[ladyinweighting]

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick fly-by.

Happy December,

Lynn

[Bobbolink]

A quick fly by here too, much to do. I do all my Christmas decorating a couple days before Thanksgiving to give the house a festive look when my family comes for Thanksgiving. Zoe...I need to get back in the grind and post my calories again like you, that would keep me accountable but I just can't get my mind wrapped around it. All this Christmas baking keeps me off balance. Yesterday DH wanted some sugar cookies, I made a batch...froze 1/2 of them. Today I'm making those yummy molasses crinkle top cookies. BTW Nancy...I will join Marie in hating fruit cake. Yuk...all those icky citrus fruity thingies are bitter. Never had homemade, I'd probably like yours since I love candied pineapple and cherries.
Karen...Why are you moving? I must have missed that, isn't this the house you refurbished the pool? Are you moving closer to your family?
Rosie...I've never heard of Russian Tea cakes called Tea Time Tassies but I love them. I purchased a tiny muffin cup pan to make them a few years ago and never used it. Maybe I'll look for a recipe today and add them to my menu for Christmas. The last couple of years we started a new tradition, instead of cooking a large meal, we graze on hor d'oeuvres. Cheeses, crackers, dips, meats, sandwiches, sweets, etc. I can make all this up days in advance with some freezing, then relax on Christmas. DD brings games, we play scrabble. We played scrabble over thanksgiving, it last forever since some people (DD) takes forever with her turn.
Donna...meat loaf huh? I just saw a recipe on allrecipes.com that I'm going to try. Meat loaf is a comfort food to me, love it.
Marie...I like the batter from my mixer blades too. My brother loves chocolate chip cookie dough and my mom did the unthinkable. She sent him some raw dough to Viet Nam when he was in the navy. Geeeeee, raw eggs and all went to him. It a wonder he didn't die from food poisoning. I never did ask him if he got sick from it, and he never said.
I've got my molasses bottle turned upside down, I need 1/2 cup and I'm a couple tablespoon short. Better get my cookie batter mixed up.
Hi Rie, Lynn, Red, Glynne and Isabella. Yesterday in the comic section of the paper Opal was asking her husband why more kids weren't named after her. She said the most popular name this year was ISABELLA.

[suttercm]

Hoping I can slip in here for some support this month. I am a 50-something married (29 yrs), mother of 3 grown children with 3 grands and two more one the way (one due monday!). I was diagnosed with diabetes in May of 2011. Have been battling the weight for many years! Have lost 50 so far, have 25 more to go. I do accounting for a small public school, train and compete in obedience and agility with two of our dogs. My daughter raises and shows Collies, so we have several. I also teach obedience to kids through a 4-H group. My favorite form of exercise is walking, although it is getting harder since the weather has turned so cold. I also take an AquaZumba class 2x a week. Looking for some support while I finish this journey and then learn to maintain!

[jess1]

Good Morning, All....

I am totally and completely PATHETIC! I don't DO sick, as you know, so what is going on here?? I actually called in puny today! I slept for a few hours yesterday afternoon, drugged myself into a long sleep last night, and I'm thinking another 10-15 hours wouldn't be amiss. Oh, woe is me, woe is me!

Nancy - I've never liked fruitcake, either, but it's probably the type they make here. Like PT/Zoe, I don't like biting into those icky booger things, and I just don't like the taste of it! I pick up a store-bought 1/2 price one for GM every year, which she likes, but she's the only one I know who will eat the stuff (it's really EXPENSIVE!).

I have another pathetic woe: one of my bad boys ran off, and I was looking at a $3,000 bill to the court for his failure to appear. The cops got him on Tuesday and put him in the hospital, from which he calmly walked away. Guess who's still on the hook? Yep, and I paid part of it yesterday and will have to pay the rest in a couple of months. Mucho bummer!

CK - are you feeling better? I hope you hear something on the house SOON.

Rosey - you look adorable! I don't say that lightly, and I love the perm, the 'do, and, mostly, your mischievous smile! Great combo!!

