IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.
Can you tell I am a little excited. I will return when the girls get to the bus. What's happening on your towel this morning.

Nothing happening so far, Little Chick, but I share your joy! I always feel like this is New Year's day. I guess that's from years of studenting, teaching and mothering! Hershey and I will walk down to the corner to wave the kiddies off on the school bus.

It's going to be a gorgeous September Day. I did my own Gail Day yesterday and my house is pretty spiffed up. I even washed the dog beds and they must have liked it because they are still asleep. Later this morning I will probably do some more garden work and tackle an indoor niggle. The niggle for today is to sort and pitch all but a few cards from my seven shoeboxes of Christmas card leftovers! After that I may tackle the drawer of slightly wrinkled or faded giftwrap! Recycle bin, here I come!

So shake out your towels and shake your butts, Chickies, a new day has begun. (There will now be a chorus from 'Cats'! )

Morning Ruth, nothing like a clean house. I am going to tackle my computer/craft/toy room today. DH got me a unit they were going to toss from one of the schools which I am going to put all the kids craft supplies in. After lunch I am going to go do a little yard work while the kids have some outdoor time before we head to the bus stop and play ground. Have fun cleaning.

Poor DD was so nervous this morning I hope the day goes by fast so I know how she does. First day high school jitters. I remember them like yesterday. I was not OP yesterday and I am paying for it today. Why do I do this to myself. GRRRRR.

Well I have to dash, I have to wee ones here right know and 2 more should be here soon. I will pop in again later if I have time.

Good morning, little chick and ruth!

Today is going to be a busy one. I changed my plans yesterday and didn't go to the field and tried to catch up yesterday but I felt I was running around all day like a headless chicken and didn't really get anything done. Now I have to skip one class to get some stuff done for my other class before I teach later this afternoon. It's computer work and I had planned to do it at home but my pc is doesn't have enough RAM to run the software....great!!

The saffron "rice" I made last night came out good but I think the recipe called for way to much saffron. It called for a whole tsp. of saffron threads, I halved that and it still had a too strong "saffrony" sort of taste. But overall it was good.

Hope everyone has a great day!

A whole teaspoon of saffron! That'd break the bank! Most of my recipes call for a pinch. Pearshape, I thought of you up on the Island on the weekend. No fungus but lots of different lichens and mosses on the rocks! The Island is part of the pre-Cambrian shieild and is covered with evergreens of different sorts. The few deciduous trees that took hold have been felled by beavers.

Little Chick, I hope you find a bit of ME space today.

Hersh and I are just back from waving the kidlets off to school. Most of the mom's waiting at the bus stop were smiling but there were a few with puddled eyes. All the kids were excited - even the boys!

It's foggy here right now but burning off. I'm going to clean the fridge and make a creative soup of some sort - hmmm...mushrooms, cabbage, tomatoes, white beans.... Might be OK with a dab of pesto, Anything is OK with pesto, right?

Everybody is invited for lunch!

!! Ruth, you've just joined the company of everyone who knows me. They're always saying, "we saw the coolest fungus and thought of you" . Hmmm... makes me think twice about what I'm known for ! I found the saffron for 2.99 a gram at World Market. It's the first time I've ever bought it but it seemed to be a much better price than what I've seen in the grocery stores, $20 and up.

Well, off to start my day!

A cool and breezy morn here in NC! Good Morning Chicklets!~
LC: I bet the girls are having a wonderful time...New clothes, new shoes and backpacks and on their way to making new friends!
Pearsydew: I hate when I feel like that! I'm sure you'll get it together today...
Ruth: What a lovely ritual to go down to see the kidlets off ! Have a great day close to home and decluttering!
Me: Same here... more cleaning... Getting tired of this ! Hopefully the house will be finally squared away this week...

Enjoy your day !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess my days of sleeping in on my days off are over. I have my face buried in a book the size of King Tut's Tomb reading about karyotyple, deletion, autosomal dominant diseases.... I am constantly doing the practice tests in the study guide for this pathophysiology class and I'm not retaining anything! Ahh for a young brain.... !

I barely survived the weekend in the ER. It was so good to come home Sunday night. I was on the couch for the night. Even got a foot massage from my dd!

