Thanks, Zeff! I think I might leave out the raviolis but the rest sounds amazing! How do you peel and cube a butternut squash? I've only ever roasted them before (cut in half raw and seeded). It sounds like the cubing would be easier because I'd let the crockpot do all the work.

Good luck with your list, Cyndi!

YAY FOR TOM!!!! That's a huge accomplishment and is so great for not only him, but Little Man, too! Glad the grumpies are coming to an end, Lisa!

Sophie, sorry for the traffic mess! We lived south of Seattle for a couple years and I worked in the city and it was a mess. I left home at 6:30 every morning to make a 40 mile drive. One day I didn't make it to school until 9:30! Yikes!

Barbara, WHAT HAPPENED to Robert?! Way to go Brian on selling the popcorn! Connor's in Tiger Cubs this year and we were only able to do one selling rotation. Tom's away and I just can't stand out in the cold with the girls for too many four hour shifts! He was having a blast, though. We were also taking donations to send popcorn down to the soldiers and airmen in Iraq and Afghanistan and they made over $400 on Connor's shift alone!

Jen, prayers to your buddy! It's so hard when you want so desperately to fix them all up.

Movielover, I was just thinking about you the other day. How are things? Are the kids treating you well?

Tom just called. He's off to Biloxi with a friend for the afternoon/evening. The kids got to talk to him earlier this evening so they were really excited.

I'm off to bed.

Kara

Welllllll, I went to the health food store today. Didn't go TOO crazy but still had a little fun. Got Little Guy some dried apples (he LOVES them) and got myself a fake turkey roast, fake chicken nuggets, and fake chicken patties. Tom even said that he'll try the fake meat and if he likes it, we can start shopping there and get fake meat instead of real, and we can all eat the same meals!!! Hopefully it's good.

Ugh, dishes time. I'll pop in later!

Kara - I stab the squash a few times and microwave for about 10 minutes. Let cool (I do this the night before and just put it in the fridge overnight), cut the ends off, halve and scoop out the seeds. The peel should come off easily.

-

What was supposed to be a trip to the farmer's market turned into a trip to Whole Foods since the market was closed due to weather. MIL really needed to pick up a whole organic chicken. We drove out to Baton Rouge and had lunch at PF Changs. I got a bunch of bulk grains that I haven't been able to find around town as well as some organic meats and a few different kinds of produce. MIL kept asking if I needed to get anything else because I wasn't really buying much...I felt bad taking advantage of her, though.

We are about to leave to go pick up DH's car from his friend's house.

Have a great night, girls!

Jen - Glad to hear that DS is doing better. DH and I were worried about the little guy.

Hi Kara.... I am doing well....I have a new job, I am a VP!!! So I have a TON more kiddos...loving life, but working way way way more!

Jen...glad to hear your DS is doing better!

I am pooped....time for a nice rainy Sat morning nap!

The day was great>Turned out the new girl worked at one of our sister hospitals a couple of years ago and worked in NICU there. So nursery is a breeze for her. I just have to teach her where things are kept and our routines.
I do get to be off during some of the week, so I should be happy. Plus, at least I can say I have a job in this economy, and a good one at that. Who can ever get tired of playing with a newborn, right?

Happy Sunday morning! I'm having coffee with some cocoa mixed in and lots of milk. A mocha latte? Want one?

No Church because our minister is very ill so I have an absolutely free day to read, dabble at stuff and cuddle my Disney Dog. If it doesn't rain, I may stack some wood. There are rumours that winter is coming.

Hope your Sunday is sunny.

I'm waiting for the coffee to finish perking before I can determine what kind of day it's going to be. I came down to find Jake sleeping on the couch. He said my snoring kept him awake most of the night. I do have a bit of a cold thingy right now, but I slept fine!

My dinner was delicious last night, and I didn't slip much except for a few bites of white rice and some wonderful brown bread. I had Jamaican black pepper shrimp with black beans and plaintains, and the rice. I had ONE glass of wine with my meal, and just had coffee for dessert. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the good company I was with.

Today we're planning to go up to the outlets to see what they have. Jake couldn't find a jacket he liked, and he wants some jeans from the Lee outlet. The kids will probably be here for supper tonight, so I'll have to see what I can make for them. Maybe chicken cacciatore?

I hope everyone's day is a good one, enjoy!
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Good morning, Ruth! Your coffee sounds good, but I need a shot of something stronger in mine this morning. I hope your minister is OK and gets well soon! Have a pleasant day, those rumors are starting around here, too.

Good Morning all.... hoping to have a dry enough day to run the lawn mower one more time, not to cut grass but to mulch leaves! ... I hate raking!

Kara...the great thing about kids, they get over being mad.. you did the right thing... congrats on getting back on track on the eating... now my turn!

