Good Morning all, pull up a seat and have a nessa bar and coffee!

Heather, I do pray everyone got out of the fire alright... and hope they don't have to deal with thier houses being burnt, but if they do, it is all providence of God! And only materials that can be rebuilt... in the meanwhile, have fun with the company!

Payroll again today (lol, every monday) and I hope to have it completed today, as opposed to Tuesday. There's just so much detail with payroll. I like doing it, but I put myself under a lot of pressure with it. I'm a perfectionist and hate having mistakes.

Other than that, I hope to get some more cleaning done tonight. Last night I shampooed the living room and hall, and mopped the kitchen floor. Hoping to clean up some of the office tonight and perhaps dust!

Hope you all have a productive and fun day.

Thanks for the coffee, Lori. I'll have my oatmeal after Curves, and this morning I'm going to stir a little SF apricot jam into it.

It sure was a busy weekend! Fun, though. I had thought we'd have a quiet couple of days, so I wanted to get started on a new cross stitch project, but it wasn't until last night that I finally had a chance to sort the the threads for it.

I hope this new week finds everyone safe and well, and that we're all off to a good start. I'm determined to begin my week with a good workout, after slacking off for a while.

I have just enough time for one more cup of coffee!

Busy little Beachers this morning!

I've just fed the livestock and have two antique chickens (July 2007) on the simmer for dog treats. I make sweet potato/chicken cookies in the dehydrator. Rob and Claire are coming over "early" to haul an extra TV and stand upstairs for me. I plan to start watching DVDs snuggled in bed in an effort to sleep in longer winter mornings.

Need to make a blueberry pie this morning too and I don't have Splenda. I may have to take a quick trip to the next town before I bake! Cousin Peter and the Parson are coming either for lunch or just for pie.

Time to make tracks and get this stuff done. Looks like a sunny and cold day!

Good morning chicks!

Lori - ahhhh...perfectionism. I understand .

Cottage - glad you enjoyed the weekend! I used to do a lot of cross stitch, I think I'm to ADD for it now!! I can't sit still that long! I do miss having some hobby like that.

Ruth - I must confess, I just add real sugar to things like that. Don't want my kids eating it. I'm lucky enough the weight has stayed off, but I don't indulge often!

Me - that was the quietest. weekend. ever. (on call!!). I didn't have to go in AT ALL! However, it was ...um...stressfull with the kids yesterday! It was so cold and windy they didn't go outside, and they were CA-RAZY!!

Today - busy day at work. I may try to run outside despite in the 30's, as long as it's not wet or windy. We'll see!

Have a good day!

Good morning everyone,

Lori- I am a perfectionist as well, don;t like making mistakes but we are human after all.

Cottage- Sounds like you had a nice weekend, enjoy curves

Ruth- Good morning, enjoy your baking.

Lori- I can understand about the kids and stress LOL.

As for me just a quick jot because I have to run to a class and need to get on the road and fight traffic.

Everyone in CA has my thoughts and prayers with the fires.

Have a good day everyone

Morning, all!

I just got back last night from a weekend trip to CA. DH was there for conference so I joined him, just for the weekend. We went to Disneyland, which we haven't done together in 10 years (we used to have annual passes and go all the time when we lived there...). It was a lot of fun and not very crowded. However, the fires really put a damper on the day between our worries about the firefighters, people, and homes, and the terrible smoke and ash. I'm still wheezing from the smoke and have been using my inhaler a lot.

Heather, hope you and your family are okay.

Loriann, you're a busy bee! Did you know that a lot of overweight women are also perfectionists? It's a good habit to try to overcome, though I know how hard it is!

What are you cross stitching, Cottage? I love cross stitch but rarely have time to do it.

Ruth! I read "fed the livestock" and then about your chickens and in my pre-tea morning stupor thought you might have fed some chickens and then offed them to put in your pot! Glad that's not the case. Hope you have a fun day. Blueberry pie sounds delish! Do you use frozen blueberries this time of year or canned wild ones?

Twynn, you might try a natural sweetener, like agave nectar or stevia for use with your kids.

Safe driving, Pearl!

Hope everyone had a good weekend. We came home to two inches of snow--it was hilarious to see me trudging around the parking lot in my sandals, I bet!

