I never did make it back here yesterday! Cousin Ian and his son were at my door and we ended up going to the Long Horn for dinner - not OP, I'm afraid. I feel a tad burned out this morning from drinking wine. I'm out of practice. They went back up to the Island by boat - can you get a DWI in a boat? Actually son Simon drove. He's 25 and the most boring young man on earth!

Just looked at the weather map and Hurricane Rita is right over Texas. I sure hope all our Texan chicks and families are safe and sound. Horrible stuff! I'll try to think of the devastation of the past month in January when I gripe about our cold and snow.

Today is the AIDS walk so I need to get cracking and get over to the park to do registration before eight. I'm hoping to just work the morning as there is an official opening of Studio 55 here in Delta at one. We do have a little cultcha around here, dontcha know!

How's your weekend shaping up? Have a and chat a bit.

Good morning Ruth. Looks like it's just you and me awake with the rooster . You are one busy gal. I think it's great that you fill your life up with so many fun things.

I've got a busy working weekend ahead of me. I had a meeting with my advisor yesterday. We encountered some problems with the equations being used to analyze my data. Nothing that can't be overcome. But now I have to come up with my own formula this weekend in time for a meeting Monday with someone else to help us sort this out. Plus I have to go to the woods, study for 2 exams next week, and get ready to meet with the guy I'm partnering up with for a presentation for my evolution class. We're doing it on "sexual conflict between males and females as a means to speciation" and "sympatric speciation and darwins finches". Fun stuff!! Apparently, the groups of insects that show higher rates of inter-sex conflict after mating have a tendancy to also show higher rates of speciation. So, lets all be really nice to our men and not fight with them so we don't turn the human race into something else ! Kidding!

Oh, yesterday I came up with a fabulous dessert. I took ricotta and cottage cheese, sf ff cheesecake pudding mix, rasberries, and coolwhip. Mixed it up, topped with the berries and YUMMY!! After eating it I felt as satisfied as if I had eaten some good chocolate cake!

Everyone have a great day!

Good Morning Chickies,

I had a surprise this morning, I got on the scale and I'm down 4 lbs. I've been playing with these for the last 3 weeks. Let's hope it stays off, last time they were back on in just a few days? Never can figure that one out! But I'm gonna ride the high while I can.
We don't have any plans this weekend, just cleaning my house, hanging out with the hubby. He works third shift so I take any time I can with him anymore.
Hope everybody has a great weekend, gonna go check the news about Rita and where it's at now. Say a little prayer!!!!


Talk to ya'll soon

WOW it's The Weekend already???!!!!

Ruth: Whoosh! There ya go again...!! and what is this Studio 55, some hot disco ? Are you going to be out dancing at night now??

Pearsydew: What the hoodledoo! Interconflicting sexual darwin finches? GADZOOKS! Well I like your new moldy avatar! now what kind is this one.. as I see it often on my hikettes...

Tammy: 4 pounds ! Congrats!!!!!!

Me: Hmmpf Big Toads are invading the backyard.. and after reading up on them and how poisonous they are to dogs.. I have to De-Frog it .. I caught me 1 BIG one in a bucket last night.. took the bucket out to the woods to let him go.. other than that more house chores on the docket this weekend.. hopefully tomorrow I can indulge in some reading or needlepoint.

Have a great day Chicks!

Hi Chicks

Its so depressing to watch what Hurricanes Katrina & Rita are doing to our gulf coast,and when I'm depresses I tend to eat ,and What your lost Tammy I gained 1/2.[2- lbs] Thats my own fault, eatting Edy's carmel butterfingers peanutbutter blast.What was I thinking.??????? Going to change my W-I day again,I did much better Weighing-In at the beginning of the week than at the end.


Tammy- Big Congrats for your wonderful weight loss.Prays are being said for the hurricane victums.

Pearshape- Thanks for the mock cheese cake recipe

Ruth-your are a busy lady,have a great day.


Hugs BB

One Texas chick checking in!! Thank heavens the hurricane has been downgraded to a Category 2- there will certainly still be some damage, but not nearly as bad as it could have been. I live in Dallas, so the most we will get it some rain.

I haven't pecked in in what seems like forever!! I miss you guys!!!!! I am hanging in there, just so busy with work and the girly girls. I haven't been SBD OP in awhile, but I have been watching what I eat and eating healthy. I have actually maintained my weight doing this, so at least I am not gaining!!

I am going to try and catch up on some posts, although it has been so long it may not happen.

Love ya gals!!

I'm just checking in as I came home for a pee break. I refuse to use porta-potties!

'sexual conflict between males and females as a means to speciation' Great phrase and rather scary to think I understand what you are saying, Pearshape.

Schatzi, Studio 55 is a gallery. The weird guy who just opened it does wonderful but overpriced stained glass and sells other types of artwork for local artists. He had grand plans for the Village to make it a cultural centre but has no money, just ideas that change every 20 minutes. Megalomanic comes to mind!

