Quiet MONTH! Here's hoping November will be better!!

It's hard to believe the year is nearly over ... where on earth did it go? Seems like yesterday that I had my accident and it's been 7 months. I guess it seems like yesterday because it still won't bend and the feeling hasn't come back yet. Maybe someday.

I can't think of a good menu thread title so I'm going to wait until someone else starts it!

Good Morning Chicks! My Sister/BIL are coming over today for a fun Christmas Decoration and Christmas Store shopping trip. Lunch is the treat at the end. Then we rest for a bit at my house before going to the Niece's to see her kids and to trick or treat. It will be a busy and very long day.

Frouf, I missed your postings VERY much and am so glad to see you back here. It wouldn't be the same without you! You truly had a crazy weekend. By now you must be doing your drive downtown to make your presentation. If you speak like you write, then I'm sure it will be VERY entertaining and informative. I used to get very nervous for those things as well. You said you were invited to Toronto. Are you going? Too bad you couldn't work in a production of Wicked if you go. I just know you would love it! I bet you are the life of the party. I'd want you at my party too! I confess I didn't understand all of the mortgage stuff but if it saves a $100 dollars a year after expenses, I'd be all over it. In the states, morgage interest is tax deductible but it doesn't really seem to be worth much. Maybe we save 25% of what interest we pay for the year. Better than nothing. I'd sure be screaming if they tried to take the deduction away!

Rhonda, sorry you were here alone last night. Jim and I were watching a movie called Prime. We are SO far behind on our movies. It was VERY funny. Congratulations on avoiding so many treats at your meetings. It was very hard to follow a program when I was working. How was the private dance lesson? I SO loved my lessons.

Kathy, we're looking forward to ringing in the new year. This one has been hard.

I woke up about every hour last night. Must be one of those hormonal things. I almost got up at 3:45 but kept trying to sleep. I finally fell asleep about 5:00 and finally got up at 6:30. I'm off to shower now since Sis will be here at 10:00!

Good Morning All:

The private dance lesson was just great. Our teacher has created a dance for us using "our song" from high school: "In the Still of the Night" by the Five Satins. It's a very slow fox trot which allows us to show off a few turns and tricky steps here and there...what a hoot this is.

Froufy, I'm with Vickie...miss your posting so don't go too far away. Let us know how it goes today.

Kathy, I didn't quite get it beofre that you didn't have feeling in your foot...ow! Time will likely heal it at least some...don't let it keep you from dancing

I have a morning of grading papers, an afternoon of teaching and an evening of NOT eating candy.

Rhonda

Yes, the nerves were stripped away from the bone and tendon and whatever else is in there. It's numb on the bottom (like asleep) but I can feel temperature differences like a cold floor. Very odd ... and disturbing. The doctor said it would likely be a year or more before it started getting better. There's still no range of motion in that ankle.

Your dancing sounds like so much fun! Good luck on the no-candy eating.

Vickie, enjoy your day!

I'm only working for 10 hours today then will race to the store so that I'll be home before the kids start arriving. Ordinarily I wouldn't care but this year we put out our pumpkin lights -- little tiny jack-o-lanterns that go all across the front of the house in front of the flowerbeds. Some years we do, and some years we don't. Since we were having that party a few weeks ago, we decided to decorate and that was part of it. Now everyone will assume we're giving out candy so I might as well. Some years we have 5 kids and some years there are 200+. You just never know ...

I'm making an easy no-brainer dinner (spaghetti and salad) so maybe I'll make the pumpkin pie too. Now if only it would get cold here.

I went to my Boot Camp last night, which I just love. The instructor is great. It's a mix of cardio intervals on a Bosu and then free weights for chest/back/biceps/triceps. A tough round of abdominals with a lot of focus on obliques. Today I'm not sore--I hope this means I am stronger.

The downside: I haven't figured out how to eat after class (I get home at 8 p.m.) and stop myself at a reasonable amount of food. To be honest, I don't do any of the check-in to see if I'm still hungry. I'm sure part of it is dehydration and I respond to thirst as if it were hunger. I ate 2 rounds of guacamole chips (worth 6 points) with nf cottage cheese and 1 serving of grapefruit wedges. I realize these weren't bad choices, but I probably should have stopped at 1 bowl of chips. It could have been worse, I know.

Today I am facing the challenge of my fridge, specifically cleaning out the rotten whatevers that are lurking in there. Now that I'm on Core, I buy so much fresh produce but a certain % rots before I get to it. I think I'll use more frozen veg. instead and just get enough fresh for a daily salad and a bit extra for snacks.

Hope everyone survives Halloween and staying away from the leftover candy. I had my DH only buy stuff I loathe (SweetTarts, etc.) so it will be easy for me to toss it (even tho. I hate to waste money!) once the evening is over.