Well, I went to our State Fair yesterday and stayed OP until the 1/2 prime rib sandwich I ate. Gave the other 1/2 to my daughter. It was so good and I refuse to feel bad about it. The rest of the day I behaved.

Today it's two classes to muddle my brain with and a meeting tonight. I pulled onions and carrots out of my garden last night. Corn was picked and my dd and dh froze it last Saturday! They were very proud of themselves.

Schatzi, Boy that was a short and sweet post. I have come to expect a few more words out of you than that. You're my comic relief for the day! Have another cup of expresso or coffee or maybe I should send you some atropine to get yourself going

Pearshape, sorry about your RAM and your saffron....... Uhmm, I'm not sure what either of those things are, but I hope it gets better I hope you have a calm day!

Ruth, I'll be over for lunch, the soup sounds delish! You are a sweetie to wave to the kids. Wow, a clean house.....will you come here next. I like the name Ruth Gail

Little chick, it sounds like you really have a busy day ahead. I'll be thinking of your DD, first day of school is so exciting. I remember mine even....a million years ago.

Well, I'm off to get my face back in this book, see if I remember anything! YOu all have a great day on the towel, put on sunscreen!

I'm with you Little Chick, our first day of school was today too!!! My oldest started 2nd grade and my 4 year old goes back to pre-school 3 days a week starting Monday!! It will just be me and my 15 month old, oh what to do!!! But along with school starting comes the "soccer practices and games for 2 of them, Brownies, Fall swimming and the homework !! I love staying busy though...helps to keep me from eating to much!! Hope everyone has a great day!!

Good morning everyone!!!
Little chick - have a good day cleaning & I hope the girls have a great first day of school.
Ruth - I need to go through my xmas cards too. I buy them at the beginning of the season & then at then end when they go on clearance & the next year comes along & I forget or find something else......too many cards!!
RNMOM - Have fun reading. Hope you had fun at the fair.
Pear - Hope your day gets better and the rest of your classes are smooth.
Schatzi - hello, have fun cleaning... my cleaning day will be Thurs or Fri - not sure I have to work until 3am on Weds. - yuck!
Me - not much, I worked yesterday & it was awful. I work retail....I know my choice. But the people yesterday were AWFUL. Just pigs....throwing t-shirts on the floor because they couldn't fin their size. When I asked them if I can help them, they say no - just looking. UGH...the entire time I'm thinking.... you people seem like miserable people - no wonder you here & not at a picnic, no one probably wanted you there either! AND another thing....IF a store is open on a holiday, & you MUST shop go before the store closes. Don't show up 5 mins before closing & expect me to be thrill to see you. It's a holiday, I want to be with friends & family....not here picking up after you. It's so rude to expect someone to stay open for you, especially on a holiday. I had to ask a lady to leave 3 times yesterday - we closed at 9 (opened at 9 - open for 12 flipping hours!) and she didn't leave until 9:20 & DIDN'T BUY ANYTHING!!!!
I close again tonight - err! And tomorrow I work 6pm until 3am....new boss is an *** like the old one, but at least he has some brains. I'm going to go get my hair done tomorrow morning....a treat for me for working until 3am!!!
Have a great OP day

Morning!! Well I dropped DS off at school..3rd grade, so hard to believe...DD starts tomorrow...Kindergarten is broken into 2 days as to not overwhelm the little ones!! I am going throught the kids drawers today, and pulling out clothes that are too small & replacing with the new clothes. I am restarting Phase 1 today!!! I am ready!! Hope everyone has a great OP day...have not heard from VAL in a while..wonder where she is...I also have to write a 900 word essay today for my English class...wish me luck..I hate to write!!

Wow! So many kids going back to school today! Brian started Aug. 15th so my only worry is whether he will have a spelling test this Friday. If so, I really wish that his teacher would have given them the words on Friday so he could study over the weekend too. The words are a lot harder in third grade AND he has to take the test in cursive. The last two tests he has had a half a word taken off because his handwriting wasn't correct. Oh, well, he will learn. And his cursive is already better than his dad's.

I'm working from home today. Usually I end up cheating on the rare days I work for home. I have promised myself that if I am going to WFH two days every week, then I will not cheat at all. So far so good. Oh, well, back to work.

