Why not have it either night? Whoever can make it...can make it!

Well, I'll be a monkey's patoot!
I went back and looked and both Barb and Connie put Sunday in THEIR welcome to the thread. So I guess I missed the boat. I'm soooooo sorry. I'm going back to delete my Chat announcement. So now all these replies will just look silly!

"I didn't do it. You didn't see me do it. You can't blame me!"

Sandy - Don't feel bad, I'm not blonde and I'm confused. I only changed my thread intro to Sunday because I thought it had been changed.

Kat had a good idea - Sat and Sun and just pick what works for your personal schedule. Doesn't matter to me.

Sorry for the confusion!

I'm confused too. I thought moving chat was a question we were responding too but I'm up for both nights

Good Evening All!


I am finally taking a break from ironing, sewing, packing....it's been a long day. Tomorrow it's house cleaning. I have given Jeff a few chores to do. We'll see how that goes. The extent of his helpfulness today included trying on a pair of pants for me to hem and nodding his head as I packed his clothes. He is no good at stuff like that. However, you'd think he might do something else productive while I am working?!?! He spent the entire day playing his computer game. He "says" he'll help clean. Yeah, right!

Tina - It was good to see you back here last night! I did miss you! Trey is adorable. I doubt he wants to be called "adorable". He looks like he is trying to be tuff! Good job on the eating and exercising!

Thin - One point Potato soup??? I'd love that recipe! : I had all my coins counted last week --- for cruise money. I had about $150 - I get lots of small bills for tips and whatnot. The next batch of coins will have to go toward the Oklahoma trip.

Kat -- Sorry to hear about the hassle with work last night. Ugh. I hope you managed to get Survivor in sometime. Man, that team is just falling apart! I was so happy for "Blackbeard" when he beat out the young, tough guy!

Syn - Congrats on the loss thus far. Don't let yourself get frustrated. You are going in the right direction and that's important. Don't forget, none of us gained this weight overnight, we are not going to lose it overnight! Keep on working!

Andria - I'm with you --- it's been too quiet around here. I hope everyone is doing well! Stop in and let us know! I'm also with you on the free shoe shopping!!! Jeff never understands when I need new shoes!

Sandy --- Good job on tracking your points. You thought you blew it, but when you added it up you did ok!! It's so important to journal everything!!!

Mary - Hey gal!! I am here with you!!!

I think it's about time to get comfy in bed with my book! Catch you all tomorrow!
Love,
Barb

Split Pea Soup with Ham

2 1/4 cups dried split peas {1 pkg}
2 quarts cold water (Or chicken broth...ar a combination of both)
1 1/2 pounds ham bone (I've also used a package of ham hocks...3-4)
2 onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pinch dried marjoram
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 potato, diced (I partially cooked the potatoes while the peas soaked then added them later...used the "potato water" to thin the soup later when it got too thick...)


Directions
1 In a large stock pot, cover peas with 2 quarts cold water or broth and soak overnight. If you need a faster method, simmer the peas gently for 2 minutes, and then soak for l hour.
2 Once peas are soaked, add ham bone, onion, salt, pepper and marjoram. Cover, bring to boil and then simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3 Remove bone; cut off meat, dice and return meat to soup. Add celery, carrots and potatoes. Cook slowly, uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.


This is even better after a few days in sitting in the frig...

It comes out to about 3 points per cup...really more like 2.5, but I rounded up! Very hearty and very filling...

Anyone else????

Hello Chickies,

CONFUSED???, ME TOO!!! I WENT TO CHAT LAST NIGHT! NO BODY THERE. SO IS IT SAT OR SUNDAY, OR BOTH, PLEASE ADVISE

Still hanging in, didnt get to post all day yesterday, just "plum tuckered out", this crazy work schedule of mine, you know, worked till 9 Friday night, then back at 6:30am yesterday, ugh!!! INSANITY!! I stay tired alllllllllll the time. I sure hope I get that other job if for no other reason than better, more stable hours. hope to hear something soon, you know the waiting is always the hard part.

Tina, cute pic of Trey!

Kat, soup sounds good, I made chili last night, just had one bowl, I was good! (wanted more of course ).

Sandy, Barb, thin, Syn, Mary, Andria, and all the rest of you have a great day. Check in later, gotta go

Yawn. I slept in until 10AM and I'm not going to feel guilty because I haven't started laundry yet. I'm not. I havent' been able to catch up with all of you in days and I feel like I'm missing something from my life. Glad that we will be chatting on Sunday's too. I can never get to it on Saturday evening. I see that's it's been quiet around here. I guess we are all getting busy with fall stuff.
My food has been good, I would have like to workout a little more than I have been but I'm not going to kill myself over it. I am still 3 pounds away from Onederland and I cannot wait.
We are having a Halloween party on the 31'st and I've been busy planning for that. I am determined to be under 200 by that point. Besides, Tom and I are going as GI Joe and GI Jane and I want to look as fit as possible. Not to mention I'll be seeing some of my friends I haven't seen in over a year. I'm so nervous that they won't notice my loss. Is that selfish thinking?
Anywhoo...sorry I've been MIA lately. I am going to try and make it to chat tonight. I hope to catch up more then.


Kat,
Thanks for the recipe on Split Pea. I love it, I haven't had that in years. I really think I'll stop by the store and pick up the indgredients. Yummy for lunches. You are such a good person for getting up to go to work. I could never do it. Enjoy your visit with your daugter!

