Chelby - you inspired me! After I got my haircut Friday (back to short finally) I went back to my beloved red. It's time :)

Twynn - thanks. I tweaked, of course. Put the beans in early and will add the quinoa this afternoon. My crockpot isn't entirely trustworthy when it comes to temp so I'd rather keep the liquid in most of the day.
ETA - My DD's BF won't allow a crockpot in the house because his Mom was one of those 70s, cook it until it's really dead crockpot users.

Debbie - I think it's often born of desperation but it still counts. I was terrified of knee replacement surgery before 50. As long as we finally get the memo and change our eating habits it's all good.
I vote yes, use the old technology on the road and catch-up when you get back :)

Ruth - I thought my wanton days were over but hey if you're game then who I am to hold back?!

Now that dinner is in the crockpot it's time to get breakfast going :)

ETA - Cottage - snuggle up with a good book and some tea. It's a perfect day for it. Hope your power stays on and you and your loved ones are all safe and warm. Looks like just the edge here so not bad for us luckily.

Oh, Cyndi, please post pictures of your new red do. I've gotten lots of compliments on the red. Who says blonds have more fun? :lol:

Good morning Okie and your "almost collarbones."

Kara - another busy decluttering day for you! What will you do with all your free time when you get the whole house done? Don't say "start over!"

Cyndi - Drying squash? Do you eat it like a snack or rehydrate in soups and stuff? The whole butterbutt thing is making me smile. Thank you.

Heidi - I love cookie dough. When DH would buy it frozen from Costco I would dig it out with a spoon and eat it frozen. It helped me a lot when it was recalled and the public was warned not to eat it raw! Have a great day.

Twynn - LOL! I don't like tofu either. My DH will try and eat almost anything. I think it comes from growing up in a big family where you ate fast or got nothing. Drive carefully!

Debbie - How great that you have stayed OP since the last trip:) Sorry traveling is such a hassle. I am guessing you won't have internet while you are gone? ... Just got to your next post and my question is answered. We will miss you:( The notecards seem like a great idea.

Ruth - That darn basement. I can so commiserate with you. I hope yours is back to normal long before mine was.

Chelby - Glad to hear you won't show up in your undies!

Cottage - your version of a snow day sound nice. I love spending a day in PJs.

Cyndi and Chelby - Funny thing... I kept dreaming last night about a blog post I am going to write eventually... entitled "Bad Hair Days and the Redhead Blues." Not sure why that came up last night. Of course I was overeating in my dreams again too.

Yesterday was just one of the crappy days for me. Not diet-wise, so that is good. I am going to try to be zen and happy today. I will tell you all the being on here with you always lifts my spirits and makes me smile.

Happy hump day:)

Heidi, hope you can find a moment of serenity in your busy day!

Tammy, I'm making you look bad by losing a pound over two months??? Yikes, girl! ;) You can make tofu-less chili. I don't put any tofu in mine.

Debbie, good luck with your travel preparations!

Ruth, I will leave the naked street dancing to you. :) Thank you for the invitation to come clean your hall. If these kids drive me any more bonkers, I just might take you up on it!

Michelle, what are you boss and coworker lobbying for?

Linda, have a fun snuggly day at home!!!

Karen, when I finish the decluttering I'll have time to go to the gym again!

Hey all! I don't have time for personals, you all got such an early start today. School is closed, both my and my son's, so we are planning our day. I think we'll go to the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie later (just shoot me now), assuming the theatre is open!

Mmckellen, I wouldn't see that movie if someone paid me. Well, maybe if someone paid me a lot. But it would take a good bit of money.

I finished the closet! I must admit that I did cheat a little and I only half-heartedly went through my clothes. But I got six bags full of little girl clothes to sell. Now I kind of want another tiny little baby...

Good morning everyone,

Sounds like everyone is having a good day. Finding body parts, being cozy and snowed in and decluttering.

Didn't get home last night til 8:30 p.m. had to pick up DH after work at the airport. So no workout yesterday, that is my goal for today. I also eat op yesterday and decided I will only visit the scale once a week for my sanity.

For all of those chickies traveling please be safe. Have a great day

Kara what recipe do you use for butternut squash?
LOL Kara-green fairy

Cyndi I giggled at the butterbut.

FO LOL That is one thing I have never heard about the "side effect" of loosing weight!

Heide have a wonderful busy day!

Tammy Have a good day. My hubby wouldn't eat tofu either.

Debbie sounds like a great trip. Enjoy your trip and if you don't eat all OP that is ok because when you get back you know you will jump right back on the OP wagon!!
And I agree with Tammy you’re an inspiration

I want a dehydrator your making me want one. When it closer to gardening time. I need some advice. LOL I will look to you all for HELP!!! I have to do container gardening though.

Chelby- I think u should wear jeans. LOL That is funny. Yeah they are saying we might get snow too. I bet you get more snow than we do. LOL I was talking to a lady at the store last night and we were joking htat if we got an inch of snow everything would close down. People down here aren't too used to snow!!! Atleast I am surrounded by military that have lived everywhere so some know how to drive in snow. I drove in it in Germany.

Cottage stay warm!


Karen have a happier day today. I was like that last week I was moody one day last week no reason for it.

MMC ugghh alvin and chipmunks have fun!!


Morning all..Chilly here..kids are moving extra slow. Not much exciting going on today. I will drink all my water today.

Have a great day.

Tammie

Hola everyone!

