I was hoping someone else would perfect it but I may give it a shot next week. I'm going to be watching the posts there to see if someone works on it before I make it.

What does everyone have planned for the weekend. We have NOTHING!

Oh my, it is, as my brother says, snowing like mad monkeys here. Again! We've had so much more snow this year than we usually get. It is quite pretty though - with the big fluffly flakes drifting down.

Here's an NSV for you...we were in a meeting with the paper/food supplier yesterday until late, so we decided to skip my dinner menu and make hot dogs and french fries (from the supplier, to test for our store) for the kids for dinner. I was very hungry, but I made myself some leftover baked egg rolls and rice instead of munching down on the hot dogs and fries. :cheer:

Our plans for the weekend include shop-vaccing the store after the drywallers are done sanding so that it'll be ready for the tile guys and the painters on Monday. Whee.

I also need to devise a schedule to work on some fine motor stuff with my youngest. She is a little delayed both in fine and gross motor, and I want to help her get up to snuff before kindergarten next fall. She's quite bright, but just can't get her hands to cooperate when it comes to writing and coloring.

Well, I'm hungry, it's lunchtime, and I hear some leftover beef stew calling my name.

Angela

Wow Angela - good for you for avoiding the hot dogs and fries - you are a stronger woman than I! :D

Welcome Noussa - where in Canada did you live? I am in Ottawa and it's FREEZING here right now - bet you don't miss the cold weather!

Sandra - I am sporting my pedometer now and we are supposed to start tracking our steps (for my weight training program) as of next Monday and logging them and then trying to increase by about 20% per week!! Wish me luck.

Well workout was gruelling as usual - I upped my weights to 5 lbs for 2 of the 3 arm exercises - and will start increasing leg weights as well (except for those killer side lifts - even 3 lbs makes me say ouch at the end!).

And I was hungry throughout - had a 6 inch subway around 5 pm and it just didn't fill me up - I was still hungry afterward but knew I did not want to work out on a full stomach :( Had popcorn when I got home!

Tired today - not enuf sleep and so looking forward to tomorrow and hoping to sleep in and just relax all weekend!

What are everyone's plans for the weekend?

Frouf

I'm proud of you, Frouf! The exercise is going to make a HUGE difference in your weight loss efforts. I need to get myself away from this computer.

We have no plans. 1-3 more inches of snow tomorrow. I have to go figure out what I'm going to cook tomorrow so I can send Jim out for supplies.

Also....time for lunch.

Hey Froufy... I am originally from Toronto... like Tejas! I miss it sooooo much! I would kill for a Tim Hortons Coffee! :)
In the US, I was in Naperville, IL- a suburb of Chicago.
Funny, this internet thing, the physical distance between us seems to be a non-issue. Our grandmothers would be AMAZED! :)
Anyways, I'd take snow over 40 degree weather and extreme humidity any day! :)

Frouf, ;) ;) ;) with the pedometer. I think mine is in a restroom at a gas station somewhere. Oh, well, life goes on. I'm going to head over to the playhouse in a few minutes to :ebike:

Angela, :encore: on turning down the dogs. You're a strong chickie for sure.

Vickie, keep us posted on the carrot cake. Your weekend sounds relaxing. We have 2 tournaments. I'm shooting my compound Sat and my longbow Sun.

Noussa, how long will you be there? Long term? Short term? Just wondering.

Hey Sandra,
I am not quite sure how long I'll be here for, I've only been here one month! I am assuming I'll be here for a while. It's really not that bad- much better than I expected! If you have any questions about the country, please ask!

Hi Everyone
Just wanted to say "HI"
I am not going to be on here long. I have a really bad headache. So am going to go take some motrin. And lay down and cover up. Am a little chilled.
We ran some errends for our son today. Was in and out alot. Was was kind cool here. In the twenty's. But the wind chill was about zero.
I am thinking of each of you.
Hope you have had a great day.
Will be back here tomorrow. Shouldnt have to go anywhere tomorrow. And get to stay home. YEAH!!
Have a wonderful evening everyone
coco

Noussa, I don't really know much at all about Saudi Arabia. I'd love for you to share information with us. How about food buying? Do you go to supermarkets like over here? Do they have the same products?

Coco, I hope you're feeling better. I'll bet all that in and out of the cold got you.

