I forgot to tell you all that I made a Core Apple Cake (almost cake anyway) yesterday and it was pretty darned good. It made a 9 x 13 pan so we'll be eating it forever. It doesn't really have cake consistency. It's more like a bread pudding consistency. I'll post the recipe later. It's definitely worth it to have a nice Core snack. Paula reminded me when she was talking about wanting something late at night. This is nothing but apples, pudding, and oatmeal...basically.

Paula, my youngest dd is 3...she had her birthday in July. And she seems to feel just ducky today, so I'm going with the theory that she had a small bug and is now fine.

Vickie, the milk is actually 1%. I bought it for the girls, but had to taste it before serving it to them. I know they would hate it as is, but maybe if I sweeten it?

So I'm trying to figure out how I'd work a weekend in Chicago. If we left on a Friday afternoon, right after dh gets home from work, we could be there by 8 or 9 pm. We could spend the night, and then play on Saturday, and drive home in the night to be home by Sunday. I don't think we could leave the kids any longer than that. I would probably have to ask my sister and her hubby to watch the girls. They've done it overnight once before, and it went fine. What day are we talking about, for sure? Friday Oct 20th?

Later,
Angela

The graduation, provided that everything goes as planned and he finishes up on time, will be Friday, the 20th. I'll go Thursday afternoon and fly into (probably) O'Hare just so I can be closer to the train stations. Then I'll go to Waukegan where most of the hotels are that have the military discounts. Graduation is early on Fridays, like from 9 to 10:30 and guests start getting there at 7. That's why I want to stay close. After graduation, he can leave from the base but has to be back between 8 and 9. Some divisions leave immediately for their next school; some leave the next day. He thought he heard that their group would be leaving Monday, but he can't stay at the base housing on Sunday night because they're starting demolition on it early Monday morning (they've built new ones).

Whenever I know for certain that his graduation is on the 20th (and he told me the other day that they have assured them EVERYONE will graduate on time) ... and then find out what day he's leaving for Florida, I can make more definite arrangements and also will let you know.

Your plan sounds like a good one though. We would have Saturday to do whatever, and I know Shaun would probably enjoy meeting you guys and eating together.

How much do you want to bet that my Sister will make her birthday party Saturday the 21st? Her birthday is the 13th and my BIL's is the 30th and they are combining into one party.

I'll see what I can do to sway her to the 14th.

So both Waukegan and Great Lakes are way north and east of me. Mapquest says 60 miles and an hour and 17 minutes to the base and 65 miles and an hour and 23 minutes to get to Waukegan. I was just telling Angela that we don't really measure trips by miles here because the traffic is generally pretty horrible. So trips depend on the time of day and what's going on. Saturday should be pretty great and we could pretty much count on that amount of time being pretty close to accurate.

Friday is normally horrible between 2 pm and 7 pm which is our rush hour(s). Sunday would be great as long as the Bears are not home.

I've no idea what kind of restaurants are in Waukegan or near the Base but I can sure do some research.

Kathy, it sounds like you won't have a car, right? So we'll need to come to you or meet downtown? If you are near trains you should be able to get downtown. We can pursue this more when you have more details.

Whenever I fly in or out, I'll be closer to you. I haven't decided yet which airport to go into; right now the prices are the same.

I have two close girlfriends who live up North so I can ask them about good restaurant choices.

Ok....no garage door guys yet. I'm getting a bit annoyed. Jim won't let me call until 2:00. They were supposed to be here between 12 and 1. I hate waiting.

Hey has anyone heard from Melissa? Did I miss something?

I just reread your post....so you'd be available Friday late afternoon and evening?

Hello, core support group what is this. I need support but what is core about?

hi, chickies. i am home from physical therapy. my doctor has sent me because my dolly partons have taken a toll on my shoulders. the arm position in dancing was just the last straw. in a few minutes i'm off to the mall to get an industrial strength bra. they have one left in my size at dillards. life is good.

hi there, jane. i'm glad you found us. i e'd you the brownie recipe a few minutes ago before i came on the board. it's also printed over in the recipe section. there is also a carrot brownie recipe there on "breakfasts" that's core if you or anyone else is interested. there are a lot of great recipes here on the core recipes http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/foru...y.php?f=162and also over in the flex recipes http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3.

jane is one of my all-time favorite students and friends. she used to compete in UIL (university interscholastic league) prose interpretation as well as in drama. now jane is a drama/speech teacher herself. (and a darn good one, too!)

melissa and jane are the same age and remind me a lot of each other.

