It's a Xlarge cup of coffee kind of morning. After tossing and turning most of the night, I finally fell into a deep sleep around 4 and didn't want to get up. I could sleep in since I have the morning free, but that would screw me up for the rest of the day and I'd miss Curves.
I'll be back when I'm feeling a bit more sociable. grumble, grumble

I was right there with you on the tossing...but mine was puppy induced. yip, yip, yip. Yeah for coffee. Someone was asking about puppy pictures. These are a combo of puppy and gustav...a mish mash cause I was too lazy to separate them.

Had a long faculty meeting that lasted till almost 6 yesterday, so didn't get much done around here except for putting a science test together. Had a broken computer at work that the tech guy got going a little too late for me to make the test at school. I'm in charge of science for my grade level.

Nothing much on my plate today other than work and meeting a friend after work for a drink. Have no idea what we are having tonight to eat. May pick up something to go after that drink.

Neighbors still without power across the street since gustav. I feel guilty enjoying my air condition. At least they have a generator. If they don't have power by this weekend, they are going to come over here to at least do laundry.

Cottage, I woke up at four! Are we twins? I tossed and turned for an hour and finally got up to do another hour in the sewingroom. Maybe a nap AFTER Curves for you and one after Pet Therapy for me?

The furnace is on and sure feels good. The outside temp is just 45ºF this morning so "it" is definitely coming. I think I'd better get out and harvest my basil crop before we get a killing frost. It usually doesn't happen until the last week of September but, with this screwy summer, who knows? The wolves were really howling last night. a sign of fall. Maybe I should have invited them in where it was warmer.

Hersh was very keen for breakfast this morning and is back to drinking water so we're on the mend. What a worry she has been!

I'll do Pet Therapy with Disney at noon today and then pick up my walking shoes at the Sears office. Yes, WALKING shoes. My knee finally feels recovered enough to get out there and do it! Fall is so gorgeous around here and the Doggage have not had proper outings since my operation. (By the way, I've changed Daisy back to Disney - it was getting too confusing and Disney does suit her.)

On the dehydrator front, I turned grapes into raisins! So silly because they are cheap and readily available but I just wanted to try it. Today I'll do peaches and some sweet potato chips.

Coffee #2 is needed and then breakfast to fuel me for the morning.

And it's HUMP Day!

Good morning, Cat. I know that guilt feeling about having power when the neighbours don't! I hope it gets restored soon. I love your pictures and my puppy cravings are back! Mummydog looks a bit like my Disney. The duck is too funny!

Morning, all. A little under the weather today with a stomach thing, and I didn't sleep well, either.

Have a great day, beachers!

Good morning Chicks Got a big pot of coffee on so grab a cup

Cottage - ugh I hate mornings like that. Can't believe you're going to Curves - you are an inspiration!

Cat - Cute puppy pics! Now I'm having puppy envy

Ruth - I was so happy to read that Hersh is doing better And more doggy pics. You all are making me want a dog again. We have a frost warning tonight! I'll have to get to the framer's market and see if I can get some bargain basil. My garden is pretty much done so won't be any running around for me tonight.

The food preservation workshop went really well and I think several of the participants are sold on the dehydrator make your own fruit leathers and dried fruit idea. I'm so happy to see them considering healthier snacks for their child care programs. We've been fighting this battle for years and it's always tough, especially when kids come into programs with an already developed sweet tooth. One of the providers brought her son and he was my best selling point. He sat there happily munching dried apples the whole time

It's another late night for me with an MRI at noon and a meeting tonight. I discovered that the baked oatmeal recipe makes a great dinner for nights like this. They're tough because I eat earlier than I want and don't want anything too heavy. I've made the mistake of not eating before and then am starving after. The oatmeal with a topping of greek yogurt is just perfect.

I'm off to get a walk in today. With Julie being sick and so much going on I've gotten a lot of exercise this week but not much that I can count. I feel like a serious slacker

Have a good day

Well I haven't slept yet, been up sewing my shorts. You know what I should get is a sewing machine and kit with it so it's easier to sew more "complicated" clothes that take alot of sewing by hand. I'd also like to get some cute girly/gothy type patches and sew em on the back pockets of my jeans, much easier than going to a store and paying over $30 for embroided jeans that I happen to like. Plus whenever someone in my family needs buttons sewed on or anything they always come to me cause they don't have patience to sew like I do, LOL

I haven't heard from Goodwill which for any job applied doesn't surprise me any. I have decided I cannot wait around no more, so I'm gonna apply at Petco and my brother's friend works there so I "KNOW" I can get hired. Seems these days to get hired you have to have connections, it's bull.

morning I did not get a good night either. bagel was not a happy dog last night....