Marie - at what point will I be an exercise convert? When I hit 3 minutes a day, maybe? That's probably the top level of my commitment... BTW, after I paid my bill at the court yesterday, I did some grocery shopping for GM, and I was able to walk the entire store without a twinge! I'm agog, amazed, and other things that this simple exercise is working! I'm almost like a normal person, very aware of the hip, and I am so excited when it doesn't hurt!

I'm off to sleep a little more... so, Everyone, have a lovely rest of the day. It's snowing here, very cold. Probably people will cancel their appointments today, so maybe it won't be so bad that I'm not working? I hope so. I do worry and fret, you know! Anyway, have a lovely day!!

Connie - just saw your post........ WELCOME!

[Karen3]

Good morning all.....Darn it I just gotta love you all. You took my holiday and made it work. awwwwwwwwwwwwh thank you

Connie...welcome aboard. Funny read your note and for a second thought you taught kids to be obedient!

Dh is doing well and has alot more range of motion than I thought he would get back. Never did find out what they were going to do with the broom handle???? We tried to plan everything ahead of time so that the next month would be easy. But forgot about Xmas stuff. He has it stuck up in the attic were I can't reach it. so the only decoration I have is my Moravian Star. No tree nuth'n honey.....Does that mean I can get all new stuff?????yeaah

Rosie....love love love the do....your face is getting so tiny. What a great gift you have done for yourself. I wanna be you when i grow up.

Zoe....did you say 5 months? I thought it was like late Feb?

Mary...maybe you can get New Connie to obedience train your DS?

Bobbie...Thank you for starting the new month. I may be mistaken but think the 3Chicks want us to stay under 500 entries because of possible overloading the system. Hate when site crashes.

We are having all the rest of the Oleanders pulled out. They attract the world's ugliest caterpillar. It's about 2"long black with hairtuffs and fangs. And bites. Nasty bugger. Fun of living in the tropics.

Marie...sound like you are gonna have do a Karen and move somewhere so you have more windows. Neighbor has a couple of beautiful windows she has hanging on chains in her pool cage. They catch the light and turn her lania into fairyland.

Geeesh...just found that the lawnguy has weedwacked the valve stems off the boat trailer. Bet he heard me giggling when he wacked the flashing tin last week.

Donna...Hope you feel better. Tea with honey and lemon. Curl up with cat and a book. Rest this weekend.

Must get to the grocery store...have no milk, eggs, vegies...actually pantry is bare.... hugs all k3

[retiredone]

... I swear I would lose my mind if my head wasn't attached (a favorite saying of my beloved Grandma).

Ha, ha Rie, I say something similar like that all the time, too. I say I'd loose my head if it wasn't attached.

Donna, hope you're feeling better with all that rest you're trying to get. Being sick can just wear a body down. I didn't go shopping this morning. My MIL was too tired from grocery shopping yesterday with my SIL. We're going to try for tomorrow morning. So sorry about the Bad Boy incident.

Nancy, put me down as a fruit cake lover. I even like the mixed fruit with the citron peel. Have you ever looked at the ingredient list on the mixed fruit container. I was astonished to find that the first ingredient was rutabaga!!!! (Now, I love rutabaga but I like it cooked and mashed with dinner.) I'm not partial to bought fruitcake though unless it's a premium brand and then I'd still prefer homemade. One of my favorites is a cherry pound cake. Yum. I'm actually baking a fruitcake as I'm typing. It's a boiled fruit cake. Very easy as the original recipe only calls for raisins but I've added cherries, dates, mixed fruit and nuts. It's an old war time cake recipe and doesn't require eggs. I'm making it for my sister who cannot eat eggs right now. Just last month I ran across a recipe for cooked eggnog. I imagine it's similar to the "boiled custard" that you wrote about. Sounds delicious as I love anything creamy and custardy.

Karen31, glad the "squeeze" went well. You probably did well to stay inside last night. Nothing worse than being chilled to the bone when you're sick.

