[Katpo]

I'm home. The shower was great and she got lots of very cool and useful stuff. The house where it was would make you cry -- it was Trading Spaces to the max. My favorite rooms had pink walls, and black and white furniture and accessories. The dining room was Audrey Hepburn and "Breakfast at Tiffanys" decorated. SO cool ... I just looked it up on the internet and it's 4,200 sq. ft. and around $600,000. It's in a pretty swank part of town so those property values are probably accurate for most areas. I was just swooning the entire time. It definitely made me want to come home and either clean thoroughly or throw everything away and start over.

Judd and his friend will be going to the bar tonight to watch the game but I think I'll stay home. I have heartburn pretty bad right now; just took some Mylanta and hope it works. All I had was cake at the shower but I had a fish sandwich from McDonald's before that and the breading always makes me a little sick.

I think I'll go rest for a while.

[ontarget]

vickie, are you not so lonely now? i've been on the phone gossiping. sure was fun. your foods sound delicious. i enjoy cooking on sunday afternoons, too. i made a huge lunch today--bbq pork loins, potatoes, chili beans, green onions, and cornbread muffins. i ate too much.

patti, thank you for the compliment. that's good news about your dd's coming home. i know you're looking forward to that. i'll be watching for your photo.

[Vickie]

Hey Chicks! I'm cooking dinner and just popped in. Potatoes are in their water and Froufie roast is in the oven.

Where is that Froufie?

Kathy, I know what you mean. I was at a house a couple of weeks ago and felt the same way. What am I doing wrong. I made myself feel alot better by thinking that they must be living over their means. At least all my stuff is pretty much paid for (except for the house and the car).

Sandra, how do you make your BBQ pork loin? Can you give me a recipe? Jim and I would love that but I always over cook pork.

Gotta go!

[ontarget]

kathy, somehow i didn't see your post about the shower. that home sounds fabulous. was it one of your coworkers? i have a dear friend who has a beautifully landscaped yard. it always makes me want to come home and get busy when we go visit.

vickie, my bbq wasn't core. it was out of a bottle. a friend sent me it from texas. i imagine any bbq sauce would work as well even homemade. i marinated the meat in the sauce. i'd suggest 4 hours or overnight. i only had 2 hours this time, though, and it worked all right but not quite as well. i took that broiler pan that comes with the oven and covered the pan with aluminum foil. next i took a wire rack (i can't remember if it has another name, but it was just a wire grate type thing that was the same measurements as my pan). i sprayed the wire rack with pam and placed it on the foil covered pan. i set the oven for broil 500* and placed the meat on the rack. i put the pan in the center of the oven. i broiled one side for about 10 minutes; turned the meat over and broiled it another 10 minutes. it worked for us. let me know if you try it.

[Froufy]

Here I am - hope the roast is sending delicious smells thru your house! And I do hope your tom troubles are soon over! Poor you - the muffins sound great tho and I will have to try them! (I love anything w/blueberries - hint hint hint Kathy - will trade you a hot blueberry pie for some RAIN! )

....and now that you have a pink bra I can make you an honorary froufie! (Saundra - I am sure that since you have now publicly admitted to not owning a pink bra you are out and about trying to rectify the situation? )

Sandra - love the look of determination on your face - and it obviously paid off ! Glad the bowling is working out for you - but I do think you guys deserve some R&R as well!

Also for pics there are free websites you can use - I use webshots - you can create 'albums' for sharing w/friends only (private vs public albums) and then just copy/paste url here to show the pic!

Kathy - good luck to your brother & sil w/the new kiddies - I feel so sad when I hear how these kids are moved around...and I too would be devastated if I had them for a few months or longer then had to send them off - how heartbreaking that would be!

I am very impressed with all your 'planning ahead' - all that lunch prep will certainly help you stay OP!

Melissa - I am so excited for you - I know how it feels once you start decorating and realize the possibilities! My living room is painted like a dark red/burgundy and I almost had palpitations before it was done - couldn't believe how BOLD we were - but in the end it looks FANTASTIC - with cream color/off white sofas and my white lacquer piano against the burgundy walls - very powerful!

Not sure about a concrete floor in a home - not something I am familiar with - all I can imagine is my garage or basement storage area - isn't it cold on the tootsies? (can you add throw rugs?) - and heaven forbid you drop something or trip and fall! OUCH!

We did go see the Cars movie yesterday - very very cute - little ds (and I'm sure big ds) loved it! It was cold and raining when we got it - like fall again! Dropped kids off and decided to go out for dinner (ya like we needed to eat more!). Wanted to go to this korean place where you cook the food on a table top grill - hadn't been there in years - and at first we thought we drove right by - but in fact it is GONE GONE GONE!

Ended up driving thru the market area (VERY trendy downtown section with bars, bistros, restaurants, etc).... first problem is finding parking! There is a place we like that has live piano music but we already knew that a) parking would be a challenge and b) the place would already be packed and we might not get in! We drove around a bit - then aborted and headed for china town for chinese food (it's almost 10 pm at this point).

Went to this place we have been to before - walk in - and it seems on sat night it becomes a karoaoke place - and it was packed and frankly I was not looking for amateur entertainment. Ended up going to a place a few doors down - very BASIC decor - but food is great! Ate too much, got home too late, woke up too early - and very crabby and depressed today.

Got up early as I could not sleep - went off to find big ds a pink dress shirt (we bought one the other day but it was like $45 which I thought was way too expensive - turns out it was too big anyways) - found a cheaper one (hilfiger reduced to 30 from $65!). Big ds going to a wedding today - looked fabulous in pink shirt, pink textured striped tie, black suit - white pouf (and no I had nothing to do with the choice of color - real men do wear pink!).