It's been a while since I was here and yes, I fell off the wagon. Quelle surprise? I'm back in phase 1 and am really struggling mid-afternoon and end up heading for something carb-tastic which sends me downhill for the rest of the day. My weight is holding steady, but I'd like to see it going down again! Today has been a good day so far...

Kara, Our wonderful (where is that sarcasm button???) governor cut the Children's Trust Fund budget to zero. We want our money back! :)

Mmc, I understand that the Squeakwel is PAINFUL for anyone over 12. Good Luck!

Karen, I eat donuts in my dreams on a regular basis... sigh...

Hola, Shimmy! Welcome back!

So far, I'm the only one who has even shown up to work! Should have stayed in my jammies like Cottage! :lol:

Tammie, if you even think you might want one now, you'll definitely be in the mood once summer comes. DH and I turned into dehydrating fools, thanks to this group. It's so fun and so healthy!

Chelby, brr* cold! Betcha can't wait for shorts and birkies!

Cottage, enjoy your snowed in day!

Karen, I've got some bad hair-I'm letting it grow out for the summer bike helmet season. I wish for you a very happy and zen day-Namaste.

Mmc, have fun with your son and if you get an earworm from the movie pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez don't share! :lol:

Kara, I think you really need a tiny little baby........and 3 more closets to clean!

Pearlrose, thanks for putting our day into perspective. :cp: for eating OP

Shimmy, welcome back. Believe me, I'm not bragging, I just am lazy and find it much easier not to stray and wind up back on P1. I hope you get through and start feeling better soon. I'm glad you're back.

Welcome back, Shimmy! I'm glad your weight is holding, and it will be headed in the right direction very soon!

This storm is unbelievable. It's almost a total whiteout. Jake went out to shovel but came right back in. He said it was useless to try to do anything. I have the dishwasher running now and baked some chicken for Jake for his supper, just in case the power does go out. He can always eat his chicken cold if he has to.

I have to tell you about my experiment with the Mock Cornbread recipe. I decided to make an apple cinnamon coffee cake with the recipe, and it turned out wonderful. I added about a teaspoon of vanilla and a dash of cinnamon to the batter, and of course I omitted the cumin and tabasco. And I substituted applesauce for the oil to lower the calories. After I poured it into a round baking dish, I topped it with apple slices and sprinkled cinnamon and splenda over it and baked it for 30 minutes. It made the house smell great! The only thing I would do differently the next time would be to add a little more agave. I only used about 2 tablespoons, and it needs more than that. But now I have a treat I can enjoy eating, guilt-free!

<<Chelby, brr* cold! Betcha can't wait for shorts and birkies!>>

Girrrrl, You can't even imagine!

Cottage, That sounds wonderful!

Hi chicks. Thanks cottage - I don't think I'll be going anywhere anytime soon! I'm still in my jammies. I can hardly see out the window. I have seriously never seen so much snow on the ground at one time - and I lived in Maine for a while! Later (when the wind dies down), I'll take a walk and get some pix.

Last night on my way to bed, I glanced out the window to admire the snow and realized there was about 2 feet of snow piled up on the front porch roof. This is the old porch from which DH wouldn't let me hang a porch swing because he was worried about the weight. My mind immediately started calculating 600 cubic feet of snow = 9000 lbs = 1,125 gallons of water = 5.5 king size waterbeds on my porch roof. As we are expecting at least another foot, I got worried, so at 10PM last night I was hanging out the bedroom windows in my pajamas shoveling the snow off the roof. My arms hurt this morning! But if that porch comes through this okay, then I WILL be hanging my porch swing, DH be damned.

Cyndi, that bird's butt looks just fine to me. Who named him? Poor thing. There is a cardinal flitting around out there in the snow. He is so pretty, I wish I could get a shot of him.
Okie, collar bones are fun and so are hip bones when they first start to peek out!
Chelby, we seriously need a sarcasm button. I think Cyndi and I would use it quite a bit.
Hi Shimmy!
Good luck with the water, Tammie! Stay close to the potty LOL!
Pearl, the scale really does not help with my sanity.
Kara, if I were you, I'd be sitting in that closet admiring my handiwork. I quit saving stuff for a yardsale, because the yard sale never seemed to happen. Of course you will probably be able to pull it off!
Mmc, enjoy your snow day.
Have a happy day waisting. I too cheat in my dreams and wake up feeling guilty.
Have a great trip Debbie (warm, sunshine, sounds so nice). The first meal I made for DH was chicken enchilada casserole. I was 21 and it was probably not very good. He ate it and said yum-yum. A couple of years later, he told me he hated Mexican food. Fortunately, he seems pretty happy with the meals these days.
Ruth, my basement is dry too. I just dread the snow-melt. I will probably have a swimming pool down there. I will try to think of something wanton, but there are children in the house, and no man...
Twynn, your chili sounds great. DH is anti-tofu also.
Wow, I made it through personals! Go me! I'm always afraid I missed someone. If I did, it's not personal!

It is 10AM and I haven't eaten anything yet, a big no-no on SB and one of my main downfalls. Plus, I AM working today (so long as the power stays on). See ya later chicks!

Tammie, for butternut squash soup, I throw into the crockpot:

2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
an onion
some garlic (I use four cloves or so but we love garlic here)
a Granny Smith apple, peeled, seeded, and chopped (I forgot this today - oops)
cumin (maybe a tablespoon?)
pepper (several sprinkles?)
a can of vegetable broth and a can-ful of water

Then after it's cooked on high for about five hours, I puree with an immersion blender and then we add some cheddar cheese, raisins, and sliced almonds.