Good Morning Chicks! Haven't said that in a LONG time. I'll be quite busy today. I need to finish decorating the house and then I'll plan my holiday meals and baking and make the grocery list. I think I'll wrap all day tomorrow. I'm determined not to let things slip to the last minute. That last minute stress has ruined some of my holidays in the past. Since Cameo isn't here this year, I can actually put the packages under the tree as I wrap them. She was absolutely in love with the bows. She'd stand on the packages and pluck the bows off! Somehow she'd always know when there was a bow in the house. It's been 2 months since she's gone and I still miss her so much that my heart aches.

A couple of you asked about Cassie. She's holding her own. She was in testing around our anniversary in the middle of November. The Internist thinks she may be atypical Cushings which is why we've had to chase her results so much. She is being treated twice daily with Melatonin until the middle of February to see if that will control her symptoms. Melatonin is a human supplement to induce sleep. The Vet community is using it for canine/feline atypical Cushings which is normally a sex hormone abnormality. It's kind of cool that they have more latitude to try things out. She's still drinking excessively and is ravenous. They say it takes 2-4 weeks and we ended week 2. Thanks for asking about my baby!

I'm going to start a message thread. I hope you'll all join in with your lovely Core/Flore menus!

It is so good to see everyone here!

Frouf, it has been really cold here too. Not minus anything yet but we had single digits. We also had a horrible snowstorm go through Chicago a little over a week ago. That was a trial! Tell DH that I am afraid to fly also. I had to fly for work so my Doctor have me Xanax. It works like a charm. I take it (I think 5 mg) right as we are boarding. It doesn't make me sleep it just turns off my panic button. Maybe he should give it a try.

Sandra, Welcome Home! Did you go to weigh in yesterday? I'm sorry I didn't get to give you any pre-blinks. How did you do? Jim and I don't do separate vacations either! Fortunately we both have similar travel desires. I didn't really feel like Christmas either this year but my Niece poked and prodded until I got in the spirit. She's a good friend.

Melissa, I'll be happy when your life calms down a bit for you. It's hard to get pregnant when you're all tense and stressed.

Kathy, how's Mom? Did she get the transfusion? I love your plan to go out and get a small fresh tree. That's just the thing to put anyone in the Christmas spirit. Maybe you could put it in your Family Room where the ceilings are lower? That's where we have ours because we are never in the living room. I want to look at my tree once I decorate it! I buy the 10 coupon pack and I've sampled the etools. I didn't use them very much. However, you're geting me excited to go back and look again. I do so love gadgets and stuff like that. There is a monthly plan that I could buy that would give me free access. I won't be able to do that for a long time though because I think Jim bought me a 10 coupon booklet for Christmas and I have at least 6 coupons of my own left. Maybe they'll give us another free pass.

Paula, it's good to see you back too! Isn't life crazy at this time of year? All I really know is that the changes will be given to me at my meeting on Monday. I've heard rumors that the tweaks are more to Flex than Core but there will be some adjustments to Core. I don't know any details. I'm thinking about buying a new Daily Food Companion though.

Rhonda and Frouf, I'm SO glad you met and had a fun time! It cracks me up to hear the two of you making requests to the Mariachis! I'm the one usually diving under the table and trying not to make eye contact. I hate when the entire room is looking at me!

Rhonda, I'll see if I can come up with some Core snacks too. Rachael Ray just made the toasted garbanzo's on her show yesterday. She said you can spice them whatever way you want and they get crunchy like nuts. I'll have to try them. She didn't even use any oil in the pan which is VERY unlike little miss EVOO!

Angela, it's good to see you too! I missed you. Christmas is SO much more fun with kids around. You're smart not to overbook. I'm glad you're holding your own. I am too but it's time to get in gear.

Rhonda got me thinking. I want to eat all the special holiday treats too. I've decided that I will be on program for absolutely as many meals as I can. I will splurge at certain meals and then immediately go back on program at the next meal. Exercise is still hard for me but I will do as much as I can. Life is short and I have to enjoy it without depriving myself but also without treating myself to excess.

I'm starving so I'm off to start my day. Be well. I have little hope of being back until tomorrow.

Oh, that is SO me too! It's nice to know I'm not the only one!

I made some roasted garbanzos the other day and put chili powder and garlic powder on them. They're good and crunchy, but very spicy! I wish I could think of a good use for them ... thought about sprinkling on a salad but I don't know how I'd get them on the fork!

Very good plan, Vickie, about not feeling deprived. I read something the other day that went something like "just because you accidentally break one egg doesn't mean you have to throw the other 11 on the floor too!" I thought how true!

