Rave: Warren Jeffs is behind bars.

Rant: Lawn mower is in the shop for X amount of days. Lawn is growing very fast.

Rant: A goose hunter drove to my door well after dark to ask if he could hunt geese on my property. No way I'm going to let this idiot run around with a loaded gun.

Greetings late night FFR&R'ers ~

Rave ~ Thank you Andre for some of the best tennis I have ever seen, what a match tonight! Baghdatis, what a gracious young gent. Unbelievable. Gotta feel that love from New York.
Thankful we get one more day in the sun with you, Andre.

Rave ~ The beautiful anonymous soul that donated a 6 million dollar building to the Hope Academy in south Minneapolis so that the children would have a school that is larger. Prior to this donation, the school had approx 130 students enrolled, full capacity. With this new school, they will be able to have twice that amount. What an inspiration this anonymous person is to so many.

Jorr ~ Good call on the "No" to the goose hunter, heavenly days.

Hello and hugs to all of you.
><

Rave: Jet and Bayou, true friends!
Rave: Less than 8 weeks to Namibia and Zimbabwe!!
Rant: going through Heathrow, if time through security doesn't improve, not going to meet Fodor friends for GTG
Rave: Mojitos!
Rave: Fodor's seems to be fixed
Rant: Hypocrites and cliques
Rant: the deleted "Stupid Knee" thread, a classic, now gone forever
Rave: Mojitos!

Rant: Previously mentioned surgery
Rant: Nearly broke my own toe (maybe previously mentioned)
Rant: Unknown debilitating pain that sent me to the ER and into the hospital overnight
Rant: My cat bit the crap out of my finger at the vet (my fault) and it's HUGE

Rant: I am apparently a great danger... to myself.

Rave: Brandie's August of Pain hopfully is over now that it's September!

Rave: someone nice bought my old car. I've been looking for someone to buy my 16 year old baby, but the goal was not to make money but to find a good home.

Rave: Lots of job offers.
Mini-Rant: But I'm not looking!

Mat, can you post a trip report or email me when you get back? I'm really really curious about getting to Africa from Hawaii. I'm planning to go one of these days (2007 or 2008) but my biggest obstacle is time.

Rave: Glad to hear your baby went to a good home, Melissa. NOw you can enjoy your cool red Mini without feeling like you're cheating on the Toyota!

Rant: DD #1 left for Oregon yesterday, DD#2 flies to Boston tomorrow.

Rave: DD2 and I have been having issues all summer, and finally talked them out today.

Rant: trying to go to Cambodia/Bangkok over Christmas. Airfares are high, flights are mostly filled, and Ponheary is booked for our times at Ankor Wat.

Rave: But I did get rooms at decent rates at the Oriental and the Peninsula.... if we can get there!

Rave: I had a great time at last Saturday's Honolulu GTG. The Hawaii people, and the people that come to visit us at our GTGs are a lot of fun!

Will do Melissa, this will be my 3rd trip in 13 months (bad and expensive addiction Africa is!) email me if you want info on the past trips. You have a gravy job, why you getting offers???!!! Aloha, hope to meet at the next GTG!

Good morning~

* Thanks to those new friends who wanted to say hello "off the forum".
As impersonal as the internet is supposed to be, this is a pleasure getting to knowing others with similar interests and unique personalities

*thanks to BayouGal for arranging the email gtg's,lol.. she's a true sweetheart with a heart of gold

matnikstym is my male counterpart in humor and I want to thank him again for his friendship and hospitality during our visit there..

rant: I hate squirrels although I love all other large creatures with tails and sharp teeth.

rave: a squirrel ran under my SUV and makes a lovely teapot cozy as of yesterday!

* I should not have watched the ABC show about the world ending by disaster of some sort, but I do hope I get to travel a few more times, and in good health, before we all become powder on the Enterprise!

*After two rain and storm days, we have sun for the weekend, wonderful

Rant: I hit a cat with my car.

Rant: The poor tourists left in the lurch by Tofino's apparent sloppy handling of their water situation.

Raves: Good haircut, sunshine, husband is getting over the flu.

Raves:
The hurricane did not hit New Orleans.
Andre Aggassi ( it would have been such fun to be there!)
My children are well...
Portland summers are amazing..winters are not so great but summers are amazing!
Looking forward to seeing NeilOz and his lovely wife..
and Pup, who loves horses. ((&))
Rants:
Small minded self-righteous people.
John, the not-quite hurricane ..

Oh, lcuy! when the buyer said, "OK, I'll take it!" I had to ask her for one more day with my baby so that I could take photos with it. then I started to get teary-eyed. this will be hard!

mat, I will email you shortly. I want to visit Mischka, who actually lives near Cape Town. I can see where it can get very expensive, and how I might also get addicted! scary.

The job offers are coming out of nowhere! And everywhere! And I'm not even on the market!

Rave: My incision healed, even with the dunk in the river last weekend.

Rant: I cut my hand washing a glass in the sink.

