Good morning everyone! I'm at home today baking my nutrolls--the dough is rising very nicely and with any luck I'll be able to get them rolled out and baked by noon time!
We had a great time in Cleveland on Saturday--the weather was perfect for driving, no snow. We did eat at a wonderful winery on our way home.
Yesterday a frigid cold front moved in and the temps held around 12--today it's a chilly 9 with windchills at 16 below zero! We didn't get the snow they were predicting but I heard that Cleveland got quite a bit.
I'll catch up more later--gotta go roll out the dough.
Melissa, brrr, that's really cold. It's cold here in sunny Florida, too. It's about 47 degrees at noontime. This morning, the wind chills were in the 20's. I guess Canada sent us all a cold weather gift! (Thanks, Susan) : )
So, you're making kolachi (that's what we called them in Ohio). I miss having that. My mother used to make them each year.
There's hardly anyone at work today. It's pretty quiet and it will continue for the rest of this week.
Well the snow finally arrived, we got 6 inches of it last night into this morning. Made for a tricky commute in to work today. We had a very busy weekend. Christmas party on Saturday evening and on Sunday I drove to the airport in Hartford to pick up my friend who is staying with us through Wednesday. She lives in Charlotte, but is originally from this area so she did pack the appropriate winter wear. We had fun last night drinking wine and talking till about 12:00 which is much too late for me. Luckily school was cancelled so we go to sleep in a little bit this morning.
Melissa the shrimp roll was a big success at the Christmas party on Saturday night. I followed your recipe exactly and used half lite half fat free cream cheese and it was delicious. I will definately make it again for the office party on Thursday. You ladies are giving me some great recipes! We've got the chilly temps here also. Tonight its going to get down to the single digits but on Thursday it is suppose to be 50 degrees and rainy, so most likely the snow will be washed away by Christmas. Have fun on your day off.
Lisa a lot of people at my office are out also and the people who are here don't seem to want to get too much done, me included. I keep thinking about all the things I could be doing at home.
It's Tuesday, closer and closer to Christmas Day. I can't wait. Work is very quiet and it's sort of boring. The weather will be warmer today--60's. That's more like it.
On the food front, I've just lost total control. I'm eating everything in sight. Sigh! Well, after the holidays, I'll shape up again.
Pam, how is your weight loss coming? Are you getting the mirror?
Lisa: No thanks required for the weather. It's actually warm here if you don't factor in the wind The temperatures are supposed to rise to a balmy 11 on Thursday - there will be folks wearing shorts to midnight mass Of course, it will be much colder with lots of snow in New Brunswick. That's where we'll be heading on Christmas Day.
Melissa: How did the kolachi turn out? I did a little baking myself this year. Made toffee, spiced nuts and mint patties for my co-workers. I think it's all edible, but we'll see
Pam: It's great that you got to spend time with your friend AND got a reprieve in the morning thanks to the weather. You must be living right!
The Dr. Phil CDs arrived yesterday. I'm transferring them to my iPod and will listen to them over the holidays. Maybe I should listen at nite while I'm sleeping - he might be able to implant subliminal messages about healthy eating into this idiot brain of mine.
Well the kolachi turned out great (had to sample one to make sure they were edible for giving as gifts ) It was a great bread day because I started around 8:30-9 and was all done by 2 p.m.! Woohoo!
Pam: Glad to hear the shrimp dip was a success! I'm making it for the holidays as well. It's easy and delicious.
Lisa: It's really quiet here--it'll be even worse as the week wears on. We'll be busy on Thursday because the grades will be in and we'll be able to get some things processed so that'll make the day go by fast. The hard part is keeping busy since I'm pretty much all caught up!
Susan: If the wind was quiet it would be warm here as well. We're supposed to have a "warm up" with temps getting to the high 30's--we'll see if it actually happens.
The weather here continues to be a roller coaster--today it's supposed to be "warm" and then tomorrow rain/snow mix, then sleet, and Christmas Eve the temps are supposed to plummet again and more snow so we'll have a White Christmas here.
The tree is still not decorated (lights are on) but the hope is to get that done tonight. Still have a few stocking stuffers to pick up and other than that things are shaping up. My eating has been not so good--eating out and snacking have been my pitfalls. I need to get back on track. One good thing yesterday was that I drank my water. I just need to stay focused and it's been hard.
