Good Evening, Flowers!
We have been to the grocery store . . . I wanted to take some food when we go to visit Ian and his parents tomorrow. I hate to brave the crowd on Saturday morning so went this evening. I am so glad that it is Friday! Today was a long day at school -- actually this has been a long week!

The hospital has a website if you want to see a picture of Ian. It's www.FloydValleyHospital.com and right now he is the first baby on the list.

Seren Dee -- I didn't see the program but have been reading about it in the newspapers. All you have to do is go to the mall or any public place and be a people watcher. The % of overweight people is growing by the day. That always inspires me to try a little harder.

Gail -- I'd like to see 85 degrees again! It's 37 here and windy! Congratulations on your loss! Yes, Amanda still had to have a c-section since the baby was breech; he was more catty-wampus than straight up and down breech. She was scheduled to go in for one today anyway. Jason thought they would check her and send them home. Amanda is 6' so she didn't look like she was 9 months pregnant and wasn't all that uncomfortable yet. I talked to her today and she's moving pretty slow. Little Mr. Bennett was being pretty vocal so we didn't talk long. He's the only baby there so is getting lots of attention from the hospital staff.

Bubbles -- Cookies are one of my favorites! Did you order you walking tapes on line? I've been thinking about getting some and didn't see any in our one and only place to shop.

Maggie -- Be sure and let us know when Cindy has her . Do they know if it is a boy or girl? I'll bet they are so anxious!

I'm off to bed. Have a super weekend!

Jean -- from Iowa!

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

Looks like we are now at the new server. Thank you Suzanne for moving us to a bigger site.

I know there was a post from Mare in the old server but those posts over there weren't moved. I know I said something about getting some delicious strawberries at the green grocers.... anyway this is a new day and we have been to Wall-Mart already to get some things for my mom. I will be weighing in on Wednesday since my regular time will be a holiday this coming week.

JEAN that is such a cute baby! Hope baby and mother are doing well. Cindy does know what her will be and his name is Daniel. I will surely post when she has him. She has been doing fine during her pregnancy.

Everyone have a lovely day.

GOOD EVENING MAGNOLIAS

JEAN: Congratulations Grandma!!!! How wonderful it feels to see the second generation come along. I am sure you will be walking on air for a while. I, too, love the name Ian. Hope Amanda feels stronger each day. In this day and age how long was she able to stay in the hospital after the c-section birth...I was in for 12 days but that was over over 40 years ago For some reason I was not able to access the hospital address but I am sure Ian is the most beautiful baby there.

MAGGIE: Good Luck on Wednesday but actually luck has nothing to do with it. You are so good and conscientious any thing other that a loss is only a bump in the road.

We just got back from a Thanksgiving dinner at the Independence Manor where DH is on the board of directors. They had a Mass and then all the residents had a turkey dinner made by the kitchen staff and served by volunteers. The staff had volunteered their time as well. All had a wonderful time and they even had raffle and had 8 to ten small items that were won by various residents. The residents are mostly elderly...some couples and some single people. Most are able to get about and even have their own cars but others are more infirm and need oxygen and or wheel chairs. But they all are active in some way in the various activities run by the manor. It was a fun and very gratifying afternoon.

Gloria in MA.....think I will go up and take a nice bubble bath and relax.

GOOD EVENING MAGNOLIAS

Cindy had her baby on Saturday: Daniel Lester, 20 inches long; 6 pounds 9 ounces heavy.

GLORIA thank you so much for your vote of confidence in me. I certainly appreciate it. I love to go to those functions at "rest" homes. The old folks are so very interesting...the old men especially I think. Probably I say the old men because they just love me! Cowboy gets such a kick out of it but they really do love to talk to me.

Good Morning

It was a fairly busy, cold, cold, snowy weekend. I cooked my turkey yesterday so I could have some leftovers and had a few side dishes. I remembered why I don't have dressing in the house very often. I love that stuff.

Jean - What a beautiful baby!!!! And I like that name Ian.

Gloria - Sounds like you had a good time at the manor. Sounds like the residents probably had a good time too.

I know 25 years ago, I was in the hospital for 5 nights (if my memory is right) after my c-section with twins. Recently my Mom gave me the hospital bill from when I was born. Can't believe she saved that. She was in for 7 nights and only about $70. But that was 56 yrs ago.