Zeff, thanks for the recipe... recently I discovered I like sweet potatoes in my stews... I bet the squash is a winner as well! Hope you had a successful shopping trip!

Lisa, I'm glad your feeling better and that Tom seems to be getting over the grumpies while trying to quit! Good for him, and more money in your pocket! I've heard people taking the money they would of spent on cigs and putting it in a jar.... it's amazing how much money they save and use it for a trip to reward themselves for it!

Ugh, Sophie, 4 1/2 hrs? wow... sorry you had such a difficult time getting home, without running out of gas!!!

Barb.... even after everything your doing for Robert to see his son he's still being mean? If the judge makes you pay some of this bill I'll be upset... it's his problem, not yours! (((hugs0))

Jens, so grateful to hear he's doing better... again, praying it's not diabetes!

Good morning Ruth, enjoy your down day!

Cottage, I love the outlet malls! Such good deals, especially the one in Waterloo!!!!

Me.... well, the vet cost just under 200, and that with not getting Jade's meds she needs for her ears (I insisted they check closer at her ears, and they found yeast, I clean them so they didn't look dirty, she thought they were fine)... I did get their yearly shots... but will stop at the farm and tractor to obtain flea /heartworm preventatives... as well as the ear meds they were pushing....

I also stopped at the bank while out there, they are sending me copies of the cancelled checks so that I can send them to the management.... Management needs to stop misapplying my payments!

Me... today is clean this pigsty day... Hopefully will get to a spot where I norrmally am while working... usually only need to straighten the house during the week, but with a puppy...um, yea, right...

Hope you all have a wonderful day

Good morning! I love and hate Sundays. It's still the weekend but Mon is soo close.

Cat - Your pics of the marsh are really nice. There are some really beautiful shots there.

Weezle - Not sure if you have any Kroger Stores where you are or not. If you do, check out one of the new Kroger Marketplace stores. They have really expanded their natural/healthy food/vegetarian section. They have a lot of the products you find at Whole Foods, ect. now. I was really impressed with how much they have now.

Ruth - Your mocha latte sounds good. My husband likes to put coffee in his hot chocolate then adds whip cream on top. Of course, he's not of SB!

Me - I made bean brownies for the first time yesterday. They were a little dry but were really good & rich. I had one for breakfast this morning and I felt like I was cheating! Now I have to go make my shopping list. Today is grocery day.

Everyone else - Have a wonderful day today!

Good morning Chicks! I'm well into my first pot of coffee now so just about awake

Ruth - enjoy your day at home. I don't know about you but today is our last warm day for awhile if you believe the forecast. I've heard that rumor of yours too but I'm ignoring it.

Cottage - Sounds like a yummy and pleasant birthday dinner. DD and I like to go to Kittery when we're in Maine. DP usually goes to Starbucks and uses their internet while we shop

Lori - Sounds like a busy day there. I know what you mean about vet bills - we have had a couple of big ones in the recent past with Luna's bladder problem last spring and our other kitties cancer a few years ago. Wish there was pet insurance that was reasonable. Enjoy your weekend!

Same old weekend story here - refried beans in the crockpot, laundry, apples in the dehydrator, some kind of stew for dinner (I'm thinking of adapting Kalyn's recipe of the day), closet reorganizing (the Bob's order needs to be put somewhere!), etc. I'm going to get out for a walk this morning no matter what! Yesterday DP was feeling unwell again and went to bed early so once again I didn't work out. I've got to find a work around for that because I can't afford to miss all these days. Just because I still have a few size 8s doesn't mean I want to need them!

It's been exciting around here. Got a late night call from my best friend and work buddy - she won $20,000 on a random lottery ticket last night! She doesn't buy many of them, she is the luckiest people I know when it comes to that sort of thing. Every once in awhile her kids will drag her to bingo and she usually wins there too.
Then this morning I got an email from one of my oldest and best friends, someone I haven't heard from in almost 3 years.

Okay, time to get moving on this list Have a good day everyone!

ETA: Good morning Alta! Do you know I've still never gotten around to trying the brownies. Now I'm thinking about thema gain

I blew up my computer. I was trying to uninstall some instant messenger thingies that I don't use anymore and apparently uninstalled my entire computer by accident. System restore won't work, either, so I don't know what I'm going to do. Waiting to hear back from Dad's computer guru guy to see if there's anything we CAN do. It has all our pictures on it, of us, Little Guy, all my friends/family, etc. That's what I'll be most upset about, if I've lost all the pictures.

I have Tom's computer still, when I can fight him for it. I'm not too terribly upset about it, surprisingly, but I guess I'm being optimistic and waiting to hear the news before I have a meltdown.