Brrrrrrrrrrr it's cold. On my way in to work this morning the temp was 2 degrees. If the forecast is accurate it's suppose to get all the way up to 30 today and by Thursday it's suppose to be 50 and raining. We'll see, this weather is crazy. Tonight DD and I are going to "Bright Nights" in the park. This is a beautiful display of holiday lights that goes on from Thanksgiving to January 1st. We usually go at least once each year and I think this is the 10 year anniversary of the display. It's always a lot of fun, this year we are going with some people from my company on a tour bus. There will be appetizers and drinks (also adult libations) so I will try not to over do it. Unfortunately, DH will not be coming. He has been sick the past week with sinus problems..he's going to see the doc today and I hope he is feeling better by Xmas. Shopping and wrapping are done, cards are mailed last thing to do is go grocery shopping tomorrow.
Lisa I'm hoping to be down at least another 1/2 lb on Friday when I weigh in, but I've got some tricky situations coming up..the bus trip tonight, the office party on Thursday...I've got to keep it in control to see a loss. I think I will get the mirror right after Christmas. It really will look pretty in the bedroom and hopefully will keep me motivated not to gain!
Melissa glad the kolachi was a success. Have fun decorating your tree tonight.
Susan your co-workers are lucky, toffee and mint patties...yum! It's very quiet in my office also. I'm making a note to self to take this week off next year.
Well ladies I should go and get something for lunch..if I don't soon, I will probably go for the carrot cake that someone so graciously brought in and left in my department.
Pam: Sending you good vibes to get through the holiday parties.
Here's a website that I thought everyone would like--today's post is a good one "Back to Basics Day" and I think it fits all of us--I think it'll work for me and it will take off some of the stress of getting through the next week. Check it out: http://www.skinnydailypost.com/
The sun is shining here and it's gotten up to 36. I did venture out for a walk at noon and got some fresh air--it felt great! I had toyed with the idea of doing a little shopping but figured the fresh air and sun would be better for me.
Pam, how interesting. DH and I are going to Lightfest here. It's a light display in the park that you drive through. Of course, we won't have adult libations. It's all for a good cause. You really have cold weather--I feel your pain.
Melissa, have fun decorating the tree; it's one of my favorite activities at Christmas.
Snow has returned to the area--it was nice this morning (no snow) but by noon the roads/cars were covered. It's the wet, slushy stuff so it makes driving a little tricky because it doesn't look bad but is slippery. It's supposed to change over to rain and then go back to snow. Christmas Eve/Day are looking like days to stay inside and vegetate!
Went to my meeting at noon and was down .4 which is great considering the week I had. At least I'm maintaining--I'd love to be down a little more next week and I can do it if I watch.
Went to DS #2's Christmas program last evening and then helped decorate the tree, one more thing to check off the list. Picked up a couple of stocking stuffers this morning...still need to pick up a couple of things for DH and the clock is ticking...
The campus is really quiet and tomorrow it'll be a tomb...I have a hard time focusing on work when I don't have any distractions. Does that make sense?
Back from a nice relaxing week in France -- Brittany and Paris. I spent one night in a frigid subterranean hotel room near JFK and that was enough of the cold. Its going to be about 42-45 degrees here over christmas and that is fine with me...
Welcome Back, Lala! Glad to hear you had a relaxing week.
We had snow yesterday and it's raining this morning so it's making the roads slippery with slush. The downside is that the temps are supposed to drop by the end of the day which means it'll be slippery/icy for the commute home. Yuck! We're supposed to have snow Friday/Saturday and frigid temps and the forecasters are saying the snow is going to mainly hit the lakeshore area (which is where I live) and not the snowbelt. Oh well, we'll definitely have a white Christmas!
The boys and I baked cookies last night--Peanut Blossoms and sugar cookies. We had a great time and DS #1 helped with the clean up. I'm so lucky!!
It's quiet here at work; the grades are in and I was able to get the stuff done and over to the deans' offices so that's one thing I can mark off I'm so looking forward to being off until next Wednesday.
lala, welcome back. I hope you had a wonderful time on your trip. You must tell us about it.
Melissa, baking cookies is fun when it's done with others. Sorry about the icy stuff; that's not fun. Having a White Christmas is nice though.
It's very quiet at work and I have a feeling that people will be drifting out of here after lunch. After work I'll be packing. DH and I are headed to St. Petersburg to be with my family. I'll be singing with the choir at my parents' church which should be nice. They put on a little concert before Midnight Mass.
We're expecting cool temps with rain on Christmas Day. I won't be on this board till after the New Year as I'll be traveling (parents don't have a computer).
The New Year will see me being OP again. For some reason, this Christmas I've lost control.