Maggie - I think I remember Cindy? - from Canada? Same one? A baby - how wonderful!!! I'm glad everything went fine with that!!
I am OP - Yesterday I ate at max points depending on my guesstimating correctly. But I have a few banked points and I will be eating minimum points today thru Wed. Then on Thanksgiving I will eat max points. I am in the 24-29 range. I don't want to go over. I am taking a veggie tray for nibbling on. But it is going to be DIL's family mostly and I have no idea what kind of surprises I will be faced with.

I have to go shopping and get some more yarn. I've been crocheting a blanket for my 6 mo old granddaughter but I ran out of red and now I have to go and try to match it. So I will go to Michael's where I love the smells and all the ideas.

Hope you all have a WONDERFUL day!!!!!!

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

A gorgeous day in the neighborhood. Definitely top down weather as we go up to Ojai to get our mail and deliver the stuff my mom wanted from Wal-Mart and her birthday present and spend a bit of time there. We are going early so as not to be there at meal time for it is a low point day - 18 - for me and I just flat don't trust her. She is a fablous cook and always has a cobler or pie or something smelling good in that oven and it is a killer. Incidently - she is thin and so is my father. I have learned to tell her "no" graceously but sometimes my coping mechanisms are very thin and especially on a day where I don't have much lee-way.

I made a batch of one of the WW breakfast recipes I have that calls for instant oatmeal last night. I had one for breakfast and it was great with a cup of hazelnut coffee.

Well - I have my instant oatmeal packets and my instant grits packages in the same plastic container and YEP I used one of each and you know what ~ they turned out good. I will do that again. The recipe makes 4 huge cookies and they are yummy at 3 Points each and filling. This time I used chopped apricots and I will also do that again. I have another WW recipe for breakfast bars that looks good but I haven't tried it yet but when I do I will post it when I bake them if they turn out good.

BREAKFAST COOKIES
3 POINTS each

Mix the following together well:
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup applesauce
3 packets Splenda
3 oz instant oatmeal
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup raisins or dried fruit
1 1/3 cups dry skim milk powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Divide the dough into 4 s (it will be a bit sticky)
Place cookies on a sprayed sheet
Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.
They are done when a wooden toothpick comes out clean.
Yield: 4 soft large s

JOYCE I can imagine how your house smelled yesterday. I love the smell of roasting turkey. Dressing ~ love that stuff so we don't have it often either. I am doing a turkey breast on Thursday and it is a high point day for me so it will work out. Yes, Cindy is the gal from Canada that moved to the USA over a year ago and is married to a wonderful man that we know and they bought a house and now have a baby. Life is good. You will do fine on Thanksgiving day - isn't it great how WW allows us to save up points for a special occasion.

Jean hasn't been moved over here yet - I think she is still stuck over on the other server thinking we are not posting for we are over here on the new server yaking away.

Everyone have a good Monday ...... spend your points wisely.

Good Afternoon, Flowers!
I got in here without any problems. I was a little nervous about that. It was 18 degrees this morning. BRRRR! At least the sun was out this morning so it wasn't such a gloomy day.

Ian and his mom went home yesterday. Jason called and wanted to know where the "off" button was located on a baby! It seems that little Mr. Bennett has a temper when he is hungry and his mother isn't moving fast enough.

Maggie -- Thanks for the recipe! I will have to give them a try. I'm glad Daniel has arrived and hope all is OK. I will have to send Cindy a note. Both girls were pretty close to their due dates.

Joyce -- We think Ian is pretty special! Grandpa is especially proud because he didn't have to put a pink bow on the tractor he bought. We stopped at Penneys and he picked out a sleeper with tractors on it! Ian has lots of green and yellow stuff to wear but nothing that says BOY for sure!

Gloria -- I goofed on the hospital web page address. It should be http://www.floydvalleyhospital.org rather than .com like I typed before. Amanda's insurance would only cover for 4 days in the hospital. He was born early Thursday morning so that was day #1. Amanda's not moving very fast yet. I think she was surprised at how much the surgery took out of her energywise. Jason will be home this week to help, so that's good.

We have a Christmas dinner tonight for the nursing home board. Since DH is chairman this year, he thought we should go. Imagine that! I don't have to cook so that's fine with me!

Have a terrific Tuesday, Flowers!

Jean -- from Iowa!

