Core Chat for January 1-7, 2007
 

WELCOME TO 2007 !!:hug:

thought i'd start the new year with a new chat thread. are you as excited as i am about the new year? i woke up early this morning and am now in the process of rereading my ww materials. i feel like i'm starting the new year with a bang! i haven't been this excited in quite a while. i have felt for some time now that 07 was going to be a great year. guess i'm ready to start enjoying.

It IS going to be a great year, I can already tell! I even had a good sign this morning ... when I stepped on the scale, it said 130.4. I blinked and looked again, then I stepped off and got back on. The second time, it said 146. Shucks!! :lol: I guess it's time to change the battery!

But at least I've got a good starting place and haven't gained anything over the holidays, so that's good.

Everyone have a really great day! I'll be back in a while.

Thanks for the new thread and welcome to 2007. I think re-reading all the WW materials is really a great idea.
I've got to recommitt myself and it's hard to break bad habits.
I'm going to write up a menu for the week, I think, and post it on my refrigerator so I can be accountable.
Linda

:newyear: EVERYONE!!!!

Good Luck to all of us. I, for one, intend to be much smaller at this time next year. You can hold me to that.

Good Morning Chicks! I LOVE the idea of rereading the WW materials, especially since I didn't take the time to read the new ones when the came out. I was too busy getting ready for the holidays. I'll do that today.

Kathy, how exciting for you to see 130. ****...I'd be happy to see 230!

Sandra, did you bring in the New Year in the hot tub?! You lucky girl.

Linda, I've been making menus a couple of days ahead and it seems to be helping me to stay on plan.

I've got nothing planned today except for cooking dinner and working on the medical bills for tax time. Actually, my stomach is feeling kind of queasy. I'll be taking it pretty darned easy.

What are you all up to today?

Today we have Christmas finally with the in-laws. It's the first time since before Christmas that dh's family is all in the same state. :) So we'll go over, have lunch, and exchange gifts.

Last night we had our traditional seafood and game fest for New Year's Eve. I had a good time and definitely didn't overeat. Unfortunately, I had overeaten all day before that. I really hope I've not gained this week, although I can expect it. :(

I have resolved to make healthy choices this day/week/month/year. I haven't been in the last few days, and I feel icky.

I will also re-read my WW materials...sounds like a good idea to me.

Later!
Angela

howdy there, chickies. i am slowly fading away. not weight--energy. i will probably be taking a nap later on. i did get in some treadmilling this morning. my plan is to do an hour a day of some kind of exercise every day. i am not going to count archery training but will count tournament time.

i finished re-reading my ww materials and am armed and ready. there's enough core food in the house so i'm good to go.

it's good to see all the enthusiasm here. 07 is going to be "the year of the chicks." i feel it in my bones.

kathy, i'd be happy to see 146. i'll bet you were excited when you saw 130. i don't know if i'd fix my scales or not.

vickie, we hot tubbed around 11:30. we tried to wait but couldn't. it was nice out there on the deck with fireworks in the valley below. (other folks weren't waiting for midnight either. :lol:) i hope you're feeling better. i'm glad you don't have to do a lot today. :bubbles: (i don't have to do much either.)

linda, that's a good idea about posting your week's menu. i'm not that prepared.

angela, i'll bet you have a weightloss this week.

Good afternoon all:

I slept in until 10:30, took doggies out and now I start the cooking. It won't be too difficult to prepare but it will be difficult not to eat what I'm making for others. But, I'm gonna make it through this day with restraint.

Vickie: From the last thread: I'd be happy to spend time with you. So, when I head for Chicago, I'll let you know! OR, you come this way and I we'll paint the town CORE.

I'm very excited about the New Year. This time last year I thought what could be so hard about losing a pound a week. I found out and I'm humbled by it. So, this year, I'll try again!! :D

Have a great day everyone..the sun is shining here, it's about 40F and it feels like a North Texas, not a Toronto, New Years.

When I put the food in the oven, I'm headed out for a 30 minute power walk :running:

Rhonda

I'll accept your Sweetheart Challenge Sandra...now, I just have to figure out how to add a tracker! :comp:

rhonda, right click on my tracker then follow the directions. when you get to the end copy the url that's for posting on 3fc.

then go to "user cp" then to "edit signature" and paste it in. that's all there is to it. :bubbles: (kathy taught me how to do it.)