Tammy, good work on dropping the weight! Cough on me, OK?

Beach Bum, I am stuck at the same darn weight all week. I should have indulged. Let's make next week a good one for us both.

Kiko, I'm so glad you popped in and are safe. I'm glad the storm got downgraded but it still is something we can do without! Good work with maintaining while drifting off down The Beach.

I'm going back to the Park to start checking in the folks who are finishing the walk. See you later.

Not too much excitement here in the ER.....that's a good thing.

Picked up our son last night and went out to dinner. Went to Johnny Carinos. I ate broiled salmon and veggies, but I did have some bread and dipped it in olive oil and garlic. That was the first bread.....I had the urge to eat halloween candy when I got home, but didn't. Back on track today, I figure the deviation wasn't that bad.

Ruth, sounds like your weekend is nice. And yes you can get a DWI in a boat, but I can't figure out how they would tell, it's not like boaters drive along the dotted white line in the river or anything. Hopefully you'll be feeling your normal self soon.

pearshape the dessert sounded yummy, the bird thing however, sounds really confusing.

Tammy, congrats on the weight loss! Pat yourself on the back!

Schatzi, be careful getting rid of the toads, they may be handsome princes!!! You better kiss them before you evict them!

beach bum, sorry about the weight gain, that's a bummer. Thoughts are with you!

Kiko, good to "see" you again. It's great that you don't gain anything when you aren't south beaching.....I'm horrible if I'm not behaving. I need to change some stuff in my head.

Well, prayers and thoughts for all the hurricane victims. Have a safe weekend.

OK confession time....I was bad last night. DBF put together a belated 30th b-day party for me & I drank...a lot. Stupid -stupid thing to do. I feel bloated & yucky...grr! And I get to work today - super fun! Guess I will be visiting phase I for a few days....off to drink a gallon of water!

OMG, I am laughing so hard. Pearshape your Topic is my life!! I am doing my part to keep out planet going.
this was this morning journal...
What is the balance between what I need and what my family needs and if their needs are just as important to them as mine are to me then isn't it their right to ask for it just like I do for myself?
This is my first real day off in 5 weeks.The cucs I had hoped to get couldn’t be got, so no pickles. So this morning at 7 am DD crawls in bed beside me and says she is hungry, we have a nice little cuddle and I tell her Daddy is already up go ask him, she kisses me and says okay mommy.
DS then crawls in and enmeshes both hands tightly in my hair and wiggles and whines and pushes at me. i told him I just wanted to lay quietly and please be still and he freaks out ,crys and stomps out of the room. A few minutes later DH climbs in on top on lifting my nighty, gropes a bit,I tell him I will get up in a few minutes, he scraped me with his beard by mistake, I tell him he hurt me, he stomps out of the room and slams the door.
Obviously they all love me and felt a need to connect with me. What I needed was a 1/2 hour to lounge in bed and enjoy some solitude. I didn’t get it and feel irritated. They didn’t get what they wanted and feel irritated. Hubby will sulk for a while.Big baby.
Is it a gender thing and just personality? DD usually listens and respects my requests. DH and DS always get mad and pissy.I always stand my ground and state my positon clearly to both. You think in 9 and 7 years respectively they would get it.
I feel sad right now that I dont get the tenderness from DH I would like( need).
I get it from DD and my cat. LOL!
If DH wants to have sex, which is how he communicates love, he should try giving me what i need to to feel loved, which is space, solitude and tenderness.Then I would come to him with open arms. It is hard to explain this to someone who cant stand to be alone. I am not sure he like his own company. Very much like DS.
Fro what it worth we have a regular, wonderful sex life. I am not sure how much he wants from me in life in general.
I have always struggled with the balance of my needs and those of my family. I LOVE to be alone as much as I love them. I lived alone happily for 15 years, I spent most of my childhood alone and feeling separate from my family.I love my own conpany.
So now I have a pissy hubby to deal with when what I want is to enjoy the day and him and the kids, puttered and clean, garden a bit.......

Is it a wonder I nurture myself with food?

Later, this aft, we have 2 bday parties to go to. I will check out the farmers market in town for cucs and pick up the south beach book......

I now have 2 south beach books to peruse and time to do it. no cucs in town but a bigger market may have some. I will call on Monday.

Hubby has switched gears and is fine.LOL!

Ruth, isn't it a beautiful day out there!!

I am back down to 225 which is the weight I have been stuck before I did a 5lb blip in the wrong direction.

It's absolutely gorgeous out there, Hollyhock! I'm glad DH shifted gears!

Tut-tut, Soon! Was it worth it? Glug that water, girlie.

RNMOM, dinner sounds great if you ignore the bread. Why the heck have you got Halloween candy around so soon? You must like to live in the edge!

