New week, new board!

thank you for the new pages, kathy.

paula. it's good to have you here.

rhonda, how about sharing your recipe for pork ribs? i'd love to have it. now if it's a family secret recipe, remember--i'm family. (hint hint) curtis and i watched "america eats" on tv the other night and it was all about ribs. i've been starving for some since. i have a gf in south carolina. i need to find out if everything's all right at her place. is your rain over yet?

kewl!!!!!!!!!!!! kathy. i love the hat.

everyone have a great sunday evening. i'll be back later.

Here is the recipe:

Beef Short Ribs Braised in Port

from: The Texas Cowboy Kitchen by Grady Spears

3 T Peanut Oil
5-6 pounds beef short ribs
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 cups beef broth or stock
2 cups Texas Port
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
2 T cold, unsalted butter, cut into 4 or 5 pieces

I do not add the butter. Red wine, with less sugar than port, would work as well, I'm sure. I trim the ribs mercilessly trying to get rid of almost all fat. I marinate the ribs over night in the wine, broth and onions.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large deep-sided skillet heat the oil over medium high heat. Cut the ribs into manageable sections. Brown the ribs on all sides in the hot oil. Transfer to a roasting pan.

Add the onions and carrots to the skillet and saute them in the same oil for about 5 minutes.

Pour the vegetables over the ribs in the roasting pan and add the beef stock/broth and port. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook the ribs for 2 1/2hours or until the meat is tender.

Using tongs, transfer the ribs to a platter. Strain the remaining liquid into a saucepan, reserving the vegetables. Put the vegetables on the ribs on the platter.

Boil the liquid until it is reduced by half. At this point, I strain the liquid and pour it into one of those fat separating cups with the spout at the bottom. I do not use the fat. Taste the remaining liquid, adjust the salt and pepper and pour over the ribs and vegetables.

(If you use the butter, whisk in into the liquid before pouring over the ribs and vegetables. Better, yet, don't use it!)

rhonda, thank you for posting the bbq recipe. i'm going to get the ingredients and make some this week.

our company just left. i stayed out of the homemade cookies but did have some mashed potatoes. now curtis and i are going to sit in the hot tub. life is good.

Here you are! I thought I had lost you!

Welcome Paula Sounds like you know your way around Core and we look forward to your good advice!

Vickie - glad you like Wicked - would love to see it! (dd keeps walking around the house singing a song from it - duet by good witch/bad witch? - says she wants to do this as duet/musical theatre piece for competitive dance!).

Kathy - sounds like you did some great preparations for the party (can I borrow that super duper cleaning machine? sure could use it! ). Hope the party was fun! Love the hat too!

Melissa - hope you had a fun time with your family!

Rhonda - sounds like Toronto got some bad leftovers from Ernesto!! We have had a gray, drizzly, rainy day - but nothing major (yet?). Enjoy the ribs!

Sandra - I have never actually eaten at Bubba Gumps (none in Canada) so I am really looking forward to it! So what should I be ordering???

As for computer - not bringing one along - but there is a lovely internet room on the ship and I shall be purchasing a 'package' and will try to check in when I can! (here's where I'll be: http://travel.webshots.com/photo/243...38879289dxHgGv)

In fact - have a look at some of the other hot spots on the ship http://travel.webshots.com/album/243616798akEIzD (click on 'view as slideshow' on the right) - I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!! (and more good pics here: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/552697116bAjvxb)

...and I am almost packed - well sorta. Got so nervous about it and hauled up the suitcases (my bedroom looks like a luggage store) - not sure which pieces to bring! Biggest is too big - medium one sure looks like it shrunk??? I have most of my clothes in there now (according to the Official Froufie Packing List) - but still have laundry to do and so more clothes to go in! The smallest piece right now is being used for sundry items (snorkel, mask, beach bag, shoes, toiletries, hairdryer/brusher and other odds and ends)...might have to use a rolling duffle if I run out of room! Still need to do socks, undies, bras, bathing suits, and right on top - outfit for boarding the ship!

