ita, concrete step ~ma. May this relieve most or all of the pain.

Oooh, Kat, thank you for that link! That was a fun trip. And I bookmarked a bunch of those recipes. The Sugar Shuttles look especially fun.

So did I! I think the Cajun Macaroons are a recipe I've been looking for forever.

So much ~ma for you, ita. It is well past time for you to catch a break.

In more frivolous news:

Hence the superiority of pedicures.

I hope the procedure goes well, ita. And let me know if there's anything I can do to help. I don't need to go into work tomorrow.

Congratulations, Sparky on your little, er, spark plug.

Congratulations, Sparky!

And Much Ma to ita.

And now I'm to bed.

ita, I am crossing everything that tomorrow morning's activities result in easing of at least some of your suffering.

I've got the Gourmet mag linked and am disappointed that though it shows a picture of sesame seed cookies (my favorite), it does not offer a recipe. Bastads!

And I can't imagine the audicity it takes to comment on anyone else's financial details (be it a credit card or AFDIC or pocketfuls of change, dammit)when in line. Wow do some people suck. Remember that great scene in Terms of Endearment when Lithgow rakes the bitchy cashier over the coals? I never really liked the "you must be from New York" comment of his, but I liked the willingness of his character to stick up for another person.

I find myself lately really trying to be extra nice and patient with the customer service people I encounter. So often people can be impatient and just make a tense situation even worse. Like Cashmere being nice to the McDonalds' employee - sometimes a smile instead of a hard time can change everything. I was at B&N tonight getting some Christmas shopping done. Went up to the Starbucks counter in the store and the poor baristas were dealing with an angry customer and a newly-broken espresso machine. He really gave them a hard time about it, all the way through to the issuing of his refund. The rest of us had to wait a long time for the situation to be resolved, and I'll admit I started to feel my inner bitch come to the surface. But I thought about the women behind the counter and the day they'd probably had and the hard work that is retail...and the bitchiness I felt was replaced by sympathy and a big smile for them when it came time to take my order.

They seemed so relieved when I didn't bitch them out. Sad, isn't it, that they were braced for venting? All of you Buffistas who are earning money in a customer service capacity, I feel for ya. This is a rough time of year, and y'all are on the forefront.

What a TOAD this woman was.

God, seriously.

What a TOAD this woman was.

Well, we know which list Santa has her on.

ita, all the ~ma in the world and then some. May the healers be incredibly skilled and the results better than anyone anticipated.

What a TOAD this woman was.

Dude, some people should just not be allowed out in public.

Today, it is cold and rainy and gross and NOBODY should be out in public if they can avoid it. I feel so sorry for BigBoss who is visiting from LA this week. I swear, NYC can be really pretty in the winter!