Good Morning Chicks! I'm up early on this fine Sunday. I woke up at 5:15 and just could not go back to sleep no matter how hard I tried. Sheesh......I'm still tired. If I want, I'll be able to nap later. First paperwork.

Rhonda, I organized my photos a couple of years ago and it was a huge job. I vowed to put them all into albums as soon as I got new ones. I'm behind again but not like before. I sure hope your ankle heals quickly. It has taken my ankle forever to recover from the severe sprain.

Today I have all Core food planned and I'm finally going to make those core plus banana walnut muffins. I'm going to splurge on the points for the walnuts because they are good for me and because I REALLY want them. They are better than some of the things I have been wanting lately. I'll let you all know if the recipe turns out good. I know Jim will like them too. He's been trying hard to take off some weight and eat healthy for his blood sugar. I've been trying to have good healthy things around for him as well. He's exercising and I'm not. At this point, I'm really going to have to ease back into it since it has been so long. Maybe today.

Frouf, I sure hope you just spent your second night in Ft. Lauderdale and are on your way to the ship today.

Have a great on program day, everyone!

Hmmm....I just read something VERY interesting on another board. It's worth thinking about today and in future days. In response to someone saying she' gone off plan because there are so many parties and temptations........"There is always an excuse if you look for one."

I'm going to try to stop looking for excuses.

Has anyone checked out the Kashi meals yet to see if they are Core? We don't have them here yet.

http://kashi.com/ourfood/7WholeGrain.../Default2.aspx

Ooh, I like that saying Vickie. It is so true.

I introduced my girls to pita bread yesterday, and 2 out of 3 loved it, so I consider it a success.

Little Stitches (youngest dd) is doing well...trucking along and doesn't even seem to notice the gash in her forehead. I know if I had 5 stitches in my forehead, I'd be whining and crying for days!

We're off to church today. It feels like forever since we've gone...last week was actually cancelled because of the blizzard, and we've been sick the weeks and weeks before that.

Time to go get ready,
Angela

Morning all:

Those muffins sound great, Vickie. Let us know how they are. DH doesn't care for walnuts, but I do!!

"Little Stitches" ! That's great...I bet she loves it.

There are 4000 households still without power from our Thursday blizzard. The utility company can't get to all of the downed trees and get the wires back up.

My day is going to be a day, not of rest, but of chores. I'll do more work on the picuture organizing and getting my study into some decent shape. It looks like the bottom of a teenager's closet right now!

Rhonda

Quite a picture you paint, Rhonda! I sure can imagine how it looks. I don't do well with clutter around me. I'm always trying to organize and keep my flat spaces flat. That's really something about the power situation. It sounds like Frouf was very, very lucky to get out at all.

Angela, does she know you call her that? I'd be whining too. It must have been nasty because I heard they use butterfly bandages whenever they can now, especially on the face. I hope you find some peace at church.

The muffins smell fabulous! Too bad I didn't notice that they made 24 muffins before I started. I'd have cut the recipe in half. I sure hope they freeze well.....and....I hope they come out of the pan. I haven't eaten lunch yet so I'm thinking 2 muffins and a cup of tea. What's not ok about bananas, applesauce, oatmeal, farina, splenda and some spices?

Woo Hoo! Hope you're all having a great day.

Thanks Vickie, I did find peace. It was nice being there surrounded by people who care about us, and remembering the big picture of why we're here. It was definitely what I needed.

Well, dh suggested calling little dd "Scarface," so I think Little Stitches has a better ring to it than that. I think, Vickie, that the wound was gaping pretty well, and was fairly deep, so that's why they had to stitch it. I imagine it's going to leave a pretty distinct scar.

It's sunny today, and I'm happy. Sun is often rare here in Iowa in Feb/March, so any sunny day, I'll take.

I'm off for a quiet day with the family today. I'll worry about the world and all that tomorrow.

