Good morning, Chickies. 48ºF here this morning so I'm in a warm chenille robe. I refuse to turn on the furnace the same week I've run the AC!

Yesterday I managed to bake all day without a single nibble and then negated it all by having a and from the chipwagon on the corner! You'd think I'd have smartened up by my age. I am outta here in a few minutes to take the carload of baking over to the Church. The sale starts at eight but the vultures gather early. I think there are very few of us left in the village who bake from scratch. We also get a lot of campers and cottagers at our sales.

Lucy is back to being her "normal" self - normal for Lucy, that is! She snitched a couple of cookies yesterday and had her eye on the cakes that were in the fridge. She is still wheezing and sneezing a bit despite the new anti-histamine. I see a major vet bill in the near future as we try to find out what's going on.

Hmm - better get outta here but need to gt out of this robe and into some warmish clothes. It sure feels like fall!

How's your day and weekend shaping up?

Good Morning and Happy Saturday!

I got up and took a sleeping pill at 2am, and now I'm battling a case of the groggies with a pot of coffee. Nothing is planned for the day, so I'm just going to curl up here on the sofa for a while.

We had a cold front come through here yesterday that produced some rather nasty T-storms and brought down trees and power lines, and I had quite a time getting home last night, a 15 minute trip took me almost an hour! But at least now the weather is cool and breezy so I can give the AC a break and open the windows.

Good Morning, Ruth!

Morning, gals! I've been on the phone working since 4:45AM CT. We finally got the firewall guy to join. He didn't realize the time he was given was CT. We work with people in all sorts of time zones so you really have to make sure you know when things happen.

Ruth - That is cold! It has cooled down here too and didn't get out of the 90's yesterday due to all the rain we have had from Erin. Several people died in Houston and San Antonio. I was watching that closely since one guy from my pack just got back from San Antonio, another is still there and another one headed there yesterday. I told them next year we should all go the same week and have a big party! I do love to bake from scratch. I just don't have much time for it any more.

Cottage - I think it is still raining here but at least it isn't storming. I'd hate to lose internet while working.

Me - I'm tired with less than 6 1/2 hours of sleep. I finally turned the pager to vibrate and missed about 6 pages that I didn't need to get anyway. So far the upgrade is going well.

I'm watching the news about hurricane Dean. It has strengthened to 150mph and is a category 4. They are already making preparation in case they have to do an evacuation of Houston area like last year with Rita. They are getting shelters ready in the Dallas area. The ground is absolutely saturated in Texas. 7 people died in Erin this week and it was very weak. Let's keep Texas and Louisiana in our prayers. We don't need another Rita or Katrina. We still have quite awhile before it gets here so maybe it won't head this way.

Happy weekend chicks!
Stay warm today Ruth! It feels great here too, although not 48 degrees!
Morning cottage, hope you have a nice, easy day.
Waiting for the neighbor to come get me for our walk, then I'll gather up some stuff and go to DD's apartment to help her finish getting settled in and take her grocery shopping. Her orientation starts next week. DD2 wants to go along to check out the apartment and sneak in some back-to-school shopping. DS starts his riding lessons back up this morning, so DH will have to take him.

We had a fun night last night. After work, we went to the pool. Then came back here and had my parents come for dinner. Some friends stopped by after dinner, so we had a nice visit. Everyone is commenting on how much weight I've lost and how well I'm doing. Weigh-in this morning showed another 2 lb week. Love those 2 lbers! Have a good one chicks!

Missed you Barb! I'll be coming to Dallas on Monday, so I'll keep an eye on the weather too. Have a good one and get some sleep!

Morning everyone,
Started re-reading my book last night and just printed out the updated phase 1 foods from the FAQ section. My most difficult part is the fact that we are in kitchen renovation and my stove isn't hooked up yet (we've gutted the entire kitchen 2 yrs ago along with renovating the entire house so I've been the master of the grill and microwave, although I'm getting tired of grilled foods) so that rules out alot of baked/broiled things for now. The next thing that holds me back alot is planning. I know that when I don't plan, I'm doomed. So I will be sitting down this weekend and planning out the menu for the week and shop accordingly. I'm going to sneak SB into my husbands meals..tee hee.

It's beautiful here in So Eastern Mass today and going to the Cape for a cookout tommorrow so I'm going to try to incorporate some SB in my diet stating this weekend...
It's sooo nice to be back!!

Di

Morning Ladies...the weekend..finally!

Ruth, I'm jealous of that weather...don't worry about that little tiny slip up yesterday..today is a new day!

