Good Morning chick-a-dees!
we actually had a very pretty snowfall yesterday! the best part was that it didn't really stick to anything...but the snow fell pretty hard from 1:30 til about 7 or 8...we don't get snow very often so when it falls everyone gets crazy...rushes to the grocery to buy milk and bread(it wasn't even sticking!) like you could ever get snowed in here in Alabama! LOL people seriously freak out! and why milk and bread! The Brazilian exchange student that's living with us had never seen snow before so it was great for him to see.
I stayed true to my plan yesterday I didn't make the dinner I had intended but instead made a soup that is soooo tasty it's unbelievable! It's called Zydeco Soup..I altered the recipe so that it's P1friendly. and wow was it satisfying. I'll put the recipe in the proper thread for y'all.


Cottage: I never think to start my dinner in the morning! I'm always rushing to get it prepared in the afternoon. That's great that the cookies don't tempt you, I'm kinda like that too...if it was ice cream..then it's gone...but cookies...I could live without!

Kara: I would love to see the world like your being able to, but at the same time, I would miss my family terribly! I hope your move goes smoothly! When is the actual date your moving?

Thin: I hate weighing in! I couldn't do it every day if someone paid me! I get such anxiety just doing it once a week. Bob Greene said on Oprah that he didn't recommend weighing more than once a month! because your weight goes up and down so much. But I gotta know more often than that! So I just do it once a week...I don't even have a scale in my house...I have to go to the wellness center where my DH works to weigh in!

Ruth: Good Morning! Hope you have a great check up at the dentist. Beef Stew sounds yummy!

Kim: Hope your class goes well!

Gonna: Yikes...Mono...you must fell terrible! I wish you a very speedy recovery!

weezle: Hope you and your son have a fantastic time together today!!!

little chick: Enjoy the sunshine...take some advil...hope you feel better soon!

Schmoodle: wow...I would definately have a rough time if my DH was leaving for even a week!! I can't imagine 4 months! Good luck with the ins. co!

TK: I know exactly what you mean regarding the "me" time...it has rarely been quiet in my house for 20+ years! But I know that sooner than I want it's gonna be VERY quiet and I'm gonna get more ME time than I really want! I homeschooled my 4 kids for 8 years...til my oldest wanted to go to high school...and I decided to put them all in school..it was nice during the day then! but wild in the afternoons! Now I have 2 left at home! and they are Jr.s in High school, and teenagers are sarcastic and obnoxious LOL but I love em! Makes me miss the busy days when they were just curious and energetic!


Hope you all have a wonderful day!!!

Hey, Cottage! Sounds like a nice morning--hope your drive is safe tonight.

Kara, I'm glad you've got some extra family time! The visit from your friend sounds really fun!

Dawn, admitting the problem is the first step! The truth is, unless you weigh in the same place at the same time, wearing the same clothes (or no clothes) each day, you aren't getting any real information. Your weight fluctuates a ton every day, so weighing 2 to 3 times a day isn't going to tell you much, hon. It might make you happy or sad, but it's based on false information. Keep telling yourself that. One thing you could try is to get rid of your scale and then weigh yourself once a week somewhere else (at the gym? At a friend's house?). You'll get much more accurate information that way--though the scale doesn't tell you what you gained or lost! I get weighed and tested every week at my nutrition clinic, and they are able to tell me what I've lost or gained. Some weeks I gain, but it's muscle, and other weeks I lose, but it's part muscle and part fat. It's all relative. Anyways, I hope you can break your scale addiction, hon. I'm working on mine--my counselor wants me to only weigh-in at the clinic, once a week. I'm pretty resistent to that...which tells me I should do it.

Ruth, can you put your trash out at night? It must be such a shock to the system to have to go outside so early in the morning. Brrr! Hope everything's alright with Hersh and with your dentist appt.

Kim_Star!

Gonnabe...I didn't know you had Mono!!! How awful! I hope you're babying yourself!

Good luck on the test, Lisa! It's different from state to state, I assume, but in at least some states, if you work for them for five years (or more), you will automatically get retirement benefits once you hit retirement age. Cool, eh? My aunt worked for the state for several years (Hawai'i) before opening her own private practice, so she now has health care and will have retirement benefits when she gets old enough.

LC, good luck with the chocolate! just for you...

Schmoodle, I'm out of the loop--where's DH going for so long? That must be hard, hon! I'm with you on the clean teeth thing!

Tanya! You (and anyone else) are more than welcome to join in--glad you did! It must be hard staying on track while working as a baker and doing all the hard work of a full-time mom! Good for you! Can you wear a pedometer and use steps to track your workouts? You can get them pretty cheaply... Sorry to hear about your dog. Is the other one fixed? Getting your pups fixed is such an important thing, IMHO. Especially for female dogs--they can get cancer very easily if they are intact and not being bred. I hope I'm not coming off preachy! I know there are usually good reasons why people can't get around to getting their animals fixed, but my heart just breaks for the animals being killed in shelters. Hope she's not pregnant, for your sake as well as hers--it would be awful to miss your vacation with DH! Glad to have you with us here! BTW, I'm a big scrapbook addict and your area couldn't be nearly as bad as mine...I should take a picture so you can feel much better about yours!

