Dgramie, I guess we'll soon be thinking about bridal showers coming up this spring. I'm beginning to see the days counting down almost too fast. Ha, ha. DS and fiance picked out the material for the men's ties and pocket squares. That's going to be my job to make them. I made all the ties for my oldest son's wedding so I guess it's become a family tradition.

Our DIL had a baby shower yesterday where they live and received over $1000! They phoned to let us know and to guess what they received. I could hardly believe my ears. They even got a few gifts on top of the money. Her mom let everyone know that a greenback gift would be appreciated as they had many sleepers, blankets and little shirts. I guess everyone thought it a good idea. They are going to buy a dresser to match the crib with some of the money.

Tinky, I'm helping my friend with a reception for her daughter and SIL. They were married in a civil ceremony in November and are having a reception the end of January. I'm making and decorating the cake and putting the favors together for the tables.

I've had a good on plan day with both food and exercise so I'm feeling good tonight. Take care everyone.

Hi everyone,
Well after my way off Saturday, I was able to make up for it some yesterday and the rest today to put me back on track. As i might have said before I have a body bugg and it is all about the number. I am also finally getting the hang of better food choices! Can't complain about that.

Life is busy for me, I help schools raise money through auctions and t'is the season for auctions. Fun, but lots of work!

Nice to see people around the boards and I am looking forward to getting to know everyone.
-L

Hello everyone! Wow! All this talk about weddings! Mine is exactly 61 days away...Holly Molly! ahahah....Wish this weight went as fast as the days

I have really been working hard this last week and think I should see a loss this week at WI! Has anyone tried the Bertolli Classic Dinners that you find in the freezer section of the supermarket? OMG Delicous! When Steve has to work late, I usually make on of these or if we are on the go. They are about 380-500 calories a serving and the bag comes with two servings. Plenty of food. We split it acourse, but it fills you up, not bad for a dinner if you ate good all day and about 9 dollars. Had to share. I have had a couple of these already. My favorites are th chicken parm and Penne, Chicken Florentine and Farfalle and the Chicken Rigatoni and Broccoli (that one is only 380 calories) Yum! Thought I would share!

wow we are all about weddings babies and receptions right now!! My granddaguhter is 3 months old today. TIme sure flies!!! She is the love of my life!!
my daughters wedding is feb 28th.
has anyone seen a towel cake?? I made one for my daughter and its so cute!!! I used alot of pamperedchef items on it. Google them. they even have videos that show how to make them. We are using the towel cake as the centerpeice for the gift table on sat.
retire- wow 1000 is much needed by any young couple about to have a baby. Thats alot of diapers and formula!!

I've seen the towel cake but not up close just online. That's a great idea for the gift table. I should have a look at that for the next shower on the agenda.

Shannon, you must be in the midst of all kinds of plans, too, you being the bride . If you don't mind tell us a little about your wedding plans-large, small, family only or everyone you know? We're trying to keep the guest list to about 90 people because our church hall is small and the "children" don't want to rent another place as this is free.

Catch you all later. I need a nap.

Oh There is so much to tell! Big wedding. Around 200 people (hopefully since we are inviting a little more). Had a problem with inviting children because I am the oldest grandchild so I have cousins a lot younger than me but I grew up with them so they are invited. My family is pretty big the grooms, not so much. He is the most amazing man alive. He feel in love with me at my exact weight and has loved me through the gains and losses. I am one of those people that eat when I am stressed. My friend lost so much weight for her wedding from stress etc but I am trying to eat healthy if I am going to binge. Just bought 100 calorie almonds and they do help I will post pictures soon. Here is one of me and the love of my life:
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shannon - have you seen the coloring books for kids at weddings?? my daughter ordered them today.

retire_ i will try and post a pic of my towel cake..

want a good laugh....hubby was trying to be macho last night and grabbed my 2lb weights and was doing my 2mile dvd with me. I told him he would be sorry...he said no he could handle it..its just walking.....needless to say he is upstairs moaning now. His arms are killing him and his shoulders. He siad he will stick to the 1 mile dvd for awhile.

I am going to try and get my minitramp out today while i babysit...i will do 30 min and then let each kid have a few min on it.