Good Morning everyone

Jean - I had to chuckle about the off button on the baby. When my twins were born, I often asked DH to find their off-button. Either that or to balance their stereo speakers so they could at least be in harmony.

Maggie - I am going to try that recipe but I have to get more stuff to make them. I like to take breakfast to work. We are up at 5, at work at 6, and I don't eat til about 7:30. A piece of fruit about 10. Otherwise I'm ravenous by lunch.

I am OP and doing fine so far. I wasn't sure about being on vacation and staying home. I could get into trouble real easy. But I'm not - I'm doing good.

See ya later

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

Going to be another lovely day in the neighborhood. I love these "top down" weather days. But I still miss that snow that makes these year end holidays look so pretty. I have all the ingredients for that other batch of breakfast cookies that I will make this evening and will post it if it is good. I put the other cookies in the freezer for later. If you want to try a new breakfast casserole that is yummy and Cowboy says is a definite "do again" check out the one on page 161 of the new December issue of Cooking Light magazine. Cheesy Brunch Casserole. It looks like it will freeze well - I cut the recipe in half though since there are just the the two of us eating here mostly. I just stuck the two other portions in the fridge because Cowboy said he may want some more today. I served it this day with apricots on the side. I made it through my 18 point day yesterday on target and am now working on a 24 point day.

JEAN glad to see you made it to our new home. So glad that the baby and mom are doing well. It will take a bit of time for mom to get back her stanima from that c-section.

JOYCE I too don't like to eat breakfast when I first get up so it is rather a "brunch" that I have. Cowboy gets up early and has a bowl of cereal because he is one of those that has to eat upon arising. By the time I get around to eating he is ready to join me. If you have a microwave at work that recipe I mentioned above would be a good take along for you at work. Just a suggestion. One of the ingredients is "stuffing" and I know you like that! Keep that FOCUS and you will make it through the holidays without any bruises to your program.

Everyone have a lovely Tuesday.

Good Afternoon, Flowers!
It's turned into a gloomy afternoon after a bright sunny morning. They are predicting a light snow for tonight so we shall see. It isn't that cold -- only 28 degrees.

Not much is newsy today. The kids are anxious for a few days of vacation. It's a toss up whether they are more ready or the teachers are; I know that I am definitely ready!


Joyce -- I didn't realize you were home on vacation. I hope you are enjoying yourself and doing some "you" things. I can't imagine what it would be like to have twins and I always marvel at the septuplets (sp?) that live here in Iowa.

Maggie -- I don't get the Cooking Light magazine so will have to see if it is at our one and only store that seems to carry magazines. I like anything that goes along with a brunch!

I have to run a couple of errands on my way to WW so guess I'd better make my list. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Jean -- from Iowa!

GOOD EVENING MAGNOLIAS

It has been a very interesting day. This morning I had an eye appointment @ 10AM for what I thought was my yearly eye test. I knew the Dr. would check my glaucoma but that has been at a steady no problem no increased pressure. What a surprise....he said the pressure had gone up and he suggested I have he "put a hole in my iris". The actual name of the procedure is "Laser Peripheral Irodotomy". He scheduled me for 12:45 today. It was an easy procedure and the hole in my iris will releave the pressure in my eye. At some time I will need the other eye done but not right now. I am not in any discomfort or pain and need to use two kinds of eye drops for the next 4 days. He also scheduled me for a post-op visit 8AM Wednesday. That is going to be fun as we are on a Storm Watch for Wednesday and are expecting 4-8" of snow. DH will drive me so I don't have to drive which is a good thing.

Jean: Thank you for the correct addy for the hospital. That Ian is a cutie. It may take a few weeks for Amanda to get back to normal but except for the night feedings she will be feeling better.
Oh, yes, wouldn't an On-Off switch be great on new borns.

Maggie: Breakfast can be a difficult time. I like to eat when I get up but DH usually puts off eating for an hour or two. I must have my cereal and banana and coffee to make it to lunch. I will have to look up Cooking Light on the internet and see if I can find that Cheesy Brunch Casserole. Sounds good. So happy to hear that Cindy and her baby are doing well. Daniel is another good name.

Gloria in MA...getting off the computer and trying to rest my eyes.
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!



I know that is a chicken but I can pretend it is a Turkey!!!