Hey Chicks! I'm about to make farina/cream of wheat pancakes for lunch. It's all Core and I got it off of BCB's. I'll let you know if it's good. I just got online to make sure that farina and cream of wheat measure the same. Jim is eating lo sloppy joes but I had enough of them.

He rented three movies for us. Right now we are watching Little Miss Sunshine. So far, I'm not liking it so much. Maybe it will get better.

Talk to you all later.

The pancakes were good. They had a bit of a buckwheat texture. The recipe was definitely for two people. I'll cut it in half next time and make it less sweet. I'll share when I perfect it.

The Froufie roast is all rubbed up and in the refrigerator marinating. Yum....yum.

Ham is in the oven (I know it says to just serve at room temperature, but I know TOO MUCH about food borne bugs and this ham will be cooked again!). The potatoes are ready for the pot; the peas (green and black-eyed for good luck) are in their pots. Pie is made and on the back stoop because there is NO room in the 'fridge.

Guests arriving in 1/2 hour and, Chickies, this is the LAST big meal I cook in the house until I get a new stove. The temperature control on the elements is GONE, GONE, GONE :tantrum: What should have been easy was a nightmare!

Rhonda

Good afternoon! I've been getting my exercise with sweeping and mopping. We have tile in the entry, which runs all down beside the living and dining room, then thru the kitchen and breakfast room. It was covered with muddy little doggyprints due to the rain we had the other day.

I don't know about you all, but I'm already tired of the "diet" commercials that are on TV. I'll be glad to go back to work tomorrow! Speaking of which, I have sweaters and jeans that need to be dropped off at the dry cleaners in the morning, so I'd better go ahead and put them in the car or I'll forget. MIL gives me cashmere sweaters every Christmas and I have quite a collection; love-love-LOVE them but I'm not crazy about the dry cleaning aspect of them.

Rhonda, I hope you get that new stove soon. There's nothing worse than trying to figure it all out when you don't know the temp. I had a stove once that cooked at whatever temp it wanted to, with absolutely no rhyme or reason. Good luck with your guests!

Vickie, the pancakes sound good. I'll have to try them after you get the recipe like you want it.

Dinner tonight will be broiled tilapia for us, and little steaks on the GF grill for Erin, who isn't a big fan of fish. She'll eat it but I figure I'll just make her something else. We'll also have broccoli and probably corn.

Break time is over ... back to the sweeping and mopping.

hi there. we had a great core lunch of mahi mahi and veggies. curtis is now having some sf/ff pudding. i'll have mine with a banana later. i'm working extra hard to do "guidelines for healthy eating." i even got in 2 teaspoons oo at lunch. i'll have some sf hot chocolate later. getting the milk/oil has always been my problem. should i say HAD BEEN?

vickie, i'd love the recipe. i made the fall muffins that included cream of wheat and they were really good.

rhonda, will you lend me some money? we didn't eat any black-eyed peas. we're both too lazy to get dressed to go to the store today. oh, well.

kathy, you must have a lot of cashmere. wish i did. i'm enjoying my new jacket. so far i've gotten compliments on it every time i've worn it. i'm going to go through closets and rid some more clothes in a bit.

Hey Chicks! I just finished watching WTC with Nicholas Cage. I knew I couldn't see it at the show and I was right. Sobbing interrupts other people in movie theaters. What a great movie. It wasn't sensationalized at all. It just focused on 2 Port Authority Police Officers. It's a twenty hanky film. I think we should never ever forget.

The Froufie roast is in the oven and OH MY....the smell of garlic is to die for! I have about 5 minutes before I have to go make gravy for Jim and start the corn and mash the potatoes. I'm starving! Well ok....I'm very hungry.

I'll see if I can catch up with all of you before my buzzer goes off.

Angela, I'm proud of you for making good choices. Parties are SO hard. Have a great time again today celebrating Christmas. My one Sister has you beat. She's celebrating with her kids up here on the 6th! I didn't feel good at Christmastime when I was eating all the junk. I'm just starting to feel better now.

Sandra, Jim and I stayed up until 1:00! Did you nap today? It doesn't sound like you did. I didn't know your jacket was cashmere. It must be beautiful you little cutie patootie!

