Steel Magnolias #18

[QuilterInVA]

Good morning, ladies! 63 degrees right now and sunshine.

I have work this day and then my Ladies of the Evening Bee tonight.

Gail, you are sure up bright and early. I know the caterpillar quilts well. My friend has made both of them for her grandchildren. Those books are great for children. My vacation is my quilting retreats and going to PA to shop for quilting fabrics. That adds up to 2 weeks. LOL

Faye, I think we should vote for what our senators and representatives are paid. A small basic salary, then we vote how much more we think they are worth. Bet that would make a huge difference.

I need to get to work, so have a great day.

[Jean]

Good Morning, Flowers! Another cold, cloudy, breezy, with rain on the way day in my corner of the world. We now have the usual trickle of water running to the drain in the basement. I have WW later this morning and still working on my pile of ironing. When I get all of the long sleeved shirts done it will be time (I hope) to change over to short sleeves for summer.

Gail -- I have to have a grocery list for "special" dinners. I'm famous for having a list and then still forget something on the list! I hope you win the war with the weeds!

"Gma" -- I know you will enjoy your Easter get-together with Thomas and his parents. I am looking forward to next week when I have nothing planned except an hour or so at the church on Monday morning. Of course that could all change in a heartbeat. I get mad when I hear about all the money the U. S. is sending and spending everywhere else while people are w/o jobs, food, and shelter right here. I really do think the "powers-to-be" in Washington should take a cut in pay and benefits . . . as if that would ever happen!

Susan -- You posted while I was typing! Hope your day at work is a good one. I every time you mention your Ladies of the Evening group. You and I think alike regarding our congressmen's pay!

I need to get a move on -- do some laundry and clear off the kitchen island. Hope you all have a terrific Thursday!

Jean -- from Iowa!

[Maggie]

GOOD LATE MORNING MAGNOLIAS

It is in the high 50's here this day and that is good. Cooling off for the weekend with a possibility of rain which we need. Not warming up yet. You will hear me complain when it gets hot. The dogs are outside and having a great time of it. Men are working on the road and making noise and the dogs love it. I had another migrain last evening and ~ duh ~ I have figured out what has bringing them on. The ceiling fan in the front room. The way my chair is situated when I consciously look I can see the fan whirring above me. That type motion brings on the headaches so to take care of that problem I can wear a ball cap while watching TV in that chair to block out what is above. The whirring of the fan messes with my brain waves. This is the day Will does his work at the museum and finds out lots of neat history tid bits about this area. They like him down there and make copies of some of the "old stuff" for him. OH, life is good. I am going to tackle straighting up my office/crafts room today. I have lots of boxes just sitting around that need to go to the basement. I got them out of the closet and they never made it down there. But other then that the room looks good. I cleaned up my work surface after my last glass project and now can start a new one. I love to have one going at all times. I am going to make a building for my own little village now. I think I will make the flower shop. It is very involved and takes awhile to make because of the little beaded arch that sits in front of the building and the decoration of a tooled copper tree on one side of the shop. It is one to tackle now for I have no orders to fill at the present time. I made one once before that was in the village that got sold and haven't made another since.

DONNA FAYE I like the WW also but the Schwans are angus and just taste better to me. Plus Schwans aren't as spendy as the WW ones I believe. But the points are the same. LQ has some dinners that WW doesn't and they are really good for times when one needs to have one. We always get a variety between the two of them. I will probably have one for lunch to day because Will will be gone. Some (maybe most) politicians are so crooked you could screw them into the ground when they die. I am so tired of it all. I vote and that is the best I can do besides letting my voice be heard about things. Have a fun weekend coming up.

JEAN You have a fun weekend also. Short sleeves are so much easier and faster to iron than the long sleeved ones for sure. I'll keem for you. Have you looked at the eagles today? Gracious those babies have grown a lot and are in that awkward stage for sure.

SUSAN Your vacation should be what you enjoy and sounds like you have a good time on your vacation. I too get a chuckle about the name of that group. Cute. If the folks in DC got paid less ~ maybe they wouldn't stay there and make a career of it. Couple of years then gone. Have a

GAIL Since avacado freezes well I put most of those packets in the freezer so I wouldn't be tempted to over do with it. Now I need to plan ahead when I want to have some. I have a special basket in my freezer for "little" things such as that. Nope I haven't seen what WW has in the cooler section for I don't go in stores. Will does all our shopping and now I will have him look there for products. I usually don't buy unless I have a coupon now days. My friend out in CA, that works for WW, sends me lots of "free" product coupons. That way I can try products before buying them. We just finished up the free sf jello. Will keeps them in an envelope that he takes with him shopping. He is real good about just buying what I put on the list. Have a happy day.

