This is the last thread of this year! I remember when then end of they year we barely had a thread a week and look at us now. I guess as you age you get blabbyer! It is already 64 here and is supposed to get up to 70 today. It is very overcast though. I would have loved a nice sunny day, but I will take the warm temps, that's for sure.

Susan: That is the way I have to clean house nowadays. Ever since the surgery on my colon, I get muscle cramps when I walk, bend, etc too much. I asked the doctor and he said losing weight might help, but the fact my colon was stretched as much as it could be also could be a life long issue. I sit and knit or read or watch tv, then a commercial will come on and I will pop up and do some work, etc. I don't do that upstairs though. I clean the bathrooms on one day, the dusting and vacuuming the next.

Jean: Since you had a warm up and melting then freezing again are you all icy streets and such now? How does Ernie handle the winter weather? BTW, I don't think I have ever asked, but why the name Ernie?

Maggie: Jack is off today so we are doing up the laundry, and treating ourselves to lunch out. I have a bit of cabin fever as I have been in the house all week pretty much. Jack doesn't like sweet potatoes, but I keep swearing I am going to start eating them instead of regular potatoes. I would really like to try sweet potato fries sometime too. I wonder if you can get them frozen, do you know?

We got the invitation from Thomas yesterday for his reception for scouts. Thomas will receive his Arrow of Light on January the 10th, which puts him into boy scouts and they are having a reception for him at their house the end of the month.

Well gals, need to get some breakfast in me and get things going this morning. Have a grand weekend all and look forward to seeing you here in 2011! Let's make this the best weight loss year for us all! Faye

Good Morning, Flowers! It's dark and gloomy here, wind chill is at 0 right now. We've had rain, snow, and now sleet is hitting the siding. I'm waiting for Bob to come home for lunch. The office is closed this afternoon and Monday, but it seems like a lot of his clients decided this is the week to review their policies and want it done yesterday. He will probably go back and work in peace and quiet this afternoon if the weather isn't too bad. I've done laundry and need to iron . . . maybe later.

Maggie -- We always say if you don't like IA weather, just wait a couple of hours for something different! I don't know why but I always think of Kansas as being the "great plains and Indian territory" from when I was a kid. It would be interesting to hear stories from a local native.

"Gma" -- It was 37 degrees on our thermometer this morning and the street looked dry. I'm assuming it could be slippery now because of the wind, rain, snow, and sleet. I'm so ready for spring! The vet's office had named Ernie something else so they could do his paperwork in the computer. When we got him, we didn't like his name (can't even remember it now), and he just looked like an Ernie. I remember the Arrow of Light ceremony; it doesn't seem possible that Thomas is growing up so fast.

Have a GREAT day today -- erase the old bad habits today and begin some new good ones tomorrow.

Jean -- from Iowa!

Our WW leader gave each of us a small eraser that will fit on a pencil, and this poem. I chose a bright pink one that makes me think of spring.

The Gift of an Eraser

A new year is upon us,
Fresh goals are being set;
But doubts and fears still linger
From past ones we haven't met.

Erase away those doubts and fears
That you will not succeed.
Commitment and positive attitude
Are really all you need.

You have it in you to reach your goal,
Of that I have no fear.
So "erase" those mistakes and look ahead
To a new beginning for a new year.

Please take this little eraser
To help you create a clean slate.
Wipe away doubts, fears, and "failures"
I just know you're going to do GREAT!

Good evening, ladies! It was up in the low 60s today and the sun was out. We still have snow but it should be gone in another day or 2.

I went to WW this morning. I gained but I was expecting it. Glory doesn't eat healthy at all and 4 days of that, plus some comfort eating, did me in. I'm still down 8.2 for the month and happy with that. Tomorrow is a new day and a new year. My grandma always said that on New Year's Day you have to do the things you want to continue doing all year. I'll be tracking, getting in my 9 GHGs, quilting and I guess I should do a little housework. Of course, I'll be posting to you. My bee was fun. I also bought fabric for a new quilt. I just couldn't resist it. I think that will be my project for the January retreat.

Faye, they do have sweet potato fries in the frozen food section. I get McCann's and I think Ore-Ida just came out with them, too. They are good. T was just a little boy when I first 'met' you. How time flies.

Jean, thanks for the eraser poem and idea. I think I'll make some copies, get some erasers at the Dollar Store and pass them out to my WW friends. I did put it into my journal for next year.

Maggie, you are already to get back to WW. This will be our year to just do it. I swore when I went back this time I wasn't going to quit until I got to goal, no matter how many ups and downs it took. I'm sure doing better with the new plan. I have my exercise days on the calendar for January. I give myself a star sticker when I have done it. I'm adding some more machines to the weights and changing my classes a little. I'm going to try a step aerobics class, a Senior Power class, and Seniorcise.

Well, time to get my menu together for next week so that I get off to a good start. Do you all have any foods you eat on New Year's Day for luck? I'm an old German girl and its sauerkraut and pork for me.

Have a good evening.

Here's another WW reminder for the new year:


If you bite it, write it If you drink it, ink it
If you snack it, track it If you nibble it, scribble it.
If you bite it, write it. If you drink it, ink it.
If you snack it, track it. If you steal it, reveal it.
If you sneak it, leak it. If you chose it, disclose it.
If you hog it, log it. If you grab it, blab it.
If you indulge it, divulge it. If you ingest it, you guessed it!
If you hog it, log it. Grab your pencil before your utensil!
If it goes in your Smacker, it goes on your Tracker.

Ladies move to thread #1. I swear I went through two pages of threads and my #61 was not on my screen. Weird!