Rave: Antibiotics still in my system.

Rant: Business trip to NYC cancelled - so couldn't play in the city this week.

Rave: Airline tix $$$ dropped enough for me to fly up for family event.

Rave: Rest of the weekend in the mountains.

Rave: Happy pups!

Happy weekend to all Fodorites.

brandie, do you know about the NO Preservation Hall Jazz Band coming to Augusta in December?

Rant: Apparently I don't know what day it is. Yesterday I came on line specifically b/c I thought it was Friday and was looking for a FFRR fix!

Rave: Funny responses to my post looking for this thread! =D>

Rave: Faina posted publicly that she loves me. hehe

Rant: Our life has been limbo for so long. We have been afraid to plan trips b/c we never know when we'll get "the call" and we need to save $

Rant: I haven't been home (NY) to see my nieces and nephews in well over a year--I was averaging 3 trips/yr to see them.

Biggest Rant: Another child was born into poverty to a family with limited coping skills.

Big Rave: My husband who can just look at me and make me feel special.

Big Rave: We're not quitters and will be parents some day. [-o<

Thanks allowing me to post my self-indulgent R&Rs this week!

My hopes for my fellow FFRR addicts:
~a happy Labor Day w/e for my US friends
~a happy non Labor Day weekend for the rest of the world
~that Ernesto didn't/doesn't have a lasting impact on you
~Hugs, love and laughter!

OWJ

OWJ - so happy to 'read' from you. Praying for you and DH!

DD is doing well on her diet and meds after last week's stomach pain scare.

She is not a happy trooper, BUT she IS following the diet so that turns into a

No travel plans for the long weekend, BUT I LOVE my house so that turns into a

I am completely disoriented without a trip to plan....I need a goal! I need a destination that fits my current very limited budget!

One less disgusting freak (Warren Jeffs)on the loose.

I am not a parent and have no desire to be one.

Folks who are not content in whatsoever circumstance they find themselves.

Happy Friday everyone!

Rave: Bridal shower and bachelorette party tomorrow for a girlfriend whose wedding I will be a bridesmaid in. She is a bridesmaid in mine, too.

Rant: The b'lorette party is starting at my house so I have to spend tonight cleaning it.

Rave: Her wedding is 10/28 and it's the last one I have to worry about for a while.

Rant: Weddings are frigain expensive.

Rave/Rant: Speaking of weddings, mine is in exactly 30 days. We're in the "final countdown".

Rave: My shower and b'lorette party is next Sat.

Rave: We got our first wedding present yesterday. It's an outdoor fireplace and it's beeeaautiful!

Rave/Rant: My 30th birthday is a week from today. I'm thankful that my wedding is helping me not freak out about turning 30.

Rave: Next weekend is going to be another "party like a rockstar" weekend.

Rave: Played hooky yesterday.

Rave: We got some new windows installed this week.
Rave: My friends who did them for us. Those two could be a comedy act. I'm trying to think of a way to market them.

Rave: BGirl, thanks for starting that email thread!

Rave: The wonderful community here on Fodor's.

Rave
We are finally getting rain in the valley.

Rant
Rumsfeld calling me names.

Happy Friday to all the Ducks out there!

Rave: My husband and cheerleader...the most supportive man I know.

Rave: The ink has dried on the sale of DH's company. Twenty years of holding our breath -- we can now exhale!

Rave: Using some of that money to buy an investment/vacation property in Portugal. I couldn't think of anyone else I would rather "see the world" with.

Rave: My boys.

Rave: My true Fodor friends. Hugs to you too.

Rave: Sharing wonderful moments with my S&BIL this summer.

My thoughts and best wishes to those who have such challeneges to live with.

I have rants, and some concerns (my dear cousin, thinking of you especially). Live each moment the best you know how and there will be no regrets.

Have an enjoyable holiday weekend...

Rave: Rumsfeld is right on!!! He's a Great American transforming our military into the 21st Century. Too bad if the shoe fits.

Rave: Being part of the Rants and Raves. It allows me to get to know some of my new friends on this forum.

Rave: Picked up son from O'Hare yesterday. He was gone 3 weeks short of a year. He is my youngest and I missed him dearly.

Rave: Now I have someone to watch the shows I like and critique them with me. DH just does not get it. My son has the same sense of humor that I do.

Rant: Son has severe jet lag. He slept all day after we got home, so I really didn't see him. I woke up at 11PM to go to the bathroom and he was up watching TV. He was STILL up when I got up for work. He starts work Tuesday so I want him to get more in tune with our time zone by then.

Rave: That utter creep who has ruined so many peoples lives is finally in jail. Warren Jeffs is the Taliban of the US. I just hope they can nail him to the wall.

Rant: DH is having problems and won't talk to me, although he will tell me it's about me. So, what am I supposed to do now? Very sad this is happening when I'm so happy to have my son home, and I don't want him in the middle of all the tension Couldn't he have brought this up LAST WEEK.

Rave: We have been together 29 years, married for 25 - we'll get through this.