Well Magnolias I am off to get some things accomplished this day. Have a great day y'all.

[Jean]

Maggie -- I'll trade you my 34 for your 50! I am so sick of this crappy cold weather. I maintained at WW which was most welcome since I missed the meeting last week. I did see that cookbook Susan bought, but I didn't really look at it nor buy one. I may miss the next two meetings which won't be good: next week is a "travel" adventure and lunch with the craft club if I decide to go, and the next week is Zowie's graduation from preschool. I think Amanda was afraid she might not make it because she double checked with the teacher to make sure. I'm glad you figured out what is causing your headaches and can fix it. I did check on the eagles and wondered if one was dead or alive just from the way he was laying on his side. I just hope nobody falls overboard before they are ready to fly.

[Maggie]

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

Just in for a break ~ I didn't realize how time flies because it was 2:30 and I hadn't eaten anything yet today. I went to the freezer and pulled out one of Schwans "Live Smart" 12 ounce dinners for 7 points+ which is well worth the points and $4.41 that it cost. It was a Beef Portabella Dinner with roasted potatoes, corn, green beans. peas and carrots. Of course I dumped it in my bamboo bowl, mixed it all up and ate it with my chop sticks. I will have to add that one to my list for tomorrow. They have quite a good selection of "Live Smart" offerings BTW. I hope Will got something good for lunch for it looks like dinner may be later than usual here.

JEAN Nope ~ no trading of temperatures! I had to laugh about that babie laying on it's side. Nope, they are all still alive. I find it hard to believe how fast they have grown into the ugly duckling stage. That nest is pretty big so I don't think any of them will fall off ~ hopefully anyway. But that oldest one pushes the envelope and gets close. Too bad you have to miss the next couple of meetings. Just don't overindulge and try for a maintain and enjoy yourself.

DONNA FAYE Those mini cheeseburgers from Schwans come out to be $1.20 each. How much are the WW ones apiece?

I need to go check on the dogs ~ they are awfully quiet out there. Type at y'all later.

[GailR]

Good afternoon everyone! Wayne is home and guess what?! He has tomorrow off! Yaaaay! Of course, he may not get paid but I don't care. He has Good Friday off!

Well, I pulled weeds and...I won! I've been to the grocery store and Walmart and I am ready for Easter Sunday dinner except for the FRIED chicken! That will be bought on Sunday afternoon. My dinner menu has changed a little. A request for my homemade macaroni and cheese has been made. I can't refuse! So easy to make. High in points but easy peasy.

I am just so excited. Wayne has off tomorrow. I'm going to see Water for Elephants with my two daughters on Saturday. And Sunday is EASTER! I love Easter! Christmas and Easter are my favorite holidays. I am so blessed!

Can you tell I'm happy?

[gma22]

Good morning ladies. It is going to be a warm one here today as it is already balmy outdoors.

I am coming along on the foot of my friend's sock, but I am going to have to step it up to get it done and shipped to her with her salt and pepper shakers. They came a couple days ago and are so cute. They aren't much use for salt and pepper though. Snoopy, who is pepper, is itty bitty. If you liked pepper you would be in trouble I think as you would get one good shake out of it.

Jack is going to try and get rugs done this weekend, but it is going to be hot so I don't know how much he will get done. His knees have been bothering him a lot the last few days so that may impact it too. I told him I would do them if he wanted me to, but he said no he would do them they won't take long.

Maggie: I am really impressed at what Schwanns has now. They even have a nice weight loss program I think and it is about what the other one's like Nutrisystem charge, but the food looks a heck of a lot better. I told Jack I want to get some of their items as they have some good looking entrees that are just for two people in the live smart section. If I remember right, you get 2 burgers in a box of WW and it is around $2 or a little more I think. The commissary sells them for much less so I am trying to remember what places like Walmart sells them for. I imagine it about matches the Schwann's price overall though.

Gail: You guys have fun with your day off today. I have never been much of a gardner. Our back deck area needs some serious work right now, but it has been so hot and I hate to ask Jack when his knees are bothering him. On top of that, not having someplace cool to come back into after working out in the hot weather isn't fun either. So I guess it will just have to wait. I heard that movie is good as is the book, but I haven't read it. I did read a synopsis at Kindle on it though.