Food has been easy lately..water is great!! Exercise is happening. I should increase it some. Scales are at my lowest so im praying I may get out of the 220 this week finally. That is if Tom stays away a few more days.
hugs to all

Shannon, your honey is a real "looker." So handsome. And you don't look overweight in that picture, you look lovely. What a nice couple you make. I'm all for kids at weddings. I know some will disagree but weddings are real family times together and where else will the kids meet and greet all their great aunts, uncles and grandparents? And it passes on those traditions and values in the family. But Dgramie I love the idea of the coloring books.

I'm definitely doing the towel wedding cake for the wedding shower. I recognize some of the pampered chef products I have that are on your cake. I looked online yesterday and found loads of sites with lots of ideas. I also found the perfect favor to go along with the towel cake--facecloth cupcakes. Here's the address to a commercial site that sells them for baby showers but it would be so easy to duplicate for a wedding shower.

etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13483211

I just have to find the right size washcloth or even dishcloth and start rolling. I know I sound like I'm overstepping my boundaries as MIL but I know her matron of honor is in school and too busy, her mother wouldn't know what or how to do favors and DS's finance is happy to have me do anything I want. I'll still run the idea through her "people" before I do anything too drastic, ha, ha. But I'm doing the cake for sure.

I just burned my oatmeal while I was posting. Now I'm letting the pot cool and see if I can salvage some of it. 3FC you've distracted me from eating!!! Have a great day and I'll catch you all later.

retire- those would be so cute. I had thought about making centerpeices for the table at a shower but friends are doing it now and its fancy....
I love pampered chef. We take up an order about every other month. I love getting all the free stuff!!! Plus my dil is a consultant. do you ever shop the outlet online?? We get lots of stuff there.

shannon_ you look wonderful and will be a beautiful bride!!!!

Thanks everyone! And yes, he is a looker! So sweet to me. I will never forget, when my mom meet him, she said, "Shannon, he has the most caring eyes". Usually i would have broken up with him since mom liked him but kept this one and now we are getting married in two months! The picture can be deceiving a little bit, because I was only about 5 pounds less than I am now in there. On a brighter note, I peeked at the scale this moring and it is definately showing a loss this week. Happy dance Happy dance!!

retire-that is sooo cute!!! I love it!

I am also a fan of pampered chef as well as tastefully simple...yummy!

Tinky, I eat steel cut oats too. I find that if you rinse the raw oats before you cook them they are less "gluey". I was watching Martha Stewart yesterday and she said soaking the steel cut oats overnight cuts down on the cooking time. I'm going to try that tonight and see how that works out. BTW, the burnt oatmeal wasn't too burned, more toasted and it tasted good, actually. Ha, ha. I had oatmeal for supper tonight-just felt like oatmeal tonight.

Weddings ideas are so subjective. My DS and his finance would be happy with an intimate reception of about 50 guests but as she has a large circle of aunts, uncles and cousins that will not be. We have quite a few ourselves but the her family has maybe double. We're trying to keep the guests to about 90-100 as we don't have anymore room in the church hall. There are no halls, clubs or restaurants in our area that cater to weddings. (We live in a very small town surrounded by more small towns.) We have service clubs like the Lions's Club or the Legion hall and church halls of course. The catering can be done by these groups or church groups but the decorating and everything else is up to the families to provide. We are doing our own catering and decorating but we are fortunate that we can work on the hall the whole week before the wedding. We don't have to pay rental fees as it's the church we attend and they don't charge church members for the use of the hall. We also have to clean it up afterwards but we'll have a full week following to do that too. I know by the time this wedding is upon us I'll be wishing we could have just rented a place and had the whole thing catered. But we don't have that option.

So far this week has been pretty good with food and not too bad for exercise. I think I'm finally getting back to my pre-Christmas exercise regime. I jogged around the house for an hour and ten minutes this afternoon and didn't feel tired (or no more tired than I usually was).

Well, I've rambled on. Catch you all later.

Tinky,
Nice to meet you too!

Kids for weddings ar tough, not just for the B and G but for the parents that have to watch them. I never felt bad when my kids were not invited, nor do I feel bad putting an age limit on kids we do invite...just my opinion...

Doing well, I am a little all over the place, I have been on the low end of calories in but I did not get to exercise yesterday or today. I have lost 5 since jan 1 so I am feeling good about that.

I am exausted! I run auctions for schools and spent the whole day working at the computer and I have been up early the last few morings and been to be late. it needs to be an early night for me...

Happy planning everyone!