Bye for now.

hi there, chickies. we're at the ranch! they did some juggling and made room for us; we'll be here till around dec 11. if you'd like to see if go to http://rv-ranch.com/

we got here late yesterday. last night we got a lot of hugs/kisses from our granddaughters. was it ever wonderful!! they're trick or treating tonight. we'll go see them again tomorrow evening.

curtis took me to ww this am. doctor's orders are for me to attend weekly. he's wanting to see how i do when i get home. i have an appt early january with him. so far so good. i lost a pound while traveling. i now weight 169.0. i think that's pretty amazing what with sitting all day riding for days and days. (seemed like longer than 4 days)

rhonda, i got your message yesterday when i checked the cellphone. thank you for calling to check on us. we didn't have the phone turned on cuz we didn't have a way to recharge it while traveling. we're too tight to buy a cigarette lighter charger. it's charging away now on electricity here at the ranch.

everyone who has my email address, please send me an email. this puter doesn't have your email addyieson it. i had typed them to bring with me, but can't find the sheet.

kathy, i'm going to call you tonight or tomorrow. i'll call tonight if my energy holds out. curtis and i are both exhausted.

rhonda, i need to talk to you about the rv ranch. go to their website i typed in at the first of this post. look it over--especially their suites. they have 2 or 3 available from mid-nov till thanksgiving. they look like fancy western bed and breakfast rooms. one has a kitchen. don't know if you're interested in cooking.

vickie, i just saw where you're having family fun today/tonight. makes me smile.

now i need to go read posts and get caught up. i hope all of you are doing well.

Wellllll ... Sandra just called and sounded SO GOOD! I hope to go see them shoot Saturday. And then there will be time after that for visiting, I'm sure, since she said they might be here until the first week or so of December.

I've had exactly 7 kids come to the front door as of this minute. With 9 bags of candy, I could have loaded them all up, but I doubt their parents would have been too amused at that. I had gotten 4 smallish bags the other day, and today Judd said that wasn't nearly enough so I stopped on the way home and got more. One of them was a really big bag of Tootsie Rolls. If nobody else comes, we're in BIG trouble.

And I broke Judd's cord to his laptop tonight. It was fraying and just fell apart when I plugged mine in. The battery was getting low or I wouldn't have bothered going to the power supply. He keeps his plugged into the family room and I keep mine in the bedroom; NOT ANYMORE! Mine is now in the family room and we'll just have to share like good kids.

Okay, off to see about dinner. He went to Cracker Barrel for lunch so I've made a command decision not to cook anything; I will, however, slice some cheese and put a few crackers on a plate. It's the least I can do.

Hi All:

I'm so tired tonight that I almost fell asleep in the chair. I've got an early and long day tomorrow so I'll be brief.

Halloween has been very slow here....don't understand it at all.

Glad you made it Sandra...I'll write privately to you and Kathy.

Night all..

Rhonda

I've done very well with avoiding the Halloween candy and temptations.

kathy, we didn't have any trick or treaters. guess we'll use the quarters in the laundry room here. quarters were curtis' idea. he was afraid to have candy around. i hope you and judd can come watch us shoot saturday. i think that will be neat. i'm sooooooo ready to meet you.

rhonda, congratulations on doing well around the halloween treats. i overate today in cleburne at west end grill. i had some bbq ribs and salad. i guess i could have done worse. we are taking our lunch with us tomorrow to train up in ft worth. afterwards we're having our first water aerobics session. i found 2 places that have indoor pools available to us. we're joining hugueley fitness center for a month. that's the best deal for us. this will be curtis' first w a. should be fun. i'm glad he's doing it with me.

i told him tonight about your dance that you two will be doing. curtis is anxious to see it. (me, too!)

Good Morning Chicks! And boy do I mean morning.....I've been up since 2:45. Yet another night of sleeplessness. I'm sure it's hormonal.

I did great with my eating yesterday. I came home to a very sad message from my friend Cindy. She's back in Loyola hospital with the mystery fevers and she can't eat again. They are guessing it's the Leukemia. She was scheduled to go into the hospital on November 13 to begin the transplant but now we don't know what's happening. I'm so scared for her. By the time I was able to call back in the evening she was in the middle of a fever and couldn't talk. I talked to her husband and he sounded grim. I'm praying like crazy and hoping it helps.

Of course, this triggered a mini-food binge. It was quite tame compared to other days and at the moment I have points to cover it. I had 8 saltine crackers with smart balance light smeared on them. I really must get to the bottom of the stress/emotional eating issue. I need to get my comfort from someplace else.

I'm going to go see what I missed.

Rhonda, what a GREAT idea to choreograph your first dance! I sure wish we had done that. Jim and I are really enjoying watching Dancing with the Stars. I'd love to be in your shoes. I hope you managed to get your papers graded without eating any candy. I had two rolls of smarties. Believe it or not, they are one of my favorites. I was also a Pez girl!

Kathy, I had the crustless pumpkin pie for dessert last night. I don't even miss the crust anymore.

