Good afternoon chicks just a quickie to say hello before I leave for my camping trip. See ya all on monday night or tuesday morning.

Good morning chicks,
DH and I had a nice evening last night after we sent the kids to their grandparents. We couldn't get them out of the neighbor's pool, so they didn't go until 9. My neighbor came to get me this morning to walk and I was still asleep!:o I got dressed real quick and went walking. On the way we saw a yard sale that looked interesting, so I stopped by after I dropped her off, and ended up getting a sofa, a pretty yellow tall cabinet, and an antique bread dough tray for $50. The sofa was like new and DD loves it, so she'll take it to her college apartment. She wants the cabinet too, but I'm going to put it in DD2's room. The dough tray is looking great in my kitchen right now. I'm going to go with DD this afternoon to help move her into her apartment and get things set up. I just made dinner, since I'm not sure when I'll get back. Mediterranean Chicken, and I just tasted it - yum! I'll post the recipe later. Going to be a busy, hot day. DD lives on the 4th floor, no elevator, yuck! I skipped weigh-in this morning, since I had peeked yesterday, and it didn't look like I was going to show a loss this week. I'd rather just not know until next week. Denial, gotta love it!

Weezle, feel better soon!:hug:
Betty, enjoy the ponies, sounds fun!
Kara, are you ready for your trip?
Ruth, send them this way with the truck when you're done, I've got a bunch of stuff to go to the dump.
Kiko, starting kindergarten is so exciting! Sounds like she can't wait to go. I pointed out to mine yesterday that they start back in three weeks, and they were not too excited. But I am!
femme, I had something similar happen to me and it's so embarassing. And particularly aggravating when it's not your fault!
Have a great time at 6 Flags, noleschick. I haven't done an amusement park with the kids in a while, something to think about.
cottage, have a great weekend!

Off to shower and pack some snacks for this afternoon.

Betty, no pepcid around but I just chewed some Tums. Can't hurt right?

No sleeping this off. I can't go back to sleep. Big shock, I'm not sleeping. Plus, When Harry Met Sally is on, and that's one of my all-time favorite movies. I'm sad that I have to get in the shower in a few minutes.

I'll have what she's having. I LOVE IT!

Alright well time to shower. Hope you girls have a fabulous day.

Lisa

Just a quick jump in- but I fit into the Gap! Their biggest size jeans, but yay! I was NEVER able to do that before! Not that I bought any of course- who pays $60 for jeans? Oy. But just knowing that they fit helped me march back to my apartment with about 20 pounds of groceries rather than take the bus!

da-da-daaaaaaa <trumpets blare>


Well, I survived Six Flags! <sarcasm> I had a wonderfully delicious grilled chicken salad. It was chocked full of iceberg lettuce, a few pieces of grated cabbage, 4 cherry tomatoes, topped with a freshly (only 2 days or so ago) grilled chickenish breast. Even the light Italian dressing had high fructose corn syrup as its second ingredient! Such a wonderfully satisfying lunch and only cost $9.50! </sarcasm>

Seriously, I was very proud of myself for resisting the fried foods, funnel cakes, nachos, ice creams... Dang, we really eat awfully here in America don't we?

I'm planning on spending all day tomorrow planning out my meals so that everything is ready and portable for back to school!

charolastra00, isn't it great to fit into stuff?? I can't wait to slip into some of my older clothes again! (And of course, buy new stuff!)

Americans are awful when it comes to food. Here's something I got from our Zone VP as Friday's Food for Thought:

COMPASSIONATE LEADERSHIP

Consider these sobering statistics:

• Two of three Americans are overweight.
• One child dies of hunger in the world every four seconds.

To feed a starving child for a year costs roughly $200, about the same amount the average American spends each year on soft drinks. By simply passing up soda, Americans could cut child hunger by 75% worldwide.

Leaders are responsible for leveraging their influence to serve others. When leaders use power for selfish benefit, we commonly refer to their “abuse” of power. Would it be a stretch to claim that Americans abuse their power by guzzling sodas when malnourished children are dying in slums?

Now, it’s impractical to think that Americans would never spend another dollar for Pepsi or Coke, and it’s unreasonable to ask of them. However, when 65% of Americans are overweight, surely some changes can be made to cut consumption in the USA and give generously to those in poverty around the world.

The list of the world’s ailments can be daunting—AIDS, starvation, water shortages, environmental contamination, etc. However, the affluence of Americans may be equal to the task, if only leaders would mobilize the resources within their grasp.

Many are simply too lazy to contribute to social causes, or they refuse to let the world’s problems disrupt their comfort. Still others justify their inaction by citing the “drop in the bucket” mentality. However, with enough drops, a bucket gets full.

Leaders are honor-bound to assist those in need. In the words of U2’s Bono, “In the Global Village, distance no longer decides who is your neighbor, and ‘Love thy neighbor’ is not advice, it’s a command.” In the age of globalization, we buy shoes made in China, shirts from India, oil from the Middle East, and diamonds from Africa. Is it just for children in those regions to suffer and starve while ours eat potato chips and play X-box?

THE CHALLENGE

How are you modeling compassionate leadership?
To what causes are you lending your resources?
How are you inspiring others to give generously to social causes?

Hey ladies!
 

How are ya'll? I'm in the land between time right now. Ugh. I worked from 10:00pm to 6:00am last night, came home and slept for about 3 hours and decided to stay up for the day. Saturdays in the summer are so precious I hate to sleep them away.