Cat I love the one of the puppies sleeping on their backs in and next to their food.

Good morning! I too had a rough night's sleep. My dad was in a car accident yesterday and might have done some damage to his noggin. They don't think it's serious but they don't know for sure, he is in the hospital just for observation. He also fractured his left arm. Last we knew they didn't have results of his CAT scan so I could relax thinking about all the 'what ifs'... I am just thrilled he walked away from it. Looking at his car it easily could have been worse, thank God for seatbelts!

Cottage - what a good example you are giving us in dedication!

Femme - enjoy that air conditioning! Maybe you could invite the neighbors over for drinks or desert, just to get a little taste of the good life!

Ruth - wow to your furnace being on! I cannot imagine, we still have the air going strong here!

Belle - Hope you start feeling better!

Cyndi - That is great about the workshop! Fighting for better food for children is a very noble cause. It's amazing some of the 'crap' kids eat.

JellyBean - that is awesome you are making your own clothes! I have sewn my own cloth diapers for my kids but that is all my machine was ever used for, I hope to venture out to other things someday!

I'm back and in a better mood. I have a big mug of coffee in front of me and am waiting for my oatmeal to get done.

Cyndi, I sure as heck did not want to go to Curves this morning, but I knew if I didn't, it would start that old pattern of slacking off again. I'm desperately trying to stay on track now that school back in session and I have a somewhat normal routine again. And it always feels so good afterwards, knowing I got my exercise done.

Ruth, I'm so glad Hershey is on the mend! And what a huge relief for you! Why don't you just change the spelling of Disney's name to "Disnie" to make it more girly? I just may take you up on that nap this morning, it really sounds tempting. I wide awake now, though, and rarin' to go.

Cat, such cute puppies! Stay cool and dry today!

Belle Mer, I'm sorry that you are having tummy troubles. Feel better soon!

Jelly, you really should try to sleep at night! Good luck on the job market.

I think I'm going to get a good dusting and vacuuming done before I go meet Maggie's school bus. The girls have gymnastics this afternoon, so I can sit in the car for an hour and read. I look forward to that. There's leftovers for supper, so I won't have to cook tonight.
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Good morning, Nessa. Sorry you didn't sleep well, either. I hope your day starts looking better.

Autumn, that's scary news about your father's accident! I pray he's OK!

Good morning chickies,

Sounds like everyone needs an extra cup of coffee this morning. Hehe

Last night had to take DS to ER he broke a couple of ribs at football practice, got to make an appt with his regular doc for Friday morning to find out how long to make him refrain from playing.

Everyone have a good day.

Did anyone put on the tea?

The cooler weather makes me sleepy, and my allergies are kicking my butt this week. Today is a busy day. I work by myself (again) all day, then have someone coming in at 4, have to do my store's marketing, meet my mom to have the title transferred from Grandma's car to me, and then I have a volleyball game at 6. Whew.

Yesterday was actually ok. We were busy of course, so I didn't get a whole heck of a lot done at work, but I got some things done, and still have a project to work on today that I started on yesterday.

If Tommy doesn't eat before I get home from volleyball, I may make him a Spinach, Feta, and Rice Pie that I stumbled across. Once it's made, if it's any good, I'll post the recipe.

Well, time to take my meds and get a move on. Hope everyone has a good day!

Lisa

Cottage, you're a saint. Whenever I *can* sleep in, even if it'll ruin my day, I do. sigh. Good for you on getting up, but hope you'll have better sleep tonight.

Cat, I saw a great button on facebook that mimicked Lorelei Gilmore's demands for coffee at Luke's...it was better than this one, but it'll do:
I'm drinking mine iced this morning. Cat, the puppies are absolutely adorable!!! I think I counted 6? I've forgotten...what was the story with these little ones? The photos of Gustav are so scary--thank God you two have waders already! (the one of the two of you under the umbrella is darling!) The dogs watching the storm photo is precious, too. Did the duck just take shelter with you or is it yours?

Glad Hersh is on the mend, Ruth. Love that you made raisins...I think I'd have done it too, just to see! Peaches sounds divine as does sweet potato chips. Will you use your cuisinart or are you able to slice them thin on your own? I hear you about the frost. We're SO close to a huge raspberry harvest and I'm just praying it's warm enough for them to mature!