Cottage, sorry to hear about that nasty weather you had..no fun and scary! Hope you get some time to rest today.

Barb, I'm right there with you. We are checking all of our supplies and think we need to go out and get a big battary stash for the little portable TV.
It was our only "fuzzy" connection with the outside world after Katrina..we got one channel in sporatically from Baton Rouge and went through about 70 dollars worth of batteries. I don't even want to think about going through that again. Keeping a very close eye on it. My MIL has been in Houston since Katrina. My neice and sister in law and their families just moved to Dallas, so if it heads to Texas, my MIL will go there. Speaking of Texas, my MIL called last night and said my other sister in law (who MIL lives with) got Texas State social studies teacher of the year and gets to go to El Paso for a big award in a couple of months.

Schmoodle, enjoy your walk and shopping today!

Di, just thing of all the great things you can cook once the reno is over! I had a kitchen reno in my last house and I do remember it being a nightmare.
It was supposed to last 3 weeks..ended up being 4 months. Pox on the contractor...he tried to overcharge me because he added a fancy trim around the window without my permission or knowledge. I came home to very neat trim and he told me that he had it "left over" from another job and thought it would look nice..then tried to charge me 2000 for it. Ha.

Me, soon as I get my husband out of bed we are going to a Farmer's Market in a town close to here. Heard it is a really great one. Along with vegs and fruits I want to look for a terregon plant..it's the one herb I use a lot of that I don't have in my herb garden.

Good morning!

Ruth, I hope your bake sale goes well today! I'm glad to hear Lucy is feeling better...was she the one who snagged the cake at church? If so, I'm guessing she's not helping with the sale today?

Cottage, I hope your coffee does the trick!

Barb, I hope Dean fizzles before heading your way. I have friends in Houston, and I'll be keeping you all in my prayers!

Schmoodle, congrats on the 2 lbs!

didi123, do you have the Quick and Easy SB book? With the stove down, it offers some tasty salad choices!

Femme, have fun at the farmer's market! My friend has joined a CSA group here, and she's always bringing over the yummiest produce!

Me, putting in some weekend hours at home for my current job to get ahead for the person who'll be replacing me. I plan on working my tail off today so I can have some fun at Busch Gardens tomorrow!

I went jeans shopping last night...ick. Everything was too big or too small, too short or too long. Guys have it sooo much easier! The quest continues!

Good Morning Chicks. It is not a nice day here it is cool and drizzly, they are calling for t showers. Not good we have a family reunion today. I will have to call my mom and see if it is a go rain or shine, of course it was planned for the outside.

Ruth- Stay warm and hope you have a great time at the bake sale.

Cottage- I hope you lose your groggies. Have a great restful day.

Barb- Hope you get a chance to get in a few zzz's today. Take care

Schmoodle- Sounds like you night was great, and to top it off compliments which is better than chocolate. Have a great day.

DiDi- Have a great cook out. And good for you for planning.

Femme- Enjoy the farmers market. Have a great day.

Betty- I am with you I hate jean shopping. Have a great day.

Well I must dash and get some house work done and make a big fruit salad to take with me this afternoon. Have a great day chicks.

Oh my gosh, I'm going to be SO bad today.....

It's POKER RUN TIME! Yes, it's that time of year again. I totally forgot about it because I hadn't been invited, but I got invited to be on the boat last night, so I'm going. Dang. Going to try to eat right, but it's the beer part (from 10:30am-10:30pm) that will be the hard part. Thinking of taking some water with me just in case.

Gotta hop in the shower and start packing my bag. Hope you all have a great day! Will let you know if I win! (Yeah right....)

Lisa

Lisa --- What is poker run? That sounds FUUUN!!!
LChick -- enjoy the fruit salad!
BBetty -- isn't shopping supposed to be fun after weight loss??
Cat and Barb -- We'll be thinking about you in that scary weather. Stay safe!
Schmoodle -- Congrats on weight loss!!
Didi -- We're neighbors!! I'm in Somerville, moving to Watertown soon. I haven't been outside yet but it looks like a gorgeous day for the Cape! Sadly, I have yet to make it to the beach ALL SUMMER!!
Cottage -- enjoy the cool breezes!! And thunderstorms can be fun in their dramatic way, no?
Ruth -- Way to go not nibbling the baked goods. Have fun today!!