Angela

Angela, I thought you'd feel better after church. Enjoy your evening surrounded by your family.

The muffins are marvelous. I'm going to go post the recipe now. I froze a dozen of them and I don't know yet for sure if the freeze good. I won't know that for a while. If you don't have more than 4 people eating them, I'd advise halving the recipe.

My roast chicken is cooking and it smells wonderful. I'm quite hungry. Off to peel potatoes now.

I just copied the muffin recipe. I'll have to make some.

I'm just stopping in to see what's going on. I'm still up to my eyeballs in paper and stuff. We're having chili for dinner and I'm ready to eat!

Rhonda

I have been one busy non-stop girl since yesterday morning. I have cleaned out more closets, dusted, vacuumed, swept, thrown away, sorted, and finally ... a big trip to the mission (the entire TrailBlazer was full), both large trashcans are full to go out tomorrow plus there are a few stray trash bags.

Today I made chocolate chip walnut cookies, banana bread, and a white cake with icing to take to work tomorrow. Everything is clean, the Roomba is going, dinner is already decided (sliced beef brisket from Dickey's BBQ). I went to the post office, to the grocery store, to the fabric store. I stripped beds and washed sheets and comforters, ordered another comforter set for the yellow room upstairs, cleaned and organized the shelves in the utility room, the pantry ... cleaned out and organized two junk drawers and the battery box. I washed all the throws in the family room, did Judd's laundry so he could leave for Whiteman AFB for the week, and windexed everything in sight.

Now I'm sitting down.

Angela, that's great news about your DH! And stinky news about Miss Little Stitches ... but that's childhood for you.

Looking back, I'm surprised I wasn't investigated by Child Protective Services. The most memorable: Erin fell in the neighbor's driveway and cut her eyebrow on the bumper. She got stitched up. Then the next week right before we leave to get stitches out, I was feeding the girls and Kate stood up in her high chair, tumbled out, gashing her head open. It turned into a double appointment: Erin got her stitches out, Kate got some put in. The day I took Kate to go get her stitches out, Erin fell out of her chair at school and broke out her front teeth. The day of Erin's final dentist appointment, Kate fell off the picnic table while I was at softball practice and broke her arm.

Vickie, I'm glad you had a good time last night. That is a very good saying and one we should all print out and keep handy. There really is no shortages of excuses, so I guess all we can do is just take a deep breath and plow thru them with resolve to stick to our plan.

Dogs are hungry so I'd better get going.

Whew! Makes me tired just reading it. Glad you had a productive day. Now you deserve a nice long rest.

Angela

Good grief, Kathy! I'll quit complaining right now!


Hmmmm, Dickey's BarBQue...my mouth is watering. There is actually NO good bar-b-que in Toronto. There are a few places that are advertised as having good stuff, but, nope....one place does have good Memphis style but it ain't home. The Koreans have good bar-b-que also, but, again, not good enough.

The new recliner was delivered today and it is very comfy. I haven't sat in it for more than 5 minutes, but maybe I'll have some popcorn and see if I can find anything on TV a little later.

I've been OP all day and it feels good. I'm working up to starting "serious" calorie deficits next week. I feel pudgy and bored with the scale not moving, and bored with being bored by it. You know the feeling!

Rhonda

Rhonda, I'd send you some BBQ if I could. Dickey's is our favorite.

I had to go back to the store for Brillo pads -- I'm giving Judd's shower a good talking-to while he's gone. Now I'm making some bacon for Erin's breakfast(s) this week, and THEN am absolutely going to sit and watch TV. I think I have something to wear to work tomorrow. I think...

As for being busy, it's darn well time. More often than not, I have lazy days when all I do is go to work, come home and cook, clean up the kitchen and do the laundry. Those are the days when dead ticks wouldn't fall off of me! (Okay, is that just a Texas saying? Does it even make sense to anyone?)

It must be spring cleaning that's getting to me. It has been in the 60-70s for several days now.