Barb,
You deserve this cruise tremendously. Look at how far you've come in the past few weeks! Enjoy yourself, you are worth it. (that sounds like a Revlon commercial)

Mary,
How are things with you? Hope all is well.

Thin,
I know just how you feel. Sometimes it's like I've missed a ton and I'll never catch up with these ladies. I think the discussion on Sunday chat happened about 2 weeks ago. It was very subtle, so easy to miss.

Syn,
Congratulations on your loss!! You are doing great!


Tina,
Your son is adorable. It's cute how he is trying to look so tuff but his baby face spoils it!

Hello to Andria, Peek, and anyone else I happened to miss in my Sunday morning sleepy stupor.



Chat with you all later I hope!

Natalie...I keep forgetting to ask...what did you and Tom end up doing for your "date?" Inguiring minds want to know...I want to start doing something like that with my honey....'course not on Sunday during football season! Maybe that will be a New Year's Resolution!

Speaking of football, dh and ds are going to see the Eagles play the Giants on the 19th...dh has a contact at work who is a huge Eagle fan, as is dh. (here in Giant country) This guy works for Hess Oil and has seats in the "Hess box" ...inside seating on the 50 yard line, catered...the whole deal. I'm not invited. Whatever. I really need to get a hobby (not eating!) if they're going to keep leaving me alone on the weekends!

Okay, come out, come out wherever you all are!

Oh, thanks for asking Kat. I took him on a romantic picnic. We went to a beautiful park nearby and sat on the edge of a creek with a covered bridge. It was really nice. I packed a basket of munchies and sparkling cider (no alcohol in the park allowed). We wrapped up in blankets and watched the water. Next month it's his turn so we'll see what he comes up with.


Here's a pic of our "spot"
We were sitting to the right of the bridge in this pic. Gorgeous!

Hey everyone

I got half my article done last night! Once I finally got that first line going, it seemed to flow pretty well. I am not a natural writer. Some people can sit down and write on whatever, whenever. Me, it takes a lot more work. I do think it is like any other talent, though. The more you use it, the easier it becomes. Those opinion pieces used to take me 3-5 hours to write, and now most come together in about an hour.

I feel as if someone was beating me up yesterday and I didn't notice until this morning. Part has to do with the company work party and a few high fat items I indulged in, part is probably the half of the bundt cake I made and brought home. I tried to give it away there, but there were no takers. I should have thrown it in the trash. I didn't eat the entire half, no worries there, but I did have 3 more thin slices, and with all the other rich foods yesterday, my gut is just rumbling at me this morning.
The other part was a woman who kept talking to me for the first hour and had a cigarette in her hand the entire time. I'm mildly allergic to cigarette smoke, and it was just making me cough and choke yesterday. I kept trying to shift away from her, but couldn't break away for the longest time. I'm never sure how to handle that sort of situation. Because I couldn't think of a solution, I spent the night coughing hard and my lungs feel a little shredded. Is there a polite way to handle it? Most smokers here are kind of touchy to begin with, so I never know. My honey suggested it would be like someone coming over to our house and objecting to the cats loving on them because they are allergic. We scoop up our furry babies and zoom them off to another room when that happens. Anyway, etiquette answer from anyone? I'm clueless, as you can tell.

I'm going to be a bad mommy and shoo the girls off to the other room with a video so I can finish my writing. When I'm trying something new, like this style of writing, I can't have any distractions. I'm not even close to nice when they do, unless it is something important. We set fire and blood as the parameters, just so you know...

Andria

Ooooh, Natalie! The only way we see bridges like that around here is if they are in a calendar! Not that we don't have pretty scenery... I do live just outside Zion National Park, but it just isn't like that.

Andria

Ok Kat, I'll see you and raise you one. I stole this recipe from Syn a long time ago and it is delicious....and oh so filling!

Potato Soup

1 bag O’brien frozen hash browns
1 large can fat free chicken broth
1 envelope country gravy mix
spices to taste (basil, oregano, salt, pepper, thyme)

Put frozen potatoes, chicken broth and seasonings in a soup pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer until potatoes are thawed. Mix gravy mix in about a ½ cup water and whisk to get rid of most of the lumps. Add to soup. Simmer on low until the gravy mix thickens the broth a bit. Soup will thicken further as it stands.

Makes about 8 cups. 1 WW point per cup

Here's my "raise you one".

Magic Chili

2 cans Bush’s Magic Chili
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 bag Morningstar Farms soy crumbles

Mix all ingredients together in pot. Heat through.

Makes 6 servings. 3 WW points per serving.

Thanks for you soup recipes! : I will have to try these! I copied and saved them so I am not searching back through threads next month!

Warning --- whining ahead.....

It amazes me what PMS can do to a woman! I was feeling great a couple days ago -- very excited for the cruise, getting everything done. Now I just want to go crawl in bed and eat chocolate! I've done nothing today. Woke up with plans of going to the gym - instead I sat on the couch and watched 6 episodes of Sex in the City. Then went out for lunch and had a big, unhealthy pasta! I did managed to iron a few things and pack a little more. Now I am an hour away from the Eagles game which will consist of more couch-potatoing!!! I just have zero motivation today and can feel all these PMS hormones kicking in. I just hope TOM arrives soon so I get it over with before leaving. I'd rather be PMS'd now than next week!

Ok, whine session done! Thanks for listening! I love you guys!!!
Barb

I'll try to pop back in later in a better mood!