Hi Everyone,

Sorry for being gone again. My computer got a virus and I fixed it last night so we are back up and running and I should be back later. I am going to take a nap as my chest is a bit heavy.

Blessings to you all,
Annie

I've got stuff bubbling in crockpots all over the place. God only knows how many people will show up tomorrow. They won't lack for food. At least I hope I don't run out of food. On the other hand, I hope they eat it all. I've picked lean this, and lite that, but still.

Merry Xmas eve everyone...Today we will be celebrating xmas with my parents and then tomorrow we will be celebrating xmas with my husbands parents and sister and husband so it is going to be a busy but fun couple of days..I cant believe that xmas is here!!! I also heard some news today that is going to make it a little better xmas for me i have been really stressing lately about my unemployment extension running out at the beginning of january cause the extensions are due to expire at the end of the year..well to make a long story short i just read on one of our news channel websites that president obama signed a bill on the 22nd to extend the benefit expiration date to the end of february for now but possibly longer but for me the good news is that i will be getting my 14 week extension cause i have been really stressing about that lately worried that my extension was going to run out and what would i do for money and etc but now i dont have that stress cause i have another 14 weeks after this extension ends..whew!!

Sorry this was soo long i am just feeling really happy and really in the holiday spirit now more than i was!

I hope everyone has a wonderful xmas eve and xmas with your loved ones!
I will try to come back on here later tonight
Heather

Morning Ladies....

I've been busy doing the last minute things and tonight I have to make the rest of my cards for the holiday family thing. Then tomorrow I'm cooking and preparing all day. :P :D I don't mind, I need something to eat don't I. I have my list of things and lol, oh my god this family is so lazy. I'm the only person making homemade stuff and you know what? It doesn't take that much effort really. I mean I'm bringing cranberry and orange relish. Oh how hard it is to pulse that with some stuff. Takes like 5 minutes! lol

So, I have one more trip out today, then I'm done. Just gotta get to the produce market. Supermarket trips are complete and I got a new frying pan, cheap one, but I needed one. For my boyfriend and I, on Christmas, I'm doing a mexicana theme meal. I'm making my own corn tortillas, well I'm a newbie so I'm not grinding my own masa, just using the already ground stuff. Once I get better at it I can do that during the summer when the corn is fresh. :D Not there yet...

Dealing with a family that is lazy and is just reheating everything...everything comes in a box. So, I'm the ONLY person bringing homemade food and I also made sure the kids had nicely wrapped gifts and stockings with little fun things. I'm sure I'm the only person in this god *blank* family that gives a crap, but at least there is one person. I'm too old fashioned I think...perhaps that is why things irk me sometimes. The laziness of this family has struck a bit of a cord with me this year. They just don't care, so I think this is the last time I'm going to put any effort in.

Anyhow... Happy Holidays ladies! :carrot::carrot::carrot::carrot:

Welcome new comers! :D

Hiya my peeps!

Well, I'm not going home for Xmas to NC. I feel miserable. This cold is kicking mah butt. I dropped my gifts to the family off at my little sister's house (nearby) and she'll play santa for me. Bad sore throat and it's moving into my chest.. bleh! None of the family members want to be exposed to my disease, so I'm staying home. The upside is that I don't have to battle traffic to get from DC to NC.

Little sister made some homemade mashed potato soup and that's been yummy. Very peppery and comforting.

Hugs to all!
Ratkity

Merry Christmas Everyone,

Catherine: All of the wonderful things you are fixing sound so good and you are such a blesing to people for including them into your family . Hugs and love and blessings from the Lord I'm sure.

Hayley: Sounds yummy. Maybe you could share the recipe sometime with us.

Heather: Thank God that your unemployment will be extended. Hopefully things will really pick up the first of the year on the job front! Hugs sweetie.

Jacquie: Sorry that your family is getting you down. I am the only one in my family that does things homemade too but, it is okay. At least the kids will remember Auntie Jacquie and all that she used to do. Hugs.

RAt: So, so sorry that you are sick. I wish I could be there to nurse you to health. Spend lots of time covered up drinking water and huggin on your furbabies.

Merry Christmas to everyone and lots of blessings from above.
Annie

Furbabies hugged! As well as the neurotic feathered one and the psychotic kitty one.

I have the gas fireplace going (even though the golden retrievers in front of it are stealing all my warms!). I have soup. I have tea.

I have my fambily feeling sorry for me and calling me to see how I am.

AND....

I have my Peeps here. This Christmas will be good! I am especially thankful that Catherine can stay warm in the coldest place in N. America and knows how to cook and serve to countless peeps in need of a warm meal and that Annie is still with us due to an amazing set of miracles and Jacquie still makes stuff for an ungrateful family and tells me about raw foods, and heatherb's unemployment is extended and her successes, and for Prof Heather who keeps us glued together, and for GGG who always knows how to make me smile, and Sharon who gives me glimpses of life in the UK... I'm grateful for all my lurkers and all the new people and all the people who come back - I lubs you!

Hugs and Happy Christmas!
Luv,
Ratkity

PS I'm in a bit of a Nyquil fog, so I know I missed lotsa names. I stil lub you even though your names escape me. hehe.

Thanks dogpal..i am relieved to find out that i will be getting it so it takes the pressure off just a little bit so i can enjoy the holiday more and not feel so stressed.

I hope all you ladies have a wonderful xmas with your families i probably wont be back on until friday night or saturday morning depending on what time we get back from my husbands family.

