with toys or treats I just picked one of those up for Klaus today. Unfortunately, he hasn't been back into his cage yet to check it out!

On weekdays, Klaus gets out when I get home (around 6) and doesn't (won't!) go to bed until I do. He rides around on my shoulder part of the time, plays on top of his cage, and most nights is with me when I'm here on the computer. He loves it when I do dishes - that's the time he's most vocal. Usually around 7:30 I give his cage a quick tidy and give him dinner & fresh water. The majority of the time he goes in and eats (but with the door open, he's free to come back out after his dinner). On weekends, he's out a lot more. In fact, he's with me now and either myself or my husband has had him on our shoulder all day. A little spoiled, don't you think? But I went to my company Christmas party last night, so we missed our evening visit. The guilt is killing me, so Klausie is running the show today.

Hi, and welcome! We're glad you're here...

I went to Curves again today! I plan to go every day that I'm at work, and I'm pretty sure there's one near me here at home that I can go to on the weekends (and those rare times when I take a day off work). My in-laws lent me an Atkins book, and I plan to peruse that for some low-carb food ideas. I don't plan to follow Atkins "to the letter" but I'm really excited right now and I want to kick start this thing! Go team!

Yeah, I like the paper towel roll idea. I had been putting treats in a coffee filter, then twisting up the top to make it a small challenge. Thanks for the tip!

Well, my first trip to Curves went really well. The lady there is very nice and she took me through the circuit for my first time, then I went around it again by myself. I love how it changes continuously. I'm going back tomorrow ... I think this is for me, definitely, but want to go a few days before I make the financial commitment. Oh, and then, I get back to work and one of our customers had brought in a very decadent tray of this really exotic Italian dessert. Can't remember the name, doubt I could spell it anyway. All my co-workers were raving about it, and insisting I have some. So I had about a table-spoon's worth. It was goooood, but I behaved myself. So far so good - I plan to keep this up for sure! And, yes, CD it's not just out of vanity - I do hear over and over how vital physical fitness is for your overall health. I'm with ya!

That is a really nice stand at a great price. Judy's right, though...You'll probably be very excited to get it home and get it set up. Then very disappointed when your bird won't have anything to do with it. I got Klaus one about a month or so ago, and we took the top part off, threw a green tablecloth on it, and my Christmas tree is on it now. Case in point! He went on it maybe 2-3 times before we converted it to a Christmas tree stand. Will try again after the holidays!

I'm terrible with names, I've had so many great replies and words of encouragement (and lots of laughs) from so many of you, I couldn't possibly name every name. Especially right now, Klaus is climbing around on me and really seems determined to check out these KEYS Mommy's hands are so busy with... So, thank you all - I hope to enjoy coming here just about every day for a long, long time! Cheers!

Aw! Thanks for the pictures... Happy Birthday, Cosmo!

That was awesome! Karma for you! I keep the bottom of Klaus' cage completely covered in newspaper. Each day I pick up toys, roll the paper up & toss it, then put new paper in. The only toys allowed "loose" (ie not attached to the side or top of the cage) are ones that can be tossed when dirty. These are the cheap cat-toy balls w/bells in them, I think they run 6 for a dollar, empty, rinsed containers (yogurt, margarine, little juice bottles), misc little plastic things that once belonged to my son and who now is too cool to play with them, wooden alphabet blocks (I think I got about 2 dozen of those for $3), etc. The toys that are hanging don't really get poop on them. He has a ladder that does get dirty, that I rinse with hot water, then use little scrubby sponges that I get 6 for 99 cents, so I can toss the little sponge when done. Klaus usually hangs out on top of the cage while all this is going on, throwing the toys from the top of the cage down to the floor (he has some that we just keep up there). He gets excited because dinner is right after cage cleaning. He's funny because I take the bowl out of its holder so I can dump, clean & refill and he's so obsessed with food that he searches around the empty food bowl holder, then thouroughly investigates the empty bowl as if to say, "Help, Mom - I'm starving!".

Hey, Judy - I just went back and read through all the posts here and see that it's Curves that you do. Curves is what I'm joining! (I think - it's still a week free trial and I have to make sure I love it before I'll part with my hard-earned cash.) Great to hear you're doing so well with it. Also, sorry just noticed we're supposed to check in on Wednesdays. So, I'm a little early!

Ok, here we go! I am starting a one-week (free) trial membership at a gym near my work. They specialize in a 30-min workout, so I figure I can do it on my lunch hour. So, my gym bag is packed and I'm ready to try this for the first time tomorrow. I had to work it into lunch hour because after work I have to get straight home to my son (and my birdie!). If I like it, I'll join officially and pay for it. I figure with the money I save not eating lunch out I can pay for the gym. Wish me luck! I'm excited!

That's funny...I just swapped out my mid-sized tree for a little 4-footer. My house is too small!

Aaaw, they look like sweet doggies! How do they get along with your bird(s)?

Yes, I want an avatar! I don't want to be the invisible woman anymore! LOL

Hi, and welcome! Love the name "Sam."

My friends and co-workers think I'm a little nuts. They enjoy hearing my funny stories, though! At least, I think they do...Maybe they're just being polite! :laugh: No, really, if I don't talk about Klaus at work for a while, people start asking me how he's doing.