Rhonda, Jim and I would love to pain the town Core with you! I know what you mean about the pound a week. I very arrogantly thought that would be a breeze. I'll continue to shoot for it but I'll also try not to be down in the dumps if it doesn't happen. Did you get your power walk in? I'd hate it if my oven didn't work. I'm always telling Jim that I'm not going to spend all that time shopping, planning, and cooking if I don't have great tools and it's not going to turn out good. Luckily, he doesn't give me a hard time about replacing stuff. Have fun picking your new stove. I know your party will be a great success!

Kathy, I've never had a cashmere sweater but I'm sure they are wonderful. Maybe I'll get down to your size one day and you'll share! ;) I still have never tried tilapia but I want to. I don't remember if I ever asked you this before or not. Can I order tilapia broiled dry or with olive oil at a restaurant? Do you think dry would be awful?

Gotta go. The potatoes cooked faster than I thought and the roast will be done in about 15 minutes. I'll try to pop back in later.

Sandra, you're right. I have a whole lot of the sweaters, but they're all different styles so it's not so bad. I even bought myself one after Christmas because we had that dreaded family picture made (reminds me that I didn't get ours from MIL) and everyone was supposed to wear red, black or green. I wore black last year so I figured I'd do red this time. I got it at Kohl's and it was originally $82, on sale for $35.

I guess I'm going to have to make a Froufie roast soon. We are big garlic eaters too and everybody loves roast, so it sounds like a good solution. Plus, if I make a big enough one, it would be great lunch leftovers for work.

I ended up getting lazy and making the turkey veggie chili. It's just ground turkey, onion, bell pepper (I used red), garlic, a package of frozen corn, a can of pinto beans and a can of tomatoes. Then I added a lot of garlic powder and Judd will add jalapenos to his. I just felt like a one-pot meal tonight because I'm still not done with the laundry and don't want to spend the last evening cleaning up a messy kitchen.

Lunch for tomorrow is made though; tuna salad. It's my favorite thing to take for lunch and you'd think I would be sick of it, but I'm not. I'll make my scrambled egg right before I head out the door.

Oh and the main New Years' resolution is to get to work at 7 or before. We'll see how long that lasts, huh? ;)

vickie, i want to see that movie. your dinner sounds delicious. i'm getting ready to have sf/ff pudding/banana. i just finished today's exercise.

Hmmmm....exercise. Guess I better start working up to that. I won't know what my ankle will handle until I try, will I?

Dry wouldn't be too bad, but olive oil would really be good. I spray the pan with the olive oil Pam and then drizzle more on top. It doesn't have a fishy smell, at least not to me, and I think you'd like it. Orange roughy is another favorite that's not too fishy.

Enjoy your dinner!

my jacket isn't cashmere. it's a fake fur. we took a long nap then had a late late lunch.

(i'm typing fast cuz i need to get offline.)

kathy, i love sweaters. i don't think anyone can have too many. that's a good bargain you got there. did the albertson's in burleson on i-35w close?

Burleson stayed open. The four that closed yesterday were Mansfield, The Colony, Oak Cliff and North Richland Hills. I guess now if I need something, I'll have to stop in Arlington on the way home from work.

HAPPY 2007!

Well last night was quite fun - ended up going out for dinner at Red Lobster - yes I splurged a bit - but instead of wine or a drink (which usually lessens my resolve) I filled up on diet coke with my broiled fisherman's feast - and ate 1 too many of those cheddar buns! Then off to the family new year's eve party - saw a juggler, magician and lots of people out skating on the rink outside. At 10 pm there was a 'countdown' and a lovely fireworks display. then home (like a 5 min ride) and watched tv til midnight and drank some champage.

The bad news was my foot - something was really hurting on bottom of right foot - not much to see - dh got the tweezers and magnifier out thinking I had a sliver - then poked and prodded at my foot for a good 15 mins - then I ended up soaking it in the tub. Of course it DID not feel much better today (have a bandaid on it now) and not sure if there is a sliver or something or it is just sore from being poked at so much?

DESPITE this I forced myself onto the treadmill tonight (wore my extra padded expensive walking socks) for 30 mins at 3.1 mph - it seemed longer than usual but I DID IT! Now having my cherries snack.

Got home from the open house party at around 6:30 pm (dh has jamming/practice tonight) but while I did nurse a couple of diet cokes - I did eat qutie a bit (even having had lunch before I left). Nothing horrendous but probably could have cut back? (little mini pitas w/tzaziki dip, a couple of cheese cubes, couple of almonds, marinated chicken breast, lots of carrots and celery sticks w/dip, some string cheese). So did not have supper when I got home and trying to stick up in the bedroom and avoid the kitchen.