Morning. Have tea brewing. Overslept. Little Guy had an accident at about 11:45, then I got to sleep about 12:45 and he was up at 1:10 with a bad dream. Was going to get up early to make sure I had a good morning of breakfast, tea, etc. I'll eat my breakfast quickly and suck down my tea on my way to work. I am WIPED OUT!

Zeff, thanks for the links to acai! I guess it wouldn't hurt to get the powder. I just didn't want to pay $20 for a little jar of it, but looks like Amazon has the same thing for $39, so that's not so horrible.

So, a little secret I've learned: high-protein diet (i.e. Abs Diet or Ph2 with lots of protein) creates lots of bathroom celebrations for me. Oy! Better than none, for sure, but dang.

Oh my, need to get moving. I'm so far behind. Wish I could do personals but I just don't have time. Have a great day girls! I'll check in this evening after I get home from the Y!

Lisa

Good morning Ladies!! Happy Monday!
Lori - Thanks for the well wishes! Good luck completing payroll today.

Cottage - I hope your busy weekend was either productive or fun. Would love to see your cross stitch when you're finished with it!

Ruth - Glad to hear things are going well with both pups! Enjoy your lunch with company today!

Twynnb - Sorry to hear that you had to keep the kids in...I'm sure they got cabin fever quickly. Hopefully today you'll be able to get them out of the house and running off some of that energy.

Pearlrose - Thanks for the prayers. Enjoy your class today!

Laurie - I'm bummed that I didn't know you were in my neighborhood this weekend, I would have loved to have said hello! I had a friend who took his son to Disneyland this weekend and said that the smoke was almost unbearable. Hopefully the clear air you're breathing now will clear your lungs in no time. BTW.....where did you live when you were on the west coast???

Lisa - Glad to see that your feeling better. Have a good day at work, don't over do it!

ME - Well, it's been an interesting weekend to say the least. We were able to get all of our errands run, and we also got the house cleaned. But with the fires going, that was about all we had time to do. I also was not very good this weekend AT ALL. I'm really glad that I planned on doing a few days of Phase 1 to get some of these cravings off my back. I've got to focus! So today I'm looking for clean eating all the way through. Wish me luck!
Have a fantastic Monday!
ENJOY!!!!

Heather, I'm relieved to hear that you are safe from the fires, and pray that you and your loved ones remain safe.

Laurie, I'm glad you had a fun mini-getaway. That's a shame about the smoke, though. Are your family and relatives OK? I bet your toes didn't like sloshing through the snow! The cross-stitch I'm working on is called Holiday Wreath. I'm doing it on black Aida, and the finished size will be 14 x 14. I don't think I'll be able to finish it by this year's holidays, though!

Good morning, everyone! The back is healed nicely, but I'm going to go easy on it today and just walk a mile and not jog at all. If that goes well, I pick up my circuit training again tomorrow evening.

Lori: I know what you mean about being a perfectionist, especially with payroll. My bookkeeper really takes her time doing payroll and gets beyond stressed if there's an error. Lucky her, she only has to do it twice a month!! Good luck today!

Cottage: We were fortunate and had a quiet weekend, but I know what you mean about finding time to get craft projects started. They always seem to fall by the wayside in my house! Enjoy your day and I hope that the coming weekend is more relaxing!

Ruth: MMMMM! I'd hop on a plane to join you for some of that pie! It probably wouldn't be all that great for me! I hope you have a wonderful day!

TwynnB: It's great that you had a quiet weekend. I'm guessing ya'll were able to join the church, then? I hope the kids have calmed for school! I'm sure they're angels for their teachers!

, Pearl! Have a great day!

Laurie: Sounds like you and DH had a great weekend. That stinks about the fires, but I'm glad that you were able to enjoy yourselves in spite of it. I hope you're able to set aside the inhaler soon. Keep your toes covered, missy!

Lisa: Aww, to you and little guy! I hope you have an easy day at work today!

Heather: Good luck on your day of clean eating! You can do this! I'm glad that you had a good time with your company and that you managed to get the house clean. Enjoy your day!

Me: Not much going on here. I was able to get up and around a bit last night and got the house picked up. I hate starting the week with a messy house!