Hi All

Welcome Nousa - I don't post often but I try and at least check the posts once every day or two, so you may not see me here too often, but I love all these chicks just the same. I am from Toronto also.

We have very little on the go this weekend.

We just came to the realization that our daughter has an English exam to write on Monday and then she is finished high school...forever. WOW - I know it sounds cliche but it really does feel like just yesterday we were walking her to kindergarten. I think we may surprise her and take her out for dinner on Sunday night. I might make her go and see High School Musical! :D

Now we just have to get her bundled up and off to University! She has picked 3 - (for the Canadians - McMaster, Carleton, and Brock) so we wait and see where she will be accepted. We have all shifted into the next stage of our lives literally overnight.

I'm feelin' old here girls!

Hi chicks
Welcome Nousa! Saudi Arabia..wow!! Im from northern ontario here..a long way from TO. Id love to hear how things are different in that country. My oldest Dd who lives in Ottawa , was asked if she would like to help open a daycare in Dubai!!! omg..she turned it down,,they wanted someone to committ to a years contract from march to march..shes gettting married in july so no go. I couldnt imagine her living in the middle east...and here you are doing it! What made you move there?? sorry if im too nosy..
well gals the scale was up 2.5 this week...I guess the rice krispie square from last weekend got to me afterall..I joined a weekend challenge to stay OP all weekend and so far so good...weekends are sooooooo hard.
I pulled a real boneheaded thing tonight. I replied to an email from an elderly aunt about the upcoming wedding..well I meant to send it to my dd..the email sounded rude the way it was written (and you guys know me by now..I am not rude) the aunt emailed it right back to me asking what was going on?? I had mentioned i was so surprised they were actually coming and jokinly asked my dd if she still had room for more guests............aughhhhhhh the joke is my dd had to change locations already.. the first place she picked was too small...so we are always joking about it...everytime someone replys yes..i always say..do you still have room??? wll my aunt got this email by mistake and now thinks she wasnt supposed to be invited and there isntroom for her..........i feel sickkkkkk. I tried to reply and explain..i hope it came out right..I wont be sleeping tonight..and I will not eat my way thru it either but my heart is sitting right in my stomach right now. I just had to get this off my chest....

Oh my goodness, so many posts. It's wonderful. A few months ago I was betting our thread was going to be 3FC history. I so glad I was wrong.

Patti, don't feel too badly about your misplaced email. Not sleeping will just make it worse (I know all about not sleeping!). Your aunt will likely come to the wedding and have a great time: make sure her glass is never empty!!

Lytricia, I was looking at my favorite photo of me and my godson. He is about 18 months old in the picture. Then I thought, oh my, he has a son who is almost 3 years old now. I can remember the day that his mother took that picture of us as clearly as if it were this morning (can't remember where I put my car key today, but the picture session, I remember!). Isn't life grand most of the time. These little tykes that we help through life...I'm getting all misty eyed here!

Froufy, how are you using weights on leg lifts? Are they around your ankles? Good for you on the exercise!!

I am sore from :belly: last night. My lower back is not the strongest and there is a lot of twisting to do. But, I'm going to keep at it because it's so much fun.

DH and I went out to dinner and I ate bar-b-que like there would never be any more ever! It's not easy to get here in Toronto, so we were happy to find a good place. I won't be going often, I'll tell you!! :hungry: I'm going to have a strict weekend after that binge!

Weekend plans? The dishwasher comes tomorrow...send up your dirty dishes!

OK, I hope everyone has a good night. (Sleep, Patti!)

Rhonda

Good morning Chickies! A small NSV for me -- I've used not WPA so far this week. Which means my nightly glass of wine has been missing. Last night I was going to have one but then decided - why? Had some chocolate cake and tea instead. So, I'm still at 0 WPA!!

Noussa, I'm looking forward to hearing more about your life. How long are you there for? Are you working? How does life differ from here? It is amazing with the web how small the world has come.

Patti - I'm with you on the weekend challenge. This has always been a hard time of week. Plus now I'm weighing in on Tuesdays -- so if I blow it the scale will show it. I just made a fruit smoothy and core quiche. Need to get a big glass and keep it filled with water. One meal at a time.