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here's the brownie recipe again for any who want it. (it's not core but is very very low in pts and is a good way to spend wpa's.) it's also a good aid to learning portion control. (you'll see what i mean when you read the ingredients. i ate 7 one day and thought i was going to die that night.)

if you use reduced fat brownie mix, the brownies are 1 pt each. if you use regular, they are around 1.5 pts each but you might want to count them as 2 pts each. our ww leader told us that if something was really really good to give it an extra point. also, i got this recipe when there was no 4 gm cap on fiber.

1 point brownies

1 reduced fat brownie mix (or any regular mix. i just buy what's on sale.)
3 cups All Bran cereal (the original kind. no other cereal will work.)
2 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons baking powder

preheat oven to 350*. spray 9x11 pan with butterflavored pam.

in a large bowl combine water and cereal. LET IT SIT FOR 5 MINUTES. (this is important for the cereal to blend properly.)

add dry brownie mix and baking powder to cereal/water. LET SIT FOR 2 MINUTES. (this is important for baking powder to "act" before you start cooking.

bake @ 350* 30 minutes or till done. it tastes better if you wait till the next day to start eating it. remember to limit your servings. i can handle 2 or 3 easily. over that and i'm in trouble.

makes 24 servings.
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rhonda, i am proud of you for staying op. late night eating is a hard habit to control. i had trouble sleeping last night cuz of my right shoulder. i was able to control the hunger, too. ain't it great!

vickie, i understand completely what you mean about having to rethink budgets. i loved being retired but sometimes fixed incomes need to stretch.

kathy, you and jane live fairly close to each other. she taught for awhile in alvarado but isn't there any more.

angela, i haven't heard of that milk. i'm not much of a milk drinker, but i might like that every now and then. i'm glad your girls are having fun. you're right. we're adults much longer than we're kids.

vickie, i am picturing you and jim doing a waltz in the kitchen. you two are such a cute couple and have so much fun together. curtis is gone now to get a shoulder/back massage. we're falling apart. i know he's worried about my archery. i don't think there will be a problem. i hope he doesn't make me back off of shooting the longbow in competition. he had told me i could only do it if my stamina was strong enough. that's one of the reasons i got into w a. i am going to take things easy for a couple of weeks, go to p t, and be strong to shoot as many arrows as i want. i told my therapist today that 07 is to be my year. and that's going to happen.

i'm behind, too, so i'll call this part 1 of mine.

paula, i have been eating grapes at night, too. i have been telling myself that snacks after dinner should be healthy and not treats and shouldn't happen often. so far so good (except for monday night--but that's history)

vickie, the cake sounds yummy. i'll watch for your recipe.

luckymom, :welcome: . do you go to ww meetings? if so, why don't you stay for orientation afterwards and ask the leader about core. also, there's core info in the welcoming booklet they give. most of the folks here are doing core but some of us are eating a little differently. core is a wonderful plan about making healthy food choices avoiding empty calories. core also allows 35 weekly points allowance that could be used if needed. try looking at the daily menus that some are posting. they will give you some good ideas. again, i think your best guide will be the welcoming booklet you got at ww.

i'm caught up now. (on this thread) i need to head over to daily menu and post mine. have a great op!! day, chickies.

Sandra, I'm SO sorry that your shoulders are hurting. Darn it! I hope the PT helps and that you are feeling back to your normal self quickly.

Believe it or not the cake recipe is from our board. Every once in a while my tastes change and I go through all the pages again to see if anything new appeals to me. It was from Niki....MattandGabby'sMom...and I'm sad because she hasn't been here and I told her I'd tell her how it was. It isn't in our recipe file so I'm going to go put it there now.

Vickie, you are correct. I should be free from around Friday noon until I leave. Shaun can either come with me or not, depending on if he has other plans. I doubt he would, though. I got a letter today and he said that half of the AV's (his specialty) are going to Florida and the other half is staying at Great Lakes. He won't know which half he's in until week 7.

I'm supposed to be off tomorrow but have decided to work 9 hours. It'll be extra, which will really come in handy for the trip and other things. I'll try to work as much as I can between now and mid-October.

Cool, Kath! Friday might be good if my Sister decides to schedule her party on Saturday. No matter which day it is, I'll have to try to schedule 2 dog walker visits for Cassie while we're gone. She can only go 4 hours without a walk and we'll be gone at least 3 hours just in travel! So that is another "wrinkle" for me. They are great girls though and are usually available. The Niece is my backup babysitter just like I am for her kids. She'll help me out if I need her too. Would Shaun enjoy staying in Chicago? How's he liking our weather. It's really becoming Fall here. He's probably cold. I'm guessing it feels like winter to him!

BTW, finally something good. Our garage door is installed, it's beautiful, and it's working perfectly. Sigh. Sometimes things go like they are supposed to!

I've got to go spend time with Honey Lamb. There's some apple cake and TV in our future!