GOOD MORNING!

I'm so excited! My furniture is coming today!!!!!! They called yesterday to say it was in and they could deliver it this afternoon. It's a shame it couldn't be delivered this morning since I'll be here all morning, but they promised to be here between 12:30 and 2. I'll just have to pick up Maggie a few minutes earlier and rush back here, then rush back to get Audrey by 3. Then I won't be home to admire it until around 6. I shouldn't complain though, it's here 2 weeks earlier than originally promised.

I had two little NSVs yesterday that I'm proud of. I helped Maggie make a pumpkin pie and later let Audrey make banana bread, and I didn't have even a smidgen of either one. I almost caved in, I really wanted that pie, but I stayed strong. It was my plan to have a cinnamon bun for breakfast this morning as a little treat to celebrate my birthday, but I just can't do it. I'm going to have an Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin English muffin instead, that should satisfy my craving. I just keep telling myself why do I want to ruin all my hard work?

What's doing in your day today?

oohhh, Cottage, we want pictures of that new furniture..wish you could send that new furniture smell too!!! What a great birthday present! Good job on passing up those goodies yesterday!! And even better for passing up the birthday bun!! Think of that commercial where the woman has buns plastered to her rear end! Happy, Happy Birthday!!!

Busy busy here...tons of work, but have to go get ready for school, then back again here for more work. It is in the 30's here this morning, so I guess I get to pull out the coat...at least it won't be tight this year!!! Ya'll have a wonderful day!

What a great birthday present, Cottage - the furniture, I mean, not the English muffin although that sounds good! I hope your day is full of fun and hugs.

Cat, I giggled over the buns thing. Maybe that's why we call our butts our buns? It's 30 there? We're about the same. Did Al Gore cancel global warming?

Woke at four and went back to sleep after a bit. I'll get the hang of sleeping in yet! I'm off to the gym after a long hiatus but am not going to be silly about getting there for 7:30 when it opens. I really feel I've slipped after missing so many sessions. Donna is coming to clean this morning so it'll be good to get out of her way. I have to take a trip to the city for weekend groceries and other errands but will do that tomorrow morning. No more excuses!

Hershey is still zzzzing in the back room but I need my coffee so it's wakey-wakey time for her Highness.

Have a good Wednesday - and that's Warblings, not Wobblings so stay strong today.

Linda, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Hope your furniture is as wonderful as you are hoping!

Cat, I love that commercial! It cracks me up! I've thought about printing out a picture like that and plastering it to the fridge.

Ruth, I'm sure you'll be able to get back into the swing of things at the gym. It just takes jumping in with both feet. And thanks for the warblings vs. wobblings encouragement. I was wanting to snack on something and I should be done for the night and you kept me strong.

We had another beautiful day here. Connor and I went to AWANA this evening and had a fun time. I was working with his age group instead of the wee little ones like I usually do, so it was fun to have a change. I should hop in the shower and get my PJs on, though, so I'll be off for now.

Have a great day!

Kara

Cottage- Enjoy your day. Love new furniture, and good for you not caving in on the food thing.



Femme- have a wonderful day

Ruth- enjoy the gym...

Kara- here is one for ya.... have a good day...



Me- doing laundry... and going to make a meal plan, need to get this butt back on track have a great day girls have to dash and feed the fur kids.

Ola chicks!
cottage, Happy Birthday to you!~ Hope it's a great one. New furniture is a present I'd love to get. My birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks and I've already started thinking about what treats I will allow myself on that day. You are iron woman! Maybe I should take a lesson...

Today I have to head for the office for a meeting with the Program Manager. I'm so spoiled, I haven't had to drive down there for several weeks. Oh well, I'm due for a visit to the bank and I'll hit Trader Joe's on the way home.
Hope everybody has a great one!

Thanks for all the birthday greetings. Cat, I always think about that commercial when I'm tempted to grab something I shouldn't. It made a big impression on me, one of the very very few commercials that don't insult our intelligence! BTW, thanks for posting your pumpkin bread recipe, it's very similar to mine, except that I substitute apple sauce for the oil and don't use buttermilk or water.

I've been a good girl so far. I went to Curves, then stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a Skinny Pumpkin Latte as my one little concession for the day. I'm not sure just what today's menus will be, most likely Butternut Squash Soup and a veggie patty for lunch but supper is still up in the air. We'll go out for dinner this weekend to celebrate, since I'll be working all day today.

I have a bit of laundry going right now, and I plan to spot-clean the livingroom carpet this morning. I had wanted to get the carpets cleaned before the furniture came, but no time now! I'll have to wait until after the holidays now, it will probably make the most sense, anyway.

Cottage Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you! New furniture is so exciting! I am still excited over my $80 bargin desk. Good job on resisting the goodies! Oh and I blame you for my HUGE squash craving yesterday but boy was it yummy for supper, having the rest for lunch today and can hardly wait. Who knew I would crave squash!!!

Cat Here's wishing you enough hours in the day to accomplish what you need to.

Ruth I know you will do well at the gym today, you are a strong woman and provide much inspiration to many of us here!

Kara, LC, and Schmoodle Hope you all have a great day or evening!

Me Well I was shocked when I stepped on the scale today! After a couple of crappy weeks of eating I have really focused on staying OP this week. Guess my body said whhhhaaaa hooooo cause I am back down and at a # I haven't seen before 112! Little scary though as I am thinking soon I am going to have to find a happy medium because I can't go much lower. Never thought I would type those words! May have to check out the maintainers board, but I can't leave this group, you all are a great bunch of chicks and I couldn't have done this without you!