And a great NSV for me - got up this morning at 11 am and realized I had to bake those cookies - so had breakfast first - drank tea while I made them and did not have a SINGLE LICK OR BITE...I think this is the key. There were several times when my fingers got dirty or a bit of cookie dough was leftover, but as long as I did not have ANY I was okay. It's that first taste (leading to a hundred other tastes) that does me in. I did have some backup chewing gum available if required.

And yes after ALL the cookies were packaged I ate the one I left out for myself to have a taste and it was good!

Dreading tomorrow and going back to work - and trying to figure out how in the heck I am going to get up and out of here when I am used to sleeping in til 10 or 11 am?

Kathy - good job on cleaning out the old clothes - I always have a 'donation' bag going and ready for when they come to pick up. Good luck at work tomorrow.

Vickie - so did you like Little Miss Sunshine - it's a bit 'unusual' as movies go. What else did you watch?

Angela - sounds like you did great with your 'feasting' - good for you.

Sandra - I can't imagine anything more lovely than sitting in a hot tub on new year's even watching the fireworks!

Rhonda - I'm with you on 'food safety' having worked in the Office of Food Safety and Recall at the Canadian food inspection agency - you want to be scared that's the place to be. Since working there my fridge has never been so 'cleaned out' - I really shudder when I see some of the food handling mistakes made by others! Always better to be safe than sorry I say!

Hope you get a new stove - sounds like you've done the old one in :D!

So some fruit packed for tomorrow, and a lean cuisine (no lo here unfortunately) prepared - will throw in some yogurt - and hope for the best. Wish me luck!

Frouf

just finished watching the old movie, airplane. lots of laughs there. (real classy movie, right?) oh, well. now curtis is watching some the outdoor channel.

vickie, i did an hour total exercise today. i feel pretty good about it. tomorrow i'll go back to w a. i like that better than treadmill/exercise bike. i hope your foot is all right. be careful not to overdo it.

kathy, i'm glad the burleson store is still there. it's hard to imagine albertson's closing stores. i thought their business was booming. little do i know.

frouf, it was gorgeous last night--a little cold on the tootsies running between the tub and the house--but beautiful. we hot tub almost every night. the wind kept us inside the other evening. rain and snow will keep us in, too.

i am impressed with your 3.1 mph. i did 2.5 today and thought that was fast enough. i'm just happy my feet are holding up all right. curtis spends more time on the bike because of his knees.

i'm going to have hot chocolate in a few minutes. i may have popcorn later if there's anything good to watch on tv. if there isn't, i'll prob play soduko or do some scrapbooking. (guess which one i should do.)

Hmm, I have a roast in the freezer. Is the Froufie roast recipe on the recipe board? Maybe I'll thaw it out and make it tomorrow, along with some veggies.

We had a nice time at the in-laws today. The girls each got a backpack filled with sleeping bag, flashlight, whistle w/compass, drink bottle, and individual tent! I'm amazed it all fit in there. The tents are so cute - 4' X 4' dome tents that you can set up inside. So now we have 3 tents in our living room. I think the cats have adopted them as nice nap zones. :lol: I will have to put them away pretty soon, but they're fun for now.

Later,
Angela

Hi:

Sounds like everyone had a good day.

Kathy, I hope if you get to work by 7AM it helps with the stress level. Remember that you are supposed to leave earlier also!

My meal was a success. The twice-baked ham was delicious, peas were good (sorry Sandra, you are my favorite cousin but if you forgot your black-eyed peas I won't be able to help you :D). The requested chocolate pie didn't set well because of the temperature control problems. The kitchen sink is full of dirty dishes and, as much as I hate waking up to a dirty kitchen, I gave DH the night off from dishes. He can do them tomorrow :lol:

The tents in the living room sound cute. There's nothing like kids to rearrange the use of space a little.

Frouf...good job on not eating those cookies. I got my walk in and I'm sorry to hear about your foot. Maybe soaking it in warm water with Epsom salts would take out any soreness.

I'm turning in...talk to everyone tomorrow.

Rhonda

sounds like everyone had a great start to 07. ain't it grand!

Good morning! My plan worked -- I got up at 5:30 when the alarm went off, left at 6:00 and got here at 6:20. Leaving at that time has another advantage in that it usually takes me 45 minutes to get to work on a regular day, but there was no traffic this morning. Part is probably because school hasn't started back yet. I guess we'll see how tomorrow goes. I can get my 10 hours in with no problem and still get to leave at 4:20 (I never take a lunch break, just eat at my desk) ... get to the store, home to make dinner and clean it up and I'll STILL have an hour or so of downtime before bed. I think it'll work!