Well, gonna start my day with some tea. Tom's got a case of the grouchies this morning but not near as bad as a week ago when he was yelling at at everyone and everything. Hope you all have a great day!

Lisa

Lisa - you should be able to restore the system....if you can't, commit a crime and have the FBI do it for you

Last night I made an apple cinnamon challah and plan to use it this morning for french toast. Baking is quickly becoming a serious passion of mine - I used to hate baking but loved to cook. I think I might use a little egg nog for the french toast batter.

We're having FIL over for dinner tonight. I have to get to the store to pick up more cheese for the lasagna. I bought a parmesan roasted garlic batard at WF yesterday to go with it. I'm also planning to make some ginger snaps to send home with him.

Time to get breakfast started and then start on supper. The floors needs to be mopped as well.

Have a great day, girls!

kara - Robert was riding a motorcycle the end of August and had a pickup pull out in front of him. He had open fractures of the leg and wrist, broken ribs and major pelvic fractures. He is really lucky to have survived and very lucky that the judge said I have to keep him on my health insurance until the divorce is final. He is finally able to put weight on the pelvic fractures so he is relearning how to walk. He's been in either the hospital, rehab hospital or a nursing home since and the divorce was put on hold for 90 days. His last email dealt with how unfair I was being expecting that he pays child support when he didn't even have a job before the accident. What if I couldn't support Brian on my own? Would it be more fair then if the alternative was that Brian didn't have appropriate food and clothing? Anyway, I still have to pay about a hundred a month for his insurance and he isn't paying the child support right now because he has no money. He also cashed in his IRA (around $10K apparently) when he wasn't allowed to by the divorce and now I will have to pay income taxes on that if we aren't divorced by the end of the year.

Anyway, time to head to Sunday school and church. We only have 25 more items of popcorn to deliver so we'll work on that this afternoon.

Oh Barbara. What a mess. Hopefully it'll all get worked out for the best. Your lawyer has been helpful in this whole disaster, so I'll cross my fingers and say a prayer that he (she?) will continue to be on top of things.

Hi to everyone else! Zeff, you made me laugh about telling Lisa to commit a crime!

Our Sunday is just about over. I was going to do another 30 minutes of cardio this evening but I got The American President, which I've been dying to see (again) for a couple weeks, so I think Michael Douglas is going to beat out Leslie Sansone. I'm justifying it by saying I already did an hour of cardio this morning. Sounds good, right? Right???

Have a good Sunday everyone!

Kara

Hi chicks, sorry for the disappearing act. I have been overtaken by life the last few weeks. Since I got back from vacation, work has been very intense, overwhelming to the point that I haven't even been able to keep up with the kids' stuff and things around the house. I hope that things have slacked off a bit, although I will be very busy until we meet a milestone in January, then I am hoping I will get back to my normal load.

Food hasn't been great, cooking has fallen by the wayside, mostly I just throw something together for the kids and hunt and peck for myself, try to stay on plan as well as I can, but definitely not getting the veggies I need and no exercise to speak of. Although I lost a couple of pounds the first part of October and managed to stay on plan while in Orlando, I weighed last Saturday and October was a wash. Well, a wash is better than a gain, I suppose, and there's always November.

So I spent most of this weekend cleaning, shopped, and made a plan for the week, and I hope I can get back into my routine as much as possible the coming week. I made a yummy Mexican eggplant casserole (which I'll post soon), and have a crockpot of butternut squash soup on, so I should not have any excuses left. Time for me to re-learn those lessons about planning is key and veggies are crucial to my success. Considering a Phase I detox, but haven't decided on that yet. Maybe a 1.5 will do the trick.

DH is due home on the 19th, which will be a huge relief and help. He is visiting his mom at the moment, which I guess is "on the way" from Dubai to home. He says no more 4 month trips, he is getting too old for it and misses the family too much.

I have tried to pop in and read here although I haven't taken the time to post much, so I will do my best to catch up and my apologies for anything important I've missed.

I had two passes to High School Musical 3 so I took DD2 last night while DS was staying over at a friend's house. Very cute actually, and I am not a big fan of them. DD is also kind of over it, but she thought 3 was the best of all of them.

We have a kitten that has moved in under the back porch. I am so not looking for another cat, but this baby is breaking my heart. She looks just like the gray and white I have now, but skinnier, younger, and lighter colored. I think she's about 6 months old. She is a talker too and everytime I go out there she comes out and talks to me. You can tell she is a house cat and totally scared and freaked out over the situation. I can resist the feral strays, of which there are tons in my neighborhood, but the poor house kitties that get dropped off are so sad. DD has fed her so she is here to stay. I'm looking for a home but no luck so far, and I have a sinking feeling we are back up to three cats. If that's the case I'll need to get her to a vet and get a flea treatment, she is scratching up a storm.