Have a great day girls! Check back later!

Linda, I'm curious about your soup. I've tried butternut squash before and did not like it at all. What else do you put in the soup??? When I used to make it for the kids when they were little tikes, I would bake it in the oven. Have you ever tried that? I'd cut it in half and scoop out the seeds and then put in in a rimmed pan filled with about a half inch or so of water and bake it for an hour or so at 350 degrees until it was soft. Then I just had to scoop it out and puree it in the food processor. Maybe that method would work for your soup?

Morning, Schmoodle! Hope your meeting goes well!

Kara

Pacer, there's no reason you'd have to leave this group to maintain. South Beach is set up to take you through that stage as well! Congrats on feeling so good about your progress! You *have* to stick around so we all realize we can do it, too!!!

Kara

Happy birthday Cottage Way to hold strong on those temptations. Enjoy your new furniture.

Cat be sure to bundle up & keep warm - I despise the cold weather

Ruth, LC, Schmoodle Hello Have a great day!!

Kara glad you had a beautiful day & glad Connor was a part of it. Sleep tight

Pacer way to go! What a way to start the day. I sure hope the scale is nice to me on Friday.

I'm still battling the plumbing situation - hopefully it will all be fixed tomorrow. Be back later...

Oooh, hope you get your water back soon. (That was the problem, right?)

Kara

Hump day is here! Only one day of work after today for me!

Cottage: Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Cottage! Happy Birthday to you! Hope you can post pics of all your new furniture. It honestly sounds strange that it's getting to you early - you never hear of things getting delivered early! Congrats on your NSVs!

Cat: Have a great day and stay warm!

Ruth: Hope you're having a great workout! Your "Her Highness" sounds a lot like my "His Highness". Lazy, lazy furbabies!

Kara: I'm sure the change in kiddos for Awanas was nice for you - and maybe a bit of a challenge? Hope you have a wonderful night!

LC: I've got to do the same things when I get home from work. Laundry and the meal plan for next week so that DH can go grocery shopping while I'm gone. (Yeah, right! ) Have a great day!

Pacer: Congrats on hitting 112! That must be so exciting - I can't wait until I hit/surpass my ultimate goal. Slow and steady, though! Please don't leave - you have to stay regardless of your weight or maintaining!

GonnaBe: Hope the plumbing situation gets taken care of tomorrow!

Me: Well, I had a pretty lazy night last night. We ate leftovers for dinner so that I won't have to clean out the fridge before we leave tomorrow night. The Spurs were playing and, of course, we were glued to the couch watching that. Thank goodness I worked out yesterday morning! And, I'm happy to say, there was no snacking during the game! Yippee! Hopefully the Spurs will play much better tonight. I don't know if DH and I can handle them losing two nights in a row!

Today is my big meeting with my academic adviser and I'm beyond nervous about it. I really don't understand why. Oh well, I'll go get that over with at 2 and then run to the registrar's and financial aid offices to take care of all of that. Hopefully it will all take until about 4 to accomplish all of that so I can justify not going back to work!

Well, speaking of work, I need to take care of it as I won't be in Friday or next Tuesday. Have a great day and I'll try to check in later!

~Kim

Beautiful Cottage!!! I hope you have an amazing day filled with tons of happiness! You certainly deserve it, especially after all that amazing willpower (and respect for yourself!!!) that you've been displaying! YGG!!! I hope you enjoy your birthday furniture. We want pictures!!!

Cat, isn't that one of the best things about new seasons? You get to see how much smaller you are since last year! Enjoy!

Ruth, you kill me!!! No, he's just busy on 30 Rock this week, so he didn't have time to turn on the lightbulbs... I hope you and Hersh have a great morning. I know how hard that trip back to the gym is, but watch how excited your trainer will be to see you and you'll feel much better! I'm proud of you for going back...that's so brave and strong!

Kara, PJs sound so good right now... Enjoy! Good for you on staying away from that snack!

LC, LOVED the cartoon! I could probably fit War & Peace on my old behind!

Schmoodle, I'd be glad to drive down there for you...I miss Trader Joe's so much!!! Waaah! Have a good time for me!

Pacer, we would miss you VERY much if you left us for good, but please, please do check out the Maintainer's forum. Not only do we have some extremely wise chicks there who can give you TONS of advice, but lots of newbies will want to hear *your* advice, too! Just don't forget to come visit us here, too.

Gonnabe, I'm sending {{{{{{{healthy plumbing}}}}}}} vibes and prayers your way!!! I hope it is resolved soon!

Kim, good luck with your advisor. If he/she makes you that nervous, maybe you need to find a new one? Your advisor can really be an asset...but not if you are afraid to talk with them. Have a GREAT trip!

Me:
Plan on going to the gym after work today. I dreamed of snow, but we didn't actually get any, thankfully. I've got my Food & Mood therapy group tonight, too. Hopefully a few of our missing regulars will be back.

I actually love butternut squash, but I hate cutting it up--I often buy the precut pieces. But I love your method, Kara! That should be easy too. Butternut Squash soup is divine, Kara...you have to try it sometime!

Have a great day, everyone!

Laurie: Thanks. It's actually my first time meeting my advisor. I think I'm just nervous because I need so many hours to graduate, but can only take night/internet/Saturday classes to get there. It's such a small school that they offer very few of those classes. Sheesh. What am I getting into? (Also, there's only one advisor per department for undergrads - so no switching. Sigh.)