Cottage, so happy you found your relatives safe. I remember so clearly that feeling of panic after Katrina not knowing if my parents were alive or not...then after that spending months tracking down relatives and extended family. We were without phones, electricity etc for about 6 weeks where I live, so tracking was very hard to do...we could get a cell connection if we drove to Baton Rouge, but gas was precious then and we tried not to use the cars if we possibly could.

Good morning all!
Little chick~ Sorry to hear about your frustrations with hubby! Men....can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em...lol! JK ofcourse!
Kara~ I lived over in Germany with my Dad...I remember what it was like not having american tv!! We didn't have a computer back then either...ugh!
cottage~Have a great vacation, whatever you decide to do! I'm looking forward to taking one myself.
Ruth~ So nice to see you on here again! Where have you been? You gave me a good idea with the egg whites and veggies! I wasn't sure what to eat today because I haven't really SB-proofed my cupboards yet! I have lots of fresh veggies from FIL's garden so now would be a good time to take advantage.
Cat~ Your day sounds much like mine! Hope you and hubby find something fun to do tonight! Enjoy your time together.
Me~ I'm taking my oldest son to his dad for a three week visit tommorrow. The two little ones are going to the grandparents to spend the night. Tommorrow evening dh and I have been invited over to our friends house for steamed crabs and corn...yum! Sunday we'll probably go to some open houses and start searching for our "dream home". Well girls, have a great day and a wonderful weekend!

cottage, glad to hear the good news!

Good morning chicks,
My walking buddy just phoned to say she couldn't go this morning. I am all ready to go, so now I'm sitting here arguing with myself over whether or not I should just do it alone or take the morning off. I can't tell yet whether I'm winning or losing! SOO glad it's Friday, even though the weekend will be very busy. I promised DD to go to VA with her to help her start moving and setting up her apartment. I've got lots of cleaning to do, more work I don't think I'll finish up today, and I really want to take the kids to the IMAX to see Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix in 3D (it's for the kids, really, it is!). I hope the kids will be spending the night at their grandparents tonight, and that DD will be out with friends late. There's just been too many kids around here lately, our own and others, and DH and I could really use some alone time.

tar675, I noticed before you had Crisfield in your signature, and I wondered if it was MD. Then you mentioned crabs, so now I'm sure it is. I'm a misplaced Annapolitan myself. I had a good bushel for a family party last weekend, yum, picked out the leftovers to make some soup. The great thing about crabs is you can pick them and eat for hours without going off plan. Enjoy! And happy househunting. They say it's a buyer's market right now.

cottage, glad everyone is okay. My dad's from Minnesota and much of his family is in and around Minneapolis. I'm sure they're all fine or I would have heard about it. That was a horrifying tragedy, particularly to someone with a bridge phobia, like me. Hope you find something fun to do for vacation.

Enjoy your quiet Ruth. There's nothing like getting your house back after having lots of people around. I am counting the days until back to school. Where do you import your men from? I could use a sub when DH is away at sea.

Littlechick, I hope your day and weekend improves. My DH is being well behaved right now, so I won't join in the egg throwing this time. But we've all felt that way sometime or other!

Kara, you must be getting very excited for your trip. Have a wonderful time!

I need to finish menu planning for the week and hit the grocery store also today. I was caught short too many nights this week without a planned dinner, and we ended up eating too late. Oh, I made the zucchini lasagna last night, and it was really yummy. I had a big zuke that got overgrown when we were on vacation, so I sliced "noodles" and salted then roasted the slices. I sauteed some green peppers and added that to the sauce, and also I used cottage cheese instead of ricotta. It wasn't too wet and really held together like real lasagna. DH ate four pieces.

Well I actually read the thread at home this morning and was inspired! I had eggs with veggie sausage and asiago cheese for breakfast this morning. Yummy!

I am so tired...I have had something every night this week and tonight is no exception. And this weekend I have to work all weekend on my huge freelance project so I can have it mostly done before our guests get here on Tuesday. Oh me oh my!