Jean: Hopefully the weather will warm up soon in your area. I agree that Congress makes way too much money and will all their perks and such, it is no wonder we have trouble. I wish just once that someone in Congress would actually vote the way their constituents want instead of along party line. It would amaze me that they actually did something the "people" wanted and not to fulfill their own agenda. Everything is in such a mess they will never truly get out of it. Have fun with the kids this weekend.

Susan: One of the big issues is that Tennessee is a Republican state except our area around Memphis, which is stanch Democrat so of course there is always the bickering back and forth and now that these congress people have taken to leaving the state to keep from voting on bills like petulant children it has gotten even worse. I think if you are a congressman and leave the state during session you should be fined and big fined unless they can prove a family emergency. There should be no vacations and such when legislature is in session and if you pull the stunts some of them have you should be fined. Unfortunately, this all has to go in their rules and regulations of course. It is just stupid.

Well gals, not much news worthy in my part of the world. I talked to my oldest sister last night and poor thing is working 60 hours a week. She is 66 years old and has some health issues and I thought when her husband passed away she would ease off, but apparently not. They are demanding she work long hours or they are going to get rid of her and she needs to keep working for at least another year or so. I think it is sad that the best workers companies have they drive them into the ground working. Have a good weekend all! Faye

[Jean]

Good Morning, Flowers! It's yet another gloomy, windy, rainy day in my neighborhood, but it has warmed up a few degrees. I've been to the grocery store for the 3rd time this week; if I've forgotten anything I'm sending Bob next time!

Maggie -- I did get the pork loin chops from the Schwans man yesterday. I will have to look through the catalog for the Live Smart choices. Yesterday I noticed the baby eagles' feet have really gotten big . . . and ugly. It looked like they all had two different sets of fuzzy feathers and I couldn't decide if it was the rain or their feathers are changing as they get older.

Gail -- Enjoy Wayne's day off today! Bob's office is closing at noon but he will probably make the rounds of the farmer hangouts this afternoon. Is your mac and cheese a salad or hot dish? Beth requested the Snicker salad which is easy enough. Enjoy the movie and let us know how you like it! I haven't read the book either.

"Gma" -- I'm sure you will get the socks done in time, and if not your friend will enjoy them just as much when they do arrive. Does the change in weather affect Jack's knees? Every once in awhile Bob will mention there is a front moving in or it's going to rain; he hurt his knee 30+ years ago playing softball. The doctor told him his 35 year old body couldn't keep up with his 20 year old mind any longer. I feel sorry for people who have to keep working once they have reached retirement age. We feel very fortunate to have very good retirement plans in place, but if the government keeps it up we may not be in such good shape either.

I need to double check my recipes and food menus for the weekend. Hope you all are having a fantastic Friday and enjoy the day!

Jean -- in Iowa!

[Maggie]

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

It is 56 degrees here in the Heartland and only "partly" cloudy. Not bad for a spring day. Well the Schwans® man came today and our freezer is full. Will said we could eat for 6 months with what is in it. I don't know about that ~ but it is full. I told him the freezer works best when it is full. True story. We will have to eat lots of it to make room for that half of a beef we will be getting. Or better yet, we can buy a small chest type freezer just for the beef which we plan on buying mid summer ~ which is a real good idea. We have not bought a lot of beef for that reason. The local butcher shop near here will get it for us and package it all up. We just have some pork and chicken in there now. We buy steaks and roasts when we plan on cooking them. I have lots of nice fruit in there to make smoothies when the weather warms up and veggies that go with every meal. Also some Live Smart individual meals to eat when Will is at work at the museum. Life is good. Lots of goodies in there to help me stay OP. I need to get in there and re-arrange the things in that freezer once again so I know where things are. When the Schwans® man comes Will just shoves what-ever in where-ever. I like to have like items next to each other and some semblance of order behind that door. Helps keep the temp down also because when I want something out of there the door isn't open very long for I know just where to look. Will "shops" in there and then asks me where so-and-so is because he can't find it. Typical man thing ~ could be right there in front of his eyes and he wouldn't see it. Good thing it is frost free.

DONNA FAYE I bet that set of salt and pepper shakers is darling. I have an aunt that collects them and has hundreds. Yikes. I don't collect much of anything ~ except maybe dust. With all the road work being done around here there is more dust in the air for sure. Makes me sneeze more for sure. Now if it were "au dust" ~ that would be "gold dust" and I wouldn't mind having some of that. I think those mini burgers are probably the same price also. I really like Schwans® Live Smart meals. They are a tad higher in points+ but they really taste better and that is so important. The taste. I find I have favorites in the WW ones and the LQ ones also and can use coupons on them. We have tried some of Schwans® meals for two and they are yummy. I cook from scratch mostly but there are times when I just don't want to cook and can get one of those meals out of the freezer and add a green salad and some fruit and have a great low point+ meal.