Gayle, we use Skype to talk to our darling GS. Well, we do most of the talking while his father follows him around with the laptop so we can watch him play. Sometimes he tries to kiss the computer screen when he waves good bye. Hope work was too hectic today with all the changes and surveys you have to do.

Zoe, just you hang in there with the retirement countdown. Soon you'll be looking back at it instead of forward.

Marie, the pb was mixed sugar & butter and was sandwiched between 2 miniature pretzels and then dipped in chocolate. You could just have the chocolate dipped pretzels minus the pb. That's a sad story about the man with the money. The suit could have even been thrown out. You should see some of the rags people donate for clothing, not saying this man's suit was rags. (Most stuff donated is good, though.) ThatCzeck holiday bread sounds delicious. How do you make it?

Rosey, your new hair do is gorgeous as are you. It looks so not home done.

Waving right back atcha, Lynn.

Bobbi, everything old is new again. Who'd a thunk Isabella would be such a popular name. I'm named after my GM who was named after her GM.

Hi Connie. Welcome aboard. I too thought at first reading, you trained children in obedience. lol, lol. But that might not be such a bad idea.

Karen3, we have to do some digging around our house this spring. It's too cold now to do it but it must be done. We have earwigs that are over running our place. Everyone is in the same boat because we had such a damp summer and fall. They live in foliage and we have lots of that up against the house (most of it weeds!). We're going to take out about a foot or maybe 18 inches of weedy sod and bushes and lay down landscaping material and cover that in decorative crushed rock. My son did that and has had good results with crawly visitors. Thankfully the earwigs are harmless (but ugly) and don't breed indoors. Have fun buying new Christmas stuff, haha.

Well the fruitcake is baked and out of the oven. The place is full of spicy Christmas smells. Hope my sister likes this one. I'm sure she will. Must run and get ready for the Goodwill. Catch you all later.

[Riemontana]

Hello Goldens!

Back as promised this morning! I sure enjoy checking in here - it really gets my day going in the right direction. We are an amazing group of women - full of reality, humor, the occasional angst, and the strength that comes with the blessing of XX chromazomes....

I worked out for 90+minutes this morning in an attempt to distract myself from my day. Didn't work but I liked the endorphins I have an appointment with the oral surgeon today to start the process for my tooth implants. I am such a dental phobic that it requires sedatives.... oh my. Total panic attacks

Mary, as I read your post, I got the following: stretch class, 45 minutes of aerobics, AND weight lifting! No need to compare yourself negatively to anyone. Inspiring.

Donna, yup, it sounds like you are dangerously close to becomming a convert. I'm just glad that your hip isn't barking at you so hard. Hopefully your jumper will get picked up again and you can take the money out of his hide! And wow, what's up with the Arrapaho sheriff???

Red, be careful of the earwigs! Seriously - a couple years ago my mom got one in her ear (I always thought that was a myth) and it bit her and caused all kinds of problems and inflamation. EWWWW.

Karen, loving your holiday! He wacked the stems off the boat trailer?? Do they hang gardeners in FL???

Nancy, I so DESPISE fruitcake but I probably haven't ever tasted good stuff. Not really fond of dried fruit...

Rosey, you look terrific! I so enjoy your beaming smile. It lights up the world!

Hi Connie! I know you from the diabetes chat. Welcome to the Golden Girls. This is a really good group. Pull up a chair and settle in!

Bobbi, I am so scared to start holiday treats but I am going to do it all in one fell swoop later this month. Our family often does the no-dinner-just-goodies buffet. It is so relaxing! I primarily make fancy chocolates so I can't freeze them. I am planning to bake cookies with the kids at work next week.

Hi Lynn! Hope you are well!

Gayle, I really loved the story of your playfullness with your dh! It was really sweet!

Marie. Good news about the insurance company - a rare thing! I was wondering about how you count your excercise? Do you go by duration, heart rate, distance? Just wondering....

Zoe, it sounds like you are really in the groove with calories.... Really low, darlin - what is your target?

