Good Morning Chicks! I slept fitfully...lots of crazy dreams. Must have been the half ton of garlic on the pizza last night! :D I have much to do today. The decorating is as done as it is going to get. Today is wrapping day. I don't have as much as usual since Jim and I tried to scale back this year a bit. The Vet bills really took their toll.

Kathy, I got the idea from RR that you could eat the roasted garbanzos in place of nuts? I have some white cheddar popcorn sprinkle that I might try on them. I plan on just eating them in my fingers. Would they taste good in soup instead of a crunchy cracker? Nothing wrong with a special coke treat every day. How many points does it cost you? Good luck weaning yourself. It would be great if you could. Is Progresso Tomato Basil good? I need new soups. How is your Mom today? How is Zuki the package opening devil? Are his health problems all resolved?

Frouf, I'm really craving bagels and cream cheese. After the pizza indulgence/emergency last night I just need to put those bagels out of my mind. It's hard to lose a loved one. I hope your celebration of your Mom's life made you feel closer to her. I didn't notice that Suzanne's message disappeared but I am very happy.

I am in SUCH deep trouble if they take ketchup off of the list! Cola chicken and cola sloppy joes are two of my favorite dishes. I'm sure there will be confusion for weeks on what they mean. I think I'll stay away from the WW boards for a while.

Sandra, Congratulations! You were away from home for many, many weeks....eating out in restaurants and in other people's homes and you only gained .2 of a pound! Goodness gracious Woman....you should be jumping for joy! Forget those 5 pounds and be happy. I think you did incredibly well. I vote that you decorate if even only a tiny bit. I've been forcing myself to do it this year and actually I'm very happy that I did. We didn't do a ton but it looks really nice and it's helping me to be in the spirit. You're done with your family celebration but you and Curtis are still something to celebrate, right?!

Thanks for all the prayers, Girls. Cindy would be grateful as am I.

It's time to eat breakfast. I'm going to change yesterday's menu and post today's. I think I'll start shaking up my breakfast a bit to see if I can start losing again. I'll read the sale papers and then on to wrapping!

I'll be back on my breaks to check on all of you.

Lurkers....please post with us. We all were new at one time or another. We really do love the enthusiasm and wisdom of fellow Corers!

Good morning! Er ... late morning, that is! I'm having a slow start but at least I'm up and dressed. I started a load of laundry and will do a few more, peel potatoes for some soup, and then think about what else needs to be done. Kate might come over today and help me with some things. At least, I hope she does. Erin needs to study and I'd rather not have Judd involved.

I bought Zuki a doggy tent last night. He has been quite the camping dog this fall and so it's actually just a funny little thing to commemorate that. Maybe he'll actually go in and sleep in there, but it would probably more than likely be Precious who goes in. She likes closed-in places more than Zuki does. And of course, Bindy or the cat won't even fit in it. It's really small.

The garbanzo beans do taste like nuts and are very crunchy. I took the bag to work for a snack, but then I ended up adding them to some Chex mix that I had made for neighbor gifts. I'll be making some more soon because I wanted to take some to my mom next weekend. It would be a good snack for her.

She's still hanging in there. I guess the doctor will tell her more tomorrow about their plans.

I do believe that Cindy can hear you. When my sister was in a coma, we made sure nobody said anything in the room that was negative and that it was all peaceful in there. We played music, and read aloud, and if anyone came in who was crying, we herded them right back out the door. I'll really be keeping her and her family in my prayers.

Well, I'd better get going. I just remembered that I have to go to Michael's today to look at frames. We had enlargements made of a photo we had and are giving one to Judd's parents, brother/SIL and sister/BIL. It's of Judd's grandpa's old tobacco barn. There's a lady at work who is a very good graphic artist and she made black and white enlargements for us that are so much better than my first three attempts: once at CVS, once at Walgreens, and once at a photography specialist. Can you believe the specialist (Wolf Camera & Video) was the WORST of the three? Anyway, I found this lady and she did an incredible job. And THEN she made me one that's a small poster size and did a "Van Gogh" effect on it. It looks exactly like a painting. I'm having that one framed to put over our fireplace. His family doesn't know we're doing this: Judd took the picture the last time he was in Kentucky. They will really be surprised.

Have a happy day, everybody, and stay warm!

kathy, that's very interesting about the lady redoing old photos. i've heard of that but never delved into it. the family will all love their gifts. what a great idea!

vickie, you're right. we should do some decorating. i'll probably start going through and putting up a few things. i think we have a small artificial tree. if we do (how can i not be sure?), i'll put it up.

curtis and slept late then went to the archery center to visit and play. we've just finished lunch and now i'm at play again but on the puter this time. i'm going to do some surfing to see if i can get some holiday food ideas. i'll post what i find here on the recipe thread.

have a super sunday, everyone.

Sandra, it's actually a new photo. He took it 2-3 years ago when he was there visiting his grandma. The picture sat in a drawer and recently we decided to do something with it. The real picture is a 4x6 and the barn is teeny in the background. She blew it up, cropped it, made B&W, color and sepia prints from it, and then the poster size. The barn is probably 100 years old but still standing.

Still no tree here ... the store I wanted to get it from had two icky looking trees left. I'm just about tempted to say screw it. Maybe when we do our family Christmas, we'll just sit around in the family room. I suppose I could still go get the other stuff out of the attic, like the "sitting around decorations" and put out the Macy's snowglobes. Maybe I'll do that in a while.

I'm making bags for all the neighbors and co-workers, which is 60 people. So far, I have chex mix, puppy chow, and popcorn with almond bark and sugar sprinkles. MIL sent me a big bag of pecan halves yesterday so I might also make some pralines. I'm thinking that next Sunday is going to be my big day for all this. The chex mix is made because it lasts forever; I can make the popcorn tonight but the other stuff will have to be right before I give it.

At least it smells good in here. Right now we still have the worstershire-y smell because I put the chex mix back in for a bit. Dinner is practically cooked (purchased the rotisserie chicken) and broccoli/corn won't take any time at all.

I think I've punched out for the day.

kathy, i think i can smell your kitchen. yummy!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/et_h...D_9832,00.html

check this out if you're interested.

Oooh! There are so many great things there! Thanks, Sandra!!

I've found the secret to losing a few pounds in a day. Get a stomach virus!

:barf:

Back tomorrow...have a good night everyone.

Rhonda

ouch, rhonda!! i hope you're feeling better soon.

kathy, i'm making the fall muffins i posted over in breakfast recipes. i hope they're good.

Good morning, everybody!

New week, new thread ... c'mon over!