Good morning from very foggy Delta! The dogs disappear into the fog at the end of their yard! No complaints here though as it will burn off soon and we have at least five days of sunshine coming up! I've been kind of "down" from all the rain we've had. Maybe there is hope that my garden will get tilled and planted by the weekend.
This morning I plan to schedule in some "me" time as life has been way too hectic lately. Reading on the deck with coffee and my two happy dogs sounds good, right? Lots is happening over the next month and I want to be able to stop and smell the roses - or peonies or lemon lilies or poppies and lupins as in my avatar.
I hope the hump on your Wednesday is easily climbed.
Enjoy your sunny day, Ruth. I hope your "me" time gives your battery a huge recharge. Love to the doggies!
Hope everyone has a great day! I'm doing my usual routine today; and then helping clean our friends home.
Chelby and Sophie, thanks for asking about the chokecherry jelly. CC's are very small and you can't eat them raw CHOKE! because they have a horrible taste. The indians used them in foods and I think the pioneers probably started the jelly and wine tradition. We grind the berries, boil them, strain the pulp and sediment and freeze the juice. Then making jelly is simple-just like jam. It's my mothers favorite and we make at least 100 jars a year. Fortunately, I'm not much of a jam or jelly person.
Foodwise, I did pretty good yesterday, but had a small problem at lunch. I had a meeting out and ordered a salad w/grilled chicken and dressing on the side. When it came the dressing was not on the side. I ate it as it was not an appropriate situation to return it. My lesson is to make SURE the waitress knows by asking a second time-then perhaps she will catch the error before it ever gets to the table. It was frustrating because it turned a good choice(no deep fried chicken) into a marginal one.
I did some reading in the book this morning about whole grains and good carbs because I have been thinking, "I'll never lose more weight eating bread." I am not eating ANYTHING carb-wise that is not P2 and I just need to trust that it will be effective in the long run.
Good morning! Once I'm over the hurdle of today, I'm home free. By this time tomorrow I should be well on my way to Maine!
Today there's the laundry to get finished, and I still have to pack my bag. It's supposed to be cloudy with some thunderstorms, but the day should still be an easy one.
Ruth - Hope your day is lovely and relaxing. Let's hope this sun warms the soil. I was talking to a gardening friend yesterday about the challenges planting seeds when the soil is still so cold.
Debbie - That's so frustrating about the salad. I always point out those sort of things, not in a mean way but I have a daughter who is highly allergic to nuts and a mistake like that would land her in the ER. It took me awhile to trust adding grains but it really does work and you will enjoy that little bit of extra energy.
Cottage - less than 24 hours! It looks like nice driving weather too.
I amused my co-worker yesterday by scheduling several out of town visits and meetings for 2 in the afternoon. By the time you get out of those things there is just no point going back to the office I have one today, 2 miles from my house.
Still no sign of my beans. I think the soil is too cold for them to poke their heads up. The rest of the plants look pretty darned happy about all the sun though. We will be eating lots of dishes with cilantro. It's amazing how many seeds that one plant produced!
Ruth - good for you....make sure you really GET the time for yourself today!
Debbie - it's amazing to me how much less dressing you use if it's on the side. And, just as satisfying. And, it's amazing how many restaurants goof it up too!!
Cottage - I am SOOO jealous! How 'bout we have a fall 3FC conference in Maine??!!
Me - I love south beach . Actually cut back for a couple days, there goes the weight again.
We put an offer in on an ADORABLE house last night, we'll see how it goes. We're a little hardened from the last experience, so I don't expect anything til the final papers are signed!
I have no work today (good for me, bad for boss!). Originally was going to go on a long run on rails to trails, now I'm not sure what I'll do. Probably clean (booooooo) and research kitchen cabinets.
Lexxiss, Hooray for no deep fried chicken! That's what's on the menu at my office today. sheesh!
Cottage, Are you going to have 'clam chowda' in Maine?
Cyndi, Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs. But, word of warning, it's bad in seafood gumbo. Mom thought she picked up flat leaf parsley. Oops!
Twynn, Did you put an offer on the house in the woods?
Me: Auston has poison ivy rash all over his neck, face, groin, and the backs of his knees and fronts of his elbows. I've coated him in cortisone cream and given him benedryl. Any other suggestions of what to do for my poor, tortured son?
We are in the t-ball tournament. Auston's team is in the championship game! No one ever expected us to win. We have 9 players -- 5 girls! Our last game is Thursday night. Go Mustangs!
Chelby - oatmeal baths help. DD and her friends once build a very elaborate fort in the woods including a huge area they dug up. Turned out it was full of poison ivy. Caladryl cream/ointment form is good too. Poor kid!
Ruth - Good to hear you're taking time out for yourself today! You've earned it!
Lexxiss - That jelly sounds really interesting. Is it a Colorado specialty?
Cottage - Sounds like you're set to go. Have a safe journey!
Cyndi - You are a very smart woman! Enjoy your meeting today!
Twynn - Good luck on this house. We're going to be entering the world of house buying in the next couple of weeks as well. I hope you will have good news by then, so I can look to you when things get tough. Enjoy your run today.
Chelby - So sorry to hear about your boy. That's no fun! Hope the game cheers him up!
Me - So I watched a wonderful movie last night on HBO called "Taking Chance". It was a story about a higher up Marine who agrees to escort a fallen soldier home to his final resting place. It was so heartwarming. If you get te chance to see it or rent it, I HIGHLY recommend it! Kevin Bacon stars in it.