Yes I will need to iron my clothes when I get there (there are laundry rooms on the ship complete with washers/dryers and ironing board/irons) and have my trust bottle of downy wrinkle release (purchased on another trip as they don't sell this in Canada!!!! ). I know I will get more frustrated as things don't fit - and I believe I have given up on the black sequin blazer - it will take up too much room, very heavy and frankly I will only wear it once so this is not practical. Hope it all works!

Bedtime!

Frouf

i have been awake over 2 hours and finally decided to get up. i know i'm going to be a zombie before long if i don't get some sleep. oh, well.

frouf, girl, i am already getting ready to go with you on this trip. i can see my luggage all over the bedroom here--and what a sight! i have my packing list and am checking off things as i pack. i don't have any evening wear yet, but i'm going to the mall tomorrow.

well, a girl can dream, can't she? i am very excited for you, frouf. sure am envious, too. i'm glad you'll have puter access so i can be on this journey with you. thank you for the sites. it's good to see where you're going. you're going to have a blast.

as to bubba gumps? i'd say eat whatever you want. i don't know about in florida but in hawaii they have "lava flows." be sure to have one of those if you get a chance. it's a pina colada with a strawberry swirl. out of this world!

Good morning, all. I hope everyone else slept pretty well last night. Sandra, I'm sorry you didn't -- what's up, girl? That's not like you! Hopefully you're sleeping now.

Frouf, this week is either going to fly by, I'll bet! It'll be sailing time before you know it! Sounds like you're going to have a super time! Oh and I wear a size medium t-shirt, thankyouverymuchforasking!



Well, we woke up to the bad news about Steve Irwin being killed by a stingray. Of all the close calls he's had, I guess his luck ran out. I feel just horrible for his wife and kids though. Our Bindy is named after his DD Bindi Sue.

My out-of-control eating is catching up with me so tomorrow is a definite "crawl back on the wagon" day. I'm near 145 which is only one or two up, but I think it's real weight and not water now, so I will need to jump on it. Two pounds is the most I will allow myself to regain. Today is the 3-year anniversary of when I started losing. Actually it's when I was released by the doctor, so it was a good time to resume exercising and watching the intake. Thank goodness I remembered the lesson I learned so that I could apply it this year when the same thing happened; otherwise I might have found myself back to 177 after being laid up!

So anyway, I need to make my menus and get all the food lined up so I'll know what to take to work for lunches.

I'll check back in a while.

Morning gals! Ok, it's kind of late, but I slept in and then had to take care of some pc stuff. I hope that all of you are doing well today! I'm just giddy not to be at work.
We're going for lunch at the IL's and they're having pizza and salad. Oh well, at least it will be thin crust veggie. That's about as good as a girl can get. It's the brownies that I'm sure will follow that will cause more trouble.

Kathy, I love the hat. Too cute! I hope that you have fun today. Oh and I hadn't heard about Steve Irwin. That's very sad...although it seems fortunate that he hadn't been hurt badly before now. His poor family.

Sandra, you doing alright? Kathy's right, it's not like you to be up in the middle of the night. I hope that you are feeling okay.

Paula!

Frouf, I'm excited for you too. I hope that the clothes-trying-on goes well...I usually end up getting really mad and depressed. So stay positive! You're going on an awesome vacation!

I better get some stuff done before we go to lunch. Have a great day everyone!

Good Morning Chicks! I'm supremely busy today but wanted to stop in an say Hey! Happy Labor Day. Jim and I are staying home and I'm roasting a chicken but I've much to do around the house and I've got to stop sitting online so much at least for the next week or so. I'm not sure what kind of a loss I'll have tomorrow but honestly it was a hard week and I didn't spend my points very wisely. I'm hard Core yet again starting today.

Be Well!

Yep ... busy day here too. I have to get my cleaning and laundry done today because the next three, I'll be working 6 a.m. til 6 p.m. When I get home, I'm going to be too tired to do much else. Fortunately when we were at Costco the other day, we bought lots of frozen fish varieties and we also have lots of lettuce, tomatoes, and other salad vegetables. Dinners should be reasonably easy.