Karen31, feel better! Maybe it is just a message for you to rest right now in preparation for the stuff you will have to do soon. I must admit - you sound really calm. I am not sure that I could get my house packed in just over a month without a huge effort!

Well, I know that I am missing people here - so sorry. I must get showered and ready for my appointment. (shudder) Sorry, I am a baby about this...

Rie

[Marie]

Rosey, I love your hair style and blue eyes. You are gorgeous!

Bobbi, wow on the cookie dough to Vietnam. WOW!!! Even I wouldn't eat that.

Wecome Connie!!! Another dog love. YAY!!!! I, too, work for a public school system. I work at the district office (although at the moment my butt is located at the district office but no one would consider 3FC work).

Donna, I am so confused. I thought you went out and caught the bad guys like Stephanie Plum. But alas, you're the bail bondsgirl and front the money? Did you know walking is exercise - and you did that in a grocery store pushing a hefty cart. I bet you made 15 minutes yesterday.

KarenFL, I love the idea of hanging stained glass over the pool. My sister used to live in FL and her pool area had the screen enclosure. I can picture adding glass to that. My pool is out in the open air and I plan to move only to the backyard after the crematorium is finished with me. I want my ashes with my doggies. Moving equates to worse than pretty much everything else in life. BTW, don't you have a nice neighbor that could climb up into the attic and get your Christmas goodies? I'd suggest the lawnguy but he seems pretty incompetant. And your housecleaners were thieves. OK, I can see where buying new might be cheaper.

Isabella, oh your treats sounds so decadent. It is a good thing I live nowhere near you or I'd be stopping in regularly. Houska is a sweet bread dough. Then you take the glace fruit stuff (I like the cherries best) and knead it into the dough. Then you make 7 long rolls of it and braid 3 at a time, 2 layers, then drape the final long roll over the top. It looks beautiful and tastes amazing hot and fresh, or toasted with butter. I can post the recipe if anyone wants it.

Rie, I love your reference to XX Chromosomes. Whenever men do stupid things (like nearly always) I mutter it's the Y chromosome. I go by speed (or intensity), distance and time for calc'ing my exercise. Mostly I let my iPhone do it for me.

As I've spent mucho time here, I will get back to work. I'm avoiding one of the worst Dept of Ed reports but it's due mid month and it was easier to avoid in November since it wasn't December. Now I feel a deadline coming my way. But as a bonus, the OR DoE had the ingenuity to create a worse and nastier collection that will start some time soon. I hate them. I do. The entity, not the people as I've pretty much only had one bad encounter with one person. The rest have been nice. Just like my scale was this morning.
Marie

[chickadeee55]

Hi everyone.

I have been missing in action for a few days, touch of the migraines, three dayer. Hope it is over now. Really affects the effort to exercise. But stayed on plan.

Bobbi, I can't read your posts, they make me want to eat all those good things you talk about. LOL

Connie, welcome, you will find lots of support here. Sounds like you are doing good.

Rie, I am with you on not liking the dentist, I have gotten better over the years, I just had to switch to a new one(old one retired) first thing I said to him was, did you notice on my chart it states ' I don't like pain". He just laughed. Hope all goes well for you.

Boy, I sure could go for some homemade fruitcake! Haven't had that in years, my mom use to make it, wrap it in brown paper and store it for a month or two before we could even eat it. Hard to believe it was so good.

[redballoon]

I did well yesterday. Food was not great but I got to the gym and I did NOT smoke. I wanted to so much too but I kept arguing with myself and the non-smoking me won!!
I haven't done enough to lose weight but I think I should maintain. I realize that I just don't get enough exercise to be eating like I am. I used to do tons more and still am in that mode. However, I want to eat, so I have to exercise more. Will try to get an indoor bike set up.
Right now, I'm just super busy and have to leave for Hong Kong on Wednesday.
It's cold and raining here now but I am determined to get to the gym again before the office.
And, for the first time in ages, I actually cooked some brown rice and dumped some curry over it and am taking it to the office. It is not great but it is a huge step and a notch up on my recent habit of bringing cutup fruit and vegetables to the office. Because I had something to snack on I have been able to stop snacking on junk. Most of the time I don't even eat everything I bring with me.