Well, my plans this weekend is to finish clearing out our spare room. Not sure if in the past I had shared how we bought an old farm house about 10 years ago. Room by room we have been doing it over. For DH, who is a carpenter, doing a room over means completly gutting it down to the studs. In this house its needed as there is little or no insulation in the original walls. Well, we have 2 rooms upstairs left and two downstairs. DH is starting on the upstairs in a few weeks. This is our junk room -- its been a challenge to find a place to put all the junk that is in the junk room. We are almost there. Once that room is done our bedroom will move in there and he'll do our room. Then the first room becomes Sarah's new bedroom, her current room will be the home office/junk room. Big rotation! I'm hoping its all done by June.

Well, off to clean and go grocery shopping. Just realized that when my new cleaning lady starts, every other Saturday I won't have to clean!!!! WOO HOO!

BBL

Good Morning Chicks! It's grey and cold here but warming up. We are supposed to have 40 degrees on Monday and maybe 50 on Tuesday. Look out if all this snow melts that quickly!

Noussa, how cool! I have a couple of friends who lived in Naperville. My best friend (the one who died a year ago today) grew up in Downers Grove. The world is indeed a tiny tiny place with the creation of the internet. I'm a Dunkin' Donuts girl myself and really enjoy McDonald's coffee in a pinch. It's gotten pretty darned good. Of course, I don't even know if there are McDonald's in your neck of the world!

Coco, I hope you're feeling better this morning. I have a sneaky suspicion that you are still feeling poorly.

Hey Lytricia! Good to see you. Don't feel old. Now is the time for the rest of YOUR life to begin. How exciting is that?!

Oh Patti! Call your Aunt on the phone. Don't try to fix this in writing. Sometimes the written word/email can be so cold and can't convey when we are being playful or joking. She'll hear the sincerity in your voice and when you tell her the story/joke I bet she'll understand. I'd feel the same way you do. I hope you slept last night and I hope you didn't eat your emotions like I did last night. It hasn't gotten me anywhere good in the last 51 years so you'd think I'd stop doing it. I'm back on program this morning. How are you?

Rhonda, I guess our board just goes in cycles. In past years, it always gets pretty quiet around the holidays. If it was that quiet now,I bet we'd be gone. BBQ sounds great! I could really go for some. Maybe it's time for me to make some Cola chicken next week. Enjoy that dishwasher!

Paula that is no LITTLE victory! That's a huge one. In my many years following Core I have NEVER gone a week using no WPA's. I can't wait to hear what your loss is this week. I bet it's going to be huge. Have you been exercising too? All of you are SO motivating.

Angela, I love hearing all the updates on your new business venture. When do you expect to open? And BTW, I think you're doing great and I'm glad you're back.

Ok Chickies.....it's time for me to get going and try to find something to distract myself today. I've already decided to look at my picture albums to remember my friendship with Cindy. I simply cannot believe that she's been dead a year already. I'll touch base with her kids and try to spend the time enjoying my own life while it's here for me!

Have a great day.

It seems that there is a McDonalds, Starbucks and Seattles Best on every corner...not to mention Ruby Tuesday, Chilis, Fridays and Fudruckers!
Vicki, it's like I still live off of Rt.59! There is EVERYTHING here... Seriously, I can't think of any major American Chain Store that didn't make it's way to Saudi. Jeddah is very glitzy and even though the country has strict rules on how you access these shops, the people are very modern! For example: Every store has 2 entrances... one for bachelors and one for "families" code word for women! A woman must NEVER enter through the "singles or bachelor" door... I learned that one the hard way! :) Also, during prayer times (there are 5 a day) Everything stops. So, if you're at Starbucks and it's time to pray, no one will serve you. They lock the doors, shut off the lights and and go to pray. You can stay and enjoy your order, they just won't take new orders during that time. And then, magically, when the prayer is over, things begin to bustle again. Women here are required to wear a Abaya. It's a long black loose cloak that you wear over your clothes. In Jeddah, women do not have to cover their hair, but most do anyways. It's as if the entire country has a highschool uniform. The Abaya is meant to be a symbol of modesty and equality, but you should see some of these women carrying a $50K Hermes bag and wearing $2K shoes! Not so modest! :) There is a lot of money here and people here can afford luxuries.
Some of you were asking why I am here.... my husband accepted a job here and my mother lives in Cairo, Egypt. I thought it would be nice to move a little closer to her and since our kids are still young and not in school, now is the time to experiment! :)
OK, this is one loooooong post! I will end this now and post again tomorrow, I am afraid to bore all of you lovely ladies!
Noussa