They had a Scottish Festival in our town today in a park about 3 blocks from my house. I couldn't resist. I am a sucker for bagpipes and kilts! There were 5 piping bands competing, they were soooo gooooood! There closing ceremony was all of the bands marching in together and playing Amazing Grace. Wow, made my hair stand up on end. Such a treat!

I have done so well with my eating all week, dh took my dd and I out to dinner and I had a talapia thing with steamed brocolli. It was awful! So I did have a handful of french fries off my dd plate, but I'm OK with that. It tasted OK and I was able to stop. That's a NSV for me.

Well, I've got a book I'm into so I'm off. Everyone sounds like their weekend is pretty packed. Hope you get to enjoy the sun, just think.......in 4 short months we'll be singing Santa songs!:clause:

Weezle
 

That was inspiring. Where did you get the article?

RN, it was an email from my Zone Vice President. Not sure where he got it but I thought it was good. Makes me think of what I could give up that's unhealthy and then have money for something like Compassion International or something (www.compassion.com)

Maybe if I only went out socializing one day a week instead of two.... That would give me a little extra to give.

Good evening ladies. Just back from moving furniture and shopping for apartment stuff with DD. DD put my snacks in the refrigerator at her apartment and didn't tell me, so I left them there. On the way home I was starving, so I was REALLY glad dinner was ready when I got home. Mediterannean Chicken was a winner with DH and 2 out of 3 kids. I'm going to go post the recipe. While in Target, I thought I was going to pass out, so I bought a box of the SBD snack bars, peanut butter and chocolate. It was GOOOOD. So good that I'm now afraid to bring them in the house, they're still out in the car. Going to try to get some paperwork done this evening and then go to bed at a reasonable hour and read for a while.

RNMom, I love bagpipes too, I think it must be genetic, my mom's side is Scottish. Holiday season in 4 months, that's a scary thought! I usually have a good jump on the shopping by now, but not this year... Too little time and no money.
Great NSV charolastra!

Lisa, I've been sponsoring a child through Compassion International for ten years now. I keep her picure on the fridge and the kids love seeing her letters!

Allie, great job on your loss! Maybe you can find some Gap jeans on E-bay?

RN, I also love bagpipes! I bet the festival was a blast.

Megan, going to Scotland on your honeymoon is so cool! Where are you going? I had a chance to go to Edinburgh when I spent a semester in London and I loved it, but Tom's dad and step-mom just went and they did not like it there. Might have been a difference in perspective between my broke-college eyes and their on-vacation-wanting-to-be-pampered eyes. I loved the scenery and had a blast learning all the history, and thought the hostel was more than tolerable.

Schmoodle, sorry about your snack incident! I will respectfully disregard your comment about the snack bars. I have a weakness for granola bars, and especially ones with peanut butter and chocolate!!!

Time to get ready for church. I had planned to pack for our trip last night but we ended up going out to dinner with friends instead so I *have* to get it done today because we're leaving the house at 5:00 TOMORROW MORNING! AHHHHH!!!!! I stopped by the store yesterday and picked up a new book for each of the kids and The Polar Express on DVD for them. Today we'll stop at the commissary on the way home from church and get some snacks for the trip. I can't believe it's already time to leave! Yikes!!!

Off to grab some breakfast.

Kara

I just recently bought a "gift set" of Emeril's spices for myself, and I must say that I love them. I got the Original Essance, Garlic Parmesan, Bayou something or other, and Salad Seasoning.

Tonight for dinner I had broccoli over ww couscous with the garlic parmesan seasoning and olive oil. Oh boy was it good!!!!! I'm SO FULL! I feel like I should be moo'ing but it was totally ok to eat.

Just thought I'd share. Anyone else have Emeril's seasonings?

Kara, most importantly, have a safe trip! But on a whole different note- where did you study abroad? I'm trying to scope out my options but NONE of my friends in England went to school remotely near London! So they can't give me any advice. I'd sell a kidney to get into London School of Economics, but since that's not possible I'm probably not going to get in. But never say never!

Does Emril's seasoning have salt in it? My roommate last year was good for nothing EXCEPT she got me hooked on salt free seasoning blends. I think it was Mrs. Dash but I've never seen that brand here. I tossed hers on EVERYTHING from salads to cafeteria food. We even brought a few blends into the all you can eat cafeteria...

Hey, Allie, if you sell a kidney you've got to lose at least ten pounds from it being out of your body...not a bad deal all around...you think they take human organs as tuition? Seriously, though, I attended Thames Valley University. It was not the most challenging school, and I was a little frustrated about that at first (I'm a big nerd and actually like to study!) but it ended up being good because I had more free time that I could use to travel and such. I loved it there, and it was so much cheaper than my out-of-state-at-a-state-school tuition that I could cancel my loan for the semester.

We ALWAYS keep Mrs. Dash in the cupboard! I also am in love with the new McCormick's pepper grinders! The garlic pepper one is SO good! Goes on everything here. Thanks for sharing the tip about the Emeril's seasonings, Lisa!

I am stressing about this trip and I just want to eat, eat, eat. What is it about stress that makes me want to stuff my face with junk? Doesn't make sense. I've not given in, but it's hard. The kids' stuff is mostly laid out and I'm waiting on Avery to wake up so I can pack my things and the rest of hers. We're down to twelve hours until we leave the house!

Kara

Alright chickies. We're packed and the bags are by the door ready to go. Nine hours until we head out! I don't know how often I'll be able to check in while we're back home, but I'll try my best. I'll post pics of the wedding when I get them up on my computer!

Kara