**************

Rie -- earwigs? I was thinking, is this slang for something else? Then did a search to see if anyone had been talking about them (I don't even know what they are) and sure enough I think you mean someone else.

jess -- What does "call in puny" mean? Are you sick? If so, hope you get better soon! Thanks for the smoking support. There is something mental and probably physically that really gets me craving when I am tired at the end of the day and also certain frustrations act as triggers too. Trying to deal with them mentally or in some way other than smoking.

suttercm -- Hello and welcome! You're over 50 and expecting? Wow! Congratulations!

Bobbolink -- Wow, all this talk about baking! How do you ever NOT eat it all? Yesterday at work I signed up as one wanting the free cake and coffee or tea that the coffee would give us on the 22nd. The others thought I wouldn't sign up because I haven't been eating ANY sugar but I thought I would allow it just this once! Of course, not eating sugar doesn't mean I lose weight. It just means I don't snowball with even more!

Marie -- thanks for the support. I am still psyched (easy early in the morning revved on caffeine, NOT easy at the end of the day when I want a cigarette badly!)

ellabella -- I think there is something in the stars or planets that is sending energy my way. I was really dragging last week. It was terrible. Maybe my little binge the other day was good for me. I don't know how you eat so few calories. If I did that I would.....maybe I'd lose weight!

retiredone -- Let's hope my feeling lasts. Have fun shopping!


******

ladyinweighting, glynne, Karen31, Nancy, akrosey, anyone I missed, hello!

[redballoon]

[retiredone]

Here's a picture of an earwig. I'm the one who has them around the outside of my house and inside as well I fear. They come in on the wood we burn. They aren't very big. A centimeter is just under half an inch to give you an idea of how big they are. They don't actually pinch with the pincers, or at least it's rare.

[retiredone]

Good one Red. LOL, LOL

[jess1]

Red, I loved the cartoon!!!

I'm among the living, barely. Don't worry. I'll be over the whining and crying very soon, promise!

Marie - I'm the greatly-more-ethical Vinnie Plum counterpart, not the ditzy Stephanie! I've been very lucky over the years; this is just the 2nd time I've had to fork out moola in 16 years. I guess I shouldn't complain, but I will!

Rie - the deal with the Arapahoe sheriff is SO sad. He was such a well-respected man, and how he's fallen. I can't imagine that he will survive this, literally, if he ever raises enough cash to bond out. I can't imagine him in prison.

CK - thanks for calling me. It brightened my day! I hope you hear something good soon, both from the house and the son.

SamCat is liking this heavy snoozing schedule. He likes to cuddle, anyway, and all this sleeping is just heaven for him! Red - "calling in puny" is calling in sick. Sorry! I tend to have my own idioms, I guess

Onward... and back to bed!

[Karen31]

WELL HERE IS THE NEWSFLASH! THEY ACCEPTED OUR OFFER ON THE HOUSE WE WANT TO BUY!! NOW IF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE BUYING OURS COME THROUGH WITHOUT A HITCH THE HOUSE WILL BE OURS!! YAY!! KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED!

Bobbi, We decided about 6 months ago that if we could sell our house for what we wanted we would like to get a little newer, bigger, more modern house. So when we just got about got to the point that we figured it wasn't going to sell, we had an offer come for ours that we accepted and Tim found one on the internet that was just to nice not to at least check out. So if all goes well we will be moving in the middle of January. I have pics of if on our FB page if you would like to see it. So I'm pretty excited but I'm still feeling miserable!!!

Donna it was good talking to you today too--- I figured "misery loves company!" Hope you feel better real soon and hope that they get that "bad boy" back where he belongs!!

Ok. I'm going to go for now-- I'll catch up one of these days but I want to see the Country Christmas Special tonight so need to get my kitchen cleaned up and get me some coffee!!

Have a good night!!