Elana, I admire people who enjoy that type of exercise. Maybe some day. I understand what you mean about losing fresh veggies. Since we're early retired, we can afford the luxury of shopping every 2-3 days for fresh veggies. I really dislike most frozen veggies.

Sandra, I was SO relieved and delighted to see your posts. I'm very happy that your trip was successful and that they fit you in. I'm not surprised though since you and Curtis seem to be such good people. I looked all over the website and it seems to be a delightful place. I wouldn't go for the RV's but I'd be all over those cute little cabins! Your Doctor is going to be so proud of you when you return. And how exciting is it that you are in the 160's as you start your vacation! You must be looking pretty darned terrific. Congratulations.

I guess I'll go start a menu thread. I have no idea what I'm cooking today but I better give it some thought.

Good morning! I'm taking a break between this junk I'm doing and a meeting that starts at 10.

I'm sorry to hear about Cindy's latest round of problems, Vickie. I know it must be difficult.

A friend's daughter was killed in an accident Sunday night. She was such a sweet girl, too. Very, very sad.

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content...6wacfatal.html

My best friend in junior high and high school, Pam, was killed in 1979 by an intruder. We were in each other's weddings, and had been like sisters for years. She didn't have a sister, just three brothers, and so she really liked coming over and hanging out with us. Her killer has been on death row since then and his case has gotten international attention because he claims that he's ******ed, so the ACLU has taken up the cause and they've managed to keep him from being executed, even though he's been found guilty at all of the trials he's had.

Anyway, Pam had three brothers -- Mark, Danny and Tim. Mark and Danny were older than we were; Tim was several years younger. Mark was the kicker for the Washington Redskins for many years and is retired now but still lives in the DC area. Danny married a local girl (Livingston, where I grew up). Katie was their youngest child. My parents are still good friends with their mom, which would be Katie's grandmother. The grandfather was killed earlier this year in a farm accident. This family has really been thru the wringer.

I hope everybody has a good day. I'm working 12 hours today so it'll be late when I get home; might not be back until in the morning.

Sad story, Kathy. Life can be really cruel.

Hmmm...........board closed?

I'm off to a bath and a nap. With luck I won't drown.

Kathy - how very very sad for that family! I can't even imagine their grief!

Elana - clean out those icky veggies - and I usually keep a couple bags of frozen veggies in the freezer for 'emergencies'. I find sometimes when I take leftovers to work don't always have cooked veggies so I throw some frozen ones in the tupperware and just nuke them for lunch! Good in a pinch.

Vickie - sorry to hear about the sleepless nights - I know of what you speak - and there is nothing worst than lying awake most of the night. Best wishes and prayers to Cindy - hope this is not a setback and she can go ahead with the bone marrow transplant! Your 'emotional eating' sure didn't sound too bad to me?

Rhonda - how exciting to be ready for that first dance? Bet the two of you will look fantastic as you do your foxtrot! Will there be someone there videotaping the wedding fun? I have noted your email and would love to see you when you are in Ottawa!!!

Sandra - glad you made it to the ranch okay - the place looks amazing! Guess it's too cold for the outdoor pool? Want to know how Curtis does with his water aerobics sessions! I kinda like those cabin rooms myself! Congrats on 1 lb down - great job!

I am happy to report my presentation went very well yesterday - it was fun to be at the Westin downtown - very luxurious - and I forgot how much I liked it there - yes in the 'good old days' dh and I would sometimes spend a 'weekend' there enjoying our own downtown area - always lots of fun.

It was standing room only and of course my presentation (of the 3) got the most questions. I also stood at the HC booth (and circulated the exhibits picking up fancy pens here and there!), then enjoyed a nice buffet lunch and the afternoon closing remarks. Got home early which was nice as I was super tired due to lack of sleep the night before - and of course had to get ready for the big hallowe'en celebrations.

Little ds was ready and dressed by 6 pm - went out w/dh. DD off to another neighborhood to trick or treat w/her friends...and big ds dressed up as Marty McFly from Back to the future and off to some downtown party! I was the treat distributor wearing my hypnotizing flashing pumpkin necklace which I found in one of the candy bags I bought! Not much action - one of the bags had 50 treats in it - and I had about 10 leftover so maybe 40 kids in all?

Still not eating well and unmotivated and hoping for inspiration. Dh and I had lunch together today (thai restaurant) as he was coming back from dr appt - not sure why she won't put him on Lipitor? Every time he goes his cholesterol is up - yet he insists all he has to do is exercise and eat better - he doesn't - or doesn't do it consistently - goes back in 3 months - and the cycle repeats - I assume eventually he will have to go on medication? I have a checkup on Monday for my bp - it will be 1 month since starting my meds.

Off home to feed ds then to yet another bank meeting about the mortgage - I will be very happy when we have made a final decision and this is all over!

Later,

Frouf