Happy Holidays all!
Heather

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you! Be well and be warm - we are in the middle of a serious blizzard - I see a shower and clean jammies in my future today. My furbabies are hugged and loved - DH still snoozing - watching the snow fall. Life is good.

Rat - wish you would have told me you were contagious - you don't have the share everything with me. My girls are also hogging the fireplace warmth. No soup yet but I see some in my future. Sorry you didn't make it home for the holiday but I know you don't want to give the family the crud. Relax and stay warm. Love ya!

Catherine - how many did you feed? Thank you isn't enough to say for the wonderful things you do. This season has been very full for me - simple things that have been easy for me that mean the world to others. Like I said - life is good.

Sharon - I'm with Rat - thanks for sharing your part of the world with us. DH still wants to travel to the Midlands with him when he goes. Merry Christmas my friend.

Kayley - you are a machine. Stay tough. I'm so proud of you.

Annie - what can I say. It's been a tough year for you but you stay strong. Can't wait to hear about the new puppy. Hug Joel and Pepper for me. You are beautiful - inside and out and I'm blessed to share your friendship.

Heatherhb - you are doing marvelously. Keep up the good work. One day at a time. Glad to hear your unemployment was extended.

Jacquie - I'm with you - why oh why don't others "get it". We had DHs grandson over last night - he is 4 - is was such simple things for him but he was thrilled. AND - I was able to roll around on the floor playing with him - he thought that was his best present - GG playing on the floor with him. Thanks for knowing just the right thing to do. I've said it before and I'll say it again - your wisdom is always spot on. Merry Christmas to you.

OK - I can't blame Rat's nyquil fog but thats from my old memory. If I've missed anyone Merry Christmas to you. Also to all those hopefully lurking - Battle, Xena, Sandybar, Brenda, Donna, Deb54, and the list goes on. You've all touched me.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!! I got my wish, and here in Michigan, we have a GREEN CHRISTMAS! I'm not a fan of snow, never have been.

My boyfriend & I decided to forego the big family dinner today, and spend it just the two of us watching movies & enjoying some Chinese food. The scale showed me up 2 lbs today, so I don't hold out much hope for my weigh in tomorrow. I've been on plan, but who knows? Next week is another week!

Have an amazing day, ladies! And eat smart! :)

Carol - STAY SAFE! And of course, be warm, and have a great holiday.

Merry Christmas all!

Short and sweet today...

Left work early on Wednesday..took hubby to the ER. He has the flu..possible swine they didnt test..just treating it as such.

Last night had Christmas at my sisters. Her mother in law was there and her sister in law..this year they really irritated me. They like to "be onverly nice" it gets on my nerves. The woman just saw me last week and asked when I got my hair done! My hair is the same.

This morning we opened gifts and have been watching movies all day. I got CRICUT!!!! Yeah me!! A crafters dream.

I have family coming in for the day on Sunday.

After all this...exercise starting monday :)

Good Morning ladies..I hope everyone had a wonderful xmas with their families

I had a great xmas and got basically everything that i wanted which includes money, gift cards, ruby's diary ( a book i wanted), cologne, new winter boots, 2 workout dvd's, the biggest loser calendar, new 8 lb dumbbells and new ankle weights but the biggest gift of all was from my husbands mom and dad-they got us a Nintendo WII :) So i am going to use my walmart giftcard and money and buy myself a game today :) I want to get the Wii fit but i might have to wait until my birthday to get that...my husband had to make a promise to his mom and dad that we wont go crazy spending money we dont have to buy alot of games ( long story short my husband isnt good with money and he loves to play video games we have a PS2 that we are going to trade in with all the games but with me not working and him only working pat time we cant afford to buy alot of games so we promised them that we would only use our giftcards and money from trading in our old system and all the games to buy a couple of games and then no more after that) so all in all it was a great xmas and i hope that it will be a happy new year and i will be able to find a job pretty quickly we will see!

Well, hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday!
Heather

Hello ladies! Hope you all had a great holiday. I'm so glad it's over. I'm starting to dislike the holiday season for a number of reasons. Mostly, people's complete foolishness & greed when it comes to gifts. :(

Anyhow, we got a call this morning that my Grandfather's condition is deteriorating, and he's not going to make it through the next 24 hours. So we're going to go and see him today. He's never been there for us, and I don't really know him as a Grandpa, but I want to see him before the funeral happens. I don't know how to feel, emotionally.

Weighed this morning, and considering I ate (too much) Chinese food yesterday, I'm only up .4 lbs. I'm going to re-weigh in the morning, and if it's not just water weight, I'll record the gain. Not so bad, getting through both Thanksgiving & Christmas, and gaining less than half a pound! :)

Heather hb - Glad you had a good Christmas! I like the Wii Fit Plus, but I like a game called EA Sports Active better. It gives you a better workout, in my opinion, and it's cheaper than the Wii Fit. (I have both Wii Fit & EA Sports Active, and I play the latter much more). I love the Wii! My boyfriend & I are currently addicted to Super Mario Brothers Wii. So much fun!

good morning ladies. i hope all of you had a great xmas. i myself am so glad its over. the holidays both thanksgiving and christmas were very hard for me and my sister with mom passing just last month.. but i am so excited about the new year. i have plans, goals, and im ready to shake the drearyness of 2009 off me. the last few years have been kinda rough, but im determined that 2010 is going to be a great year.. im going to lose weight and get healthy and that alone will make it great:)
i hope you are all having a great day:)