Got a lot done yesterday and will work really hard today to get more of my end of the year paperwork done. It's not due until the 15th, but the sooner it's done, the better I will feel. Other than paperwork, I'll be headed out to dinner tonight with Rich, he's reviewing a restaurant this evening and I've been invited to tag along. And then it's Vegas Week on So You Think You Can Dance. Good stuff!!!!
Have a great day, ladies!
BLESSINGS!
Hey, Ruth! Sounds like a wonderful set of days coming up. Supposed to be sunny here too this weekend. I'm looking forward to it. I love the rain, but I miss working in the garden! Yesterday it was cold and drizzly/rainy all morning. Just as I hopped in the car to make a run to the mall, it cleared up. Now I feel sad and guilty for avoiding the garden! Hope to get to it some today. Hope you get yours planted this weekend too. Seeing the sprouts coming up will be good for your mood, methinks!
Lexiss, love your avatar! Don't fret too much about the dressing. I'm assuming it was one with good fats--though it has lots of calories, it's still good for your health and unlikely to cause cravings. If SBD works for you, then you probably felt a bit more full at your next meal and ate less--and you probably didn't have any extra snacking that you would have had if you'd gone with the fried chicken, and that's what will help you lose weight. Still, it's frustrating when people don't pay attention to your orders.
Say "Hi!" to Maine and the ocean for me, Cottage! Hope you have a BLAST!
Cyndi, you are a riot! Love your meeting scheduling! Can you put something like cloches or cozy coats over/around the bean seeds to warm them up? Tell me more about your cilantro. Did you let it go to seed last year? We plant several cilantro plants every year but they bolt so quickly, even with constant pruning. It's hard to get a good amount for us, let alone keep our bunnies full. They're hungry little buggers.
Twynn, did you lose the last house after all that waiting? What a mess! Glad you found a new one but understand why you're being cautious. Your stone cottage sounds like something out of Maeve Binchy! If you get it, I'll be wanting to send you some peat for your fire!
Chelby, much more beach-friendly (and in my opinion, yummier) would be blueberries! I wonder if they're in season in Maine yet? We went in July and had just missed 'em. So sorry to hear about Auston! That's awful! Have you tried Aveeno Oatmeal baths? We used them daily when we had chicken pox and they were the only thing that helped. I just read Cyndi's response. Great minds and all that, eh?
Hmacneil!
Me:
I'm taking a friend out to a local gay bar tonight for a birthday drag show. I went with a group of girls a couple weeks ago for the birthday of two of them and had such a blast that another friend wants to go for hers! That means lots of dancing--God willing, it'll also mean getting rid of more calories... Either way, it'll be fun. One nice thing about doing this right now is that I'm close enough to my lowest weight that I can confidently wear some of my cuter "going-out-dancing" clothes and don't have that awful, "but I look so fat!" feeling. You know? Guess that's a kind of NSV.
I rode my bike to work today for the second time this week. It's exhilerating! It's a really short ride (~10 mins), but it makes me feel so good! I'm still doing cardio at the gym, too, though.
About to get in the shower as I have a noon facial today. Scheduling daytime facials just seemed so smart when I did it, but I had forgotten that I like to laze around the house and do things like laundry and dishes during the day, or go shopping, or other such fun things. Today I've got a noon, pick up Little Guy from school at 3:30, then a 6:30 facial too.
Busy one today but I'm "off" tomorrow. Going over to help my mom get stuff ready for the garage sale in her subdivision that's Fri evening-Saturday. I have a TON of stuff to get rid of (Jr and I don't fit in our clothes anymore) so hopefully we make out pretty well.
Well, going to put on some tea to steep while I shower and then hustle my butt to get ready to go. Hope everyone has a lovely (and warm) day!
Chelby - Every time most people get exposed to poison ivy, they get it a little bit worse. One thing I do is I keep packets of Ivy Cleanse around and use it whenever I might be exposed. They are essentially alcohol wipes with a higher level of alcohol than most. I use those, then shower thoroughly and then use the prescription cream my dermatologist gives me and now I no longer have to get a steroid shot. I STILL have poison ivy in my yard after taking out the bushes, pulling it up by the roots and spraying it. I need to get after it again once camp is over.
Twilight Camp is taking every spare minute of my time. We have 50 more boys than last year now and they still keep coming. I feel for my Webelos staff when they get that group of 54 boys! One more and I need to go buy more hammers. I just bought 9 more hammers so I would have 54. It looks like we will be inspected by the state this year so I'm trying hard to get all the paperwork in order and most of my 96 staff are missing some paperwork. It will all work out though.
Wonderful Wednesday Chat
and then helping clean our friends home.
By this time tomorrow I should be well on my way to Maine!
mmmmmm coffee
I have one today, 2 miles from my house.
. Actually cut back for a couple days, there goes the weight again. 
. It's a beautiful stone cottage though, lots of charm. I'll have to post a picture if it becomes ours!
Love your meeting scheduling! Can you put something like cloches or cozy coats over/around the bean seeds to warm them up? Tell me more about your cilantro. Did you let it go to seed last year? We plant several cilantro plants every year but they bolt so quickly, even with constant pruning. It's hard to get a good amount for us, let alone keep our bunnies full. They're hungry little buggers. 
Hmacneil!
One nice thing about doing this right now is that I'm close enough to my lowest weight that I can confidently wear some of my cuter "going-out-dancing" clothes and don't have that awful, "but I look so fat!" feeling. You know? Guess that's a kind of NSV. 
It's a really short ride (~10 mins), but it makes me feel so good! I'm still doing cardio at the gym, too, though. 