Me -- Woke up this morning with my eyes SO ITCHY like every day. Such an aggravating way to start the day! Ugh allergies!! I'm driving down to Jersey today for the unveiling of my grandfather's grave -- he died in January and it's Jewish tradition to wait a year before erecting the stone (but for some reason my grandmother only wanted to wait 6 months, and no one is questioning her decision!) So, a sad reason for the trip, but good to see family nevertheless, and I get to drive my convertible on a gorgeous day!
AND, I'm back down to my ticker weight. Can't wait to keep losing!!!
Sonja

schmoodle - Dallas will be fine. At most we will get heavy rain and possibly some isolated flooding but I really worry about the parts closer to the Gulf. And this is where people will evacuate to.

didi - Have you considered a toaster oven? I do a lot of cooking in my toaster oven rather than heat up the house with the big oven. It works great to bake and broil as well as toast. My new one even has a convection oven setting but I prefer the regular bake. I have a large toaster oven that will let me cook a pork tenderloin.

Cat - The Dallas Morning News says the state if going over all the interstates that would be the evacuation paths from Houston and other parts south of here to look for any dangers or stuff that needs to be fixed. They are going to open up both sides of the interstates to head north if they have to do an evacuation. They say there will be gasoline trucks stationed along the interstate. I grew up in Florida so being prepared is second nature but I am glad I don't live along the coast at times like this (the rest of the time, I miss the beach!)

Betty - I hate to shop for clothes! I bought several pair of Levi 550 relaxed fit shorts and this one store. Certain pairs fit differently than other pairs in the same size. When I checked the label, they were made in different countries! That's why I don't do mail order. It is too tough to get something that fits.

Little Chick - I love fruit salad (as long as it isn't mostly melon, I've just never cared for melon).

weezle - Have fun playing poker! I used to play and really enjoyed it. Life after kids is quite different (although my son will play poker with me).

slisette - Congrats on the loss. I gained a BUNCH on vacation and haven't updated my ticket yet. I'm down 5.5 from when I got back from vacation but I'm still above my ticker.

Cat, Barb, Kiko, I hope and pray that you all will be safe from that hurricane! I was just listening about it on the Weather Channel. Please be careful.

Schmoodle, Dunkin Donuts do have SF FF lattes in several flavors, and they're pretty good. You have to be careful ordering though, a few times I saw them starting to make me a full fat version, and had to call their attention to it. I'd never ever order one through the drive-thru window, most of the time they pay no attention whatsoever to the fact that you wanted NF milk and Splenda. Congratulations on losing 2 more lbs.!!!!

Hope you're all having a great day, LC, Weezle, Betty and Slisette!

Jake wanted to go out for breakfast, so I didn't get to lay around this morning for long. After that, we drove out to the pool supply place for some pool chemicals, then stopped at my mother's for a nice visit. I'm just going to be lazy for the rest of the day, though, I already warned Jake. We're going to share a WW veggie pizza for supper, and I made a big bowl of jello fluff, black cherry this time. I just finished reading Order of the Phoenix, and am delving into the next book, I really love HP! I'd better enjoy my lazy day today, tomorrow is going to be super busy and we'll have a houseful of family all day.

We had so much fun today going to the Farmer's Market! I didn't find the tarragon I had wanted..she had just sold the last one, but the herb lady's sister lives in my town, so she will call me and bring one over to me. We also got a mexican petunia and a morning glory tree. I had never seen a morning glory tree before and it is beautiful. We usually plant morning glories vines along a fence every year, but they got way out of control last year. The purple flowers on both the mexican petunia and the mg tree are just beautiful.

We also got an anise plant and something I had never seen before..A stevia plant. I had no idea that was where stevia come from. The guy told me to taste a leaf and yep...VERY sweet. He told me to take leaves and dry them for several days, then grind them up. I ended up buying two of the stevia plants!

Then we went to an oyster house. I got a beautiful seafood salad. I was "bad" and had 6 crackers with a 1/2 dozen oysters and don't feel the least bit guilty. The oysters were just over the top. My husband got a poboy with roast beef, ham and swiss that was dripping with gravy and mayo...a 10 napkin poboy and he insisted that I take a bite. I don't feel guilty about that bite either..yep, food porn.

I have come to realize I can't feel guilty about enjoying a bite of something I want from time to time as long as it doesn't become an everyday thing since I am perfectly happy with my every day meals and routine.

Oh, and thanks for your thoughts on the hurricane, Ladies. So far it looks like our Texas sisters have more to worry about right now than I do. The govenor has declared an emergency here and everyone is getting ready just in case. You never know about how those things are going to bounce around once they hit the gulf. I live on the north side of Lake Ponchartrain, so I don't have to worry about water as we are inland. What I do have to worry about is pine trees and wind. We were without power for 6 weeks after Katrina and that's what I fear most.