I have been eating as Core as can be, with the exception of my daily Coke. I suppose there are some things that I absolutely cannot do with out. I have started going to a convenience store for it though, instead of a drive-thru window at a fast-food place. That way I can put mostly regular Coke and a little bit of diet. I think if I adjust it every few days and gradually put more diet in and less regular, I can someday learn to like all diet. Well, it's the plan anyway!

I saw a few changes this morning when I opened up the Plan Manager. One was that they have added more places to check off water, oil, and vegetables, and then added a check off for exercise too. I don't think the requirements have changed though, because in the Daily Healthy Checks it still lists 6 glass of water, two tsps. of oil, etc.

There was a little section on changes to the website, and it says for those of you on the Core plan, look out for some rule changes around snacking. Now I wonder what THAT means?

I also wonder if the subscriber e-tools are the same as the WW online membership tools? If so, I can't tell you enough how awesome they are. They absolutely make me WANT to stay on plan, and how kooky is that?? It's not really like journaling, although it sort of is (just contradicted myself, didn't I?), but it's nice to check off the different things, keep track of WPAs used, log my Comfort Zone, etc. It's also nice to be able to put something like "Progresso Tomato Basil soup" in the search box and have it find it for me. All the Core foods have the checkmark by them, so they don't even tell you how many points it would have been if it wasn't a Core food (like they do on the Flex plan). Okay, enough about that.

My mom said they are waiting thru the weekend to see how she does. She still has no strength and is very white, so if it was me I'd request that they do it anyway. I mean, what would be the harm in it? Her red blood count is obviously low.

Oh as for my Christmas tree plan, your description of Cameo made me laugh. Zuki opened the Christmas gifts last year while nobody was looking. I have no idea why, because none of them had his name on them, but Judd said it's because he can't read. I guess he's right.

Happy saturday! Here I am - back from synagogue - thanks Rhonda and Kathy for your kind thoughts. I very much like the ritual of standing up and saying the 'mourner's kaddish" prayer in memory of my mom altho it is a bit sad. There were a couple of ladies up on the altar doing the prayer for the 'soldiers' and it was so moving cuz one of them could not make it thru to the end - she started crying halfway thru - and you could see everyone else wiping their eyes - the Rabbi came up and helped her out - very touching.

There was also a bar mitzvah today - quite exciting- with a LOVELY buffet lunch to follow - and guess what the frouf found? Yes mini bagels w/cream cheese and SMOKED SALMON!! yum yum -downed 3 halves, some salad, and a couple of party sandwiches....very nice!

Home now and BACK IN MY JAMMIES - yes up early - turns out ds' alarm clock did not go off and he had an exam this morning (comes to see me at 9:15 and exam is at 9:45!!!). so I got dressed in my synagogue clothes - threw my makeup in a bag and rushed out of the house. I did not sleep well so I am planning a nice nap this afternoon as we have a party to go to tonight!

Vickie - good luck w/the menu planning and wrapping! sounds like you are trying to stay organized and destressed! As for the mariachis - trust me there was nowhere to hide! We were at a small table for 2 - against the wall - literally boxed in and surrounded by the mariachis - I got to practice some of my spanish - but found out it was very rusty! ha ha ha

Sandra - How was WI? did you enjoy the massage? did you come home feeling like a limp noodle? Did I ever tell you about the SEXY YOUNG MALE massage therapist I used to visit? (oh my!).

Angela - let us know about the breakfast in bed! Do you help them? or do they make it themselves? I remember frequently forcing myself to eat the burnt toast and ice cold coffee- yum yum.

Almost naptime!

Frouf

P.S. Did everyone notice the mysterious disappearance of Suzanne's message about shutting down the Core Board? Good news for us I hope!

Kathy have you been to the WW core board? There's much talk about the alleged "changes" there!

I did check it out. I saw where one person said they couldn't have Diet Coke Chicken anymore because ketchup was taken off the Core list. Well, HA! No, it isn't! I just checked my approved list and it has all ketchups marked as Core. I'm not too sure what that was all about!

Here's what one person said:

My take on it is this ... there's not much change.