Angela, the tents sound cute and what a great gift! I'm sure the girls (and cats) will enjoy them!

Better get cracking on it ... see you all in a little while!

Good Morning Chicks! I'm up and about to go get ready to go to WW. I know there will be a large gain. I just don't know how much of it is from the TOM that has been looming for over a week. Sigh. I've been arguing with myself about not going but it really doesn't change what is true. So I'm going and I'm going to view it as my clean slate. I probably won't share what the number is since for me that is the beauty of the clean slate. I will do everything in my power not to gain any more weight.

I'll talk to you all later. I've got a million errands to run.

Good plan Kathy....now go home at 4:20 :D

Vickie, good luck with the clean slate.

I woke up ready to start this new year. The crockpot recipe was the first thing I saw on my screen this morning so I think I'll have crockpot roast beef for dinner...seems a good choice considering the state of my kitchen today!

It's back to the "real world" of work for me. I'm too young for this. I need to be outside playing :rolleyes:

Rhonda

Hello all. I postd the crockpot beef receipe this morning -- it was wonderful. The worcester and A-1 really added a nice flavor. DH loved it, he actually finished the left overs for lunch today. I have my balsamic chicken marinating and I'll be making the new barley side dish tonight as well. I promise to post all of these recipes tomorrow when I'm at work. Right now AOL and dail up are driving me crazy -- my new years resolution is to get a new PC (mine is 5+ years old and acting odd) and broadband connection.

Sandra - I spent hours yesterday catching up on my photos as well. I had not done them since 2004. It was alot of fun to see the changes in Sarah over the past 2 years.

Linda, I'm in Easton, where did you live in MA? Small world isn't it! My sister is now 56 and in the next few years they will be retiring, selling their house, adding on to my nieces house and spending most of the year traveling in their motor home. They certainly love it -- not sure if I would.

Kathy, how is your visit with Shaun? I hope he is doing well and glad to be though the basic training. What is his next stop? I'll keep your brother in my prayers that Baby Eli stays with them. They are special parents by just taking in foster kids. Keep us up to date on what happens.

I too have re-read my ww material and I'lm going to join you all on the sweet heart challenge. 10 pds by VD will be wonderful, if I can do it. I'll add the tracker tomorrow as well. I tried a couple times today and did not get very far.

Angela, your girls must be having a ball with the tents. Sarah got a super fort for Christmas last year - allows her to make all shapes and size tents. She still plays with it alot.

Rhonda, enjoy the roast. As I said, it did come out wonderful. Hope you like it.

Take care all -- I'm off to clean my house.

Hey Chicks! I'm home from WW, lunch, and errands and I'm pooped. I'm going to go have my fruit salad and some water and maybe a nap. We stayed up too late and got up too early. I'll try to come back later to catch up.

I gained and I will gain no more. My intention is to have a loss each week throughout 2007. It can be as little as .2 but it must be a loss. I know that I might not be perfect at this but I intend to put my whole effort into it. I am out of excuses and sick of me!

So I am starving here and everyone is talking about food - how yummy! I am hungry like every 2 hours and trying to stay in control.

Yes I got up this morning at what seemed like the crack of dawn (7 am) and tiptoed around the house as EVERYONE ELSE is still asleep - yes kids still home this week and dh of course too. I called him at 10 am and he was still in bed - the lazy good for nothing - told him he had to get up and take control of that house and those kids - ya he said - you're just jealous cuz you're at work! harumphhhhf.

At least it's a pretty slow day but I still have tons of stuff to catch up on - took me the whole morning to get thru my emails and messages.

Kathy - hope the drive home is quicker too - school has not started here either so the cars were actually 'moving' instead of just sitting on the highway.

Vickie - how was the froufie roast? How was your WW meeting?

...and Paula - we await all those great recipes you are testing for us :D

The bottom of my foot feels better - either so-called sliver is gone or completely embedded in my foot so I no longer feel it - until my foot turns green and falls off!

I do hope to treadmill tonight - but very tired. My real goal would be to wake up early and walk before going to work - but I would need to be a more disciplined frouf to make that work.

Okay so now I need to go find this sweetheart challenge everyone is talking about!