Belle!

Cyndi, your workshop sounds wonderful! Thanks so much for promoting good, healthy eating among those who need it most! Your oatmeal sounds divine! Sorry I've missed it, but who's Julie? Hope she feels much better soon.

Jelly, hon, you have to get some sleep. This is like the blind leading the blind, since I tend to stay up really late, but that just means I hear all about the importance of sleep even more from my therapist and nutritionist. Did you know that just staying up late (or working nights) can lead to weight gain? Really! If you want to know more, google it or let me know. But it really is true...so please give yourself sleep at night. You can get a really cheap sewing machine at either Wal*Mart or Sears...it's definitely worth it if you do a lot of sewing. Or maybe you can check your local Craig's List or Freecycle list for someone who's giving one away for nothing (or next-to-nothing...). It's amazing that you are making clothes by hand! That's awesome...I don't even quilt by hand.

Nessa, I loved that photo, too! Sorry you didn't sleep well. Time for some brew!

Autumn, I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. I hope he's okay! It's awesome that you made cloth diapers! Great way to help relieve our landfills. Sorry you didn't sleep well.

Yikes, Pearl! I don't remember kids getting hurt like they do now from sports back when I was in high school. My friend's kid broke his ankle during football practice less than a week before school started. The grass was wet and he slipped. He ended up needing surgery involving a plate and 9 screws. He can't play any sports for the entire school year and is devastated. What a mess! Hope your DS is on the mend soon!

Me:
Well, it's my turn to pick a book for our book club, and I spent several hours yesterday morning trying to find something that I liked and thought everyone else would like too. We used to always pick the books as a group, but someone had the bright idea (can you hear my sarcasm? ) to have the person who hosts pick the book. Most of the fiction was very violent and/or war-related and then we had a slew of five non-fiction books, some self-help and others violent and war-related. I've been begged to pick something fiction (which I wanted anyway), and everyone wants something light and fun. I'm in that mood too, but I'm also a bit put off that I was subjected to all these books I really didn't want to read. So part of me wants to just pick something I know I'll love without any regard to what they all think...but that's not really me. *sigh* Hence the delimma. When DH got home last night (after I went to the gym), we sat on the porch and had our snacks, then took out our brand new laptop (how awesome is it to go online on the porch??? ) and DH "helped" me look for books (by typing things into the Amazon search like "monkey" and "alien probe" Boys!). I guess he could tell how frustrated I was feeling because he took the puppy for a walk and then grabbed me and drove me to Barnes and Noble. I think I finally picked a book, with his help--Confessions of a Jane Austin Addict. It's light and fun, fiction, but it's definitely a book that I'm interested in. Hope they don't mind!

Needless to say, it got very late...and I didn't make dinner in all the madness. We stopped at Friendly's on the way home, but I was really good--I had a grilled chicken sandwich on whole wheat and a side of steamed broccoli (which was really fresh and good, to my surprise!). We nixed ice cream and went home to the puppy. It was a good night.

Lisa, I'd love to see that recipe. Sounds divine! Does volleyball help get out the stress from work?

morning girls...I didn't sleep well for some reason (is it something in the air - none of us are sleeping well!) and am not the best person to be around right now.

I found a recipe for a apple baked ww pancake last night that looked great. I'm going to make it for breakfast this morning.

Ugh...I'm too bleary eyed to type...be back later.

Good morning all! Sorry some of you had trouble sleeping last night, I know I was up several times through the night but thats become the norm since ds moved out! I believe strongly that it's the mother instinct saying "my baby's not home." I know while he was home the few times he snuck out I caught him red handed! Knew where he'd gone too! He used to get so embarrassed when mom showed up to drag his a)) home!

Thanks for the puppy pics! I was looking for a puppy to add to the mix here, but have since decided I have a GREAT lady who's trained and loves my company. When Tucker was here she sort of ignored me in favor of her canine pal. I think I'll keep it just the two of us. I socialize her a few times a week anyway.

PEARL So sorry about dear son! You know here in NY they've banned tackle football, they've banned dodge ball ... While sports can cause injuries I think they've gone a tad far when they are now talking about banning TAG FOOTBALL! Whatever happened to the old days? dodge ball, tackle football, were favorites when we were growing up! Whats next? Banning baseball because the ball might hit someone? Someone stop the idiots that make the laws!