Coco, you're a wise woman. Lots of good tips here.

Vickie, I can tell you're a busy chickie. Sounds like you're in the whirl of things and are having a lot of fun. Makes me smile.

:tree::present:MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

I know how everyone is soo busy right now. Dh just left to go to work,,yup hes working till christmas night...so I will have my family over here tomorrow night with the girls ,,,we will have a quiet christmas day, spend dinner with my brother and his family and then come home to wait for dh to come home for our celebration. It sure is different this year..Dh and I opened our stocking already tonight,,I found him a little keychain digital camera ,,it will keep him busy playing with it till he comes home.
We've had quite the weather since thursday...omg...its absolutly poured rain for three days.....melted tons of our snow,,,,today it started to turn to snow and heavy wet stuff..closed the highways all day!!! Just opened an hour ago. Im sooooooo glad my girls are home!!
Ive got a few last minute things to do tomorrow but not much..the girls are such a big help! They've been baking and doing dishes..so nice!
We had the Dinner alone supper last night for people who are alone at christmas..got some big hugs from people who were so appreciative.
Have a great trip to Paris Cammie,,,,you should be so excited not stressing about your eating there.. you know what to do,, walk lots and eat small portions. Enjoy yourself there,,
Tejas I think its going to be nice for you to have your turkey when you are relaxed and not feeling so tired. Something to look forward to after the big day. Thats when Im cooking our turkey too. Much more easier and stress free
Im thinking of everyone else...waving hi!! big hugs to everyone! Enjoy this time with your family.........

Rhonda, I was thinking I'd replied to you earlier. I'm glad you're not pressuring yourself. Enjoy yourself. I know your ex-fil loves and appreciates everything you do for him and his wife.

Patti, sounds like you're in the midst of a whirlwind. Enjoy!

I'm still OP. Ain't that somethin?

Can you believe this!? I wrote that I wasn't cooking tomorrow, then sat down and watched two sappy movies. I was so rested that I got up and got everything ready for tomorrow! I also pared down the menu greatly, and won't make any dessert. We'll just have turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and broccoli. I won't make any bread, and I'll make a small salad. That will be it.

So, Vickie, sit down for a few minutes/hours.

Patti, we have rain and rain and rain, washing away the snow. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? At least we're not in the midwest, where so many people are suffering from snow, ice and wind.

Rhonda

Hi all ladies. Well, I have certainly gotten in my exercise this week! We got dumped on snow-wise Saturday night, and spent all yesterday digging out our driveway and my dad's driveway. I think I have a bit of windburn on my cheeks now - they feel funny, but I'm keeping them moisturized. :)

I had some cookies yesterday, but I think the APs from 3 hours of heaving snow around might cover them.

I still have some presents to wrap today, and maybe one other to make. My sisters's homebound MIL lives with them here in town, and I may make a clipboard caddy thing for her to put on her clipboard she carries around. I clean for her once a week, and she pays me $15/hour, so it's a good deal for me. :)

Other than that, I think I'm ready for the big day tomorrow. My girls are getting very excited.

I'll attach some snow pictures for your amusement. Have a wonderful holiday everybody, if I don't get back here!

Angela

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...addriveway.jpg

My Dad's Driveway

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...T/backyard.jpg

Pathway between our house and my Mom's

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...T/Sidewalk.jpg

Me, after shoveling 3 hours - I look puffy because I'm wearing 3 pairs of pants. :)

Good Morning and Merry Almost Christmas Chicks! I just woke up and am feeling pretty rested.

Angela, I was wondering if you got all that snow they were talking about and I see you did. Holy Cow! And....thanks for not sending it here. We can see the grass here after all the rain. You are a wonderful daughter to take such good care of your parents. The path to your parents house made me smile and get a little teary. You are SO lucky to still have both of your parents and are especially blessed to have them so close. i envy you very much. And, I read your poem to your Mom and cried. I'm sure she is going to love it.

Rhonda, I wish I could give you a big old hug. We are a lot alike. I would have reacted the very same way. Doyle is a good man just like my Jim. Talk about blessed. We both got lucky in the husband department. You'll get it fixed and everything will be ok. I don't have the roof issue though. Mine is the power going out. I'm freaking about that. That's part of the reason we converted our fireplace to gas burning. That way, if the power goes out, we can turn the fireplace on and stay a little warm. In the summer we can go in the pool to keep cool. I hope that all is better for you today and I pray for no rain or snow until you can get it fixed.

Cammie, I'm with the rest of the choir here. Go to Paris and enjoy your once in a lifetime trip. I, too, have a friend who went multiple times and she ate what she wanted, walked her legs off, and came back without more than a pound or two gain. In the meantime, try to be as good as you can at as many meals as you can.

Ann, you are so sweet and have such positive energy. I'm enjoying having you here. Don't worry about being too busy to post. We all understand. Just come back when you can.

Patti, I can just feel your joy jumping off the screen. I'm SO happy for you that you have your girls home and are enjoying your holiday so much.