Hello to Susan and Pam. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
It is quiet here and I expect an early dismissal. I'm trying to tie up some loose ends including tracking down some gnarly data from 20 years ago. Yech.
We woke up to some wicked fog. Very wicked. I hope that the airport is open or there will be some sad travellers. I see the midwest is blanketed with snow too. Stay warm.
We had a great trip. I started out the morning we left by slipping on something in the kitchen and knocking myself on the ground and getting some nice bruises etc. We then spent a few hours hanging out at the airport and went to Chicago. In Chicago we hung out for a few more hours, really interesting to walk all around the airport. We then flew on a really full flight to Paris and DP pitched a hissy because we had middle seats. Don't cry too much, they were in business class, but she freaks when she can't see out, so the nice chief steward allowed her to sit in the captains rest seat for take off and landing. We had a decent flight and a nice looong layover in Paris until we boarded a train for Rennes.
By then I was stiff as a board and in so much pain, I made it to the pharmacy in the airport and they suggested a ibuprofen cream on top of the naproxen (er, not anymore). We made it to Rennes (big city in the middle of brittany) and drove in a dense fog to Cancale.
We got to our hotel, a beautiful old chateau, Chateaux Richeux, where we stayed for two nights. We went into the Port area of Cancale and found four restaurants out of about 40 open. We had a nice dinner and retired to our hotel, once we found it. Its is a good thing we had been there before or else in the dense fog, we would still be looking for it.
We spent the next day relaxing -- walking around the grounds of the chateau, enjoying the views. We drove some scenic roads by the bay of Mont St. Michel towards Villedieu les Poeles, home of the major copper manufacturer in France. Oooh the pots. I wish I had done my research before I left, I would have probably finished off my collection. Oh well, next time. We had a nice lunch and wandered. We went back into Cancale and puttered around. Nice place, wouldn't mind living there.
We ate the Le Coquillage that night. We originally planned our trip to eat the Michelin 2** restaurant, Maison Bricourt, but since our work interfered with our pleasure, it was closed. The little brother bistrot is excellent and about 3/4 cheaper, so it was probably a good choice given our recent expenditures.
We spent a lot of our trip sleeping. We slept in the following am and then puttered towards Dinan, a lovely city with a beautifully preserved core. We walked around, took some pics, had a mediocre lunch and then puttered towards St. Malo. We dropped off our car and then went to our hotel. The winds were awful, there was a huge storm and we were glad to be rid of our tiny car and within the confines of the walled city. We were still being blown hither and yon, but safe. We had a marvellous dinner, walked around a bit and then slept.
The next morning we had a nice sleep, walked the city walls, enjoyed the lovely inner city and then took the train to rennes and then to Paris.
In Paris we did our usual. DP tore off looking for chocolate, I did a lot of window shopping, we walked a lot, we ate too much. I have to say we didn't eat anything unusual or expensive, just stopped a lot. It was cold. I love the hotel we stayed in, its in a great neighborhood and was pretty cheap and very clean and lovely. We did a bunch of looking around, a bunch of chocolate shopping and then spent a lot of time reading and sleeping.
We ended our trip with an interesting overnight in NYC. It was cheaper than flying homw that day by over 400 bucks (buys a lot of chocolate), but we had a great time. I love Brittany, but I am still thinking Normandy for retirement.
DP is warming up to the idea, if we still can spend 6 months somewhere else...
We have no big plans for Christmas, the tree is mostly decorated, the cards will be done before the year is over, we are having a mellow end of the year and hopefully by the end of next week, we'll have new heat.
I'll be around all of next week, I am happy to have some company. I am back on the marginally straight and narrow and enjoying being back on the routine.
It's a balmy 50 degrees and rainy..not very Christmas like weather.
Lala welcome back! Your trip sounded wonderful, lots of sightseeing but plenty of relaxing also. Keep working on DP for Normandy as a retirement destination...she'll come around. Hope you didn'y injure yourself when you slipped..just bruising? Your mellow Christmas sounds nice.
Lisa have a nice Christmas with your family. See you in the New Year.
Melissa I heard about the bad weather your way..well at least you're having Christmas at your house so you don't have to worry about travelling. Cookie making with the boys must have been nice..they sound like very nice kids.
Well ladies good luck with any last minute Christmas preparations and I'll talk to you later.
Thin4Life - Week of Dec 20/04
The temperatures are supposed to rise to a balmy 11 on Thursday - there will be folks wearing shorts to midnight mass 
) It was a great bread day because I started around 8:30-9 and was all done by 2 p.m.! Woohoo! 