Maybe people who have meetings this week can get more info. The info that I have access to doesn't seem to be any different at all. Maybe I'm missing something big? Otherwise, sounds like much ado about nothing.

hi, chickies. it's gorgeous here! lots of white stuff around everywhere. curtis and i have been sort of hibernating this afternoon. it's good to be cozy and lazy.

rhonda, i know what you mean about clothes getting tight. i think all that saved me from having a big gain was that i lost almost 5 lbs the first 2 weeks we were gone. i'm blocking out the fact that i regained those lbs and trying to focus on just gaining .2 since leaving missoula. am i fooling myself?

i haven't gotten back into w a yet but will next week. i need to move this old bod around some.

angela, i love reading what your girls are doing. that's so sweet about dad's bfast in bed. makes me smile.

we prob won't put up a tree. right now, i don't care but i'll prob be sad about it later. or maybe not.

kathy, a 6 ft tree will probably look all right. that's still pretty big, don't you think?

vickie, i'm glad your niece did that for you. i hope cassie is all right. keep us posted. i probably need someone to poke and prod some spirit into me, too. i had never heard of dogs taking melatonin. that's interesting. i got a recipe magazine today from kraft kitchens. i'm going to read through it later to see if any would work for us.

our ww leader says that if you spill a bit of milk, you don't automatically dump the rest of the gallon onto the floor. i like your plan to eat what you want then get back on program. another thing is :"sit down and eat with dignity." i've always liked that saying.

i used to have a cat that would knock the tree down. we had numerous catastrophes but the cat was worth every one.

frouf, i posted to you last night about your mom but didn't get it online. my heart hurts for you. i know exactly how you feel missing your mother. i still dream of mine, too. what i like to think is what was said in "lion king." (but i change it a bit) she lives on through me.

i had a sexy young male therapist!!! i'm going back tuesday!!!! (need i say more?) i gained 2/10ths of a pound. i take that as a reprieve from the weightloss governor. (did i post that already?) :confused:


i love it!! the core board lives!!!!

thank you so much, suzanne. we all appreciate what you're doing for us providing us this wonderful place to share our lives with one another.

Hey Chicks! I finished decorating and I'm pooped. Jim and I are going to lay on the couch. My chicken was spoiled and Jim and I ate pizza. Darn...I know I could have chosen better but I was tired and emotional. I REALLY need to call the library to find that book about emotional eating. At least it was paper thin crust with just mushrooms and cheese. Sigh. I'll be better tomorrow.

Cindy is still on life support. It's been a week today. I spoke to her husband, Doug, today. She is not rejecting the marrow yet so we continue to pray. I've heard that coma patients can hear so....I asked Doug to put the phone up to Cindy's ear so I could talk to her. I told her how much I love her and how much I admire her fight and determination. I told her I was praying for her and living for the day that she can talk back to me. Please keep praying for her.

Frouf, I'm so sorry about your Mom. I think that you have a beautiful tradition to remember her by. I still miss my Mom very much too. She's been gone for 7 years now. With the 7 years of Alzheimers, it's really longer.

I'll be back tomorrow. Kiss your loved ones everyone....while they are here to know it and appreciate it.

vickie, cindy is in my prayers.

Vickie, she's definitely in my prayers.

Good Morning Chicks! I slept fitfully...lots of crazy dreams. Must have been the half ton of garlic on the pizza last night! I have much to do today. The decorating is as done as it is going to get. Today is wrapping day. I don't have as much as usual since Jim and I tried to scale back this year a bit. The Vet bills really took their toll.

Kathy, I got the idea from RR that you could eat the roasted garbanzos in place of nuts? I have some white cheddar popcorn sprinkle that I might try on them. I plan on just eating them in my fingers. Would they taste good in soup instead of a crunchy cracker? Nothing wrong with a special coke treat every day. How many points does it cost you? Good luck weaning yourself. It would be great if you could. Is Progresso Tomato Basil good? I need new soups. How is your Mom today? How is Zuki the package opening devil? Are his health problems all resolved?

Frouf, I'm really craving bagels and cream cheese. After the pizza indulgence/emergency last night I just need to put those bagels out of my mind. It's hard to lose a loved one. I hope your celebration of your Mom's life made you feel closer to her. I didn't notice that Suzanne's message disappeared but I am very happy.

I am in SUCH deep trouble if they take ketchup off of the list! Cola chicken and cola sloppy joes are two of my favorite dishes. I'm sure there will be confusion for weeks on what they mean. I think I'll stay away from the WW boards for a while.

Sandra, Congratulations! You were away from home for many, many weeks....eating out in restaurants and in other people's homes and you only gained .2 of a pound! Goodness gracious Woman....you should be jumping for joy! Forget those 5 pounds and be happy. I think you did incredibly well. I vote that you decorate if even only a tiny bit. I've been forcing myself to do it this year and actually I'm very happy that I did. We didn't do a ton but it looks really nice and it's helping me to be in the spirit. You're done with your family celebration but you and Curtis are still something to celebrate, right?!

