Kathy, I'm such a salt addict. I understand. You'll get it back off. Having said that, though, sometimes crying makes me feel better. And, you're at work. It's hard to feel great there.

Patti, I'm sorry you're still sick. It's maddening to lose posts when you are well. Thanks for the sympathy. I'm still wallowing a bit. I've only seen that one fragment....and it was tiny.

I need to go eat breakfast.

HEEELLLLLOOOOO!!!! I came here for a break after doing my budget and paperwork. No one is here and so now I have to go clean the family room. Bummer.

FROOOUUUUFFFIEEEE! Where are you?

I'm finally here!

We did make it to our meeting this morning, although late. We got around 3 inches probably, and it is still snowing. But it is fluffy stuff, and the roads are pretty clear. Anyway, here is the short summary of our meeting:
*we can be approved for a lot more than we want to;
*the monthly payments we want to make gets us a LOT less house than we thought it would;
*we didn't go through getting pre-approved but will probably do that soon;
*we've deliberated some since then and will probably start searching for something soon;
*we are probably going to go for something smaller and much less than we first anticipated (after all, it is our first purchase, we will probably live in it 3-5 years and then move again);
*we learned our credit is much better than we thought
*AND finally despite some initial disappointment and sticker shock we think we are figuring out a game plan, and know that we will be happier in our own place, even if it is small. We even went and drove by one today that we wouldn't have considered yesterday, but since we now know it is more in our price range we are looking at it and not as bad as we were thinking, so our perception has changed
Now was that a summary or what?

Saundra, I'm sure you are enjoying your afternoon!!

Kathy, sorry the scale was up this morning, though I'm sure it is from eating salty food last night. Sounds good though! I am a salt addict too. Hope you are leaving work by now!

Vickie, thanks for the encouragement. You are so sweet. Try not to get too discouraged about the stones, I'm sure they are rolling on down!! I can't believe that price tag though. I just can't imagine that it would actually cost that much money. Some doctor somewhere is making a pretty penny.

Well I really need to do some laundry (it is taking over the bedroom) and read for class. I hope that everyone is having a great Saturday.

Left the kids, did some grocery shopping and now I'm back home. It was a quiet afternoon. Their house is getting painted, so there is lots of stuff all over the place and lots of dust. I know they'll be glad when it's all back in order.

Vickie, that sounds like such a crazy amount. Since we don't have to pay for procedures here, it seems so outlandish. Adam (youngest) is on about $1500.00 of meds monthly. Blue Cross covers most of it, and if he wasn't working, the provincial government would cover it. How long do they think that it will take for all the stones to pass?

Melissa, that's pretty good news. You're smart to start off modestly. This gives you a chance to fix up a place of your own, and continue to save for the next larger home. It's a fun time, so enjoy!

Kathy, Kathy, too much salty stuff. Drink lots of water and don't go too crazy. Remember, the scale will be there Monday morning too.

Judy, it sounds like a fun evening ahead. The 3 Stooges were part of my growing up years.

Patty, losing posts is a bummer. I do a lot of copy and paste to be safe. Hope you feel well now.

It's salmon, sweet potatoes and green beans tonight. I'll try to have only one glass of wine. Hope there's a good movie on tonight, it's a good one to put on the fireplace and snuggle.

Time for idle TV and maybe a snooze,

...climbing out of the deep dark hole (I think I saw a wagon rolling on overhead?)...ha ha ha

Vickie - I sure hope that stones are made of GOLD! Wow - that is pretty expensive stuff - hope it becomes more reasonable for your portion!

Kathy - we too hate smokey places and are so spoiled now cuz every restaurant is now smoke free! We really noticed it on the ship tho - and yes we had yucky smelling hair and clothes - quite a shocker!

Saundra - what restaurant did you go to? My gf who lives in Barrhaven says there are couple of really good ones that recently opened up.

...and it's still too cold for me here - I am still dreaming of warm sandy beaches and aqua blue water.

Yesterday I stayed home and ate everything in sight (actually not quite correct - had breakfast at mcdonald's, then to the library for books, then home....). I think I have a sinus thing going on as my head still hurts and I get this throbbing in my nose area - so weird feeling!

Today I have decided to slow down on food consumption and TOM finally arrived which is helping...but we are on our way out for our valentine's dinner so I can't promise to be good! Dh has made the plans - so I'm not quite sure where we're going (altho I have a pretty good idea?) - reservation at 7 pm so almost time to get ready.