JEAN Here is a yummy way to cook those pork chops. Spray them with olive oil cooking spray then roll them in Lemon Pepper Panko and bake for half hour at 400 degrees. They are so good that way. During that half hour you can be making some rice and a salad and have a good meal. I use my seasoned rice for that. I think their feathers are changing on the little ones. They are sure not as cute as they used to be but one day they will be beautiful mighty birds.

GAIL How nice to have your main squeeze home with you this day. You do know you can shave a lot of points off that "fried" chicken by not eating the skin. Original recipe at KFC one breast eaten with skin is a whopping 10 P+ and naked it is only 3 P+. Such a difference has convinced me I don't need that skin. They do make the best chicken still don't they. Stay happy my friend and totally enjoy your family get-to-gather.

SUSAN Hope your day is going well with you.

Time for me to start thinking about some lunch Type at y'all later.

[GailR]

Good Friday evening! It was really nice having Wayne home today. I had really gotten used to him being home with me and when went back to work I felt like something or rather someone was missing in the house. I had gotten used to sharing my morning coffee with him, a lot of days sitting in the livingroom until 9am. We never needed to be in the same room with each other but it was nice knowing he was somewhere in the house. It was just really nice eating lunch with him and perhaps going out on an errand together. BUT...I'm glad he has a job! Both of us are grateful.

I'm on our old laptop and I don't trust it so I'm going to make this post short and sweet.

I went to WW this morning and I gained .8 lbs. I knew this was going to happen because I had not tracked this past week like I should have and wouldn't you know it this was a really good day to go back to a meeting as we were discussing the value of tracking. I am okay with the gain. I may not like it but I don't beat myself up like I used to in "the old days" (remember Maggie?). After all, this is just a snapshot in time. I know I will have a better weigh-in next week because I have a plan: track my food intake and walk at least 30 minutes during the week.

Maggie, that is my plan--take the skin off the chicken or I may order some grilled chicken. I am making some side dishes that are recipes from WW. Amy is baking a cake and I will have a thin slice but I will track that also. She makes many cakes for us so even if I don't have a slice of cake she won't be upset with me. I think she bakes cakes for her Dad as I don't bake cakes often. I got your email about not being able to get into the website and at first I thought I was going to have a problem also but here I am!

Jean, my mac and cheese is a hot casserole and is NOT WW friendly. In fact it's extremely fattening. I will not be eating it on Sunday--it is not in my plan. I make it often because everyone in my family loves it. I double the cheese--it will end up having 3 cups of shredded sharp cheddar and then a layer of cheese on top.

I don't dare type much more on this computer. It's already frozen up once on me....but everyone have a nice evening....Donna Faye and Susan....I'll get back in here this weekend to catch up. Please don't think I'm ignoring you. Y'all have been so patient with me allowing me to join the group again after long periods of absences.

Take care...

[Jean]

Maggie -- What Schwans Live Smart and Dinner for Two meals have you tried? The pictures in the catalog all look so good. I can't believe how many items they have added, but it has been many, many years since I ordered anything from Schwans. Thanks for the recipe suggestion -- sounds !

Gail -- You will have the tiny gain gone in no time. I know that when I journal I do much better. I get lax from time to time and pay for it at the scale. I just had a mac and cheese salad at a funeral luncheon. The 80+ year old ladies who make and serve the lunches are such good cooks! I tell them they should print their recipes!

Susan -- Hope you have had a good day today!

I am going to head for bed and read. See you all tomorrow.

[Maggie]

GOOD EVENING MAGNOLIAS

Time for me to head to bed after this post but I just had to check in before I did that. It is currently 12:02 so it is actually tomorrow.

GAIL Hope your day today since it is Saturday now goes well. Your holiday plans sound nice and do-able.

JEAN Here are a few of the Schwans meals we have tried and like. I don't know why they have them serving 3 but that is what they have on some of them. I always have a serving left over for the next day and split it for lunch with Will along with a salad. This will give you a clue of some of the meals. However, everything I have tried of theirs I have liked.
#465 BBQ Pork which serves 4 ~ 1/2 cup servings ~ great for sandwiches
#711 Beef Stir Fry w/Asian Noodles Meal Kit which serves 3
#826 Beef Portobello Dinner which serves 2 (I also get the #718 which serves 1 for just me when I am home alone.)
#889 Chicken Teryaki Express Bowl which serves 3.

Nighters Magnolias. Time for me to go cut some zzzzzz's.

[gma22]

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