Hi, Pearlrose! I think getting the weigh-ins down to 3 out of 7 days a week is very admirable! Good for you!!!

Phins--good to see you again! The soup sounds delish!

Me:
Busy morning at work. I'm off to the gym after work and then home to shower, take the dog for a walk, and, hopefully, then I'll be meeting a girlfriend at a local event called 2300* It's at our glass museum and features live music, live glass blowing, food, and wine. My friend is from my "mood and food" group so it should be easy to refrain from eating much. I think it'll be fun!

DH is out of town tonight so I'm on dog/bunny duty alone and have to get up early tomorrow to give the bun her syringe full of yogurt/juice. He's been sick for a couple weeks and I'm really worried about him.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Hey Laurie! DH is a Merchant Marine Captain and he is shipping out next week. This is nothing new, he's done this ever since we've been together, 20+ years, and a 4 month trip is normal. But he's been local the last few years, so we are out of practice, so it feels a little more traumatic this time, plus the kids aren't so used to it now, and they are more upset than in the past. But we'll get into our groove and it'll be fine. We're not sure yet where the ship is actually going. He thought Diego Garcia, but he's not sure about that. The company called today and moved his departure up to Monday, so now it is only 4 sleeps. I know the way this goes. They'll probably call tomorrow and ask him to be on a plane in the evening.

Pearlrose, he's been in Diego before and didn't mind it. He liked riding his bike around the island, lying on the beach, and the Navy has a ham radio club there, so he can hang out at the shack. Actually sounds like kind of a nice tropical vacation for him!

Welcome PHinsUP! and Tawnya!!

Laurie, when did you slip past 100 lbs. lost? That is fabulous!!! Don't we need to have a celebration?

Good luck with the bunny!

Hiya girls. I've been trying to post most of the day and have been interrupted. They buried my friend Robert this afternoon. I have been getting phone calls about how crowded it was. I'm so happy that so many people were there to show their support and love.

My class went well. My professor is an immigrant from Africa who has a wonderful accent and speaks in the third person. He's a hoot and should make Statistics more bearable.

I've been quite distracted today, so I need to at least try to work. Again, thank you for all your prayers and hugs and happy thoughts. It has truly helped me through this time.

I've got a busy evening planned for tonight. After work I need to get milk and stuff and then pick up Brian and pizza and I have a couple of scouting friends coming over at 5:45 (with one 8 year old). Brian and Adam will eat pizza and watch DVDs while I teach leadership training for an hour and then I have a couple more people coming over and we're going to work on registration for Twilight Camp. We're going to try to put as much as possible online this year. If there is any time afterwards, we'll work on the budget.

Tomorrow and Monday I'll need to work from home as they are school holidays

We have a winter wonderland here! We were supposed to only get a rain/snow mix, changing to all rain this evening, but it's been snowing hard since noon. We have at least 3" so far. Cindy came home at 2 and let me go, and I'm sure glad I left when I did. The roads I have to take are like a roller-coaster in the best of weather, they were deplorable today! It's very picturesque outside, though!

Well I got home a little early and thought I would drop back in.

Gonna Rest, drink lots of fluids and hurry and feel better

Lisa Keeping my fingers crossed for you that the new job is yours.

LC Hope the headache got better.

Phinsup Good job on staying on plan. Soup sounds yummy.

Tawnya. Glad you're here and hope the kids are better.

Pearlrose

Laurie Your event sounds like loads of fun. Much better than my evening plans (which are none)

Schmoodle How did you like the bowflex?

Kim I'm glad class went well and there were so many people at your friend's services.

Barb You sound like you are keeping yourself really busy. Stay strong.

Cottage Could you mail me some snow? I really want some but I don't think I stand a chance of getting it any other way

Well, I finally told my mom that the wedding is indefinitely postponed. She took it really well and I am so grateful for that. Now I just have to figure out what to do about the dress. It's already been ordered and I'm expecting them to call anyday and tell me to come pick it up. Not looking forward to that at all.

Hello Ladies,

Just a quick post for tonight, I'll post more of an update tomorrow morning. I'm back on the beach! It's been a while since I kinda got away from the beach, but I've put on a few extra lbs and have decided it's now or never...plus I really want to get back into this pair of jeans I have. Hope to post more tomorrow...I hope you all are having a wonderful evening!!

Hey gals! Just checking in real quick. Connor's supposed to be doing German but he's helping Kadyn clean up her puzzles so I can scrub the kitchen floor, so I'm going to just post a quick note.

Tawny, Tom's in the Air Force. We're in South Korea right now but are leaving on the 6th to come back to New Jersey and visit with the family for about a month while Tom finishes up his year here. Then he'll get a short time at home (probably around about a week) before we all go to Germany. We're moving to Ramstein Air Base, near Frankfurt. Can't wait! This will be our ninth move in eight years of marriage, so it's not so stressful any more. I've actually thought about writing a book about moving or about moving with kids since we're such pros. This one actually seems easy because the Air Force (or rather, their contracted moving company) is packing us up and moving all our junk so all we have to do is heft our suitcases to the airport and then fly off to Europe! Sounds really tough, huh?!

OK, time to get the kid back in school-mode...

Kara