Also got my nails done today - a nice deep pink/rose color, and had a nice debrief with the salon lady who is also just back from her cruise. Had fun comparing notes - and yes we both felt 1 week was just not enuf!

Today I have eaten: Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 1 slice flax toast, sliced tomato, decaf w/light cream, 1 banana; Snack: 1 slice gefilte fish, decaf w/cream, lunch (4 pm): small roll w/margarine, rotisserie chicken, potato, cole slaw - tried not to eat too much due to dinner out - but it is like 6 pm and I am STARVING! ...and have a headache - so I shall go take some painkillers and try to relax before going out? We might go see a movie after dinner depending on timing and how tired we feel.

I did get some groceries on way home from manicure - but might still need more 'stuff' as we await confirmation if dh's nieces are coming for dinner tomorrow night (18 and 20 and now live near us - instead of in the country w/their parents as their attending college in town). I am planning on spaghetti w/meat sauce and ceasar salad and garlic bread - still need to get salad fixings and bread and something for dessert?...and some wine?

Hope everyone has a lovely warm and cozy evening planned!

Frouf

Saundra, it sounds like you've had a great day. Thanks for the encouragement. I am really looking forward to having a place of our own to do as we please.

Frouf, glad to see you back! I hope that you and DH have a wonderful evening, and that your headache subsides so that you can enjoy it. You do have a terrible time with headaches don't you?

Well I am attempting to make oven fries for supper. But of course I prepared them and THEN looked at the recipe. So I forgot to soak them!! I hope that they still turn out okay.

Speaking of, better tend to my cola chicken...

Just to let you all know, the fries were awesome and only had to cook 25-30 minutes. Very good, despite not being soaked first.

Evening Everyone
I hope everyone is doing ok. And not snowed in. We have had snow most of the day. But it hasnt stuck. It has melted as soon as it hit the ground. But now it is starting to stick. The roads are starting to get white.
Well hubby had to take a pain pill for his chest today. But now he is complaining of his joints hurting so dont know. Guess it is old age setting in.
Well I started getting the instant e-mails. To let me know when someone post on here. But it keeps taking me to page 13. It wont come to the last page. So does anyone know anything about this. Just wondering.
Has anyone listen to Martina McBride's cd Timeless. She has redone some of the older hits. Its pretty good.
Didnt do much today. Made a big bowl of salad. I got some leaf lettuce and made it. Boy it dont take much of that to make a salad. Washed a couple of loads of clothes. Fix some sf ff instant pudding. And made some chicken. And then my sister came for a little bit. Thats about it.
I fixed my chicken this way. Wasnt bad. Something different. I took chicken breast and cut it up into little pieces. And put it in a skillet. Then added some I cant believe it's not butter. And a pack of taco seasoning. and just cooked it until it was done. Was pretty good. And I put it in my salad. made a good chicken salad.
Well I will get off here for now. Just checking in. I am thinking of all of you. I hope everyone has had a great day.
coco

Frouf, glad you're up and running. Gotta get those headaches checked out. We went to Cabotto's last night. They are always good. You'll have to let me know which restaurant DH chose. It sounds like fun, not knowing. The only time that happened to me was when they through a surprise 60th for me last year and I had to be blind folded. It made me sick to my stomach, so I promised to open my eyes and look down. It turned out to be Biagiaos.

Melissa, is your recipe for the potatoes posted? I do a version of those, but would like to compare to yours.

Our dinner was delicious. For dessert I had fresh strawberries with ff yogurt mixed with Splenda and DaVinci strwberry syrup, berry good

Now, it's time to check out the Saturday night movies. I didn't rest at all, so I'll probably fall asleep watching.

Hi Coco, that was a great idea for the chicken, and the salad sounds good. Enjoy your snow, and take it easy tonight.

hi, chickies. we've had a grand day today. we shot a round at the archery shop. my shooting was right on track today. i'm all smiles. curtis is, too. his shooting was really good. we have 4 more weeks till the first indoor national tournament. the other is the following week. they will be here soon.

vickie, i called the hotel again last night and got our rates changed. life is good. sure was a hassle, though. $14K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! omg!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hope insurance pays for most of it.

saundra :: sounds like you've had a good time in the tub. we just finished cleaning out the garage and will prob hot tub before we start watching the olympics tonight.

