Hi,

I posted a new thread and somehow lost it. :sball: So...I'll start over.

We got a Christmas pkg. in the mail yesterday from our friends in Massachusetts. We usually get together between Christmas and New Year, when things quiet down a bit. I'm going to miss that this year. Hopefully they'll get a chance to come down sometime over the winter. I never thought I would ever say this...but, I would go back to NH, not necessarily where we used to live, in a heartbeat. Maybe once the holidays are over with I'll feel differently.

Nikki, that's good you found some cookies for your DH nieces and nephews. I'm sure they'll enjoy them. When do you go visit them?

Lynn, any word on Chicago?

Anne, hope you're enjoying your weekend.

Enjoy your Sunday.
Aleka

Good Morning Everyone:
I got a big shocker on Friday. My friend Dalia who is a co-worker of mine
but also a very special lady who takes care of David on Saturdays got into
a car accident. Her car was a right off. At the moment she is unsure of
getting another car. The expense and not knowing if she will have a job
next year because of the upcoming changes has been over whelming for
her. Thank God she was not injured.

Four more days and I will be on my days off( I get 5) We are making Turkey
on Christmas day, how about you guys?

Lynn, I can't help you out on the band members of Chicago. I didn't even know they had a Christmas Album. I am a big Who, and Stones fan. I can tell you everything about those guys
I know what you mean about the singers of Christmas songs though. Among
my favorites for Christmas are Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and Dean Martin
who of course are all gone. I also love Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band for Christmas songs. All her music has a medievel sound to it. All the recordings of her Christmas songs are made with original instruments from days long gone.

Nikki, congrats on your weight loss success

Aleka, is it the cold weather you are missing at this time of year or your
friends or both?

Talk to you all later.

Anne.

Good Morning,
I have a sore throat, I'm coughing and it's 0 degrees with a wind chill of -21 out there this morning. As I was making my way out to the garage, ( finding it painful to drag that cold air into my lungs) I thought, I bet if Aleka knew what it was like here this morning, she wouldn't miss this. I dont' know why I thought that, but I guess I was thinking, that you might be feeling a little homesick, especially this time of year. I know your not missing the cold (maybe a little), but this time of year is so hard to feel seperated from things that you identify as being Christmas as well as people that you miss. I imagine in Florida, it's like being in another country right now. I went to Las Vegas for New Years once and they still had the Christmas stuff up. It just seemed like everything was out of place. I guess, it's all a matter of what you are use to. Wish I could give you a hug now, but since I'm sick this will have to do

We are going to deliver the cookies on Christmas Day. DH is off that day. I am not sure if I will make a dinner or not. We are getting together for Christmas Eve. It's suppose to be finger foods. I'm taking over a Cure 81 ham (for cold sandwiches, I'm making some homemade rolls to go with), little smokies in BBQ sauce, cheese balls and crackers, veggies and dip and nuts. DD #1 is getting a cheesecake and shrimp and sauce, DD #2 is making sugar cookies. I'm also bringing some wine.
Sunday, we are celebrating DD #2's birthday. She's going to be 24. I don't understand why these kids keep getting older and I'm not Anyway, it means more cake and ice cream. Then New Years is right around the corner, but DH works that night, so it won't be a big deal for us.

Anne, glad your friend is ok. That is hard when you are in kind of a limbo as far as your job goes.
I'm glad you are getting some time off for Christmas. I know how much you love this time of year.