Thanks for all the prayers, Girls. Cindy would be grateful as am I.

It's time to eat breakfast. I'm going to change yesterday's menu and post today's. I think I'll start shaking up my breakfast a bit to see if I can start losing again. I'll read the sale papers and then on to wrapping!

I'll be back on my breaks to check on all of you.

Lurkers....please post with us. We all were new at one time or another. We really do love the enthusiasm and wisdom of fellow Corers!

Good morning! Er ... late morning, that is! I'm having a slow start but at least I'm up and dressed. I started a load of laundry and will do a few more, peel potatoes for some soup, and then think about what else needs to be done. Kate might come over today and help me with some things. At least, I hope she does. Erin needs to study and I'd rather not have Judd involved.

I bought Zuki a doggy tent last night. He has been quite the camping dog this fall and so it's actually just a funny little thing to commemorate that. Maybe he'll actually go in and sleep in there, but it would probably more than likely be Precious who goes in. She likes closed-in places more than Zuki does. And of course, Bindy or the cat won't even fit in it. It's really small.

The garbanzo beans do taste like nuts and are very crunchy. I took the bag to work for a snack, but then I ended up adding them to some Chex mix that I had made for neighbor gifts. I'll be making some more soon because I wanted to take some to my mom next weekend. It would be a good snack for her.

She's still hanging in there. I guess the doctor will tell her more tomorrow about their plans.

I do believe that Cindy can hear you. When my sister was in a coma, we made sure nobody said anything in the room that was negative and that it was all peaceful in there. We played music, and read aloud, and if anyone came in who was crying, we herded them right back out the door. I'll really be keeping her and her family in my prayers.

Well, I'd better get going. I just remembered that I have to go to Michael's today to look at frames. We had enlargements made of a photo we had and are giving one to Judd's parents, brother/SIL and sister/BIL. It's of Judd's grandpa's old tobacco barn. There's a lady at work who is a very good graphic artist and she made black and white enlargements for us that are so much better than my first three attempts: once at CVS, once at Walgreens, and once at a photography specialist. Can you believe the specialist (Wolf Camera & Video) was the WORST of the three? Anyway, I found this lady and she did an incredible job. And THEN she made me one that's a small poster size and did a "Van Gogh" effect on it. It looks exactly like a painting. I'm having that one framed to put over our fireplace. His family doesn't know we're doing this: Judd took the picture the last time he was in Kentucky. They will really be surprised.

Have a happy day, everybody, and stay warm!

kathy, that's very interesting about the lady redoing old photos. i've heard of that but never delved into it. the family will all love their gifts. what a great idea!

vickie, you're right. we should do some decorating. i'll probably start going through and putting up a few things. i think we have a small artificial tree. if we do (how can i not be sure?), i'll put it up.

curtis and slept late then went to the archery center to visit and play. we've just finished lunch and now i'm at play again but on the puter this time. i'm going to do some surfing to see if i can get some holiday food ideas. i'll post what i find here on the recipe thread.

have a super sunday, everyone.

Sandra, it's actually a new photo. He took it 2-3 years ago when he was there visiting his grandma. The picture sat in a drawer and recently we decided to do something with it. The real picture is a 4x6 and the barn is teeny in the background. She blew it up, cropped it, made B&W, color and sepia prints from it, and then the poster size. The barn is probably 100 years old but still standing.

Still no tree here ... the store I wanted to get it from had two icky looking trees left. I'm just about tempted to say screw it. Maybe when we do our family Christmas, we'll just sit around in the family room. I suppose I could still go get the other stuff out of the attic, like the "sitting around decorations" and put out the Macy's snowglobes. Maybe I'll do that in a while.

I'm making bags for all the neighbors and co-workers, which is 60 people. So far, I have chex mix, puppy chow, and popcorn with almond bark and sugar sprinkles. MIL sent me a big bag of pecan halves yesterday so I might also make some pralines. I'm thinking that next Sunday is going to be my big day for all this. The chex mix is made because it lasts forever; I can make the popcorn tonight but the other stuff will have to be right before I give it.

At least it smells good in here. Right now we still have the worstershire-y smell because I put the chex mix back in for a bit. Dinner is practically cooked (purchased the rotisserie chicken) and broccoli/corn won't take any time at all.

I think I've punched out for the day.

kathy, i think i can smell your kitchen. yummy!