melissa, we'll arrive in louisville on thursday pm and will watch the kids' tournament. there are usually about 1500 kids shooting. it's a schools' program. there will be cheerleaders, bands, trophies, team shirts, etc.. should be exciting. then we'll be practicing that evening. friday is registration and practice. sat and sunday we'll be competing mid day both times. monday is our free time. we have some time off before we catch our plane that afternoon. i hate to tell you this but it will be a hectic trip. i know it's aaron's birthday and you need to celebrate with him. it might be easier for you if we exchanged phone numbers and called each other sometimes. i have verizon. do you?

judy, 3 stooges and pizza sounds like fun. woop woop woop woop woop!!

kathy, i'm cracking that whip again monday, too. i've had enough of this "i'll maintain till after the tournaments."

patti, i am glad you're feeling better.

coco, i'm glad dh is feeling better, too. curtis has to take pain pills, too. it's heck getting older, isn't it?

Coco, your taco chicken sounds good. I almost had chicken taco salad for dinner, but went with burgers and oven fries instead.

Saundra, I was basically using Angela's oven fries recipe, which is posted. But tonight I didn't measure anything and I forgot to soak the potatos in water first. I just cut the potatos into thin strips, pour olive oil over them, then seasoned with an herb blend, some seasoned salt, and pepper. Mixed it all up and baked them for about 30 minutes at 350.

Sandra, I'm so glad that you all had a good day! I kind of figured you all would be too busy for a visit while you are in Louisville. It's not a good time for us anyway. But I seriously think we should have a 3FC get-together! Can you imagine, we could go to a meeting together or something. I do not have verizon, but we could still chat!

Well time to get stuff ready for church in the morning. Doesn't look like enough snow to cancel!

Night.

Good Morning Chicks!

Melissa, I'm glad that your oven fries turned out good. Mine turn out great with only 2 teaspoons of oil. I cook them at 450 degrees for about 30 minutes. I meant to warn you that they ALWAYS approve people for way more than they could afford. If you went that high you'd be house poor and unable to eat! I think it's great that you went through this process so that you could adjust your expectations. That's why starter homes exist; so people can get their foot in the door (literally!) and start to build equity and stop paying rent. I'm sure that there are some adorable smaller homes out there. Here's another tip. Go inside everything in your price range. I saw some homes neglected on the outside that were nice inside. All they needed was some TLC outside. Sometimes people pass just based on curb appeal and miss a gem. I can't wait for you to find something you love!

Frouf, I was SO worried about you. I'm glad that you are climbing up out of the hole. You knew it wouldn't be easy. It's always hard coming back off of vacation. It's good that you got your nails done and had some time to chat with the manicurist. I'm sure it transported both of you back to your vacations. I hope your Valentine's Day dinner was wonderfully enjoyable but not too deadly! You are also so nice to entertain your dear Nieces. I'm sure they'll really appreciate being with family for the evening.

Saundra, here's the link to the recipe http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...ies#post845058. I make them at least once a week.
It's a great way to get in my healthy oil and I love them way better than a baked potato with FF sour cream. You sure look good for 60+ chick! No one will tell me how long it will take for the fragments to pass. They keep giving me that song and dance about everyone is different. But, they say to make the follow up appointment 7-14 days after the procedure. So I'm guessing this is the range. My appointment is on the 7th day. Isn't our health care in the states ridiculous? The system has been broken for a long time now. I do have Blue Cross/Blue Shield which is one of the best. I'm sure they won't approve the whole $14,000. So I'll only have to pay 10% of what they approve. The really sad thing is that if you don't have an insurance company to fight for you, you'll have to pay the whole $14,000 even though no insurance company would approve that amount. Don't get me started! Even $1,000 would be alot for me to pay. I'm also thankful that I have a $4,000 annual cap on out of pocket should anything really ridiculous happen.

Sandra, great job keeping on top of those hotel folks. I hope you saved a bundle. Too bad you and Melissa can't find a few minutes to just meet and give a real hug instead of all those cyber hugs. I keep hoping Shaun gets into the Navy so Kathy can come to Chicago for graduation. I'm not a travellor so that might be my only chance.

Coco, it sounds like you had a good program day. I love when I create something not from a recipe and it actually turns out good. Keep up the great work. I'm going to try to treadmill today. Wish me luck!

Well, I have to get going soon. I need to eat breakfast and get that darned applesauce made. We are having Froufie roast for dinner so I need to make a grocery list for Jim. I have hopes of walking on the treadmill today as well. Weigh in is tomorrow and I believe that I'm done gaining. I hope to be back on the downward trail.

Talk to you all later. I'll start a menu thread.