Coco, I hated hearing your power went off. I'd have been frantic. I hope your Hubby is feeling better. No one wants to be sick for the holidays. We are so lucky to have you with us. It's a good thing that we all keep coming to check in here. I think it means that we haven't given up and are still trying to stay on program. What are your holiday plans?

Well, I suppose I should go do my banking and think about getting ready. We are meeting the Niece/NIL and their three kids for lunch at a pretty good Core restaurant around the corner from our house. Then we'll come back here until they have to leave for their other party. Then I have to make the jello mold and macaroni and cheese. Jim and I open our presents on Christmas Eve. I have a nice bottle of wine that we got for a gift for a couple of years ago. We're going to crack it open tonight and drink it while we open our packages. And.....I'm not going to even look at the points. So there.

I'm fairly certain I won't be able to be back until late on Wednesday so on that note......MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY CHICKIE FRIENDS!!!!!

Rhonda, I'm glad you're in better spirits and are able to make your Christmas dinner. Sometimes we need to just sit down and regroup, don't we?

I try to stay positive here (don't I?) but I confess I've been in a Christmas depression lately. Christmas just isn't like it used to be. Nuff said. Anyway, Curtis and I are plugging along. We have movies rented, arrows to shoot, and mostly core foods here at the ranch. We'll be fine.

We went over for a short visit this afternoon at my son's. The girls looked adorable both dressed in purple for their party at their other grandparents tonight. My dil is from a fairly large family and they all still get together on Christmas Eve and stay till sometime Christmas Day. They have a big family breakfast on Christmas Day right after the kids find what Santa left. (Here I go again. I miss traditions.)

Nuff said for sure now.

Vickie, I am smiling thinking of you and Jim sipping wine opening your gifts. What a romantic event!

Coco, I missed the part about your electricity going off. I hope you have it back on and it stays on now. How is dh feeling? I hope he's better.

Angela, I am thinking you earned enough activity points to cover about any number of cookies. That's a lot of snow. Thank you for sharing the photos.

Sandra, I haven't been in the best spirits this year either but I'm trying. If you and Curtis can get here by 8:00, Jim and I will share our wine and fire with both of you.

Maybe it will help to start some new traditions. That's what we are trying to do.

Thank you, Vickie. That's a good idea about starting new traditions. We were actually talking about that yesterday. I guess I'm just in the dumps cuz we're already finished with Christmas and I'm "on a diet and I'm fat". Am I spoiled? We'll settle in and watch some movies tonight. We do have a friend coming to spend the weekend with us. Guess I need to stop whining.

Oh, go ahead and whine, Cuz. It's a great season, but it's a melancholy one too. I always get a bit down because we humans haven't lived up to the promise of the coming of the light.

I'm with Vickie, Angela. I do hope you love living so close to your parents. For all kinds of good reasons, I left home fairly young. My parents never put pressure on me to return to live near them, and I visited very often. But, I have some regret about not having lived nearer them as an adult.

Yes, Vickie, the meal is almost together. The turkey is cooking and the veggies are waiting their turn in the oven. It should be a good meal, and DH has even been helping by basting the turkey and prepping the veggies. He usually hides when I stride into what we call a kitchen!

I saw my former inlaws today....MIL was in pretty good mood, considering her situation. FIL was delighted with the Christmas goodies. She actually asked if I had used her recipe for the date squares. I lied and said "yes." It's close enough to hers, and I would have used hers if she had ever given it to me!! ;)

I'll change our thread tomorrow morning..I forgot that today was Monday!

Rhonda

Today is Monday? :dizzy:

Cuz, I am all right now. I was hoping I could get back here and post before anyone read my thread. I figured out what was wrong with my mood. I told Curtis Christmas was about over and I hadn't eaten anything decadent yet. As my weight watcher partner and favorite husband ever, he said, "Go get something and get me some ice cream."

So we are now loaded with goodies and are having our own celebration in a few minutes. Oops! The timer's going off! Our celebration is about to begin.

Someone said the other day that the holidays aren't about the food. I think I'm going to politely disagree. I wish it weren't so but for me the food's a big part.

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve everyone.

I have had my holiday splurge. I didn't run over anyone on my way to the grocery store. Came home with a few decadent items. The good news is I only had one serving. I am ready to be back OP again now. So's Curtis. He definitely overdid it.

Our electricity went out about an hour ago. The power company is here now. I'm running puter via battery. It's actually sort of romantic. Curtis and I are sitting here with only a flashlight shining on the ceiling. I need to shut down this puter and go snuggle.

Sandra, I surely didn't mean you couldn't whine! Whine away GF. I certainly do. There is a difference between whining and wallowing as far as I'm concerned. You never wallow. You recover quicker than anyone I know.

I'm off to cook a full Christmas breakfast for me and Jim. It has to last until dinner time. I got some absolute wonderful gifts from my husband. The most decadent was my iPod. I'm SO excited.

Merry Christmas Chicks!

Vickie, I didn't take any offense at all. You know how I am. I just get mad at myself. I was in "kickbutt" mode to myself. I appreciated your suggestion just like I always do. You're one of my sisters.

Coco, sounds like a good idea taking your tracker in for your leader to lookover.

Merry Christmas, everyone!