Guess I"ll go lay down. I want to exercise, but I suppose it would be better to rest today.
Take care, Nikki

Hi girls,
Just a quick one, as I am trying to get ready for my day.
Miss you all. I will stay in touch when I can. A lot is happening right now, but it sure is nice to read about your "normal lives".
Love ,
Tazcat

Hi Guys: Well Nikki I beat you!!!!!!! it is -33 with the wind chill. I wanted to go to my favorite store a half hour away but the wind is so strong the drifts could close the roads this afternoon. We have a road to Barrie that is flat and with open areas and I swear that it is the first road closed in the whole province when the weather is bad. Well checked on Chicago and the band has only had 1 major tragedy and that was a death in the 70's. Also I put on a new country station out of Toronto and almost all major singers (Shania, Faith Hill. Garth Brooks etc.) has christmas carols out. Anne I have never heard of Maddie Prior before will check her out. I also love every singer you mentiomed. My favorite Christmas tape is by Nana Mouskouri, I can't find our copy and have been checking on web etc. amd it must be out of print (?) I have told DD to check in GTA for a CD hope she can find one. Aleka I'm sure this is a sad time for you. Florida must seem like a different plant to NH this time of year. Come Feburary remember that awful weather. Christmas Eve is a dinner that I am looking forward to. To celebrate Xmas with my ex S-in-law will be nice. We spent all our Xmas's together when the kids were little and miss those days. The unfortunate part of divorce is the whole family suffers. Christmas Day is still up in the air as step father continues his games. I might be back here on Christmas day. I bought a turkey that is already stuffed (actually a turkey breast) that goes into the oven frozen and will have all the "stuff" here to have a complete dinner here. He will not ruin my day. My kids days were planned out a long time ago so will get up and spend the morning with DD than see my Mom than leave for here. The turkey breast takes only 4 hours so as long as we are back here by 2 there is no problem. Well I guess that is it for now. Later

HI again,
Hi Taz, nice to hear from you again. Stop by when you can and let us know how your doing. Hope your doing well.

Lynn, I knew you guys were going to win the cold contest. But, I don't mind losing on that one Me, I think I would like to go down and visit Aleka for awhile. I'm already tired of the cold and it's not been cold here for very long. We have no snow, it's a nice beautiful sunny day out there. Our winters aren't great, but generally milder than yours, heck, I'm still wearing a light jacket when I go outside. Not that I should, I'm just in denial about the tempertures. I think a lot of people are around here, I still see people running to their cars in shirts and shorts, like it's going to suddenly get hot. Our grass is still green and I think some of the garden plants are in denial too, since they are still green. We have about 2 or 3 months of really cold temps and then, it starts to warm up and get better.
I will probably be here on Christmas Day, because DH has to work that night and will be in bed in the afternoon. Then, I'll be alone with the cats and they can't hold up their end of a conversation.
Talk to you guys later, Nikki

Hi,

Taz it's good to hear from you again. Hope that everything is well with you and that you will be posting more often.

Thank you all for cheering me up. After reading about how cold you guys are, and Anne & Lynn with snow, I'm more than happy to stay put. Yes, I do miss my friends, family, and a white Christmas. But, I figure that the first year will be the hardest. Ok, I've had enough feeling sorry for myself.

You're more than welcome to come for a visit Nikki, as a matter of fact you all are welcome.

Nikki, it's just like fall here now, with temps in the high 60's/low 70's. I'm dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt and I see people running around in shorts and a t/shirt and say to myself, "they must be from up north".

Lynn, some of my favorite Christmas music comes from Mannheim Steamroller and Jimmy Buffet. I also have a couple of Christmas CDs by Kenny G. and a few from Country singers.

Anne, I am so sorry about what happened to your friend. I'm glad that she wasn't hurt. We had planned on going to the beach Christmas Day, but I saw the weather and it doesn't appear that the weather will be all that great. But, it's still 6 days away. We had planned on having turkey for dinner, but thought we'd do something different for a change. We bought some popcorn chicken and popcorn shrimp and will have that with homemade frenchfries and some veggies. I also bought a cherry cobbler for dessert.