Good news is we had dinner at a friend's house last night without totally blowing the day! I actually tracked WW points and my friend made spaghetti with whole-wheat pasta and LF cheese, and then whole wheat rolls. Yay for her! I made salad and a Weight Watchers caramel cake with pear sauce. Delicious!!

**Big yawn** where's the ?

schmoodle...that zuchini lasagna sounds yummy! Is the recipe on this site? I'll be sure to check! Yep, I'm in MD! Nice to meet cha!

Tara, I think there is a recipe somewhere, but I just used a basic meatless lasagna recipe but instead of noodles, I used zucchini sliced the long way. I roasted it first so it wouldn't give too much water. And I used cottage cheese only because I was out of ricotta. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it was really good!

Jessie! Sounds like a great night with friends and SBD-friendly foods. Here's some coffee for ya, DH makes it really good!

Morning gals!

We are lounging this morning, trying to wake up....

LC I hear you on the DH frustrations! I do hope that you have a wonderful weekend camping. We don't do it too often, but really enjoy it.

Ruth I am so glad to see you!! You have certainly been missed on the boards. Enjoy your day!

Cottage Busy as usual I see- I am sure you will have a relaxing time no matter what you do next week. I am also glad to hear that your relatives are okay.

Kara I agree that I would get your rash checked out. I am not one to race to the doctor when something is wrong with either myself of my kids, but you should get it checked.

Jessie WTG on staying on plan last night. Doesn't it make you feel strong????

Schmoodle I haven't tried that lasagna yet, but it does sound good.

Femme Hope that you and DH have a wonderful day together. I think that movie No Reservations looks really cute. I am looking forward to seeing that.

Tar Shipping the kiddos off sounds lovely! Even if only for the night....

Me- Got through a good portion of the laundry yesterday. It wound up feeling like the longest day ever. The kids were grumpy, I was grumpy. DH got home from work and we were all in bed at 8:30. I did stay up until 9:30 finishing a book, but I was not in the mood for anyone. I do think mine is PMS, but what is up with my girls????

We are going to do some more work at school today. The kids have so much fun and I get a lot done. One of the new teachers we hired wanted to come up and see her room, so I am going to meet her there. Figured it would be good to build some rapport before things get up and rolling.

Anyhow- my eating was not good for about an hour last night. There wasn't much of interest to snack on, but I did it anyway. Grrr.....

My last day home! waaaaaaaaaa The zucchini smashing sent me to the kitchen to try out one of the recipes I saw in the phase 1 breakfast section. Grate one zucchini (with force today) then mix in some egg beaters, season, and make pancakes in the skillet. It was YUMMY! Oh, I forgot to mention a little bit of parm on top of each pancake. We love potato pancakes here and these were "pretty" close.

LC - hope things smooth out soon. My DH just got home from a long trip so things are nice and peaceful here. Maybe you could send yours on a trip for awhile too?

Cottage - Glad to hear you found everyone safe and sound. We used to live in Florida and were there in the horrible Hurricane season. It was no where near as bad as Katrina of course, but I remember that helpless/panic feeling of trying to get in touch with someone.

Femme - a woman I work with is a native New Orleans chick. She just got back from visiting and said that the situation is still pretty awful. She said the touristy places have recovered but there is still so much... abandonment. Isn't this summer the 2 year anniversary?

Kara - DH and I lived in Japan for 3 years. I remember that humidity and the rare air-conditioning... not to mention the complete lack of american TV. We became complete Melrose Place addicts because we could watch it with English subtitles! hahahaha

Jessie - I love to hear about people staying strong and not resisting... it gives me hope!

Kiko - going up and working on the room is a great idea, isn't it? You get so much more done when there aren't that many people around to "bother" you. If your school is anything like my school, that pre-planning week is mostly meetings and stuff anyway. I teach 5th grade. What about you?

ME: Sunday will be the end of Phase 1 (Week 1). I think I've had a pretty successful week. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a long-term change and not to be disappointed that I haven't lost 40 pounds already. I can't wait for someone to notice without me telling them! The good news is that I feel so changed already on the inside. My SB Flu has flown the coop. (hahahah get it? chicks.. coop) ahem.. anyway... I can feel a real change in how I'm feeling physically already. I had a tennis team drills practice that was 2 hours in 15 minutes last night and I felt completely strong with more stamina than usual.