Then did some returns (of the other shirt) and groceries with dh and little ds. The best thing I did today was clean out the fridge freezer - it looks great now - and you can even see what's in there! I threw out anything that was undistinguishable (ha ha ha) or had freezer burn, or was in there too long - and found some chicken drumsticks which I defrosted and made for dinner!

I am still stressed about $$$ it seems - and generally not feeling my usual upbeat self? I think I am just abusing myself with too much food and not caring about myself at all - I know this is not a good situation - and I need to try and stop the madness!

[Vickie]

Saundra, thanks for the directions. I could always make the cola chicken bbq sauce and slather that on before I broil. Did you use a pork tenderloin, the long thin piece? That's one of my favorite pork cuts.

The Froufie roast was magnificent as always! The last two times I couldn't get it as crunchy on the outside. Maybe I am using too much flour? It was a little grainy in spots but tasted yummy. Jim had two plates full and there are leftovers for tomorrow. We would definitely do the eye of the round roast again over the sirloin. Yummeroo!!! Frouf, I hope you manage to drag yourself back on the wagon with me. Just do it one meal at a time and you'll be back on program in no time. Think about getting ready for your next trip before it's on your horizon!

I can't believe how good those muffins are. They are calling to me though!

The White Sox are playing a night game on ESPN, so Jim is watching that live at the moment. I came in here to say Hi!

[Vickie]

Frouf, you sure did have a big day. I'm exhausted and I did nothing but stay home and cook and do laundry!

[Katpo]

I'm gearing up to watch the Mavs game but thought I'd check in one last time. Frouf, that sounds like quite a weekend you've had! I realized that I didn't report my pink bra status but I do have one, although it is patterned. Does that still count?

Does everyone suppose it might be time to weigh and change our trackers to reflect the true thing? Ahem ... speaking strictly for myself here ... mine doesn't seem to be true anymore. I am shoving the water down like a madwoman, partly trying to settle my stomach. I had realized earlier that I've had no milk today so I thought I'd drink a big glass. My stomach informed me (not so politely, either) that I am to never do that again. It feels like the whole glass of milk is pooling in my esophagus. I'm also drinking more Mylanta to see if that will help.

Must continue to dry my hair so that I'm done with everything by 8:00. Be back tomorrow.

[Vickie]

I'm willing.

[septembersgoal]

Hey guys, just checking in. I've been really busy today (well, part of the day I was busy with a nap ). I hope that you're all doing well.

Kathy, I changed mine the other day to be honest. I had been fudging for awhile.

Talk to you all tomorrow!!

[Froufy]

I don't dare get on the scale quite yet as I think seeing the 'damage' might further depress me! I love the idea of one meal at a time! I think I shall try that at the very least!

And speaking of milk I picked up some lactaid tablets - vanilla flavored chewables! (in case I am somewhere and don't have water to drink it down!). Have to remember to pop some in my purse just in case!

I am so glad you love the froufie roast - I tell you it is a guaranteed favorite at our house too - and I have served it to company several times with excellent results. (and I do remember seeing a roast in the freezer when I cleaned it out this morning so should keep this on the agenda!). I do have trouble controlling myself and tend to nibble on it as I slice it and prepare it!

kathy - any pink counts - so please consider yourself an honorary member of the Froufie Pink Bra Society (my favorite is actually white w/pink and red hearts all over it!).

Glad you are keeping up with your calcium - I must start taking my supplements again - I have been lazy about it!

And Vickie you are right - I was just talking to dh the other day - found some great cruise bargains for Sept./Oct (no kidding - like hurricane season? lol). Anyhow - the one I was interested in was Oct 8th - and I told him that if I booked that it might be an EXCELLENT motivator for me to stay on track and lose some weight in preparation for the trip (of course he is afraid of gaining it all back in one week - which is entirely possible I suppose?). Anyhow - it was a thought - but of course given $$ situation I do hesitate to book anything right now - but I think it would surely keep me focused as I think about the clothes I would need to fit into and how I would feel!

I can't believe tomorrow is Monday! I have a comple of HR nightmares to deal with as soon as I get in - and I am dreading it already!

I am yawning now - dh out drumming - so I shall try and get ready for bed and read a bit!

Nitey nite!

[Katpo]

Mavs are up 16 at the half! HOLY WA!!! This is incredible!

[ontarget]

hi there, frouf. i am still wanting to go see da vinci code. am i behind or what? our last movie at the theater was king kong. yes, i am wayyyyy behind. we've gotten lazy and spoiled to dvd/subtitles.

vickie, it's me sandra. i think you could use the cola chicken sauce all right. main thing would be to marinate at least 4 hours. ours was good but i think it would have been better if i'd had more time. yes, it was the long pork loins. they were thick, too.

kathy, i'm going to wi fri at ww. i'll change mine then no matter what. ouch! it's going to hurt.

melissa, when you said you'd been fudging, i was reminded of my father. he was a principal/teacher when i was in junior high. i remember him telling us not to make candy when we took tests. then he'd talk about fudging. you brought a big smile to me. thank you. on a sadder note--i'm sure i'm in the high 190's again. i'm not weighing till fri. i'll live in ignorance till then.

okay, i'm going to see about watching the rest of the game. you know i'm for the mavs all the way.

[Vickie]

Oops, Sandra! Sorry.

[Katpo]

And the final verdict: another win! 2-0 in the series!