Aleka :sball2:

Baby its cold outside!!! As a matter of fact it is shockingly cold
I am sitting at my desk but I'm not going to kill myself with stress or
work for the next few days. I figure after the cheezie way I have been
treated by ........ The office Christmas party is this afternoon so
I will be on my own here :sman:
Nikki, sorry to hear you have a sore throat. Changing of the seasons. Never
fails does it.
Aleka trust me, you wouldn't want to be here today!! The cold is the
big news item at the moment.
Lynn, I know you have more snow that I do but isn't this cold a killer!!
Talk to you guys later. I am on the lookout for you know who. You never
know when she will pop in I am listening to my CD's at work. I
bring my portable player and hook it up to some swell computer speakers.
I love it, helps the day to fly by.
Anne.

Good morning,

DH & I are going to the movies later today to see Christmas with the Kranks, a movie based on the book, Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. Both of us read the book and it was a hoot. I only hope the movie will be just as good.

Anne, glad that you take some music in with you. It's really nice to listen to music while you're working. Sorry it's so cold where you are. It is cold here too. It's supposed to be only in the 50's, and it's supposed to get even colder. They're warning about frost tonight in some places. Have a good time at your Christmas party.

Nikki, how is your sore throat? I hope you're feeling better. It's awful being sick around the holidays. Is it still cold where you are?

Lynn, how are things progressing with Christmas and your step-father? Hope everything works out.

Hi Taz, Pop in when you can.

Everyone, have a great day.
Aleka

Good morning,
My DD Laura gave me an early Christmas present. It's a book and cd the book is A Night Like No Other and the CD that came with the book is by Mannheim Steamroller. Anyway, I've got the CD in the computer and am listening to it right now Anne. My computer has pretty decent speakers and it's a nice way to do stuff on the computer. BTW, the book is kind of good. It's probably written for the younger crowd, but I enjoyed it. It's kind of a fantasy type of story.

It's pretty crisp out there this morning here, so I imagine it must take your breathe away up there, Anne and Lynn. We are suppose to have a high in the 40's later though. Yesterday, I was still seeing people running around in short sleeved shirts. Those people in Florida that are in shorts have got to be from Iowa. An old joke is that Iowa stands for Idiots Out Wandering Around. The newest thing for young girls is to wear pj pants and slippers to the store. Is that like the laziest thing or what? I'm so glad I'm not a kid anymore. I have no fashion sense either, so I'm in the right place

I'm still sick, but plan on exercising anyway. It seems to help to clear my sinus and gets my blood pumping. I've lost a few more pounds, even though yesterday, I ate way more than I should have. I guess I'm following the Wendie plan in a way. I ususally do have one day when I eat way over my points once a week. The rest of the week, I stay within my points and not eat my AP. So far, I'm losing around 3 lbs a week doing this and that one day a week of splurging is great.

Aleka, I'm glad your feeling better. It's only normal to miss what your use to. Thanks for the invitation. I might take you up on it someday.

Guess I better get my day going, talk to you all later, Nikki

Hello again...

DH & I got to the movie theater, the movie was to start at 12:00 noon. Well...there was some sort of incident at the movie theater, a fire truck was at the scene, they weren't selling tickets, and the doors were locked. So, we decided to go tomorrow instead. Can we pick'em or what??? The funny part is we never go to the movies. Whenever I wanted to see a movie, I went with a girlfriend, as DH doesn't like "chick flicks". Anyway, the trip wasn't wasted. We got Lacee her Christmas gifts, which are hidden in the garage and we got our postal carrier a token gift. We never did that in NH because we couldn't stand our postal carrier there. Some of the stories I could tell you about him!!!