DH and I spent yesterday on the couches, so I'm going to have to do a bit of catch-up tonight with the bills, laundry and such. I'm going to walk at lunch and not work out after work, so I should have plenty of time to take care of it all. DH made chilli last night, so that's what we'll be having for dinner. Thank goodness for that!!

Well, off to get some real work done! I really need to get to it. Have a great day!

~Kim

Lori - Have a great day at work!

Cottage - have a fun day and enjoy Curves. edit: I used to cross stitch all the time when I was a kid - I've since joined the knitting train, but wouldn't mind picking up the aida cloth once again.

Ruth - sleeping in during the winter is fabulous, enjoy it. Blueberry pie....I swear, you make me crave more than anything!

Twynn - glad to hear that you had a quiet weekend. We all deserve them once in awhile. I totally understand the kids+no outside time = chaos. Ours was the same way yesterday.

Pearl - have a great day!

Beach - it must have been scary being that close to the fires....that is one of the things that terrifies me the most.

Lisa - Since Acai is so difficult to import, it is still very expensive...one of the reasons why we don't have it often It is also the "in" thing right now, so that might have a bit to do with the hyper inflated costs.
I guess last night was the night for bad dreams - the entire family had them.

Heather - I'm worried about you over there! Keep in touch to keep letting us know that you're ok!

-

What a nice day yesterday. Relaxing. DH watched football (and folded laundry!) while I did a little cleaning. After the game, we went to wash my car and get groceries. Came home, grilled steak and after we put DS to bed we snuggled in bed with a movie. I guess we both fell asleep during the movie because we both woke up with our clothes from the day before on

It was a bad night for sleep last night - DS had a lot of nightmares and I had terrible dreams (one I'm still trying to shake off).

A little laundry to do today, but not much other than that. DH is running into more problems with his dissertation. The final deadline to turn it in is tomorrow (!!!) and two of his committee members are arguing over how the template is making it look. I swear...if this makes him not graduate this semester...oooh...heads will roll.

It's cold out there this morning! I may take DS to gymboree instead of playing outside. He doesn't mind the cold, but I sure do!!

Morning ladies- Ive been offline for a few days and I can tell it has an effect on my diet for sure!!! Glad to be back. and Moving forward now~!
Todays agenda is lots of cleaning and hopefully a hobby lobby trip, then its our last bowling game tonight so hopefully we will do good then to dinner after. I think we are going to a hibachi grill so veggies and tofu for me!

I feel good about the fact that dinner is in the crockpot, the sink is clear and the dishwasher was running when I left the house for work. I filled a big trash bag with vines but still have a long way to go before all of that is cleared up. I did hear from the insurance company that they won't pay to repair the brick and mortar damaged by the vines and by foundation issue but I really didn't think that they would.

I finished going through the file cabinet last night and found the car title I was looking for so that's good too. I've got everything sorted now so hopefully the lady my lawyer is going to send over will help me figure out financial issues with this house and the one that I owned before I got married. I took a loss when I sold it and Robert is claiming that loss should come from community property so I have to go into a lot of 12 year old records.

Brrrrrrrrr! I am freezing today. Sitting here eating some chili hoping if I warm the insides the outside will follow. Its so windy out there today and I saw some flurries of that darn white stuff earlier.

Had a very busy weekend of painting and putting away. Only 2 closets to go and I am done! One of those closets is DD's that is a full day's project right there!

Hope everyone is staying warm today. Guess I need to run, work calls.

Stephanie - I miss snow! This year will be the first year that I will be without snow for the holidays.

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I just made a fantastic mock alfredo sauce. I found it in DS' Super Baby Food book, but I could see an adult eating it as well.

Recipe is:
1 part milk (I just made a small amount of sauce, so I used 1/4 c. milk)
4 parts cottage cheese (again, 1 cup of cottage cheese)
2 parts parmesan cheese (1/2 cup)
fresh basil or parsley (I used both..I'm crazy like that)
salt, pepper
I also threw in a dash of nutmeg

blend until smooth and heat in microwave.

tossed it with whole grain wagon wheel pasta. DS really liked it and I thought it was pretty tasty too. High protein and WAY fewer calories than regular alfredo sauce.