Good afternoon chickies!

Still in my jammies and oh so tired! Went to bed way too late (like 1:30 am) and did not sleep well either - and was up at around 7 am!!! yes consumed with packing and travelling details - need to shut the brain off or something?

Weighed luggage (middle piece) and so far around 30 lbs so I'm okay for now - altho still have a load of laundry to do and add undies/socks, bathing suits. My smaller piece will hold shoes, makeup toiletries etc -and I have been tossing things on top of it - but now I think it will be 'challenging' to get everything to fit - shall work on that a bit today to calm myself.

oh ya and since everything is packed I have nothing to wear to work this week ha ha ha (digging to the bottom of the undie drawer as all the 'good' ones are packed ).

Had a nice early breakfast w/ds but hungry again now - and I think this is the first day this weekend I shall have 3 regular meals.

Melissa - enjoy your lunch out - beware of the brownies!

Sandra - you and I are BOTH scheduled for a nap later today - and I'll hear nothing more about that young lady!!

Vickie - I love the smell of roasting chicken - enjoy your day!

Kathy - I just read about Steve Irwin on the cruise critic board! How awful! I didn't think stingrays were that dangerous!

Good luck with your meal planning and long work days!

I almost want to go to work and get stuff done so I'm not frantic this week (okay I said ALMOST - LOL)....need to pay bills and get paperwork done! ...sigh......only 5 more sleeps!

Froufie

P.S. Did I mention tropical depression #6 forming in the Atlantic heading for the eastern caribbean???

i just got up--again. i feel better but now have a headache. i don't know what was up with not sleeping last night. i was up till almost 6 surfing around archery and weightloss sites. i'm guessing i've lost just enough insulation that i'm getting cold. we're going to put the heated mattress cover on the bed today. maybe that will help.

kathy, happy anniversary. don't you feel better now than you did 3 years ago? i saw that about steve irwin when i was up earlier. he led an adventurous life up until the end. i didn't know that's where you got bindy's name.

melissa, enjoy your day at the il's. well, i guess you're already there, aren't you? it's good to see you giddy again.

vickie, i hope you can get in here some during the week. we'll miss you if you don't. i'm sending you : : : for tomorrow's wi.

i'm sure we're all doing some self-dusting today or tomorrow at the latest. that's just life.

Welcome, Paula. I'm relatively new myself and it's quite a group here..you'll get lots of support.

Frouf, thanks for all those pictures. I think I'm going to like the cruise life myself...can hardly wiat until November. I'm laughing out loud at your stories about packing.

I met a friend for breakfast and did very well..eggs and whole grain toast. I think it's got to be zero point soup and fruit for the rest of the week though!!...I did well at the social events this week, but I'm aiming for another 1.8pound loss by Thursday's WI.

Have a good day all.

rhonda, thanks for the reminder about 0 pt soup. i'm going to plop the lo veggies into a sauce pan and that's what i'm having for dinner.

your bfast sounds good. i had a banana. i'm in a rut with them or so it seems. i may have something else tomorrow just to shock my tummy.

I should also go make some zero point soup! I have vegetables that can be added to vegetable broth and canned tomatoes. I still save all the bits and pieces of LO vegetables from dinner and add them to a big ziploc freezer bag a little at a time. When it's full, I have veggies for soup! And our good soup weather is quickly approaching!

Yes, Sandra, I feel much better than I did 3 years ago at this time. I'm nearly down 40 pounds and from a very tight 12 to a comfortable 8. It's amazing how your body can transform. I also feel and look 10 years younger, which is good when you're staring down the barrel of 5-0. It's not actually old, just the oldest I've ever been before. (DUH!)

Still nothing going on here, and it's still sprinkling a bit. I'm doing laundry and watching judge shows. Maybe in a while I'll get up and go have some fun ... like Target or something? ... but meanwhile, nah.