After lunch today (Taco Bake), I roasted the last of the red peppers and enjoyed the sunshine. Then I walked down to the Studio to check things out. They had a harpist of all things, wine, cheese, fruit and a good turnout of artsy fartsy folk and Delta elite. I'm not sure where I fit in! I definitely could have worn a BOHO outfit now that i know what one is!

I may crank up the BBQ for dinner tonight and do a chicken skewer with some zukes and eggplant. It really does feel like fall - the furnace has even come on - a huge no no until I get that chimney fixed.

Right now I'm going out to pick raspberries. I wish I could share with you chicks.

I had roasted red peppers for lunch with cream cheese on a half of a multi grain bagel. I read the first chapter of the book. I think that was my last bagel for a bit!
Ruth~ you are the artsy fartsy and elite in one wonderful package!! Love you!!

Hi all!

pearshape - your comment about speciation made me think of a comic from a humor book about "Yuffies" (Young Urban Failures) - it showed a couple in bed, enjoying some post-coital music. His choice was "Ride of the Valkyries." Hers: "Pathetique." Cold!

hollyhock - I don't think it's a gender thing - my DH is not at all that way. It sounds more like an individual thing, and I'd guess your DS either inherited from him or else picks it up from example! Hope they get it someday.

Ruth - you are one busy lady! Where do you find all the time for everything you do? Is there a bank that I haven't heard of? Can I get a loan until the quarter's over?

me - caught up (for the moment) in my Environmental Science class, have a rough draft nearly completed for my Medieval and Renaissance English Lit class, but I haven't even settled on a topic for my Expository Writing class paper yet (although that's not due in til Wednesday). DH is restless and can't settle down to his homework; DS has recovered from running errands with Daddy and the subsequent nap and is now trotting around happily, playing with his many books. I picked up a copy of "Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears" last night, and he LOVES it. He'll actually sit through the whole story on occasion - not bad for an 19 month old, considering the length of the story! I think he loves the pictures and all the sound effects.

DH and I talked it over - I'm really short on time now, with full time coursework (and online classes really take more time than classroom classes, although the time is way more flexible) plus taking care of DS. I just haven't a lot of time for preparing meals and so on just now. So...we've decided to back off on SBD for now, until the quarter's over. We'll more or less be on ph3 - just early, since we both still have weight to lose. We won't be going back to drinking sodas or eating lots of white bread and pasta and white rice, but I'm not going to stress over whether I get to eat a half cup of brown rice with dinner since I had a half of a sourdough English muffin at breakfast and some grapes with lunch - that sort of thing. So we won't be that bad; we just won't be losing as much weight (if any) for now. Of course, we don't want to gain back what we've lost so far, either (18 lbs so far for me)! At any rate, we'll certainly be eating better than we were before I read the SBD book. When the quarter's over, we'll be back on ph 1 and/or 2 until the next quarter begins.

Happy Sunday Morning Chicks

What an enjoyable Autumn sleeping weather we had late night,even though it was a little nibby, I had the windows opened for a snige of fresh air. Hopefully we can take the A/C out of the windows.

Well I'm back on track and decided to W-I at the beginning of the week,so I can keep myself accountable over the Weekends.Looked back on my Journals and found that weekend Weigh -In for not for me.

Ruth-Heres to next week we shall overcome this some how.

RNMOM-Thanks for your well wishes. You did great with the restaurant bread. I have to remember that the next time I go out.Don't have candy in for Halloween, my trick 'n treaters get healthy(small packs of peanuts) snacks.

Soon & Holly-I guess Phase 1 is inorder. for you & me. My 4 lb.Sept Weight Loss Goal is not moving.

H-Ko- I have a grandson that 19 months also, and he loves :loves: picture books too. The twins are very helpful showing him all kinds of pop-up picture books.

Have a nice day Hugs BB

Mornin' Ladies,
H-ko, thanks. I hear ya on the time and meal plan issues. I am having trouble getting my head around even starting planning better. Although I have just come through the busiest months of my year and have more time myself. I suppose thats why I am here now.
beachbum~ I may need some hand holding or a kick in the pants getting this going.
Woohoooo!!
I had a day off!! It was great.

I have been reading the south beach book. I was feeling depressed about it. There seems to be a lot of what you cant have. I was feeling like a big loser because of the food I eat that apparently is not good me.
I have trouble thinking a banana is not a good choice. They are full of potassium and other good things.
As far as the lean meats go I am fine. I need to read more and ask questions. i am not sure about the foods listed and what is a limited choice and very limited and how much that is or how often.

Yesterday,I relaxed, had coffee, puttered at housework, took the kids to 2 relaxing bday parties, came home for leftovers for supper, had a nice time with DH, had a good sleep, enjoying a coffee again!!! Life is good.

Today we are having DD’s bday party at 2. Cake and punch and bunch of her friends and the grandparents.
I wanted to do everything outside but the yellow jackets have been horrible. They were swarming the parties yesterday that were outside outside.

Okay, tidying, one more room to clean, laundry to do and a family to enjoy.
Oh, and eggs for breaky.