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

It has been a lovely day and I got quite a lot of things done that I wanted to do before Thanksgiving. Cowboy went to Home Depot to get a small tool he needed for a saddle he is repairing and broght back a huge boquet of fall colored flowers. What a sweetheart. They are gorgeous sitting here on my dining table. My oven here in the trailer will only allow a cookie sheet as wide as 14 inches and I needed one for a bread recipe I am making for gifts. It is a roll up sweet type bread. Anyway to get one that would fit in this oven I had to buy a set of three. The 2 biggest ones I will take and give to a friend tonight. I used to have one that fit this oven but got rid of it because it was one of those padded kind and wouldn't brown the bottoms of what ever I was baking on it. I told myself then I should replace it ~ but I didn't till I had a use for it. My little Delonghi Turbo Convection oven came with cookie sheets that fit it but that oven just isn't big enough for the bread I want to bake.

JEAN if you can't find the December issue of Cooking Light let me know because I do plan on typing that recipe into my Master Cook program and can e-mail it to you. Cowboy wants to have the rest of that for dinner with a nice big green salad. Easy for me and will fit into my points I have left for the day.

GLORIA sorry to hear that you have to have that done to your eyes. But isn't it great that they have a good treatment now that will cure your problem. Eyes don't show any pain so that is a plus. Take care and get your proper rest along with those drops and you will right as rain in no time. Same goes to you if you can't find that recipe I will e-mail it to you.

Have a great evening folks.

Here is that other breakfast recipe that I just made. I have used all my points for the day so Cowboy is eating one of these bars and said it is a "do again." So here it is without my sampeling them. Take your chances....... I had a box of Raisin Bran Crunch on hand so that is what I used but made no other changes. Well ~ he just came back for the second bar so that tells the tale right there.

BREAKFAST BARS
Mix well together:
3/4 cup Raisin Bran cereal
3/4 cup oatmeal
2/3 cup dry skim milk powder
1/2 cup applesauce
1 med banana - mashed
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°
Spray an 8x8” square pan,
turn the batter into the pan.
Bake at for 25 min.
Cut into 8 bars.
3 POINTS for 2 bars.

Good Afternoon

I am over at my sons house to babysit. My son doesn't usually work during the week - he is Mr Mom - but since I had off he agreed to work today. So I get to babysit gs (9 next Friday) and gd.

I went to the doctor's yesterday. I've been having a lot of trouble with one knee and one shoulder. Knee is arthritis starting up. Shoulder is probably tendonitis from working on a computer all day. So Friday I'm going to the physical therapist to get some exercises to do that will hopefully make the shoulder better and maybe even my knee. The doctor told me to try glucosamine and chondroitan, some of her patients thinks it works. And she suggested flaxseed oil. Have any of you heard of taking that???

Maggie - I got the stuff to make the breakfast cookies. I thought I might throw in a handful of chocolate chips too - well - a measured amount of choc chips. I have discovered that chocolate is one of those things that if I deny myself too much, I go overboard when I do get to have some.
I have a cookie sheet at home that my dad made for my mom when I was little. We lived in a trailer about the size of most rv's today. It had a small oven. So when we bought our camper and they quit full-timing, she gave me some of her smaller oven stuff.

Gloria - That sounds kind of scary, having a hole put in the iris. I hope it is better!!

Jean - I remember about the septuplets. I can't even begin got imagine having that many at once. When my twins were born, my almost 3 yr old reverted back to wetting his pants. Wish they had had pull-ups back then. Went thru a lot of clothes. It was almost like having 3 babies. But not 7. Whew!!!!!!!!

Hope you all are having a great OP day!!!!!!!!!!

GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

The iron monster showed me down 4 POUNDS. Now that is certainly a change from last week when I showed a gain and didn't eat any more points than I did this week. Guess the water made the difference. I weighed in today because tomorrow is turkey day and of course the center will be closed. I have the phyllo dough out on the counter thawing now ~ getting ready to make that pumpkin pie that is only 3 points a slice. I can e-mail that recipe to any of you if you want it. I got it off the WW web site.

JOYCE I also have arthritis in my knee and am on perscription meds now. When in TN I was on that glucosamine and chondroitan which didn't do me one bit of good. The doc here said that some folks [very few] it does work on so I hope you are one of those for it is certainly worth a try. Never tried the flackseed oil. I do know you can get it at the health food stores.

Everyone have a fabulous Turkey Day.