Frouf

hi there, chickies. it's been a full day here. i did get online a few minutes before i went shopping but didn't make it here. i missed ya'll. curtis is doing much much better at staying op than i'd thought he would. he's impressing me. he even :tread: again today. that makes 2 days in a row. i need to :tread:, too, cuz i didn't get to w a.

kathy, sounds like you have a good plan. i agree with rhonda that you need to go home at 4:20. don't stay at work any later. (this is mama horton speaking.)

vickie, i love your resolve. i will probably have a gain at wi this week, too, but will not have any more in 07. you've inspired me to do better.

linda, that roast sounds good. i'll have to check out the recipe. thanks for posting it for us.

rhonda, i like to use a slow cooker. when are you getting your new oven?

frouf, i found the sweetheart challenge over at ww general. maybe we need to post one here. okay, all this talk of walking--i'm going to :tread:

have a good evening, chickies.

I did leave at 4:20 (okay, it was really 4:40 but who cares?), went to Walgreens, Kroger, Tom Thumb and got gas. I made it home by 6:30 and then made Erin's chili for when she gets home from work late tonight. Judd already ate LO turkey chili from last night so we're good there. I'm not hungry.

Tomorrow is Shaun's 29th birthday; he and Erin will go out for lunch and I think I'll see if everyone wants to go out for dinner. I'm switching to Flex (or calorie counting) for a little while because I really am feeling deprived. There are certain cravings, like maple and brown sugar oatmeal, that I just don't want to use my 5 WPAs on. Since I'm actually in maintenance according to my WW goal, I could use 9 WPAs per day ... still though, I think I'll just cool it. These last few pounds are much more stubborn than the first 30 or so.

Off to the kitchen again ... have a great evening!

kathy, sounds like you have a good plan. ya'll enjoy yourselves tomorrow night. happy birthday to shaun.

Kathy: WE CARE :grouphug: Give them their 10 hours (and that's 2.5 hours too many!) and go home...this is Mama Love talking, and Mama Horton and I together are a force!

Vickie...I like the sound of that...some loss every week. I bought the People Magazine "half their size" edition today. If they can, we can!

I wasn't hungry until around 5PM then I noticed that my normally cheerful mood was getting just a little ragged. I thought it was because I was doing things I didn't want to do, but my mood vastly improved when I had some fruit and yogurt.

Sandra, I like my slow cooker too and a new stove might have to wait a month. We won't starve, I'm sure of that and I might get a break with some easier meals. I tend to really like to make meals complicated at times :stir:

You might remember that I mentioned that some Canadian grocery stores have been expanding their merchandise to include furniture, etc. in order to "compete" with WalMart. I read in today's paper that it's not working for them and they are backing off that strategy. OK by me, I like my grocery stores to sell groceries.

I put all the holiday decorations away today and began gathering up lots of stuff for Goodwill and for storage. As I've mentioned too many times, this house is really small... so I've decided to just put some stuff in commercial storage, anticipating moving in a few years into a bigger house. Others downsize in retirement but I'm going to go where there's more land and bigger houses and upsize. I'll have more room for chickies and other friends to come and visit so that's a real bonus :)

Rhonda

Hi everyone! My name is Melissa, and I think I used to post here a few eons ago. :)
I hope that you are all off to a great start to 2007. We can do it!! :cheers:
I'll be back soon, I promise! :D

Rhonda, just chuck it all and move back home! ;) You know what you can get for the same money here.

I also took down snowmen pictures and figurines and plushes ... the tree is still up and so are the Misfit characters in the big opening over the front door. I think that's all though. We'll get it down this weekend.

Shaun just came downstairs sounding like a frog. I asked what was up, and he said stress. Hmmm ... so I gave him some echinacea cough drops and Alka-Seltzer cold medicine. Hopefully he'll take them. He said he and Erin might go to Tyler to visit my parents tomorrow. That would be so great because if they did, I could work Saturday. We still need to see my brother, SIL and Baby Eli to give them their Christmas gifts.

This time of year is so much fun because every time I turn around, I see something else that can be donated and gotten out of my house. At this rate, I'll be completely decluttered by spring. My mom and SIL are having a yard sale at mom's and I'm definitely going. I will probably still have a truckload of things to take.

Time for bed; I'm hoping to leave by 5:30 to get to work at 6:00 tomorrow, so I must get to sleep by 9. I'd better hurry!!