Good Morning All!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a happy day! I have been reading the posts when I get a second or two, but I am unable to respond to everyone individually!

Those with kids going back to school: Enjoy the quiet time! They will get used to the idea of beign back in school.

Those who've lost weight: Congrats! Keep up the motivation (as if the scale moving isn't motivation enough!).

Everyone else: Hope your days are productive, fun and OP!

Me: Getting over my cold/virus slowly but surely. Lost a pound over the weekend (just because I was too tired to eat). Filling in for someone at work and that's keeping me super busy!

I'll check in later if I can squeeze a moment out of my day!

Happy First Day of School to those of you who are celebrating. Around here, the first day is tomorrow.

LC, I hope DD has a great first day! Love that you're organizing...how cool!

Ruth, you are my hero! I could never bring myself to throw out cards that I could still use (never mind that I might not have touched them in years... ) Good for you! Robert Fulghum has a great essay on how he thinks that the Jews have it right...the new year starts in September. He does a great job explaining why he thinks so. I've lived by the school calendar for so long that I feel the same! BTW, yes, ANYTHING is good with pesto on it! Especially broiled tomatoes!

Pear, I'm not a big fan of saffron, so I can see how something might be way too 'saffrony' Hope tonight's dinner is better!

Schatzi, here's to the house getting squared away and quickly, so you can have some time to yourself! This morning I thought, "I wish I could go see a matinee and have some !" Not going to happen, but it was a nice wish, anyway!

RN, I know what RAM and saffron are, but have no idea what half of what you typed means! Guess we're even, you smartie-pants! Hope that you retain more. Here's an interesting thing...my sister (another smartie-pants) is doing her PhD in BioPsychology. She is currently studying memory with her professor. They found that there are three parts to memory--when you learn something, when you store it, and when you retrieve it. When you are stressed during the learning or the retrieving, you don't do as well and remembering. But when you are stressed during the storing process, you remember better! So, read your book during a calm time, stay calm during tests (yeah, right!) and try to store the info while at work. You should be remembering in no time!

3Girls, sounds like it's busy, busy, busy! Glad you have time alone with your 15 month old, though...that can be so nice.

Soon, it's so good to see you! What are you doing at work until 3??? What store is open that late??? I'm sorry hon, but so glad you'll be treating yourself to a hair appt. in return...we want to see pics afterwards!

Kye, I'm restarting Phase 1 today too. Trying to get rid of the cravings brought on by several gallons of SF i*e c***m...

Barb, good for you on doing well while working from home. It's so much more tempting without anyone around to see what you do! At least, that's how it is for me! Also, I find that I have a much harder time sticking to a strict schedule with my snacks.

Me:
Did 10 mins on the elliptical and then 23 minutes on the recumbent bike today. Read Self magazine and felt much better about myself afterwards...not a usual response to a woman's magazine! Maybe I should read that one more often?

I'm working on a quilt for my aunt...have just a little more to go on my big blocks. Then I have to make some strips of little blocks and sew the whole thing together. I can't wait! It's so fun seeing it come together... I also have a scrapbook to work on for her...I'm hoping I can get a lot done this week since I travel the week after next and don't want this to be something I rush through.

Also want to clean up my bedroom this week. A local business is having a clothing drive for Katrina victims, so I'm going to sort through my consignment/salvation army piles and pull out things they might need/want. Then I'll get the rest bagged up and sent off at the same time. It's so nice to get things in the right places! The bedroom has dust so thick you can stand a pencil up in it ( ), and we both have allergies...so I need to get rid of it!

Beautiful weather here...we went for a hike with the dog yesterday at a local nature preserve. It was lovely! LC, I feel your pain about the scale...except I *was* OP and I gained a pound! Such is life...I don't think I got enough water, so I'm guzzling today. I'm bound and determined to get to ONEderland and STAY there for good. I've had enough with my fear of leaving the land of the 200s...I know I can make it and deal. Wish me luck!

Barb, we posted at the same time! I hope you feel much better soon...keep eating to keep up your strength, okay? At least get some protein in or the weight you lose will be your muscles...