DH is thinking about starting as well. He is amazing looking and has no real need to lose weight but he does have a supreme sweet tooth that needs curbing. He's thinking on starting Sunday. If he does, can I extend my Phase 1 to 3 weeks so that we are synced up?

Morning girls. Didn't sleep again last night. Had to move to the couch around 11:30. I think I was asleep by midnight, but woke up at 5:50 when DH's alarm went off and just drifted in and out until 8:30 when I got up. After 3 good days with DH, he finally blew up at me again last night over nothing. So in 9 days, it's been 6 blowups.

I'm so tired and stressed. I don't want to go to work today and tomorrow. I just want to curl up on the couch. Think that's what I'll do for the next hour before I have to get ready for work.

Sounds like others are having a stress-filled day as well. I hope everyone's days get better.

Lisa

Hi all! Busy day at work today, but I wanted to stop by and thank you ladies for sending positive thoughts my way yesterday! You chicks were my lucky charms!

I made it through my second interview with the ad firm, and if I do well on the two freelance jobs they're sending my way, I have the graphic design job!

The best part is, I would be a part of concepting ads too! And, because I like to write, they're also going to let try some copywriting. It's a smaller shop that works collectively on regional and national clients...branding, collateral, etc. I eventually hope to be an art director, and this is the perfect first job to send me down that path. So, when my freelance assignments come in, I hope you gals won't mind being my rabbit's foot one more time...

Yes, it will be two years on the 29th. And your friend is right on the nose with her assessment. The tourist areas such as the french quarter weren't really affected that much by the flooding because that is the "original" New Orleans that was built on the highest ground by the french. It is very hard to get tourists here when they don't understand that their visit won't be any different than it would have been before the storm. It is the areas of the city that have expanded outward over the last 200 years where most folks live that are still a mess. You might see one or two houses on a block that are finished and several in progress and several that are just as they were right after the storm. People are still leaving because they just can't "win". There are so many problems facing many people...insurance is very hard to get and you can't get a mortgage/refinance to rebuild without it. Electricity prices are going up and up. Older people who had their houses paid off and on a fixed income are up a creek. IF their insurance companies paid them anything at all, it's not enough to redo their homes. They can either eat Or have insurance. People are still fighting with insurance companies after they've paid premiums for years and ended up with nothing. Insurance companies are dropping people if they were "new" customers before the storm..if their policies had been made within a couple of years before the storm. For example the other night I saw on TV about a guy that had been with a company for 30 years and had upped his coverage a couple of years before the storm..so his policy was rewritten then. He has been dropped because his policy was new and he was then considered a new client. (don't believe you are in "good hands" or your insurance company is "like a good neighbor"...I never will again) This same thing has happened to thousands of people who have worked hard have always played by the rules and now they are basically screwed.

We refinanced our home in December (I am about 40 minutes north of N.O.) and our home value doubled because of the storm. Our insurance company dropped us that same day. Luckily our agent found us someone else that day. So even in areas close to New Orleans we are affected. Our roads are packed here, schools are overcrowded etc...Our "little town" has become congested. I counted 22 new subdivisions on one highway the other day..construction is everywhere with people still leaving N.O. in droves. The nightmare goes on.

That's just awful! Florida is in a terrible state with the insurance as well. My mother was dropped by the good hands people as well. She was dropped just a week after sending them the notification that my father had passed away and letting them know that she was the nameholder of the policy. Of course, they said that was purely coincidental and that it wasn't because of my father's death. She's had a terrible time finding another insurance company because even though she is inland, she is in a manufactured home. Of course, she's on a fixed income as well. Well, she ended up settling with a company with far less coverage than she had. She said, "Let's face it, if something WERE to happen, I wouldn't rebuild here." That was just heartbreaking to me!

Prayers go out to all those still suffering.. and a big prayer for a mild hurricane season.