Talk to you later.
Aleka

Hi All My DH doesn't do movies either except for movies with Ashley Judd in them, he also NEVER misses anything with Jacklin Smith in it. Hmmmm is there a theme here? Skipping Christmas is the only John Grisham book I have not read but I will now. I always listen to music when playing on the computer. Right now Bon Jovi is playing and I'm bopping along with the CD. Postman whats that? here in all new area's and all small centers they have what are called super boxes, which means you go to a bank of boxes on a corner and get your own mail.Congrat's ladies on your weight loss. Nikki sorry you are still feeling crappy. Today I joined a weight challenge at Curves it starts Jan 17, we are weighed and measured once a week for 7 weeks. The diet sounds very similar to WW but we also have to take a protein shake (Curves product of coarse). I am looking forward to it, oh yes we also attend a meeting once a week. Yesterday my aunt called and has more shopping for me to do also my brother wants me to piuck up something for him and DD wants me to pick up something for ny Mom. I don't know why I bother, I'm done and I am still going to be fighting the crowds. Well I guess I will get on with it. Made a chili, DH request so have to think of something for me. Later

Gee I wonder where my message went???
Hi all, trying to be good. I started yesterday, every time I stuck a choc. in my mouth ,I drank a glass of water.... Its a start. Right now I am stress eating...........
Love Taz

Good morning,

It really was cold during the night. Some places got frost. I did notice one of our neighbors had covered his bushes, but they are the only ones. It got into the mid 30's here.

Don't know if we'll make it to the movies today or not. Got an e mail from my ILs and they're coming for a visit tomorrow and I've got to clean the house. Everything depends on when I get my rear in gear.

Taz, this time of year can really be stressful and with all the goodies around they're very hard to resist. You'll be back on track.

Lynn, that's great incentive joining Curves diet challenge. I read the Curves book and the eating plans they had were low carb and calorie counting, plus the shakes. Which one will you be doing? Good luck to you. The book Skipping Christmas is a riot!! It's very easy reading. I, and everyone I gave it to, read it in a day. Once you start you're like the Energizer Bunny...you keep going..and going..and going..... When will you do your extra shopping? I used to get that all the time when I was younger. Two of my late aunts (my mother's sisters) would each send me a check to Christmas shop for them for my mother. It was hard enough for me to figure out what I was going to get her, never mind 2 other people.

Nikki, congratulations on losing a few more lbs. It's good to have those flex points there when you want to have a day of eating what you want. You are doing so great!!! How do you like Mannheim Steamroller? I think their Christmas CDs are great. Are you feeling any better? Sometimes it takes a long time for those pesky colds to leave you.

Anne, how was the Christmas party? Hope you enjoyed yourself.

Have a good day everyone.
Aleka :sball2:

Good morning,
DH and I hardly ever go to the movie's. I don't like to go with him, he talks all the way through the movie and I can't hear, plus, I imagine it's annoying for other people too. I try to pick a place where we aren't close to others, but some late comers always seem to want to sit behind us.
What movie are you going to see, Aleka?
We had a fine dusting of snow last night. Just enough to make the roads like ice, but not enough to get the sand and salt trucks out, because it didn't measure enough. I had a heck of a time getting up the hill (we live right in the middle of a hill) to get DD last night.
I decided not to the the mailman a gift. I bought him a box of chocolates last year and he acted all weird about it. I suppose, nobody does that around here. He's a great guy and use to work for DH'd dad, when he was a logger. So, DH has known him since he was young. I've had the mailman from **** too, Aleka and it sure can make a difference. When I use to have my check mailed to me (before the days of directdeposit), I'd have to search the ditches sometimes to find it. He would just toss the mail in the direction of the box and didn't care if it got in there or not.
It's the first Mannheim Steamroller cd I've ever heard, there are only 4 songs on it. I think it sounds interesting and Christmasy.

Lynn, how long have you had super boxes? I've never heard of that. I wonder if they will start to do that down here to save money. I read the Curves book too. I liked the diet. Good luck with it. It will help that you have support from your buddies at Curves.

Taz, chocolate is my weakness. It's too easy to eat, so I try to keep it out of the house. I know that's almost impossible this time of year though.

I'm sicker now than I was. I hope I'm better by Christmas.

Anne, did you go to that office party? I know how you don't especially like such things. I never liked it either.

Guess I'll go finsih up reading my email and go lay down again, later, Nikki